hydrokinetics | If we know the way we're gonna die, through everything else we will survive [W4, Sat, Post-Trial]

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If we know the way we're gonna die, through everything else we will survive [W4, Sat, Post-Trial]

[Perhaps it's for the best that Percy left the trial shortly after casting his vote for the execution. If he hadn't, it may have been too entirely possible for someone to notice he felt a little satisfied.

Granted, he's also pretty annoyed, but what else is new? With everything that's happened, he feels that there are two men he needs to visit tonight. His mother's always taught him that it's polite to bring gifts to people whose homes you're invading, and though he's not always good at it, he does find himself stopping at the saloon on his way.

It's not like anyone will stop him. Who would?

And so he returns to the hotel with a new bottle of whiskey in his hand, stopping at the door to the room Hannibal and Will are staying in. He knows he's probably intruding, but whatever. They can tell him to fuck off if they wish, but he has things to discuss and things to ask. So, he knocks and he waits. He doesn't suspect this visit to be long, but one can never tell with these things.]

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[ It's okay, Percy, he gets it. You have the real dog, and Hannibal has the dog in human form... The parallel is almost funny, if not for the slight exasperation Hannibal feels at Will interjecting with the topic. First, to the current matter: ]

I agree. I meant it more in the opposite case. The idea that people would pick someone they dislike or even spoke to at all isn't one that we can count on readily. But certainly, I'd hope that people would hesitate to kill someone they like.

[ And after that, he'll consider the past. He looks thoughtful for a moment, since of the many he had seen (and been a part of), it's almost difficult to pick one that stands out as the best example of what they mean but also one where Hannibal can speak in fewer specifics. Eventually, he does choose one of the examples that Will listed. ]

...The mushrooms, then. A group of children found a small "plot" of mushrooms, but the garden was being fed by human bodies. Most of them were dead when the FBI came to investigate. [ He glances to Will briefly here, but there's no pause in his speaking ] One was not. A pharmacist intentionally gave diabetics the wrong medication to induce a coma, kidnapped them, and buried them alive. They were given an IV of a sugar concentration to encourage the growth of the mushrooms, but it seems to have taken quite a while for them to finally die.

[ He nods his head lightly ]

And that is a case that had a very low body count. The "mural" had forty-six confirmed, but there were likely far more that will never be found.

[ Okay, well!! Since SOMEONE (Hannibal) isn't being descriptive enough for metaphor man over here, Will is going to interrupt again.

When he speaks, it's low and dark and accented by alcohol. ]

Eldon Stammets. He needed to -- to connect, to feel connection. He thought if he was just able to build it artificially, then they would be happy. Kept them alive but for what? To watch them reach for each other in the dirt, watch as they ached to feel each other. One of them was still alive, lobotomized but alive. Jumped out of the ground and grabbed my face when I was inspecting the scene.

[ AND THE MURAL!!! ]

James Gray was the muralist. Kidnapped people of all different skin tones. Tried to create the perfect palette. Used an abandoned silo and stitched and glued his victims naked bodies to create a giant eye. Kept them alive while he did it, wanted to make them see God. Forty-six all pressed and bent and twisted together for art.

[ He pauses, going quiet again and that seems like it's it before, very softly, ]

This isn't the same.

[To be honest it's only because he has the real dog that Percy remains as calm as he does. It's not so much that he's disgusted by what Will says, but rather his expression remains remarkably blank. He finds it interesting that Hannibal sticks to the logical and the clinical explanation while Will is the one who elaborates and fills in the details, the things that make you think. And it's then that he realizes this is simply how Will and Hannibal function when they're together in front of someone. Hannibal makes people think. Will forces people to feel. And maybe it's because they don't know how to do anything else.

Wasn't it the same as himself and Annabeth? Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena who took the world by storm and explained everything in cool, calculated facts with no strings attached. He'd called her his ideas girl to someone here, and it's something he's aware of. He's always been aware that Annabeth was the brain and he was the heart, he was the one to feel what was right and acted solely on his instincts and his emotions. In a way, they'd fed these traits to each other but at their core they were too attached to their fatal flaws. She was too prideful and smart. He was too loyal and emotional.

