It's A Date

WELCOME TO THE AUCTION

Ladies and gentlemen, here's your chance to finally score a date with the most eligible bachelors and bachelorettes from all across the worlds! As soon as your winning bid is finalized, you and your new prize will be whisked off via limousine to a surprise luxury destination of your choice!

What are you waiting for? Cast your bids now!

INSTRUCTIONS
✖ Start a thread with a character up for auction.* (They probably didn't have a choice in it.)
✖ Reply to someone's totally sexy bachelor or bachelorette. Congratulations, you have automatically won the character for that thread!
✖ GO ON A LOVELY DATE. The RNG is provided in case you need a prompt, but feel free to wing it!
✖ HAVE FUN

RNG

1. FANCY DINNER AND A MOVIE

2. HOMESTYLE DINER AND A STROLL THROUGH THE CITY AT NIGHT

3. THE CARNIVAL (OR AMUSEMENT PARK)

4. ROLLERBLADING/ICE-SKATING

5. PICNIC IN THE PARK (WITH OR WITHOUT DUCK POND)

6. PA'S FARM (MAY INVOLVE COW-TIPPING. PROBABLY INVOLVES COW-TIPPING.)

7. HIKING THROUGH THE MOUNTAINS

8. FAST FOOD AT THE ARCADE (AND/OR BOWLING ALLEY)

9. THE ZOO (AND/OR AQUARIUM)

10. ~~PRETENTIOUS~~ CLASSY AS FUCK ART GALLERY

11. COME INTO MY WORLD (BACK TO ~YOUR PLACE~)

12. ICE CREAM AND A LONG WALK ON THE BEACH

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[OTA gen/platonic dates and shipping/serious dates 20+ OTA. Castmates (especially JINUS), crosscanon, crossmedium, canon mashups, assumed CR, AUs, OCs etc all always welcome.]

And the winner is...Ser Aymeric de Borel of Ishgard!

[Aymeric didn't particularly like the fundraising format, but charity is charity. He approaches Rumi and bows low, gently taking one of her hands in his as he rises.]

Mistress Rumi, it will be my honour and privilege to accompany you this evening. [He accompanies the statement with a kiss to the back of her hand.]

((OOC: Hi! Starting off simple in case you have any questions. Not sure if you're familiar with Final Fantasy XIV, after all. If you want to do any setup or ask anything, feel free to PM me!))

[ How did she end up in this situation? Honestly no idea. ]

[ Firefighter Bachelor Auction for Charity is a canon event on his show.

Reference pictures: 1 - 2 - 3. ]

[Well, what did you expect from a billionaire who's name is at the front door of one of the most prestigious security companies in the world? Of course Kate shows up. Dress all in black in a three pieces suit, she waits patiently until Ravi is up for auction.

Once he shows up, she's relentless. Bid after bid, she tops them all with confidence. When it comes to the coup de grâce, she has no need to go even higher. Certainly not to outbid herself. But she does, making a point.

After all, this is for charity, right?]

[ Ravi had agreed to the bachelor auction back when... well. When he still thought he was technically a bachelor. Captain had insisted their station show up in force for charity, and Ravi hadn't exactly felt like discussing the fine details of his situationship with Kate with his own boss.

And he's lucky that she's pretty much the best woman on this planet where he's concerned, because when he told her about it after certain conversations, she'd just grinned, mischief in her eyes.

Ravi knew she would never let him go on a charity date with someone else. Nor would she let him flounder and feel without worth. But nothing could have prepared him for just how relentless Kate would be to "win" him.

Damn if it isn't flattering, and maybe that shows when he sits at her table after her winning bid, smile bashful, and cheeks burning hot to the touch.

The official rules state that the date will be agreed upon at a time of the bidder's and bachelor's choosing; they end up being spontaneous about it. Because the thing they both apparently really crave after a fancy charity event where she spent a few thousands on a guy who was going to take her out anyway... was diner style comfort food.

And there's something to be said for ending up in a slightly squeaky booth with laminated menus and a jukebox in the corner while wearing fancy suits and looking like a million bucks.

And if Ravi's cheeks are still burning hot to the touch, so sue him. The girl he likes just did something incredibly hot, he thinks he's allowed to be blushing. ]

You look stunning in that suit, by the way.

[That smug look on her face was the one thing that didn't disappear, not even for a second, for the rest of the charity event. Drinks come and go, but her hand finds Ravi's under the table and Kate holds it, their fingers entwined until they figure they've lingered at the party for long enough.

