slightlyoffchilt | - IC CONTACT POST FOR MASKORMENACE -

[He smiles as Billy reels off the monikers. Oh, this will be good.]

She's practicing, here. As a psychiatrist. Is that cause for concern?

[He has more.

For the time being, he stares.

No really he just stares for a second.]

Oh my god.

Yeah, no, that's massively concerning.

[Urgh, when was the last time he even saw her in person? Probably when Eli punched out Norman Osborn.]

She works...ed...for Norman Osborn while he was walking around in the Iron Patriot suit. It was...not good.

I'm well aware of what information has been twisted.

[Gideon's own fate and involvement with Chilton seemed to be it, but the truth is that her knowledge of the actual circumstance between the two doctors, combined with Gideon's confirmation, seemed to be enough. While her perspective on that has become much more convoluted, she doesn't see Chilton as any less of a predator than Gideon. His approach to others led into that.

The difference is that she does know the feeling of being victimized, but her understanding is that there are many victims in this situation. She had discounted Chilton's own victimhood, and hoped to give him the same level conversation that she had provided Gideon. Neutrality, rather than something else. But she isn't being offered that.

Of course, his own reluctance to speak to her has given her more reason to return to her previous state of mind about him. After all, while there were many victims, there were people who victimized others. That includes Chilton, as far as she's concerned. Kate wasn't being underhanded, but she does prefer a more level understanding with the man—a certain neutrality that she hasn't achieved here because she refuses to play anything that involves sharing one piece of information for another (which she's certain the information about Danger would become—as much as she is now more aware of Danger as an individual, she isn't going to see the woman as an object to discuss for some other greater purpose).

While she will likely return to Chilton's words in the future, she prefers to remain confident in her view here. Chilton's own unwillingness to implicate the birdie, along with his responses to Gideon in a situation that's burned into her memory, provide her enough to at least be very suspicious of him. But she had been harsh when she shouldn't have been. She had been frustrated with him when he deserved kindness, and she should have been as soft with him as she had been with Gideon. That's all.]

And you know my reasons for "hurting" you, Frederick. I'm sorry for that, and I let my emotions get the best of me. I won't apologize for being suspicious of you, because I think my suspicions were founded. The fact that you're worried about my intentions makes you paranoid, or at least edgy enough to be what some might call overly careful.

I think you forget that I found out everything because I wanted to help. I still want to help. [To give him his own chance to answer questions. She's careful not to level direct accusations, even if she's confident in her information. Again, the fact that he claimed that he did something for Gideon, that he didn't play with denial—even if it was under the scalpel, she finds it's still damning.

But she wants to help others, too. The fact that this has, to the public eye, gone to rest is a bad thing.]

[Chilton had also worked for Norman Osborn, technically -- at Osborn's mental hospital, in fact. But that was a contract signed well before Chilton had ever gotten his hands (illegally) on Norman's own psychiatric profile.

So that was his excuse.]

Did she now.

[After being often scolded himself for any relation to the former supervillain (no matter how innocuous!!), he could deeply appreciate how this... Former supervillain was deeply frowned upon, in polite society.]

Does she know that she did? Time scale can be so... Unfortunate.

[Was she a time bomb walking?]

I don't know, I didn't even know she was here, but that's...besides the point. I don't know if I would say she's psychotic but she's sort of not a good guy, if you know what I mean.

I don't know how ethical you can be when your idea of a good time is joining any club that would have Norman Osborn as a member.

[He rubs his hand on his face]

I don't really know her personally, though. Someone on my team might, though.

[Noh-varr was doing something something something with Osborn a while back, wasn't he? Before he apparently reformed and started making out with Kate]

Kate, do try to see it from my perspective. You might have wanted to help, and if I were anyone else, you would have kept wanting to help without a lapse. But I think you forget that in allowing your emotions to best you, in fact you allowed your methodology to be crippled. That has consequence. I cannot trust you. I cannot trust you to remain neutral. I cannot trust you to be a friend to me.

[And he is right to believe that, though perhaps not for the right reasons; even now (unknown to him), she misinterprets his reluctance to allow her back into his trust as some tactic to obscure facts. Quite thankfully he isn't aware of that thought process, because that he would certainly clutch onto as vindictive proof. And the way that Chilton clutched things, that would never escape him again.

