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

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

[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! ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Hannibal had known he had a companion, of course, and he appreciated Will's recognition of the fact, as well of his recognition of the purpose of Will's answer.

He switches to video, and gives the camera a tired but warm smile.]

Hello, Will.

[ Will thought he was starting to get a handle on his response, but in typical Hannibal style, the older man still managed to catch him out. Intentional or not, the result was the same.

The younger man felt his heart-rate kick up until he could taste the pulses against the back of his tongue. His breath caught and stuttered, teeth caught his lower lip and he sank back a little against the wall, lifting the tablet as if that would make the view even more clear. ]

Hello, Hannibal. [ He said softly, blue eyes moving in a twitchy pattern as he traced every tired line of the older man's features. ]

I didn't ... [ think I'd see you again. He'd meant for them both to die in that plunge, had woken here to a living nightmare. To a personal Hell, in every sense of the word. ]

[Hannibal likewise allows his eyes to travel the lines of his friend's visage, noting the still mild effects of his short time in this place. It's good to see him, to speak with him. To have him here.

He tilts his head at Will's broken sentence, remaining silent, wanting Will to complete his thought. ]

[ Part of him knew he was being lead. It was a classic psychiatrist maneuver and his lips twitched upwards. The smile was a tired gesture, but it was also one of acknowledgement and familiarity.

Like drawing a comforting blanket around his shoulders.

You are a manipulative ass ... but I can't not respond. ]

I didn't think I'd see you again. [ He finished, his voice lowered to almost a whisper. ] I first woke up here, I was sure I was in Hell, and not just because of the snow, the cold and the desperate circumstances.

[ He paused, before acknowledging that though Hannibal no doubt already knew; he deserved the words. ]

You were gone.

How difficult it must have been, to have made such a definitive gesture that entwined our fates, and yet to find yourself severed.

[His tone is gentle, even compassionate, surely that of a psychiatrist, but Will, of all people would be able to hear the sincerity in those words. There's a certain nakedness to it, a vulnerability.]

I would not have liked to find myself here and without you.

[ He was still looking for the hooks and barbs in the words. Uncertainty hitting him in unexpected ways. The reality of what he'd done sinking in with a starkness that Will hadn't fully considered when he'd taken them over the cliff.

A sudden lack of clarity in reading Hannibal's thoughts about what had occurred. Will had, effectively, murdered (or at least attempted) the man and that often left a person a little peeved.

But their relationship had always been a complicated dance, and Hannibal had always been capable of seeing beauty in what others saw as horror. Will himself, had already expressed that the moment when he'd wrapped his arm around Hannibal's neck and leaned over the bluff, had been the most peaceful he'd ever known. ]

Do you still find your compassion, inconvenient?

[Attempted murder had never been an absolute deal breaker between them. Indeed, in the wake of each of their attempts, Hannibal had wanted nothing more than to share the aftermath with his dear friend. And those three years behind glass had only served to strengthen the truth of his desire for this man. For his friendship, his understanding. Perhaps even his love.

That question elicits a slight smile. Hannibal reaches into his pocket and withdraws a corkscrew, the same corkscrew he used to open the wine on the house atop the cliff. He considers it for a moment.]

When I said those words to you, I was pondering what it would be like to murder you with this.

[He lifts it to the camera, letting Will take a close look at the twisting metal. All by itself it would be so innocuous. Yet Will knows that in Hannibal's hands it can be a lethal weapon.]

Imagine if I had. One might argue it would have been convenient. Certainly, it would have been somewhat less likely that I found myself precipitating into the sea.

[It's said as a gentle tease. He lowers the corkscrew.]

But had I opted for convenience, we would not have shared the kill of the Red Dragon. We would not have had the shared experience of the blood in the moonlight. Perhaps being so privileged to bear witness to that transformation is worth what followed. Perhaps a little inconvenience is not too large a price to pay for transcendence.

[ Anyone else, anyone in their right mind, probably would have felt a stroke of ice cold down their spine at the older man's words. At the way Hannibal withdrew the corkscrew, showed it off and referenced the road not taken.

