abraxaslogs | ( open — august catchall )

( 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. )

[ 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. ]

( 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?

[ 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.

You don't know what means anything in this city, Frank. You've been here five minutes.

( matt let's himself be dragged in but as soon as he's there, he grabs frank's wrist and presses his thumb against a pressure point hard enough that he knows frank'll release him.

and once he is free, he takes a few steps back and shakes his head. )

People like him, they deserve punishment. They deserve it but it doesn't have to be at the end of a gun. You don't have to kill him. Because you start here, where does it end? You gonna kill everyone that looks at you wrong? This isn't New York, you don't know what they'll do to you when they catch you.

( this place was too small for it to be obvious after awhile who was having their fun having a killing spree across cadens. )

You could break his leg, break his arm, blind him but killing —

( he shakes his head, blowing out a breath. )

I'm not going to let you.

[ frank hates it when matt insists that he knows better than him. it doesn't matter that he's been in this place longer than he has, because he'd pulled the same shit back in new york, had even tried to act like he understood war despite never having been in it at all.

it's the kind of thing that only agitates him even further.

with the pressure on his wrist, he manages to lose his hold on him, and though he doesn't go after him again, he isn't letting up on maintaining his stance. ]

The hell do I give a shit of what they'll do?

[ as if anyone could make things worse for him than they already are. ]

You just wanna beat him, huh? You wanna do a little torture, break his body into pieces, but keep him alive? Is that what lets you sleep at night, Red? Makes you think you're better than me?

I don't think I'm better than you.

( but that's not right, is it? he does think he's better than frank, deep down. he thinks he's better than a lot of people but he thinks he's worse too. it's confusing and uncertain, doubt mixing with everything else about him.

but he shoves that aside because he doesn't want to deal with that right now. this isn't about him being better or worse. it's about the fact that they don't need to be killing people in this place. )

I haven't touched anyone since I got here. I haven't needed to. But, I'll do what I need to do. What do you think this is going to do? So, you kill him. It's not going to help the person you're trying to save from him. It's not going to stop whatever else is going on. You kill that person, another takes its place. So, you just gonna go and kill everyone?

( open — august catchall )

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject