complexharmony: (119)
Gabriel Gray (Sylar) ([personal profile] complexharmony) wrote2020-11-20 05:38 pm

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acuriousincident: (3)

[personal profile] acuriousincident 2021-01-04 08:55 pm (UTC)(link)
(( ooc: if relevant, please just run with whatever you like for any further case details - the details below are loosely based on the veiled lodger. ))

( He can hear the stranger small-talking with Mrs. Hudson all the way up the stairs - makes her day, doesn't it, that someone's taken an active interest in her, dear God. Face mostly impassive, he looks up. Takes in the other man's appearance (clothes; gray, relatively neutral, clever choice, be it conscious or not) and files it away, mentally, along with what he's gathered thus far.

So, he might kill people and boast flashy powers but you certainly wouldn't know by looking at him. He also isn't looking at the candle in question and that's wise, considering the many more important details he could be taking in as he stands there, newly arrived. Careful, he thinks and files this away too, though such new, un-tested data might very well soon be altered or replaced.
)

You certainly don't much look like a serial killer but then again - who does? ( He balances the candle on the arm rest, narrowing his eyes a fraction. ) The old lady came to me for advice yesterday because her newest tenant baffles and worries her in equal measures. It's a woman in her late-thirties who takes to wearing Venetian masks indoors and out, collecting and creating hundreds of candles like this - (A nod. ) - only to store them in her room. Two nights ago, apparently, a threatening message appeared on the kitchen floor - burn, it said, and be burned.

( Sherlock looks up at the other man, then gives a light shrug. )

Hardly a murder inquiry but a little odd, perhaps, if we're honest.
acuriousincident: (8)

[personal profile] acuriousincident 2021-01-05 05:22 pm (UTC)(link)
(( that sounds lovely! and perfect - so long as there's a lot of clutter and seemingly random oddities, i say it's an authentic description. ))

( Murder can wait? He pauses, staring at the other man with something almost like blank surprise - though honestly, he's mostly affronted. Look at this interesting case! Look at this person seemingly not caring! Much worse than his atrocious tea comment, much worse. Then again, some people (fine, most) just aren't that taken with case work - including serial killers, logically, as they tend to be mostly interested in their own deeds. He sits back in his chair a bit, crossing one leg over the other and following the stranger with his gaze. )

Do I need tools to fix it?

( He remembers their text exchange perfectly well, of course - the word, the skill, or one of several - clairsentience - and tilts his head slightly sideways, gaze gliding away as he speaks: )

More importantly, isn't it a bit rude for you to touch my things without asking? They might tell you some very personal stories.
acuriousincident: (Default)

[personal profile] acuriousincident 2021-01-05 09:12 pm (UTC)(link)
( Something in the room changes (nervous system responding to the slight shift in the man's attitude, his curiously careful movements and handling of items - a reaction rather than an actual shift). Sherlock stays as he is, stance mostly relaxed, listening while the man lets him know that his clock's too fast (analysing the clock speed through this sole moment of observation, not guessing, why would he, this is not ability pertaining to so-called clairsentience - this is something else) which would have been a show in itself, really.

But then, he proceeds to tell him...

Blinking, he sits up just a tad straighter, gaze running over John's empty chair automatically before he shakes off whatever hit the man just landed. The story's immediately verifiable which is clever, quite clever. But not, of course, the most obvious choice in the room in terms of personal stories. Relations. Events. Meaning, he could have been a lot ruder, his own words notwithstanding.
)

A coherent picture, at least. You, not the clock.

( He glances over his shoulder at the other man, meeting his eyes. There's something building at the very back of his mind, the beginnings of an all-consuming curiosity, something that might very well nag him for a long time to come. )

You see, complex people are rarely as full of contradictions as they seem. That's not complexity, anyway, just confusion. I wonder why you chose the clock, of all things - it must have spoken to you, in particular.
acuriousincident: (2)

[personal profile] acuriousincident 2021-01-06 03:51 pm (UTC)(link)
( His guest glances from the clock to the desk - fast movements, going directly for the drawer and looking pleased to find what he'd been expecting. Sherlock follows that entire scene from beginning to end, realising quite belatedly that by letting this man into his flat, he's set loose some rather vast potential for destruction. Dangerous, surely, but interesting as quite obviously, all his items are loaded with history, years and years of hours, minutes, seconds. A key to un-locking time itself, too, going backwards.

How apropos for a man of his prior occupation.
)

Possibly not.

( He doesn't deny it, of course. There's no need - it's not wrong but it's not exactly true, either, which suits the opaqueness of this whole situation neatly. Rather, he rises from the chair, takes the candle with him and crosses over to the desk, pausing next to the other and placing the candle on the surface next to the clock. Carefully, he pulls out a chair, pushes what's on it (old notes, a map of London from 1974, cigarette butts) to the floor in a heap and takes a seat. )

I'm sure we both understand how showing off can take precedence.
acuriousincident: (12)

[personal profile] acuriousincident 2021-01-09 10:23 am (UTC)(link)
( He sets to taking the clock apart and certainly, that'll prolong his stay unless he's planning on leaving it in pieces - an unlikely act of pettiness, when you consider the man's general demeanour right now. All the same, Sherlock watches him intently, noting the skilled, habitual approach to handling the gears, his focus. There's something very familiar about it - about reducing something down to its core elements, knowing exactly how to do so without causing any undue damage.

Something almost disturbingly familiar, yes.
)

Please. Altruism is little but an academic concept.

