video; spooky halloween psa

[restingstitchface]

[Crane's staring into the camera with an intensity that doesn't dwell well under his skin. Though the clean suit he wears does a good job of hiding it well, nothing can conceal the irritation he feels under it. He clasps his hands together under the table then rests them imperiously on his desk.]

Why do you celebrate Halloween?

I'm just curious.

[He kicks back against his chair and plonks his feet on the wood. Whatever he was irritated by - rather, what he was disregarding - seems to have taken on better shape. He feels it draped over his face, coarse but warm and intimately familiar. It takes most of his energy to play a weak smile for the gallery.]

Don't worry about tainted candy, by the way. Razer bladed taffy apples? Lye-coated bubblegum? Cyanide-laced Pixy Stixs? They're just legends. Informal whisperings of unsubstantiated reports of contaminated sweets picked up in the course of trick-or-treating. Now, for clarification; I don't intend to claim poisonings never happen. A father laced his own son's candy with cyanide in order to reap the benefits of his life insurance, yes, but it certainly isn't a problem. As a matter of fact, the absence of personal stories highlights that clearly.

[He scratches under his chin.]

Here, of course, the bogeyman isn't even cyanide or toxic chocolate - though Hershey's deserves labelling as poison, honestly - but collective fear of a different sort.

[That's a topic he isn't acknowledging right now. He has every intention of discussing it with the class, but carries on.]

Has anyone here been poisoned by Halloween candy? I doubt it. And if you're scared of the possibility? Well, take it from an expert, October 31st is the most extraordinary day of the year you can be terrified of. You'll never experience another one like it till the next cycles round. So dare yourselves and do something special - be bold, knock on some doors when the day arrives. Eat some candy and-

[He tips his chin.]

Enjoy yourselves.

Comments

[slightlyoffchilt]

I happily support our community-driven interest groups.

[restingstitchface]

Because a high proportion of them turn into patients? What a shrewd man you are.

[slightlyoffchilt]

In no small part because of the shrewd company I keep.

[restingstitchface]

[Friendship. It's enough to make him sick.]

Dear as some of your company is to you, remind me again of how someone like Dorian Gray fulfils that quality, last seen with his head in a toilet.

[slightlyoffchilt]

You liked Dorian because he was unnecessarily vicious to other people, and his cruelty inspired either hatred or self-doubt.

Case in point: Kitty.

[restingstitchface]

Touche. Though if I didn't know better, I'd say someone was a little glad he was gone.

[slightlyoffchilt]

I have never bothered to hide my disdain for the man.

[restingstitchface]

Oh, right: it's a virtue to be honest. "From the fullness of the heart, the mouth speaks" and all that.

[A beat.]

Except that's clearly a lie, because depending on the character, I've always found people personally selective about exactly which soul is on the side of righteousness.

[slightlyoffchilt]

For my part, at least, I found it enjoyable to let everyone know that I disdained him.

[restingstitchface]

Yes, and I suppose nobody has pulled you over on your schadenfreude?

[slightlyoffchilt]

You are defending him in a most passive manner. Interesting.

[restingstitchface]

Oh, I am, aren't I?

[He says in a tone emphasizing that he just didn't care about the man.]

Frederick, I'm underlining that people are happy to acknowledge honesty in some and not in others. You really should stop projecting this way. It's not good for you.

[Too much defense? Maybe. But he'll deny it.]

[slightlyoffchilt]

Mmmmm. [Oh, now he scents blood.] Is this your favorite line of defense?

[restingstitchface]

Well no, not given the tricks I have up my sleeve.

[His lines of defense can, at times, be purely physical.]

[slightlyoffchilt]

Maybe someone ought to tie those sleeves up.

[Haha, a little straitjacket humor.]

[restingstitchface]

Really. Who?

[He sounds a little jovial. If anything, he doesn't need a suggestion.]

[slightlyoffchilt]

Well. You already have rapport with Doctor Quinn.

[restingstitchface]

[Here he is, trying to mend fences, and along comes Chilton's idea of friendship.]

Oh.

[He clucks his tongue inside his cheek.]

Well, I know you're hocking me to take her off your hands but forget it. You're stuck with her. I'm not. [Housemates don't count.] I'd rather not share my days with the woman as well as my nights.

[slightlyoffchilt]

As -- as well as your nights?

[He asked, incredulous, halfway believing that this was some obvious bait Crane had lined for him -- which, naturally, he took. Because you don't leave a line like that without tugging it.]

[restingstitchface]

[Sometimes there's nothing like a good laugh at someone's confusion.]

She makes them too exciting. Being a psychiatrist, surely you know how difficult nighttimes can be for repressed tendencies?

[By which he means putting on his mask and hitting the town, but you do you, Chilton.]

[slightlyoffchilt]

Would you care to go into detail?

[restingstitchface]

I'd rather not.

[slightlyoffchilt]

That cringe-worthy, is it?

[restingstitchface]

It is. Thanks for pointing it out, by the way.

[slightlyoffchilt]

I felt it necessary to draw extra attention to the matter.