Reverie: IC Inbox

[donkeyballs]

 

IC INBOX
text // voice // video


Alright, go ahead and leave me a message, an' I'll get back to you soon as I can.

Comments

un:castiglione

[oorah]

someone i know is here

[donkeyballs]

What, really?


Is it David?

[oorah]

i wish

not really but this guy is a real pain in my ass

[donkeyballs]

So this ain't a happy text message, I'm guessin'.

Who is he?

[oorah]

it's really complicated

but he might start telling people stuff about me
i don't want you to hear it from him

[donkeyballs]

I ain't gonna listen to someone spoutin' shit, Frank.

But if there's something you wanna tell me, I'm listenin.

[oorah]

it's probably not really something you'd want to read over text

[donkeyballs]

Well, then I guess we better get somethin' to eat.

[oorah]

i'll head to the mess now [ even if he feels super incapable of eating anything honestly ]

[donkeyballs]

I'll meet you there.

[ True to his word, he was there ten minutes later, though he wasn't actually interested in eating, either. It was just always the first thing he thought of, when something needed to happen, or needed to be said. Food made things easier. And after everything with Naomi... Well.

Public was good. ]

[oorah]

[ frank has a cup of coffee and is sat in a table far away from everyone else before alex can even walk in. he doesn't say anything, just waits for the other man to join him. he's so calm he's nearly sedate, only realizing he hadn't really seen alex since he regained his senses. god, he really does suck at this. ]

[donkeyballs]

[ Alex spotted him, but made himself a cup of something hot as well, plus a plate of - well, they looked sort of like brownies - before heading over and sitting across from him. He gently pushed the plate between them, offering the not-exactly-baked goods to share. ]

Alright, Frank. [ His voice was gentle and quiet. ] What's this about?

[oorah]

[ frank ignores the offer, setting his coffee down after the long sip he'd taken during alex's approach. he meets the other man's eyes, still calm, the gaze of a man resigned. ]

I'm not who you think I am.

[donkeyballs]

Think that might be a little melodramatic, Frank. [ He gives him a sympathetic look, before taking one of the squares for himself. ]

But if you're about to tell me that your real name ain't Frank either, then I gotta say I don't understand why everyone keeps thinkin' they need false names when they get here...

[oorah]

[ that gets a soft snort, though he's not really in a joking mood. he sort of lied about his name, but not that part. even he realized no one gives a fuck what your cool alias is in space. ]

My name's Frank Castle. But where I'm from they call me the Punisher.

[ if it sounds like a bad comic book, well... it is. don't ever read them. ]

[donkeyballs]

The Punisher. [ He repeats it with a little in-credulousness, an eyebrow arching a bit. What was it with Earth and their weird nicknames?

Thinks the man who wanted to name his baby the Flying Alamo. ]

What exactly were you punishin'?

[oorah]

[ he leans forward a little, the grim determination set over his bruised face almost sinister in the bright light of the canteen. ]

Every last man who was involved in my family's murder.

[donkeyballs]

[ Oh.

He let out a breath, pain and sympathy in his expression as he settled down further into his chair. This wasn't going to be a quick chat. ]

And when you say punishin'? [ A gentle question. ] I'm assumin' you aren't talkin' about turnin' 'em in.

[oorah]

[ frank fixes alex with his stare, he'd sat in this seat so many times and told the same story. the only difference is he cares what the man on the other side of the table thinks. when the hell did that happen? ]

One. I left one alive. He- he was my best friend. And he had my babies killed, Alex. Death was too swift for him.

[ his knuckles are white around the coffee cup, lip quivering. but he won't cry, not here. he doesn't want this to be a manipulation, he wants alex to draw his own conclusions about what kind of man frank is. ]

The man who just arrived... was my attorney. When I was up against 37 murders. Karen was his legal assistant.

[donkeyballs]

[ Alex had known bravado. People who bragged about how bad ass they were, the fools they'd dealt with, the hard lives they'd had.

He'd known killers, too. Had witnessed it.

Had watched Amos shoot a man in the head, for even thinking about hurting Naomi.

And he'd slept perfectly fine, that night. Not like the times he'd gotten innocent people killed, just because they weren't his family. (Was it worse, to let 20 innocent people die to save one you cared about; or to kill thirty seven guilty men?)

He didn't know. Just like he didn't know how to feel, at all, as he raised the hand to his mouth, fingers sliding over to cover it as if that somehow made it easier to think.

It didn't. ]

Jesus Christ, Frank.

[ It was a very quiet statement, though the tone was not condemning. It was closer to shock, and sympathy, than it was to disgust. ]

[oorah]

[ his guts twist at the turmoil the other man is clearly in. but it's his fault, so he can't comfort him this time. frank just shakes his head. ]

Yeah. Not really relevant. [ jesus, that is. ]

[donkeyballs]

[ It's more simply just words, to him, than any real meaning behind them. The religion soaked into the language without actually reaching the rest of him. It didn't matter.

He scrubbed his mouth with his hand, his eyes sliding away.

He'd known bravado, and this wasn't it. There was something, though. Something important, a tie that had been left in that he could grasp that didn't force him to try to weigh the lives of strangers. ]

... Is that how you met her? Karen, I mean?

[oorah]

[ frank nods, sitting back in his chair and reluctantly letting go of his cup. it's long since chilled anyway. ]

Yeah. She helped me.

[ not legally... that didn't matter anymore. maybe it didn't even matter then. it's too complicated to explain really, all the ins and outs of the case and the hearing and breaking out of prison... ]

She helped me remember them, my family. And... myself.

[donkeyballs]

[ He went silent again, head turning to face out across the mess hall, though it was fairly sparse.

It was important. She still cared about him, even meeting him at what sounded like his worst. Frank was no psychopath - he cared too much, loved too much. There was none of Cortezar's or Dresden's cold calculation and dismissal.

He'd watched Amos kill a man, and if someone had actually hurt Naomi, he had no doubt he would have watched him kill a lot more.

He tried to tried to think about his best friend arranging for Melas to be killed, and his heart clenched painfully. Finally, after too long a silence, he continued. ]

I ain't... I ain't here to judge you, Frank. [ Gently. ]

[oorah]

[ he releases some of the tension in his frame, letting out a steady breath and turning his head. the briefest glimmer of a smile flickers before it's gone again, but he's grateful. alex is important to him, for better or worse. ]

I appreciate that, brother.

[ maybe it's too much, maybe just because alex doesn't judge him doesn't mean they're still brothers, but he can't help the way he hopes. ]

Look, if you want the whole story, I'll give it to you. But I gotta warn you... [ he clicks his tongue before sitting up again and leaning forward. ] It ain't pretty. Or simple.