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[ Matt's fingers tap softly but irritability against the bar counter as he listens, tension growing as Matt explains. What a waste, a true mess. He would never have let that happen. When Fisk went to jail he wasn't stupid enough to leave a vacuum of power behind. ]

Not a very cooperative client, then.

[ Oh, but there's so much here. It's ironic, the way he says Fisk's name. He can tell how much Matt hates him. They've never been close. They've never shared wine or broken bread or spoke of family as if it could be more than a word. It's a kind of detachment to the situation that he wishes he had the luxury of having. If the Hand hadn't told him to get close. If they hadn't made him turn right back around and stab the man in the back.

God, he wishes he could talk about Wilson Fisk the way Matt does. With righteousness. With disdain. With the proper hatred of an institution that has fucked up his family--their family--instead of the corruption that rotted him.

But more than that, Matt didn't want to help Castle (no surprise there) but he did apparently want to bury Fisk further. And then that talk of getting dirt on the yakuza? He would just create the same vacuum of power and fall into the same trap Castle did except using the law instead of killing people. Even a blind man could see that, but apparently not Matt. ]

Fisk...he was the kingpin in your world, too, right?

[ oh, what an innocent sounding question, filled with a thousand shark teeth. ]

Edited 2024-05-03 05:25 (UTC)

[ Let's not talk about the yakuza because while 65!Matt's ninjas are clear parody, Netflix ninjas are not. And it's so bad. Elektra comes back from the dead. It's a mess. Matt's canon point is fake actually.

But Matt certainly spits out Fisk's name, the disdain and anger clear there. Fisk is much easier to talk about. Fisk is at least in jail. ]

That's right. Wilson Fisk. [ Matt clenches his jaw, tilting his head like he's got a krick in his neck just thinking about the guy. ] They called him the kingpin of crime in all of New York, but he operated out of Hell's Kitchen.

[ Interesting that that's another thing they have in common, it seems. Poor Matt could never suspect he's talking to the Kingpin himself. ]

Edited 2024-05-03 05:35 (UTC)

But they caught him. That's impressive. Did they get him on a real crime, or is this like an Al Capone situation?

[ Tax fraud, the weightiest of all crimes. ]

Well, it helped that the people testifying against him managed not to get killed.

[ Thanks to a certain Daredevil, of course. ]

Wish I could say he went down for any of his worse crimes, but we managed to help build a case proving that he'd endorsed violent, illegal evictions against his tenants. One look into his finances and...

[ Matt takes another long sip of his beer. This should feel like a victory, but it won't bring back all the people he killed, or undo all the hurt he caused. It still feels like it wasn't enough... ]

A guy like him, he could probably strangle his cell mate and he'd still get out on good behavior.

[ Look, there's only one man who's made Matt consider murder and that's Wilson Fisk. ]

Edited 2024-05-03 05:45 (UTC)

I guess you better hope that doesn't happen. Sounds like he wouldn't be too happy to see you.

[ they certainly had that in common, too. ]

But congratulations nevertheless. That's a big accomplishment, that you were able to help make the case against him.

[ Matt nearly smiles, because of course the truth is that Daredevil is the one that Fisk is gunning for. Karen did most of the investigative work, but it was Matt's alter ego that put him behind bars. He made sure of that.

It's pride, or something close to it, knowing Fisk was surely cursing his name. It has to be enough. ]

Thanks. As much as I know he deserves to be locked up permanently, at least we proved he wasn't as untouchable as he thought.

[ Matt wants to tell him the world isn't about what people deserve. But then again, if he were still back on his world he'd be sitting in a S.H.I.E.L.D. prison, so maybe they do. And now he's here, to atone for he's crimes or something.

(he's not going to atone.) ]

That's an important message.

[ He takes a drink of his beer thinking for a minute. Trying to decide what to give, since they're supposed to be sharing and eventually Matt is going to realize this has been more of a deposition than a conversation. Okay. ]

Well, you'll be happy to know that, even if Foggy is a prosecutor in my home, he managed to put Fisk behind bars too.

[ Maybe if you fight enough crime and punch enough people, you can right the balance on what people deserve... maybe. That's Matt's hope, anyway. He has to believe it, or he'll have to reevaluate his life.

But Matt smiles brightly at that. It's always good to hear about Foggy, even if the idea of him as a prosecutor goes against the values they both have. ]

He did, huh? [ Classic Foggy. Matt's so proud. ] That's great. Hey, with you and him on different sides, at least that means the right people are getting convicted.

