infomodder | IC contact [Mask or Menace]

[People got cut up and locked up is the only part of this explanation that gets a visible reaction—one eyebrow goes up, that's all. He's been here long enough to expect the absurd, but why does it have to be combined with that?]

There's one woman here who looks like...a younger someone else. Her hair's shorter, red instead of blonde, but everything else, looks-wise, matches up. [A younger someone else that Will isn't extremely attached to, that's part of the difference. Hamster fur between its ears gets ruffled in a way that looks like a fuzzy mohawk, almost idly.] Who's the guitar grump look like?

Old boyfriend.

[ Hamsters are still carefully not throw onto the ground but, because verbalizing the complications with that clarification are hard, April is very much more forcefully pressed against Will. There. Way easier than talking.]

It's- stupid. It's not even the-Andy-skrull-thing.

[ Falsehood. It was a little that it was Andy. But just a little (and maybe a little more). But mostly it was the thinking, for a whole second, that just maybe someone from home she liked even a little about had been there.]

It's...god, you won't get it. And it doesn't even matter. The porter's just a jerk.

[Old boyfriend. Oh hell. April had been so convinced the Porter avoided her home at all turns that Will had bought into it as well. If there were any old boyfriends among the imPort population, he was unaware of it. There was a difference between an old boyfriend from home and one from here, though. It catches him off guard, but as long as April's going to physically keep herself up against him, he doesn't yet see a reason to discourage that.

Or a reason to call out what he perceives as some serious bullshit. Talking about feelings isn't exactly his favorite thing to do, either. No need to force April to share more than she wants to, even if he's a damn good candidate for being able to share much more than she's giving out, empathetic sponge that he is and all.]

Jerk's a kind word for it. [He's looking at the hamster and its recurring mohawk as he speaks. April's never struck him as the type who wants to be stared at intensely when emotional turmoil strikes, so he keeps his eyes away for the time being. His fingers tighten around her and he does tilt his head enough to brush up against hers, but no direct visual attention.] Is there anything I can do?

You brought hamsters.

[ Duh, Will. And she tilts her head right back, letting out a sigh. She was convinced she was right- Will had a million and one people he knew crawling around here. Even if they were evil psycho-fan boys they were still from the same reality. Proof it was there.

But freaking Andy. Of all the skrull-lites to bring in. What was up with that? ]

[The hamsters were a bigger hit than he'd expected. Clearly, he should stow that one away for later, provided the two staring out didn't end up filling their chosen container with more adorable hamsters. The charm could get lost, and that would work in no one's favor.

He huffs, nostrils flared, in place of a laugh, the typical, joyless fare.]

The ugly dog I've been looking at off and on would've taken too long to process. [Thus: hamsters.] I'll pick him up later, if you really want another dog. Don't think he's going anywhere anytime soon.

[Because Will totally doesn't want another dog, it's totally up to April if they get another one, he has no strong feelings either way.

(Bullshit.)]

[their life.

April spends another long moment cooing over the hamsters. Living with strange new people was weird. Not bad or whatever. But weird. And the idea of replacing them all with ugly, stupid dogs...]

We're gonna need a bigger house. For the five dogs and ten more raccoons and five million tiny rodents.

[The most charmed and happiest life ever.

He's quiet, too quiet, thinking it over as his eyes seem to take in nothing, even as he scratches a tiny rodent's chin. A smile hits, the spread slow and steady and neither inhuman in its evil nor human in its joy. Someone is plotting along that gray "it could be fantastic but it could also be hideous shit which is it" line.]

We could move out. [Not a bad design, and one that involves other aspects of the designing industry. They could do it, and not just move out to the bait shop.] Look around at apartments, houses or...whatever you'd prefer.

[Does Will seem like he'd care about living in a fancy trailer, because he totally wouldn't. Whatever April wants, he'll do his best to find a way to get it and he'd be more than happy to stay along for the ride.]

To Transylvania?

[ Leaving Rick...was something to think about. But he was a big boy. He could just as easy move in with Mitch and finally achieve his life goal of being a 24/7 nanny. But somewhere no jerks could bother them and Grey could roam shirtless and the packs of dogs wander free with raccoons on their backs....

Well that was a distraction from Andy, alright. ]

[Up goes an eyebrow; he'll play along. He has very few ties to this house, but he knows April's been here long enough that she has some connection to someone, to the set up, something, regardless of how apathetic she might want to be perceived as.]

No. [That's a very definite, firm no. Too serious.] That's just asking for trouble. We're already in the unending Cold War, why risk the other royal vampires coming after you?

[Don't put the human in that war, Queen of the Night, he can't be of any help. He is absolutely distressed at the idea of April going off to war with the court of vampire kings and queens, princes and princesses, burying his face in her neck with his mouth in prime biting position. Surely a lowly human graced with the presence of a great and fierce vampire ruler would never dare. Surely.]

[ She has to bite down her smile at his new mouth position. Good boy. ]

Mm. Maybe when we're old and don't care any more.

[ Death means less after a few more decades of life, right? For now just leaning against him, hamsters in hand, is good enough. ]

But Virginia is so out.

[Good boy or not, why does he always find people who hate the things he loves? Why must Virginia be such a desolate, sad land that even those who didn't live there for extended lengths of time can look at it and know it is worthy of disdain? Why, God, why is this burden hefted onto his shoulders?

