The Difficulties of Becoming Human: Dorian Edition
He has to learn how to take breaks. Dorian is used to staying in one spot awake and alert for days on end, doing his job without rest or pause. Now that he's human however, his body can no longer do that and he struggles with learning these limits
Will regularly become lightheaded and dizzy from lack of food or water during his first few months as a human. It's not that he means to skip meals or neglect fluids, he's just never had to worry about those thing before
Another thing he's never had to worry about is sleep. Dorian is absolutely HORRIBLE at sleeping when he's first realized. He's supposed to be the one who stands guard so that others can rest peacefully and falling asleep feels like negligence to him at first
He feels on edge now that he is no longer the one standing guard and frequently wakes in the middle of the night with the need to check that the doors are all locked and the home is secure
learning to take breaks, eat three meals a day, and sleep 8 hours a night is one of his greatest struggles as a new human
Another thing Dorian has to contend with post realization are the realities of his age. Dorian has existed as an object for a long time, even commenting on his own age in canon, and as a human that ends up translating into him being in his early to mid forties. He finds that while standing still for many hours straight was no problem for him as a door it is much harder on his human form
Dorian has to learn how to manage sore joints and muscles from long hours of standing as well as tension in his shoulders and neck from holding himself the way he does. He often wakes up feeling stiff and achy in the mornings. Eventually he learns how to rest throughout the day and what stretches help keep his body in top condition but it takes him a while
beyond just the physical challenges of being alive Dorian finds himself struggling a lot with the emotional aspect. As a door he was able to compartmentalize himself pretty heavily, designating different aspects of himself to different doors throughout the house, but as a human Dorian can no longer do this. Having to hold all of himself, every side and aspect of who he is, in one singular form is incredibly overwhelming
Dorian doesn't quite know how to manage when and what parts of himself he shows outwardly. He experiences mood swings for a while along with fluctuations in his accent as he tries to make all the parts of himself work together cohesively in one body