So he doesn't say anything as he regards them thoughtfully, hand subconsciously coming up to twist at the college ring on Annabeth's necklace that's resting on his own around his neck.]

Maybe it's a good thing that the people here aren't nearly creative enough with their murders. Then again, with Hal saying that people earn a higher merit for a bloodier scene, that may change. I hope it doesn't, but hoping for things hasn't entirely worked out the way they should here.

[Hm.] Why...[He pauses again.] Why do you suppose people do things like that? The more brutal route. Do they really think it's for the best? Is that what our murderers here think? At least back home everyone who wants to kill us have made it obvious about what their plans are. It's a lot harder to tell here.

[ As Will speaks, Hannibal looks down at him (or, the lump that is him at the moment) with a cool expression. There's not much there emotionally, but there's just a small hint of warm admiration. The way that Will described the murders he saw and experienced was part of what had captured Hannibal's attention so thoroughly. In the part of Hannibal that no one here but Will knows, he finds Will's words poetry put to art. Every killer was an artist, after all. Some produced work that Hannibal found gauche and amateurish, but others conveyed deep emotion that moved him the way that a beautiful opera or painting could. Will had a talent in putting those sentiments into words, pulling the meaning out of the macabre.

But naturally, that admiration didn't fit with the reputation of the good doctor. So his admiration is only expressed by a subtle shift of Hannibal's hand as it draws through Will's hair. Will will feel the fondness, but Percy will not see it. ]

Bloodier is not creative. So long as the Sheriff is interested in gore over "style," then there's little need to worry about mushrooms, murals, or anything of the like. For the better, I'd say.

[ The question draws Hannibal's attention back to Percy, and he pauses briefly, not for knowing what to say, but instead for the last part of what Percy says. Again, it's strange to think that such a young man would face such danger regularly to have such thoughts, but... It does make it easier for him to give an explanation. He doubts that the motivation of the people that Percy is familiar with is actually any different. ]

I do believe that it's perhaps a mistake to look upon people that kill too harshly. The fact that they are coerced into it is pitiable. Even if they hide their crime, which makes things harder for us, I still understand it. They are doing what they feel is right. No more, and no less, since their actions come at the price of another life. But to do more is different, obviously. It makes them feel powerful.

[ To himself, he feels a spark of amusement at this moment, because this was a conversation he and Will had so long ago that it feels like another lifetime. When Will had struggled with killing a man, he had come to Hannibal. And Hannibal had led him here. He doesn't imagine that he'll lead Percy, since he doesn't have time to. But he wonders if this conversation will change Percy as it did for Will in ways that Hannibal will never see. ]

Killing makes you feel powerful. It may come with guilt that washes away everything else, but there is power in taking someone else's life. So, for those where guilt does not win out, killing feels good. They do not feel that it's for the best. They simply enjoy it. Their violent delights will always have violent ends.

[ He pauses, canting his head lightly as if considering something, but he poses a question back: ]

If you were to find the person that killed Annabeth... Would it not cross your mind to kill them? Would you not enjoy it for having repaid the pain that you and Annabeth both suffered because of them?

I think he'd reward people for style, but we don't have enough stylish murderers here. [It's what he says first, if only because everything else makes him feel strange. It's obvious in the way he seems to freeze up, watching Hannibal (and Will, technically) with thoughtful eyes and an expression that's hard to make out.

Did killing monsters make him feel powerful? Now it did, sure. As a child there were moments he was scared by his own strength, knowing he was potentially the most powerful demigod of his time. He thinks about the things he's lived through, the things that threatened him (and more important, things that threatened Annabeth), the monsters and men who wanted to destroy the world brick by brick. He thinks of Luke, especially, thinks of the boy he'd met when Percy was twelve years old, someone admirable and kind who had a seed of bitterness that blossomed enough to overtake him and corrupt him. Lost to the darkness, Luke didn't care about who he killed.

Hannibal may even notice that Percy looks down at his hands at a particular spot on his right palm. His eyebrows furrow together.]

Of course there's power in taking someone else's life if it's just and fair. [There's that. He refuses to feel guilt for the monsters he's killed, thinking about the Arai that attacked in Tartarus and cut him down with curses and pain. He refuses to feel guilt for the things he had done to protect the world and fight back. But what about those he just played with? What about the ones like Akhlys whom Percy had decided were a threat, the ones he used his powers in ways he shouldn't have?

That...had felt pretty good, didn't it? Being helpless and made of smoke, needing to fight to protect the most precious person in the world, frustrated beyond belief...no, that part hadn't felt good. It was the warmth that flowed through him as he felt a part of him shatter, the way his brain turned off as he let his abilities and his anger take over while controlling the Goddess of Misery's poison. It was the satisfaction he felt as the fumes made her eyes water, the way he imagined her eyes and nose filling with liquid to choke on her own tears. It was the inability to stop, wanting to continue, wanting her to suffer for betraying them like so many other monsters have and only stopping because Annabeth had begged him to.

Without Annabeth...perhaps it was more okay? She had made him promise not to play the game, but now that she's gone, now that he's without her, she told him to keep going. "If you stop putting in effort, you've turned around. So don't stop, Percy. The ending matters, and you need to focus on that."

So. He looks up from his hand and fixes Hannibal with a cold stare, green eyes almost burning a bit as he figures out his words.]

I made a promise to protect her and keep her safe. It's been five years since we met. I would do anything for her. She's been my partner since I was 12, and I failed her by not watching her back as I should have. Of course it would cross my mind to kill them. But I would have to cover my tracks pretty well, or, ideally, a situation like Ezio. [A short nod, a slightly bitter smile.] In that situation, I would fight anyone who tried to take execution rights from me. I don't think anyone understands that I need to win this game. I have to do it for her.

[ There isn't a reason for Will to speak. He's reached a numbing haze of consciousness here where his brain finally feels wrung dry and his own again. Trials are hard on him, soaking everything up with little consent and he can't ever stop it. Here, buried and clutching to Hannibal like a lifeline, he can finally tune everything out. Bring everything back to focus in a way that's hard for him usually. Hard for him without Hannibal.

Yet, he finds himself speak, words coming to him from a distant memory. and spilling out with little active want. They just come, muffled under everything else and eerie in their delivery. ]

Killing must feel good to God, too. He does it all the time, and are we not created in his image?

[ It's quoted, it's clearly quoted and Hannibal will feel Will's hands digging tighter into his leg in response, fingernails pressing deep through the fabric of his pants. It's hard to say if it's on purpose or not. Absentmindedly and quieter, Will follows with -- ]

God's terrific.

[ But he doesn't elaborate, doesn't give any explanation at all. Instead he lets his words hang in the air for a moment, just a quiet murmur of long ago spoken sentences. When he speaks again, it's directed at Percy and clearly Will's own voice. ]

Killing him would be your right, Percy. It would be just. His blood would be yours to bathe in and anyone to take that from you would be cruel and unworthy.

[ There's the tiniest flicker of a smile, not at Percy's words, but Will's. As soon as he starts speaking, Hannibal recognizes what he's about to say, and he's incredibly pleased by hearing his own words come from Will. It was rather dark, but it was what Hannibal genuinely believed. His views on God were a bit unusual, to say the least, not a firm denial, but hardly a devout belief either. He doesn't respond to the way Will's hands grip more tightly, at least not outwardly. He just turns his attention back to Will this time, even as he speaks to Percy. ]

I don't think that anyone would fight you for it, for the record.

[ Hannibal comments on that first, because even with the horror people had towards what happened here, executions had quickly become a different matter. For the guilty, no one minded if they suffered. In fact, it was encouraged by the Sheriff. But he had seen that quiet shift in the morality of the people here. Where they may have objected to letting people take their revenge before... He had doubts that there were many holding onto those beliefs now. ]

But we will help. In whatever ways you need. I hardly think it's unjustified to want to find and kill them. I would want to do the same if Will were killed. I have no shame in admitting that.

[And strangely, he looks at Will and the fire in his eyes dies a tiny bit, lips curling into a short amused grin even as he moves to give Winston a belly rub instead. He's not going to ask what just happened. He's too used to people mimicking other people's words by now.]

There's no such thing as God, Will. Only a metaphysical idea. On the other hand, yeah. Gods have a tendency to let us die despite us being their image. [He lets that sit for a moment before his eyes flicker questioningly.]

"Him"? [It's quite unfortunate that he's latched onto that, unsure if he should fully believe Will. A gender. He has that now, another piece to the puzzle. In a way it's inadvertently cruel, like feeding a dog a scrap before kicking him outside to scrounge for his own food. But he pulls himself together instead to address Hannibal.]

I've killed plenty of monsters before, Dr. Lecter. What's one more if it means saving other people from someone's cruelty? [His fingers flex and curl a bit.] I don't even know how Will did it, considering Ezio lied to me when I tried to confront him, but what if the same trick worked twice? Why do the dirty work when you can hand someone a rope and let them hang themselves? If we could find them and get them to confess the way Ezio did...but that's the trouble, isn't it? Getting someone to admit to a kill and not catching that week's killer?

The best plan would be to get them to kill again and try them for that trial. But that would also be too messy and unfair. I don't want someone else to die just for that. But if they were a Bandit again and we found a way to catch both bandits. The Sheriff said we could vote for two people each. [He shakes his head suddenly as though to clear his thoughts.] ...sorry. Annabeth usually makes the plans. I just kind of work as I go. But could that work? Could we smoke out a killer a second time like this?

Well, certainly not with that attitude.

[ He comments wryly as Percy speaks to Will, and if Will could see his face, he'd at least get the impression that this was something Hannibal had said to someone before, though he wouldn't know to who. No one did, and that's why he's taking a bit of amusement out of saying it now.

Though even so, he doesn't comment on Percy latching onto a detail about the killer. He doesn't encourage Percy or scorn him, and instead just moves onto smoothly to the larger point. If Percy has that information, then Hannibal sees no reason to stop him from moving forward with it as he wishes. ]

I would think that perhaps in the event of multiple killers, the Sheriff might allow multiple votes. It's been mentioned it before, but we also never asked further once it came to light that there were multiples. [ unless I missed that which is totally possible sweats... trials are hard to follow ] I don't know if encouraging a guilty person to kill again is wise, since as you've said, it gives them another life to take. But I think we could manage to find another. If it's through the trial, then it at least gives us someone guilty to vote for. If not... That is more complicated.

[I hate you and I hate this show and I hate the corpse mural AUGH.

Anyway. Percy rolls his eyes and appears sullen for a moment before he decides to move on the same way he always does. He'll decide if he wants to do anything with that information later or not.]

...good point. We never really got a clarification, but I wonder if it even matters. The only way people get executed is if they have the right numbers. Remember how Nisha and Tarvek were both killed because they tied? There's no way to guarantee that people are going to vote a certain way unless they pull something like Higekiri or Ezio. People didn't have an answer for this murder, so they went with the man who confessed. Better to kill a murderer than an innocent person if you can't catch the murderer seems to be the idea.

I would like a week where nobody murders anybody, but that's way too much to ask in this place. I...[And here he looks a little guilty himself.] ...Dr. Lecter, you're not going to tell anyone this, are you? I don't want people going around killing everybody, but I want to be able to get rid of someone that's been proven to be dangerous before they kill anyone else I care about. I'd like to do this as cleanly as possible, and I don't know...[He gestures to Will.] Is this because of the trial, or is Will just...like this?

[ He listens, but what Hannibal offers ends up being quite simple. After all, in the face of Percy's question, he feels that it's what needs the response most. Everything else is thinking aloud, strategy and possibility, but Hannibal offers reassurance in turn. ]

I will not tell anyone. I promise.

[ Hannibal at least seems quite sincere in giving his assurance that this conversation will stay with them. There's at least a bit of security in the fact that it also wouldn't exactly be ideal for anyone else to learn of this on Hannibal's side either. For Will... Well, no one would be surprised, probably.

After all, with how he's curled up now, it's a different picture of Will as he is in the trials. Hannibal's attention turns to Will again, but his smile shifts to one that's fond despite the question that Percy asks. ]

Both. Will is never especially good at dealing with people, but his temperament becomes especially acerbic when he's forced to be around them. As you learned rather personally. [ sorry will made you cry buddy ] Though not usually to this extent. "Solving" a mystery isn't quite what he meant to do.

