Fandom Counseling, Friday

[sharp_man]

Hannibal was opening his office today.

He was not, however, opening the doors. There was a large but tasteful sign on the outer one that said Wipe your feet. There were towels in the vestibule, too. He was going to do anything he could to keep the powdered sugar out of the place.

To that end, the cats were still in the house. Joni could not be trusted, and Beethoven had taken one look at the puffballs and headed back inside to a tall shelf.

Hannibal would just play solitaire and shop for presents in between clients.

Fandom Counseling was open and OCD free!

Comments

[flamesburned]

It had been an interesting few weeks and a lot had happened since her last session.

Liz wasn’t even sure how she could even begin to describe everything that had happened when she turned up for her next session with her journal and she knocked, making sure to wipe her feet because she had seen all all of the powdered sugar everywhere.

[sharp_man]

Hannibal got up to let her in. "Hello, Liz." He nodded in welcome. "Please, come in. What can I get you?"

[flamesburned]

"Thank you Dr. Lecter," she said with a small smile, she was still a bit nervous even though it wasn't as bad as she had been in their first session, "um ... can I have a coffee please?" she asked.

[sharp_man]

"Of course." He headed for the side table. "Three sugars, no cream, yes?" He got the rum first, though, bribing the squirrels to stay away.

[flamesburned]

“Yes please,” she nodded, trying not to feel so awkward as she held onto her journal as a way to keep herself focused on the upcoming session.

[sharp_man]

Hannibal brought her her coffee. "How have you been doing since our last discussion?"

[flamesburned]

Liz put her journal down and took the cup as she considered his question, “I …um a lot has happened since our last session,” she finally settled on.

[sharp_man]

Hannibal nodded and laced his fingers around one knee. "Tell me the most important one."

[flamesburned]

“Um…I …I told someone, Prompto …he um…” she blushed at the mention of his name, “I told him about me, my powers and I …told him everything,” she finally stammered.

[sharp_man]

"That must have been incredibly difficult," Hannibal acknowledged. "You're dating him, correct?"

[flamesburned]

Liz nodded, “yes, we…we’ve started dating, I …I thought he deserved to know, it wasn’t fair to keep something like that from him,”

[sharp_man]

"It can be difficult, imagining what a loved one might think of your secrets. You're brave for having gone through with it. How did he take it?"

[flamesburned]

“I …he took it rather well, he…” she hesitated a bit, she had almost said that he told her his own secrets but that wasn’t fair to Prompto, “he ended up coming home with me for Thanksgiving after that,”

[mother_love]

Why was he even here, standing on the doorstep of this rather intimidating looking mansion? He could still turn around and walk away. Chances were, no one even knew he was there. So he could just leave and pretend like there was nothing wrong. Like he had always done. For the last nearly seven years. On an increasingly regular basis.

And that life had finally started breaking down to the point he had left. To try and start new somewhere else. Sure, Fandom wasn't at all where he had planned on ending up. But maybe he was here for a reason?

Shaking his head before he could convince himself to back out while he still could he knocked on the door before opening it and stepping in, taking care to get as much of the white powdery sugar off his shoes as he could.

[sharp_man]

Hannibal opened the interior door and nodded to him. "Mr. Coen. It's a pleasure to see you; please, come in. Can I get you tea or coffee?"

[mother_love]

Billy gave a slight nod, still debating just apologizing for the interruption and leaving. But what wasn't going to do any good, so he forced himself to step in, mentally chiding himself.

He, Billy Coen, the man who had faced guerillas in the jungles of Africa and who had come survived a literal zombie apocalypse.... was having second thoughts about talking to a shrink (sorry, no insult intended Dr. Lecter).

"Coffee would be nice. Thank you" he finally managed.

[sharp_man]

"Coffee it is." Hannibal headed for the side table and poured him a cup, placed it on a tray with cream and sugar, and brought it to the table that sat between two comfortable chairs. "What can I do for you today?"

[mother_love]

Billy sighed. This wasn't the sort of thing he had never been able to really do or even contemplate before. There weren't really places like this back home. He had been way too busy. And his work didn't exactly allow for those deep touchy-feely emptions and what not. But all that was gone. And with everything else going on, well, it was getting harder to keep ignoring things like before.

“This is a place to… ya know… talk right?” Billy stammered slightly, running a hand through his hair. “I guess that’s why I am here.”

Very eloquent there, Billy. He knew you were there to talk and probably not to sell Girl Scout Cookies or anything.

[sharp_man]

"It is a place to do whatever you need to help you," Hannibal said, spreading his hands. "Generally it involves speaking, but we can talk about whatever you like. Or you can investigate the bookshelves if you prefer." There were a number of them, with a wide variety of books and knick-knacks.

[mother_love]

Billy sat quiet for a moment, his leg bouncing slightly before he finally spoke again.
"Is it possible to get out from under the weight of the past, or will it always be something that holds you back and controls you?"

He knew there was a lot that had to get unpacked for that to even remotely start to make sense. But hey, it was the first time he had ever actually vocalized that, so already that was progress.

[sharp_man]

"That depends entirely upon how dedicated you are to the past," Hannibal said. "Each of us chooses their own actions. The past only controls you if you allow it."

[mother_love]

"Nice saying for a Hallmark card there doc. Not everything can just be left and forgotten, no matter how hard you want to" Billy said shaking his head slightly. He wasn't trying to be rude or confrontational, it was just... a rather unique situation he was dealing with here.

[sharp_man]

"I don't recall saying it should be forgotten," Hannibal said with a raise of an eyebrow. "But making your choices while remembering the past, learning from what's come before, is different from allowing it to dictate your actions. Do you have difficulty with that?"

[mother_love]

"There's total confidentiality here right?" Billy knew that was how the whole Doctor confidentiality thing was supposed to work, but that didn't mean much, especially in light of what could come out in the process of talking about things.

"Sorry, don't mean to insult... just something I have to ask."

[sharp_man]

"I take doctor-patient confidentiality very seriously," Hannibal said. "Unless you should confess to being an imminent danger to yourself or others. I specifically bribe the squirrels not to report on these sessions."