The idea of being spontaneous and not waiting for much longer before they have their date suits Kate perfectly. And so, her foot finds a spot between Ravi's under the table while she studies the plastic sheet that is the menu. Peeking over it after he compliments her. A genuine smile showing on her gaze. His company is always enough to fill her with joy.]

I wanted to be rise up to the occasion.

[To impress him, mostly.]

So... [Blue eyes return to the menu even though Kate's blindly reaching out over the table, searching for his hand again. They've always been pretty touchy, a loving touch tends to be one of Kate's love languages. But ever since they opened up about their feelings, it's almost like a gate has finally been opened. She's not afraid to appearing too clingy or about mixed signals. She's not scared to crossing boundaries.

They can finally be honest around each other.]

I woke up craving an obscene kind of burger. [Putting down the menu she taps at a picture.] I don't think I can even fit this in my mouth. It's perfect.

[ ooc: too long for the subject line, but I'm just laughing, bc he's canonically the most well off of his team - he owns two apartment buildings, is saving up for a third, with the goal of building generational wealth. but he's working *hard* towards that goal with double shifts etc, so he's not exactly wealthy yet. and then there's Kate LMAO. ]

[ The easy touches thrill him. Ravi has gotten so used to thinking he's not wanted over the years, always loving too much and finding himself not loved back. to be with someone who fell as hard as him and worried about the same thing is new - and in many ways novel. He doesn't have to worry about signs of affection being too much, about pushing someone away by coming on too strong. The way they constantly reach for each other now is all he wants. So he lifts her hand while still trailing his eyes over the menu, dropping a kiss onto her skin with a soft smile. His eyes move to Kate for a moment, wide, dark and oh so very warm. He looks lovesick, and he doesn't bother hiding it. Ravi's not ashamed to be a damn fool about his woman now that he knows he can. ]

This one here looks disgusting in the best of ways, so I'm afraid I'll have to get it. Fancy events are nice, but I just felt like stealing the full trays of those tiny shrimp things and shoving them in my face, to be honest.

[ There's something there that he doesn't like to poke at - the way he never says no to free food, and will absolutely stuff his face if he can get away with. It's tied to how hard he works to build his little 'affordable living' empire; buying up apartment buildings that have been stitting empty at low costs, and renovating them to rent them out at reasonable prices. Making a profit, sure, but not gouging his tenants for money. Ravi knows what it's like to not have much.

And now he feels rich in a completely different way, looking at Kate and sliding his fingers between hers as he sets the menu aside, too. ]

So... how's it feel to have bought me?

[ A teasing glint in his eyes, cheeky smile spreading over his face. ]

[ooc: Ravi never suspected that his vision board would manifest Kate. Now all his friends can joke about him becoming a trophy husband. XD]

I did that once. [Kate points out casually, smiling fondly as Ravi's lips find her knuckles so lovingly. She returns the affection, stroking him with her thumb as their joined hands return down to the table.] Well, twice, technically. Once I did steal a tray to share with a friend. Then this other time I pretended to be a waitress. If you ever need to infiltrate a black market auction, I totally recommend that plan.

[That toothy smile of hers? Yeah, it's the cheeky type that pretends she's completely innocent when it comes to her mischief.

She only has a faint idea of just how self-conscious Ravi can be about certain subjects. His goals she's aware of, though. Kate's watched him, working his ass off to make sure his future will be set. And she supports it, impressed by his determination. Always happy to surprise him with take-out, glad that his masculinity isn't fragile and accepting a woman pampering him doesn't seem to be a big deal.

Paying thousands of dollars for a meal at a diner sure doesn't seem to bother him. It is for a good cause, after all!]

Well, if you word it that way it sure sounds like I'm looking for reasons to get cancelled online. [Her tone is deadpan, but it's obvious she finds it funny.] In all seriousness? It was the best of both worlds. I get to donate to charity and also the hottest man in the room.

[How's that for your ego, Ravi?

Kate's busy looking at him adoringly, as if Ravi was the center of the universe, when a waitress comes with the drinks they already ordered.]

So, have we decided on something yet? I can give you a few more minutes if you need them.

(ooc; 👀👀👀)

[ do iiiiiit 👀 ]

[ Firefighter Bachelor Auction for Charity is a canon event on his show.

Reference pictures: 1 - 2 - 3. ]

[The things one does for charity.]

