cognitivus: (Sᴏ ᴍᴀʏʙᴇ I'ᴍ ʙʟɪɴᴅ)
w̷i̷l̷l̷ g̷r̷a̷h̷a̷m̷ ([personal profile] cognitivus) wrote2021-01-10 01:12 pm
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Meadowlark Inbox


@will.graham | ■ ▲ ◌ ▼

lifetothefullest: (ᴇᴀᴄʜ sʜᴀᴅᴏᴡ ɪ ᴡᴀʟᴋ)

[personal profile] lifetothefullest 2021-02-27 01:35 am (UTC)(link)
[Lance already has a drink by the time Will arrives, though it's just a beer; he's controlling his drinking a bit overall, though he's still taking the edge off his nerves. This is going to be a weird conversation.

He looks up when Will joins him at the booth, unfazed by the lateness--he's not that late--and much more interested in the badge. Hm.

The sudden abandonment of the attempt at an excuse earns a small smile of amusement, and Lance shakes his head.]


It's fine, don't worry about it. Are you training to work with the police?
lifetothefullest: (ɪ'ᴠᴇ ʟᴏᴠᴇᴅ ᴀɴᴅ ɪ'ᴠᴇ ʟᴏsᴛ)

[personal profile] lifetothefullest 2021-02-27 01:55 am (UTC)(link)
[He so wants to ask Will how he made enemies already, but he decides not to just yet; he's also kind of interested in how accessible it seems to be to be able to teach. Lance hadn't considered any sorts of jobs in his field--any of his fields, actually--for various reasons, but a big one had been the fact that he doesn't have any credentials, and he hasn't really looked into what's available without them. Still, the idea of teaching is kind of interesting.

But that's a discussion to maybe have later, as well as the fact that Will's getting involved with the police in any capacity, which might be really useful. For now, one thing at a time.]


They have flying cars now, which is a totally weird thing to say.

[And obviously Will would know about the flying cars by now, but still. Lance is making some small talk for the moment as he decides how he wants to get into the main topic.

Fortunately the server comes by to take Will's drink order and give Lance another minute or two to mull over what he wants to say. Once the order is fulfilled and Lance and Will are alone again, it's been enough time for stalling to be over with.]


Um, so, you probably guessed what I wanted to talk to you about, but maybe not exactly what.

[Good start, A+]

But um, to give a little context first, I was in a place like this before I was here. It was called Hadriel, and like here, there were people from many different worlds.

[He taps his fingers on his drink for a moment until he catches himself doing it, hesitating briefly, and then finally asks--]

The man in your dream, was his name Hannibal?
lifetothefullest: (ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟʟɪᴢɪɴɢ ᴄʟᴇᴀʀ ᴀs ᴅᴀʏ)

[personal profile] lifetothefullest 2021-02-27 04:11 am (UTC)(link)
[Lance is watching Will's face carefully, at least as much as he can while trying not to make him too uncomfortable in the process, but the sudden trepidation is incredibly obvious. Not too surprising, and a clear indication that Lance's conclusion about who the man was is correct, and stemming from that it's easy to guess at least one of likely many reasons Will would be nervous.

In return, Lance carefully loosens his body language, attempting to appear as non-threatning as possible as he assures Will--]


Barely anything. I only met him briefly; I know he's a psychiatrist, but that was about it. His time in Hadriel didn't overlap with mine much, and he wasn't very social on the network; he also wasn't taking any patients.

[He hesitates again, unsure if he should follow that up immediately, but then decides to just go ahead and get it all out there.]

But I um, I knew Abigail better.
lifetothefullest: (pic#14537228)

[personal profile] lifetothefullest 2021-02-27 05:21 am (UTC)(link)
Yeah. I'm not sure how long she was there, maybe half a year? She arrived after I did and wasn't there the whole time I was.

[But time blended together in Hadriel, and he was there for so long that it's hard to put dates to much on memory alone.]

We weren't really close or anything, but we were... I guess casual friends, is probably a fair descriptor. She had a lot on her mind, and we talked about that sometimes.

[He doesn't want to go into details, not sure of what Will might know and not wanting to betray Abigail's confidence, no matter the time and distance. It still feels wrong.

But there are other conversations that aren't that personal, and there's one he remembers pretty well. So he hesitates a moment, not sure how well the offer will go over, but it feels right to make it.]


I can show you a memory, if you'd like. Nothing serious, just...

[Just a moment. And now that he thinks about it, it might've been the last conversation he had with her.]
lifetothefullest: (pic#14567797)

[personal profile] lifetothefullest 2021-02-27 06:05 am (UTC)(link)
[Lance can't help but return to watching Will as he reacts, trying to get a sense of what he's feeling and how he's taken the idea; he doesn't know Will enough to be sure of whether or not he might've said something to set him off, or crossed a boundary somewhere, especially with such a sensitive topic. It's easy for things to go in a way they aren't intended, and Lance is always wary about the potential for more extreme reactions in addition to just not wanting to have caused emotional distress.

But what Will actually says is not a refusal, isn't aggressive, it's just... Cautious, perhaps, is a good word. And that's completely understandable, especially in the midst of the many things he must be feeling right now.

So Lance nods, responding softly--]


It's an open offer.

[He knows it's intimidating to use the empathy bond, and then the memory share on top of it; even though he's the one that made the suggestion in the first place, and he's used both the bond and the memory share multiple times before, he's still nervous about it. So it's very understandable that Will might be, even without whatever his special circumstance is.

Whenever he's ready, if that ever happens, the offer will stand.]
lifetothefullest: (sᴛʀᴀɴɢᴇ ʜᴀɴᴅs ᴛᴀᴋɪɴɢ ᴍʏ ᴡʀɪsᴛ ᴀɢᴀɪɴ)

[personal profile] lifetothefullest 2021-02-27 06:32 am (UTC)(link)
[Lance can, of course, be manipulative far beyond what people ever expect of him, even when they know his professions; it's a skill he developed early in an attempt to stay alive, and he'd only refined it further and further as he'd gotten older. But it's a skill he vastly prefers to save for catching murderers and for navigating potentially dangerous confrontations, not for messing with people just because he can.

So he's being entirely genuine here, although he knows Will can't necessarily be sure of that; the ability to read another person, even to the extent they can, doesn't have guarantees. There can always be something unexpected, or something that goes wrong.

So he doesn't mind the hesitation, and it's a bit of a surprise when Will seems willing to actually explain a little further. Lance's eyebrows furrow and he tilts his head just slightly, immediately trying to piece that together and make sense of it, but it's still so vague.

What are you afraid of, then? is the obvious question, and he thinks he could get away with it without being too offensive considering the context, but he doesn't feel like risking it. Instead, he decides to ask a slightly different question, both personal and professional curiosity weighing in.]


What are your symptoms?

[Of the unspecified disorder. 'Empathy' is far too broad of a category to take any real guesses at, although it seems that whatever it is isn't a lack of empathy, at least not from his last few comments. Still, that doesn't narrow it down much.]
lifetothefullest: (ɪ'ᴠᴇ ʟᴏᴠᴇᴅ ᴀɴᴅ ɪ'ᴠᴇ ʟᴏsᴛ)

[personal profile] lifetothefullest 2021-02-27 07:05 am (UTC)(link)
[He knows he's taken a risk by telling Will what he knows from Hadriel, and by making the offer to show him memories, but it felt like the right one to take. He hopes that if someone who arrives here had memories of someone Lance loves, and who he'll likely never see again, that they'd be willing to take the risk of sharing them with him.

He's quiet as Will explains further, and Lance's mind instantly goes to one of two explanations: either it's something supernatural that just isn't known of in Will's world, or it's just... Guessing. Really good guessing, likely influenced by the intuition that comes from an active and very aware subconscious, able to link information together in a way that Will isn't directly cognizant of.

At this point, with everything Lance has seen, both are equally likely as far as he's concerned. And, of course, it could still be something else entirely.

So he considers those options for a few moments, a particular question coming to mind as the next thing to ask.]


Is it ever wrong?
lifetothefullest: (pic#14537243)

[personal profile] lifetothefullest 2021-02-27 07:27 am (UTC)(link)
[He's curious about the puzzle, both for its own sake and because it'd probably help Will to understand what's going on a bit more, but this is something that's somewhat beyond Lance at the moment with what little information he has. He's also just not at the top of his game at the moment and hasn't been for some time, which doesn't help.

So the answer is enough for now, confirming that whatever it is that Will has going on is infallible, and he can take a guess at the situation that he might've gotten wrong. The person, more specifically, that he might've gotten wrong.]


There was a third mental health professional in Hadriel when I arrived, aside from myself and Hannibal; his name was Rosen, and he was another psychiatrist. He and Hannibal had been working together, I think, before I got there.

[And there's a point to this, which he gets to after taking a drink, because this is another other of those things he's only been able to realize with time and distance and hasn't truly processed yet.]

I misjudged him at first. I thought he was someone I could trust, to the point where I was justifying away the warning signs as I saw them, something that I... Really don't do, normally. Eventually, though, it was too much to ignore, and it turned out he was a huge creep after all.

[Not exactly on the level of cannibal murderer, but still. Major creep levels in a different, subtle way.]
lifetothefullest: (ᴛʜᴀᴛ ʙʀᴇᴀᴋ ᴛʜᴇ ɢʀᴏᴜɴᴅ ғᴏʀ ᴜs)

[personal profile] lifetothefullest 2021-02-27 08:16 am (UTC)(link)
[He's a little self-conscious whenever people turn that sort of attention toward him, used to being able to avoid drawing most people's interest, but the intentions here matter and it just feels like... Focus, from Will, and Lance isn't exactly innocent of doing the same thing to people in return on occasion.

So he does his best to ignore it, using the opportunity to just better read Will's expressions, finding just understanding and empathy--no surprise there, considering their previous topic--and maybe some more of something akin to the righteous anger he'd felt in the dream. And he appreciates it, because he appreciates it when someone not only believes him, but doesn't question his assessment or ask him to justify it.

