asgardeventide | 001. ᴀɴᴏɴ ᴛᴇxᴛ.

[ she laughs when she reads his comment. laughs because dear sherlock does know some parts of her too well. she wonders if the greek give her away. when she answers him, he can see her name and she makes certain he can see her. in her room in loki, surrounded by papers. all are sketches of different parts of the city in coal.

she smiles. ]

Always in a hurry to name things, darling. Does it matter, truly?

[ a pause ]

You did not sleep. I could hear your mind reeling from across the city.

I merely don't want to contradict other people's impression of you. [He assumes that is something that will prove important. He could easily be a foil in her plans, but he does assume that won't benefit anyone, least of all him. Plus, some part of him still wants to understand this currently indiscernible future.

He can't help himself.]

I have much to catch up on. I would say the same for you, except ... [He observes the drawings. Many of them are places he's been to.] Well, I should count myself surprised that you're satisfied by my own intel. We seek different things.

Do we.

[ she claims they are alike, sherlock would always claim otherwise. the truth is, she knows, he can be quite like her. can choose not to try with these pitiful excuses of minds that will never measure up to his. he chooses not to and moriarty knows that for now, she must align herself to him.

but not so evidently. she takes a moment, looks around herself, taking in the sketches before she looks back at him. ]

It is both dull and exciting. I had thought Asgard to be an alien thing but the architecture is deeply affected by the baroque. there is nothing here that I have seen that is original to this realm.

In some cultures—often Judeo-Christian, as you know, but more than just that—humans are gods' greatest achievement. Perhaps this is Asgard's gods way of appreciating our accomplishments. [There is nothing in his tone that seems to indicate that he truly believes to be the reason, but that may be one minor aspect of it.

Otherwise, he's not surprised that Asgard serves as a centerpiece for all the worlds. That does seem to be its purpose.]

[ she hums in thought in response to that. he is right, she knows that well enough. still, it disappoints her. like a child who discovered her toy is exactly like the previous one she had and thus not enough of a child. moriarty knows well of duplicating; she had restored art since she can remember, celebrating the genius of others without adding anything of herself. that had changed too. she painted dear joan with her dark, thoughtful eyes. she does oft think of doing the same for sherlock; paint fingers and hands she knows all too well. ]

rosalyn.

Jamie Rosalyn Moriarty, then. [He understands that he is now her accomplice in a way, but this is one way to create a connection. To keep tabs.

It's important.]

They will meant to contact you, after all. You're difficult to resist. And when they cannot find the name Rosalyn, they'll wonder.

you so rarely use my first name.

[ 'never' would be even more accurate. she knows well he would rather remember she is moriarty, it is safer after all. jamie is something more intimate.

in the world she paints for him, he had called her jamie before. ]

And I will tell them that perhaps Rosalyn is not meant to be found.

[ she smiles a bit, the soft, small one she suspects he favors. ]

an irony. A man named Sebastian Moran suspects me to be a man named Sherlock Holmes.

[ because he is not her Moran.

(Maybe she will make him so)

And she knows well the man he suspects her to be is not her Sherlock.

(She will always think of Sherlock as her own) ]

[He catches that implication, laid out in a way that does make him suspicious, but he knows that she's also creating an intimacy between the two of them. He still finds her suspicious. She is still Moriarty, but she is not always Moriarty.

There are a number of different places where he would have allowed her leeway, where that name could have slipped off his tongue. Letters. At her time of freedom. At moments where he acted on other instincts other than his typical ones, the very ones that sometimes make him blind to her.

He doesn't ask. She knows that he won't, though.]

Thanks for the tip. I did mean to speak to him. Busy, busy. [It's said after he types the reply to Moran. Not before. The only shameful part of it is where he can't add in weird acronyms and the like.]

[ she laughs at that, laughs open and brilliant. It's a good move of his. Now she must find another time to speak to Moran if she wants him to buy this little lie. He succeeded in contacting the man and prevented her from speaking to him at the same time. She'll find another time, he knows that well; but the effort is appreciated. Besides. It opens a new game for her. ]

Then I must be you. At least for today.

In some ways, I believe you'll do particularly well. In others, it speaks to Moran's own assumptions on the matter. This Moran should know better.

[It makes Sherlock curious. Very curious. He looks forward to speaking to him further.]

