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1rsoldiersince2012 · 7 months

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Bound by Law (Matt Murdock x Reader)

Words: 3503 (chapter 35)

Summary:

You and Matt met in the courtroom. Now, you may think that Matt was a knight in shining armour and defended you in the name of all United States laws, but that was not the case. Matt was totally destroying your client, and you wanted to tear him into pieces right then and right there, because with Murdock as your rival, your head is on the firm's plate with each case. Did Matt care? No, he only cared about bringing justice, he was a human-machine, driven by the need to bring righteousness no matter the cost. Or was he just that? What happens when you get involved in Fisk's business and Daredevil's lies against your will?

35. Man-Eater

The whole night was restless and tiring, both mentally and physically. You were used to having nightmares from time to time, some of them were realistic, some - only shapes and blurriness that you couldn't make out. But tonight was probably the worst night that you've had since you began working with Matt and Foggy.

Shapes and shadows gradually turned into bodies and faces that you would recognize everywhere, twisting into a parody of a bad horror movie. You saw Matt, sitting in his office, so furious at you for accepting Fisk's offer that he was fuming in his seat. You tried to apologize, tried to explain how there was no other way for this to end but were quickly shut up when Matt's strong hands grabbed your throat and started squeezing the life out of you - the same always bruised big hands that just hours ago felt so soft on your skin were cutting your vocal cords like a big butcher knife. You tried to speak, but words struggled to leave your mouth, jaw tightly locked in hopes to save the precious air. Matt's face changes into someone else's. His. You're back on the bed, he's pushing you into the mattress, full body weight on your throat probably enough to crash your trachea into tiny pieces, but you're desperately fighting for your life, face almost purple, but you're gnawing your nails at his face, his white as a paper sheet face with the claw-like nail scratches. Everything turns red, as if blood vessels in your eyes popped and blinded you.

You rise up from your bed, gasping loudly and touching your neck, feeling the pulse beating in your throat loudly, proof that you're still alive. Sheets tangled between your legs feel like a trap, and you kick them off the bed immediately. "Shit." You say out loud, reaching for your phone on the bedside. Only midnight. "Fuck." You mutter again, and fall back on your pillow, trying to stop yourself from reaching for another cigarette. Maybe Foggy was right. Maybe you've had too much nicotine today. But only your body knew what a shitty day you had. The sudden involvement of Wesley and the Kingpin guy messed up the whole perspective of the case for you and you were not sure what you should do. The threat was serious enough for anyone smarter than a child to back off, but you couldn't break your promise to Elena.

You also couldn't risk involving your father into these shady schemes and endanger his life. Not after the last time.

*** "Wow, you look like crap."

"Thanks, Foggy." You grumble, hanging your coat next to Matt's. "You look...fresh."

Foggy smiles widely, disappearing in his office with a bunch of documents, and you step into your office, to find Matt already sitting in his chair comfortably. He looked better than you, that's for sure, yet still somewhat tired. "Morning." You squeeze out, dropping your briefcase on one of the armchairs.

"Morning." Matt smiles warmly, and in an instant, you feel like you're home. But you weren't. The nightmare was never over.

You suddenly lack words, especially after yesterday. When his body was so close to yours, when he was pressing his lips to yours with such hunger that if Karen didn't show up, you probably would've torn each other apart right here in the office kitchen. Opening a can of Red Bull, you take a big gulp, probably emptying about half of the drink. Matt smells the sweet flavour in the air, scrunching his nose. He also stays silent, not knowing what to say after what happened last night. A lot of things went downhill for him as well, yet both of you would rather die than tell each other about what happened after you left the office.

"Oh, rough night?" Foggy says behind your back, eyeing the energy drink.

"Not the kind you think." You sigh, trying to keep your head up.

"Tough." Foggy replies, suddenly feeling tension rising up.

"Anything new?" Matt asks, somehow compassionate, about your situation. He was certain that you only slept bad, and he was half right.

"Nothing about Elena's apartment, but some woman called, she's coming today for a legal consultation or, as she said, 'whatever you law guys call talking'. "

"I can already tell how enjoyable the talk's gonna be." You almost yawn and drink again.

"Well, she sounded quite pleasant." Foggy defends.

"Foggy, every woman on the phone sounds pleasant to you." Matt chuckles, fixing his red shades.

"What can I say, I love the thought of imagining the face of the mysterious voice."

"No comment." You say when Foggy looks at you for some sort of answer, and almost giggle when Matt tries to hide his grin.

"Yeah, you guys suck." Foggy storms out of the room, leaving you and Matt alone again.

"We haven't even said a word, Foggy!" Matt shouts back at Foggy and imagines him showing his middle finger at the wall. "So, rough night?" Matt tries to use Foggy's icebreaker, not sure how he could approach the conversation after what happened yesterday. Your lips were on his mind the whole time.

Your hand unconsciously touches your neck and shivers go down your spine. "Just a shitty sleep." You smile slightly, "you?"

Matt slowly shakes his head, remembering how he was the last one to speak to Blake before his own partner and long-time friend Hoffman killed him. And then he had a little chat with Urich. Last night wasn't easy for him, too. Just differently. "Me too."

"Really?" You say almost teasingly, but perhaps Matt was just imagining that tone.

"Yeah." He smiles, and you're quick to notice the dimples on his cheeks.

"We've got guests!" Foggy shouts when he hears a knock on the door.

"Morning, are you the lawyer...s?" A red-haired woman appears in the doorway, adding the ending to the word when she sees you and Matt step out of your office, Matt standing very closely to you. Her attire was a bit shocking to say the least, especially for a legal consultation. Bright red dress, almost covering her butt, short sleeves showing almost half of her shoulders and a deep deep v-neck, like a cheery on top. Her fur coat, that was almost the same length as her dress, which made her look like a hooker. And this was the nicest thing going on in your mind at the moment. You couldn't see Foggy's reaction as his back was turned on you, but from the lack of words, you guessed that he probably stood there with his mouth open.

"Yes, we are, please, take a seat there in my office."Foggy finally rambles, showing the woman way to his small office and when she goes in, he quickly turns to you and Matt and whispers, "come here with me."

"Should we?" You half whisper to Matt, leaning close to him, when Foggy almost runs into the office, scrambling to his feet to pull the chair for the woman.

"Yeah, why not?" Matt smirks at the closeness and follows you like a puppy when you pull him by the sleeve of his jacket into the corner of Foggy's office, where two chairs were put.

"So, Miss Loren, you wanted some legal consultation, right?" Foggy asks, sitting with his back turned to you and Matt, where you two rather sat closely on the chairs. The redhead was right on display for all three of you, and you almost felt a strange relief that Matt wasn't able to see her with those twins half out on display.

"Yes," she crosses her arms on the table, slightly pushing her breasts together. You almost roll your eyes at the sight of this pure embarrassment. "My therapist was using me for sex." She states so simply as if it was a normal conversation about the weather.

"Sorry, what?" Foggy stammers, opening his notebook to write it down.

"My therapist was using me for sex. What's not to understand?" She repeats, head held high.

"Let's maybe just start at the beginning."

"I was going to therapy sessions for two months. I was failing three subjects in college, and my parents sent me to this therapist. To talk about my problems or whatever." She shrugs.

"And did he help? With those problems, I mean." Foggy steals a confused look at you, and you only reply with a raise of eyebrows.

"He did. He's a good therapist."

"So... how did everything else happen?" Matt interferes in the talk, making himself available to the eagle-eyed woman.

She directs her whole attention to Matt, seeing you frown and shift in your seat in the corner of her eye. "He told me that he liked me. It was the end of one of our sessions. I said that I liked him too. We went on a date, and later he was fucking me in his apartment." She looks again at Matt and stresses the word 'fucking', making something twist in your stomach. Matt felt uneasy and restrained under the intense gaze of the redhead.

"So it was with consent? You agreed to it?" Foggy reassures that he's understanding the situation correctly.

"Yes."

"How was he using you then?" You ask, a hard look in your eyes. Things like that are not something to be lied about, especially to the lawyers.

"He wanted it often. I was okay with it, but let me tell you, the sex was bad." She laughs, showing a row of unnaturally white teeth.

"Miss Loren, I don't think we understand exactly why you came to our law firm." Foggy shakes his head, looking at the empty sheet of his notebook.

"I think I stated the situation pretty clear." She leans forward again, and you roll your eyes at the clear intention of messing with Foggy.

"What was the reason for you to come here?" You ask, one eyebrow slightly raised.

"To get my money back, of course."

"What money?"

"The money that he took from me when we together."

"Miss, could you stop speaking in riddles?" Foggy makes himself available on the spotlight again.

"When we got together, sort of, I was no longer going to therapy," she pouts, and you're 80 percent sure that she has a lip filler. "We used to talk about my problems after sex, and when I said that I'm breaking up with him, he got upset and told me that these talks are equal to therapy sessions and I need to pay."

"So you paid?" Matt asks, manspreading enough for his knee to touch yours.

"Of course I paid. But now I want my money back."

"Why the sudden change?" You ask, earning a hard look from her, "I mean you could've not paid at all."

"He threatened to go to his lawyers."

"Yeah, and now you're here." You say under your breath and thankfully Miss Loren fails to hear it. Matt on the other hand, tries to contain his grin under his fist.

"Well, if you signed a contract, I'm sure it said that only sessions held in his office count as sessions that you need to pay for." Foggy crosses his arms, looking at the empty sheet of paper in front of him.

"I... Yes, I did." She thinks for a moment, and you can clearly imagine the little mechanism firing up in her head.

"Then we need to get your money back." Foggy turns back to look at the two of you, only to be met with your doutbful look. Matt remains tight-lipped, as if afraid to say something that might affect a potential new case.

"You'll help me? Really?"

"Yes... We will try but I doubt that you have a cheque for the money you gave." Foggy sighs, understanding the difficulty of the situation.

The woman says nothing and you stand up, smoothing your clothes, "Can you just excuse us for a moment?" You offer a fake smile to the red-head and gesture for Foggy to step out, slightly touching Matt's shoulder on your way. Matt almost immediately stands up, leaving the woman in Foggy's office alone, chasing the trail of perfume and energy drink smell that you left.

You pull Matt by his sleeve again, this time closing the doors of your office. "This is a dead-end case."

"I know." Foggy exhales, looking around the room for any support.

"Oh, do you?" You ask in a whisper, afraid that Miss Loren might hear something through those paper-thin walls. "Because I thought that you were staring at her breasts this whole time."

Foggy's face turns red in an instant, which confirms exactly what you said. "It's not my fault, okay?"

"Okay, despite the... exposed breasts or whatever," Matt begins, feeling the side eye that you just gave him, "this is a terrible case. There's little to no hope that we can prove that she really gave him money, especially if it was in cash-"

You slightly hit Matt's chest, exclaiming silently, "That's it, cash! If she transfered money via bank, there has to be a document, go, go" you begin pushing Foggy out of the office, "go ask her now!"

As Foggy leaves, you notice that you've held your hand on Matt's chest the whole time, and awkwardly pull away, "shit, sorry."

"I see that the energy drink is really working." Matt smirks, pretending to touch his chest.

Foggy bursts in, face light up with a smile. "We got him."

You get squished in the middle between Matt and Foggy's hug and groan in protest, feeling Foggy's hair tickling your face. Matt's body tightly pressed against your back, even for a brief moment, takes your breath away, and you stand flustered when the men pull away and Foggy rushes off.

The moment of a small victory gets destroyed into pieces when Karen comes in with the news - Elena was shot dead in her apartment building.

***

You sit on one of the armchairs, looking nowhere in particular, blinking only occassionally, when the dryness starts stinging your eyes. The chatter between your coworkers has died minutes ago, the speculations were exhausted and only Karen seemed to be more active than the three of you. Turning on the news, she tried to put you out of your thoughts, unsuccesfully.

You didn't know what you felt inside at this moment. The feeling was so familiar, yet so different. It wasn't the heartbreak of losing someone close to you, or your parent, but it made you feel something, because Elena wasn't a complete stranger either. Honestly, it would've been easier to deal if you stayed away from her case, unfortunatelly, you were already head and heart deep in it. Matt sat beside you on another armchair, deep in thought. He didn't need to have super abilities to read the mood in the room, and they were not helping him to lessen his own grief as well. He desperately wanted to hold your hand, to squeeze it tightly, so that the closeness would take his heartache away, yet he couldn't. He was grasping his knee to the point of his knuckles turning white, holding the inside of his cheek between his teeth as a distraction.