Within his own mind, he thinks Kate is attempting to entrap him with misconceptions and assumptions once more. Her bias (as he sees it) exhibited to Gideon (a man she didn't even know the base details of) in exchange for something approximating equal benefit of the doubt for Chilton, the man she had once called a friend (lies, he considered them now) was indicative of a pattern. The fact that she wouldn't be fully honest with him even now (which he was aware of) implied long term behavior. He had extended friendship, he had endured her mockery and little cruelties (texting during a dinner he had bought), he had tried to be a normal friend to her (with middling success, granted) -- and she threw it back in his face.

While it was true that Chilton often drove away people, it was likewise true that people sometimes drove away Chilton.]

If you are truly coming to me as a friend [which, granted, he did not believe] then why not respect my wishes to discuss whatever it is you want over this particular medium?

[Not unreasonable, he thought, as he had already offered to speak to her in this manner. True, that he was shutting her off, he was making it harder than he could have; but he was building walls for his own protection from (as he saw it) a betrayer. He wasn't afraid of the information she had taken from Gideon, with the pieces of her own prowess. Chilton was quite sure that Gideon would have screwed her over in some small but crucial way, and that would hurt Kate's credibility as an investigator more than she could hurt him with halfway facts and misconceptions.

Will Graham had not betrayed him. And funnily enough, it was Will who Chilton would begin to fear -- but not for any reason with the Ripper's legacy.]

Accusations of paranoia hardly hide your history as a terrible friend, Kate. You're apologizing for being too reactive, too unthinking, but even now you attempt to invalidate my actual human emotions. "Hurting" indeed.

[And that was all the evidence he needed to illustrate the nature of Kate's apology. As he saw it, she was only acknowledging what she had done to an extent. He considered it bait, a lure.

Fishing analogies had been on his mind lately, thanks to Will's marlin.]

I would attribute a personality disorder or two, before I threw around psychotic.

[It was spoken almost flippantly.

But at Billy's line about Osborn, he threw the patient a glance.]

But, oh, let's not go to any trouble, checking into Doctor Sofen's sordid past. It doesn't matter much.

[It mattered quite a lot. She was treating Chilton, as decided by his supervisor. And that could very well put every one of Chilton's patients at risk, depending on his own psychic guarding.]

Are you sure?

Just.

Don't trust her, okay? She creeps me out.

And like, if she does anything call me, I can be anywhere in .5 seconds and I'll back you up.

[He doesn't know their relationship but he's putting it out there just the same.]

[There's a smile -- brief, a flicker, but highly authentic. A glimpse of the vulnerability that comes with emotional gratitude.]

I will, Billy, if I feel direly threatened by her. I'll phone you.

[In that moment, he doubted he would require such aid -- but then again, his landscape of Karla Sofen's psychological state was only just becoming flushed. There was plenty of time to rethink his defense.]

Okay.

[He gives a smile of his own - it's nice to be able to help someone like that.]

Okay, I better go. Thanks again, Doctor Chilton.

Yes, obviously our business overlaps.

[That's why he had surged in, to broker that deal with Will. The social contract. He wondered if Will had misunderstood his intent and the implication of what Chilton had already known, or if he was being obnoxious on purpose. The latter, likely -- it wasn't as if Chilton had been a gentleman to Will, during this exchange.

All part of how their entanglements got thorny.]

Isn't it remarkable, how he's recovered? [Ah, the discussion of Abel Gideon. An irresistible topic. If Chilton couldn't stop Will's focus on the Baltimore three (with Will, of course, rounding them to four -- oddly young Hannibal was but a fraction in this count), he could at least refocus the lens onto one of the other two.] Pity about the leg.

That wasn't me, you know. I don't know how he managed to lose it. I suspect it was taken from him.

[Will's not the one who would take Chilton being the opposite of a gentleman as such a grave insult. Hannibal surely found him obnoxious at times, as he's sure Chilton did if he's ridden out the gravy train of being Will Graham's secretary.]

If he hadn't been talking about killing Alana Bloom in the style of the Ripper, he wouldn't have had to recover from anything. [This is a big fat lie. He would have shot him no matter what he said, seeing Garret Jacob Hobbs and all. The bit about being him was too much, but seeing that face saying anything? It wouldn't have mattered what Gideon said. Will's fortunate that Gideon's tongue-pulling spree afforded him a free pass when it came to having shot him in the head. Which he has, of course, lied about since coming here.] More remarkable that you feel you have to defend your lack of action. Anyone who thinks you'd be capable of wielding whatever was used to saw a leg clean off is a blind moron. Of course I "know" that, Frederick. I'd say we could argue that you'd helped wield whatever sawed Miriam Lass' arm clean off, but that wouldn't be an argument. We both had a part in that one.

