Office Hours, Thursday

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal didn't much expect his students to need him yet, unless Anna wanted to start learning to use video or Isabelle decided to drop the class, but he believed in keeping good habits. So he was in his office, working on future lesson plans, pruning his herbs, and listening to opera.



[OOC: Open door and post!]

Comments

[sharp_as_knives]

"Not many people play it anymore, unfortunately." Hannibal put the case away. "It does lend a certain ethereal vibe to the piece."

[furnaceface]

"Well, it isn't the sort of synthesized sound far too many modern musicians are going for, these days. How many other instruments are falling to the wayside because of that? It used to be nigh impossible to turn on a radio in America without hearing a steel guitar. I think most people would look at me as though I'm half-mad if I ever started prattling on about the Dobro."

Jonothon's great lament. You just didn't hear much in the way of guitar on the radio any more, these days. Guitar!

[sharp_as_knives]

"So you do have an appreciation for the classics, if not the classical."

[furnaceface]

"Growing up on Pearl Jam and The Clash doesn't mean I don't enjoy flipping the radio to the classical station now and again and just appreciating what I'm listening to," Jono pointed out, shrugging. "I relate better to one than the other, but sometimes a person needs to step a little out of their depth to properly appreciate something. I've tried to learn to play at least a few classical pieces on guitar, myself."

He... enjoyed Moonlight Sonata more than he cared to admit.

[sharp_as_knives]

"Growth is a good thing. I'm afraid I find little to relate to in current popular music, unfortunately." He smiled. "I save my adventurousness for other arts."

[furnaceface]

"And dare I ask just how adventurous you get?"

Really, Jon, you didn't want to know.

[sharp_as_knives]

You could always ask.

"I enjoy all types of paintings, sculptures, others of the arts. And I'll try nearly any food." He wet his lips and chuckled. "I even ate my students' food a couple of weeks ago."

[furnaceface]

"Brave man," Jono decided, smiling faintly. "I'll do damn near anything for my students, but I'm pretty certain I'd draw my line at eating what they cook."

In fairness, Jono and taste were still in a fairly touch-and-go sort of relationship.

"Of course, I suppose I make up for it whenever I hold auditions at the Boards."

[sharp_as_knives]

"I have a very strong stomach," Hannibal answered with a smile. "The Boards, that's the theater in the city here?"

[furnaceface]

"It is," Jono replied, raising an eyebrow slightly. "It was closed for the summer while I was out of town, but now it seems I'll be back for a while. I'll be getting on to picking the autumn production right away, with any luck."

Jono never lucked out. He wasn't holding his breath.

[sharp_as_knives]

"What sorts of productions do you show?" Hannibal asked, interested. "Plays?"

[furnaceface]

"Generally, yes," Jono agreed. "We've done the occasional talent showcase, too. I'm looking to do some sort of musical this time around, though. We did Wilde this spring, and that was..."

It had been... painful.

"... It was a show..."

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal winced. "My sympathies. I hope this next works out better. Are there many good voices on the island? Or do you also recruit from elsewhere?"

[furnaceface]

"I haven't needed to look elsewhere in order to cast yet, fortunately," Jonothon said. "I suppose if I happened to be desperate, I could start calling up alumni from the school who have taken off. I can't imagine I'd get many takers who aren't already familiar with the island. And some of the students here have quite the talent. I'm not certain about this new crop yet, of course, but there have been some ladies over the past couple of years that I'd cast in any production I'd think of putting on, here."

[sharp_as_knives]

"That's good to hear." Not that he thought you could expect too much from high-school students, but at least they had some talent. "I look forward to seeing what you come up with."

[furnaceface]

"At this point, I think I'll be satisfied if it doesn't end in dual gremlin bites and mysterious waffles raining from the naffin' ceiling," Jono decided. "This island has a sense of humour some days that are really quite th'pain in the behind."

That was putting it lightly.

"One of my leads thought she was a chicken for the first act. I think after that, I'm mostly just inclined to be happy if anyone dares set foot on that stage again."

[sharp_as_knives]

"Ah. I had forgotten you might face more than the usual difficulties."

...

"Waffles?"

[furnaceface]

"And syrup," Jono confirmed. He was wearing his 'slightly disgruntled' face, now, just remembering. "I was cleaning th'mess up for days. No idea where they were falling from, aside from 'up.'"

[sharp_as_knives]

"Less deadly than sharks?" Hannibal suggested.

[furnaceface]

Jono... had managed to completely miss the sharks. But he was a long-time resident of the island, so aside from a bit of a perplexed glance, he wasn't going to ask too many questions.

"Far less," he agreed. "But I'd argue that the damage to the carpeting was a fair bit more extensive than any sharks would've managed."

[sharp_as_knives]

"The sharks were at least confined to outside," Hannibal acknowledged. "The storm that brought them caused more damage, I think."

[furnaceface]

"Ah, so that's what happened."

There had been something of a fishy smell, now that he thought about it, the last time he'd come to the island.

"But that's generally the way of it around here. Even the most horrifying attackers rarely cause lasting damage before they're driven off."

[sharp_as_knives]

"Something to be grateful for, I suppose. And the sharks did leave us with a lovely dinner the following day, with plenty to donate to shelters as well."

[furnaceface]

"... I wish I could say that was even the first invasion that people wound up eating." But, alas. No. It wasn't to be so, so long as invasions happened around here. "At least the remains of it went toward a worthy cause, I suppose. I can't imagine many shelters often get shark donated to them."

[sharp_as_knives]

"No, I believe Mr Lyman's contacts had some questions about it. But they were grateful all the same." He raised an eyebrow. "Are there often edible invasions?"

[furnaceface]

"One of the very first that I was around for, back when I was still a student at the school myself, was a bunch of killer vegetables," Jono replied, as though it was really no big deal, no. "Mostly tomatoes, I think. There've also been walking mushrooms, and onions that would insult you until you cried if you didn't... dispose of them."

Jono had kind of blown his up. Using his face.

[sharp_as_knives]

"That sounds..." insane? dangerous? bizarre? "...very much like something this island would do, yes." Hannibal shook his head. It did keep things interesting, at any rate.

[furnaceface]

"That's one way to put it," Jono chuckled. "After a while, the novelty wears off some, for what it's worth."

Said the big blue-grey man whose face used to be on fire.

[sharp_as_knives]

"I find myself rather enjoying the novelty." Hannibal shrugged. "It challenges, forces me to adapt. After all, the day you stop learning and changing, you're dead. Or at least you might as well be."

Said the cannibal.

[furnaceface]

"That's why I always try to keep myself engaged with something," Jono admitted. "Especially around here. I don't handle stagnating well."

At all. The moment Jon started sitting around doing nothing, that would be the moment silent brooding mode would take over. And that was never a good idea.

... Except maybe for that one time he'd literally depressed himself to the point of immunity to D'Spayre's psionic-emotional attacks on the Massachusetts Academy. But that was something of a fluke.

[furnaceface]

"And dare I ask just how adventurous you get?"

Really, Jon, you didn't want to know.