( open — august catchall )

[catholica]

Who: matt murdock + ota
When: august
Where: cadens
What: catch all

find some open starters in the comments below
you can find me at jortles

Comments

( around cadens — ota )

[catholica]

( it's been a few months now and, all things considered, matt thinks it could have gone worse. he still wakes up disoriented sometimes, confused at not hearing the sounds of new york around him but he's started to get more and more familiar with the sounds of cadens. he doesn't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing.

it's...a thing.

he spends most of his day exploring, taking his walking stick out and sweeping back and forth in front of him as he maps the city mentally in his head. he probably sticks out considering he's still favoring the suits he's familiar with even if he doesn't wear them all the time.

when night falls, matt's found himself familiar with the various taverns, seeking out something familiar like josie's though he knows that that familiarity comes with the people. still, the beer's good and he has a good time even if he mostly keeps to himself, letting the conversation go on around him. he listens in sometimes, picking up bits and pieces of various lives and filing them away.

when he gets tired of drinking, he's back on on the street, enjoying a nearby street performer ply his craft. people move around him, brushing by him, knocking into him and while some apologize, some don't. he keeps his feet though, only stumbling a little even it's more an act than anything else. )

[princessvegas]

[ Julie had told Wanda that she would get a read on Matt, social media or no. It is an important part of girl code that if your friend is into a guy, you must dig up all possible dirt: where he hangs out, what his last girl looked like, who he follows on Insta and Twitter. But in the absence of an iPhone, she can make do with just direct interrogation to later report back to Wanda.

Luckily, it's not exactly difficult to hunt down a blind man who lives in the same building that she does. This is good because Julie wasn't exactly raring to comb the city with a fine-tooth comb to look for him. Instead, she just hangs out for a few nights downstairs, until she ultimately sees him tap his cane across the room and sit down. Her step is completely sure; there is no hesitation in the way she not just approaches, but takes a seat at the table across from him. Her elbow perches on the table and she rests her chin in her hand. ]

Howdy, cowboy. [ Her accent is sugar sticky, the American Southern one that sprawls across the map below the Mason-Dixon line. ] You and I haven't met yet.

[catholica]

( there's not too much of a crowd downstairs when matt makes his way across the room, sweeping his cane out in front of him to make sure he doesn't end up running into anything. he reaches a hand out to find a chair and then drops down into it, folding the cane up and putting it on the table in front of him.

it's not five minutes later that he hears the assured step of someone getting closer to him and while there's a chance they walk past, he just has a feeling that they're seeking him out. he doesn't make a move to show that he's expecting something and keeps his expression neutral.

sure enough, the chair scrapes as its pulled out and someone sits down. he tilts his head up, listening and when they speak, he takes not of the accent, the confidence in the speech and the way she's just joined him and files it away. )

We haven't. I think I'd remember you. ( so, he nods at her, a quick enough greeting. ) I'm Matthew.

[princessvegas]

[ If there is anything she has in spades, it's confidence. It rolls off her like perfume; there is no question in her mind about where she belongs. She belongs wherever the hell she pleases.

Though he can't see it, her gaze fixed on him is probably palpable. For the moment, it's rather benign -- she is sizing him up, but has not yet rendered her verdict. He's cute, in an entirely forgettable way. Reliable, ordinary profession. Then again, she pictures Wanda in her oversized cardigans and sweatpants, her low ponytails, the cabin. Even the suburban house she once showed Julie. Yeah, this lines up, honestly. He seems appropriately... low-maintenance.

Raising one hand above her head, Julie signals the barkeep for two ales, which are promptly dropped off. ]

And you can't even see the part most people remember. I'm Julie. You got here last group, right? I can't keep track of y'all anymore.

[catholica]

Yeah, last group.

( he mentally counts backwards in his head, trying to make sure that was right and when he knows that it is, he nods. he puts one of his hands on the table, fingers searching for the glass before he finds it.

he pulls it closer and tips his head forward, listening to her, the way she talks, the words she says, everything he can to get a good read on her just like she was trying to figure him out. )

I was trying to take a quick weekend trip to New Jersey and ended up here. I don't know, I might have gotten lucky. There's nothing really good in New Jersey.

[princessvegas]

Well, I never been to New Jersey, but I'm pretty sure this place is a downgrade. Y'know, what with the "no modern technology" thing. Hope you're into horseback ridin'.

[ Which seems like a joke, but has actually turned out to be somewhat of an issue among the Summoned. Lack of horse riding experience. The wagons and carriages are fine, but it's pretty frustrating to have to take the slower option because someone else doesn't know how to ride.

