@w.graham; night 299 - video [ Let reports of questionable life choices continue! ]

[ex_this_ismydesign36]

[OOC - CW: Mention of self harm]

[ Good evening fellow snobos, it would appear that the reports of questionable life choices continues to roll in; Rhys started a trend.

It is another video, coming from the user name w.graham and featuring that same gentleman. It’s hard to tell if he looks worse than before, because he tended to look terrible in general. What is different is he looks a bit more exasperated than he had the last time.

As he takes a breath to start speaking, the voice of one Gregory House, comes across first, calling from somewhere off screen. ]

Don't forget to call them snowhellions! And remember it's Hotstud first! Then Graham Cracker.

[ Will just sighs and rubs his hand over his face, before he gets started. ]



Good evening.

House and I have a couple of new discoveries we've been tracking over the past week or two and inspired by Rhys, we thought we'd share...

First things first! If you change something in a place, freaking tell me. I maintain the building guide and map, people. Contrary to popular opinion, I'm not psychic. You move crap, paint new symbols, or smash in symbols tell me. And get before and after pics. I don't need a conversation. Neither of us wants a conversation, just where, what, and pics or it didn't happen!

[ Will pauses for a moment, his eyes casting towards the direction the voice is speaking, and he’ll inquire, with polite sarcasm. ]

Done? [ There is a pause and a slight narrowing of his eyes, before he remarks in a flat tone. ] As a doctor you know that’s a physical impossibility.

[ A pause, an eyebrow lift -the rude gestures were getting more creative here- and Will shook his head and turned back to the camera. ]

I’ve been told to keep this short, so here goes. We also discovered in building 217 that a combination of blood and fire will result in instant cult membership. [ Here Will rolled up his sleeve, exposing his forearm, complete with healing laceration and the prophet eye burned into the skin above where he’d sliced himself open.

After giving the audience a good view he lowered his arm and took a breath, only to be interrupted again. ]

Don't let Graham Cracker sell you on the platinum membership, folks. The fees include your first-born child, two pints of blood, and a patch of skin. And that doesn't even get you access to the topless lounge. But if you're really in for it, just drip some blood, light a little fire, and you’re good to go. Matching brands and everything.

Did you want to do this? Because I can turn this camera around and... yeah, that’s what I thought.

In building 213 we tried a little tyger, tyger burning bright at night. For those of you who have just arrived, that is the building where Winter died. Apparently if you set the walls on fire, it makes them scream. Like a woman, or a child and the screaming only lets up once the fire wanes.

I think we should light a fire somewhere else. Test this more thoroughly; we’d need a lot more wood though.

Or some bodies.

And this is why people don't wanna be friends with you, Graham Cracker.

Okay back to what matters. Woman or child makes me think Winter or Sam, take your pick. Also the knives stuck in there still won't come out but I couldn't taste anything interesting on 'em.

We do have record of the screaming, if anyone wants to listen for themselves.

Finally the pool in building 216 is a bust. We cracked open the eyes at the bottom, I tried to get a read on the scene, but came up blank, and Mr. Oral fixation over here tried tasting the paint, nothing.

About the only evidence we could nail down was that the symbols look like they were all done around the same time, at least, and same color, but no way to tell if it was more than one person.

[ House's disembodied voice is still coming from somewhere off screen as he takes the wrap-up. ]

Anyone else wanna share? Already tracking the magic brigade over at the high school so we can skip that.

[OOC: House is all comments in blue
Will is all comments in purple
Responses will come from both of them! Assume House is audio only, unless otherwise noted in the comment header! ]

Comments

[ex_this_ismydesign36]

[ He saw the tension. After all these days traveling together, not to mention bleeding and other bad life choices together, he can see the tension. ]

Oh good grief you two are textbook.

[harlequinofhate]

I think he just insulted us, House!

Hit him for me.

cw: mention of skinning

[rubikscomplex]

I skinned him a little earlier. Does that count?

[Only a little for the experiment. And Will skinned him back, but...]

