In all honesty, it sounds like something I would do.
[He would have to have a conversation with Sherlock at some point, likely without John present. He suspected Sherlock would understand things that John would find distressing.]
If he is willing, I would appreciate music. And the paper and pencils. Do you draw, Dr. Watson?
[That's... well. It is what it is. John's learned to deal with it, and there are worse things that Hannibal could do than show an unhealthy curiosity in death and insanity. John's well aware he can be a bit of a morbid man, himself. That's Sherlock's unfortunate influence. Although, John suspects Hannibal might have some manners while questioning.]
No, I'm not really artistic. [Sherlock would probably argue that the blog had been pure fantasy drivel. Granted, John might agree with him to an extent at this point. He looks back on some of his case write-ups in the early days and sees that blind loyalty and near hero worship devotion in his descriptions of Sherlock. They've both had enough years and enough strains on their relationship to know better and recognize the flaws in each other more.] I picked them up for someone else, but... he's been gone awhile.
I'll go fetch those things and see about Sherlock, though. [John offers Hannibal another warm smile and brief pat on the shoulder before standing up.] I'm sure he'll be happy to play. [Unless Hannibal stops him, John will head out of the room to grab the pencils and pad of paper from his pack and harass Sherlock into breaking out his violin.]
Alfie can't speak privately with anyone- everything he's writing is popping up on the network. And Royce has forgotten- eh, probably at least half a decade, so he's not going to be too receptive to anyone here.
I've lost my sense of touch, if you were curious. Definitely better than when I couldn't tell lies.
He seems to have cooled down a little bit after all this time. And his own couple of murders.
[ He can't particularly enjoy the schadenfreude there, considering John was dealing with mind control at the time. But it's still worth noting. As to the question? ]
It's been...freeing. I was used to changing my alias every other day- having to hold onto 'Zane Taylor' for so long made me feel like I was going to crawl out of my skin.
[The voice that comes over the tablets is high, that of a boy before puberty, but it's also firm with determination. He's carefully trying not to be angry, but there's still a slight undercurrent.]
Excuse me, Mr. Hannibal? I want to talk to you about Gabriel Gray.
Ah, yes. It's nice to meet you. I've seen your name in quite a few places.
[He pauses for a moment, before continuing, his voice hesitant.]
It is rather distressing, I'm afraid, although doubtless not nearly so much as what Gabriel experienced, for which I am truly sorry. I am still trying to understand it all myself. But I think it had something to do with my prior work for the FBI.
I'm sorry, but what's the FBI and what does it have to do with this?
[That particular organisation doesn't exist in his world. Al is silent for a moment, voice softening just a bit when he continues.]
Do you understand what exactly you lost? It can't-- I've never heard of a death loss turning someone into a murderer before.
[Maybe losing his sense of morality? But even then, that shouldn't make someone a rampant murderer, just make them more likely to consider it as an option if it suited their purposes.]
The FBI is a government agency that investigates crimes. I was not an agent, but I did extensive work profiling serial killers. Such a task requires an intimate familiarity with the minds of those capable of such things, which in turn requires a firm separation between one's own mind and the part that by necessity thinks as these killers do. As I said, I am still trying to understand exactly what happened, but I suspect I may have lost that separation.
It is my understanding that there have been those who have killed as a result of their death price. John Watson, for instance.
[It's a small and subdued sort of sound. That explanation makes a lot of sense, even if it raises very disturbing questions about the sort of person that could get into the mind of a serial killer in the first place.]
I'm sorry, that must have been horrifying.
[To lose control, to lose your mind to the minds of killers you've been trying to stop for years. Al can barely even imagine it.]
Are you-- you're yourself again now? Have you spoken to Mr. Gray?
Maybe not, but at least you'll be prepared for it if the town forces it out of you. It's weird, the people here-
[ How does he even put this, that the majority of people in this place are- surprisingly- not awful? He ultimately decides to go another direction. ]
They're more forgiving than you'd think- other than John, of course. You make a gesture of trying to at least get along here and they mostly leave you alone. The big heroes realized there's not much they can do after the Joker made that clear.
[Well, if an apology has been made and accepted, that's the wind taken out of Al's sails as regards righteous anger. Now he just feels sort of awkward and sad.]
I'm sorry that I had to come and talk to you this way, it's not how I usually like to meet people, but I'm sure you understand that I had to be sure you weren't dangerous beyond the death price.
I have no idea, and frankly I don't care. But it certainly isn't about unwelcome urges you struggle to control, so let us not get started with that, either.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2018-04-13 03:44 am (UTC)From:[He would have to have a conversation with Sherlock at some point, likely without John present. He suspected Sherlock would understand things that John would find distressing.]
If he is willing, I would appreciate music. And the paper and pencils. Do you draw, Dr. Watson?
no subject
Date: 2018-04-13 04:03 am (UTC)From:No, I'm not really artistic. [Sherlock would probably argue that the blog had been pure fantasy drivel. Granted, John might agree with him to an extent at this point. He looks back on some of his case write-ups in the early days and sees that blind loyalty and near hero worship devotion in his descriptions of Sherlock. They've both had enough years and enough strains on their relationship to know better and recognize the flaws in each other more.] I picked them up for someone else, but... he's been gone awhile.
