#savant.thread

[loftycries]

it's an innocuous question on roman's end, and so there's no need to get defensive, so james doesn't bristle. " for a... reason ? " okay, so maybe he does bristle at the question, but only a little bit. unofficial 'profession' aside, he does feel a little ... bad for doing his returns so shortly after the holidays and so close to closing time. but he had been looped into a white elephant last minute where he was given a coffee machine he wouldn't use ... and the gift giver had been kind enough to include a gift receipt so ...

" i had a return to make. " he says, showing the other man the box he has half balanced on his stomach. " and.. what about you ? "

how has he been? well, there's the truth which is ... not great but he just gives a quick smile instead. a lie always works. usually. the unfortunately part is that james ... would know if he's deliberately lying to him. one of those little ... side effects that roman had yet to entirely figure out a workaround. ( his workaround has been to avoid them but clearly, he's very bad at that. ) "well enough ... as well as i can be."

if james is at a loss for words — which he sure seems to be — then roman is at a loss of how to get through this. he already has started digging a hole and he isn't sure where he put the shovel. shit. keep it simple, keep it truthful. roman's gaze flicks towards the ... strange mix of items in his arms and aims for the stars with this one. "and y-yourself? you, uh, running some errands at this time of night for a reason?"

[loftycries]

it's a friday night, which finds JAMES at a bar. he lets out a slow whistle as a movement of the corner of his eye draws his attention. there's a television screen on the back wall of the bar, and while there are some bars that play sports matches, others play — well, hero-villain battles. he supposes that it doesn't make too much of a difference; in either case, there's a winner and a loser. "well, that’s a shitshow," he says, his eyes focusing on the pair of cerberus agents as they scramble after a villain on screen. he pops a fry into their mouth as he watches the utter chaos unfold, wincing as an agent takes a bit of a hard fall after landing on a rooftop. he turns to the person beside him. " who are you rooting for ? "

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[loftycries]

closed for esen sahin @disruptedlogic / somewhere in manhattan / october 31st, night

shit, JAMES thinks. he briefly puts a hand to his ribs, sensing that they most likely are not broken, just bruised. but even that is more of a guess than anything else — all but strung together with hopes and fairy floss ; he's never had anything even close to a formal medical education, after all.

he rounds the corner, all but prepared to take the subway home. he's grateful that it's halloween. all that his already all-black outfit needed was quick swaps out for less protective gear and a pair of black cat ears for him to fit in ( the all-black is not his usual go-to as savant … but tonight's mission had required him to be someone else ). some whiskers were drawn on with a cheap eyeliner bought from cvs, and now he's ( jazz-hands ) festive. then, he sees a woman bracing herself against a wall, clearly injured, and approaches her.

" hey, is everything all right ? "

[loftycries]

CLOSED for esen @disruptedlogic / the gala

the things that JAMES does for his friends ! in any other situation, james would not have attended an event that expressly seemed to invite eo's only, especially when said eo's included … heroes and other villains that did not in fact know who he was. contrary to popular belief, he actually isn't self-important enough to think that he has a host of enemies, but he also isn't naive enough to think that there aren't heroes and villains who'd like to see savant apprehended ( or, for some, villains — dead ). heroes which include his girlfriend( ? too soon ?) esen, who had apparently gotten herself nearly killed since the first time he had met her years ago. esen, who does not know that james is also an eo, one that more or less goes up against her co-workers for his own occupation ( if you could call it that ). murphy's law is a hell of a time.

long story short, he's here for hiroji. he's here not as james, not as savant, but as a secret third thing — hiroji's unnamed, mysterious, sexy, masked sidekick. only hiroji had left him to all but die ( sorta dramatic, yes, but james has never pretended not to be ). he turns the corner of the hallway, nearly running into a woman. he opens his mouth to apologize, but then he somewhat belatedly realizes that the woman isn't wearing a mask. her eyes are red-rimmed, a little wet, and he knows them —

" esen ? "

[loftycries]

" two parties ? " james asks, a little surprised but somewhat — proud(?) of his friend. he hadn't pegged tj as the type to party hard, but he supposes that tj's still young ( they're the same age ) and it doesn't feel impossible that someone like him would want to let loose from time to time. and then his friend continues his story and james grows a little more perplexed. " you lost.. your mullet at the party ? " he asks. " at the... gala ? or at the... other party ? "

"I only speak the truth." TJ said in the earnest matter. James was like the other brother and buddy he never had. There was a slight fade of his smile before sighing. "I did too sadly-but fireman never get a day off." He tried to joke. "Two parties too somehow." There was a thoughtful look as he subconsciously touch where the mullet once was. There was a small laugh.

