shag

a trip to the arcade is a fantastic change from the norm, if jack does say so himself. the only thing that could possibly make it better would be if rapunzel had the time off from work to come hang out with him. well, that and a cold drink - while he doesn’t need to stay hydrated, the feeling of something cold is nice, and the taste of certain sodas is particularly pleasant. he spins away from the arcade machine that has caught his attention for now; just in time to full body bump into someone else. oops. “oh man, i’m sorry. i really need to watch where i’m going, i guess.” his body is solid metal. he could really hurt somebody - even if that somebody is just about his height but thirty pounds heavier. “are you okay?” @norvilleinc​

shaggy notices that the boy in front of him is an automaton pretty quickly- it's hard to hide that thing when you bump into someone, even just a brush can be enough, let alone a collision so full as theirs. he doesn't think of automatons any differently than any other people; that is to say, unless one is talking about typically liking them more. it's a lot like how, like, he likes other autistic people a bit easier than he gets along with allistic people. automatons tend toward the same quality of, like, literal thinking and purely referential metaphors in a way that non-autistic humans are just a step away from. no matter who it was that bumped into them, shaggy would most likely be polite about it. oh no, dude, it's, like, totally my bad. in this case, shaggy grins unrestrainedly.

"yo, it's no problem, dude. wanna, like, play a few games?"

“Yeah, I am working here on the asteroid as an actress. What is your occupation here?” Angelica asked him. “And thank you for showing me the way around here! I’m still very unfamiliar with it.” Angelica said. Angelica continues walking along next to them.

"Not a problem, dude! I, uh. I, like, run my own business with my friends?" he explains vaguely, not wanting to get into it too heavily with a near-stranger. "I know all the good restaurants on the asteroid, like I said, so if you ever wanna find anything, I'm the dude." 

☾ ✦ ⋆＊✩ ║▌║█║▌│║▌║▌█ [ TASK 001 ] :

CHARACTER STATS SHEET:

Name: Norville “Shaggy” Rogers. Age: 33. Pronouns: he/they. Birthplace: Crystal Cove. Height: Tall. Weight: Light on his feet, heavy hitting when he needs to be. Build: Muscular. Quite thin in his youth, bulked up in his 20s. Tattoos: None. Piercings: Single lobe earrings. Clothing Style: Staples with very little variation, propensity for green and dusty orange. Usual Expression: Facial, amused and a little in-the-clouds. Gender, dresses in mostly streamlined flat masculine clothing, but occasionally wears floor length skirts at home.  Distinguishing Characteristics: Beard and height. Eye Color: Dark brown. Hair Color: Black. Occupation: Running for his life. Bait at Mystery Incorporated. Living Arrangements: Expensive. Languages Spoken: English, French, Chinese.

FAMILY BACKGROUND:

dcwnturn.

he can feel the way that his face flushes, and that is almost worse than being embarrassed in the first place. the fact that it is clear for the world to see… well. "yeah, of course, i- i- i- let’s just get there and get this party started!” he exclaims, words only making how flustered he is even more obvious. 

they reach mccree’s, and for a while everything goes very quickly. they get their table, they order their drinks, the order is put in for their first appetizer and a to go box so they can set some aside for mabel. the conversation continues, almost too easily for comfort - dipper is in the back of his mind convinced that he is going to mess this up somehow, but that is surely just remnants of an awkward childhood - shaggy seems to be having a good enough time as far as he can tell. when the waitress leaves their table, dipper is the first to reignite the conversation.