I admit the parallel lines between our realm and others is a source of endless fascination for me. Here is Sebastian Moran and he would think me to be a Sherlock Holmes.

[ and she had never imagined Sherlock - with his brilliant, beautiful mind could be a name that will be shared with anyone.

her eyes narrow just a bit. ]

Have you met them?

One. The other hasn't responded to my call just yet.

[There's a moment where he considers his phrasing, and he decides to be terribly honest with her. The truth is, this other Sherlock didn't impress him much. But then, he had hoped for a level of curiosity to be leveled in return. And it wasn't. The fact was peculiar.]

I don't believe we'll be business associates.

I am not surprised.

[ though she thinks of it from the wrong angle, maybe. sherlock is like her, proud of his brilliance and uniqueness. she can only imagine it's a frustration to have another of his name and his brilliance. assuming the two others are even a match for him.

they will never be, not for jamie. ]

And then there is Watson. John, isn't it?

[ a smile. you have to admit, it's ironic. ]

He is equally unimpressive.

[To clarify his former statement, in a way. The fact that John is so unimpressive is also a disappointment.]

To say he shares a role in some Sherlock's life is disappointing, to say the least. I believe you'll find him to be much the same.

Of that I have no doubt.

[ after all, she was only ever really interested in Joan herself after the Joan had managed to lead straight into a downfall. it made her curious, it almost made her appreciative of the woman.

john watson, however, what is he to her but someone who might have a chance of doing the same? she isn't interested in a repetition whatsoever. ]

it is curious is it not. to have such parallels present. not unexpected. but curious.

For reasons different from my own, I'm certain.

[Sherlock finds Moriarty's interest to be very different, at any rate; but he doesn't want to speak with her about Joan. He doesn't want to accidentally reveal anything. Joan can handle that herself if the occasion arises.]

The Sherlocks are nothing like myself. But that much should not be surprising. I wonder if they even have a ... well, you.

I wager they do.

[ it's an educated deduction and a painfully simple one. If there is Holmes and there is Watson then there is Moriarty. A Holmes needs a Moriarty or else - well, what interest lies there? nothing but dullness and painfully insipid criminals. They are like, him and her, Holmes and Moriarty and in a sense, his fascination and search for answers regarding the human condition would not be whole without her. She has no doubt the others have a need for Moriarty; different reasons, perhaps, but a need still. ]

You play the violin, Sherlock; tell me, would the Le Quattro Stagioni have been the same without L'inverno? I suspect it is the same here. Like your puzzles.

[ there would be a piece missing. ]

You are mistaken, Moriarty.

[The answer comes too easily, too quickly. The way he looks in the video is distant for a moment, but it is purposeful. Some part of him wants to agitate her.]

It is not Moriarty that completes a Sherlock. It's Watson. Do not provide yourself a pedestal you do not deserve to stand upon.

[He can be disappointed by the other Watson, but some part of Sherlock knows that's because he's not Joan. What he fails to see there is likely similar to what Moriarty failed to see in Joan. That much he's certain of.]

Edited 2014-02-02 07:59 (UTC)

Two different equations, darling, but both are still math.

[ easily, dismissively, almost scolding in tone. Something that's very clear to her. she would never rule out Joan, she made that mistake one time too many but she'll take her place one way or another. the first time was deceit, the second as well. it's only a while before the third will come. ]

You are a solved equation. Nothing more.

[It's cold and distant, but some part of him wishes to lash out now. Some part of him relishes the opportunity.]

[ it's cold and distant, yes, unlikely, too; sherlock's anger at her usually takes a hotter form of shouting, of his hands holding her shoulders down to pinpoint her betrayal by a beauty mark. to have those please her is odd, insane, perhaps but they do please her and she doesn't stop to consider why, entirely. sherlock will always be a work of art to her, pleasing in color rangers, different as they may be. she smiles, something that isn't cruel, not entirely. amused, yes. ]

Oh Sherlock, I think we both know that's very far from true.

No matter what action you take, Moriarty, there will always be some intrinsic factor of it that I will understand. You cannot deny it.

And two others which you might not. I still don't feel at loss.

[He considers her words carefully.]

And which others might those be?

[ and that does make her smile ]

As Hamlet said, that is the question.

video | private

unpuzzling - 2014-02-10 00:49 (UTC) - Expand