"The only casuality was my mullet at least. And now I got the 90s bangs." He blew his hair out of his face. "And I was there....running like a chicken It was like-" TJ looked at James for a moment, stopping walking. "Why would someone cause all hell to break lose like that?"

[loftycries]

CLOSED for imara @iridescences / nighttime, rooftop in nyc

the life of a villain (anti-villain?) is not too dissimilar of the life of a hero. now, this may anger quite a few folks working at cerberus, so let him clarify. by that, james doesn’t even mean that cerberus corp is a villainous organization. may that be true ? who’s to say ! certainly not james, who had apparently missed the most eventful part of a rather stressful gala. ( he was out getting pizza with the most beautiful girl in new york. so he considers that a win. ) like the rest of new york city’s humble citizens, he had to read the transcript of the speech by the gala’s host behind a paywall in the new york times.

no what he means is that sometimes, much like a level iii agent, he doesn’t know what the fuck he should be doing. there’s a fine line between being a campy and fun villain vs. being pathetic in a dr. doofenshmirtz way ( only fun in cartoons, where the media isn’t out to cyberbully you ). attempting to steal from a cartier store with its holiday decor still up doesn’t quite feel like sticking it to the system. not that savant is out to send a message or anything. but he’d like to do something interesting, and currently his contacts have been quiet. so he’s on a rooftop, in costume, looking over new york city like he’s daredevil ( if daredevil were real ). he can’t exactly hear shit past the distant traffic far below him. how was he thinking this would go ? he doesn’t exactly have enhanced hearing like daredevil does, now does he ?

well. at least he’s getting fresh air. and he’s alone.

at least he thought he was alone, but someone always has to prove him wrong. he hears the telltale sound of footfalls. he faces towards the sound. “ is that a gun in your pocket or are you just happy to see me ? ” he asks, though he still doesn’t… fucking see the other person.

[loftycries]

CLOSED for victoria @rvnxwxys / the gala

over a decade into having an ability, JAMES's power now fits him as well as the gloves he wears as savant, and using it feels just as easy as using any limb he was born with. yes, there was a time when james was just like any other human, and he made do without his ability, but he cannot fathom going back to a life without his ability. it's a part of him now — even if his ability was given a name that was frankly ridiculous by all those eo hero ( and villain ) fanatics. miming ? really ? they couldn't have come up with something ... less lame ?

his ability has gotten him out of a sticky situation more than once, and it's not too conspicuous, given that the constructs created by his ability are nearly invisible to the human eye. so it doesn't hurt, he thinks, when he jostles a vase off its pedestal and his muscle memory has him miming a net to catch it from falling. it's far better than the alternative ( the shattering of a pricey vase would draw too much attention ). the vase rocks back and forth precariously as it slowly regains its stability, and then finally comes to a stop. he breathes out a sigh of relief. no harm, no foul, he thinks — and then he sees a masked blonde woman out of the corner of his eye, who likely witnessed the entire thing. he aims for a casualness he doesn't feel. " hi ? haha. that was a close one !! "

[loftycries]

SAVANT is blissfully unaware of the conversation between the agents. instead, he approaches the vehicle he has been trailing for the last hour. he's not alone, however; he's accompanied by — coworkers ? temporary mission partners ? he's not how to define their relationship — but they've been quiet in response to james's half-hearted attempts at small talk. they're eos, he thinks, and he met them earlier in the week just for this mission. they're wearing masks, just as he is, and they haven't demonstrated what exactly their abilities are yet but...

there's a nagging feeling that not everything is as it seems.