[harlequinofhate]

NO, HOUSE, IT DOES NOT!

[rubikscomplex]

[Will will see House tense again at that shout.]

Too, bad. So sad. Put on your big clown pants and deal.

[harlequinofhate]

Geeze, fine, I'll kill the two of you later.

Do I have to do everything?

[rubikscomplex]

[Well, hell. His eyes flick up to Will and there's a momentary spark of terror before House manages to shove that down.]

I thought killing me was getting old. You've played that joke out too many times, bro.

[harlequinofhate]

I dunno, there is something to be said for a running gag...

[rubikscomplex]

Uh huh... you're okay with Holmes thinking you'r his pet assassin, too, after this? 'Cause you're basically doing his bidding, even if it's your bidding.

[He's going to attempt to backpedal this to some degree. Mostly because Will isn't supposed to be looped into this particular game.]

action

[ex_this_ismydesign36]

[ Will could see House getting agitated. He carefully muted his tablet and set it to the side so the video couldn't show them. ]

House? Breath.

[ He wasn't being sassy, but he also didn't linger long because he had run into how badly House took anything resembling pity. For the record, nothing in his expression suggested pity. ]

People like Joker? This is what I do.

I can't promise you that I can make him back off, because a psyche like his doesn't work that way. He's dangerous, and best interacted with from a safe distance, but he's also damn smart and capable of providing us with a lens that none of the rest of us posses.

[ Well, the jury was out on Will and he knew that, but his murdering habits tended to at least be focused towards people who deserved it. ]

action

[rubikscomplex]

I know what he's capable of.

[It's snapped, and House bristles at Will slightly. He knows this. He works with the Joker because of this. But if Joker is the shark, House is the diver who keeps poking at it, unable to help himself... even after he's been bitten.]

I'm not saying 'pretty please' to him on the open network. He knows that.

action

[ex_this_ismydesign36]

[ Will can't decide if House is like watching a puffer fish or a hedge hog. Both can go from chill, to all spikes raised at the blink of an eye. ]

That doesn't mean he's going to stop insisting. It's what they do, House. He wants you to submit to him, publically and he's not going to stop pushing the issue.

You've got to decide how much you're going to let him manipulate and control you.

action

[rubikscomplex]

I don't let him do anything. And I'm not submitting to him.

[Except in-person when the fear overrides most other things.]

I handled him before you got here, Graham. I'll handle him after you die and don't come back.

[The claws are coming out. Anxiety is making him rebuff the other man's help. House can see Will getting killed by the Joker, the Joker coming after House again and forcing him to travel with him... and the physical and emotional harassment that comes with that, or worse, still, the Joker making good on an old promise, like the one to go after Steph or Quark for House's bad behavior.

And here again, he might get someone targeted due to simple proximity and apparent care on his part for them. He might be afraid for himself, but he's absolutely terrified of being responsible for more deaths coming from forces that he can't control.]

action

[ex_this_ismydesign36]

[ For a long moment Will sat quietly and simply watched House. Weighing his options against the evidence he'd been collecting for almost a week now.

Will Graham didn't have many friends and as a rule, he was okay with this. He had his dogs, he'd had Molly and Walter for a time, Jack and the BAU team ... Beverly. Then there was Hannibal, but he was something unique.

He knew what it felt like to have friends and to care about their well-being. Despite the fact that he'd had long conversations discussing killing House for an experiment, or letting House kill him, and despite the fact that they gleefully poked at each other's buttons -like kittens chewing on one another's tails- he liked the man.

And the man was breaking down, piece by piece, in front of him as every hour passed.

Part of Will didn't want to engage this, because he knew there was a high likelihood of House blowing up in his face. He could just, keep his mouth shut and let things continue on status quo and keep a watch out for the older man. Except Will knew it was foolish to believe he could always be there, and House needed to be able to handle threats like the Joker.

Not just be telling himself he could do it. Because the fault lines were growing and Will could see them shattering apart, just in the moment where House couldn't afford.

