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streetlevel

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From:

streetlevel

No. It's not black and white. But there do have to be some lines. Accountability. A social contract in place. We can't do whatever we want. We have to work alongside a society that aims for the best. If not... it's our civic duty to rebel and demand better.

Me, too. I'm even more happy for all the kids she's helped who never had a father or a Stick. Those kids who only ever knew Sister Maggie and the others at the orphanage - what a little fireball of ethical indignation and unrelenting love we have coming.

I didn't mean that. Foggy wasn't just... [A beat, because it hurts to have what he meant brought to such reductionist terms. A failure in doing what he meant, what Foggy meant, justice.] I think I'm too tired to talk about it right now. I'm not saying it right.

From:

hawk_shot

Yeah, you have a point. But... We don't have much room right now to be picky about who helps us, can we? I'm not crazy about Frank's methods, but if this bullshit with the task force keeps going on we are going to have to ask for help, Matt.

[It kinda feels wrong to imply that Matt had to suffer in his childhood for other kids to enjoy the love his mother couldn't give him. But she says nothing, impressed by how he finds kindess and accepts things for how they turned out.] It must be hard. Like, that sounds like rewarding, but also such a huge responsibility.

... [Well, fuck. That was supposed to be a joke but it landed so bad.] No, no..! Matt -- [She tries interrupting him.] Sorry, that was a dumb joke. I was thinking more of the description itself than of what that said about Foggy. [She takes a deep breath, begging to some God she doesn't really believe in so that she's not messed up things with Matt.] I totally get what you mean. Foggy was... Foggy wasn't afraid of being totally ridiculous, but he was also a total badass in the court and... Like I said, he fought in another field. Just as important, or maybe even more important than what we do in our costumes.

From:

streetlevel

I saw Frank. He doesn't see this as his fight. [Matt's voice holds some judgement, which is always part of why he and Frank can never stay on the same page for long. A clash of ideologies that Matt has now drawn as a permanent refusal to help, rather than Frank doing Frank's Own Shit in Frank's Own Way - which is PRECISELY Why Fury never recruited either Frank or Matt. They are two sides of the same damn coin. Matt does Matt's Shit Matt's Way. His way just falls in line with Peter's, with Kate's, with the Defenders, so there's no real clash. Frank, though? Frank will talk Matt to death on a rooftop with one or the other chained for hours and Go Through It - fight an army - then go back to fighting yelling at one another. The epitome of a couple that Stays Up To Fight rather than going to bed angry.]

For her, you mean? She seems to like what she does, but you'd have to ask.

I just... meant it well. The world needs more people like Foggy.

[He, Matt, needed more people like that in his life.]

Edited Date: 2025-04-30 12:16 am (UTC)

From:

hawk_shot

But... How long ago? Things have changed a lot lately, even Frank sure understands that. [It really shocks her, how someone who claims to want justice can just pretend not to watch and do nothing when people need him.] Besides, that's total bullshit. The fucking bullet on my door had his skull, Matt. [She hadn't brought that up yet. But she did bring the bullet in a plastic bag, just in case. Proof. Maybe Frank should see it too.] They're using his symbol!

I doubt you can do a job like hers unless you like it.

Matt... Really, I get it. You would never bring Foggy up and say anything but something nice and true about him. [God, she feels awful now.] ... There's something of Foggy in you too, you know?

From:

streetlevel

... I talked to him right after Hector's case. He knew about the task force. The bullets. [Though it has gotten worse.] I can't deal with Frank right now. Let's get through Fisk's gala.

Yeah. She said she had a calling. A destiny. [Matt loved his dad, he idolized Jack Murdock and took the morality of how to be a good man from him. Yet the suffering and shame, the dragging herself up to become something new that protected others with a feral shield... Daredevil felt in his soul that he was Maggie's son.]

I was talking about how you were like him. Not me.

From:

hawk_shot

No way. And he didn't give a shit? [Well, so much for trusting the Punisher might ever give them a hand. Clearly, this is a fight only Peter, Matt and her are fighting.] Yeah. Shit, I'm just glad I remembered to bring my fucking dress and shoes, you know. Borrowing one of your suits would have been right up my alley, but we're not exactly the same size.

[She doesn't need to read his mind to think something similar.] That sounds familiar.

And I'm telling you that I see some of Foggy in you too. [Sure, she didn't know Foggy like Matt did, but she had spent time with them both to see it.] Don't sell yourself short. Remember I've seen you two, totally shitfaced.

From:

streetlevel

He didn't seem to. [A grudging tone in his voice. Like Matt wants to rail, but when hearing another's rebuke it's like a brother getting huffy on behalf of another brother. Only Matt can give shit until he knows otherwise.] Right. Yeah. I should get changed.

I guess it does.

You bring people together. Even at that shitfaced dinner.

From:

hawk_shot

Well, that's great. Totally not adding on the list of his bullshit. [Because even though she's heard enough stories about Punisher, enough to want to meet him, Kate's always hoped that a guy like him would absolutely hate what incels and dipshits did of what he stands for. Sure, his methods are horrid. But... Can Kate, without a second of a doubt, swear she wouldn't completely lose it herself if she had faced what he did?

Whatever. Either way, it's a huge disappointment.] Bullseye, thai food and a tuxedo. We really are making the best out of this shitty day, huh?

Hmmm-hmmmm. [You're not fooling anyone, Matt.

However, you're pretty stubborn yourself. And it kinda feels wrong to pretend Kate can trump you when it comes to Foggy's memory. Maybe it's better to take the compliment, that huge compliment, and leave it at that.]

We should end the night like that. Drink everything Fisk has there, get super shitfaced and totally embarrass that walking hemorrhoid.

From:

streetlevel

I'm not gonna say I've had worse days and jinx us.

Have you ever fought while drunk?

From:

hawk_shot

.... Well, no. But even drunk I bet I would be an excellent fighter. Isn't that a style in kung fu?

All I'm saying is, hear me out. We get sooo shitfaced that we publically embarrass him until he gives up. We give him such a hard time he has no option but resign first thing in the morning, Matt.

From:

streetlevel

If it's an ancient style it's not one that I was trained in. Stick must have kept it to himself.

I do think his image matters to him.

From:

hawk_shot

We need to start watching more kung fu movies together, clearly.

See? Look, if we are smart about it, I'm pretty sure we still have time to find some novelty wigs, a bald cap and an inflatable penis costume.

From:

streetlevel

Who's that guy that used to do them? Jackie Chan?

She says like she doesn't already have those things probably in storage.

From:

hawk_shot

Yep, Jackie Chan. Bruce Lee was the real deal, though.

I don't have them! A friend of mine from college has the penis one. But it's been on my list for a while. [She pauses.] But I know how to make a bald cap with tights.

From:

streetlevel

I forgot about Bruce Lee. I know, it's shameful. I did see a few of those movies before I lost my eyesight.

[A lot of action movies were lost on Matt, even when they had the visually impaired closed caption that narrated the action on screen. Those sorts of movies had to have really good dialogue and plot to keep him interested.]

Let me guess, from your LARP friends?

From:

hawk_shot

Yeah, I guess... I mean, I don't wanna say you miss out or anything. But it's probably not as much fun, is it?

[She remembers how she felt awkward at first, how she sometimes seemed to forget about his disability, because of his talents. She felt weird, not wanting to say the wrong thing around Matt, afraid of hurting his feelings. But at the same time conscious of not treating him differently.

Now, she simply was used to talking naturally about his disability.]

One of them plays a monk, yeah.

From:

streetlevel

It's all right to say missing out. I do miss out on some things. I have a lot of other blessings in my life, but yeah, sometimes it's disappointing. Sometimes things are harder. It's okay to say that. And there are a lot of movies that are easier to enjoy, so I get to still experience those. Especially nowadays when some shows have the visually impaired narration.

[Matt has experienced all of his friends and loved ones go through this process, so he's all right with it. He's glad though that Kate is more comfortable about it now.]

What are you when you play? A ranger? Or is that too on the nose?

From:

hawk_shot

It's weird to think of all the things I never really considered before I met you. Like, I was aware, you know? But now it's like I'm super aware that not every movie has the narration or ramps are blocked. [Or of the fact that there's things that he's never going to experience.] Is it..? Do you actually see something? Like, is it more than all just being dark?

[Some time ago she would have worried about the question being too personal, but by now it feels like a very reasonable thing.]

Nope, I'm not a ranger. I think they're called rogues? It's like, being a thief ninja.

From:

streetlevel

It's kind of you that you're open to being aware now. It means a lot to me. [A beat.] I feel for those who are blind and don't have my senses. You know? They have it much harder than I do. As for what I see... it's like a world on fire. Which isn't as bad as it sounds. I can sense the heat coming off of people. The scent of them. It can outline certain things for me, like bodies. I can't see details, though. I don't know the color of your skin, or the shape of your eyes. I can't sense anything on a screen.

I can see you as a ninja. A thief... makes me want to check my pockets.

From:

hawk_shot

[It should't be a big deal. But hearing that it really matters to Matt? Kate's chest fills with a soft, warm sensation.] So, like, general shapes? Colors? [Something sticks there, something she's wondered about but that just never made its way into one of their conversations.] You ever wonder about that? Like, how what people look like. Okay, I need to know. How do you picture me, Matt? Brunette, blonde or a redhead?

Jokes on you. You don't even have pockets anymore. Gone.

From:

streetlevel

General shapes yes. Colors no. So I can maneuver around a table because the air is a little different around it, but I don't know what it's made of unless I touch it, and I don't know what color it is at all. [Why did his mind go to Foggy joking about how Matt somehow always had a soft spot for red heads when Kate asked what he thought she looked like?] I kind of jump around in envisioning people. I've pictured you with all sorts of hair color.

Damn. I'm going to have to get creative in where I carry my phone.

From:

hawk_shot

Yeah, that makes sense. And it's so cool. Beacuse I've heard some people say 'I see nothing' and I honestly can't imagine what nothing looks like. I was gonna need you to explain if that was your experience. [Because, yeah. Since meeting Matt she's watched documentaries about the blind and read a book about it. But she's touched, now realizing that in a way, she's closer to him. She understands his experience a little better.] ... How do you envision me right now? Do you want hints?

Nope. Too late, your phone is gone! Now we're communicating telephatically. Didn't you notice?

From:

streetlevel

Yeah, I'm sure my answer would be different if I didn't have my powers. And the experience of imagining something or someone can also be different depending on whether someone was born blind or lost their sight later in life. [A beat.] You've heard people say that? Have you been doing research on it? [That is really touching how much she's trying to understand what life is like for him.] And yes. I want a hint. I know a little from how you felt, but that's just shape.

Here I was always told to ignore the voices in my head.

From:

hawk_shot

[She completely understands where Matt comes from. And honestly, it makes her curious about how the world is like for other blind people. Which... He seems to catch up on.] Hummm, yeah, a little? I was just curious of, you know, how my friend experiences the world. But you say research like it's a big deal when in reality I just watched some stuff. [She still remembers what it was like, having Matt exploring her face with his hands. Meeting, in a way, for the first time.] Okay, so... I have white skin. And I have blue eyes.

Yeah, because you're well known for listening.