He's also relieved that Will seems to be losing some of his caution, or more specifically that he seems to be losing the belief that he needs it at the moment. Lance is maybe not quite as intense as Will as he listens in return, but still very focused.

When he responds he decides to keep the topic shifted a little in his direction, allowing the focus to stay on his experiences for the moment, mostly so that Will doesn't feel pressured to say anything that he doesn't want to about his own.]


I barely knew him; we only really spoke once, and I don't remember much about the conversation. I think it was just some basic pleasantries and talk about his and Rosen's work.

[Everything from that time in Hadriel is very fuzzy to him, mostly blocked out from the trauma of the experience. But it sounds like he'd probably dodged a bullet he'd never even seen, by his time in Hadriel only barely overlapping with Hannibal's.]

I don't doubt you're right, though. And I'm really glad I didn't end up talking to him any further than I did.

[He sounds like a nightmare--literally, in this case--and Lance can't imagine what it must be like for Will to have to deal with someone like that, especially with what Lance does know of how far it goes.]
lifetothefullest: (ᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ᴇɴᴅs ᴏғ ᴛʜᴇ ғᴏʀᴇsᴛ)

[personal profile] lifetothefullest 2021-02-27 05:43 pm (UTC)(link)
[The question is very direct, and Lance studies Will for a moment as he decides how to answer. This could be a genuine question, seeing what Lance knows, or a leading one to try to gather information on the subject itself; he can't tell for sure which it is, but nothing indicates to him it's the latter.

So, after a moment, he nods.]


Not in a lot of detail, but the basics, yes.

[It's a vague answer, just in case he's misjudged, but otherwise it should say enough. He knows her father was a serial killer, that he'd killed his wife and tried to do the same to Abigail, and that his victims had fit a very specific profile.]
lifetothefullest: (ɪ'ᴠᴇ ʟᴏᴠᴇᴅ ᴀɴᴅ ɪ'ᴠᴇ ʟᴏsᴛ)

[personal profile] lifetothefullest 2021-02-27 10:56 pm (UTC)(link)
[It's good to see Will a little less tense again, though that may not last depending on how he takes Lance's response; it's offered neutrally, not accusingly, but--]

No, although I now have a guess.

[Not exactly a difficult guess to make; if Will's asking, it would likely be someone meaningful to the conversation they're having, and therefore not just some agent Will knows but Lance doesn't. As far as he knows Hannibal is a psychiatrist, even if he might be involved in FBI cases considering his connection to Will, but Will himself is the obvious answer Lance would go with if he had to.]
lifetothefullest: (ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟʟɪᴢɪɴɢ ᴄʟᴇᴀʀ ᴀs ᴅᴀʏ)

[personal profile] lifetothefullest 2021-02-28 06:30 am (UTC)(link)
[It's hard to decide which he finds more horrifically reprehensible, parents hurting their children or doctors misusing the trust of their patients. Maybe neither is actually worse, both just equally awful in their own ways, and coming together in this situation to lead to the tragic end of a life.

Lance and Abigail hadn't really been close--casual friends was a fair descriptor when Lance had used it earlier--but she could've been a stranger and he still would've felt the sense of loss he feels now. He'd known, of course, that she was dead due to Will's dream, and that's why he'd made the offer to share memories of her, but he'd compartmentalized that. Hearing more details breaks that down.

She didn't deserve that. No one deserves that; no one deserves to be murdered, and for it to happen to someone who's already escaped being the victim of someone they loved only to have another person they trusted be the one to kill them is just... Nothing about life is fair, not really, but some things feel particularly wrong, and this is one of them.

But this isn't really the time or place to process that, so he shoves most of it back behind the mental walls to be dealt with later, focusing instead on Will and a part of what he'd said in his explanation.]


It wasn't your fault.

[Will had called his own actions foolish, in telling Hannibal about Abigail's father. Maybe it's just bitter hindsight and not guilt, but Lance finds that unlikely considering who Will's talked about Abigail so far and the emotions he's shown. Will may now know for sure that he isn't responsible for killing Abigail, but he may still feel responsible for her death.]
lifetothefullest: (ᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ᴇɴᴅs ᴏғ ᴛʜᴇ ғᴏʀᴇsᴛ)

[personal profile] lifetothefullest 2021-02-28 07:18 am (UTC)(link)
[He's getting used to the idea that Will isn't quite so guarded about his feelings as Lance is, and so the admission isn't as much of a surprise as it might've otherwise been. The contents of it aren't a surprise at all, though, and he nods a little in understanding; of course it feels like Will's fault. Not only is that sort of guilt expected in a situation like this, but that was surely part of the point of Hannibal's entire plan.

But Lance has made his own point, and so he allows Will to shift the topic. It's a little more unexpected, though still not particularly surprising, when Will says he does want to see the memory after all, and again he nods.]


Yeah, of course, that's understandable. Have you found a place to live yet?
Edited 2021-02-28 07:19 (UTC)