[OPEN] you see, i am the wolf, and this dirty little piggy lives inside of me

[infomodder]

WHO: Will Graham + YOU!
WHERE: All over
WHEN: Month of May (he will not be around the 15th-19th)
WHAT: Making friends. Losing friends. Getting experience with his shadow stag power. Aggressively playing pool. Fishing. Stuff and things, Coral.
WARNINGS: Standard Hannibal warnings apply (cannibalism and murder and sadness and season 2 spoilers). If anything else crops up, I will edit to add.
NOTE: Everything's been written up in prose, but if you'd prefer to do action, just reply with it and I'll match! And if you'd like a specific starter, shoot me a PM or something and I'll write it up in comments.




I. AROUND NONAH: Are we out of the woods? Are we in the clear yet?

He'd have gone to De Chima, had he not been there so recently for work, had he been sure he could keep himself from stopping by the old house. Worse, going into the old house, seeing if Mike Parker was there, perhaps checking in on his religiously conflicted roommate. Going to Virginia for leisure time is bound to end poorly, bound to have him finally giving up and checking in on this universe's version of Wolf Trap. Better to avoid all that inevitable mess by going somewhere else entirely.

So he opts for Nonah, and after going through the city itself, finds a nice patch of woods that doesn't seem too used. Seems more like the place where joggers go for morning and evening routines than anything popular, where parents might bring their children or couples might take to for a quiet, slow stroll. Once the noises fade to nothing but nature, he loses his shadow to its new, stag self, to get a better feel of how it works. They'll walk side-by-side as much as the stag decides to explore, bolting for a particularly playful squirrel, scraping his antlers on a nearby tree for reasons Will doesn't want to think about. Same with any rolling in mud. Probably just enjoying his freedom to be a strange, shadow stag; that's the story Will chooses to take on and believe as true. Every now and then, it might smack as more dog than deer, stumpy tail wagging, but Will doesn't pay that any mind, either. The thing's never far out of his sight—until something (or someone) truly interesting and not yet in Will's line of sight comes around, of course. Leave it to Will to not find this of too much concern and continue to take his time, walking fashion disaster that he is. Don't worry! That shadowy creature means no harm, and the guy following after who doesn't cast a shadow at all despite whatever sunlight is around has covered himself in a truly terrible plaid shirt and jeans that are two or three wears from being worn out. No threats here.

II. HEROPA: have you been herring a lot about the hook line and tinker?

Will doesn't work at the bait shop anymore, not technically. He is, however, still the owner, and that means he has to be involved. He's a little more involved than some of his employees might actually like, but at least whenever there's a minor issue plaguing the place, he can generally take care of it. If he can't, he knows who can. So every now and then, for anyone stopping by (or just looking in), they'll find a still plaid-clad Will Graham sporting a ridiculous hat that's clearly been worn by him for a while, however off and on. It fits his head, and the fishing hook stuck on the brim of it has been there so long it's created a dent. But Will isn't behind the counter or going through the shelves to fix them. Nah, he's the guy in the corner on a stepladder fixing some busted part of the ceiling or wall, or fiddling with wiring. He rather looks like the repairman.

If someone stops by to see him, specifically, here he is. If someone stops by with a question that the staff either can't answer or doesn't feel equipped to answer as well as Will can, he'll be pointed out as well. Yes, go ask the guy making an effort to center the WRIGGLE ROOM sign after it last fell about fishing seasons. That guy who's cleaning the front windows in the wake of the Flare and dragons alike will know far better than the person behind the counter why the hell the lures are different colors. Go pester him, he has the answers, he's the owner.

III. HEROPA 2 NAUTICAL BOOGALOO: We ain’t only fishin’

Will owes plenty of people fishing trips. Want to go fishing? Who the hell wouldn't? His preference is for standing around all day in waders, but if someone would rather go out, he'll get a boat. How accommodating.

IV. HEROPA 3 RETURN TO THE HOMELAND: Flowers and trees depress and frankly bore me

There is a house with a yard that's well kept but not much to speak of just yet. The dogwood tree in the center of it is in need of some nourishment and time without the world being in ruins to get back to its former glory, and the scattered beds of flowers weren't in any particular order. Until today, that is. Will's out with his sleeves rolled right over his elbows, bearded dog providing help by doing the best thing he can in this situation: lazing underneath some shade and taking a nap. He's got all the tools he needs, pots with plants waiting to be transferred over, dirty hands bare instead of covered with gloves. He's not dealing with anything too thorny or prickly, so there's really no need for that, is there?