james shrugs off the feeling of discomfort like it is nothing more than a muscle ache. "hello," savant says. he's noticeably not wearing his usual get up, and he wonders if that's enough to hide his identity from them. not that it really matters either way. "would you mind stepping away from the car ?" he has his hands up, in a gesture that almost seems like he's unarmed, but an invisible barrier is now separating his team(? he's certainly not the one running it) from the agents.

a cloud of cigarette smoke left her lips along with her visible breath as she leaned against the car. the corner of imara's lip twitched upwards at the nickname, her chunky black boot stomping her cigarette out on the cold and damp concrete beneath them, " well, if these guys were any good, they'd be here by now, " raising the volume of her voice, as if to taunt the criminals, she scoffed and looked around again, nothing, " some criminals. " she wondered why she, as a level one agent, had gotten assigned such a goddamn tedious mission. it wasn't a total loss though; at least bellamy was there with her, the fighter thought to herself.

[loftycries]

running in a tuxedo has always looked better in movies. while JAMES wishes he currently felt as sexy as daniel craig looks in those james bond movies, it's just not his reality in this lifetime — a lifetime that currently looks like it might uneventfully reach its end in a prison cell if he doesn't find a way out of this mess. if it's not the event security that catches him, it will be agent winter, who's never liked him ( an understatement ). and if it's not agent winter, then magnus andersen himself, by his luck.

he rounds a corner. he hates hallways. they're confined, easily blocked off by people who know the venue better than he does, and the ceilings are too low for him to make a creative escape upwards. if he could just make it to the nearest stairwell —

then, he literally runs into a woman. one that … he's pretty sure wasn't there earlier. but such is to be expected at an event where almost everyone is an eo. " oh, i'm — so sorry, " james says sincerely. he's more than a little winded, after running for the better part of the last fifteen minutes. he hears the footfall of security still pursuing him and he throws up a 'wall' with his hands, sturdy enough to hopefully stop them in their tracks. " you're not hurt, are you ? "

phalanx.

closed starter ft. @loftycries ( savant ).

setting: the ritz-carlton hotel, nyc.

timeframe: december 1st, 2023 / evening, before magnus' speech.

summary: amparo splits with gael and malakai to commence their investigation. but she's not the only person snooping around...

content warnings: none.

this was risky.

not too far away from her is magnus andersen, host of the event and face of andersen labs, and a woman amparo has never seen before, even during her preliminary research with gael. her contacts haven’t told amparo about a woman, but judging by how close she and magnus are chatting, she must have some status within magnus’ company. amparo holds her breath again as another security guard passes by her face. her invisibility spell has her cloaked, but amparo can’t help but feel that something’s bound to go wrong.

it’s inexplicable, but she’s been feeling a strange tug at her fingers since half an hour ago. the lively warmth that her magic usually instills her hands with feels like it’s almost slowing down, deflating, sapped like a tree of its syrup. drips of magic disappearing out of her, but going where?

amparo shakes those thoughts out of her head. she can’t afford to psych herself out. although she can’t see her hands, she knows her fingers. CC, she casts, and words begin to materialize for her eyes only.

but in bits and pieces. ampi frowns, shocked by what she’s seeing as the andersen labs staff around her continue to chat unaware. how is this possible? closed captioning has never had this issue before. maybe she’s coming down with something and it’s affecting her magic? quelling the panic, she focuses on the words she can understand before they disappear.

—̵̰͑ ̶͚͑t̴̪̔h̶͂͜ė̶̲r̴̝͋e̵͉͝’̵̠̈́ś̵̮ ̴̬̑á̸͍n̸̬̑ ̷͚͐i̸͓̽ń̴͕t̴͍̔r̷̺̔ụ̶̇d̸̖͒e̵̘̋r̶̼̓ ̴̻̕i̶̪͒ň̴̙ ̵͎͂ț̴̍h̵͚̿e̷̳̚ ̶̳͊u̶̠͊n̶͍̽a̶̻̔ǘ̴̝t̷̹̄ḣ̵͎ọ̸̑r̶̩͌i̵͍̓z̸̡̆ĕ̴̠d̷̬͝ ̶̥̿a̴͙̍r̶̟͛ě̸ͅa̷͍͋s̸̔͜.̵̼͋

amparo almost jumps out of her skin. both magnus and the woman are now talking to the security staff, two of them, and in a flash, the men in black are embarking, silently shouting into their earpieces. back to magnus and the woman, they’re starting to split.