[Listen, at this rate Percy wouldn't care what Hannibal's reasons are. Well, no, he might. As it stands though he simply thinks that Hannibal is someone he can trust and it's enough that his shoulders droop a little, more relaxed even if his eyes are critical and sharp. He's petting Winston's ears as a distraction, quietly working out a plan in his head.]

...thank you. [That's first. He looks at Will again, unsure of how to process that before there's something of a sage nod.] Sometimes I'm not sure if I can blame him. Hearing people in your head and seeing and feeling what they can feel is pretty hard. [It's spoken like he has some experience, but he doesn't stay on the topic for long.] Will's the one who got Ezio to crumble. I don't know if people will take me seriously just because of my age.

[...yeah, he assumes Ezio cracked because Will's older and better at this. Sue him.] I'd ask for his accidental help again, but not if it does this to him.

[ Hannibal cants his head lightly at that implication of experience, since it's not what he expected Percy to say. Will's disorder has always been incredibly unique by Hannibal's guess, so the idea that anyone else might have something similar both surprises him and intrigues him. But. That's neither here nor there, and he knows it, so the only response is that small gesture. ]

It could be age. Or it may not be. That's a bias that's very difficult to prove. Though, true, Ezio might have been spurned into confessing by another adult. Or it may have only been Will's particular insistence.

[ which is Hannibal speak for "being an asshole" ]

—But even if you asked, he probably wouldn't give it. In fact, I would even hope Will wouldn't. [ He pauses, thoughtful, then decides to explain further: ] It usually doesn't affect him quite this badly. But I think the Sheriff preferred that he not interfere. His help hurts him more now than it would normally.

[Percy is incredibly grateful not to be Will in this case. He's also incredibly grateful he doesn't have his thoughts interrupted with the thoughts of enchiladas, so that's something. But now isn't the time to be thinking of Grover. Instead, Percy listens to Hannibal before a troubled look crosses his features again.]

If I have to be an asshole, I can be an asshole. Probably. [Maybe? He tried and that got him nowhere.] But...I think that makes sense. The Sheriff probably wants us to do things ourselves and if he knows about us and what we're really like, he knows Will can see everything. [So okay, one point to Hal.]

I'm guessing this sort of thing isn't something you can teach me before next week either.

He does. I asked him about it, considering how ill Will is feeling very nearly all the time. That extent is unusual. [ He shrugs lightly, not dismissive, but simply knowing that it's a losing battle to try and convince the Sheriff to ease that, whatever it is. ] All the more reason to end this, at least for our own selfish reasons.

[ Also, if Will is asleep, Hannibal is very carefully going to try and take his whisky bottle from him and put it on a bedside table, since he really doesn't need to cuddle a bottle of alcohol like it's a teddy bear. ]

But no, I'm afraid not. If it were, I would teach everyone, and we would be better for it. It's simply a natural talent. It can be learned, to an extent, though even that takes years. But for Will and I both, we're just a bit more naturally attuned to the small gestures of people. We speak with a language that is far beyond words, and we do not even realize we speak it, often times.

[ Though since that might be a disappoint answer, he at least offers: ]

I don't have Will's talent. But if you trust my judgement, then I may be able to provide some guidance during the trial, with any luck.

[ which I'm required to have hannibal offer because he would but I, christy, actually cannot so don't listen LMAO ]

I don't think Will's health is really a selfish reason for wanting to end the game. It's a pretty selfish move to bring him here in the first place.

[This...is weirdly sweet and he's just going to leave it alone. Regardless, he seems to be thinking on that again.]

So really that's the fancy way of saying you know how to read between the lines. I get it. I'm trying to get better but we're in a town full of liars. [But, that offer is acceptable, even though that's rude Christy, what do you mean you can't help me cheat??? God.] ...I've trusted your judgment so far, haven't I? I want to see if I can do this on my own, but I'll just need back-up. I don't expect you or me to really know who's telling the truth in that room but people listen to you, Dr. Lecter. People listen to you the way I sometimes wish they'd listen to me.