[ It's friendly-ish antagonism for the sake of charity, mostly. Vicky chooses not to think about why he is the one chosen as the frontman of that joke on behalf of the district office—pool together a little cash and bid on one of the better-performing defense attorneys in midtown Manhattan, force him to hold up his end of the bargain by shackling him to one of their own for a few hours—: the excuses for pushing him to the front of the line range from Vicky's being single to his being the newest addition to him being "endearingly rude and confrontational" enough to hold his own against even a born-and-raised New Yorker and lawyer like Matt Murdock, simply by virtue of being born off the right exit on the Mass Pike.

He goes along with it with only a moderate amount of complaining. A straight man's amount of complaining. Maybe there's something in it for him, too, holding Murdock hostage for a few hours. Their last meeting happened on Matt's home turf, not neutral ground, and there's a part of him that never quite settled itself comfortably after their last conversation. It's his turn, largely on account of the for-laughs income pool of a federal government office being large enough to outbid Matt's home precinct of the NYPD by five dollars.

The Godfather is being screened at Central Park, and while he doesn't quite know if movies are something Matt does, or if there are versions of movies that are more like audiobooks with sound effects for people who can't see the screen, Vicky's happy enough to piss off the people around them by narrating in an accent most—Matt probably included—find grating simply for the thematic appropriateness of the whole thing. There should be options for food there, too, being that it's late October.

That's not until seven. When Vicky steps out of the Yellow Cab and onto the sidewalk in front of Nelson and Murdock, Matt shows himself to be a man of his word - he's standing on the stoop at five sharp as though waiting to hand off custody of a child per court arrangement. Vicky announces his presence simply by speaking up; the voice, based on their one prior conversation, should be distinguishing enough. ]

You look nice. Didn't realize you had other outfits. You'll forgive me, I forgot the corsage they sent me with.

[This whole thing is Kirsten's idea, because of course it was. Matt isn't opposed to doing his part for charity and while he initially makes the argument around the questionable taste of such events, eventually he does his part and stands up in a nice suit and tie for the bidding. Considering some of the contenders in the room, there are probably worse 'winners' than whatever the FBI office thinks they're doing so he's not exactly put out by the situation. His promiscuity and experience means that he's had a hell of a lot of terrible dates in his life so while he has no glowing expectations of the one that he's headed to now, Matt is certain that he can manage it without losing much in the way of dignity.

He would have probably preferred the Kitchen's police precinct win, just because he would've likely ended up just hanging out with Brett at a bar for a few hours, listening to the Jets lose, but the unexpected win from the FBI means he has to actually put in some effort. Fair enough. He can go along with the flow and while he isn't entirely sure why Vicky would want to do this following their last encounter, Matt isn't going to fail to live up to his obligations just because it'll probably be awkward. He's confident he can hold his own should it devolve a second time.

It leaves him standing outside the new office in a change of clothes from his suit and tie that he wore to court that day. He's traded them in for a pair of dark slacks, a button down dark blue chambray shirt and a black asymmetrical wool coat. He's aware of Vicky's approach but pretends not to be until he speaks.]

I have a diverse wardrobe.

[Not including the Daredevil suits that are stored away in his apartment.]

I'm sure you look nice too.

[Blind joke. Easy. He presses the cane down to walk down the familiar steps to the sidewalk.]

You're going to have to lead the way.

[ There's a small, barely audible huff of amusement at the attempt to return the half-meant compliment—the entire thing is ridiculous, and by god if they're not both going to play their roles to the bitter end, it would seem. ]

I do, thank you. Everyone at the office made sure I looked nice for my big date tonight before sending me out. —I'm on the better side of average looking, too. Blond, if that's a thing for you.

[ Also spoken with a degree of dryness, and clearly tongue-in-cheek in its delivery. It strikes him, perhaps because of his own recreational activities, as decidedly bizarre that Matt doesn't have a seeing-eye dog, just as it had the first time they'd met; he assumes the guy's either allergic or legally blind but in the severely visually impaired way able to still pick up the general shapes and shadows making up his environment. Not a "first date" sort of question. ]

I'm headed down to the taxi line. You're lucky. If the NYPD had won, you'd be splitting the fare.

It's very cute that they felt they had to dress you appropriately. How did you get suckered into this?

[He heard enough from the chatter at the table, even if technically it was too far away from the stage where he was standing, so he knows that this was a bit of a rub on the cops more than Matt himself, but it does leave him wondering why Vicky is the apparent spokesman for the department to take him out.]

