Will's Insight | Opt-In Post

[empathicfault]

In the series Hannibal, Will Graham is shown to have a unique ability- he calls it 'interpreting the evidence', whereas Hannibal calls it 'pure empathy'. It lets Will know what the people around him are feeling, often to Will's detriment. Will frequently appears to be overstimulated by the outside world, slumping in chairs and avoiding eye contact. He finds comfort in dogs and being alone.

However, this ability can often be extremely useful for determining motivations, desires, and fears. When he uses it at crime scenes, the series shows murders taking place as if Will were the culprit. He sees fantastical visions and metaphorical imagery as he places himself in his target's place, seeing the world as they see it.

I'd like to write out some of this imagery in narration as I roleplay, but I also don't want to infomod. So if you are interested in letting Will into knowing your character through this ability, please reply here.

What I'd like to know (feel free to copy+paste, or just write out what you'd like)--
<b>1. What would you like him to be able to suss out about your character? </b> He works in emotions, so fears, desires, motivations, immediate wants, all that sort of thing is good. <b>2. Is there a character trait or emotion you absolutely do NOT want brought up?</b> Will isn't magic and he's not always right with this ability. It's easy to veer off of any topic you might want to avoid. <b>3. Is there any visual imagery you associate with your character, and/or is there anything specifically that you'd like Will to visualize?</b> Sometimes he sees things that don't seem to make a whole lot of sense until later- I tend to interpret that as him integrating evidence that he hasn't logically noticed yet. <b>4. Any plot threads or development you'd like to actually get going through this mechanic?</b> Let me know, I'd love to plan with you! Will could be a good way to weasel info or feelings out of someone who would otherwise keep them hidden, if that's something you'd like. I'm also very happy to just see where things go.

Thanks, and please let me know if there's anything else you'd like me to know or talk over with you.

Comments

[lone_horse]

1. What would you like him to be able to suss out about your character?
He's a career criminal (yakuza), a big guy who absolutely could fuck you up... and he is incredibly kind and safe and gentle. He ran an orphanage and his biggest ambitions are to look out for those that society would cast off, especially kids who don't have prospects. He has a pretty thick Japanese accent from the Tokyo area, he's incredibly genuine, and while he's got street smarts, he's not super smart or anything. He's really excited by stuff he finds fascinating or interesting and he tries his best to live and let live. But despite whatever crazy shit he says, he's probably being serious. He does have a wry and subtle sense of humor and you're 100% welcome to pick up on his facial expressions properly even though they present as different flavors of Stern Bitch Face. Orphaned. Raised by an assassin in an orphanage. Lost a LOT of people over the years. Both a dad and a granddad. Also spent about 13 years in jail, not too hard to figure out.

2. Is there a character trait or emotion you absolutely do NOT want brought up? Nope!

3. Is there any visual imagery you associate with your character, and/or is there anything specifically that you'd like Will to visualize? Asian dragons, fire (blue, white, pink, yellow), the colors grey and deep red, a beach in Okinawa, the district of Kamurocho, children.

4. Any plot threads or development you'd like to actually get going through this mechanic? Kiryu's just a big fighty crime dad and if Will wants someone with warm protective energy who won't push or make him talk about stuff and is usually pretty content to just be quiet and supportive, he might be helpful.

[empathicfault]

Will's going to pick up on Kiryu's genuine-ness, for sure. He might even be confused by it, because Kiryu is so much that way. If Will ever gets to the point where he can actually accept even non-pushy help, I can see him reaching out to or leaning on Kiryu.