“so… what else do you like besides food, shaggy?” he asks, entirely unsure what he’s doing, where he’s going with this. though it’s nice that the other considers him a friend - and dipper is working on feeling the same, but it’s a strange feeling to try and force oneself to acknowledge the fact that other people may like you and enjoy your company - he doesn’t think he really knows all that much about him. it would be nice to change that.

shaggy greets a few of the employees of mccree's as they walk in- they're a regular here, and he's never one to let an acquaintance go ungreeted. he and dipper talk about mostly innocuous things while they're waiting for their drinks to come back, shaggy pointing out things on the menu like they're not gonna order the whole thing by the time this is over, but he likes to show what's in something anyway, and mccree's has descriptions of all of their orders.

at the question of what he likes, shaggy pauses for a second. he likes a lot of things, maybe, but typically when people ask what you like, they really mean what you love- they don't wanna know that you like it when showers have glass walls so the curtain doesn't touch you, or that you like it when pretty girls are confident about being pretty, or that you've always liked dogs. they wanna know hobbies, and shaggy has never been particularly chill about things he loves like he could be about things he only likes. he decides on something simple.

____________________________________

“yeah, exactly! video games kinda took up a whole two years of my life, and now i’m working on them so it’s a bit like a dream come true.” a whole two years they’d never get back, and it was nothing short of a nightmare. but it’s not trauma dumping when they word it kindly. “yeah, i get it. sometimes it’s easier to try to fit in and make friends. or to try to have an interest in common, well-being be damned.”  they run their fingers against their nails, a comforting motion. “i’ve had that happen before. tried fitting in during a study abroad type deal and things did not turn out well. weird how we as people will do anything to make friends or get along with other people easier.”

"oh, like, what game were you so sucked into? i've been a little bit of a dabbler myself in the past," he says, remembering his time playing crypts and creatures on the tabletop and playing video games well into the night before his friends could bully him off the pc. it's been a long time since he's gotten into a good video game... better keep that desire under all the other ones. he can't get sucked back in. "i've got some good friends, but i'm always trying to make more, you know? things get lonely on occasion. like, i imagine studying abroad was lonely too, being away from your friends and family like that. did you like it? or was it lonely?" 

____________________________________________________________

“i completely forgot about the night circus! we should totally do that with dipper sometime,” they smile. but a mystery is hard to turn down, even if their twin is absent. “i am down with things that might end up mundane, but what if it’s not? oh that’s gonna bug me if we don’t check it out! creaking noises can go any sort of direction. like structural integrity or nefarious source, it’s still a good investigation!” they bounce on the balls of their feet, grabbing their sweater from behind them. “and then maybe it won’t bug you so much if it is too! if you’re okay with it, of course.”

"oh dip would totally hate it, let's take him," shaggy says, imagining his high-strung friend yelling his way through the high rides and loud shows, getting redder and redder in the face. "it could even be something, like, totally innocent, like maybe a stray cat lives down there and whenever i hear the creaking, it's, like, moving around, you know?" he asks, though the question is mostly rhetorical. "i'm up for anything, dude. whatever you wanna do is cool with me."

dcwnturn.

"now are we talking like nacho cheese type of nachos, or the kind with all of the meats and toppings?” dipper asks, raising an eyebrow. he doesn’t really mind either one, so in truth it doesn’t matter in the end, and yet he finds himself curious. there is a mental preparation here that has to be done; can’t be disappointed if you know what you’re expecting to walk into, right? the fact that he wouldn’t even be disappointed by whichever it is isn’t the important part of this mental altercation.

“so nachos, chicken tenders… anything else on the list of things that mabel has to experience?” it’s always easier to consider this sort of thing when it is for mabel instead of for dipper. he’s unpacked that box time and time again, alone in the dark in his bed in his room where no one is around to witness it. and every single time he packs it all carefully back up, tapes the box shut, hides it in the back of his closet. a trouble for another day.

"both!" shaggy says excitedly; there's not much more to get excited about in this life than nachos. nachos at mccree's are just one step on a massive food journey, but the point of the journey is the stops along the way. exploring who you are, finding out what you like and what you don't, is easiest done through food and what you wear. shaggy read that somewhere once, so it's gotta be true. that isn't to say that he believes everything he reads online, but- off topic. he frowns briefly at dipper before his expression neutrals back out into a smile.

dcwnturn.

a childhood as the weird kid with a weirder - but somehow slightly more popular - twin made dipper a little soft in this regard. the small smile that settles upon his lips at being called shaggy’s friend is a bit embarrassing, but it’s not something that he can just wish or wipe away. hopefully shaggy won’t notice it or, at least, won’t comment on it. they don’t seem like that kind of person anyway, and with that in mind he is able to shy away from his feelings without too much mortification.

