[It wasn't too long after agreeing to meet that Alfred had managed to get his act together enough to leave his apartment and make his way to the appointed location. He had spoken, at great length, to this man a couple of times through the network...but the only time they had met face to face had been.
Well.
It had and hadn't been them.
The Alfred that walks into the shop is anything but the confident, swaggering creature Marco's doppel had met. The real Alfred is squeaky clean and withdrawn in posture, eyes very red even still from crying and exhaustion. He orders himself a coffee - something very strong and very sweet, with peppermint added - and looks around for the man he's meant to be meeting, tail curling around his ankles.
This is...going to be a hard conversation. But it's time, and he knows it. He needs help. Time to reach out.]
[Marco shouldn't be hard to recognise. The most notable differences between him and his doppelganger are the fact that he's wearing a shirt at all and that he has somewhat shorter hair, in that order. All else is easier to miss - eyes that dart about nervously but are used to hiding it, marginally stiffer shoulders...
In any case, even though Marco isn't sure if he's looking at the right man, he certainly locks eyes with Alfred for long enough to make himself noticed. And, well, since there are no other monsters around right now... he greets him with a smile.]
[If the similarity to the doppel hadn't done it, the smile makes Alfred certain. Timid, nervous, he closes the distance, hesitating before daring to sit.
His fingers shake around the coffee cup. The poor thing is terrified, upset, looking for all the world like he feels exposed.]
...Ah...are you...are you Marco?
I'm...Alfred. From the...from the network.
['You look nice with a shirt on,' part of him wants to say, but he doesn't say it. Things are awkward enough.]
[The meaning is caught - and appreciated. The boy breathes a little sigh of relief, bowing his head in greeting as he pulls the chair out to sink into the seat across from Marco, settling his coffee on the table.
He's glad to let what had happened with the doppels go.
He's glad to try and forget it.]
Likewise. I - I really appreciate you...taking the time. I - all of this, is...it's...
Well, after the flowers, this has just been...another hard thing. I - I don't really know where to start.
[Marco's eyes widen. It's admittedly short-sighted of him, but since the flowers scarcely affected him... he didn't realise these two events happened one after the other. No wonder so many people were having so much trouble.]
That's, er... understandable. I wouldn't say you have to start anywhere in particular, just...
[Actually, given the circumstances, "Say what's on your mind" may not be the best advice to give. He reconsiders.]
We can just... chat. And see how that goes, maybe.
[The flowers had been catastrophic for Alfred. He had come so close to dying, and all because he couldn't let things go. Now this.
He knows he needs to talk, he does. It's just...difficult. He draws a slow breath, nodding at Marco's words.]
...All right.
I - ah - well - maybe proper introductions, then? We haven't really gotten to...to speak, properly. I am not a good typist, and the network is...challenging.
That's perfectly fine. I know the laptops can be difficult for some people to get used to - ah, actually, if you don't mind me asking, when are you from? I'm curious.
[Unfamiliar with technology, and deeply ashamed of his feelings for men... Alfred could be from an entirely different world than what Marco knows, yes - that's always a possibility in this place - but so far, the evidence presented points first and foremost to the past.]
I-I am from the late eighteen-hundreds. I grew up in rural Germany, b-but I was...I was in Transylvania, just before I came here.
[Slowly, he is starting to calm a little, easing into the conversation - but his hands still fidget around his coffee cup, his shoulders still drawing taut and inward.]
[Well, that sounds about right. Transylvania, though... Now there's a name that brings certain images to mind.
Still, Marco doesn't want to jump to any conclusions, especially when he is well aware that Transylvania is a real place where real people live, so he carries on with what he was saying:]
I see, I see. If your world is anything like mine - and it must be at least a little, since, well, I recognise those places you just named - then most people won't have easy access to a device like the laptops for another two hundred years or so.
[When Alfred tugs anxiously at his collar, the wicked, gnarled bite scar out of the left side of his neck might work to support those conclusions, whether Marco tries to sidestep them or not.]
That does not surprise me. But - you know of Germany? That...makes things a little easier. I have met a few here who had never heard of it.
[He catches a glimpse of it, and it is certainly enough to stoke his curiosity further. If Alfred does happen to bring it up at some point... Well, it might get a little awkward, for deeply personal reasons. Marco has plenty of justification to put the matter aside for now.]