At a time in his life, Will would have been just as horrified but that time had passed years ago. It had begun to pass when he'd been incarcerated for crimes he hadn't committed and planning his revenge. It had moved further down that path when he'd found himself genuinely torn between staying the course with Jack and running with Hannibal.

Now. In the wake of the Red Dragon and the cliff?

Will reached and rummaged in his bag and withdrew the butcher's knife he'd picked up at some point along his travels. He lifted it up for the camera, so Hannibal could see it. It was not a threat, rather an acknowledgement that the door now stood wide open. There was even a returning tease in the way he lifted his eyebrows. ]

I'm not feeling the need to jump on the tracks, as the train whistles closer.

This place we've found ourselves, is horrific for those trapped here. But there is beauty to the design and I believe that you will find this quite the interesting study of the ideas of hubris and godhood.

[Other men might have taken that flash of a knife as a threat. Not Hannibal, and particularly not from Will. The immediate meaning aside, a show of deadly force had long been flirtation between them, and Hannibal's answering smile, his eyes sparkling, shows that still to be true. Coupled with those words, it's also a reassurance that Will does not intend to repeat his swan dive, which the older man appreciates.]

[Hannibal nods at Will's assessment.]

Indeed. It is quite fascinating.

Where are you, Will?

[ Seeing the smile and the spark in maroon shaded eyes, Will replaced the knife in his bag and settled the tablet so that the camera continued to only show him. Now that the initial shock was starting to fade, it would appear as if Will was on the move, his gaze lingering on Hannibal's face, but also having to jump up to track his location from time to time. ]

Just remember that one person's fascination is another person's horrific. You're going to find all sorts of temperaments here.

[ As for the question, Hannibal might note that Will pauses and snurfs, they way you do when your nose is running and you don't have a tissue, his finger sliding under his nose as if checking for something. ]

We're backtracking through the skywalks at the moment. Where were you initially brought in?

Edited 2017-11-19 23:52 (UTC)

I certainly hope so.

[It wouldn't be quite as fun otherwise.]

[He notes Will sniffle, wonders if his friend is sick.]

I'm in the downtown area. I woke in a bakery, which is interestingly appropriate.

Do I want to know how much stalking you've managed to date?

[ Because he knows you, Hannibal. The Ripper was meticulous in the way he gathered data, and the way communication worked in this place supported all of the older man's habits. ]

Anything worth eating in the bakery?

[ He's making the most out of packages of peanut butter crackers. ]

Edited 2017-11-20 00:53 (UTC)

I would be mildly surprised if you did not already have a fairly good idea.

[Will knows him so well, after all.]

There was no food. It was, however, warm. A good place to spend a day. I believe there is a grocery market nearby. I was planning on making my way there.

[ Will couldn't help the wry sound of amusement that pushed it's way past his throat. ]

Leave it to you to end up in one of the few warm buildings in this entire town. I had to travel for almost a week before I found a hot shower.

[ And he'd only "found" the hot shower because he had caught up with House and House knew where he was going.

Speaking of House.

Will looked up and over at the man he was traveling with and heaved an aggravated sigh. ]

Seriously. Your need to eavesdrop is so great you were determined to keep quiet in hopes that I kept talking until ... when? You passed out and I had to drag both of you?

Here ... [ The camera and tablet began to shift around, as it swung, Hannibal would catch a view of a body laid out on what looked like some sort of plastic fabric. As Hannibal knew Will was traveling with House, the doctor had the span of time it took Will to hand over his tablet and wrestle the curtain away from House to decide if he wanted to stay on the line, or hang up. ]

Edited 2017-11-20 01:32 (UTC)

So I'm talking to your boyfriend now? Do we just do that?

[Hannibal will get a view of House, nose bleeding fairly profusely, and then the view is swung around to the skywalk walkway ahead.]

It's Giac, right? At least I remember having a conversation that didn't actually happen with some art prof with your sn. Or do you prefer the Ripper? My personal fav is Donner Party, if you're looking for suggestion.