Except for the fact that the soil he's using contains manure, and says so right on the bags waiting to be tossed out with the rest of the trash. Whatever, it's all as organic as organic gets, he'll just wash them more thoroughly than usual and everything will be fine.

V. MAURTIA FALLS LIBRARY: Take a look, it's in a book!

He isn't even certain if he can check out anything, considering where he lives and all, but he's been through the Heropa library more times than he can count. It's good to expand one's horizons, isn't it? Maurtia Falls could have something on their shelves Heropa doesn't, so while he's there and following the rule of minding his own damn business, he stops by just to see. Curiosity isn't always a bad thing, after all. Will pointedly avoids any sections that have to do with crime, true or fictional. Fiction is supposed to give him an escape, and hopefully nonfiction will teach him about something that isn't his usual. Why even bother looking at books that won't do either? It's always much better to bump into someone who has a stack of books that relate to dogs, fish, the history of railroads, and what appears to be the first in a series about magical cats that can travel through space and have kept their secret from humans for all of eternity, isn't it? Because that's what Will's going for. Magical alien cats.

VI. BARS, BARS EVERYWHERE: He drinks a whiskey drink, he drinks a vodka drink

Will keeps a rotation of bars in his head, places with a little more shade than usual. No loud and booming music, no crowd of youths looking to get their groove on. Will's more comfortable in the quiet sorts where the jukebox plays "oldies" and no one has any complaints about it. These are the nights were he slaps his watch over that tattoo to keep himself as much of a nobody as, well, everybody else in the dim, sometimes smoky lighting. His pool game isn't anything to write home about, but he's steadily getting better, with the goal to one day wipe the floor with Hank Schrader. And because some of these bars are the places that don't ask questions, or have family members of the owners (or their friends) coming through just a year or so shy of the legal drinking age, Will keeps his job and this aspect of his life completely separate unless there is a real need for someone to step in. He's not a complete hog at the pool tables, though, and some affable competition is bound to only help improve his game. Loser buys the drinks—what a great deal.

Comments

[infomodder]

Will has had time to digest their last interactions, and part of him has wondered if Dorian lets certain things slip because they pale in comparison to some of his past or if he's just more open than most. Not that being open is an indicator of something dark and terrible lurking beneath a veil of semi-honesty, but Dorian Gray is Dorian Gray and Will Graham is used to people being various shades of horrible, what a pretty pair they make.

"It's not a bad time." Will rather hops down from the ladder, pulling it up under his arm in a fluid movement that suggests he is no stranger to basic home repair. He looks past Dorian, calls out over him to the young guy behind the counter who Will suspects is only so on top of his tasks because Will's actually present in the store today. Flip the sign to closed, get lunch, if he comes back a little late, no problem. Unsurprisingly, the young fellow takes this to heart and does exactly as told without any problem (there might even be a thank you to his tone as he slips out), and Will looks back at Dorian with a half-cocked smile on his face that can't make up its mind between friendly or, well, doofy. Curse Dorian's immortal handsome face. "Thought what? Should I pull the shades down over the windows, too?"

Shades.

Hilarious.

[brushoff]

Spoilers: Dorian definitely let certain things slip because they pale in comparison to some of his past. It's better being Dorian Gray, 'that guy who killed some people when he was mad young and sleeps with vampires nowadays' than Dorian Gray, 'you killed three people literally minutes before you got ported back in here, what the fuck is wrong with you.' Picking and choosing which aspects of his personality to show was part of his daily grind.

Dorian leaned against the wall as Will essentially shooed the guy behind the counter out of the store. Don't mind him, just sitting and watching as Will does boss things. He is the boss, after all. When Will gives him his half-cocked doofy smile, Dorian couldn't help but flash him a winning, toothy smile of his own.

"If you want. Really, this light is pretty good for generating shadows, but I don't know how the stag will react to light in general."

[infomodder]

"He's good with it," Will's quick to say, and since he does want to (thank you for choice, Dorian, that is so important and he appreciates it so much!), he leans up to draw the shade down over the biggest part of the window. Anyone who wants to snoop will have to peer at a particular angle, and he can't imagine a closed-for-lunch bait shop with its windows covered is honestly that interesting. Most of his regulars don't stop by at this time, anyway. Who cares? Seriously. It's just a shelter for horrible clothing, good fishing gear, and constantly breeding insects. Skip that shit.

"You want to use mine or yours?"

Dorian might note that there are no mirrors to distract, here. He also might note the minor extension of faith he's been given as well, because if Dorian's shadow ends up being a brat about the lack of objects to preen into and takes that out by knocking stuff over, Dorian would know best. He can prevent a rampage if that's to be expected; he can also possibly enjoy one. Ball's in his court.