Foggy and Karen were perhaps shaken the most, after all they spent more time with Elena not discussing case matters, simply chatting. Karen, familiar with things like that, was thinking further than all three of you - who is going to pay for the funeral expenses, and who will organise the whole thing? She had no money, obviously. The firm too. Matt and Foggy literally looked like they survived each day by pure miracle. And of course... Karen's eyes fell on you. Your expensive watch and jewelry, that Karen herself would probably have to work three jobs in order to buy something similar. Sometimes you just stank richness and she despised it, for whatever reason. Maybe because she grew up with almost nothing, and you just had your rich daddy to fund your desires. She's never seen your apartment, but she was guessing that you liked to live like you liked to dress - fancy. Everyone had their own opinion about you, and Karen's was this. She couldn't deny that she thought you were just another little slut, who liked to fuck around, but as your time here went on, Karen has only heard about that dick Wesley, and she wasn't entirely sure if you two were a serious thing or not. Not that she cared about that at the moment; or any other moment of the day. Karen had her eyes focused on one man, and one man only. Her glance fell on Matt's worried face, tracing the lines on his face, the slight scrunch of his nose, the almost faded bruise just at the end of his glasses outline. Karen wanted Matt only for herself, and if she somehow managed to get him, she wouldn't be stupid to let him go. But there was something in Matt's behaviour towards her that always left her dissappointed; he was so cold to her words, her shy, not-so-accidental touches, or invites to grab a drink, as if he was already devoted to another. From the perspective of seeing the obvious, Karen was the blind one, not Matt. Especially when she fail to notice the obvious crush that Foggy had on her.

Foggy felt devastated. Ever since he met Elena, she was nothing but only kind to him, and he genuinely wanted this case to be a success. Maybe it was particularly hard for him because in his whole life he has never had any experience related to death. His parents were alive and well, his brother... Well, he was somehow still there, and still bugging him, and his grandparents were kicking asses in their small shop. This was something new, something disgusting, something you can't grab and put in a jar and throw it away. He wished he had powers to do so, yet he was helpless, only a mere watcher.

"I'm not very good at this, out, being in public. But I felt the need to speak up for this city that I love with all my heart. No one should have to live in fear. In fear of madmen who have no regard for who they injure." A familiar voice on the TV says, and you whip your head up so fast, that it takes a moment for your vision to return to normal. There he was. The so-calledKingpin. Your eyes widen in the forgotten fear and hatred when you see his bald head on the screen. Matt, disturbed by your sudden movement, turns his head in the direction of the small TV. The camera zooms out of Fisk's face and you see that he's not alone. Foggy and Karen share a worried look when they recognise Wesley and your face becomes pale in a matter of seconds.

Matt feels the shift in the air, especially with you literally burning with hatred next to him, but he tries to focus on the next words coming from TV.

"In fear of the Devil of Hell's Kitchen, who has inflicted untold pain and suffering. This masked terrorist and psychopaths of his kind, we must show them we will not bow down to their campaign of coercion and intimidation. We must stand up to them." Fisk continues, and Matt feels his blood boiling in his veins. "As this man, my dearest friend, Leland Owlsley, a pillar in the financial community, stood up when he was recently assaulted. But this assault was for no other reason than to send me a message. A message warning me to stop."

Owsley? Was he out in public too? Who else was with Fisk there?

"To give up my dream that I have for this city. A dream of a better place. A place for its citizens to feel safe. To feel pride. I tried to do this quietly, not wanting to draw attention. The last thing I wanted was for anyone close to me to become a target from those who do not share my dream. For those who will have this city stay exactly as it is, mired in poverty and crime. But I know now it was foolish to make that decision. That I can no longer do it alone.That I cannot keep living in the shadows afraid of the light. None of us can. None of us should be forced to. We must do this together. We must resist those who would have us live in fear." Fisk takes a moment to inhale some air, and you notice the proud look on Wesley's face when he glances at Fisk as if the latter was some sort of God to him. You feel the sour drink in the back of your throat, or maybe you just imagined it, as the desire to puke becomes almost unbearable.

"My name is Wilson Fisk. And together, we can make this city a better place." The crowd starts cheering for him and you rush to the toilet on the first floor, bursting through the doors and tightly gripping the edges of the sink and splashing cold water on your face. The whole thing just took an unexpected turn. Hell's Kitchen was about to suffer even more than before.

#matt murdock #foggy nelson #marvel daredevil #matt murdock x reader #netflix daredevil #bound by law #matts superhearing complicates things for you #lawyers #daredevil #marvel #wilson fisk #james wesley #karen page

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alynnl · 6 months

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The last part of the trial and the credits were long, but I have fully experienced the finale The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles!

I finally know the truth behind The Professor case that took place ten years before the present day in-game.

Parts of it, I guessed correctly - that Genshin Asogi actually did take someone's life and Mael Stronghart was the true mastermind, but other parts really surprised me - Seishiro Jigoku was involved in the plot that ultimately killed Genshin, and Klint van Zieks was the mass murderer all along.

I also couldn't have predicted the extent of Stronghart's involvement - there was hardly a single person that he didn't blackmail or extort the whole time! Ryunosuke, Susato, Yujin, Sholmes and Iris were all very lucky in that respect.

But Genshin's incredible foresight to hide Klint's will (both a confession and his last words to his surviving family) - was truly what allowed the truth to come to light in the end.

And it was an emotionally devastating truth, both to Kazuma Asogi and Barok van Zieks.

Kazuma, who believed his father was completely blameless and convicted on forged evidence learned that Genshin actually did take Klint's life.

Barok, who idolized his brother and held him up as a paragon of justice found out that Klint took many lives (some under duress from Stronghart, who Barok trusted until now) - and he could only be stopped in a duel to the death with Genshin.

And all of this would have stayed hidden if Ryunosuke hadn't been in Great Britain, growing from an inexperienced nervous student of law to a true attorney who helps his client uncover the truth.

The truth is a guiding light, and that's demonstrated. It doesn't always lead to happiness, but it can lead to closure. And that's exactly what he brought to both Kazuma and Barok, who held onto resentment and darkness for ten long years. And those who stray from that guiding light remain in the darkness, like Stronghart, treating people as mere things to achieve their own version of "peace" and "justice" at so many others' expense.

And while the Herlock Sholmes Deus Ex Machina (the hologram broadcast to the Queen of England!) did happen out of nowhere to stop Stronghart from pulling a whole Karma Houdini, that doesn't take away from the fact that it was Ryunosuke who found the evidence.

Ryunosuke is the one who pieced together the truth that was covered up (or in Genshin Asogi's case, protected until the right time came long.) It was his effort that won the day, and all the characters acknowledge him for this. He grows and the narrative awards him for it! He knows what he's going to do with the rest of his life now - return back home to Japan as a defense lawyer.

And it's because of him that other characters have a future to think about.

Gina wants to keep the Inspector's spirit she saw in her old boss Gregson alive (but without the spying of course) after getting a final letter from him.

Van Zieks wants to publish the truth about The Professor Case, no matter what it might do to his reputation. He's almost resigned to leave London and the Prosecutor's Office presuming his name will be permanently disgraced, but it's Kazuma who encourages him to stay and continue fighting for the truth in the courtroom.

Kazuma begins to reconcile with Van Zieks, even if he can't truly forgive him for prosecuting his father. He chooses to remain a prosecutor, recognizing that he has to fight his own inner demons and do some personal growth of his own.

Iris has decided to give up the search on finding her "true" father and has acknowledged Sholmes as such, even calling him "The Greatest." But Sholmes has decided that eventually, Iris will know the truth about her parentage.

The minor one or two-case characters also reappear to give some giggles in the post-case credits scenes too.

(My little Benbaro/Harebaro heart was happy to see Albert Harebrayne return since Barok as invited him back to London to go sightseeing. Awww.)

Also the usual British Judge stepping up to declare Barok van Zieks Not Guilty was a nice touch. (I guess I did get my Turnabout Goodbyes parallel after all!)

Overall, I believe The Great Ace Attorney had a nice ending. Was it perfect? No. But did it stick to the overall themes of the story and deliver on those? Absolutely. Was I sold on the Ryunosuke - Kazuma dynamic at the very end? Certainly! Do I want Barok van Zieks to have some relief in what he believes to be a turbulent future ahead? Of course! Is Susato Mikotoba now my favorite assistant of all time? You bet!

I enjoyed the time I spent with this game as I unraveled the mystery of the main story, got to know the characters and really immersed myself in this world. I am glad I picked it up, and I know for sure I will play it again sometime in the future. The game mechanics (old and new) were enjoyable, the music was always on point and the sound effects just added to the bigger picture.

My blind play through was truly a remarkable experience. And one of my favorite Ace Attorney entries, maybe even one of my favorite Nintendo Switch games of all time.

I look forward to the Escapade chapters, which I will look into very soon!

#Lynn speaks #Lynn plays video games #The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles #The Resolve of Ryunosuke Naruhodo #I believe this one had a decent ending #Not perfect but decent #I still highly recommend it #both to Ace Attorney players #and Sherlock Holmes fans #spoilers #Klint van Zieks #Genshin Asogi #Barok van Zieks #Kazuma Asogi #Ryunosuke Naruhodo #Nintendo Switch gaming

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omgellendean · 2 years

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Please talk more about how awful Mallory is, because the fandom doesn't nearly give her enough shit for having actively kneecapped the whole group she founded and having indirectly played a part in making Billy and MM's lives worse through her unneeded secrecy.

(Sorry for taking so long: I missed the notifications about the new asks.)

I'm always ready to hate on season 3 Mallory, lol. Not that she was ever a good person, but this season really failed her as a character.

It's especially annoying because she was really, really effective at the start. Let's be honest: Mallory's primary function in the plot is to serve as the exposition machine and occasionally assign Boys new missions. And she was brilliant in this role. Since the beginning of the first season, there was a build-up to her appearance, short mentions and flashbacks here and there shedding light on the group's past and the reasons for their disbanding. When Mallory finally appeared in person in episode 8, bitter and despaired, she provided us with the final puzzle pieces for the Boys' backstory, set up Butcher vs Homelander confrontation and gave Hughie a glimpse of what he may become if he keeps going this way. She has already shown herself as hypocritical, ruthless and manipulative, but it was intentional on the writers' part and even got called out within the story.

Season 2 is, in all honesty, when the cracks started to show with this character. Obviously, the show couldn't go without the Boys having their own person in the CIA, so Mallory had to return and give heroes intel when needed. But the writers also established her as a broken person who wants nothing to do with this shit, and they weren't willing to have her move past that (understandable, considering they had a bunch of more important characters to develop). As a result, throughout the whole season, Mallory is knee-deep in the Boys' shenanigans and stays ridiculously involved in the government business for someone who's been retired for years. But she keeps complaining about it, is always ready to give up and even tries to dissuade MM from pursuing justice — after getting her own chance for vengeance on Lamplighter. She looks like an even bigger asshole than in season 1, and that says something. And I'm not even sure the writers intended for Mallory to come off like this, considering she was entrusted with Ryan's custody in the season's finale.

In season 3, Mallory is the worst. She's been hiding the crucial information from her own team for years; she's done nothing despite knowing about the working anti-supe weapon (leaving aside how stupid the whole backstory is and how, uh, naive it makes Mallory if she believed in the cover-up for almost 40 years); she throws Butcher's trauma and his efforts to overcome it back into his face sending him further into self-destruction mod; she wants the Boys to give up AGAIN despite Homlander getting even more unhinged. And then she was absolutely useless for the rest of the season, failing even to employ her CIA connections to warn Butcher and the rest about Ryan's kidnapping. I'm not even going into the implication that she let Ryan stew in guilt and fear of his own powers for over a year and did nothing about it, leaving him vulnerable to Homelander because it's just awful.

Mallory in season 3 is a terrible person, but it would be okay if it were intentional on the writers' part. But it's pretty obvious that she's supposed to be right because The Boys is the moral universe now, so Butcher is punished for trying to do something, while Mallory is rewarded by getting to see Soldier Boy put back into the box.

#answered #fullysowerewolf #negativity #the boys

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littleladymab · 3 months

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FebruarOC - Winston

I've been poking away at the Keeper Trilogy since 2010 and both attempts to write it never got very far, though I did some decent plotting with attempt 2. It involves a lot more world building and I do need to do the entire three books in an outline before I can attempt again.

Winston was one of the first pieces of the story that I had figured out! Even when I just did a few random snippets to play with tone and concept, it had always been Winston and Cora and always in a scene that ended up being the book 1 finale.

The setting and general conceit for Keeper was that there are five courts surrounding a central capitol -- Onyx, Garnet, Jade, Lapis, and Agate surrounding the Golden City. It was ruled by the Keepers, people who were selected based on some hand-wavy bullshit I never quite solidified while each of the separate courts had their own rules for how their individual leaders were chosen. Only there hadn't been a Keeper in several hundred years, so each of the courts would send someone to serve like a 5 year term on the Golden Throne and it would rotate.

The current king is from the Garnet court, and Winston is the captain of his personal guard called the Red Guard -- a collection made up of orphans from his court specifically so people couldn't come and try and bribe them with something better. They were already getting the best that the kingdom could offer and had no family that could make claims on them and take advantage of their position by the king. Winston is very dedicated to his role and to his king and takes it (and, well, everything) very seriously.

