[log] Trapped at the Drive-thru[closed]

[jumpthegun]

Characters: John Watson, Sherlock Holmes, Sylar, Rhys, Angel, Vaughn, and Beckett (and possibly the Cat)
Location: Building 248
Date: Day 177
Summary: Far too many people descend on a fast food joint for supplies.
Warnings: Please just note note them in the subject line if they come up!

[A fast food restaurant. The exact details of the brand are missing, but it sells fairly standard fare: hamburgers, french fries, chicken nuggets, soda... Sadly, it seems like they don't have milkshakes or ice cream, but sometimes they have coffee! This place is regularly stocked with food, so no one can stay here overnight. "ALPHONSE ELRIC, DAY ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY THREE, TRAVELLING NORTH, IF ANY ASSISTANCE IS REQUIRED CONTACT @LELRIC ANY TIME" is written on one of the walls. "ALPHONSE ELRIC, DAY ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY TWO, CONTACT @LELRIC FOR ANY ASSISTANCE." is written on the wall.]

Comments

[bookofnope]

[... okay ouch. His lips may be pursing slightly there.]

Let this vampire assure you that he's just as displeased with the situation as you are. Probably more. No - definitely more.

[howdull]

You would prefer to be subsisting on blood?

[There's no judgement, just a mild curiosity. From what he has been able to glean, Beckett feels guilt when he loses control and attacks others.]

[bookofnope]

[Judgement or not, it's a question he wasn't actually expecting to or prepared to answer. For him it's all the same thing, blood, powers, immortality, and deeper questions. Confronted with it so bluntly, he blinks a little.]

Oh, don't get me wrong, some modern foods are a miracle of science and innovation. [And catches himself quickly, though probably not quickly enough for Sherlock not to notice his discomfort, the way his stance shifts minutely, defensive, not of the answer itself but of all the attached questions that echo in his mind.] But subsisting on blood used to come with certain perks, for which even a sugar rush is a poor substitute.

[howdull]

[He sees every movement, every little expression change as if they were clearly written instructions to Beckett's inner turmoil. He smiles, just slightly.]

Is that the rush you are attempting to recover when you attack others here? An addict chasing the next high.

[So speaketh Sherlock Holmes.]

[bookofnope]

Takes one to know one, no doubt.

[You started it, Sherlock. And he's trying to cover up that defensiveness.]

That is, if you call needing sustenance chasing a high. You do know how vampires work.

[howdull]

Obviously.

[Well, no. He's not actually a big lover of fiction books and he tends to delete information that doesn't matter to him. Vampires are the ones that can be killed with silver bullets, right? Or is there something about garlic?

Also, that's rude. He arches a brow at Beckett, already a little annoyed at John who is the source of all these people thinking he's an addict.]

But you are currently rendered human and therefore don't need it for sustenance. Yet you chase it, sometimes beyond your own control to stop yourself, is that not an addiction?

[bookofnope]

[It's the fictional Holmes he's thinking about, the opium-smoker, and perhaps he is thinking wrong, but the arched eyebrow is interesting combined with the lack of denial. Curiosity perks its head again over the annoyance and distress; with his thoughts running fast on caffeine, feelings displace each other very quickly.]

Is it? I've not been through the equivalent as a mortal. Are humans not generally aware of what they're doing, even if they are unable to stop themselves? From your experience.

[howdull]

Barring severe mental, emotional, or physical issues which can cause problems with memory retention.

[Interesting, so Beckett is completely out of control. Not just desperate, but berserk.]

How does the consumption of blood make you feel now that you are mortal? Before, during, and after.

[bookofnope]

[So it's going to be one of those cross-examination conversations. Competing for the poignant question. Beckett is all right with that.]

The act itself is comforting. Not - relaxing, quite the opposite, but revitalising. The before and after depend on who I happened to have fed on. [He says it wryly, only the faint twist of a mouth letting slip that the wryness may be covering some guilt.] Are you interested in the metaphysical detail, or are we still in the first stage of the coping process?

[howdull]

[He flicks his fingers dismissively, they can get to the metaphysical later.]

At what point do you lose your ability to control your actions? Are you able to hold out longer if your victim is someone you are fond of?

[bookofnope]

[This tit for tat is getting a bit unbalanced, now. Beckett raises an eyebrow.]

If you are attempting to evaluate the level of danger I present, Mr. Holmes, you can ask outright.

[howdull]

I've already evaluated the danger you present, I don't need to ask the answers to what's already clear in front of my face.

[He really is just interested.]

I take it that you can't hold out for much longer, if at all, when you're faced with someone you are fond of.

[bookofnope]

I hope the evaluation is at least flattering. [Ha. Ha. Keep dreaming, you underweight unhealthy shivering hobo.]

It's part and parcel of the need being irrational and instinctive. What do you know about vampires? Should I expect a crucifix to the face?

[howdull]

Even if a crucifix were a deterrent to a vampire, why would I waste my time in displaying one now? You are no longer a vampire, you have been rendered at least somewhat mortal.

The sooner you accept that, the sooner you will cease to be a danger to the people around you.

[bookofnope]

You think this is a matter of -

[Sorry Sherlock. It's going to happen. He's going to laugh.

It's not a nasty laugh, if that helps. It's only that - is he really being told have you tried not being a vampire?]

I haven't quite pictured you as the pop psychology type.

[howdull]

It's not pop psychology, addiction is mind over matter. You are no longer physically a vampire, are you? Ergo, you do not need blood, it is an addiction that you cannot face because you refuse to face the truth of your new physiology.

[He frowns at the laughter, though not angrily.]

If you accept there is no requirement for you to imbibe blood any longer, then you can begin to treat your uncontrollable urge to drink it even despite that.

cw drug addiction talk just in case this gets nasty

[bookofnope]

I'm an addict, Mr. Holmes, not an idiot. I'm very well aware of the truth of my condition, as you put it. Very well aware.

[Let him tell you about moldflu.]

Or are you of the opinion that all those who cannot overcome this kind of dependence are merely psychologically weak?

cw drug addiction talk just in case this gets nasty

[howdull]

That entirely depends on how much the addict wants to stop indulging in his or her particular vice of choice.

[He shrugs, not at all phased by the subject matter.]

Some people don't want to stop their addiction, some people lie to themselves that they aren't strong enough but they have just not found something they care about more than the continuing endorphin rush the vice gives them. All addiction can be overcome, even one centuries in the making. Perhaps three centuries, at an estimate.