mierda. the spellcaster grits her teeth, half of her just wanting to follow magnus in her invisible state. but the other half, the one that’s been incessant in her head since she stepped into the gala, has been saying she’s pushing her luck. it’s time to fold the cards.

begrudgingly, she does. she leaves the hallway and heads for the fire exit staircase, returning to the lower floor. as she enters the carpet-lined interior of the ritz-carlton again, she feels the vibration of something, no, multiple somethings thumping closer.

not one to stand still, amparo quickly runs ahead, getting to the hallway corner, and peeks. is she not the “intruder” that security was talking about? is it gael or malakai who’s headed her way? she squints, trying to make out the shapes getting closer.

[loftycries]

james doesn't necessarily believe that he has changed all that much in those years between first meeting esen and reconnecting with her now. even so, it's reassuring to see that they still connect on some deeper level, after all these years. is he a romantic ? it's hard to say.

and, he reminds himself. this is the first fucking date. no need to rhapsodize about how well this is going, or how natural it all seems, when the night is still young. rarely does his life play out in a way that doesn't feel like it's building up to a punchline at his expense.

"sure... lead the way," he says in a way that he hopes comes off as a little more casual than he feels. he aims for a charming smile, hands in his pockets. " how far is it from here ? " though he had been to her apartment before, he had been dragged there since he passed out after getting his ass beat by esen's co-worker... not that esen knows that part of the story. the fact that esen agreed to go on a date with him is nothing short of a miracle.

closed starter @loftycries || esen & james .

a night out is exactly what esen needed after her work week. she felt like she hadn’t had one moment to herself to breathe or think especially since one of her last missions had been broadcasted all over social media. she had definitely tried to keep out of the public eye after that. it was already embarrassing enough to be on a mission for that reason. regardless of all of that, she was looking forward to a date night with james. she felt like she had barely seen him the last couple of days and she was itching to see him again.

in her opinion, dinner couldn’t have gone better. they had opted to go to a chinese place not far from her apartment and the food had been delicious. after a few drinks and way too much food it was finally time to leave to make the walk back to her home. she was in no rush to put her coat and hat on once they stood up to protect her from the chilly night air.

“do you want to go back to my place after this?” she asked as they were heading out of the restaurant. “we can watch a movie or something. i don’t have work in the morning.”

[loftycries]

" you would wound me in such a way ? " JAMES quips back, eyes bright with interest. whenever he's with reyhan, one of his oldest friends since moving to new york city, he finds that his lips are always curved in a near-perpetual smile, like a cat that's got the cream. it's odd that he's been able to stay in reyhan's good graces for this long, given that their friendship is all but founded on a farce, a lie that james is cut from the same cloth that reyhan is, or if not the same cloth, something similar enough that it wouldn't ruin the picture. or perhaps it shouldn't be so surprising — they are both performers in their own right, after all. " you would like that wouldn't you ? to knock me down a peg. " he pouts, but this too is an act. he's not offended.

he leans back in his chair, body still tilted towards reyhan's. he ignores that stickiness on his elbow that's characteristic of lovely, 'authentic' manhattan bars like this one. " you don't like underdogs, then ? next you'll tell me that you hate kittens and puppies. and queen. the rock band, not elizabeth — er, god rest her soul. " he shakes his head; it's clear that he doesn't care any particular way about the late queen of england. " you're right though, rooting for the underdog in cases like these is rooting for the winner. the house always wins. "

as if cued by a stage-hand off-camera, a level i agent comes into view. they dance under the spotlight of the helicopter like it's any other stage light. compared to the already winded level ii agents, and the amateur villain who likely made their costume at home with a sewing machine, the level i hero jumps higher, runs faster. james sits back in his seat, facing the tv now. " well, there's your guy, " he says. his eyes don't leave the screen as he takes a sip of his drink. " heroes, they're just like us. "

