001. The first taste is with the eye - video

[sweetbreads]

[ Hannibal Lecter's calm blue eyes appear first, incredibly close to the camera, fixed and unblinking, at which point he retreats to a better distance. A smile is almost there, creasing the line of his mouth. ]

Good evening. My name is Doctor Fell, and it has the feel of an evening, don't you agree?

[ He settles down on his chair on the other side of the counter, set up as it is to look like the view of an office, irregardless of the fact that he's recording in one of the kitchens. It's just about possible to see the corner of one of the big freezers in the background. ]

I must come before you today in the wake of such dreadful circumstances as we witnessed several days ago. I hope your injuries are healing well, externally, at least. [ His head inclines, as though in deep thought. ] But in such cases, not all of the harm done is visible. If any one of you would like to discuss your experience - or any other experiences - with a qualified psychiatrist, you need only contact me to schedule a private consultation.

For those who do not, I recommend a solution of ammonia or a paste of baking soda, with which to remove the bloodstains from your clothes.

Finally, I should dearly like to speak to a Murphy Pendleton about his books, and if anyone should happen to know where there might be a ready source of fresh meat, eggs, or milk, I daresay it would guarantee you an invitation to dinner.

Comments

video

[intersection]

[ There's a hot second where this feels sincere and okay and like it's just any other post made by any other strange space person, and then everything proceeds to very, very quickly fall apart. Because that's not really a face Chuck ever wanted to have the pleasure of seeing. Anywhere. Except behind a television screen. This is bad. Really bad. Very bad. ]

You- You-- [ Chuck's eyes go monstrously wide and even though he's holding his comm device like someone might hold a tablet, suddenly it's incredibly far away from him. Chuck's really good at recoiling. Though, reacting with device-in-hand is kind of pointless, Chuck still leaves it as far away as humanely acceptable...

... no, okay, he's pretty much turned this into a voice reply. ]

You're. [ One might think he's actually physically incapable of human speech by this point. He needs a few more seconds. And probably a few more after that, just for good measure. ]

Is that a English name? Or, or- You know, I think i've just heard that name before. Somewhere. I don't know where though, maybe it's just a coincidence. Like one of those kids you knew in middle school but never spoke to, kind of coincidences. [ ..... he's going to be eaten. ] Or maybe it was someone else.

video

[sweetbreads]

A psychiatrist, yes.

[ And Chuck speaks again, so Hannibal leans back, patient as he burbles over, endlessly energetic. He seems genuinely shocked, appalled, perhaps even frightened - almost as though he knows him - but Hannibal keeps his calm, maintaining his facade, although his eyebrows do rise a centimeter or two. ]

I was born and raised in Sao Paolo, but my father was German-American. Perhaps that answers your question? [ Not too much, but more than he was asked. It would be pushing it to flash his Brazilian passport too. ]

video

[intersection]

[ A reminder of the fact that Hannibal Lecter is- was? - a psychiatrist is not what Chuck wanted to hear, no. Not even close. If anything, hearing it again just makes it that much worse because it just shouldn't be allowed. Shouldn't he have been kicked out of medical school? Don't they screen for that sort of thing? ]

Yeah. Yeah, sure- Definitely cleared that one right up. [ Which is to say that no, it really doesn't. Because then where the hell did you get that accent-- a question Chuck would ask were he not terrified that he would soon be eaten. ] I think you just look like someone I used to work with. You know the face sharing thing?

[ He peers into his comm for half a second before-- yeah no, that's still terrifying. ] Someone's told you about that, right?

permavideo

[okayokay]

You're a cooking shrink...cookies and tissues kinda stuff?

permavideo

[sweetbreads]

Cookies? [ A pause, as though he can taste the word. ]

In my clinic I try to afford tears. A client debilitated by misery would have difficulty addressing their problems. We'd have to work, first, on gaining control of those impulses.

I'm not sure about cookies.

[okayokay]

What's unsure about cookies. They're good at stopping crying- maybe better than just talking about shit no one can do anything about.

text »

[heister]

You would offer your services even without the promise of payment?

[ ooc: is 4thwalling a go with hannibal? c: ]

text »

[sweetbreads]

I can only encourage my clients to give what they may, however given the present circumstances, being able to occupy my time will prove sufficient.

[ ooc: fourth walling is fine, so long as you keep it to what he'd reasonably know. Mostly just trying to avoid the topic of Mischa tbh. ]

text »

[heister]

It's quite altruistic of you, Doctor Fell, but then I shouldn't be surprised. In this ship, it seems that we're something of a dysfunctional family.

[ ooc: noted! just needed to know in case danny accidentally says something c: he won't break the fourth wall for the most part. ]

[slipperysoul]

You're out of luck in the fresh meat department.

[ that didn't sound as strange in his head... ]

[sweetbreads]

[ He will carefully avoid saying "excusing the human source" because drawing attention to cannibalism is not a great way of maintaining a low profile. ]

The frozen alternative is, I've discovered, decidedly lacking in flavor, the textures degraded far beyond acceptable levels. Freezer burn, the scourge of any good cook.

video.

[organfarm]

I dunno if this is kinda insensitive or inappropriate or uh, y'know, something like that, but like -- do you have those psychiatrist couches here? Or are you still allowed to do psychiatry stuff without the couches, like are the couches just for looks.

[ pause. ]

I mean! It's just something -- I've been wondering. Y'know. About how psychiatrists on TV and stuff always have a couch. Uh, nothing personal.

[ another pause, even more awkward. ]

Um. An' I think I saw some chickens in the gardens. Dunno if they're wild or if someone owns them so you gotta ask for eggs and meat, though.

video.

[sweetbreads]

[ People on this ship are very jumpy, but not without their good humour; cheerful despite their predicament. ]

I had two couches, a variety of chairs and a recliner. In the interest of the comfort of my clients, of course. We do not have much time in our sessions - certainly not as much as either myself or the client would like - and in the interest of preserving that time, comfort is paramount.

Chickens. [ He says it like he might say 'Tasty!' ] Are they likely to belong to someone?

[briefly]

That's quite attentive of you, Doctor Fell. I hope they do come to you for help.

[sweetbreads]

We must all do our best to offer what assistance we may, in these most tragic of occasions.

[quotate]

Have you worked in any other professions?

[sweetbreads]

Emergency surgery and a curatorship. Have you ever been to Italy?

[jilt]

You should speak to our dear residents of the Oxygen Garden. I hear there's a few useful animals dwelling there. Perhaps they'd spare you an egg or two.

[sweetbreads]

Indeed. I must admit I was rather more focused on the magnificent plantlife than the people. Unless you're suggesting I make the request of the animals themselves. Would you recommend any one person in particular?

voice;

[thebreakingwave]

I can transfigure something into eggs or milk and vice versa, but I think it might affect the flavour or how it rises. Altered ingredients don't always have the same properties.

voice;

[sweetbreads]

Transfiguration? That I should dearly like to see. [ What he says out loud by no means reflects the cacophony in his head. All the questions he might ask, the doubt he might raise, the comparisons to alchemy and religion he might draw. ] But eggs--certainly you must be an accomplished chemist to achieve anything so complex?

video »

[hypospray]

I wouldn't call it an evening, then again, space messes with circadian rhythms enough to make it seem like it is no matter what. Darkness of space gets to you.

[ There's a pause and Bones just rubs at the back of his neck. ]

Wouldn't hurt to make those consultations mandatory.

video »

[sweetbreads]

Darkness without stars more so. And yet there is an inherent rhythm to the coming and going of people, something engrained in the population that rises and falls in a predictable manner. It's quite remarkable.

Perhaps so. Are you a doctor yourself?

[ Like he doesn't know. ]

voice »

[unparental]

So that makes you part of our crew of misfits, then.

[voice] /breaks hiatus in time to notice this post hah

[yardbird]

[The "qualified psychiatrist" has him a bit on edge before he can even say anything, but Murphy will set aside personal bias for the time being. He's also not used to hearing his name come up on the network. Usually, he prefers it that way.

[Oh well.]

...What about the books?