I can work with moderately attractive and blonde.

[He walks down the steps and moves with the kind of ease that he always does. There's the tap of the cane that is always more for the image than necessity while he moves down toward the curb.]

If the NYPD won, I would just be seeing an old friend for a Jets game at a dive bar and a hook-up in the bathroom. So you're going to have to really overdeliver to make this the better option.

[He knows his reputation and the whispers about him, which are all well earned and nothing that really bothers him. Matt has had various hook-ups throughout the city's more tight knit civil service sector either within the DA's office, a couple firefighters, or the aforementioned cop so he's not saying anything that isn't already whispered about his personal life.]

A—

[ —hookup in the bathroom—?!

That was supposed to be an inside thought, but Vicky only manages to rein it in after that first stunned syllable makes its way out—certainly he's heard rumors, but it's not exactly like accusing a man of being gay or accusing someone of putting out to get the desired result in court isn't well-trodden territory in the messy web of interactions between enforcement and the judicial system. The two are usually just applied to different gender demographics.

And here's Matt, rattling off this—incredible breach in professional conduct like it's the weather. After all of that sneaking around with Chris back in Boston, when the two of them had been in a relationship, not hooking up in gross men's bathrooms— Jesus Christ, he hadn't even realized Murdock was gay, which sends the optics of this little outing a little further south.

All Vicky can do is laugh, part disbelieving, part uncomfortable, part amused by the sheer chutzpah of the guy. At least it changes the subject from why he was asked to lead the charge, which, with this new information, does look a certain way. Feels similar in spirit to his sister bringing up random gay men she's one degree of separation from every time they talk on the phone, if she were to handpick ones he has already decided rub his fur the wrong way. ]

You might be in for disappointment. I don't put out on the first date. [ Usually there is no date. ] I'm saving myself for marriage.

[ Spoken in jest. Mostly. ]

[It seems that he's already stunned the guy into silence, which is incredibly funny to him and he's not going to pretend it's not. His personal life is nothing that he feels any kind of shame about, which might be something of a surprise given the Catholicism of it all, but ultimately, his closely held belief structure doesn't leave time or room for something resembling guilt for the ways that he spends his fleeting spare time.

His attractions cross easily over gender lines, which is probably what made him the easy pick for the whole buy-a-date auction in the first place, and there are just as many stories whispered about his way with women as there are about his other dalliances, though he rarely kisses and tells. Except this time, just to see if Vicky will squirm. And he does. Matt can tell, from a jump in heart rate and a subtle shift of breath, that the revelation is more of a surprise than Matt expected it to be.

Well. The guy is comparatively new in town.]

Don't worry about it. I'm easy, but I'm not a sure thing.

[Which is to say that he does have some standards and he doesn't pursue anyone who isn't interested in being pursued.]

You still haven't told me why you were the one volunteered for the spoils of your department's bidding war with the Hell's Kitchen precinct.

Call it comedic effect.

[ He turns his head in Matt's direction as he walks—a steady pace, and still watching the stretch of damp sidewalk ahead of them from the corner of his eye: Matt's irritating, but it would be regular shitty not to warn him of any giant fault lines in the pavement. Not that he probably doesn't already know where they are, this close to the office he clocks into every day. ]

First, seniority has its privileges. I've been in 11 years, but here, I'm Johnny-come-lately. Second, my coworkers in their infinite wisdom felt that it would be amusing to choose the most—allegedly—confrontational person they know to put in the ring with you. And third, no wife to be less-than-thrilled about the prospect of me taking a lawyer who works out five times a week to go see The Godfather. Filling you in here, most of the guys at our table were wearing wedding rings.

[ Not that the cut, clearly-defined muscular physique is his thing, but he can see where even the heterosexual wives of heterosexual men might feel a little uncomfortable about a joke date with such a character. ]

Now one has to ask why you volunteered with full knowledge of which other organizations would be in attendance. If cops are your thing, which is a very interesting revelation in light of our last conversation, there are websites for that.

[Matt walks this street every day going to and from the office back to his apartment before heading out for the night in the way that he usually spends his time. He knows every crack in it, knows every obstacle along the way and plays the part of feigned necessity with his cane without drawing too much attention to the way that he moves with confidence in his steps.]

I'll focus less on the fact that you've noticed that I work out and more on the fact that you've decided that the right date for a blind man is a movie. A bold choice there.

[He can't quite help but tease a little bit at that particular decision. The question of his own why is far easier to answer.]