Except for when his best friend, head of the Onyx Court and next in line for the Golden Throne, tells him that she had a dream that the next keeper has been chosen. And he's like "Well, that's great, what do you want me to do about it?" Lain says, "I want you to go and get her." Which is like, honestly one of the last things he wanted to hear her say!!

Now he's caught between duty to his king and duty to the entire kingdom -- not just the Garnet Court. Because he respects King Mithra but the chance to restore order to all five courts and the capitol.... well, that would be an honor unimaginable!

Winston takes his concerns to the king's advisor (and Lain's mother) Lady Lorelei, and she encourages him to follow after Lain's vision. And so he does! He leaves without fully telling King Mithra what he's doing, but framing it as like, preparing for a "tour of the kingdom".

His story arc is, for a large part of it, playing the straight man against Lyra (his second in command, and also Lain's girlfriend) and someone for Cora to absolutely butt heads with when he pulls the "this is for the good of the kingdom and it is your destiny and so COME ON" and she's like "what the fuck has anyone ever done for me that I need to give up my whole life???"

There is also a bit of a fetch quest aspect to it that I'm looking to rework, because they need to get the approval from each of the five courts and in doing so gain their stone of power or whatever the fuck they are. Lain hands her onyx over when sending Winston off, and Agate (where Cora is from) and Lapis fall in easily. It takes a bit of work for Jade, and Garnet is extremely tricky. And then there are the three symbols that Cora must have in order to be honored as a Keeper: a sword (which is kept in the Golden palace, called The First Hand of Justice), a bell (which Lain... has? Earns? I don't remember), and a crown (which is missing). These are the items that give the books their names! Justice's Reach, Knell's Avatar, and Keeper's Crown.

I also forget HOW Winston comes into possession of the sword considering it's in the palace and, well, once Winston gets Cora and prepares to lead her to the Golden City, they get branded as traitors and ambushed! But the long and the short of it is: Cora as the Keeper has her left hand (Lain, with the bell) and her right hand (Winston, with the sword). And the collection of people who joined onto their group at each kingdom slowly become an army as it breaks into a civil war, as the True Queen versus the pretenders to the throne.

Winston also often seems a lot more serious than he is because he always seems to be considering his words very carefully and speaking in a measured tone -- this is because he speaks with a stutter! If he gives in to his emotions or speaks without thinking, then he doesn't have the chance to compose himself and work through what he wants to say.

He and Cora have the FUNNIEST meetcute because when they arrive in town, he stops by her stall at the market without knowing who she is and she flirts with him when he buys some apples or w/e, and then runs into her later when he stops by her house to talk to "the lord who owns the land" and she goes "??? it belongs to my family but if you have any questions about our taxes or w/e I can answer them...?" and he realizes who she is and says "oh, you're the lost keeper, c'mon you have a duty to the entire country" and then she tells him to fuck off.

She also nicknames him Winny, which he HATES. "Winny isn't even a real name!! It's... it's the sound a horse makes!" (Which I do have as the name for a doc where I was writing beginning of book 2 stuff)

I absolutely LOVE this story and these characters a lot, but I still had much to learn before I could write it. We'll see how things pan out in the future for allowing me time to formulate attempt #3!

I am back at it with the drabbles for the last few non-campaign characters, so you can find that for free over on patreon!

#februaroc #a lil miss original #lil miss writings #the keeper trilogy

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plasticnightmaredoll · 3 years

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So, the "Justice League" finally got its own movie, eh? Oh, that thing from 2017 was just trash. It's gone. We don't need to look at it anymore.

But in all seriousness, it's great people called out for the Zack Snyder cut of the movie and actually got it! And, yes, it is a vast improvement over the Joss Whedon cut.

Now, my feelings about the DCEU have been pretty divided:

I actually did enjoy "Man of Steel" and found Superman to be relatable and likable for once (I'm not a Superman fan and don't come for me)

"Wonder Woman" was very entertaining and easily the best entry for me in the movie series so far.

"Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" was a hot mess. Lots of good ideas but it was executed poorly. It felt kind of cheesy at times, especially that whole "Save Martha" thing. Jesse Eisenburg is not a convincing Lex Luthor. Ben Affleck is not a good actor and is a terrible Batman/Bruce Wayne. He's not as bad as George Clooney, but he's not much better either.

"Wonder Woman 1984" was a massive glow-down. Poor quality writing, Maxwell Lord was a weak villain, Cheetah was laughable, and the ending was so goddamn corny! Not to mention, it took ages for anything interesting to happen, and what was the deal with Steve Trevor possessing another dude's body? I mean...what?

Haven't seen "Suicide Squad" in its entirety but I do know and have seen enough to decide that it's a huge misstep. Haven't seen "Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)" either but I have some interest in it so perhaps someday.

Haven't watched "Aquaman" but probably will eventually but I'm just not very motivated to see it. I like Jason Mamoa as Aquaman/Arthur Curry, but...I don't know. The trailers didn't really grab my attention.

The 2017 Joss Whedon version of "Justice League" was terrible -- worse than "Batman v Superman," worse than "Wonder Woman 1984." I thought the movie moved too quickly, lacked proper character development, and had some bad CGI (I mean, Mustache Gate, am I right?)

Onto the Synder Cut for "Justice League!" Spoilers ahead, of course:

These are really a collection of thoughts, opinions, and observations I had while watching the movie. I have only seen the 2017 film once and honestly don't want to watch it ever again, not even to "refresh my memory" of some details.

Steppenwolf

Steppenwolf was such a pitiful villain in the Whedon Cut. The CGI for him was terrible, and he looked like some weird dude in armor. His personality and motives were paper thin as well. He was a throw-away, token villain, and the only things memorable about him was his name and voice.

In the Snyder Cut, not only was Steppenwolf's CGI much more refined, his character design was imposing. His armor seemed to be alive, too, always shifting slightly, this way and that, which was an impressive sight. His motives, while nothing too deep or extraordinary, gave him a little more depth: he pissed off Darkseid and had to make up for it, and was clearly afraid of what could happen to him if he failed.

The name and voice obviously were still memorable but combined with the other improvements to his character, they were icing on the cake.

That being said, I don't think Steppenwolf is as intriguing or even remotely sympathetic as Loki and Thanos in the MCU.

Darkseid

Was Darkseid even mentioned in the Whedon cut? I can't remember and I don't want to watch that shitty movie again just to find out. However, I don't recall Darkseid making an appearance or even being spoken of in the 2017 version. Now, I haven't read DC (or Marvel) comics, so I don't know a lot about the guy, but he is supposedly one of the more iconic villains.

His motives are pretty simple, though: command and conquer. There isn't a lot of depth so far in the movies but he does pose a much larger threat than Steppenwolf did. You could tell Steppenwolf was intimidated by Darkseid, who was about as cold and menacing as they come. He's a complete villain in that regard, having no emotions and only seeking power for himself.

He looked great in the Snyder Cut. He was actually really fucking scary-looking. He made the beefcake Steppenwolf look like a puppy.

I'm glad that Darkseid made an appearance, even if he didn't fight the Justice League. It alludes to a much broader story, as well as foreshadows an epic boss fight down the line -- assuming the Snyder Cut is popular enough to convince the studios to make a direct sequel and not just abandon things in favor of some sort of soft reboot.

Superman/Clark Kent/Henry Cavill/Mustache Gate

Let's get this out of the way: Henry Cavill is hot af.

Ok, now that we got that out of the way, hooray for Snyder for getting rid of those nasty reshoot scenes involving Henry's CGI'd mouth! Can't say I missed them, you know? I mean, in the 2017 Whedon Cut, you could always spot reshoot scenes based on whether or not Henry's mouth looked normal and totally strange.

I think the 2017 movie had Superman grab Batman by the neck and ask, "Tell me: Do you bleed?" I'm relieved that was removed from the Synder Cut because it added too much of an evil tone to Superman, and we could clearly tell he was most upset with Batman upon being revived.

One massive problem with the 2017 movie was that it made every member of the Justice League look like bumbling idiots without Superman's help. It was downright embarrassing and unrealistic. I mean, you're telling me that Wonder Woman, a goddess, can't take on Steppenwolf? Or Victor Stone, a cyborg with incredible abilities? Making Superman key to winning isn't the problem, it's how it was done in the 2017 movie. He's already OP but that shouldn't mean his comrades have to be useless in comparison.

Superman was allowed to be OP in the Snyder Cut without making his team look incompetent. Like in the Avengers movies, everyone in the Justice League had a purpose and all of them worked together to defeat Steppenwolf. Superman obviously was key to winning, but, again, it wasn't like he was the only capable one during the battle.

I did like the black suit. It's kind of ominous but also very cool at the same time. But is it also foreshadowing something? I don't know...I haven't read the comics so I really don't have any idea lol.

Batman/Bruce Wayne/Batfleck

One glaring issue I still have is Ben Affleck is a mediocre actor at best and he's a terrible Bruce Wayne/Batman. I mean, they couldn't have found anyone else? Someone with, like, good acting abilities?

Martian Manhunter

This whole time -- THIS WHOLE GOTDAMM TIME -- Martian Manhunter was hiding in plain sight! General Swanwick, who I remember from "Man of Steel," IS Martian Manhunter. I didn't see that coming. I mean, I knew Martian Manhunter would appear in the Snyder Cut but I didn't know he'd have an alternate identity, let alone that of an existing character in the DCEU.

As much as I did like seeing him, I am glad he didn't play a big part because the movie already has plenty of characters as is, and introducing yet another one could have slowed things down and taken away from developing the plot.

The Runtime/Pacing

I mentioned already that the Whedon Cut felt rushed and needed much more time to develop its characters and plot. While I had doubts about whether or not making "Justice League" four hours long would be a good idea, it turns out that it was just what the story needed.

Character development was actually existent, and Cyborg/Victor Stone received a detailed backstory, and Flash/Barry Allen got some extra tidbits added to his character's story/background as well.

I actually thought Victor was a fascinating (if a bit tragic) character in the Whedon cut and was disappointed that he just sort of, like, popped up and fought alongside the other Justice League members with the tiniest amount of depth.

Despite an epic 4-hour runtime, it didn't feel slow, nor did it feel like any scenes were "filler." Every scene had a purpose and kept the story moving at a steady, comprehensible pace. It felt more like a 2.5-3 hour movie, honestly, which is a feat since pacing can often be one of a film's biggest issues ("Avengers: Endgame" also accomplished this feat with its 3-hour runtime feeling more like 2-2.5 hours but with no negative side effects of that). Breaking the movie into chapters, including an epilogue was a tad strange because it's not a very common thing, but I think it helped break up the epic 4 hours into separate, manageable but still cohesive pieces. Also, they helped easily transition from one portion to the next smoothly without any awkward cuts.

The Flash/Barry Allen/Ezra Miller

Barry still amused me in the Whedon Cut. He brought some good-natured humor and charm to the movie, preventing it from being too brooding and intense.

I think Ezra is a talented actor and does well in the Barry Allen role but he is, unfortunately, a problematic person. I mean, if he gets recast, he gets recast but hopefully, they pick someone else who has some acting abilities worth noting (i.e. Not a Ben Affleck type of actor)

The Final Battle

It was a huge improvement over the 2017 cut, as everyone was key to winning the final battle, not just Superman. It is meant to be a team of costumed heroes defeating a villain, not just one OP member of the team outdoing everyone else.

That being said, I felt that the final battle was a little bit anti-climatic. I don't know what it was but I just thought that it would be longer? I expected more to happen? More fighting? Not sure how to describe it, but I do feel like it wasn't as impressive as it could have been.

The Epilogue

A dystopian future involving an evil Superman and Joker somehow working WITH Batman was just...crazy. I mean, evil Superman, I can believe, but Joker and Batman working together (even reluctantly) is quite a sight.

Based on what I've been reading, this nightmare Bruce has could be setting up not one but two sequels for "Justice League." I would like to see how things will play out even if things get kind of dark. I'm getting the impression that Darkseid will kill Lois Lane, thus breaking Superman emotionally and making him compliant. That is unless Bruce intervenes in this timeline and prevents that from happening...but at the expense of his own life. Oh dear...

I definitely enjoyed the Zack Snyder version of "Justice League," and would definitely watch it again and again and again. I already have forgotten the majority of the Whedon Cut, and after seeing Synder's version, I think the 2017 movie will be rendered null and void. I hope it is just expelled from the DCEU canon entirely. That, and we get the "Justice League" sequels, preferably from Zack Snyder (Say what you want but I think he is a pretty good director for the most part and seems to really care about this work).

I honestly want to see a fight between the Justice League and Darkseid because I think that's what we're trying to build up to, and seeing as how Darkseid is one of the legendary villains in the DC comics, I would be extremely disappointed if this doesn't come to pass.