I'll go fetch those things and see about Sherlock, though. [John offers Hannibal another warm smile and brief pat on the shoulder before standing up.] I'm sure he'll be happy to play. [Unless Hannibal stops him, John will head out of the room to grab the pencils and pad of paper from his pack and harass Sherlock into breaking out his violin.]
no subject
Date: 2018-04-13 06:05 pm (UTC)From:I've lost my sense of touch, if you were curious. Definitely better than when I couldn't tell lies.
no subject
Date: 2018-04-13 11:14 pm (UTC)From:[Hannibal very rarely lied outright. Still, such a price was not something he would like to chance.]
no subject
Date: 2018-04-14 12:53 am (UTC)From:Didn't help that we had one of our 'glitches' and had to communicate through the network. I gave up trying to keep secrets after that trainwreck.
no subject
Date: 2018-04-14 01:52 am (UTC)From:What has it been like, having no secrets?
no subject
Date: 2018-04-14 02:36 am (UTC)From:[ He can't particularly enjoy the schadenfreude there, considering John was dealing with mind control at the time. But it's still worth noting. As to the question? ]
It's been...freeing. I was used to changing my alias every other day- having to hold onto 'Zane Taylor' for so long made me feel like I was going to crawl out of my skin.
no subject
Date: 2018-04-14 02:50 am (UTC)From:I must admit, such radical transparency is...foreign to me. I'm uncertain I would take to it quite as well.
@LELRIC; audio; night 348
Date: 2018-04-14 10:54 am (UTC)From:Excuse me, Mr. Hannibal? I want to talk to you about Gabriel Gray.
Audio
Date: 2018-04-14 02:17 pm (UTC)From:Of course. How may I be of service Mr. ...?
no subject
Date: 2018-04-14 02:31 pm (UTC)From:[He doesn't ask, as he might usually do, if Hannibal has seen his name scrawled around the town or on the survival guide.]
I'm sorry if this is distressing to talk about, but I want to hear about what happened to Mr. Gray from your perspective.
[Death loss, that's what Gabriel had said. He's just not seen many death losses that were that outright violent.]
no subject
Date: 2018-04-14 02:42 pm (UTC)From:[He pauses for a moment, before continuing, his voice hesitant.]
It is rather distressing, I'm afraid, although doubtless not nearly so much as what Gabriel experienced, for which I am truly sorry. I am still trying to understand it all myself. But I think it had something to do with my prior work for the FBI.
no subject
Date: 2018-04-14 02:48 pm (UTC)From:[That particular organisation doesn't exist in his world. Al is silent for a moment, voice softening just a bit when he continues.]
Do you understand what exactly you lost? It can't-- I've never heard of a death loss turning someone into a murderer before.
[Maybe losing his sense of morality? But even then, that shouldn't make someone a rampant murderer, just make them more likely to consider it as an option if it suited their purposes.]
no subject
Date: 2018-04-14 02:59 pm (UTC)From:It is my understanding that there have been those who have killed as a result of their death price. John Watson, for instance.
no subject
Date: 2018-04-14 03:05 pm (UTC)From:[It's a small and subdued sort of sound. That explanation makes a lot of sense, even if it raises very disturbing questions about the sort of person that could get into the mind of a serial killer in the first place.]
I'm sorry, that must have been horrifying.
[To lose control, to lose your mind to the minds of killers you've been trying to stop for years. Al can barely even imagine it.]
Are you-- you're yourself again now? Have you spoken to Mr. Gray?
no subject
Date: 2018-04-14 10:12 pm (UTC)From:I have, thankfully, seem to have recovered my sanity. And yes, I've spoken to Mr. Gray. He has been very gracious.
no subject
Date: 2018-04-15 01:10 pm (UTC)From:[ How does he even put this, that the majority of people in this place are- surprisingly- not awful? He ultimately decides to go another direction. ]
They're more forgiving than you'd think- other than John, of course. You make a gesture of trying to at least get along here and they mostly leave you alone. The big heroes realized there's not much they can do after the Joker made that clear.
no subject
Date: 2018-04-16 03:53 pm (UTC)From:[Well, if an apology has been made and accepted, that's the wind taken out of Al's sails as regards righteous anger. Now he just feels sort of awkward and sad.]
I'm sorry that I had to come and talk to you this way, it's not how I usually like to meet people, but I'm sure you understand that I had to be sure you weren't dangerous beyond the death price.
@Mnemonsyne; voice; night 352
Date: 2018-04-21 11:12 pm (UTC)From:[Straight to the point. Beckett trusts Hannibal will know what he's talking about, or at least that his evasions will themselves be telling.]
Re: @Mnemonsyne; voice; night 352
Date: 2018-04-21 11:30 pm (UTC)From:Hello Beckett. I feel I must apologize for Mr. Graham's actions, insofar as he intended them to be for my benefit.
Re: @Mnemonsyne; voice; night 352
Date: 2018-04-21 11:36 pm (UTC)From:Mr. Lecter, as one predator to another, don't start with me. Not now. What was it?
voice
Date: 2018-04-22 12:18 am (UTC)From:When I returned, I had lost my self-control.
voice
Date: 2018-04-23 03:43 pm (UTC)From:Is that the key with you - self-control? I find it hard to believe.
Re: voice
Date: 2018-04-23 03:53 pm (UTC)From:[The voice is mildly curious, with no hint of self-doubt whatsoever.]
voice
Date: 2018-04-23 03:58 pm (UTC)From: