infomodder | IC contact [Mask or Menace]

Let's start with the basics. You were a criminal profiler back home, correct? What are your impressions of him?

[If he sounds exasperated, it's not you. It's been a very long past couple of days, Will, and he is tired on every conceivable level]

[It's all right. Will's generally paid to profile, but Lunatic has messed with Freddie Lounds. However much she might have called him out and earned some hassling, and however much Will knows very well just what a pain in the ass she can be to deal with, she's still Freddie Lounds and one of the few from home he has here. Loyal to the pack.]

He's prideful. [No preambling about his old job, what he did or didn't do, just swims right into it.] Determined. Motivated. He's done this for a while, and gotten good at it. Serving under the voice of some god hasn't prevented an ego. He may not think himself on the same level of a god, but he's some— [Hm.] —chosen for the task at the hand, and he is superior for that much. [Which could be misconstrued in ways Will's not convinced of, so he's quick to add:] That doesn't mean he's always going to be that way. The face he showed us is carefully constructed and worn fittingly, but I don't see him as fully composed.. There's...a conflict within him. It'll grow. Has already grown, I'd say, especially since Giorno not only beat him but told us about it, publicly.

[Avoid metaphors, Will. Avoid them. Edgeworth doesn't deserve it.]

That conflict will make him more dangerous.

[Listens intently, going over his words and comparing them with his experience. Most of his analysis matches his impressions, save for one detail that catches him by surprise: Lunatic's conflict.]

And... what sort of conflict do you think this is, Graham?

[Interesting. Very interesting.]

[Don't get too interested, now.]

He's not top dog here, is he? No matter how good he is with his flame, no matter how much experience he's had...he knew what he was doing where he came from, but here is different. Different factors, different people, different powers that might have never have come into play if not for the Porter. Takes away some of his footing. Shakes things up.

[Anyone's footing, really.]

That makes sense... considering how many people have powers who didn't have them before, you could say that the Porter's evened the playing field. However...

[Frowns]

From what I understand, he comes from a world similar to this, in the sense that people with strange abilities are the norm. Shouldn't he, of all people, be able to adapt to a situation like this?

[He pauses because the question he's going to ask isn't something everyone enjoys being asked, won't always answer truthfully. Will didn't mind his "useless" power so much. Then he went home.

Now, God, he gets more than ever why some people wouldn't share powers.]

Not necessarily. [But Will doesn't find that a bad assumption to come to, speaks quietly.] What powers have you got?

I beg your pardon?

[Genuinely surprised here, Will. What does that have to do with the conversation at hand?]

[Well, that answers that. Sort of. It answers that rather than press, Will should just go the easier route: give his own.]

I've gotten two useful abilities. I can breathe underwater, and I can see at night. But...I also happen to be able to repair broken cups. I know someone who can turn any sort of food into breakfast food. Someone else who turns fabric to leopard print. [He had a point with his question, basically, but if Edgworth's not going to open up, he can navigate it another way.] No matter what sort of powers may be present in the worlds of people who were brought here, there is still a collection of the, ah. Unexpected, let's call it. That could just as easily apply to more offensive, powerful abilities as it applies to the...innocuous. It's still something of an upset, I would think. Not the only upset within him, but a conflict nonetheless, however small or large.

...so what you're saying is that while he may be used to abilities, he's not used to unconventional abilities... or rather, the unconventional minds using them. In other words, people who don't play by the rules he's used to.

[Wait, is he still talking about powers here?]

[Maybe they are, maybe they aren't. Welcome to conversations with Will Graham, young Edgeworth. It's possible to have 45,670 conversations at one time if lines are read between. Fantastic!]

That's part of it. [He keys in on the last one more than anything else, good summary.] He's used to a certain world and that world's rules and—here has already changed that. He was good at what he did, where he came from. But we've got those who are good at what they do, where they come from. With different rules and standards, [or no rules and standards] a new mindset behind them. Adapting to unusual powers is one thing, this is. More than that. Especially when some of us have no experience. We had these gifts dropped in our laps simply by showing up.

[How many of them are undeserving of what they've been given when viewed through the eyes of someone going by Lunatic?]

Hmph. I'd be more worried about the ones who do have experience...

[Thinking back to young Giorno, and their first conversation, the one where he spoke of powers native to his home. He wonders for a moment if they're the same as the ones he has now, but doesn't think too deeply on it]

But I understand your point. I do have another question, though. About... everyone else. Those who don't side with him, but aren't guilty of any unforgivable sins. What does he think of us? Is-

[Pauses, taking a deep breath]

Is he testing us?

[This would be so much easier if he'd seen one of Lunatic's charred corpses, he's tempted to say. As far as he knows, no one from Baltimore has dropped that as being bullshit, but. This conversation is going fine, unlike the one with Clark. No need to upset it.]

Testing us—to see who is willing to step in? [Why would anyone do that, that literally sounds like fiery, miserable suicide. Nobody go being a hero now.] I...don't think so. I don't think this is some test. He's simply doing what he does, and those among the population who haven't committed unforgivable sins are...par for the course.

[The four course meal.

No please Mister Lunatic don't throw a BBQ.]

That's not quite what I meant. I'm not talking about his murders - I mean his behavior during his crime spree. The way he acts, the way he taunts us. I doubt that it's mere gloating, and I don't think he's just seeing who steps in. It's like...

[Pauses, pursing his lips together]

It's almost as if he's testing our character.

[Uhm. Uhm uhm uhm. Miles that is all very specific. Almost like...]

Have you run across him during his crime spree? [Well, that sounds almost blurted out. Pardon him, he'll blurt out more to cover it.] Or are you talking about Giorno? I've...only ever seen what he displays on the Network, that's what I have to work with.