James is one of the curiouser members of Reyhan’s coterie of companions. In a way, Reyhan couldn’t call James a friend, the word associated with feigned crocodile tears and bisous on the cheek like pairs of traitorous Judases. No, James was different from the shallow ditch known as friendship. For one, Reyhan would not be caught dead in a boring bar like this; Abyss would be the venue of their choice, what with their tasteful and modern décor and good music. Actually, what are they listening to? Reyhan turns their head to the darkened corners, but it’s so dim they can’t tell if they’re looking at a speaker or a shaded spot.

“ Some sort of sadist… ” They draw out the word like a rapier from its sheath. Light yet sharp. Then comes the swing. “ Think about the crushing sensation you’d get in your gut when you call me up, and I tell you I’m too busy — watching House of Villains. You’d feel insignificant, wouldn’t you? ” Many an ego has been shattered by Reyhan’s remark in the past. In this present, Reyhan sniffs and lazily commits to a shrug.

Watching the hapless heroes bumble another attempt at capturing the schmuck taking on the role of the miscreant, Reyhan gives James a little smirk. One must wonder if a “villain” ever longs to be a hero. They idly comment, “ You have a penchant for the underdogs, then? You have to admit, the odds for these agents are insurmountable unless someone is willing to tip the scales in their favor. ”

Another sip of the Commonwealth pauses their conversation, and Reyhan chuckles, “ Even the lowest denominator car chases on whatever-the-hour news attempt at entertainment value. Nothing is nakedly observed as is anymore. The camera angle, when to cut, when to zoom in and out. Editing, framing, direction. There’s always a concern about putting on a show, and with the brand collaborations Cerberus loves to dish out, you think they’d put their stars in a better light. Or…”

Reyhan flicks at a stray bang away from their face. Leans in close and tight to James’ side. “ Or then we should all admit that these… extras are that. Extras. The storyline will demand the real protagonist to show up. I suspect a Level One will pop up any minute now. ”

[loftycries]

" the thing is — how would they even know though unless i told them ? " he asks, leaning forward onto the bar. the bartop is a little sticky against his forearms, and he makes a face at the feeling. " i guess it doesn't really matter anyhow. " the fact of the matter was that for any sort of vigilante like him — or masked villain, whatever — the public generally didn't know what the vigilante was working towards unless they made it a point to disclose any sorts of numbers or details of what they did behind the scenes. and it was — a lot of work. since when did he sign up to be his own pr agent ?

" sounds fun; i'm on board, " james says. he doesn't really envision himself saying no to anything that jaime comes up with, given that jaime is just so much preferable to have as a partner to some of the other people that he has had to work with. for all of his levity, james has always known that he often found himself surrounded by more dangerous individuals. jaime was more or less good, for all that james was concerned. " you have a general time estimate for that ? "

"There isn't exactly any hard and fast rules to it, but I assume at least half of what you're stealing, if not more." And this is why she liked just being a random civilian who no one knew about. She didn't have to worry about labels or an image to maintain. Jaime could get away with things easily and then just drop an anonymous donation that couldn't be traced back to anyone. Most of the charities she donated to were tended not to ask too many questions or risk losing all their anonymous donors who liked their privacy.

James was chaotic at best. Not exactly evil, but not good either. A bit like Jaime herself if she was more of an attention whore. "Still needs more follow up on my end but we've got a new player in town. Looks clean on paper but has his eyes set on moving a large drug shipment...I don't really want to see those drugs in my neighbourhood and where there's drugs, there's money... so thought you might be interested."