[Boyfriend, indeed. That earns an amused lift of the eyebrows. If Will had not already spoken his name, Hannibal might have tried to continue using the Giac name. But there's really no point now.]

My name is Hannibal, actually.

[There's likewise no point to denying the appropriateness of those nicknames, but he isn't going to dwell on it. Not when there's something rather more pressing. He understands why Will was sniffling now.]

Why is your nose bleeding, Dr. House?

Hannibal the cannibal. You planned that out, didn't you? Or your parents were incredibly dickish seers.

[He sniffs for a moment and there's a pause where the view shudders as House wipes his own nose and coughs.]

FYI, if I remember you and Graham Cracker remembers you, when neither of us talked to you there's a good chance other people might remember you. So you might want a cover story if you're gonna go by Hannibal when people remember you introducing yourself as something else.

Don't worry about the blood. The bodies around here just cause acute MN poisoning. Can't recommend putting them on the menu, if you're shopping around. Or getting near them.

[ Having taken the handholds to drag the curtain and it's gruesome cargo, Will was able to fight back the urge to yank the tablet back out of House's hands.

Because honestly. ]

And I believed my sense of self-preservation was suspect.

[ Though, it was probably better that House be House. There was always the slim chance that Hannibal would be intrigued, rather than annoyed.

It was on the basis of this hope that Will purposefully kept his mouth shut, rather than try to jump in and referee. Besides, the damn body was heavy. ]

Why did we pick a large one again?

More material to play with. You've only been here, like, a week. Work those muscles while you still have 'em.

Edited 2017-11-20 20:42 (UTC)

I have no interest in consuming any animal I did not personally slaughter.

[he would argue that "cannibal" implies he consumes his equals, but such an argument seems an inappropriate use of House's strength.]

[There's a delay in House's witty repartee as he considers that and the implications of the comment. Well, then. If that's how they're going to roll, might as well try to warn him off any murder sprees. House doesn't actually know how bloodthirsty Hannibal's likely to be. If he can control himself enough to not get caught for years, he probably possesses the restraint to avoid the annoyance here.

But just to drive the point home...]

Fun thing about this place, you might get to hunt the same animal over and over again. People tend to get pissed off about that, though. And it's a bitch when the meat gets to tattling. Moderately angry mobs, calls for a manhunt, people yelling. The whole nine yards. You might even have someone send assassins after you if you pick the wrong guy.

[Like Sherlock Holmes. Don't pick Sherlock Holmes. His brother is tedious.]

But I'm sure you've got better things to do right now. Like meeting up with Graham Cracker. I assume you two are meeting up. Guy doesn't stop talking about you.

[Again, that mild lift of his eyebrows, choosing to be amused rather than annoyed at the lecture. Really, House? Who do you think you're talking to?]

I assure you, I have no intention of being reckless.

[Far less interesting than well-laid plans.]

Are you certain you can spare him? I would hate to hinder your body snatching activities.

[Not reckless doesn't mean 'no murder.' House can read between the lines on that, at least, particularly after learning something about this man from Will. Still, the warning has been issued and all House can do is watch and see what happens.

It should be interesting.]

Only looking to snatch the one body, and we should be done with it by morning. Not really digging the vending machine food, either, and I hear you cook. Mind if I drop by for dinner with our dear William?

[He'll just casually invite himself along on this exciting journey. There should be a good show coming out of this, whatever happens between Will and Hannibal. House also isn't terribly interested in heading to the school just yet with so many people congregated there. It's asking for an anomaly.]

Absolutely. Whoever is a friend of Will's is a friend of mine, and welcome at my table.

[There are many layers of meaning to what is, on the surface, a cliche. Could anybody truly be said to be Will's friend? What does it mean to be Hannibal's friend? And, of course, the obvious ambiguity of in what role exactly one would be at the table.]

Collaborator. [Just to clear that up. House doesn't do friends. At least he doesn't admit to friendship unless your name is James Wilson. He's also going to gloss over the table comment.]

Cool. It'll take... oh, couple of days to reach you if you get moving in the right direction. Had a chance to check the maps for where to enter the maintenance tunnels, Doc?

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