Also, as much as I like Batman/Bruce Wayne, seeing him sacrifice himself to save the team, including Lois and thus Superman's sanity, would be something else. It would bring everyone even closer together, for one, and I think that the negativity shared between Batman and Superman in the past would be completely forgiven. I'm not saying there isn't forgiveness now, but dying to save Superman's wife would change everything....if that makes sense? Does it make sense? I'm terrible at explaining my thoughts sometimes.

#justice league #zack snyder #dceu #snyder cut #zack snyder's justice league #superman #wonder woman #the flash #cyborg #martian manhunter #darkseid #steppenwolf #batman #barry allen #bruce wayne #diana prince #victor stone #aquaman #arthur curry

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fascinatingbonanza · 3 years

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Bonanza chronology

(so far, which is the first 5 seasons)

As someone quite interested in history, I always enjoy stories set in the past and I always like to know when exactly in the past they are set. So recently I found myself trying way to much to figure out when does "Bonanza" actually take place. And It seems to be a far more difficult problem than I initially thought. But here's what I've got so far, after watching 5 seasons.

But then, as I was watching the series episode after episode, I quickly realised, that this 'canonical chronology' is bullshit and that time in "Bonanza" works in mysterious and extremely convoluted ways.

Generally the series takes place roughly somewhere in the 1860s. The first half of the decade to be a bit more precise, somewhere right before and during the American Civil War (something that is occasionally brought up in the episodes). That's literally what wikipedia says. However, as I dived a little into the fanpages and whatnot, I discovered that there seems to be a some sort of a more specific, canonical, chronology that basicly says that the pilot ("A Rose for Lotta") is set in 1859, then the first season is 1860, the second - 1861, the third - 1862 and so on.

(To be honest, that's quite cool actually, because it would mean that the series takes place exactly 100 years before it's premiere)

To realize that the canonical chronology just doesn't apply to the actual show, you only have to watch the first two seasons, where some episodes have literally a written year at the beginning.

We have it in season's one "San Francisco":

And that's ok, I mean, yeah, the first season (supposedly set in 1860) is coming to an end and now we are getting into the next year. It makes sense.

It still makes sense in the second season where we have "The Courtship", again with a date at the beginning:

Don't know why would they say it again, but all right, it's still 1861, no problem here.

And then, just two episodes later, comes "Bank Run" with this audacity:

What on earth happened here??? They just totally skipped 1862 and now we're a year later, with no explanation or a reason. And that's the moment when you realize that there is no such thing as 'linear chronology' in "Bonanza".

Especially when you also take into account all those stories involving real historical figures which were quite often in the first season. Sometimes the show just doesn't really care about historical facts and for example Lotta Crabtree (from "A Rose for Lotta") in 1859 would be only 12 years old. "The Julia Bulette story" is a bit closer to history altrough Bulette's death was changed a lot as in reality she died in 1867. Mark Twain, who appeard in "Enter Mark Twain", in reality visited Virginia City in 1863, so again, why is this a part of the first season which takes place in 1860?

Then you also have episodes which literally bring up real historical events, but they do it in such a clumsy way, that it's just painful. The one episode that strikes me the most with it is propably "A House Divided" which obviously quotes Lincoln's famous speech. Ben Cartwright even reads this speech in a brand new newspaper, but guess what, it's a speech from 1858, which is before the Comstock Lode was even discovered, so how can this whole episode be set around supplying the south with silver?! (But since it is about supplying the south with silver, I assume it must be around 1861, right at the start of the war)

After the first season "Bonanza" slowed down a bit with those 'history lessons', so in the second one there isn't really anything that could suggest any particular date (apart from "The Courtship" and "Bank Run" that I mentioned earlier). And maybe events from the second season do actually happen in 1861, as the canonical chronology would like it to.

But then comes my beloved third season, and boi oh boi, does it make an even greater mess. In "The Frenchman" the title character (apparently a reincarnation of Francois Villion) reads his last poem and starts with:

So we go back in time now? How nice. October 17th 1860, they couldn't be more explicit with it.

Towards the end of the season, we also get a little throw back to Bonanza's history lessons with "Look to the Stars" which tells a story of young Albert Michelson, future physicist and a Nobel Prize winner, who happend to live in Virginia City somewhere in the 1860s. The episode specifically focuses on his efforts to become a student at the Annapolis Naval Academy, which he started in 1869, so we can assume that this episode takes place around 1868-69. That's again a long jump in time.

The fourth season gives us even more specific dates and events to go over. First of all, right at the beginning, we have "The First Born", personally one of my very favourites, but that's not important here. The important thing is that Clay tells Joe that he was fighting in a war in Mexico:

But you know, that war in Mexico was kinda spread over time (from 1861 to 1867) so just mentioning it isn't quite enough to give us a more narrow period of time. Fortunately, Clay later tells just enough detail to do it:

So it's not all over yet, it's just that moment when the royalists won and the French took over Mexico for a while. From my very general knowlege about this I can guess that it's somewhere after 1863 then. Not much though. I like to think it's 1863 or 1864.

But all right, that may be to much guessing. Let's focus on those more obvious hints.

"The War Comes to Washoe" is one of those episodes that mention the Civil War and this time it tells a story of Nevada becoming a state. There's that voting and all, and basically it means that it's 1864, because that is when Nevade became a state (or maby 1863, because from thet voting to actually becoming a state it could've been a longer process). Just like that.

But the one episode that surprised me the most with the fact that it gives us a specific date is "The Last Haircut". And you can miss it, but right at the beginning we see an interesting banner:

So it's February 2nd, 1868... Well, that was easy. But again, a huge jump in time.

The fifth season greets us with another completely nonsensical historical figure appearance in "A Passion for Justice". From what I know, Charles Dickens never went west during his visits to America, but whatever. They wanted Charles Dickens in Virginia City so they put Charles Dickens in Virginia City. For the record, he was in America in 1842 and in 1868, so I guess we can pretend it's his 1868 visit. But still, it's just absurd.

But this season is mostly known for it's Laura and Will subplots, and you know what? We can actually precisely tell when it takes place. At the beggining of "The Waiting Game" we see Laura's husband's grave:

And look! February 20th, 1861! So that's when it all started. Later Adam says that it's been four months since Frank died, so we have June 1861. Then in "The Pressure Game" they celebrate the 4th of July, and in "Triangle" it is said that it had been a year since Adam gave Peggy her pony so now it must be around June 1862. And since at this point it all conects to Will's subplot, then "Return to Honor", "The Roper" and "The Companeros" must've happen somewhere inbetween.

Meanwhile there's also "The Prime of Life" about building the transcontinental railroad, and since we know that it reached Reno in 1868, then I guess the episode must be set somewhere right before that.

And to top it all off, in the season's finale, "Walter and the Outlaws", we get that one useless piece of information that Obie had last seen his sister in 1843, and it's been 16 years since then. So by easy maths we can say that the episode is set in 1859, just like the show's pilot.

And that's all for the first five seasons. What we get form it, is that "Bonanza" diefinietly doesn't have any chronology and that this canonical one is just right out of the blue.

To sum it up I can say that this show is just made out of random Catwright's adventures from several years and in no chronological order whatsoever. It's funny when you start to think about it and for example realise that when the Laura/Will story takes place, many of the adventures from previous seasons hasn't even happen yet.

Of course there's also four prequels that tell the stories about Ben's wives, but I think I'll leave it for some other time, because while talking about it, I would also have to talk about the ages of each Cartwright and generally it's a whole different complicated subject.

Also, if now there are episodes happening as late as 1867 and 1868, then when exactly did Adam leave the Ponderosa? Well that's something I'll have to think about while watching the 6th season. I hope there will be some answers to that.

[English isn't my first language so please excuse any mistakes. And I know there must be some.]

#bonanza #rambling on the show and episodes #60s tv #60s tv shows

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adragonhoardingstories · 4 years

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Of Blood and Bonds - Chapter 5

"Father you know I respect you." Damian said and everyone at the dining table stilled as they were about to get up and leave. "But I must admit, as my brothers would say, you've majorly fucked up."

Bruce sighed. He had thought about that - had Alfred scold him for having benched Damian - for doing as Damian had said and taking out his anger about his own failures on his other children. But that didn't make this any easier.

"Damian I know you're mad I didn't tell you about your sister-"

"Oh this is not about that. Well not entirely. They are connected but this is not about Marinette alone." When no one spoke, he took it as his cue to continue.

"You saw in her files that there were some vague details about her being possessed by an akuma. Did you figure out what they are? Because I have an its not pretty. Actually, it's bad enough to warrant an intervention of the Justice League as a whole but my sister tells me that they were told not to waste the JL's time."

His youngest's face was worryingly blank. It reminded him of all the times he was set upon something and right now it seemed that his new focus was his older sister. Bruce supposed, he should be thankful that Damian's attention towards her was not of the murderous kind.

"What do you mean?" He made sure to keep his voice free from emotions.

"From what she told me, they asked for help several times until someone from the JL dismissed their problems as a prank, a joke without any investigation or anything about their claims."

Someone was going to be hearing from Batman soon.

"And what about the akumas?"

"It's enough to need more than one member of the JL. I've see a video of one of the attacks, it's...horrifying and according to Marinette it was one of the tamer ones."

"Do you have them?" His sons all looked annoyed and he knew they were probably thinking that he was letting superhero work take precedence over his family again. But that was how he worked. He didn't know what to do about the situation with Marinette but this - this could find a solution to.

"There are videos of them online."

Damian seemed to take that as his cue to get up and walk away.

"I'll play the videos in the cave."

Marinette hadn't necessarily had the best time in the last years but one thing he had definitely learned was who were her real friends and who weren't.

It was before the worst month of her life but things had already started taking a turn for the worse for her at that point.

Her so called friends all started to believe Lila over her, started to - as she now knew - emotionally blackmail her, only gave her the time of the day whenever she did something for them or to scold her for whatever she apparently did for poor Lila.

She was oh so tired and every second she wasted made her feel more guilty.

Hawkmoth had come back more enraged than ever after the Miracle Queen incident and she had done the mistake of lending the more Miraculous out.

She had given Kagami and Luka both different Miraculous for them to fight alongside her because they both have strong spirits and a good resonance with several kwamis but... let's just say that she would never forgive herself for what they had to experience because of her.

In desperation, she tried to find other holders that she hadn't used before who resonated but that...that had been a huge mistake. She almost lost more than one Miraculous that day.

She was their Guardian. And that day she vowed that she would die first before letting something happen to the Kwamis.

She was fighting alone now. Chat Noir...Chat Noir was even more pushy about revealing themselves after the the chaos that had occured. He hindered more than he helped, never showing up on time.

Things had come to head one day as she walked into class. The whole incident had involved a bunch of sheep and a ripped sketchbook - hers to be precise.

It proved to actually be a relief to let go if them. She had never realized how much their 'friendship' had been dragging her down.

I got permission to use this fic as a reference for her backstory so check it out. Thanks for that btw.

That experience proved to be helpful later when she felt like there was no one she could trust.

Apprenticeship with Master Fu had since long taught her that it was better to feel than to see. She had learnt to recognise auras rather than faces and in the end that might have been her saving grace - or well at least the start of her path back to sanity.

She had learnt to see and remember the auras of her friends rather than anything else because afterall the soul didn't lie.

After everything, well her reliance on auras had only increased.

Meeting her brothers had been amazing and even more so now that it seemed that they wanted to have a relationship with her.

But one things that bothered her were their auras.

It wasn't that they were bad - it was that they were scarred, hardened and she could basically see that they had suffered in the past.

The worst of them were probably Jason and Damian. Their auras made it very clear that they had been dipped in the Lazarus pits.

Jason...Jason's soul had been corrupted at such a point that she doubted that the pits had been used for anything less than bringing him back from the dead.

And Damian - Damian's soul seemed to have some of the pits as a foundation. She gathered that he had been dunked into the pools more than once when he was a child. There was something else in his aura too that showed that he had died not long ago too.

There was also another aura that seemed to have to have linked with both of them which made her sure of their last fates and Marinette shuddered to think what had happened to them.

She had to remind herself that the past was in the past and while she couldn't change that, she could at least help them have a better future.

So, one could say, that she was nervous for this upcoming dinner.

The dinner didn't go as expected - at all.

Firstly, they were late. All of her brothers and sister were late, very very late. Marinette was not impressed, especially give that Damian wasn't answering his phone.

But this was Gotham, the few kwamis she had brought with her reasoned, there was probably a problem and wasn't it better that were safe inside than stuck outside and hurt?

Just as she was about to say screw it and transform using the fox Miraculous to see if she could help the bats, she felt the magic around the house shift.

Marinette focused in the disturbance and closed her eyes reaching out for their auras. She soon snapped her eyes open and let a smile come on her face - she knew those auras. But why were they entering from the window?

Marinette shrugged it off and signalled the kwamis to hide while she went to greet them.

She was not ready for the sight that she came upon. Her siblings were all in a state of disarray and it looked like they were trying to be silent.

They were of course failing miserably given what seemed to be a bullet wound in Jason and a stab would in Dick and the rest of them all seemed to have been beat up to at least some degree.

"What the fuck?" Marinette felt like the situation called for her language to be excused.

They all froze in place before slowly turning to look at her.

"Uh hey." Dick or should she say Nightwing because apparently she wasn't stressed enough gave her a short wave.

She cursed and buried her face in her hands. "Of course I can't have normal siblings."

"Siblings?" Black Bat seemed suprised. She couldn't recognize her aura, Marinette decided that she must have been Cassandra.

"You must be confused ma'am." Red Robin jumped in and Marinette rolled her eyes. "I'm not stupid Timothy." And then just to prove her point she point at each one of them in turn. "Jason, Dick, Damian and who I'm guessing is Cassandra."

"What makes you say that?" Tim seemed to be ever the player of words.

She sighed, knowing they wouldn't budge until she proved that she truely believed her words.

"Well, why else would you be here?"

"Uh because it was the nearest place we found to nurse our wounds and last time we checked this place was abandoned?"

"Let's say that's true. Wouldn't it make more sense for you to go a place where you could actually have access to supplies to treat your wounds? Not to mention the fact that that-" she pointed at the hole in Jason's shoulder. "-is a bullet wound and I heard no gunshot. And lastly, what a coincidence it is that Black Bat who is known to work in Hong Kong comes back to Gotham at the same time as my sister Cassandra who from what I've heard also is currently living in Hong Kong too."

No one replied.

"So do you want to continue arguing or are you idiots going to let me help you before you bleed all over my floor."

Unsurprisingly it was Damian who moved the first - it made sense, he was the one who had spent most time with her and at least had a modicum of trust in her.

He removed his mask and met her eyes. "Do you have a first-aid kit?"

She nodded. "Get in the bathroom and get those two in the tub." She nodded towards Dick and Jason. I'll bring it to you."

Marinette hurried to her bed room to find her probably over-packed first aid kit. She had brought it for herself so that in case of a bad akuma attack she could take care of her wounds - after all her cure took care of everyone else before her, she had enough scars to prove that not that she could distinguish them from those the cat had given her.

She was glad to see that they had followed her instructions. Jason and Dick were seated in her honestly huge tub and they along with the rest had made themselves comfortable, having discarded their armor.

She placed the first-aid kit down and kneeled next to Dick. She felt that the stove would in the stomach took more precedence.

Jason reached out for the kit but Marinette batted his hand away.

"You're injured, sit down quietly." She snapped and to everyone's surprise, he did as he was told.

Marinette started treating their wounds, thanking the kwamis that she had done a medical course as soon as she had realised that her wounds could not heal from the cure.

She had finally taken care of the more dangerous wounds and Marinette had enough of them squirming so she broke the silence "So, why in the world did you come here instead of going to your hyper-tech batcave with most certainly more medical facilities than my humble abode?"

She had to supress a smile as the boys looked among themselves. Finally it was Cassandra that replied.

"Did not want to miss dinner. You."

"Well you were already two hours late, you could just have sent me a text that you'd be a little more late."

"Didn't want to take chance."

Marinette smiled up at her. "Well I'm done, come on, I'll get you some clothes to change into."

"I don't think you'll have anything that will fit us."

"I'm a designer." She called over her shoulder. "I always have spares. Anyways, Cassandra-"

"Cass."

"Right, well Cass come with me, we're about the same size, you can take something of mine."

She led Cass to her bedroom and guided her to her wardrobe while she picked something for the boys.

She totally hadn't hoped to see her siblings during this trip and had this made something for them. Nope. Absolutely not.

She handed each of them their clothes. "Choose a room if you want, I have more than enough of them, then come down, I'm re-heating the food."

She smiled at Damian as he came down the stairs. "I tried my hand at some Arabic food. I hope you like it."

The boy looked awed. He walked to her and gave her a hug. "You're my new favourite sibling." Marinette laughed and pressed a kiss in his hair. "I love you too little brother."

She heard the disbelieving whisper of Demon Spawn? And looked up to see the rest.

She squeezed Damian's shoulder one last time before she pulled away, guiding him to sit down.

"Well dig in. You must be famished after your fight."

They did exactly that and soon were making their appreciation known.

"It's the first time I've attempted Arabic food, I don't know if I got the spices right.*

"It's delicious Pixie Pop. Don't worry.*

"Todd's right Mari. I haven't eaten anything this good since I came to Gotham."

"Really? Alfred didn't immediately dote on you and cook you all the food you wanted. "

He looked uncomfortable. "I was a difficult child back then."

"Was?" Jason snorted while Dick elbowed him.

Casssandra intervened. "You good at cleaning wounds. Hands stable."

"Yes well unfortunately it's not the first time I've had to do this."

"How come?"

"Did Damian tell you about the akuma attacks?" They nodded. "Well, Paris had since adapted to handle the akuma attacks. A lot of people have taken medical courses for extensive first aid to be able to help the unfortunate victims of an akuma."

"I thought that your superhero reversed all the damage."

"Well yeah. But Ladybug was insistent to make it clear that they couldn't bank everything on her. If she's taken down, everything's lost."

"This has been going for how many years. How do you still trust that hero?"

"And for how many years have the Joker been spreading his terror?" She asked drily and saw several of them recoil - Jason and Tim especially.

"Ladybug is doing all that she can only get so far with Chat Noir around."

"Chat Noir? I thought that he was her partner?"

"He's supposed to be but we'll these days he causes more trouble than he stops. People hope he doesn't show up because the battles are always over quicker when he's not there." She could see that they wanted to ask more but number one she didn't want to talk about Chat Noir and number two she felt like if she continued talking, she would slip up and say something she shouldn't know and the risk of them catching it was greater since they were themselves heroes.

"And anyways, Hawkmoth only comes out in a blue moon and that's only when he has a lot of faith in his plans."

"So there are a lot of these akuma attacks?"

"I guess it's kind of become a daily event by this point. People plan stuff taking it into consideration and if we're unlucky, there will be more than one in a day."

"So what type of akumas are there?"

"It depends really over what you've been akumatized. We've had a Pharaon, a Mime, Mr Pigeon and Mr Rat as well as Syren in the first year."

"Those seem like... interesting characters." Jason said.

"Wait until you hear this." Marinette snorted. "We had a Batman knock-off once, Owlman - he had his own electronic butler and everything."

The bats shared a look before they all bursted out laughing at once.

How could they not, imagining Bruce's face upon learning of this?

"You need to tell us this story."

Marinette was more than eager to comply.

It's too long so I'm gonna reblog the rest

#MLB X DC #torture #mentions of rape #lila salt #adrien salt #maribat #platonic daminette

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donny-donuts · 4 years

Text

July 27th, Day 2

Plain / Purpose

@serohantaweek

"Don't tell me, you made me run all the way here for...this?”

Sero watched in disbelief the mess surrounding him with an irritated smile on his face.

Just a few moments ago, he was chilling out after a whole afternoon spent visiting some of the exhibitions on I-Island.

Suddenly, he received a strange message on his phone, a few lines that had worried the boy a lot.

Apparently, one of his friend's desperately asked for help because "currently involved in a troubled situation".

Wondering about what "the trouble" could be, Hanta rushed to an extremely expensive hotel searching for the room #302.

However, once he entered, things seemed not so terrible as expected.

"Sorry, I panicked” - Todoroki apologized himself - "And I may have lied"

"At least, you realized it"- commented Sero ironically - "So, why was I summoned?"

"Since I never dressed up for a formal event in my entire life, I figured out your assistance for choosing fancy clothes is necessary"

Hanta took a great effort to not laugh, especially when Shouto explained to him how he had accepted to participate in a really exclusive party with his usual stern attitude.

Although Todoroki started learning social skills after the Sport Festival, this boy couldn't be less ready for an event like that.

"Damn, I should be a sort of God to do such a thing"

"Actually, Ultra Analysis Book gave to "Cellophane" an A in “Fashion Consciousness”. Therefore, you're more than qualified for the task" - said Todoroki surprised that the other boy didn't know his own stats

"...It sounds like one of Midoriya's notebooks ..." - commented Sero awkwardly

"Also, a "good informer" told me about your "Plan B" in case you failed to pass U.A.'s Entrance Exam"

Hanta chuckled and shook his head: he surely needed to be careful in the future because, even if Tokoyami was able to keep a secret, the same didn't apply to Dark Shadow.

That aside, Sero had a knack called "stylish sense" who helped him to realize the sketches for his Hero Costume and his helmet.

So, if he didn't become a hero, he'll eventually work in the fashion's industry.

"I've been exposed, huh" - Hanta whispered showing his characteristic grin

"It seems so"

"Well then, I'm going to perform a miracle! My purpose right now is to find an outfit that match with two different hair and eyes colours"

"Thank you for dealing with my little "panic attack"

The black haired boy laughed again remembering his friend's behavior.

Then, he walked around the room, picking up and checking accurately every piece of clothing spread on the floor.

After two hours, Sero succeeded to put together something acceptable consisting of a silver jacket and trousers, a dark blue shirt, a red tie and black shoes.

"Here we are!" - exclaimed Hanta with joy - "This dress will do you justice in every possible scenario. Epic fights included."

"Why did you emphasize the last part like you're sure I'll end up into a fight?"

"Lack of trust, I guess" - he joked with a cheerful voice - "Anyway, try the thing out and be amazed!"

Later on, Todoroki spent several minutes in front of the mirror admiring himself.

"Ultra Analysis Book speaks the truth, after all. I'm glad Midoriya have lend it to me”

#SeroHantaWeek #sero hanta #hanta sero #serohantaweek #sero hanta week #boku no hero academia #my hero academia #bnha #mha #shouto todoroki #todoroki shouto #todoroki

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1rsoldiersince2012 · 1 year

Text

Bound by Law (Matt Murdock x Reader)

Words: 2420 (chapter 14)

Summary:

UPDATES EVERY FRIDAY

Find my other accounts on ao3 and wattpad! <3

ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/users/1rSoldierSince2012

wattpad: https://www.wattpad.com/user/1rsoldierSince2012

14. Back When It All Made Sense

Matt was furious and felt like he was literally burning inside. Pretending to be calm while he left the radar of your car, he pulled into an alley known only to him and probably some drug addicts, he stopped and started breathing through his nose like an angry bull. The dumpster became a scapegoat to absorb all Matt's anger, which he vented by hitting the side of the dumpster repeatedly until he felt the metallic smell of blood in the air and on the tip of his tongue. Todd had to yet to face the wrath of the devil, but here Matt faced a problem - neither he knew how this scumbag looked, nor he knew where he lived. He can't ask Foggy to find him. In fact, he can't ask anyone at all.

After leaning face towards the wall for a while, and releasing a long breath, a thought finally occurred: what would someone like Todd do on Friday evening? Go to a bar and try to get laid. He remembered you mentioning Josie's, so perhaps luck will be on his side again tonight.

Yes, Matt called you in his arms, even for a moment, luck. He couldn't deny anymore that he felt the need to breathe in your expensive perfume once again, he couldn't lie to himself that you were his biggest mystery now. He wanted nothing more than to hold you tight in his arms and protect you from this world, although you were more than capable enough to kick someone's ass if needed.

Matt slightly shakes his head to himself and finally pulls away from the cold wall, wiping the bloody knuckles into a handkerchief and making himself presentable again. He had to focus on how to make Todd pay. He could just beat the shit out of him, but it would be too suspicious on how he learned about the whole thing and Matt would push you into a very uncomfortable situation, again. Slowly dragging his feet back to his apartment, Matt was debating on his choices and weighting each outcome, convincing himself that he would do the same for anyone else, although deep down inside he knew that all this effort was only for you.

***

Not in the mood for food, only for alcohol and still burning with anger, you were lost on the Internet, reading and re-reading the legislation, all which you knew almost by heart. Kitchen turned out to be once again the best place for work, although personal matter shouldn't be called work, you treated it like another case, because you knew how quickly feelings got the best of you.

A couple of hours later, you managed to pull out some good stuff, and decided to call your dad. Just for assurance, you told yourself. Although, you just wanted to talk to someone who understood you better than anyone else. Three rings later, a rough voice was finally heard in your ear:

"Yeah?"

"Hey, dad, it's me." you smile immediately.

"Oh, hey, honey."

"You still didn't put the names on your contacts, right?" You tease and a heavy sigh on the other side is heard along with your mother's laughter somewhere far away.

"You know that I don't understand how to use that damn thing."

"Dad, you're not that old to not know how to use a smartphone."

"I only use this because you gifted it to me. Through mail, by the way." He scolds slightly, not letting you forget that you haven't found enough time to visit them in the past couple of months.

"Dad, I already apologized like a million times, complain to Hogarth for giving me a case on your birthday."