"i’m sure that they will appreciate that,” he says with a chuckle. “never seen someone who can put something away like my sibling, and i mean that in the nicest way possible. hey, what do you think we should start with then, if we’re being adventurous today?”

nothing better than getting food with a friend. shaggy can't keep the smile off of his face. he gets food all the time with scoob, freddie, velma or daphne, but going out with people he hasn't known his whole life through is pretty nice.

"definitely the nachos, dude. like, you can't go to mccree's without trying the nachos, and if we're getting everything, they get, like, the place of honor," shaggy decides, a grin stretching across his face. something occurs to him suddenly, so suddenly that he snaps his fingers to follow it. "even with all the food, we gotta, like, make sure to save some of those specifically for mabel. totally essential, dude."

“That all sounds great. I wish Brianna could come here. She would love the food here. She was the one who suggested to me that I move here to start my career as an actress. Hm either one would be great. I’m not feeling particularly picky right now. Which restaurant would you recommend that we visit?” Angelica asked them.

Shaggy nods along; he's adapting to how Angelica talks as they go, growing used to the speed and the way she jumps to topics he wouldn't even think of. It's cool. "So, like, you're an actress?" he asks, beginning to simply walk in the direction of the nearest burger joint and assuming that Angelica will come along.

“hikari. but shaggy- that’s a memorable name. i won’t forget it. do you prefer classic lemonade or pink lemonade? or you could throw me for a loop and prefer frozen lemonade.”

"hikari- that means, like, uh, light, right?" he asks, trying to remember his childhood education on japanese. "frozen pink lemonade is where it's at, my dude, you don't even understand." 

“Oh, I just have a personal dislike for the taste. Hm. I never really had any allergies. At least none that I’m aware of. And that sounds great, but I’m still new to this asteroid, and I don’t know where all of the good cheeseburger restaurants are around here. Could you show me the way? Thanks!” Angelica answered to Shaggy.

“Fair enough!" Shaggy says, nodding their head. "Yeah, totally! I know, like, every burger place on the asteroid and even a few off asteroid that'll deliver. You in the mood for something greasy or a real gentleman's burger?" he asks, his showmanship turning up a little as soon as he gets the chance to talk about food. 

———-

“game design,” they reply, stepping in and observing the space the best they can to get a feel for it. old habits die hard, they suppose. they glance up at the menu and nod. “i also can’t really do coffee these days, so i get it, i think.” they don’t need any help in sleeplessness. “at least you know, though? as opposed to like living in the dark about it. especially since every adult i knew as a kid made it seem like it’s so ‘grown-up.’ it’s just bean water.”

"oh, so you, like, make video games. i have a friend who does that," he says, not mentioning that his friend does it as a hobby. "dude, it is just bean water, you get me," shaggy effuses, not realizing that this is an objectively hilarious thing to say to an absolute stranger. "and yeah, i guess it's, like, good to know, it just bums me out sometimes. one time, i pretended to like coffee to make friends with someone easier, but it was, like, not good for me, dude, if you're picking up what i'm putting down." 

Angelica just realized that she had been talking too much. “Oh, I’m sorry. And I do love a cheeseburger, but wherever you want to go is fine with me. I just don’t eat fish, or any kind of seafood. That is completely understandable. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Shaggy. I like your name! And that sounds great! I’d love to go with you!” Angelica said to him/them.

"cheeseburger i can work with, my dude. is the fish thing an allergy or a dislike, because that, like, totally changes where we're going. you know, in case they don't change the fry oil enough. that can be dangerous when you have a fish allergy," he says, thinking vaguely of his father, who does, in fact, have a fish allergy. "and, like, don't apologize, dude, it's all good." 

dcwnturn.

