#tornp4ge

[klarsynt]

@tornp4ge sent: ❛   volumes .   gaze  at  my  muse  in  a  way  that  silently  says  ‘i love you’ .

the inner table is full. it hasn't been this crowded in a while. the trial has been taxing. a long, drawn out process which has left everyone exhausted. some got their pardons and left already, disappearing before any government could change their mind. or before any loose threads come back to strangle them ( there are plenty still. it isn't a perfect world. many names will get away and it won't be fully safe for a long time ). but with them nearing the finish line, there's a tension which has eased up.

emil sits towards the end of the table, watching the conversation which, for once, has not erupted into an argument. yet. his finger rubs at the stem of his wine glass. it's mostly empty and he could get up for a refill but he's content. he feels like if he moves he might shatter the moment. his gaze flickers over a few faces, listening to their chatter, before settling on one. her. karen might not exactly be one of them but she has earned her seat at this table. she has played quite a big hand in any of them still being here at all to enjoy this meal, to breathe for another night. his expression softens considerably. when her piercing, azures meet his observation he is unabashed in his staring. he only offers her a small, tender smile. he subtly winks before he drops a hand underneath the table and finds hers, fingers curling gently.

maybe this is what peace feels like.

[klarsynt]

@tornp4ge sent: “mags thinks you’re in love with me.”

he freezes. there is half second where he questions if he heard her correctly, but she said it clear as day. and she's right there, too close to mishear. emil is grateful that his back is turned. it gives him time to control his fucking face. of course she said that. sometimes that girl has no filter and he usually doesn't mind it. but he has to wonder what possessed her to even say such a thing to karen, how or why would it have ever even come up?

he turns slowly and places a fresh mug of coffee into karen's hands. ❝ she thinks a lot of things, ❞ he says at first. he lifts his own mug to his lips and it's not until he swallows that he realizes he drank the coffee and not the tea. his brows furrow. emil swiftly takes the cup he had put in karen's hand and replaces it with the correct one. ❝ she's also...usually not wrong about people. ❞

she isn't wrong. he's not in denial about that. the problem is timing. he still has so much work to do, he could still very well die tomorrow securing a future for everyone. he's barely here. the nights he has time to come and see her are not as frequent as he'd like. not as frequent as she deserves. this ground they walk upon is still new and a little uncertain. but he'd promised not to lie to her didn't he? no more secrets. no holding back. his features soften and he finally looks away from her, glancing down into his tea. ❝ and what did you have to say about that? ❞

[desafia]

@tornp4ge woohoo

restlessness itches beneath her skin. magnolia likes the farm, she likes the quiet and the animals. she even likes when everyone fights at the dinner table. sometimes it's refreshing for all those inside thoughts to be outside thoughts. it's quieter for her even if it's louder for everyone else. when they're all yelling at each other they're not thinking so much. it's peaceful.

this is not peaceful.

but emil asked her to do this his way and it's not that she owes him so much as it is they have an understanding between themselves. so she sits on this too soft couch in this too big city, her legs criss crossed and her eyes darting all around, a little wide, trying to memorize every detail of her new environment. she has to remind herself to sign slowly. no one can keep up with her like emil ( not even the other assets and they all know how to sign they're just shit at it ). ❛ how long have you lived here? ❜

[klarsynt]

tantalus edits: ft. @tornp4ge

happy birthday, molly <3

[klarsynt]

@tornp4ge sent: ❛   chest .   place  your  head  on  my  muse’s  chest . 

he's half asleep, dreams just out of reach. he hadn't meant to doze off. there are pages scattered around him where he's laying atop the couch, a case that has gotten well below his skin. it isn't her he is aware of at first but those folders being lifted off of him. the light weight is replaced by something warmer. emil's eyelashes flutter open as she settles into his side, her head against his chest and a hand in his hair. he smiles. emil circles his arms around her and holds her closer. head tilts to place a kiss to her temple before he relaxes back, eyes closing once more. ❝ what time is it? ❞

[klarsynt]

@tornp4ge sent: ❛   indulge .   find  my  muse  drinking  to  cope .

❝ figured i'd find you here. ❞ the echo of his boots is drowned out by the music reverberating off of the walls of josie's bar. emil comes to stop beside karen, assessing the amount of glasses scattered around her, and the distortion of the energy waves rolling off of her. it's been a few weeks since his last visit—since promising to make things right—and he hadn't exactly given her a heads up he's back in the city. with his life currently there is no forewarning, no real consistency or schedule. he shows when he can. she deserve more than that. but a lot of people deserve a whole lot of things and the world is in short supply of fairness.

❝ i'll have what she's having—or one of 'em, ❞ he tells the bartender, eyeing the array of water rings on the counter. his own troubles are shoved to the back burner in his mind as he leans an arm on the sticky wood. she looks like a mess. reaching forward, emil tucks a few locks of hair away from her eyes. concern pools within his hazel gaze. ❝ what's all this about, karen? ❞

[murdocktm]

do you think i'd give up ? || @tornp4ge

" of course not, " matt had a particular talent for pushing his loved ones away. he would call it survival, self-preservation, but when it came down to it he knew it was for control. he would rationalize it any way he could, make a million claims one way or the other but it was easier to push than be pushed. if he made enough space around him, maybe he wouldn't bleed on anyone. maybe they wouldn't see what he was really made of.

in the same stride, karen had a particular talent for digging in her heels. for looking life in the eyes & defying whatever it mapped out for her. if she wanted to do something, she would do it & not even god could stop her. for every piece of himself that matt tried to bury, she would rend it from the earth. brush the dirt off of it. unravel it's secrets. she made him more human than he could afford to be anymore.

" but i think you should, " despite all the things he tried to hide from her, this was the truth. he had buried matt mudock deeper in the ground than he could stand to think & didn't want her to bloody her hands trying to resurrect him. his body is tense, like an animal with it's back to the wall. she reminded him too much of the life he ached for, the one he denied himself. maybe her, too. to subject her to the riptide he had created for himself would be worse than killing her, he thinks.

"i think - i know you can take it. but i don't want that for you, " he doesn't get to take that choice from her, he knows, but he prays she might listen. just this once, " i think it's only going to get worse from here."

[klarsynt]

@tornp4ge || liked for arc iii emil

the morning light sets his golden hair aglow, the occasional silver reflecting even brighter. he feels her presence before his eyes find her. emil looks up from where he squats beside a holographic outline on the ground. blueish-grey light recreates the image of the body which has long since been bagged and tagged. he turns on his heels to glance over his shoulder, eyes immediately falling onto karen. and the two officers keeping her at bay. he rips off a blue glove and places two fingers in his mouth. a sharp whistle shrieks through the air. everyone pauses. the two cops look at him but the forensic techs resume their work. ❝ hey—let her through! ❞ he calls and makes a waving motion. ❝ it's fine. she's with me. ❞

he raises up slowly, peeling off the other glove as he approaches. there's a slight smile at the corner of his mouth. ❝ deja vu, right? ❞