"I don't care about that woman, I only care about my daughter, who has the audacity to not visit her parents and hides behind her work."

Now it's your turn to sigh heavily, and take out a beer bottle out of the fridge. "Dad, I'll come for the Holidays, I promise... Maybe even earlier, since I no longer work regularly."

"What do you mean by that?" The interrogation skills from years working in the police force kick in, and you hear a change in his voice, which becomes strict and professional.

"They offered me a new way of working. I work as a sort of assistant now." You sigh again, opening the beer bottle loudly, which doesn't go unnoticed by your dad.

"What's in it for you?"

"They promised to pay more."

"Have they?"

"I only started like a week ago, or maybe later..." you try to remember how long ago you were brought into another affair in the firm, feeling like all the days are the same and nothing makes much sense, "it doesn't matter, honestly." You finish desperately before you concern your father any further.

"I'm sure they are afraid to lose you now, especially after that trial was shown on a TV."

That meant - I'm really proud of you, daughter, but my manliness won't allow me to be so expressive. However, you had to admit, your mother managed to soften your dad a little over the last couple of years.

"Yeah, I guess... Listen, dad, I'm kind of dealing with a case now-"

"On a Friday evening, you should be going out, y/n!" Your mother shouts loudly in your ear, and you almost drop your phone on the counter.

"Jesus, mom, no need to shout, it's a new phone."

"She's telling the truth, I want to live up to see your husband." Your dad says in a scolding tone again, and you roll your eyes slightly.

"So you could put him in a cell on our wedding night?"

"My biggest dream, that's for sure."

"Dad, I thought you got rid of that dream, I'm not 17 anymore."

"Doesn't change the fact that I can easily do it, all I have to do is call Robert, and he would deal with everything." He huffs a laugh, and for a moment your thoughts wander to Robert - a boy from your neighbourhood, who thought of your dad as a hero, after he managed to put in jail the biggest gang of the 90s, and said that one day he'll be just like him.

"Robert? How's he doing?" You ask cautiously, not trying to raise suspicions on why you suddenly became so interested in the man from the precinct.

"He's actually running for sheriff's office in Brooklyn."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, chances are big he's going to win, so much charisma in one place just can't go unnoticed. In fact, I saw him the other day."

"Really? You what, went to Brooklyn?" You laugh.

"It's not as far as you imagine, kid, a couple of hours in the car, and you're in the Bronx. Rob came to visit us." Your father falls silent, and you know what that silence means - the guy bothered to come all the way from Brooklyn, and you can't come from Hell's Kitchen.

"What was the occasion? Meeting the force buddies? I thought Robert was too young for those things." You huff a laugh and take a big gulp of cold beer, savouring the feeling of it going down your throat.

"No, he came by to visit, asked about you too. I assume you're no longer in touch after what happened." He says this as a statement, not a question, and it takes you a moment to realize that this was just a disappointing tone.

"Yeah, I thought you already knew that, 5 years have passed since I last saw him." You say, saddened a bit.

"You do remember that you were merely a guest at home during college, right?"

"Yes, dad, I do." You sigh again, this phone call turned out to be more depressive than you expected.

"He's grown into a nice man." Of course, your dad always wanted you to marry Robert, and obviously he wasn't going to let go of that thought any sooner.

"What'd you tell him?" You disregard the last statement swiftly, closing the computer with Todd's mugshot-like photo on the screen.

"I told him that my dear daughter is so busy that she forgot her old man-"

"Daaad, please-"

"I also gave him your contacts, because he wanted to visit you."

"You- what?" You stand up from the stool, and start pacing in the kitchen.

"Listen, you have to open yourself up for others, enough time has passed."

"I am opening myself to others... At least starting to." You softly bang your fist against the cold window, enjoying the dull sound, thoughts wandering to Matt, then to James for a split second.

"Just... Be nice to him if he comes, although he's quite busy with the campaign now. Remember, he was there for you when-"

"Okay, okay, got it, not to be myself then. Dad, I..." You inhale sharply, realizing that this conversation is no longer in your favour. "I'll visit you sometime, goodnight."

"Think about what I said, night." He turns off his phone, and you drop yours on the counter loudly, cooling off before you have another breakdown.

***

"So, I told him, either you stop whining like a baby and show them that you're the man I presented to the court, or you rot in jail for 10 years, guess what he chose." The annoying voice stands out among the chatter of the full bar, and Matt puts his focus on it for a moment, leaning on the chimney on the rooftop of Josie's building.

Few seconds later, a soft voice of a woman answers, "the first option, right?"

"See, honey, you're smart, not only beautiful, but have brains too, because poor Charlie didn't have any." The man fakes a sigh, and then laughs, "that idiot really chose jail, just because he thought that his wife would forgive him in the end."

"Listen, Todd, maybe we should call it a night, I'm not really feeling this place."

Matt smirks, jackpot.

"I paid for three drinks, and now you're not feeling it?" Todd fires up.

"I told you before, I was getting ready to leave-"

"Whatever, just get out of my sight." Todd snaps suddenly, the girl hesitates to do anything. "LEA-ve" he lowers his voice mid-word, but the girl flinches nonetheless, quickly grabbing her things and leaving the table. "Bitch." Todd scoffs when he's left alone again, and finishes his drink, "who cares about them when I got eyes on the big prize."

Matt clenches a fist, intently listening to where Todd is going, already creating scenarios of him lying and begging for mercy. Todd chooses to take the main street, avoiding dark alleys, and hoping to catch a girl on his way home. Matt slightly curses under his breath, yet decides to follow him through the rooftops.

***

Robert. Your first 'love', the embodiment of goodness and a perfect guy to grow old with, and practically every girl's dream. Yet, you didn't find it in your heart to love him back as much as he loved you. Friends since childhood, you spent every day together until he confessed to you his love in high school.

Robert was your father's favorite kid in the neighborhood, of course, after you, although sometimes you felt that he preferred Robert's presence to yours. How could you say no to Robert, when he came to your garden with a bouquet of wildflowers that he picked on his way from the old lady on the corner of the street, and he said that he'll love you forever? How could you say no, when you knew that your father was watching you through the window? How could you possibly say no to Robert when he was your father's favorite? How could you say no, when you wanted to please your father with 'good' and 'mature' decisions?

Even now, all those years later, you blamed it on yourself, breaking poor man's heart, not once, but twice, you didn't have a will to meet him again, because you knew that he will soften you just like he did before.

You didn't even feel how half of beer was already gone, and your computer was about to die, and Matt was making a plan on how to approach Todd, because the latter was just a block away from his apartment. And James? Long forgotten today, was making another deal for Fisk, taking all the work so he could get his mind away from you.

Suddenly you felt as if you were in the middle of everything - Hell's Kitchen, New York, hell, even in the middle of world, knowing that every decision will lead to another problem, no matter what you choose. The curse of knowing that you still can't cross over yourself and finally open up for love, instead of running away from it, because you were simply hurt too deep.

You dreaded the thought of seeing Robert again. You know that he asked your father to tell him everything about you, and knowing how welcomed Robert was in that house, it wasn't too hard. Why did he decide to do it now, after all those years that you spent fighting your hardest battles alone and needed a shoulder to lean on more than ever? Why now when your life was finally going the right way?

You chuckle to yourself. The answer to the first question was as clear as the night sky in Hell's Kitchen - you were the one who pushed him away, and then convinced yourself that he wasn't interested in you anymore, because that hurt far less than the truth. You caught the thrill, as bad as this sounds, and just couldn't imagine yourself living in the suburban house with three kids and a perfect police officer Robert, who would take out all his awards to show at any given chance. The thrill haunted you throughout the college, suppressed and hungry, it was about to be unleashed with the person you only saw through eyes of burning rage, until now.

***

Luckily for Matt, Todd lived on the floor closest to the roof. What really put a smile on devil's face was the habit of Todd's - not smoking inside, instead, he went on the rooftop, and that was his biggest mistake of the evening.

Just as Todd closed the door of the corridor, he wasn't met with the cool air of the night, instead, he was met with a punch to his face, which briefly knocked him out.

Matt squats in front of groaning Todd, "let's have a chat, shall we?"

#matt murdock #foggy nelson #marvel daredevil #matt murdock x reader #netflix daredevil #matts superhearing complicates things for you #matthew murdock #karen page #wilson fisk #james wesley #lawyers #bound by law #daredevil #marvel

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1rsoldiersince2012 · 1 year

Text

Bound by Law (Matt Murdock x reader)

Words: 3466 (chapter 16)

Summary:

UPDATES EVERY FRIDAY

Find my other accounts on ao3 and wattpad! <3

ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/users/1rSoldierSince2012

wattpad: https://www.wattpad.com/user/1rsoldierSince2012

16. Breaking rules is fun (and dangerous)

The drive to Matt's apartment is silent, but he knows you want to say something, as your heart is beating fast. Or maybe you still haven't recovered from the run of your life. Truth to be told, you lived off the thrill, blood pumping through your veins has become pure adrenaline, because you don't remember yourself driving so recklessly.

Yet you feel like words failed you now like never before, but the storm is brewing inside of you, and words gonna flood Matt's apartment in no time. But before all hell breaks loose, Matt interrupts the heavy silence. "Thank you."

Simple words, used every day so much that they lost their true meaning, but now you feel like Matt pulled those straight from the depths of his heart.

"I just hope this helps you win the case," you throw so simply, as if the whole thing was purely work-related.

He knows... He feels, that it's way more than that, way more than just a way to keep him and Foggy in business, and way more than just proving that Melissa is guilty. You had nothing to do with his case, to his knowledge, and he felt eternal gratitude for this risk you've taken. And what's all of this for if not justice?

You stop the car and turn the ignition off, taking a deep breath, "Well, this is you."

"Yeah..." He pauses, contemplating his next words. "Wanna come? Tea? Beer?" Matt hears his pulse pick up and suddenly feels like a high-schooler again, asking a girl to dance with him, and immediately begins to feel disappointment rising, like the said high-schooler, when the girl refuses to go with him. He's nervous, feels his palms sweating and grabs the door handle for support, secretly plotting his looser's escape plan.

"Tea, I'm driving." Your lips twitch into a small smile. "Can't disobey the law when I'm supposed to represent it." You both chuckle at the same time, and you get out, helping Matt to get upstairs, silently cursing the many stairs to his flat but enjoying the closeness, especially when his neighbour walks downstairs, and you get squeezed next to Matt, in order to let her pass. The way his hands snaked on your waist, took your breath away for a mere moment, but the little voice in your head brought you back into reality - a reality where you couldn't let your feelings control you.

Matt fumbled with the keys for a second, but that was more than enough time for you to snatch them from him and unlock his door.

"Ah, that's how you're treating blind people?"

"Yes, you, Murdock, especially." You say and wait for him to come inside, but he doesn't move. "Are you seriously being a gentleman right now?" You laugh at the ridiculousness of the whole evening.

"Yes, now get your ass inside."

"What, afraid that your neighbour might see you bringing a girl into your flat, when she probably thinks that you're a good, religious guy, who has never, ever kissed a girl before marriage?" You tease, purposely stalling in the corridor until, fed up, Matt gently pushes in you into his apartment, and locks the door after himself. "Oh, exciting," you murmur, and boldly walk further, failing to notice Matt's grin.

You plop on one of the armchairs and look around, Matt gets behind the counter and starts making tea. "Nice apartment you got there, Murdock."

"Well, too bad I can't see how exactly nice it is." He shoots one of the many blind jokes from his arsenal.

"Ha-ha, you know, you're already running out of the jokes." You stand up again and walk around, particularly interested in the view outside the window.

"What jokes?"

"Your jokes. Cheesy, corny, blind jokes." You reach the counter and sit on it, purposely getting on Matt's nerves, not even justifying your own childish behavior.

"My jokes are corny? I didn't even hear you say one at all in the time of our friendship." He puts on a kettle and leans on the counter opposite of you, crossing his arms, and just now you noticed that he dropped his jacket, and now stood just in his white-collar shirt.

"Friendship? Oh, that's a bold statement, Murdock. I would probably call it a partnership. Just don't get used to it."

"Well, in this case, it was a very beneficial partnership then, y/l/n." He says, rolling his sleeves up, and probably for the first time you really notice him as a man, muscular and fit, maybe even too much for a lawyer, but only God knows what he does when he needs to let out the steam. After all, he said he was hitting the gym.

"I'm sure Foggy was becoming suspicious of where his dear friend was spending his evening."

"Don't worry about it, Foggy knows I'm a grown boy."

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah. And what about your grand partners in the firm? I thought you had a case to get ready for." The kettle starts boiling, and Matt swiftly pours the tea in the cups, forgetting that he was initially going to ask for your help. He's blind after all, and this evening managed to raise enough suspicious for you, he was absolutely sure about that, although you kept silent, and this was making him even more nervous.