She leans back in her chair, swings one leg over the other, and tilts her head. The mention of a US state is actually more informative than he knows, given how many of the others are not only not American, but have never so much as heard of America. Explaining basic building blocks of culture, like religions and major holidays and all the other little things that everyone just knows when you're all from the same general society -- it gets exhausting. ]

Trip from where?

[catholica]

Closest I've been to a horse is those old westerns on television they show when it's either too early or too late.

( so, if he had to horseback ride, they were in trouble. he was pretty good at a lot of things but that wasn't one of them.

he's still being sized up and he knows it. he let's her look for whatever it is she's looking for, waiting patiently for her next question or observation. he can't been able to pinpoint exactly what drove her over here but he'd get there in time. either she'd just out and out say it (which he thinks is the most probable thing considering the confidence he's picked up on) or she'd do enough that he'd guess. )

New York. Ever been?

( cadens — late late night — ota )

[catholica]

( matt's pretty sure that this whole situation has been the longest time he's been still in years. he knows that it's only natural, that he needs to figure out his place here but he can't do it for very long.

he wouldn't say he's nervous when he finally slips into that other skin, tying a rag around his eyes to keep his identity to himself. he hasn't been nervous about this sort of thing in a long time but he knows that he has to be careful. this isn't new york and it's not as easy to get lost in the crowd as it might be there.

but, as the shadows draw thick over cadens, he slips out and finds himself atop one of the roofs of the taller buildings, crouched low. he's not really sure what he's looking for but he knows he'll find something. no city this size is free of crime and people who'd commit it.

it doesn't take long.

he hears the scuffle a few blocks away and he knows that it's minor, not really something that would draw attention but it brings him down the side of the building and into the night. when he gets to the sight, it's an easy thing, to pull the would be mugger away from someone who'd just been walking home from some night out.

they skitter off and matt turns back to the mugger, watching him skitter away. he stalks towards him, one foot after another until the mugger gets up and just runs away, feet skidding loudly on the street.

and that's it, it's over and done and matt takes a slow breath before he tucks himself back into the darkness to find somewhere else to be. )

[castle]

[ it hadn't taken long for frank to sense the kind of things that happen in the shadows here, the kind of things that happen in any city when no one's looking, or at least pretending not to notice. it only takes a few nights before his hands are stained red, the anger raging into something violent, until the murderer he's found is left no longer breathing.

some people would say he enjoys it, and though it isn't quite ecstasy that he finds in the kill, there's certainly something satisfying. maybe it's relief, something that comes with knowing there's one less piece of scum out there in the world.

but the taste of one is enough to draw out the acknowledgement of stepping into that role again, one that clearly hadn't been left behind in new york.

tonight, a man runs breathlessly through the back streets, anxious and desperate to get away as frank marches not far behind, an iron mallet in his hand, the metal head already stained with dry blood. though he's slow and steady, he knows what he's doing, waiting for the man to trip over his own feet, rolling onto his back before trying to kick as his feet to crawl backwards.

w-wait! he shouts. but frank doesn't listen as he catches up, walking over him and lifting the mallet high, preparing to swing it down. ]

[catholica]

( frank's arrival presents is unexpected. ordinarily, matt might be glad for the familiarity of home but frank castle is something that he's not sure this place is prepared for.

which means matt has to be ready for him. he doesn't think frank's going to change his ways and he wouldn't expect that to happen. he and frank have a few things in common and being so set and so ingrained in how they operate is one of them.

which is why he knows he has to listen closely, pay attention and tonight, he can hear the heavy thump of frank's boots on the ground, following someone who probably fucked up but doesn't deserve what frank's going to give him.

matt doesn't hesitate, listening to the rasping breath of frank's victim and the way his cries echo off the walls. and then he's there, close enough to use the edge of the weapon in the air, catching in the moonlight.

and matt doesn't hesitate, crossing the distance quickly and inserting himself in front of the begging man, grabbing frank's arm to stop the trajectory of the mallet and then shoving him backwards. )

What is wrong with you?

( a question matt could ask himself, too. )

[castle]

[ he should have known. from the moment he'd learned that matt murdock — that the devil of hell's kitchen — was in this place, that he'd become a real pain in the ass to deal with. eventually, they'd reached a point where his persistent opponent had chosen to let him be, to deal with his own shit as frank dealt with his, and back then, he'd have assumed that might've been the end of that.

but with murdock, he should know that stubbornness governs, and in a place like this where they've been forced to come in close distance to one another again, finding themselves in this predicament was always inevitable. ]

Fucking— [ frank grits against his teeth as his swinging arm is halted, though his grip of his mallet doesn't loosen and he digs his boots to the dirt to keep from stumbling back. ] Altar boy, we ain't doing this.

[ with his other arm, he goes in for a different kind of swing, this time with a tight fist that aims directly to matt's face. ]

[catholica]

( on the contrary, it looks like they're very much doing this. it takes both of hands to stop the swinging of the mallet so he's forced to take the punch, stumbling backwards when it connects. but it's only a minor setback before he's putting himself in frank's face again. )

Yes, we are. What are you doing? This isn't necessary, this isn't what needs to be done. You're letting your attention be diverted by — base desires.

( or maybe it's what makes matt do the things he does. it's a buzzing under the skin that can't be ignored and a pricking at the back of your neck that reminds you of what you have to do.

and matt understands that but he's not going to let it happen like this. )

That what you're going to do here? Just leave a trail of blood and bodies until you've got the entire population of Cadens at your door? I'm sure that would go well for you.

( he swipes at his nose, scrunching his face to make sure he hadn't broken anything. )

Can't go one day without a target on your back?

[castle]

[ murdock always has a way of getting knocked down and getting back up again, something that frank always makes sure to prevent when it's the kind of people he's on a mission to take out. maybe he should have gone through with killing the devil all that time ago, but even someone like him has a code, and despite his annoying persistence, matt doesn't land as someone worth killing — no matter how infuriating he might often become. ]

You think I give a shit what kind of reputation I get?

[ if he did, maybe he wouldn't have ever become the punisher in the first place, a name he never asked for to begin with.

this time, when he brings his arm in, it's to snatch matt by the collar, gripping hard as he leans in. he might be blind, but he sure as hell is going to hear the snarling bite of his words. ]

You know what that piece of shit's been doing? Huh? You seen his wife lately? Bruises all over the left side of her face? Limping from a busted knee? What's your plan? Gonna slap him on the wrist with the United States judicial system? Stuff him in a cozy jail cell? Your kid's play doesn't mean shit in this city.

[assembles]

[ Steve doesn't usually have much reason to venture out at night, but having just recently moved into a new place, he finds himself restless when he tries to sleep. While he'd never intended for his room at Mag's to be a permanent fixture (and doesn't really want anything here to be permanent), he had become used to it. The creaking of the floorboards outside his room as other Summoned got up in the night to do one thing or another, the more muffled noises from people staying up late and chatting in the tavern area downstairs — now he's in a new bed, with new sounds, and it's taking some getting used to.

Sometimes, the only thing to do with insomnia is walk it off, which is how Steve ends up strolling the cobbled streets of Cadens in the middle of the night. It's honestly more pleasant now than it ever is during the day, the heat mainly have melted away, and so Steve strays further from his new townhouse than he really planned on.

He hears the scuffle, his senses allowing him to pick up on it even from a few blocks away. It still takes time for him to follow the noise to its source, and it's on his way that a young man almost crashes into him, the whites of his eyes bright with fear. Steve gets little out of him beyond some stammering that someone had saved him. After making sure that the stranger is okay, Steve lets him go and then turns the corner, where he finds a man, his face partially obscured, while another figure retreats far into the distance. ]

I thought I might help, but it looks like you had things under control.

[ This stranger doesn't seem to be part of the military. No uniform, no nothing. The fact that his eyes are covered is strange, to say the least. ]

[catholica]

( steve rogers. he knows the voice immediately but he'd clocked him coming closer, a fourth set of footsteps to go along with his own and the other two men. it had been easy to figure out that he wasn't someone out here to start more trouble but matt had been prepared anyway.

and now, with steve in front of him, he remains calm, steady. only one person's pinned him as the devil of hell's kitchen without matt revealing that fact but steve rogers is...steve rogers. matt knows he has to be careful. )

I did. ( it could have been worse, could have been violent but he'd gotten lucky. he knows it won't always be like that. )

He made a stupid mistake and decided not to make it worse. It's nice that some people can make decisions with their brains.

[assembles]

[ There is something about all this that feels vaguely familiar, but Steve doesn't yet have enough context clues to put it all together. If he wasn't an entire universe away from everything he knows, if the news about the Devil of Hell's Kitchen wasn't over five years old for him — but for now, he's addressing what's right in front of him.