I do, yes. My father was from Italy, you know.
[... And yet, he dances closer to the matter anyway. He does his best to instead focus on Alfred's question -]
2016. Enough for technology to take even larger leaps and bounds forward.
this is SO LATE I AM SORRY you are not obligated to respond
Probably not identical, but more similar than some, yes.
[For a moment, he's tempted to mention that one time he met someone who was apparently from ancient Japan except THEIR ancient Japan had jetpacks, but by the time he opens his mouth, he realises that would probably only raise more questions, given Alfred's grasp on technology. Maybe some other time.]
Oh, a little bit. The more advanced technology here can be nostalgic, though.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Action - Backdated to 3/14, during the Technical Difficulties Event
Well.
It had and hadn't been them.
The Alfred that walks into the shop is anything but the confident, swaggering creature Marco's doppel had met. The real Alfred is squeaky clean and withdrawn in posture, eyes very red even still from crying and exhaustion. He orders himself a coffee - something very strong and very sweet, with peppermint added - and looks around for the man he's meant to be meeting, tail curling around his ankles.
This is...going to be a hard conversation. But it's time, and he knows it. He needs help. Time to reach out.]
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In any case, even though Marco isn't sure if he's looking at the right man, he certainly locks eyes with Alfred for long enough to make himself noticed. And, well, since there are no other monsters around right now... he greets him with a smile.]
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His fingers shake around the coffee cup. The poor thing is terrified, upset, looking for all the world like he feels exposed.]
...Ah...are you...are you Marco?
I'm...Alfred. From the...from the network.
['You look nice with a shirt on,' part of him wants to say, but he doesn't say it. Things are awkward enough.]
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[Hopefully, the unstated message comes across: their doppelgangers' meeting... didn't really count.]
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He's glad to let what had happened with the doppels go.
He's glad to try and forget it.]
Likewise. I - I really appreciate you...taking the time. I - all of this, is...it's...
Well, after the flowers, this has just been...another hard thing. I - I don't really know where to start.
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That's, er... understandable. I wouldn't say you have to start anywhere in particular, just...
[Actually, given the circumstances, "Say what's on your mind" may not be the best advice to give. He reconsiders.]
We can just... chat. And see how that goes, maybe.
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He knows he needs to talk, he does. It's just...difficult. He draws a slow breath, nodding at Marco's words.]
...All right.
I - ah - well - maybe proper introductions, then? We haven't really gotten to...to speak, properly. I am not a good typist, and the network is...challenging.
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[Unfamiliar with technology, and deeply ashamed of his feelings for men... Alfred could be from an entirely different world than what Marco knows, yes - that's always a possibility in this place - but so far, the evidence presented points first and foremost to the past.]
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I-I am from the late eighteen-hundreds. I grew up in rural Germany, b-but I was...I was in Transylvania, just before I came here.
[Slowly, he is starting to calm a little, easing into the conversation - but his hands still fidget around his coffee cup, his shoulders still drawing taut and inward.]
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Still, Marco doesn't want to jump to any conclusions, especially when he is well aware that Transylvania is a real place where real people live, so he carries on with what he was saying:]
I see, I see. If your world is anything like mine - and it must be at least a little, since, well, I recognise those places you just named - then most people won't have easy access to a device like the laptops for another two hundred years or so.
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That does not surprise me. But - you know of Germany? That...makes things a little easier. I have met a few here who had never heard of it.
Wh-when were you from, then?
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I do, yes. My father was from Italy, you know.
[... And yet, he dances closer to the matter anyway. He does his best to instead focus on Alfred's question -]
2016. Enough for technology to take even larger leaps and bounds forward.
this is SO LATE I AM SORRY you are not obligated to respond
[He blinks at the response to his question, eyes widening.]
2016? That's...so far afield. The things here must seem sort of...primitive, to you, then?
IT'S OKAY
[For a moment, he's tempted to mention that one time he met someone who was apparently from ancient Japan except THEIR ancient Japan had jetpacks, but by the time he opens his mouth, he realises that would probably only raise more questions, given Alfred's grasp on technology. Maybe some other time.]
Oh, a little bit. The more advanced technology here can be nostalgic, though.