[...the words are out of his mouth before he can bother thinking it through. He doesn't think to correct it either.] I have a week to look around, see if I can learn to read people. I hope maybe I'll find something.

[ Hannibal nods in agreement, since, yeah, he has to agree that bringing them here is pretty selfish. Why can't a pair of murderous assholes commit lover's suicide in peace? ugh ]

...Essentially, yes.

[ He nods to agree that it's probably a fancy way to say it, but there's a slight reluctance to it. It's solely just Hannibal being slightly awkward at it being pointed out, since it's so normal for him to speak in an erudite way that it's difficult to tone down. Otherwise, he listens, and though the one comment gets a brief look of sympathy, Hannibal ends up commenting on the rest instead. ]

Then I can at least support you. Reading people isn't easy, but... The first step tends to be doubt. It's rather cynical, but if you assume that everyone is lying, it can sometimes help you cut through to truth.

[ He shrugs lightly, but elaborates on what he means: ]

Russell's usage of incapacitating drugs may have been innocuous, for example. But it also may have not been. That was the case for Nisha's injuries, after all. [ He shakes his head at this point ] Not to particularly implicate him as being guilty, but those are the sorts of doubts that I cast. Is it what someone says, or is it more?

Edited 2017-02-16 01:21 (UTC)

[It's a problem when you're a 16 year old boy who can be obtuse as shit. Regardless, that answer seems to put him at ease as well.]

That should be easy, since we know of at least five people that're lying as it is. I don't want to start distrusting everyone I know, but...more critical thinking can't hurt. It's just about asking all of the right questions. That, I think, we can do well enough and hope for the best.

[He's not optimistic really, but he has to try.] Actions speak louder than words and all that. ...but we're not going to have to strip again next week, are we?

And macabre as it is, as our numbers diminish, finding those people will statistically become easier. It is... Not ideal. But it may benefit us, I suppose.

[ He laughs slightly and shakes his head at the question. ]

I hope not, but at the same time, I feel that it's become such tradition that someone is likely to suggest it. [ And he was right... ] It hasn't been very useful before, but who knows. Perhaps someone will be careless, for once.

If we do find these people, then what are we supposed to do with them? That's the real question I have here.

[There's an upturn of a smile.] We can only dream that somebody puts up a fight this week or something. That's what condemned Nisha, wasn't it? It's something to think about. [But the conversation's unsettling since it's still people dying.] ...I hope you're right. Just to make things easier for once.

[ He nods, though he does give the thought serious consideration, even if it's brief. The rest of the conversation Hannibal lets slip away, since the concern that Percy brings up first is a fair one. ]

That depends entirely on what they're meant to do, I suppose. Some of those roles are innocuous enough that I would say nothing needs to be done. The Doctor, for example, or even the Madame and Bartender. But others... They do not have such a convenient answer. [ He makes a thoughtful noise, then shakes his head lightly. ] It's difficult to say. At least as a hypothetical. In general terms, I would say that whatever it takes to stop all of this should be weighed in as the primary priority. I'm not sure what that would look like or if it would even matter. But I'd like to hope that there's more reason for the roles beyond entertaining the Sheriff.

[ like, please... that would be so dumb ]

[While all of that sounds great:]

Have you met Sheriff Hal? The guy's kind of a huge jerk half the time. He's admitted that the wanted posters are based on what he finds funny. I don't know what other reason he'd have.

[ See the logic is all there, but it still makes Hannibal sigh rather tiredly all the same. He can't disagree, though... ]

Hence the "hope," I suppose.

[ The sigh is followed by a very light shrug. ]

They may only exist to provide conflict and intrigue, in which case I would say that was a successful venture.

Given that not everyone knows what the roles do, it's definitely a point of contention, Dr. Lecter. People are paranoid that the roles might do something or they're going to start asking for information hoping to get ahead. If that's the case, I'd call it successful, too.

[He tilts his head.] Does that mean you're intrigued by all of this?

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If we know the way we're gonna die, through everything else we will survive [W4, Sat, Post-Trial]

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