[Well.]

And what Freddie's told me. Those are the experiences I can draw from.

[The implication there being that if he has more experiences relayed to him, he can draw from those as well, and with as much ease. Unfortunately. FBI bloodhound don't quit.]

[Hesitates. He could deny the meeting. He could pretend that this is all mere conjecture on his end. However...

However, as much as it stings his pride, he knows the importance of information in an investigation. And Graham is a profiler - in order to do his job properly, he needs all the information he can get. So he takes a deep breath and steels himself.]

No, I wasn't talking about Giorno. I was...

[His voice lowers, muttering into the phone, sounding more embarrassed than truly pained]

I was talking about myself.

[Riddled with empathy, it's not difficult to pick up those quiet words and what's being injected into them. Will's not usually on the front line when it comes to interviewing survivors, their families, those who are related to suspects. He's not the best with that, not the one the FBI turns to, certainly not by himself. He doesn't say anything immediately, fully aware of the lack of leash on him in this situation, no one to tug back or take over in case he screws it up. No handlers to step in should it go badly, just Will Graham. Though at this stage, for people who have had run-ins with serial killers that left them embarrassed, perhaps he doesn't need handlers. That one he knows from his own experience.

But first thing's first:]

Are you all right? Unharmed? Any injuries have been seen to by now?

[Miles being first, that is.]

[The silence twists Edgeworth's stomach into knots, and a childish part of him expects it to end with a reprimand, a scolding, an insult, the same words he used against himself after his act of complete idiocy. But instead, he gets concern. He blinks, quiet for a moment, until he remembers that these are standard questions when someone's been assaulted]

No, I'm- [clears his throat] I'm fine. There was a minor injury, but my, ah, talents took care of it.

Edited 2015-01-26 00:06 (UTC)

[Take the boy out of law enforcement, see if that ruins his memory of procedure. No, no scolding, not from Will Graham. He has no legs to stand on with that.]

That's good to hear. [The polite thing to say, certainly, but there's an edge to it that is, yes, concern. Not just going through an etiquette book and pulling out what responses suit the best.] I can't. Speak to him testing the character of every non-sinner he comes across. It could be argued he attempted to test mine when we spoke... [Will doesn't seem to care that he was provoked by a serial killer, he's just using an example. There is absolutely no personal feelings on what Lunatic said seeping into his tone.] ...it's difficult to say. He [could have found you of interest] could have just...wanted to gloat and taunt, and you were there.

[After seeing Abigail Hobbs plagued by the idea that she had made her father do what he'd done, her repeated talks of attracting serial killers, Will's own issues with the matter, he finds it important to note that no matter what was said, no matter what happened—it's not on Edgeworth. It's not on anyone, what a serial killer might do, even if that doesn't result in death. No one deserves that guilt, and people are so inclined to take it on themselves. He had surprised Hannibal when he refused to be angry at himself over a certain Ripper murder.

Will is not going to feed into that line of thinking if he can help it, not with friend or foe.]

It's possible, but-

[He makes a frustrated noise, trying to find the right words, but not quite being able to]

...when we spoke, he dared me. He dared me to - [Kill him] - take care of him myself. But when I refused, he said it was... good. That it meant that I didn't belong to Thanatos.

[Where is he going with this? Edgeworth runs his free hand through his hair. He doesn't know himself anymore.]

[It's all good, Edgeworth. Will's used to conversations that go 4,500 places other than where they might have originally meant to go. That's like his bread and butter.

Same as having to deal with serial killers saying shit that bugs him long after, so.]

And now you can't stop thinking about what he said more than anything he physically did to you. [Projects Will's own experience and issues all over the place, no big deal. Where's Peter, he misses Peter. He could do that 24/7 with Peter. He needs Peter.] That about right?

[Tenses a bit, not expecting Graham to see through him so quickly. Then again, he is a profiler...]

That's- [Shifts uncomfortably, leaning against the counter] - that's correct.

[Another deep breath]

That's not the only thing he said, though.

[Yes, assume it's the profiler thing instead of Will having similar issues, good. Something something design goes here. The quiet design few see coming.]

I'm listening, if you want to go on.

[But you don't have to. He doesn't, not at all. Still, if Edgeworth needs to unburden, talk to someone who's never hidden that they've dealt with the deranged and murderous, here he is! This isn't that bad, even without his handlers around in case he screws it up. He's...not screwing it up, so far. Or so it feels like he's doing okay. Score one Graham.]

He said-

["You could be... just like me"]

-my name. [Spoken quickly, as if running from Lunatic's accusation] He acted like... he knew me. And I have no idea if he actually does, or if he simply wanted to rattle me.

[Speaking naturally, now, if a bit tense. The familiarity bothered him as well, though not as much as everything else he said]

Edited 2015-01-26 02:08 (UTC)

[Oh boy. That's always fun.]

Well. [That uncomfortable shifting is audible, on Will's end. The stool taking his weight makes that hissing noise, how dare someone sit on it so quickly and without warning.] Communicators show our names, unless they're...fixed to show something else. [He could be like me and read conversations whether or not they involve anyone he knows. Nope. No, not going down that road.] He could use whatever he'd gleaned to sound like he knew you. That's not. Unfeasible, really.

[Because Will's done it himself but shhhhh.]

...and even though I haven't been particularly chatty lately, he could have recognized me from Herr Doppelganger's escapades. [Muttering bitterly] It wouldn't be the first time my reputation's preceded me.

[Not directed towards Will, specifically, just towards... everything]

IC contact [Mask or Menace]

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