At least, the groan he lets out, muffled against her neck, sounds like someone who is truly and deeply fraught, weighed down to his very core and here she is, just adding onto it. No back pats for good boys, slap them with a metal chair forcefully enough to break the shoulders. Life is so hard.]

It snows in Virginia. [Rushing to the defense. The whiny, broken defense.] You could make blanket forts all the time, just because it's cold. Not like here.

[The defense is decidedly not very determined to see through to the end of the trial.

Unless trials end by one party going quiet because they have bitten the other party, that is. It's more of a nip than anything vampiric, and Will's certainly seen trials ended in worse ways, but the inferior mortal human boyfriend has dared to cross that line. Damn rebel that he is, no one talks shit about his beloved Virginia and gets away with it!]

Blanket forts for practical reasons are just blankets.

[ God, Will. But the bite is met with her melting slightly more into his arms. Damn vampire mind-control or something like that. She has no defense against it. ]

And Indiana doesn't have crazy roommates.

[She can melt as much as she wants, Will's got a good grip, won't be letting anyone drop if he can help it. Indiana, though, he remembers something April said, something April probably doesn't remember. A rebuttal to the idea of it being worth the move, but he's not going to go with anything too personal. The less this conversation deals with feelings, the better.]

Indiana? It's got a complicated ancient curse. [He doesn't seem put off by that as much as he does what comes next. Though, arguably, since he's still got his mouth on her neck has moved onto fonder affection than nipping, he's not actually...put off by anything.] And Mormons.

[God, fine. He wins an official laugh with that. Maybe it would be messed up, either way. Indiana or Virginia or Baltimore or New York. Anywhere with memories. Just a weird mimic of what was before. Who the hell had time for that. Especially with a boyfriend attached to the neck. ]

Mm. Okay. I'll give you wine. Then you throw a dart at a map. And...you know. We'll live there.

[Definitely attached to the neck over here. A suckerfish hanging on, a tiny male anglerfish who has found the source of all light and life in the universe and is ready to become one with her as she swims the black depths. He's just happy to be here, more so when he gets a laugh. Another point for Graham, he's doing so well today.]

Why not somewhere in Heropa? [Why does he have to talk, why can't he just kiss her neck forever, why anything. Grumble grumble, kiss, hair up the nose, ignored.] Set up a guest room with a window that never locks, Grey can come and go as he pleases. Doesn't even have to knock, just climbs right in.

[He's totally not just suggesting Heropa because of Grey, but better to steer it in the direction of mutual friends than "but my surrogate daughter, April, I must stay nearby for her precious sake."]

Fine. Go get a map of the city. We'll fix this.

[ She scoots forward just enough to make it clear she means it. Get to it, Will. This is the new thing she wants to make her happy. April will just stay with the hamsters in the mean time. ]

[What is he now, Map Man? She gets a look cast her way as he detaches, empty of any real offense at being ordered around or made to put in physical effort. His getting up is a little more calculated than it used to be, but April has hamsters to focus on and she's the one person who deals with that hideous mark on his gut almost as much as Will does, no point in him playing big and brave and untouchable.]

It's not just a spur of the moment thing. [It's blurted out, even if it's quieter than it needs to be. Will's actually thought about moving out, moving in (mostly) alone before, just never knew when to drop it. Apparently the time to drop it is when he sits back down with a map of Heropa, a bottle of already opened wine (there are glasses, somewhere; he doesn't care to find them), and a dart. Why do they have darts? Hell if Will knows. Hell if he cares.] I've been curious about what you'd do if you had a whole place to decorate. [Pop goes the cork, the bottle gets handed over as he lays the map out.] Didn't think you'd leave it up to me...plaid wardrobe's enough, don't need any of that on the walls.

[He's not as awful at interior design as he's putting up right now, but honestly: what would April do if she had a larger space of her own to do whatever the hell she wanted with it? Will's not sure.

He's sure, however, that he needs to find out from personal experience.]

[ It's a good thing he didn't care to find the glasses, because April isn't much for using them. Hamster in one hand, she takes a swig from the bottle with the other before putting trading the wine for a dart. A moment of consideration, then she slowly, without the help of hand, gets to her feet. It was only proper to spin a few times before throwing the dart that will decide the immediate future. ]

So you're gonna be cool with 'sex dungeon' chic?

[ It will not be sex dungeon,chic. Really, any house of April's is likely just going to be an extension of her current room. Weird odds and ends and 100% focused on making the animals happy. Will's help will be most needed for making it a dog palace as well. ]

[Will watches, lifts a hand out in case she wants some help getting up, but he knows that hamster is going to be okay. Hamsters are animals, better than people. Now, if she had the deed to his shop in her hand or something else, maybe he'd feel a hint of concern. As it is, nah.

Maybe he'd feel a hint of concern if that "threat" was something he took seriously, but nah to that one, too.]

I'm cool with whatever you decide on.

[So supportive. So unconcerned, even about where that dart lands. They can get shitfaced drunk, Will can move it sometime during that process if it lands somewhere ridiculous, and no one has to be any the wiser. Or they can just come to the conclusion maybe it wasn't the best aim in the first place later on and pick whatever they want, regardless where that dart lands. So many options.

And yes. That's the house of his dreams right there. Perfect.]

IC contact [Mask or Menace]

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