Folding his fingers together, lacing them and then unlacing them, when he spoke it was in a low tone that tended to indicate he was being quite serious. ]

I think that you've been handling things for a very long time, House and looking around, it's nothing short of admirable, the job you've done.

But you have run yourself into the ground, physically, mentally and emotionally. You're a doctor. You know what happens to the human body, the human mind when it's worn down.

You are entirely capable of handling these things, but right now you're not handling anything. You're desperately juggling and praying all the chainsaws don't fall at once.

[ He went quiet then, bending his head and pressing his forehead against his knees. It was a way to give House some space and perhaps a slightly defensive measure; in case those prickly spines came snapping out in his direction. ]

action

[rubikscomplex]

[They are very rapidly approaching a crossroads. House can see it up ahead. It's only been a little more than a week, but with the false memories of some future together where they'd traveled together for years at a time, it seems far longer. Down one road, is the option to burn Will completely, treat him like Stephen. A resource to occasionally use and argue with... not in a playful way. Down another, there's more of an alliance, but one where Will is held at arm's length. Something like what he has with Rhys or Angel or most people here, really. There would be a chance to prod at him now and again, but everything would be superficial. He'd occasionally dig his claws in, occasionally pet the dog. But there wouldn't be much there beyond a shared struggle. Down the final path lies something more intimate, where he doesn't push as hard as he could, where he gives in sometimes. It would be something like with Davesprite or Beckett, or even Wilson. There's effort. There's also the reward of some mutual level of understanding and support that House allows himself.

Will is a spider, though. House knows full well he's attaching himself to the web willingly if he gives here. But it's so rare to find anyone like him. He's intriguing. He's still a puzzle after the time they've spent together, which is even more unusual. Not to mention, the way his mind works, in particular, is fascinating.

There's also the complicating factor that House can tell he's edging very heavily toward a panic attack. Again. He needs to stop showing this kind of vulnerability to Will. It's galling for one thing, but it's also potentially dangerous if House does burn the man. He's seeing things he can use, if he so chooses, and House suspects that under the right circumstances, he might so choose.]

Always preferred the flaming batons to the chainsaws. Way easier for tricks.

[House presses his own back against the wall hard, trying to take deep breaths. He covers his face for a moment and puts a hand on Will's web; he doesn't throw himself at it just yet.]

This isn't your fight. It wasn't. The fewer people that get tangled between me and him, the better.

action - cw: graphic description of murder

[ex_this_ismydesign36]

[ Will watched House's body language. After their time traveling together, combined with memories that slipped forward and back, adding additional layers both real and imagined, he could see the panic starting to rise and it was tempting to want to go over to help.

But if Will had learned nothing else, it was that the moments of crisis where when House was most likely to reject, if not outright savage, a helping hand reached his way. It wasn't even an overactive sense of pride, but by this time a survival mechanism and one that Will could respect.

He'd learned it was important not to give ground, but to allow space. ]

House. [ He began in a quiet, tentative tone. ] I know this is not what you want to hear right now, but as isolated as you feel in this situation? You're not.

[ Glancing over to make sure the tablet was still muted and turned down, Will caught his lower lip between his teeth and seemed to take a moment before he came to a conclusion. ]

After the Ripper framed me and I was in the BHCI, when I was finally seeing clearly again, the ... violence between us began in earnest. I call it violence now, because I'm trying to lend it the gravity it deserves, but at the time it was like a game. One with high stakes, but still one where I had the singular focus of bringing him down.

It was me against him, only we didn't have the ability to strike directly at each other. [ Will looked down at his fingers and for the first time he was expressing something that looked and sounded like shame. ]

I had a co-worker, named Beverly Katz. She was a brilliant forensic scientist and a damn good FBI agent. She needed help with a case and came to me even though she still believed I had committed all those horrific murders. I agreed to help her, but I put a condition on it; I asked her to keep working the Ripper case.

