streetlevel | IC Texts/Threads/Overflow Post

That's tough to pick just one. Probably him teaching me how to box. Or sometimes he'd wake me up after he got back from a match and we'd go out for late night pizza or pancakes. Maybe a seven year old shouldn't be up at 1 in the morning eating carbs, but I had fun.

You're going to make me put on a tux for these events, aren't you.

I might not be terrible, but I don't know that I can trust everyone at a karaoke bar.

Hey, kids deserve to live a little and everyone's favorite memories involve fast food and staying up late. [It's cute though. Imagining a tiny version of him, sleepy but happy to welcome his dad. Excited to go out for late dinner with him.]

Oh, you're coming? I didn't know you wanted me to invite you.

It doesn't need to be a karaoke bar. We can just get one of those karaoke microphones and do it at home with friends.

Yeah, I guess that's true. Some things are universal. We didn't have a lot of money to go many places, but it was nice to hang out. And when there were things like free days at the museums he'd take me.

I mean, if I don't have to go suck up to rich people, I'll gladly be washing my hair that night. I just thought since it was the orphanage you'd ask me to go.

Do our friends have good voices?

I'm probably not the best person to have an opinion about having money or not. But, I don't know, when I was a kid I also liked playing with a lot of dumb stuff. Like, sometimes when we bought something my parents would save me the big boxes and I would draw on them and made windows and doors and I would build houses in my bedroom. Or targets or whatever.

Yeah, I should probably invite you.... [Even if she sounds unsure.] Of course I would never force you to wear a tux. [She pauses.] Think you can dress as Oliver Twist instead?

Matt, you can't both be the blind and the deaf guy! You gotta pick one.

Isn't that what cats do? People buy them toys and they end up just wanting the boxes?

[He hears the uncertainty in her voice.] It's okay to not want me there. I know I'm not really part of that world.

Imagine how relaxing it might be to not see or hear any of the dumb things people do. The only thing I couldn't give up is talking, though. I couldn't also be mute.

I'm sorry, are you calling me a cat? [A beat.] If anything, you're the one who wears cat ears with his suit.

... Matt, I was fucking with you. Honestly, the one reason why I wouldn't want you there would be to be to spare you from it.

Yeah, but... Would you really give up music for not listeing to dumb shit?

The horns do not look like cat ears.

I think this one with Fisk will tide me over for a long time.

... can I be selectively deaf and only hear good music?

You can't see them, Matt. You don't have a say in this. [She pauses.] And they totally look like cat ears. Sometimes.

Yeah, same. ... But the kids are worth it.

Nope. Now you get to be the blind guy who can't hear because you're being a jerk.

My costume makers wouldn't do me dirty like that.

They are. It's weird sometimes to go back to the orphanage.

I wasn't being a jerk, questioning the vocal prowess of our friends is a very relevant question.

Of course they wouldn't. The red cat ears are totally imposing but also flattering.

Why is it weird?

Would you dare to ask the same thing in Kirsten's face?

Stop trying to break the beautiful trust I have with Melvin and Luke.

I grew up there, it's a little weird to revisit it as an adult. That's all.

I can't see her face, so I might as well ask it from across the room.

Melvin and Luke totally know what they're doing and you have a whole thirsty fandom supporting that!

But why is it so weird? I mean, I bet you had a tough time. But some memories must be nice ones.

She's gonna end up throwing her shoe from across the room and we are all going to cheer on that queen.

... I don't want to know anything about a thirsty fandom.

It wasn't terrible there. The nuns were nice, albeit busy with so many kids. Just weird to revisit as an adult something from childhood. That's all.

A thrown shoe still doesn't prove she can sing.

Oh, come on. I've already told you how the duck made some ovaries implode. It's not so bad, Matt.

Yeah, I think I kinda get it. Maybe I was too used to visit mom. It is kinda weird to sleep in my childhood bed, though.

No, but it might make your dream come true and make you deaf.

It's better than having people hate me, at least. I still don't sign boobs when asked.

Yeah, exactly. Not traumatizing, just weird. Especially since I just had a bed and dresser, not even a room of my own.

You'd think after years of listening to Foggy sing I'd be immune to off-key.