[brushoff]

As Will draws the shade, Dorian busies himself by looking at whatever this world's equivalent of Big Mouth Billy Bass is, with that same look of horror mixed with interest. It's on sale. Dorian knows why and is very thankful for that fact. Singing fish are the same across multiple universes. And oh, Will's asking him a question, better answer it.

"Uh, yours would be better. It's a familiar setting and all, and I'm not sure how my shadow would take to all...this." Look, Dorian's shadowstag went for the mirror first thing, it's entirely possible that his disgust for the bait shop would take physical shadow form and cause trouble. The last thing he wanted was to cement his reputation in Will's eyes as 'someone who causes shit.' Plus, he's still a little bit embarrassed from the utter fiasco that was Dorian Gray's shadow stag.

Will's at least wouldn't pitch a fit if it couldn't find a mirror.

[infomodder]

Big Mouth Billy Bass is on sale because Will thought the initial price was too high...and because he'd like to be rid of this last batch of them before he gets more. He will, of course, get more. That's just how it rolls in the world of fishing. But if Dorian wants one for free to eventually warp and sound like it's possessed by some demon, occasionally singing to him? He just has to ask. Will would totally just give him one. That's what people do in blossoming friendships, right? Shuffle all their shit onto each other?

"It might look tacky, but..." A twist of his wrist gets that stag growing off the floor, makes him a man without a shadow at all, and yes, familiar is a good word for it. The dark beast takes one look at where he's found himself and shakes his head slightly, enough to give away that Will's shadow doesn't find this place the most tolerable place to suddenly exist. "...it pays the bills pretty well, believe it or not."

Horror mixed with interest fits the way his shadow stares at that Big Mouth Billy Bass, too. Dorian isn't alone in this one. Will isn't at all bothered by that, waves one hand to the stag now taking a look at a bunch of shirts as he leans against the nearest wall.

"Still the same shape, as you can see. I've tried thinking of anything else. Dogs, birds, people, and it comes out the same every time."

[brushoff]

If Dorian's getting a tacky singing animal that will eventually "go missing", he's getting the hamster, thank you very much. But it's refreshing that the stag finds the singing fish as suspect as Dorian does. He can't help but bond a little bit with the animal as he stares at the Big Mouth Billy Bass. Vindicated.

But now, back to the matter at hand: Dorian bullshitting that he knows more about shadow manipulation than he actually does. So, frowning at Will's shadow stag, Dorian walks closer to it, giving it a once over, while trying to think about how to spin this. "It's interesting, because you seem to have remarkable control of the stag. I don't know why this is the thing giving you trouble." He gave the stag an idle pet, frowning still.

"Maybe the problem is that you're overthinking it?"

[infomodder]

The two of them can bond over it as much as they like, Will won't be put out. This place and all its tackiness pays bills, and while Dorian doesn't have an advantage because of that, Will's shadow certainly does. Stag on watch; and that hamster needs to learn better dance moves before it's worth a purchase.

His shadow doesn't necessarily crave attention, but Will has still kept a physical distance between the two of them, so Dorian's petting gets a quick wag out of that stumpy tail. This place is truly hideous, only Dorian understands, Dorian can touch his shadowy feathers as much as he wants. Someone else isn't going to.

"I think control's only because he's mine...yours took effort." Was he supposed to hide that? Whoops. Will's almost certain the stag would have busted Dorian's bedroom door down if left to his own vain habits. Or, perhaps, if Dorian hadn't exerted some control over himself. He shrugs from his spot, arms crossed, content to let Dorian and his shadow buddy it up without interruption. "Am I not supposed to think at all? Just let it...be?"

Better than letting it go.

[brushoff]

Dorian can't help but raise an eye at that. Well. If his took effort, Will did a damn good job of hiding it. Dorian honestly couldn't tell that his stag took any more or any less effort than Will's did.

"Can't hurt," he responded in response to Will's question, with a little shrug. Dorian didn't know what to do. Relaxing sounded like a good enough option as any. "If it doesn't work, I've got some other ideas you can try."

[infomodder]

Don't be too impressed, Dorian. There is nothing of interest here, no need to zoom in on him as a manipulation pet project.

Will listens, though, attentive student, and a second later that stag falls back to the floor at his feet with no muss or fuss. Probably glad to get away from the singing fish, truth be told. Will looks from the floor, where his shadow is tilted at a decidedly wrong angle and beginning to sprout antlers just before it goes back to normal, wrinkles his nose, and finally turns his eyes back to Dorian. He is a stag-beaten, sad, sad, sad man.