[Freddie Lounds had her uses after all. And, ah, since the man who'd be discomforted isn't around, why not?]

You might say I have as much of a leg to stand on as you would if we tried to get into that one.

[Problems with taste indeed.]

Hey, Doc. I, uh, I need to talk to you soon. If you have the time.

[Needless to say, Hannibal isn't the best of measurements to determine much of anything by. He's probably the only person who sent Will anything, since the only other person invested in Will's well-being was already WORKING THERE (Matthew Brown). The gravy was more like water.

Chilton was likely highly disappointed by the dry detail. "Will come". BARELY salacious. Hannibal, you shame your cobalt blue walls with a lacking purple prose.]

Well, you definitely just called a couple of your acquaintances "blind morons".

[He doesn't illuminate, wondering if Will can figure it out. HE'S NOT EVEN TALKING ABOUT THE FBI AND THEIR FAILURES, even though everyone knows Zeller fits that description.]

Miriam Lass could ONLY me even partially on me if you're suggesting that I have manipulative sway over the Ripper.

[Which, actually, he did to an extent. He wanted the Ripper to return to business, so he could be considered the copycat -- thus blooming Gideon's fame once more. He was counting on that much.

I read all those fucking scripts.]

I have the time, Cyril, of course. How are you?

I kind of meant in person. [So Chilton can't hang up on him.] Tired. But good, I guess. You?

Still vaguely traumatized over the paintballing affair -- [A beat.] Just joking, of course, it wasn't so bad.

When would you like to meet?

If you think "blind morons" is the worst I've called anyone and is something I should feel bad about, I don't think we got to know each other very well at all.

[Feeling badly about things. Words words words, none of them poetic enough to suit Hannibal's tastes. Zeller fits a lot of descriptions. Will slotted him in one while Jack stood there and watched, slotted him into the spot of a lousy politician due to his status as a middle child after having his lack of personality insulted.

Not to mention the way he insulted his entire class. Details.]

You helped create a fake Ripper. Of course that would hit news. Of course he'd read it and be insulted. Of course everyone knew Abel Gideon wasn't the Ripper. He doesn't just kill in threes or fours. He was active while Dr. Gideon was locked away. That much didn't hit the news. Looking back at it later, we probably should have let you know. You probably wouldn't have believed it, but we could have tried. Should I feel bad we didn't try?

["Sorry you got gutted because we didn't care - Cocktail"

He doesn't feel bad Chilton should have read the scripts more carefully]

It was...different, wasn't it? [Cy just wanted the new communicator because he's such a nerd.]

I don't really have a lot going on when I'm not working so...whenever is good for you.

I've some work to finish up at the office, regardless of whatever time the government has given us off, but I have accepted house calls -- precedent is established. Whatever you're most comfortable with.

Answer this: do you expect blind faith and understanding from all your friends, even if you do bad things to others? Because one of my friends does do some of the things you do, and I take him to task the same way I do you. But you're failing to see that.

You have behaved in a way that is worthy of condemnation. You got hurt, and I went to help because I assumed that while you were a bit of an ass to others on occasion, you weren't all around bad. You just focused on your interests. [For her, it's similar to when Clint asked her to be his get-away. She called him an ass, thought his behavior was reprehensible, but she hadn't abandoned him.

It took a little while longer for her to step away. Her frustration didn't happen immediately.

Chilton's situation is different. When she saw Loki on the battlefield against Lucifer, her thought there hadn't been worry. It had been anger, as it was very apparent that he hadn't been interested in playing hero. Her frustration had boiled over.

That he's accusing her of holding him to some unseen standards frustrates her, but she doesn't wish to bring others in as points of comparison.]

My mistake is one based on a misunderstanding. My true mistake was in condemning you harshly instead of listening. My tone wasn't sympathetic. That was my mistake, and I hoped to understand.

I'm not hiding anything, Frederick. But I am pulling punches here when it comes to talks of feelings and what you might wish.

Failing to see what? Evidence of potentially fabricated hints of information? Material you won't elaborate upon? Things you want me to take at face value, despite your deceit? Failure to see whatever nonsense you'd love me to buy into? I'd rather fail to see that than do as you're doing; you're failing to understand. Failing to understand why you coming out of the blue, like this, without rhyme or reason and armed with a belated apology. You've been an ass to me, Kate, well before you played a round of blame the victim. Do you think you're immune to the standards that you hold others? Should I base my expectation on that which you expect from others? Do you know comprehend that this has only been building, that I authentically thought that was simply how you behaved amidst your friends -- much like an ass -- until it became apparent that someone you honestly considered a friend would have been treated like a human being?

