Hannibal's House: After-BDE Trauma Party

[sharp_as_knives]

Yet another island oddity had come and gone, and yet again it seemed to have taken a mental and physical toll on several people Hannibal rather liked. So tonight he was cooking comfort foods and low-snobbery (but still gourmet) snacks, tea, and hot chocolate, and his bar was very well stocked.

He'd talked to the other researchers and sent messages to his friends welcoming them to join him if they wanted (except for Jono's, which had been more of a politely worded demand for his presence), but the lights in the house were on and the door was open, if anyone else felt they needed company.

Or just to sit in the corner and cry. Hannibal wouldn't judge. He might take notes, though.

There was food:
Mini grilled-cheese sandwiches (artisan cheese, home-baked bread, probably some with moddable! things like capers or veggies or ham)
Tiny meat pies
Roasted potatoes with salt and rosemary
French fries which tried for greasy and didn't quite have the heart to make it, sorry Jono!
Tiny pies of moddable fruit
Ice cream of several flavors (lavender and honey! vanilla bean! dark chocolate! moddable!)
Chocolate truffles of various moddable! flavors
Other assorted moddable, go to town! things

And drink - if it's a high-end liquor, it's here. Also home-brewed people beer and good wine, both dry and sweet.

[OOC: Open post is open! NM; just put it all here, no OCD.]

Comments

[glacial_queen]

"Careful," Karla said. "It's stronger than you think it is. It'll knock you on your ass if you drink it too fast."

Next, Karla would try to keep ants away from a picnic by sprinkling a barrier of sugar on the ground.

Of course, odds were that Sparkle would be more open to talking about things if he were drunk.

[myownface]

"All the better if I fucking pass out from it," Sparkle countered, giving her a look that said about as much. "Maybe I'll ask for seconds. If you won't give 'em to me, Doctor Lecter's got a stocked bar, right there."

He balled himself up a little more on the floor, clutching the cup to his chest.

"So much bullshit. Fuck everything."

[glacial_queen]

"I'm not gonna cut you off, Sparkle," Karla said. "Hell, if you get tired of the wine, I've got something even stronger."

She placed a hand on one of his and looked him in the eyes. "I also have a few sleeping draughts that will guarantee you don't have dreams. If you want any."

Offering him a wry smile, she added, "Also a few hangover remedies if you'd rather ensure no dreams the old-fashioned way. I hear misery is a good way to keep from thinking about things, too."

[myownface]

Sparkle went stone-still as she touched his hand, quietly looking downward before nodding.

"I'll see where tonight takes me, I guess," he mumbled, shrugging. "I'd be pretty okay with never sleeping again, too."

[glacial_queen]

"That won't help," Karla said, weaving a few subtle soothing spells into the fabric of his shirt. "'Sleep that knits up the raveled sleeve of care.'"

Thank you, Ender, for the ability to pull out Shakespeare quotes at any moment.

"I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess that you got caught up on the ugly side of the carnival?"

[myownface]

Sparkle was going to be really big on giving non-committal shrugs of his shoulders tonight. He could shrug those shoulders like a real champ.

"You'd think I'd be used to it by now."

You'd think.

[glacial_queen]

"In my four years on the island, I never did," Karla said. "Speaking from experience, a mental violation is often worse than a physical one."

[myownface]

"Double the fun when it's a mix of both," Sparkle muttered, taking another mouthful of wine. He was feeling a little better in spite of his dedication to the sulk that he was working up, here. He was going to thank the alcohol for that. "Brutal death, a bit of mental reprogramming, some more attempted murder for fun. At least I didn't fucking eat anybody this time."

It was always different, things like this. Things where he could remember dying, could pinpoint the exact moment he'd made the stupid fucking mistake that led to it. This was nothing like Fandom's weird moods at all, the ones that turned people into other people entirely, and faded off eventually with no outside help.

This always came with something solid he could point to, some moment that came as a result of his decisions, that made everything worse. And this always came with the possibility of no return.

[glacial_queen]

"Ex-vampire trauma?" Karla asked. "I've been on the other side of that one."

Lord, how long ago had that been? Going on sex, maybe seven years? Her first big dose of Fandom terror. Dinah, Ender, Leto...they'd taken turns terrorizing her.

"Have you given any thought how to make amends for what you did?" Yeah, in ordinary circumstances, Karla would be the first to say that whatever Sparkle had done after his mental reprogramming wasn't his fault. But after years of living with Jono, she recognized when someone had heard the spiel and wasn't buying it. At this point, she was hoping that the fact that Sparkle hadn't been in control would be enough to allow the option of amends.

[myownface]

"The island's had me eating people three times. I was only a vampire twice," Sparkle muttered, shrugging his shoulders. "Anyway, I'm gonna try to make up for this. I tried to kill one of my best friends. Maybe this time around, the person I hurt won't be too afraid to hear me out, even."

He called this one 'Mouse.' It was a nickname that could easily have been appended to Sholeh, as well.

[glacial_queen]

To her credit, Karla didn't so much as look at Hannibal when Sparkle admitted to being a vampire only twice. Whether Sparkle knew of Hannibal's proclivities or not was none of her business. Nor did she even know if Hannibal was even involved--there had been island shenanigans, or so it seemed.

Though she'd probably have a talk with Hannibal about Sparkle, just in case.

"Starting to think the island should make a line of cards for that," she said, trying to subtly remind Sparkle he wasn't the only one who had done such a thing. "I know I've had to make my own apologies for that a few times."

[myownface]

"For eating people?"

Because, you know, that was a really specific thing to have to apologize to someone for. But it seemed like it was sort of an occupational hazard that came with being a student on the island, too.