* NOW PLAYING : BLOODSTREAM by STATELESS . don’t look now , but there’s WILLIAM “ WILL ” GRAHAM over there with their POCKET KNIFE ! they’re never seen without it . rumours say they hail from NBC’S HANNIBAL , but that just doesn’t sound right … after all , the THIRTY NINE year old HOMICIDE DETECTIVE has lived their whole life here ! if they didn’t , surely they’d remember FALLING OFF THE CLIFF WITH HANNIBAL . either way , i hope they enjoy their time in somnilia ! / hugh dancy , demi male , he / him .
CLARABELLE : hi will ! thank you for coming to meet with me . this is just going to be a fun little interview . so let’s start easy ! just for the record : what’s your name , age , gender , and pronouns ?
will graham … thirty nine . i’m demi male . he and him is preferred .
CLARABELLE : nice ! so what’s your birthday ? we can add it to the town calendar , so that residents can celebrate the day if you’d like !
july nineteenth .
CLARABELLE : do i look like an astrology person ? because i absolutely am -- what do you think your astrology sign says about you ?
i wouldn’t know . [ cancers , especially those born on july nineteenth are known for their compassion and intuition . ]
CLARABELLE : ah , i see . i heard you have something that you always bring everywhere with you . could you tell me what it is and it’s significance to you ?
[ he … blinks , pulling out said item . ] a pocket knife . i’ve had it for as long as i can remember . [ his fingers trace along the pivot , the engraving right underneath it . he’d always figured it was from his dad’s side of the family . he’d found it in the boxes in the attic of the family home after his dad died . ]
CLARABELLE : that’s fair ! so what has life been like for you in somnilia ? what was your childhood like , have you enjoyed your life here ? is there anything you’d change about your life here ?
[ his childhood … ? he doesn’t bother dwelling on it . thinks of an absent mother , a father who was gone too soon , a gift that was more like a curse . instead , his mind immediately goes to his kids . his features soften , a rare smile on his features . ] it’s been … good . great , really . i have kids who … [ will shakes his head , fond . ] they’re … chaotic , to say the least . but i wouldn’t have it any other way . [ he never thought he’d ever have kids . never thought … well . never thought he’d ever deserve them . but here he is . with three of them and a plethora of dogs , no less . ] there’s nothing more that i’d ever ask for . [ he’s grateful to have things the way they are now . why ruin something good while you have it ? ]
CLARABELLE : what do you have to say about those that say life here isn’t what they seem ? if … hypothetically speaking , all of this was fake , what would your real life be like ?
[ will’s smile tenses imperceptibly . he laughs , the sound hollow . ] uh … no . i … i don’t really believe in … alternate universes . [ he says the phrase like it’s a threat . maybe it is . maybe he dreams about a kitchen bathed in blood . maybe he dreams about himself , coated crimson , the sounds of waves crashing , crashing , in his ears . maybe he dreams about steady hands holding his , holding a knife to his gut , taking a gun from him , a hand on his face … a girl who wouldn’t have been much older than his own kids . a man in a pristine suit , betrayal lined in his features , a man he betrayed , a man whose heart he broke . thinks about hurting and hurting . the feeling of falling physically , metaphorically . thinks about eye contact . about tastelessness . ] i’ve lived here all my life . [ and even if it was fake . he’d have to pick this lifetime . he would because he can’t afford not to . doesn’t want to think about a lifetime besides this one . ]
CLARABELLE : so now here are some fun little questions : let’s start with this -- if you could tell your younger self something , what would it be ?
it’s going to work out , eventually .
CLARABELLE : do you think people are inherently good or inherently bad ?
i think it’s more … grey than that . i think people are just people . they get to decide what they are .
CLARABELLE : who are some people in your life that you cherish ?
my kids . no contest .
CLARABELLE : how competitive would you say you are ?
not very .
CLARABELLE : are you a “ read the manual ” person or a “ figure it out on your own ” person ?
read the manual and then figure it out on your own .
CLARABELLE : who or what do you aspire to be ?
a good father for my kids .
CLARABELLE : well ! thank you so much for all of that , and i’m so happy to have had this interview with you . i hope to see you around somnilia more in the future !