"Eh, if I were busy, who you would've called to break into Melissa's house?" You smile to yourself, disregarding the fact that you haven't told them your position in company, and curiously watch Matt put the kettle in its previous spot and come next to the counter, invading your personal space a little.

"True, what would I do without my partner in crime?" He leans on the counter, in an awkward way, his elbow almost touches your thigh.

"Probably lose the case." You count on your fingers, "get totally destroyed by Benowitz, get thrown out of business probably once and for all, and then Benowitz would walk around the office, thinking that he's a fucking God." You roll your eyes, and look at your hand, "so, four bad things at the same time."

Matt hums in thought. The sound is throaty, and somehow turns your insides upside down. "I still have to use that picture-"

"Smartly." You both finish his sentence at the same time. Matt finally dares to risk it all - he cautiously puts his palm on your thigh and affectionately squeezes a little. "Thank you, y/n, truly. I don't think I would've got anyone else to be this stupid to risk their careers for that."

"Is that a compliment, Murdock?" You laugh, eyes running from his gorgeous smile to his palm, still placed on your leg. You look closely and notice that his knuckles are bruised again, this time, without thinking, you put your hand on his, and gently rub his knuckle. "Matt, what are you truly getting yourself into?"

His eyebrows twitch and in the heat of the moment, he pulls his hand away, "Nothing, what do you mean?"

"Murdock, I'm not blind-" you stop and mentally slap yourself for the choice of the words but continue nonetheless, "I keep seeing you bruised and just walking around, hiding your blue eyes under your shades, but I'm not stupid, no man can walk into walls all the time, especially the one who's been living like that for most of his life, and no gym 'buddy' is hitting you on purpose."

He begins walking towards the window, but you're not letting him out of the argument, "Matt-"

"It's none of your business, it's mine, and I think you should drop it." He turns his back on you, pretending that his invisible wall of silence can save him.

"You know damn well that I can't." You put your hand on his shoulder, and he tenses immediately.

"You should learn to back away in time-"

"Too bad they didn't teach that in law school, I'm sure you know that it's impossible for people like us to do so." He doesn't push you away, instead, he finally turns to look at you. Physically, he can't do it, but his senses allow him to see your outline, and a flood of feelings falls upon him.

"People like us? We're not the same, y/n, you just don't understand-"

"How would I understand when you're not telling me shit?" You whisper, feeling like you were going to cry any moment. Arguments in the courtroom were your strength, but the ones behind the closed door brought the most vulnerable version of you.

"I can't, I really can't" he says, and before you can open your mouth for another argument, he grabs your head and kisses you.

Stunned, surprised, flabbergasted, shocked - all those words perfectly described how you felt about the situation you were currently in. His lips, so soft for a man, gently pressed against yours, he tastes your lip gloss, feels you sighing into his lips and uses the moment to test the waters and gently pushes the tip of his tongue against yours. The feeling makes you shiver, and lost in the kiss, you grab his face as well, slowly poking your tongue into his mouth. Matt gets even bolder, and you feel like your legs float above the ground, but in reality, you stand glued to the place, relishing the moment, until Matt pulls away, breathing rather heavily.

"I'm... So sorry..." He whispers against your lips, his face still close to yours.

"I-" You open your eyes, and suddenly it hits you just how wrong everything is, and you gently push him away, already turning towards the exit, "I have to go, sorry, Murdock, thanks for the tea." You stop for a second and look at the cup of the tea, sitting on the counter, and shaking your head, quickly leave his place, perhaps beating the fastest getting down the stairs record.

Matt sighs and punches the armchair, feeling the fury rising inside of him, for no one other than himself.

***

You couldn't wrap your mind on what the fuck happened at Matt's. When did you let your guard down? When did he? You surf through the rather empty road to your house, surprised that you didn't hit anyone yet.

You couldn't remember how did you park your car, or climbed upstairs, or unlocked the door of your flat... Or how did you find yourself lying in your bed, already in pajamas, hiding from your thoughts under the covers. Everything was good, perfect even, until today. You couldn't let yourself get lost in the love game again, not after the last time. You just couldn't hurt yourself, and Matt for that matter, again. Maybe it wasn't anything close to love, maybe it was suppressed anger that you were holding for each other after every clash in the courtroom, that burst out in a very strange form. Maybe.

You couldn't get that image out of your head, as much as you tried to forget, the way Matt held your head, so firmly in his big, bruised hands, but yet so tenderly, as if you were a fragile thing. The way his lips were glued to yours, as if he waited to kiss you since forever, as if that was his only purpose in life, the only thing he had to do before dying. You snuggled under the blanket even more, hiding from the world, but unfortunately, it didn't disappear. Your stomach, hours later after the accident, still felt terribly light and full of what the poets usually called butterflies.

You weren't alone in this pit of overthinking. Matt found himself sitting in the darkest corner of the church, a place where he was always welcomed, a place that sheltered him from the world when he didn't realize he needed that shelter.

Was he too bold? Did he overstep the line? Matt laughs under his breath. Of course, he did. It was stupid to let feelings get the best of him, but he didn't have anyone to care about him the way you did. Perhaps since Elektra. But she was pushed away and left far in the past, he was a changed man, he wanted a fresh start, and here you came. All confident in the court, but so vulnerable in real life, so fragile, so soft... Matt lowered his head and slowly tried to shake the thoughts of you out, but even God himself, hiding in the walls of this sacred place, knew that it wasn't possible. Matt couldn't forget how you succumbed to his touch, how willingly you kissed him back, how your tongues met in the middle, and how gentle your touch was on his cheek.

He thought that God has already accepted the fact that Matt came here mostly not to look for forgiveness, but to think of you. The whole building was soaked with irony that Matt Murdock came to the church to think of the unholiest thoughts in the world. And he wanted to beat himself up for that. Maybe he will. He was contemplating of finding another criminal right now, and just let him punch Matt as hard as he could. Just so he could not think of you, at least for a moment.

Father saw him. He didn't see his face, but he recognized the crunched figure in the late hours, and knew that only Matt came here at this time. Father didn't say a word, he didn't even think of going near Matt. After years of keeping him under his wing, he knew Matt perhaps even better than Matt knew himself. And he knew that right now, he wished to not be disturbed.

Matt felt tired, exhausted, but Hell's Kitchen never sleeps, and neither does the Devil.

When one went on to bring justice and peace to the dark streets of Hell's Kitchen, the city he called his home, the other fell into a restless sleep. You kept tossing and turning, getting hot and cold in the span of minutes, cursing the world in your sleep, and murmuring something incoherent. While your dreams were full of shameful thoughts, that during the day would've made you blush, Matt was beating the crap out of a mugger, feeling satisfaction with every punch, every sound of his fist connecting with the man's face. The man drops to his knees, finally losing to the Devil, and Matt breathes heavily, suddenly feeling empty again. He turns and quickly leaves the alley, already hearing the sirens of the police, leaving the easy catch for the cops. On the roof of his apartment, he sits on the edge, listening for any troubled screams, but secretly hoping to hear a sign of you.

Life was harsh, and it certainly didn't like to award either of you, especially not now, with Matt's big case coming up.

***

Foggy was on the cloud nine after receiving the photo of the document. This was their breakthrough, their chance of winning and proving that Melissa was the one who hired the sniper for her husband, using his own money. They had yet to prove that the company written on the paper did not exist, but that was the easiest part of the whole thing.

Of course, Melissa chose the best law firm in the city, and one of the best lawyers, although Matt himself thought that Hogarth was way better and more experienced than Benowitz. Secretly, Matt put you in the first place, he thought you were the best in town, mainly because you were not corrupted by fame and money, but he also liked facing you in the courtroom. Was this the moment when he felt something other than competition for you? He was not sure. He should be preparing for the case, but his thoughts kept coming back to you, no matter how hard he tried to delete you from his memory after last night's failure.

"Dude, are you even listening?" Foggy says louder, feeling like he was ignored by Matt since he opened his mouth.

"Yeah, what?"

"Where'd you go? I just listed the whole argument for you. I also said that it's perfect that you managed to get a picture of those payments, we have that bitch Melissa right now!" Foggy says, cheering with his fist in the air.

"Yeah, great." But there was something else bothering him.

"How did you convince y/n to do it? You always fight like two cats in a bag." Foggy takes a sip of his lukewarm coffee and grimaces, raising his eyebrows at Matt.

"She owed me a favour, that's it." Matt shrugs, hoping that Foggy drops the subject, but he knows Foggy too well to be this optimistic.

"A favour? Now I'm even more interested to know what kind of favour she owed that she agreed to break into someone's house."

"Break into?"

"Matt, I'm not stupid, I know that she didn't pull a thing like this from the archive, because no person in his right mind would put this in the archive." Foggy falls silent, hinting that he's waiting for Matt's response, but Matt pretends to be interested in his argument again, purposely sipping his coffee.

Foggy sighs loudly and repeats his previous statement, and this time, Matt puts his whole focus, pushing the thoughts of your skin on his into the farthest corner of his mind.

Meanwhile, you, reach your office late for the first time in your career, cursing yourself and the enormous traffic you got yourself into. You pull out your keys and try to unlock the door a couple of times, before simply pushing the handle. They open, and you see no one other than Benowitz himself sitting in your chair, rather comfortably, his head resting on his folded hands. A wave of worry and fear washes over you, but you collect yourself as quickly as possible, trying to blink as fast as possible, so that he doesn't see your wide eyes.

"Mr Benowitz, what a surprise! I'm sorry I'm late, the traffic was a tragedy." You cautiously walk toward your wardrobe, taking off your coat and putting your purse in there as well.

"Don't apologize, I heard about it on the news, someone drove into a fire hydrant, apparently. That's not why I'm here." He cracks a smile, but it's nowhere near a pleasant one.

You sit in the chair in front of him, nervously turning the ring on your middle finger in your lap, waiting for him to speak again.

"You remember my case against Murdock, right?" He asks, leaning back on the chair, and it creaks loudly.

"Our case?" You say humbly.

"Yeah, so, my client was attacked last night." He stresses the fact that it is his case again.

"What? Is she okay?" You put on a mask of surprise, hoping to fool him.

"Yes, yes, Mrs Dale is well, just shocked. I think it was a failed attempt to collect evidence for sabotage. I have a feeling that Murdock's client had something to do with the quite failed attempt to attack my client. The poor woman is already in mourning, and if the accusations from Mr Dale's bastard daughter weren't enough, some idiots break into her house and brutally attack her." He huffs and squirms in your chair again.

"That's terrible." You furrow your eyebrows, indicating that you can't possibly believe all the bad things that happened to Mrs Dale.

"Yeah, I know. That's why I came to you."

You discreetly take a deep breath.

"I want you to be my partner tomorrow in court. Murdock always brings his puppy Nelson, and I need you to be able to step in if anything happens not our way. I'm sure the jury will believe such a beautiful woman more than me, but don't worry, I-, sorry, we" he shakes his head and quickly fixes himself, "we already have our victory in the pocket."

"Oh?"

"I know it comes as a surprise to you, but I would really appreciate you being there for me... For poor Melissa Dale. It will benefit your career record, maybe even more than you think." Benowitz stands up, walking next to you and leans, his breath hitting your face, "Of course, if you choose to bail, then perhaps you will follow the footsteps of Mr Murdock. Out of the law world." He stands straight again, fixing his jacket, "Have a good day, Miss Y/l/n, I'll send you all my documents, and please, don't ever be late again." Benowitz quickly walks out, leaving your office, and you, still sitting there in shock.

You wanted to call Matt, to tell him everything, but something kept you from doing so. Was it the last night's kiss or loyalty for your job? Perhaps both. You knew that Matt will win, the evidence was strong enough to put Melissa in jail, and stain your career record at the same time. That fucker Benowitz didn't want to go down alone, of course, he had to bring you as well. Probably this will be the opportunity to leave this firm and find a job in another city. Or state. Or even country. You always wanted to live in Canada, so this would be the perfect outcome. Perfectly terrible outcome.

#matt murdock #matthew murdock #matt murdock x reader #foggy nelson #karen page #marvel daredevil #marvel #netflix daredevil #daredevil #daredevil fanfiction #wilson fisk #lawyers #bound by law #matts superhearing complicates things for you #human disaster matt murdock

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1rsoldiersince2012 · 1 year

Text

Bound by Law (Matt Murdock x reader)

Words: 2714 (chapter 20)

Summary:

UPDATES EVERY FRIDAY

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20. Old friends, New beginnings

Putting on a long-sleeved blouse and a gray jacket, you looked at yourself in the mirror of your bathroom. The place was still humid and warm, from all the steam of your morning shower. It was too early to get going to the new office, but you had some unfinished business in Hogarth, Chao and Benowitz. Hailey has kept your things secured at the reception, and mentioned that someone was moved to your office 'urgently'. There were many potential lawyers on your mind, and you just hoped that the best got your place. After all, having an office on the same floor as Hogarth was a matter of honour in the company.

