infomodder | IC contact [Mask or Menace]

He's the only demon I know of. And I made the unfortunate mistake of trusting him. He has been...deliberately moving in on Chilton behind my back, without my knowledge. The two of them, I can only imagine have formed some sort of alliance to get me. Chilton implied as much when I tried to break things off.

[ A breath. ]

Please assure me that it's irrational, paranoid even, to think of Chilton in terms of housing the thoughts 'if I can't have him, then I'll kill him so no one does.' I....know he's no murderer. Not by his own hand. But guiding the hand of others. Of a demon?

Am I in danger, Will? Are the people I care about in danger?

[Wow. Walt, you sound kind of crazy and narcissistic there.

Wait, scratch that. Flip it, rewrite it, turn on Daft Punk.

Walt, you sound like Will's kind of crazy and narcissistic. In the way that this sounds like it came straight out of someone from Baltimore and yeah, good Lord, that's of interest to certain types. Also from Baltimore. Poor Hank. Sorry, Hank, Will's gonna deal with this one in his own way and never mention it. He'll purposefully lose a pool game to atone.]

Little bit. He's lost patients before. Our doctor-patient relationship was irritably ended weeks ago and I haven't had any concerns. I'd hope it's not up his alley to go after anyone you care about unless they're involved. That's a level he should. Stray from. Too brutal and...stale, I'd think.

[A Hannibal level.

A Hannibal level where people die that have no reason to die because Hannibal is an arrogant infant who has to have attention from all his toys the way he wants his toys to focus on him otherwise they get broken in a violent manchild fit. People who have no reason to suffer, just because he wants things to go his way. That shit gets old fast, nobody should want to follow in those footsteps. Worst cliche ever. Flip it, rewrite it, change the fucking record.]

[ Jesus Christ, Will! That is one hundred percent NOT comforting at all!

But wait. WAIT. There is solace in one thing. Will is no longer a patient of Chilton's either! So wait. Why didn't Will get this kind of treatment. ]

Hold on, hold on. You two terminated your arrangement. And he didn't threaten to go public with your files, turn your colleagues against you, and ruin your life?

What's your secret?

[ Though it's no secret, really. Chilton wanted Walt. Chilton needed Walt. Walt had called it, but in this type of scenario it was worse to be either wanted or needed. ]

And...what do you recommend I do about this? If I ignore it long enough, will it go away? I plan on skipping town for a while, for a start.

[ I mean, you're probably not gonna be too cool with murder, Will. Otherwise Walt would totally suggest that as an option. It'd be option number one, actually. ]

[Don't drag your loved ones into your shit then, Walt!]

It's not really a secret. [Wry—Freddie Lounds had dropped those details without his permission, but it worked in his favor later on. Perhaps not her design, but with their time issues, it made sense she wouldn't be working her design to immediately benefit Will Graham.] I was locked in his basement back home for about two months. Arguably, I wasn't just a patient then, either, or an inmate. More along the lines of property than an individual. He's already seen my detailed files publicized, my colleagues turn on me, and my life ruined.

[That sure is some acceptance of having spent time in Frederick Chilton's Nofunhouse, but so it goes. Part of Baltimore life and death, man: getting framed and maimed and learning secrets. Deciding which secrets to keep and which to spill. Many secrets.]

Skipping town sounds like a good idea. I'd also advise against engaging him in conversation, regardless of what you see him saying.

[He's namedropped Will multiple times and he's only ever really slid in once, it can be done. Restraint. Difficult but necessary.

Also no don't do that. Will's a good person to talk to about murder, but no. That's a truly shitty idea, sometimes imPorts come back.]

You...

[ Walt is shocked by this. Two whole months. Maybe that was half of what was wrong with Will Graham. Two whole months locked away in Chilton's basement -- subjected to his tortures, Walt can only imagine. The sedation and medication and the psychic driving. The dipping in and prying of secrets. ]

I'm sorry. I had no idea that you also...I thought a few hours was bad, but months.

[ There is something seriously wrong with this man. And by this man, he means Chilton -- but it also applies to Will, too. Walt supposes. ]

Is this the reason he claimed you would empathize with me? Because we had undergone the same tortures? Or because we allowed ourselves to get close to a predator, hell bent on tearing our minds to nothing and rebuilding them to his design?

No, I—

[Awk-awk-awkward! Will, you fuck up. Though, holy shit, why does it feel like (heh heh) everyone knows about his empathy thing? Goddamnit, Chilton, just because the entire world back home who knows about Will Graham knows about his whackball feelings and how he utilizes them doesn't mean that he wants a brand new world to be privy to that! Can't he just be the dog-loving fisherman and move along? Christ.]

He's an administrator at a hospital for the criminally insane in Baltimore. I was. Sentenced there. Legally. Released when my innocence to the charges was made obvious. I was put in the basement for bad behavior—a spot I earned.