[ Surely Foggy would not allow people who are falsely accused to go to jail. ]

[ the "right people" -- does Matt even know what that means? He kind of doubts that he does. ]

It's true, there are some advantages to being on opposite sides.

[ Shh, it's fine. This is fine. ]

How's that work, staying friends with him after that? I mean, Foggy's been looking into big law since that's where the money is, and I can't really blame him. But if he was a prosecutor...? Foggy's so... nice.

[ And prosecutors are... not. ]

Money? Foggy has never been interested in the money. If he was, he certainly wouldn't be working for the government.

[ Matt shakes his head. Foggy's as much a bleeding heart as his counterpart here is. ]

He's still nice. He just thinks he does more good in that office. I don't know what else to tell you about it.

[ Matt smiles at that. That's the Foggy he knows. Not the Foggy who's at the end of his rope, losing his patience over Matt's life ruining their law practice, but... well. ]

True. Even the one I know, he's... well, we've been trying the solo practice for a while now. And life in New York isn't getting any cheaper.

[ He feels like he needs to defend 'his' Foggy's honor somehow. Foggy is good, he's just... you know, going through it. They all are. ]

I guess things really are different in your world.

New York is still ungoldy expensive. That's a multiversal constant I think.

[ I mean, he's well off, but it's also true. ]

[ Matt laughs, shaking his head. ]

I'd believe that. Gentrification comes for us all.

Everyone wants a piece of a city like that.

[ Fine, fine, he feels like sharing a little more, but only because he's curious: ]

Have you lived there, your whole life?

[ See, if you're nice to people, they will eventually be nice to you... well, that's what Matt goes for, if he really believed that he wouldn't be Daredevil now would he. ]

Yeah. Born and raised -- I've lived in Hell's Kitchen my whole life. It's practically in my blood.

[ He's taking the obvious conclusion here. ]

You haven't, then?

[ The answer doesn't really surprise him. It explains things, in a way, it seems like a logical conclusion. Matt didn't get taken by the Hand. He hadn't grown up like that, he hadn't had to survive like that. No wonder he was so soft. ]

No, I lived abroad for awhile. It's nice to be back--or well, it was, I guess. Who knows how long we'll be stuck here.

[ Matt nods. This is a difference that puts a few more pieces into the puzzle that is this Matt Murdock. Matt can't even imagine what his life would have turned out if he'd left his home. ]

Huh. It must've been. New York is something else.

[ You can't really forget the place that made you... Matt misses it even now. But Murdock has a point. You also can't really plan for an extradimensional excursion. ]

Do you think getting home will be as random as getting here? I was serious about looking into starting a practice here... if only because there doesn't seem to be a clear way of getting home.

I'm guessing it must be. If there was a way to get home, people would be talking about it.

[ Instead, the Chosen seem to be making lives here, so. ]

So that really means the only options are to be mad about it or adapt to the situation.

[ Or both, Matt thinks silently, though he doesn't say as much. ]

That's about what I figured. If we're stuck here, we may as well help whoever we can, and hopefully make a decent living out of it.

Now it's "we," huh?

[ he laughs. So forward! But then again Matt had already suggested they go in together. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. ]

I knew you liked me. It's the same thing with the app--you can't help but want to talk to me.

[ Matt takes a long drink from his beer. Oh, he's done already? That's fine. ]

"Like" might be a little strong. Jury's still out.

[ Then again, the truth is Matt isn't sure how much he can trust Murdock, but he'd still trust him over a stranger. Working together wouldn't be any stranger than existing in the same room as a man who lived an alternate version of your life. ]

But you have to admit, it'd be stranger to avoid each other, wouldn't it?

Edited 2024-05-04 05:30 (UTC)

What's better than the devil you know?

[ But there's a note of consideration to it. He's not convinced, he still needs some time to think about it. He's not sure he wants to tie himself down to this other Matt, that he wants to intertwine their fates so completely. ]

You're not too bad, I guess.

Something like that.

[ Matt grins, having a good chuckle. Okay, that's pretty good. Murdock seemed to really enjoy the devil angle, which makes Matt wonder...

But he can't let the devil out of the bag, so to speak. Just because they have a few key people and details in common doesn't mean that Murdock moonlights as a masked vigilante. Matt needs to focus on something real first. He may hate everything about this place, but he's keeping a lid on his anger. For now.

Besides, having another Matt around is distraction enough. He's pretty sure Foggy would agree. ]

I have to say, it's always interesting talking to you.

[ Matt laughs--that's just the sound of his point proving itself again. It's like he said, Matt obviously likes talking to him. ]

The "what if" of it all is pretty intriguing.

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