[loftycries]

" people are just fascinated by eo's in general, i think, " JAMES says, as if he himself is not one of them. " i guess they're just meeting the demand that's out there. and television is dying — or so i hear. still a little morbid and dystopian though, yeah. " he finishes the remaining dregs of his drink. he slips a thin piece of ice into his mouth and crushes it with his back teeth. " they do seem to make an effort to make the agents seem as close to cartoon superheroes as possible; though it can be odd to look at when some of the villains don't seem to follow that memo. "

the stranger's conclusion that he roots for everyone, hoping that no one is injured — is a little disappointing in how normal the response is, but also somewhat expected. they just met after all, and his drinking partner seems like a normal guy, all things considered. " do you have a favorite then ? " james asks. " hero… or villain, too, i won't judge. "

Bakari hummed in agreement at the mention of the broadcasts. “No, I agree. It feels off that Cerb Corp allows that kind of stuff to go on air in the first place, but I guess even police chases get televised now,” Bakari murmured. The slowly dissolving ice cubes in his glass of water clinked against each other as they lost their battle against gravity and sunk into the water. His mind couldn’t help but recall the scene of the agents on the roof. Concerned, he glanced at the T.V. and saw that, thankfully, the agents were no worse for wear than they had been a couple of minutes ago. His eyes skimmed over the chyron at the bottom of the screen that read: Cerberus Corp agents lose track of villain ‘Cat Burglar.’ He snorted at the name. “And though it definitely would be more reassuring if all the Cerberus agents were more like the heroes from comics and cartoons,” He said, bringing up the glass to his lips to take a sip before continuing. “I don’t think they can’t always get L1s like Ymir or Granite to tag in for run-of-the-mill robberies, even if the person doing the robbery is an EO.” Turning back to the bar, he smiled at the stranger. “But considering the damage some of those guys can do to the city, I guess sometimes it’s a little harder to choose who to root for. I just always hope that no one gets hurt.”

[loftycries]

JAMES pouts. “hey—it takes two to tango.” not one of his best comebacks, he’ll admit, but it’s aleyna who’s keeping him company. if the evening isn’t fun for her, she shoulders half the blame. “besides, the night is still young.”

with her next words, his features shift into a sly expression. deliberately misunderstanding her words, he replies, “well, ms. polat. if you wanted my number, all you had to do was ask.”

aleyna takes a seat beside james, ordering herself a ginger ale from the bartender at the same time. when her eyes find the shitshow in question, she can't help but grimace. there's just a certain something about cerberus that makes her skin crawl. "really james, this is your idea of a good friday night?"

she had unfinished business with him and enough connections that it didn't take long for her to track him down -- again. "why don't you just give it up and tell me your contact already?"

[loftycries]

"aw," says JAMES, and he can't help but be touched. though the two men are the same age, tj has always felt more — almost puppy-like in his innocence to him. tj's a cerberus agent, but one that seems like he's not yet jaded by the work or things he's had to witness. " i had a long night last night, what about you ? were you at that eo gala ? "

TJ smiled reading the text. It was really nice when people noticed the walkie-talkie talk. He couldn't help but wonder if James would like to join the fire department.

"Very excited to see a friend." He teased back with an eager grin. "I can't all those pancakes myself." The firefighter stretched his arms out. "Who knew those fancy parties can have so much distress." TJ said. He shook his head.

"But today is a new day and we will enjoy ourselves." He said with a wide grin.

[loftycries]

hiroji flips him off — unprovoked, mind you — and JAMES raises an eyebrow. " what the hell ? i thought that when you agreed to go out drinking together, it also meant talking together. " but, despite his words, it's clear that he's not actually offended. he's too used to his friend's antics.

" i heard level i agents get paid a lot, " he points out. " though it's probably takes a fucking long time to ever reach that point. isn't it odd, how it really comes down to how useful your ability is ? like if you had squirrel physiology, you'd never be able to make money. but i guess that applies to villains too. " he takes a sip from his drink. " hm, in this case, i'd go for villain too. "

Hiroji has a mouthful of beer when the guy next to him turns to him with a question. He has half a mind to spit it all out. Doesn't he know not to interrupt a man when he's drinking? Manners on these fucking kids these days. He holds up one finger to tell the guy to give him a minute. Oh wait — that's his middle finger. Piss off is the proper translation, Hiroji believes.

He looks though, glancing upward. Oh. Shitshow is right. "Villain. They pay way fucking better and ask no stupid question. You think I can get a job with twinkle-toes there without a background check? Not on my fucking life. One less dumbass to worry about if they bite the dust. What about you? Hero or villain?"