[Because haha, Will being innocent. Haha. Let's not mention torture, hmm? Chilton hadn't been the one torturing Will. Well, perhaps it could be argued there was some torture going on, sure, but it would be difficult for Will to really consider it that when he had to deal with Hannibal fucking Lecter stopping by all smug off his ass about surviving Will's attempted murder by proxy of him and killing people and telling Will that he was glad he got an ear at his trial and they were friends, they were friends, why is Will doing this to him, why must he treat him wrong, stop being a homewrecker, Will, we are best friends. Did Chilton say a few things that aggravated Will? Yeah. Did he drug him? Yeah, but Will benefited from that! Chilton was just doing his job, man, he was totally not abusive or terrible or anything because the big bad cannibal bogeyman was everywhere doing stuff a million times worse.]

The empathy is...something else.

[Designs >(]

[ Will's clarification gives Walt pause and he wonders just how much of it is Will trying to protect Chilton, how much of it is Will telling the truth, and how much of it is supposed truth. Chilton is capable of the most terrible of things -- changing the way someone thinks, altering memories, and making people believe what simply isn't true. Is Will one of his victims?

Is he saying he earned the basement because that was what had been tweaked into his brain? Or did he genuinely earn the basement? ]

I see.

[ A pause. ]

An unfortunate set of circumstances leading to the meeting of you two. But I'm glad you both could...

[ What? Become friends? Have a doctor-patient relationship? Get kidnapped into the same weird universe away from their own world together? ]

...could reach some form of understanding. And for what it's worth, Will, I do give you a lot of credit. You have to put up with him outside of this world as well.

[ His tone is light, trying to lighten the conversation. And then that curious comment about the empathy came. Walt frowns for a moment. ]

Should I ask? If you're not comfortable talking about it, you don't have to.

[Nah, he earned it. During transport to Chilton's happy home, Will broke his thumb, shucked off the handcuff, and beat the tar out of the folks trying to keep him under control. Dumped the vehicle in an alley and ran all over the place until Hannibal drove him to Minnesota, where he nearly shot him between the eyes. He was a very Bad Boy, he deserved to be treated like one.

Gives him a lot of credit. Well, that's sweet. Sort of. Sweet and damning. Gives Will credit for dealing with Chilton's darker side and...not telling the entire world about it? Yeah that's something to give credit for. Negative credit. What sort of man are you really, Walter? How is this a good thing!??!!? Oh, if only he knew about going back to therapy, he would be so Done. Well done steak levels of Done.]

Ask why I was there or how he treated me? [Or his boxer size? Unst unst unst.] I was framed for a series of murders, cases I had worked. Some involved cannibalism.

[Maybe Walt can imagine a near-smile on his face. There's no misery in his voice, nothing like oh God the weight of the world is tied around his neck. It's been a long damn time since that happened, acceptance helps one move along...to go shank a cannibal.]

So he treated me with a few additional precautions, but with the evidence, I should have been. Even the mask was justified.

[Maybe Will didn't bite in a literal sense, but he'd done it enough before that, really, he should have worn it more often. Damn mutts. But he leaves it at that, short and simple, because he is curious if Walter knows more than he's letting on. People know about Hannibal and not from Will's mouth, so. Perhaps the case is similar with this Walter White, too. Perhaps he can add two and two together.

Or perhaps he'll just think "ew what the fuck." Better than "oh my God yes I can probably use this guy in some way" because he is also Done with that line of things.]

Mask...?

[ Walt echoed, a little horrified by the prospect. ]

I thought the straitjacket was bad enough. And the sedation. Though the first time he handcuffed me. I suppose that was generous by comparison.

[ A beat. ]

Why you would say any of that was justified when you were framed is beyond me, Will. How you can just forgive and forget?

[ Because Walter White can't -- as you soon find out in only a week's time. ]

[He goes quiet, digesting the additional bits thrown out. Asking White for more details might be a bad idea, though, might be a little bit biased. It's not like he can use them on (against) Chilton, not so soon, not since Crane. And if he asks after, he might seem eager to build up ammunition against Chilton, too, which is not really how he wants to be seen. So he's grateful for the question, and his short, huffed laugh is more amused than bitter. There is a barked edge that keeps it from being joyful.]

He didn't put me in there, Mister White. He simply did what he needed to be done, took the precautions to keep himself and others safe. None of it was his fault. There's nothing to forgive. [So forgiving and kind, except oh, no wait.] Holding any ill will [heh] against him detracts from who I should be blaming, and that...isn't helpful.

[If he just holds all the blame and guilt to Hannibal, it'll be easier to take him down, right? If he can focus completely on Hannibal being a Douchebag he can really be effective in bringing his ass to the ground, go Team Doesn't Understand Forgiveness!!!]

I suppose that's a good way to look at things.

[ Not necessarily one Walt will ever be able to agree with. But good for Will to be the bigger man when it comes to Chilton. ]

But I suppose I should let you go. Thank you for having this conversation with me. Perhaps we can sit down for a cup of coffee when I return to Heropa?

I'm not one to turn down a good cup of coffee.

[Which isn't difficult to achieve with Will. He wants very few things from coffee: heat and caffeine. And if it's not hot enough, that's easy to fix. So basically:]

Sure, just let me know when's good for you and I'll be there. Looking forward to it, Mister White, and I hope things look up for you soon.

[You could have had this from him, Walter, but now you're more like this WE COULD HAVE HAD IT ALLLLLLLLLLLLL]

IC contact [Mask or Menace]

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I'M SORRY. This got buried!

IT HAPPENS!

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