[He imagines what she would have done if Billy had been tortured and nearly killed, if she had come across unflattering one-sided material and condemned him immediately for it, without consideration for his health, even if he might have deserved questioning later. It was a painful hypothetical -- Chilton enjoyed Billy's company. The young man had appeared invested in Chilton, and while the psychiatrist savored that with all the abandon of a narcissist, it was an emotion fueled by a need to connect to people, raw and craving. Those whom Chilton himself considered interesting, worthwhile, he appreciated those connections. Too often had he been shunned by people (not without some effort on his own part, usually), and that bred a distrust in the human condition. Kate, it seemed to him, was more like the snubbing high society her elocution revealed than at first blush. Hiding bias behind hypocritical morals, as if others wouldn't notice.]

You never liked me. I had thought you did, and yes, laugh all you want about that. Laugh that you only went to dinner with me for a free meal -- that was it, wasn't it? Laugh that I never had the ballroom training your parents could afford you. You never conversed with me without some underhanded motive, isn't that so? And it's insulting that you think you can convince me that now things are different. You want to know what is different, Kate Bishop? I'm seeing you for what you had done to me.

[The agony lies within the repetition; Chilton, upon his return and the puzzle pieces of information that fell from the fingertips of his Baltimore brethren, had realized that Hannibal had done the same thing to him. Chilton mistook interest and company for friendship, when all along he had been served ulterior motives. A graver mistake with Hannibal, who had been actively manipulative; something that Kate Bishop was not. A less provoked Chilton would have accepted that the degrees were uneven, that much of a the parallel was only in his own perception, but in this moment he felt the sting of humiliation, of lies and smiles. Of empty friendships. Of Alana Bloom, whom he could not trust. Of Hannibal Lecter, whom he would continue to be tormented by. And still, he disdained so many people -- and still, he needed human connectivity.

He was a starved man.]

How can you dare demand openness and honesty when you won't return even that much?

[ there's the briefest moment of hesitation and silence as Tommy debates just hanging up on the answering machine. ]

Is this... it's the shrink, right? I got the right line? My name's Tommy. Tommy Shepherd. I don't need therapy, but I was told to try talking to you.

[ and boy does he sound less than thrilled at the idea. ]

[ he's a little more at ease now that he's not talking to the machine, as it were. and he's not too bothered by the appointment, either, since he's been dealing with doctors and hospitals and psychiatrists since he was a kid. ]

Absolutely. Free as a bird.

[ well, he has school. and his job. but apart from that, it's not like he's developed a complex social life. ]

Name the date, doc.

The difference between us is that I don't believe the world is an ugly place like you do. To think I only approached you so I could make fun of you means that you're twisting motivations to feed into your own negativity. Is that what you've been stewing in? I don't care about the fact that my parents trained me as a debutante. The more important part is that you (underline that) know that as well. But is this some way of creating a truth, which is separate from the clear knowledge of what I have?

I wasn't acting out of deceit, no matter how much you can claim otherwise. But your fragile ego was what was hurt. And to act as if I hurt you in the first place, when you had pushed me away before (again, underline) any of that had happened. You created the negative situation between the two of us. Not me. Or are you so quick to forget that? Am I supposed to write off your behavior, your extensive behavior, because it suits you? At least I apologized. Are you given to being free from that kind of behavior because you were tortured? Because in two worlds, you tried to shape a man into what you needed him to be for your own notoriety? I don't like what Dr. Gideon to you. I don't like what you did to him. Where do we balance that?

At our dinner, since you so kindly brought it up, you indicated that you'd like to "offer psychiatry" to Lucifer. I suggested that this would be a bad idea, and worried that your own interest in someone like that would come to hurt you. Little did I know that you had already attracted the wrong attention. Did you think I'd forget this? You're interested in "offering psychiatry" to those who can interest you and bolster your reputation. Or that's my impression. And it's great that as a result, you're offering psychiatry to a great deal of imPorts. [People who are her friends. And if they aren't her friends, they're people like Curt Connors, who's had a wealth of problems. That she had seen both Violet and Connors in there, combined with the new information, hadn't helped in the least.]

But maybe you're so confident in challenging what I'm saying because you know I won't corroborate what I've learned. There's no chance of that, right? If you're going to call me the ass, Frederick, make sure you're confident in what aspects of yourself you can cover up.

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