I upheld my end of the bargain and she upheld her's and because she was good at her job, she started to get close and I realized, I'd put her in a great deal of danger. But I was too late to change the course I'd set her on.

[ Pausing, Will reached up and rubbed his hand over his face. He was trying to scrub the mental picture that flashed up in his imagination, but there was no chance of a reprieve. When he lowered his fingers, he stared at a point just beyond House, but to Will's eyes the plexiglass dissection windows were splayed out, Beverly's body housed in each slide. ]

He killed her, strangled her up close so that she could see his face, watch his eyes as she died. Then he froze her body and sliced her vertically into sections, and put each section on display in plexiglass frames. [ The words hung for a moment, before Will said, in a softer voice. ] She deserved better, better from me.

Better than getting caught in our crossfire. She was the first, but by no means was she the last. [ Something in the way he said that last bit suggested there were quite a few more tragic casualties, but Will capped the walk down memory lane at Beverly. She deserved nothing less. ]

It is admirable that you want to try to protect people from getting caught in the crossfire between you and the Joker. But I know what a zero sum game looks like, and right now that is what you two are playing.

action (cw: general body horror)

[rubikscomplex]

Plexiglass... interesting.

[Horrifying, too, but those are the first words that slip out as House mentally pictures that. He doesn't know Beverly Katz, so he just has a mental image of a featureless, dark-haired woman. He wants to ask how she was sectioned, but that's not the thing to focus on. How would he do it? How would someone trying to get to Will do it?

Actually, picturing the ways he could cut up a dead woman isn't particularly helping the panic. House just keeps taking deep breaths, bites down hard on one knuckle. When he finally speaks again, he's feeling a little less like he's going to fall over the edge.]

He put her on display. Pulled her apart in neat sections. Hell of a lot of work to send a message to you.

['Don't screw with me, or I'll kill you pets' being that message, House supposes.]

So, what's the strategy here? You aren't exactly a shining beacon of success when it comes to pulling yourself away from a psychopath.

action (cw: general body horror)

[ex_this_ismydesign36]

[ Despite the fact that he'd made it clear that Beverly was a friend, and that this situation had been personal, Will didn't snap at House for the way his mind went to the plexiglass. It was natural that the human psyche, when faced with the truly horrific, would attempt to start processing it at the least traumatizing denominator. ]

She had been trying to dissect him. [ Will clarified/corrected slightly. ] So he returned the favor. Took her apart and exposed her, the way she'd attempted to expose him. Yanking my chain was a secondary objectives.

The Ripper never does anything with a singular purpose. He's always running multiple threads through any one significant hub.

[ As for the last comment, Will's lips twitched upwards in a wry smile as he gave a little chuckle. ]

Perhaps I could be a cautionary tale? [ He offered, acknowledging that he certainly wasn't a shining beacon of anything. But his expression smoothed out to something serious and after a moment he said simply. ] Walk away.

That is what I could never manage with the Ripper, what Jack never managed either. The Ripper was an obsession with Jack, one that pushed him across lines a man like Jack would never have willingly gone across.

[ Will looked down and exhaled a slow breath. ]

It was different with me, my mind was unstable long before the Ripper got into it. You're more like Jack; good men who are being driven by a monster. Your own intrinsic need to beat that monster back, and the Joker is the type of mind that knows how to twist and leverage that need to his advantage.

[ Look at this House, getting more pieces of the story. ]

The way I caught the Ripper? I let him go. I let him go and told him I was done with him, that he could run as far as he wanted that I no longer wanted to know where he was or with whom. He couldn't stand that thought, so he surrendered himself.

[ Will glanced up and though he didn't say the words, it was clear in his face that he'd expected that result when he made the play. ]

You want to truly gain control of this situation with the Joker? Walk away from him. Do not engage, do not let him press your buttons, ignore him. He'll either become so desperate, he'll make mistakes that you can exploit, or he'll grow bored and move on.