The whole weekend you've spent thinking over Pug's words, that it was finally time to open yourself up. Wesley has kept a constant chat, earning himself a date this week. Although you wanted nothing more than live the way you wanted and not to depend on another person, especially a man. Your arm was better and started showing signs of healing, although it still looked pretty nasty. Of course, your skills couldn't be compared to the Devil's skills, but you managed to nicely put on a fresh bandage, pulling yourself together after three pills of painkillers.

This Monday was supposed to be a chapter of new opportunities, yet you were returning to the same old place again. The spot for your car was still occupied, but deep down you knew that when you're officially done with the paperwork, someone will occupy the spot in a matter of minutes. The morning appeared to be quite chilly, causing you to button up your coat. Upon your entrance, Hailey lifts her head from the today's newspaper.

"Morning." She greets you first, with a shy, although sad smile and puts the paper down, closing it. You catch a glimpse of the picture of a familiar building and a strange figure.

"Hey, you already know what I'm here for." You say without any usual small talk.

"You look... Rather well." Hailey utters while rummaging though the boxes under the table. "For someone who's been through so much."

"How much exactly do you think I've been through?" You lean on the tall table, curiously watching her squat in a tight pencil skirt. The newspaper keeps attracting your attention. Hailey huffs out loud while pulling a heavy box to the side.

"What?" Her head peeks with a confused look, but you just smile.

"Hailey, I've been here long enough to know how much gossip goes around on an ordinary day. What happened to me was nothing ordinary. So, what are they saying?" You grab the newspaper while Hailey disappears under the table again, and look at the first page.

"Uh... Well, it appears that each floor has their own theories. Some guys have cornered Mr Benowitz, but he wouldn't speak about the matter at all."

"Hm. Interesting." You mutter after reading the headline: 'Masked man attacks lawyers in Hogarth, Chao and Benowitz: what was he after?'. Accompanied by a picture of the firm, there was a photoshopped figure of a ninja with a huge question mark on his head, and an X crossing the whole firm's building. Yeah, local newspapers never disappoint.

"What's interesting?" Hailey huffs and with great struggle finally pulls out a box with your stuff, Lady Justice statue lying on the top.

"Benowitz's silence. Usually he's the first to open his mouth. What else people talk?" You ask, mindlessly skimming through the article. 'Was this an attempted robber or murder? Only the best lawyers of Hell's Kitchen know exactly what happened, yet they chose to stay silent for the moment. Our team is working on finding out all the details of the accident, for the time being all we know is that a gunshot was heard in the office of the head lawyer, yet no gun was found at the scene.' You read the last sentence of the last column and feel the shivers go down your spine.

"Some were saying that you were bleeding out and Benowitz rushed you to the hospital... You know, since your car is still here, there were many speculations." Hailey leans closer to you and whispers, "someone spread a rumor that the Devil guy was going after you and is actually one of your former clients that you beat in court." She pulls away again, "others said that some crazy ex has chased you, but I think this is too far-fetched."

You bite the inside of your cheek and take a moment to understand all the crazy conspiracy theories you've heard in the span of two minutes. Hailey takes the newspaper from you.

"Did he really look like this?"

"Something like that, yeah." You answer and look at the entrance, noticing a familiar figure coming towards the building.

"So... What really happened?" Hailey asks cautiously, but you don't get a chance to answer when Todd steps inside, and without hiding his grin, approaches the reception table.

"Morning ladies. A beautiful day, isn't it?" He stops next to you, glancing at the box full of your stuff.

"Well, you just ruined it for me." You say with a bored look on your face.

"Ah, y/n, y/n, no one will ruin it for me. Wanna know why?" Todd leans closer to your face, "I got your office, sugar! Ah, a beautiful day, right, Hailey?"

"I don't want to be a part of this conversation, Todd." Hailey sits back down, looking at him with a sour expression. Something clearly happened between the two of them.

"Todd, could you carry this to my car? You know, since it's so heavy, and I'm still hurt... And you're in such a good mood." You smile innocently, using the people pleasing tactics for your own benefit, and saving Hailey from the conversation for the last time. "I'll swing by sometime, goodbye, Hailey." You wave with your good hand at her and step outside with Todd carrying your box.

"You have no idea how happy I am right now, y/n." Todd inhales the chilly air and sighs happily, purposely getting on your nerves.

"If you're waiting for a 'oh I'm so happy for you' shit, you're not getting it." You say, pulling the spare car keys from your pocket.

"I don't want that, I'm content enough that you're finally leaving. Speaking of, where you're going? The madhouse perhaps?"

"Yes, the madhouse... But you know, they sent me here with a task. I'm supposed to bring you there as well."

"Ah, when I think about it... I'm actually going to miss you, sugar." He puts the box on the roof of your car and leans on it. "I had the perfect speech in my mind, for your funeral. Everyone thought you got shot terribly there. Oh, I'll say that I saw a ghost today, by the looks you're just as pale as a one."

"Aww, spare the pleasantries, you won't see me in a casket any time soon." You bite back and open the doors of your car, noticing that Todd has parked his black Mercedes next to you.

"That's a challenge or a promise?" He drops the box on your backseat loudly, and you're pretty sure you heard something break.

"Both, sugar, both." You turn on the ignition and sit down, holding your arm on the open doors, and pushing them open all the way with force, and the impact leaves a dent on Todd's car. "Gonna get that fixed." You smile wickedly and speed out of the parking lot, leaving black tire marks on the concrete.

***

"Karen, what got you so early here?" Foggy steps inside and notices Karen already cleaning the mess on her table.

"Oh, hi. Just, you know, cleaning up."

"Are you worried about y/n?" Foggy furrows his eyebrows and drops his jacket on the chair.

"Well, she is a high class lawyer, and we're squeezed in this mess. I still don't understand where she's gonna work." Karen turns her eyes from Foggy.

"Here, with us. In the office. Sure, we don't have a separate room for another person, but she could share with Matt." Foggy suggests, already thinking of bringing another table next to Matt's.

"Why's that?" Karen furrows her eyebrows, visibly confused, and Foggy swears he heard a dash of jealousy in her voice.

"Matt's office has the things that he's not using, like lights, so instead of wasting it on a higher bill, we can turn this to work for our benefit."

"That makes... sense." Karen squeezes out with great struggle. The thought of another woman in the office has caused her some doubts, especially when that woman has already won the sympathy of Matt.

"See, we're already thinking the same!" Foggy laughs and disappears in his office.

The distant chatter reaches Karen's ears, and she looks at her watch - already time for Matt to come. Not like she's been following his very messy schedule. A minute later, the doors to Nelson and Murdock open and heels ring loudly in the space. Karen was expecting Matt to come alone, yet he was not the first to cross the threshold.

"Morning everyone." You say loudly, carrying a tray with four coffees. Matt appears by your side in no time, and Karen notices how comfortably his hand slides along your left arm and finally your wrist, taking the tray with coffees. "I could've just put it down."

"You're hurt, stop acting like a child." Matt scolds with a stupid smile on his face, the same one he wore since the moment he left your apartment.

"You call me a child again, and I'm leaving, that's a promise." You say in a hushed tone and take off your coat.

"Who's leaving? Hopefully not my favorite lawyer." Foggy appears in the lobby, and stops to look at you, grabbing the tray back from Matt's hands.

"Foggy! You look well rested, since the court." You say, coming further into the office, and put the tray on Karen's table. "I brought everyone coffee, I hope you drink coffee, Karen." You raise your eyebrows expectantly at the blonde, and Karen shakes her head slightly.

"Yes, of course."

"Great."

"How you're feeling?" Foggy looks at you with a worried expression, as if checking for visible wounds. "I told Matt to wait until you're completely good, and not to rush your first day."

"I'm good, yeah, it's healing nicely, and I'm eager to make Melissa pay for what she did."

"About that... You know that you won't participate as a lawyer in court, right?" Foggy asks, pulling a chair from his office and offering for you to sit.

"Yeah, yes, obviously. I can help a little in the shadow." You sit down in front of Karen, Foggy on your right and Matt makes himself comfortable on your left.

"So, what do you know that we don't?" Karen asks, looking at you a little distrustfully, and you return the suspicious look back.

"I know that Benowitz will sniff where I went now, and change his approach to the case. He's kept me in the dark for most of the time, but what I know won't possibly be used against your client anymore. Now that you have that document, you have the upper hand in the conflict, he will try to sabogate and claim that it's fake, or bring to the light the fact that someone stole it from Melissa's house." You pour the words on the table, and the room becomes silent for a mere moment. Matt looks at the floor, secretly admiring your courtroom type of speeches.

"But if the evidence turns out to be truth, it will add to the final decision, right?" Karen is the first to shake herself from the trance.

"Despite the fact of how we received it?" Foggy begins.

"With a good convincing, it could be uself." Matt finishes the thought, and you finally understand how it feels to have a partner-friend who thinks the same way you do. You and Pug were that pair in college too.

"Well, she paid to kill her husband, I say that's damn good convincing." Karen interferes with your thoughts.

"Ain't enough, we acquired the evidence in a dirty way, and it could take time to trace the real person who got paid through that mysterious window company." Foggy sighs, taking a sip of coffee.

"Whoever did it, is a professional, maybe served in the force or special operations, you don't become a sniper in one night." You sip your coffee, looking though the window behind Karen. The view was rather dull, nothing fancy that you were used to, that's for sure.

"Does Melissa know any people from the force?" Karen asks, following your unfocused glance.

"Not that I know of. Despite marrying richest guy in Hell's Kitchen, she's been very secretive about her private life, especially her friends and family, no pictures of them on her socials too." You answer, only now understanding the significance of this fact.

Foggy's eyes widen and he shares a look with Karen and you.

"What's with that silence?" Matt reminds everyone of his presence, sensing a change of emotions in the room.

"Where's your computer?" You ask Foggy, and he quickly stands up.

"Use the one in Matt's office, we decided that you two will be sharing..." Foggy stops in front of the table and turns on the computer for you. You cautiously step inside, looking around the room which was just screaming 'I need more furniture'. Matt's table turned to face the two worn-out brown armchairs pushed to the opposite wall.No blinds on the shy windows and doors on the right, and walls so thin they could be soundproof...in another life maybe.

"Sharing one table?" You ask in disbelief, noticing the mess on his desk, mostly blank pages, that are printed in Braille.

"By the end of the day, I promise to get another one." Foggy crosses his heart and pushes the chair for you to sit.

You sigh and sit down, going to search something about Melissa... Anything. The data system was way poorer than you expected, but Nelson and Murdock wasn't a big fancy firm either.

"Okay, it's gonna take some time, especially since the system you're using is limited and rather slow." You say apologetically, hearing how Karen explains the situation to Matt. In a matter of seconds, he's standing behind your back, leaning on the window sill like a shadow or an angel on your shoulder... except the shoulder was left one.

"Holy shit." You blurt out when the information finally loads, filling up the screen.

Foggy leans closer to the screen as well, Karen enters the room hurriedly.

"What is it?" Matt appears right next to you, feeling shivers go down his spine when your perfume hits his nostrils full force.

"Her cousin served for 5 years. In Marine Corps. As a Scout Sniper..." You fall silent, staring at the screen without blinking.

"Print that out, I'm gonna file him as a desired for questioning." Foggy fires up, feeling the coffee in his body more than ever. "Matty, you're driving with me to the court?"

"Uh," Matt suddenly gets lost, "yeah, I can, sure."

"I would drive you there, but I have to be somewhere." You notice the frown on Matt's face. "On my lunchbreak."

"You can leave whenever you need, officially, there's no record of you working here, y/n." Foggy nods at you and disappears in his office. You remain in Matt's seat for a little more, he plops down on one of the armchairs.

"Well, one boss agreed, what about the other one?" You lean back in the chair and it makes a sound.

"Only if you tell me where you're going." Matt smiles with half lips.

"I don't know where yet, it's a surprise, appearently." You cross your legs and wait for Matt's reaction.

Eventually, his eyebrows go over the top of his red glasses. "Really? May I know with who?"

"I think that's a little out of your authority." You tease. "He's picking me up."

"A date then?" Matt asks expectantly.

"Eh, wouldn't classify this a date. Catching up would probably be more suitable label."

Matt feels your eyes burning through his skull. He knows you're looking at the fresh scratches and bruises on his face, which he inherited during his never-ending search of more information about Fisk. "Now I'm even more curious."

"Well, to my knowledge, you already know each other, but enough chit-chatting, Murdock, I don't get paid by the hours." You stand up and leave Matt sitting alone and slightly confused in his office. Who was coming over?

#matt murdock #matthew murdock #matt murdock x reader #matts superhearing complicates things for you #human disaster matt murdock #wilson fisk #karen page #foggy nelson #james wesley #foggy is a good bro #marvel daredevil #netflix daredevil #bound by law #daredevil #lawyers #marvel

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