"You got any ideas for how to turn off thinking, too?"

Help him, Obi-Wan Dorobi.

oh my god i lost this tag

[brushoff]

Dorian just shrugs. "Yoga breathing?" Truth be told, he doesn't know. He's got no idea how one would start to turn off thinking in the first place. And it's pretty obvious he doesn't know. But he'll be damned if he actually admits to Will that he doesn't entirely know.

He looks down to the floor, at the sad, sad, shadow, before turning back to Will. "Again, it's only a theory. But I'm perfectly fine throwing anything to the wall to see if it sticks."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOKI_tIBWVI

[infomodder]

Will, in his infinite wisdom about having a lack of wisdom in plenty of areas, doesn't find this approach to be worth alarm bells going off, indicative that Dorian Gray was lying out his ass in the first place. As far as Will understands some of these powers, part and parcel of them is that they're not the same. They're fluid, even if they seem to be right along the lines of another, work differently...so perhaps his whole shadow control is just not exactly the sort Dorian has experience with. Makes sense to him.

But he glances at him with a bit of confusion for a moment anyway; Will and yoga breathing, seriously? Christ.

"I'll stop by the yoga room next time I'm at the gym to get a better idea of how their whole breathing routine works." Because Will is also perfectly fine throwing anything to the wall to see if it sticks. But even while his thoughts aren't exactly on his shadow, when it flickers again, those antlers start to sprout, and he doesn't notice until they've gotten quite outstretched. "Your wall's been fixed by now, hasn't it? Or do you need someone to stop by still?"

Says the guy not-so-subtly leaning against the sign he just fixed. Hint hint.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OkB6p_FZAw i thought you'd link this

[brushoff]

Dorian can't help but roll his eyes as Will gives him a look of confusion. Tiiiime for damage control. Because yeah, he knows that it's a terrible answer. And Will knows that he knows it's a terrible answer. So time to justify his horrible choices.

"Look, I'm going off secondhand knowledge here. I can't explain to people exactly what it feels like when I heal, I don't expect to exactly understand the intricacies of your powers unless I walk a mile in your shoes." And he did not want to do that literally or metaphorically. Been there done that with regards to bodyswaps. (Plus, Will's shoes were probably muddy as hell). And now, that he's covered his bases, time to emphasize just how he can help again. "Of course, that doesn't change the fact that I have a fair amount of knowledge of shadow powers, I'm just saying don't expect a miracle cure overnight. And expect a fair amount of trial and error"

As Will leans against the sign, Dorian can't help but smile a little bit, shaking his head. "It's government housing, I went through their appointed contractor in order to get it fixed. Don't be mad?"

gdit time to boogie in my chair

[infomodder]

Has he just been chastised? He feels a bit like he has, and his demeanor reflects that. Eyes glance around before he looks down, not quite frowning but close enough. He didn't mean to insult or offend or imply Dorian didn't know what he was talking about, the dog has been properly scolded. He gets it, he gets that things don't always work immediately, he didn't mean to come off as huffy or impatient or worse: disbelieving what Dorian had said all along.

How could Will be mad if Dorian wasn't?

"As long as it's been taken care of, don't have anything to be mad about." It works to draw his attention back to Dorian instead of the floor, shrugging his good shoulder. "The powers I had before this just always worked. I didn't have to do or really think anything an they'd kick right in. But..."

Now he's frowning.

"...I know why it's this stag, I just don't want it to always be that. Makes sense if it is, but I won't know if it can change if I don't try. Have you heard of that, control only in one form?"

Deferring to his expertise, because Dorian is totally an expert.

Right?

Right.

let me see you do that yoga

[brushoff]

As he looks at Will, Dorian can't help but think of a kicked puppy, an entirely apt metaphor considering the stupid looking dog hiding behind the counter (did that dog have a mustache?) Right. Maybe he needed to go about this better.

Or, maybe he just needed to lie his ass off some more. Let's go with lying.

"Usually when it's a case like this, where the shadows are stuck in one shape, that means that there's usually some sort of memory attached to that shape. Like, a childhood pet or something like that. Or, it's something that the person feels a strong connection to. Those shapes can be more amorphous, like water or fire." Absolute bullshit. But Dorian had read enough books, listened to enough nonsense New Age people blabber about spirit animals and life chakras that Dorian was pretty sure he could bullshit his way through this conversation. "I don't mean to pry and you don't have to answer this question at all if you don't want to. But why that stag?"