The stranger gives the thug that he'd interrupted the benefit of the doubt, calling it a "stupid" mistake rather than a malicious act. Then again, they don't know what sort of situation might have led to the attempted mugging, if it had maybe been out of desperation. ]

Still, if you hadn't been there, something really ugly could have happened. [ Steve takes a few steps closer, clearly unafraid of the masked man. He studies the lower half of his face, and resists the urge to ask the obvious (yet). ] How often are you out here doing this?

[ Steve doesn't go on midnight walks all that often, but still, he's surprised he hasn't heard tell of this masked vigilante before. ]

[catholica]

Often enough.

( he doesn't think it's a complete lie. while he hasn't done anything of the sort here thus far, it's not his first time overall and it definitely won't be his last. he's still unsure of what type of place cadens is, what sort of people slither out of the darkness at night but he intends to find out.

he makes sure to keep his answers quick, short. anything more and he'll possibly give something away that he doesn't want to. )

It's a big city. I go where it's needed.

[assembles]

[ It all sounds familiar enough. It's not so different from what Peter had done as Spider-man before Tony picked him up (and after). Steve can even understand why it's important to hide one's identity when doing this kind of thing, as it's not like this stranger is operating within the law. Or so Steve would guess. He doesn't know how Cadens feels about vigilantes.

Maybe it's time to find out. If anyone would know...

Steve crosses his arms over his chest, then glances back over his shoulder toward the mouth of the alleyway. They appear to still be alone. Good.

As he turns back: ] And the local authorities are all right with that? Or do you try to avoid them?

[ He also doesn't yet know if this person is native to this place or a Summoned, nor does he think he'll get a concrete answer if he asks. ]

( horizon — ota )

[catholica]

( matt considers just leaving his horizon as his apartment but decides that he wants to see what all he can do so he changes it. he doesn't go too far away from the familiar, making himself think of his office in new york and all its flaws and issues.

it was small, crowded, and a lot of things didn't work but it had been something he and foggy had been proud of. so, that's what he creates, conjuring it from his mind and setting it up all around him.

when it's done, he steps into his office, eyeing the piles of files that he'd brought along with everything and laughs a bit. it was a pretty good recreation, actually, and he feels a sense of comfort as he moves around. )

[carmesi]

[when wanda enters matt's horizon, she finds it— well, different. certainly, the rooftop is still here, and she has no problem just being here by herself, or even heading down to the apartment where she is bound to find the dog she's imagined for him. no, what's different is the fact that matt is definitely here, but...?

wanda decides to continue walking down the hall outside the apartment, until she's in an entirely new area.

there is a door with frosted glass (the writing missing, unbeknownst to her, of nelson and murdock, attorneys at law, likely due to matt not being able to 'see' it). should she knock? seems strange — so she just opens the door and steps inside.]

Huh, you're here.

[it sure is small and feels a little... cramped, despite its current emptiness.]

[catholica]

Am I...not supposed to be?

( it was his horizon, wasn't it? matt moves to stand up when he realizes who it is, keeping a hand on the desk as he circles around, managing not to bump the files he's got resting there.

he leans back against the edge and crosses his arms, smiling at her. )

I didn't think I wandered into someone else's Horizon but maybe I didn't notice.

[carmesi]

[wanda closes the door behind her, lingering on the door handle before walking around to look at the place, the otherwise empty walls that feel like should have some kind of decor on them.

she turns back to him.] Oh, no, it really is your Horizon.

[offering him a smile in return she goes back to looking around.]

I felt you were around, I just couldn't really find where, so— here you are. Your office?

[catholica]

Yeah.

( he doesn't know if what he's done is here is really exact to the office back in hell's kitchen but it feels right. )

We always meant to upgrade offices but — you can only upgrade if you have the money and we sometimes got paid in muffins.

[carmesi]

Sometimes.

[feels more like it's closer to the spectrum of 'the majority of the time', but wanda only raises an eyebrow at that as she walks over one of the shelves and picks up a heavy book about some kind of law. she flips over it and finds— well, that she can't read it.

the page isn't blank, necessarily, it just has a bunch of raised dots.

she turns back now, walking towards matt, open book in her arms.]

It probably sounds stupid, but I've never seen braille up close. Do you seriously remember all this?

( wildcard )

[catholica]

( if you've got something else you'd like to do, feel free to toss it my way. for the prompt where matt is playing vigilante, let me know if you think you'd recognize him as matt just so i can keep track since he'd be trying to keep that under wraps for a little bit. )