Nobody said anything about boobs. Oh, my God, I can't believe you wanna sign boobs!

... Sorry about that, Matt. Like, I didn't mean to bring up awkward memories.

Foggy's singing was spectacular. [A beat.] You know, pretty sure that there was a song I heard him sing once. It was a night when you guys came over and we were cooking at my place and you called me out about not having enough supplies and stuff in my kitchen. [It's such a nice memory.] That song is kinda trending now.

I said I didn't want to sign them.

It's fine. I didn't mention it in a woe is me way, just a momentary musing on that it's weird.

What song was that?

But you brought it up out of the blue! It means you were totally thinking about someone asking you to sign her boobs.

Okay. You know, just in case. [She considers things.] It'll be nice to meet your mom.

It's a real old song by David Bowie and that band called Queen. You know Queen, right?

It was not out of the blue! You mentioned people being thirsty and ovaries exploding. And people have asked me. I declined.

Sister Maggie is great. A real hardass, but I guess you have to be advocating for the poor, orphaned, and sick. She held off a Hand ninja once while in her habitat.

Of course I know Queen. I know older music a lot better than I do ones that have come out in the past decade. "Under Pressure" was a favorite of Foggy's. I remember that.

The boob signing clearly left an impression on you because it was pretty much out of the blue. What about guys? They ever asked you to sign their tits too?

I'm sorry, your mom had a ninja at the orphanage?

My dad was a real big fan of Bowie so I knew the song. But, the weird thing is that for some reason it's been trending lately and people really focused on one part. I just realized that I've never really paid a lot of attention to the lyrics before. But they've really hit me now.

[She considers it for a second, but then quietly shares it, in a way that is the middle-ground between singing and reciting them.]

Cause love's such an old-fashioned word.
And love dares you to care for the people on the edge of the night.
And love dares you to change our way of caring about ourselves...

I've had some who wanted me to sign their chests. Which made no sense to me, until someone said that they were then gonna get it tattooed over the signing. I declined.

At the church attached to the orphanage. The kids don't live in the chapel, you have to walk to it, if that makes sense? I presume they were there for me, but she held her own until I got there. She's one tough lady. [Who gave up Matthew because her post-partum depression drove her to fear hurting him. Who suffered alone for so long in shame over her mental illness, who was now an advocate for others. As she'd told him 'I'm a nun, Matthew. Helping people is what I was called to do.' Their road to reconciliation had been rocky, but Matt understood her better now. He'd forgiven her.]

... I never paid much attention to the lyrics, either. Those do hit a little differently these days. Apparently, they do for a lot of people.

Edited 2025-04-29 11:30 (UTC)

Afraid someone will discover your secret identity if they compare your signature to Daredevil's? [She has to give it to those people, that would be a neat tattoo.]

Oh, yeah. I get it now. [And it really puts things in a perspective. How important secret identities can be, even if at the end of they day Fisk knew exactly who they were, each one of those who stood up against him. So, what was the point? Their loved ones, like Matt's mom, they needed to fight their own fights because of them.] She does sound like a pretty impressive lady.

They do, don't they? Like, we so need people to start caring more about each other. But... It also makes me think of you guys. You are someone who cares about the people in the edge of the night, Matt. So did Foggy and Karen, in their own way.

[And there's something more.]

And learning to care more about ourselves because we have people who love us...

[Will Matt ever do that?]

That and I don't want to be signing autographs on people's chests. Boundaries, some people need to learn them.

She is.

I'd say you do the same. You're out there at night too, not just me.

... It's a hard lesson to learn.

Would biceps work better for you? Backs?

Is there something in particular she likes? Like, chocolates or whatever. [Wait...] Are nuns allowed to accept chocolates?

Yeah, maybe. You have a point, yeah.

.... Guess that's the whole deal about 'love dares you', you know? Maybe it's not even romantic love. Like, when people have kids and they say that it changes their lives completely.

No, it wouldn't be better. I'm not signing anyone's body parts. It's weird.

Not if people are using the chocolates to woo her, but I really hope that's not what you'd be doing by buying her chocolates.

I think it's natural to want to be a better person because of the people around you. Translating that into taking better care of yourself... it's hard when that sometimes directly contradicts the job you have to do.

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