( He tilts his head sideways a bit, intrigued despite himself. He's been the lamb before, in the eyes of criminals and psychopaths and he's not scared of the implications - after all, unless you're a common thug or properly insane (not this man, obviously), the chance to show your strengths, to be recognised and raised above the common sheep far surpasses the need to kill for sport.

He knows, of course, because he could have been a killer himself in a different life, as Sally Donovan so kindly reminds him at every possible (and seemingly impossible) moment. It's the shadow side of his profession and he won't pretend to be bothered by that, whatever it makes him in the eyes of others. In that respect, talking to this man is a lot easier for him than dealing with sanctimonious idiots who can't seem to understand that it isn't about morality, it isn't about boring concepts like right and wrong.
)

I want to know the facts and the story pertaining to them. Nothing more and nothing less.
acuriousincident: (13)

[personal profile] acuriousincident 2021-01-10 11:25 am (UTC)(link)
( You're like me says the man who's admitted to killing others to harvest their powers (however that works - though Sherlock's got no doubts at this point that it does, this man is clearly not at all the type to believe in things that don't exist) and Sherlock would object if the truth of it - the similiarities - weren't so obvious. Though Sherlock knows nothing about watch-making or the intricate, inner work of timepieces, he knows the exact moment that the other man finds the flaw, the link, he's been searching for. His face lights up in a triumphant smile and for just a second, it's like looking into a mirror.

How right am I, he asks, looking up at Sherlock and the look in his eyes makes something inside him chime back in recognition. I know you, it says, despite all evidence to the contrary.

Well.
)

I don't have to tell you.

( He looks at the watch, at the gears arranged neatly on the table, no need for undue damage, no need for disarray. Yes. That's how it is, despite what others might think - they perceive destruction when in reality, it's a game. A search for what's beyond basic notions like order, chaos, rules. Sherlock leans in closer, observing the shift in the alignment of the tiny, tiny gear, God, the subtlety of it. It's quite beautiful. His voice, when he continues, is full of air: )

Because you abhor what's normal and monotonous, too. That's why you understand.
acuriousincident: (15)

[personal profile] acuriousincident 2021-01-14 06:57 pm (UTC)(link)
( Sherlock watches as the watch slowly comes together, piece by piece, the other man's personal image coming together in a parallel procession as well while he speaks. Tells him a story. But it's not just a story, obviously, it's a puzzle piece. Unwillingly (because certain compulsions are weaknesses, he knows it well enough), his mind jumps back to his own childhood. Being told time and again how stupid he was, how ordinarily blank, that he'd never measure up. Though Sherlock doesn't exactly relish the chance to see his own reflection in a man who takes what people unknowingly offers him - because naturally, that's what serial killers do - there's a part of him that nearly aches at the thought.

Imagine actually finding out that your initial hypothesis - your own ordinariness - is wrong. Faulty. Imagine rising above it, until for instance, you can make tiny pieces of glittering brass float in the air simply by willing them to do so.

Indeed, they've both been there, in their own, particular ways.
)

Yes.

( His gaze slips away, the intensity of the situation (what are they both and how in the world do they correlate?) prompting a need for some sort of respite, if only just a mental one. He thinks about the watch on the table, whole again, about Sylar's hand rising, his fingers dancing in the air. Then, he takes a deep breath and re-establishes eye-contact again. )

Years ago, I would have.

( Then came crime. Addiction. And in between, long periods of soul-crumbling depression and boredom. He's resigned himself to those two existential extremes, to the point of not knowing whether any other reality might even exist for him. He adds, voice contemplative, rougher than Sylar's, speaking plainly of the smokes he no longer indulges in: )

Inevitably, boredom will find you. No matter what you do - ( Nodding at the candle, then at the watch. ) - it never really stops.
acuriousincident: (7)

[personal profile] acuriousincident 2021-01-23 04:35 pm (UTC)(link)
( It's as if the very fabric of the room has shifted, as if, on a molecular level, reality's being altered right in front of his eyes. Sylar flicks his wrist and the watch flies back to its place on the mantle - you'd think it would crash at that speed, if you didn't know better. But while Sherlock can't pretend to understand Sylar's powers (the sheer extent of them), he understands quite intimately the power of the mind. How, if you understand every little detail, you can predict any outcome, in any context.

The trajectory of a watch, flying through the air, for instance, and every little inch of the space it traverses.

Imagine if you could do what I can do says the man who then proceeds to pop two buttons on his shirt, leaving his collarbones and chest just a little bit revealed, his skin prickling in response. Oh. If he'd been less entranced, he would have probably protested at Sylar's word choice - guesswork, really, like he'd ever guess - but then again, if he'd had the same powers, he might have thought inductive reasoning guesswork, too.

After all, compared to just knowing, pretty much everything is.
)

You felt it, just now. The thrill of working through all the tiny links, one at a time.

( He doesn't bother fiddling with his shirt (it's ruined and also, ultimately unimportant) choosing instead to lean in a fraction as the other man closes his eyes, ready to work his magic - what an insipid metaphor, it's nothing like that, clearly, nothing so boring. )

Landing on the solution, finally, when all the pieces align and click - how do you get that, with your abilities? Frequently, the challenge lies in overcoming banality. In the process itself.

( He's honestly curious. In his own field of expertise, he considers himself the final authority, really, because everyone else simply can't be bothered learning enough, thinking enough, to challenge him. But this is clearly new ground, nothing he's ever seen before. Imagine if you could.

Indeed.
)