My partner put me up to it and she is very persuasive. Former assistant DA so it's hard to argue with her. Plus, it's a new firm, so she thinks doing charity is a good way to endear ourselves to the larger community of said organizations, though I already have my particular reputation for the kind of lawyer I am and standing up on the auction block isn't necessarily going to make anyone rethink my character or rethinking going up against me. And no, I definitely do not have a thing for cops. I made a single exception for one I've known since before I was a lawyer. My last girlfriend was a psychiatrist, so definitely not law enforcement. It didn't work out.

[Obviously. Matt is a slew of problems and neurosis on top of a foundation of lies that he tells in order to maintain a secret identity and a life that is lived in violence so it's easier when it's a string of hook-ups, one night stands and casual relationships where he doesn't have to answer to anyone about where he goes every evening.]

[ Another little huff in the place of an eyeroll, which Matt, of course, wouldn't see. Still gets the point across.]

Well, obviously, I'd tell you what was happening, if you wanted me to. [ He'd been planning on it. ] And, also, it seemed a fair assumption that you'd already be fairly familiar with the plot. Something arthouse, though, you're right, that would be asinine.

[ Something like the weird shit the film students at Amherst used to have screenings for. ]

And, you know, you say that, but here you are. What was it that you called me? A cop who doesn't get overtime? So that makes two, so long as you're still intent on maintaining that classification. Could've opted out.

[ As aggravating—uncomfortable—as the conversation had been in the moment, there's a dry humor in the way he references it now: got you. ]

Edited 2026-11-09 01:08 (UTC)

I saw it when I was a kid. Before I lost my sight. My dad liked it and didn't really give too much thought to the MPA's classification of what was appropriate for an eight year old to see.

[So no, he's not put out by the choice of date. More amused by the whole notion of it than anything since it left him wondering just how much thought Vicky had put in. Apparently enough that he felt he could offer descriptive captioning of his own.]

I assume you chose a film as a date so I wouldn't talk for two hours.

[Not that it'd necessarily work, of course, but he can understand the particular logic that might come with it. Questioning why Matt showed up does spark a small smirk while they walk.]

I have the courage of my convictions and I keep my word. I said I would do this when I signed up for the auction under the peer pressured duress from my business partner and here I am.

[ That little quip does make him laugh, a single sharp ha! that falls to a grin to match Matt's own. ]

I take a blind guy to a movie, I get to talk for two hours and you have no choice but to listen to me. No easy task for a defense attorney, I'm assuming.

[ A beat passes as he walks—giving Matt enough of a berth to swing his cane back and forth without running up into the back of his leg. ]

The MPA didn't account for Catholic families that watch it every Christmas Eve when all the little Baptist children are watching Rudolph and How the Grinch Stole Christmas. [ Not that they didn't also watch those. Tonal whiplash. ] Gotta keep those kids wide awake for Midnight Mass.

Edited 2026-11-09 12:14 (UTC)

Presuming you don't just put me to sleep. The glasses are useful; you wouldn't even know.

[That would make him a bad date but he's not necessarily banking on this being an overly fruitful one. They're volleying back and forth with some measure of good natured banter but given how the last conversation went, Matt's not so delusional as to think that it will last or that his own charms will win the day.]

Catholic, huh? I'd have pegged you as a heathen Protestant.

[Is he teasing? Maybe.]

It was usually just sugar that kept me awake for Midnight Mass while my dad was alive. One of those giant tins of cheap caramel corn did the trick.

[ Okay, he's grinning at that, even if Matt can't see it. Not that he won't also be able to clock the amusement in his voice, the way his accent shapes itself around it. ]

Me? A protestant? You don't have to pretend. Stereotypes are based in reality, as they say. I've yet to meet a Boston Irish Episcopalian. Or a baptist Kennedy north of the Mason-Dixon line, for that matter.

[ He clocks that while my dad was alive, but doesn't comment on it—they're not on that level of familiarity at all, and the casual way in which Matt brings it up suggests that he's at peace with it, and that dwelling on it probably wouldn't be welcome even if they were on a level of closeness that made it appropriate. ]

[Crosscanon, crossmedium, etc fine with me.]

[he really shouldn't squint, he is going to ruin his beautiful face. why is he here? some heavenly official charity banquet? or we can human him up!

canon, crosscanon, OCs all welcome! m/m 21+ for shipping, but if a lady wants to take him on a date, that's fine? he's not paying, though]