"i can’t imagine someone that enjoys food more than you do - and i mean that as a compliment! you are the most invested person i have ever met,” dipper says, scrubbing his hand through his hair awkwardly. trust him to mess up literally every single thing that he has ever said in his life, right? moving right along… “who can say no to that? no better way to learn a menu than to try it all on the same day, right? and we can definitely bring some leftovers to mabel whenever you want to tap out - no pressure. they love chicken tenders, but they’re always up for trying the weird stuff too. they’d probably be a better person to take on this sort of adventure, honestly.” and the self doubt creeps in, no matter how hard he tries to push it away. perfect.

"thank you for the compliment, dip, my friend. it's good to be invested sometimes; stops you from drifting," shaggy says, not at all realizing that this is a somewhat wise thing to say. he does not notice dipper's internal struggle (somewhat external from the way his fingers run through his hair) in the slightest. "we'll bring anything you think mabel would like to mabel. like, a little leftovers from everything never hurt anybody. and i like dragging you with me, dude. you're a cool guy, dipper," shaggy says, flashing dipper a smile. it's true, because, like, dipper is one of the coolest people shaggy has ever met. he's just a guy, running a store and having a twin and looking stressed all the time, and he's cool. he's a cool dude. 

—————

“the issue is where to go! there’s so many options here, but less so at night. you’d think being in space, they’d have something fun open this late,” they huff, before biting their lip in thought. there wasn’t anything like the woods on the asteroid, so the only places that felt forbidden were actually forbidden and crawling with people who’d take them into custody faster than they could blink. “i’m down for a hunt for fun, though. maybe we’ll stumble across something interesting in our hunt. like a cursed necklace.” their face lights up as they think of a better possibility, something less… haunted. “or maybe we’ll find like the biggest mouse ever.”

"we could go to the casino- or the circus! they have a night act out right now, it's really cool from what i hear. or, we could investigate the creaking noise coming from the alley near my apartment building- you know, provided you're cool with an adventure that might turn out, like, totally lame. or! or! i had a client once that gave me a pair of earrings that i've never been able to, like, find the origin of. is that anything?" he asks, though he knows that any mystery can be something to the right person. if anyone is that person, it's probably mabel pines. or velma dinkley, but that's not really the subject at hand. a mystery is a mystery, and mabel pines loves a mystery. 

dcwnturn.

"seriously - how do you make food sound like art?” dipper asks, more emotion pouring into his words than he had bargained for. but he’s not going to lie to shaggy - there is a lot going on here, a lot to unpack, and he knows exactly who he is. he’s the type of guy who has to know everything. it’s a character flaw he is quite familiar with. “you could be describing any and every famous piece of artwork in the universe with the way that you flow all those words together, and you’re talking about a sandwich. not that the sandwich doesn’t sound delicious, because it does, and i definitely have to try it within the next half hour - but how?”

"my dude it is love of the game. you eat food as much as i do, and you love it? i guess you, like, get used to talking about it. and food is art! i used to know this girl that was a chef, right, and she loved food more than i do!" shaggy laughs, barely even lingering on the fact that it's been a while since they last talked. sometimes, the automatons he helps are off with the wind. most of the time, in fact. and that's their right. he had liked her though. "dude, we can get a bunch of stuff so you can try all of it. i'll eat anything you don't like," they offer, almost excited about the idea as it comes to them. they like feeding people, what can he say? 

Angelica fell down but she was able to pick up her books and stand up. She looked at them. “I’m fine. None of my bones are broken, so I consider that to be a good thing. My name is Angelica. It’s completely understandable though, no need to apologize to me. What’s your name? Were you in a hurry or something?” Angelica asked them.

Okay, girl that talks fast. He was friends with Daphne in their teen years, he can work with this. “Hi Angelica, I’m Shaggy. I’m not really, like, in any particular hurry, I just forgot to look where I was goin’, you know?” he asks rhetorically, shrugging a shoulder. “I’m actually headed to go get some lunch, if I could, like, make this up to you?”