Either way that is how you will get your control back in this situation. It's what I could never do.

action (cw: drug addiction)

[rubikscomplex]

Is it 'use him and his mind' or 'ignore him,' Graham Cracker? Can't exactly have it both ways.

[Much as he'd like to.]

And I don't need to beat the monster back. I'm not a hero. I don't wanna be a hero. That's what all the capes and soldiers and anime heroes running around here are for. I just don't like assholes shoving me around. Don't really care if it's a serial killer or freaking Ghandi.

[House runs a hand through his hair for a moment. He has his own alpha tendencies that sometimes get in the way of good sense. The hospital was his perfect domain. He might be technically under Cuddy, but he runs his own department, he is king of his particular castle. He has people who do as they're told, and he's willing to tolerate some oversight for the freedom to run things how he wants in most respects. It's freedom with some structure, and as much as he rails against it, structure is something he requires to make the world make sense. If he knows what the order is, he knows where the walls are and how he can attack them.

The Joker is absolute chaos... much of Norfinbury is chaos. The walls shift and change. He doesn't have a firm foundation to stand on to brace himself while he fights and grasps for control.]

If I ignore him, he knows who I like, and he'll go after them. I don't ignore him, we wind up where we are now. There's not way to win this. Not unless I get my Vicodin back from Strange to fix the whole caring bullshit.

[Caring is absolutely not an advantage, Will.]

cw: drug addiction

[ex_this_ismydesign36]

Well I wasn't too successful at that either, House so I'm not really the best source of suggestions.

[ He'd tried ignoring Hannibal. He'd managed it for three years, before falling back into old habits the moment he'd been given an excuse to do so. ]

You don't like anybody or anything shoving you around. Doesn't matter if it's an asshole or your best friend, you're impossible bec ... never mind.

[ The last two words seemed aimed at himself rather than House. Will really needed to stop psychoanalyzing the man. It was just impossible to turn off the perceptions of his mind, especially when they kept sparring with one another in such ways.

The last sentence saw the younger man looking back up and over at House, his brows drawing together in a genuinely puzzled expression. ]

That's not an answer, you know that's not an answer. [ Well, technically it was and answer and Will could feel in his bones that it was an answer that House found perfectly acceptable. The man was a drug addict, after all. ]

cw: drug addiction

[rubikscomplex]

[House looks up at Will and just raises one brow when he says drugs aren't the answer. Oh, ye of little faith.]

You clearly haven't been high often enough.

[He's just going to ignore the psychoanalyzing for now. He doesn't want to deal with it in this moment.]

[ex_this_ismydesign36]

Were you looking for "lacking creative thought for $200, Alex?"

[ His tone was more 'disappointed school teacher' than anything else. When he continues it's in a tone of curiosity, conversational even. ]

I've read up on you, and you can be quite clever, particularly when you're adding your insight into untangling some of this mess we're all in here. But when it comes to the whole threatening people, taunting people, stalking and murdering them? You've gotten into a real rut.

You are an alpha psychopath, and you've fixated on House because he tends to do stupid things at the top of his lungs, so he's pretty prominent and that bothers your whole alpha side. The problem is, he's also really clever and that intrigues and engages your curious side. Not unlike how a shark takes a little nibble, just to see what that surfer tastes like?

It is textbook.

[ Will sat forward, his expression engaged. ]

If you're going to do this right you need to start thinking outside the box, color outside the lines. Stop hitting the same old notes and stretch yourself a bit.

[harlequinofhate]

Are you trying to get me to stop asking the Doc to say "Please"? 'Cause that's what I feel like you're doing, kiddo.

Let the man say "please", it'll be good for him.

[ex_this_ismydesign36]

[ 'Kiddo'. Really? That was worse than some of Jack or even Hannibal's more patronizing terms. Will took a moment to settle his own feathers, least he jump at the baiting. ]

You know, I've had to say "please" to an alpha psychopath in the past. We both know it's got nothing to do with House saying "please" and what good it would do for him.

It's about you.

[harlequinofhate]

Aw, I'm an alpha?