Luca Paguro (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
schoolingfish) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
kaisou2022-05-09 06:05 pm
schoolingfish) wrote in kaisou2022-05-09 06:05 pm
Entry tags:
[Action: Open]
WHO: Luca and you!
WHERE: Somewhere in the city
WHEN: Right after Luca's arrival
WHAT: He just got out of the labyrinth, found a weird device with directions on how to use it, and he's trying to figure out what's going on
WARNINGS: Fear of extreme isolation and mentions of whale carcass
Luca doesn't know how he got here. One moment he's on Genova, the next he's suddenly deep underwater. He's never been to the part of the sea he finds himself in before, but he instantly knows where he is, because it's exactly how he pictured it. The Deep.
It's dark. Completely pitch black, nothing to see. Nothing to hear, either. It's quiet, incredibly quiet, enough to make him feel alone and isolated because clearly there aren't any other sea monsters around. He doesn't even hear any other fish or sea life around to catch his interest. There's just...nothing to see or do, just endless emptiness with nothing to engage him but his thoughts...and the smell of rotting whale meat that seems to permeate the water.
Why is he here? He was in Genova, on land. His parents had gone back on this, they weren't going to send him here. He shouldn't be here!
Terrified, not of any imminent threat because there certainly doesn't seem to be one, but of being trapped in this place while he slowly goes mad from the endless monotony, living off the bits and pieces of floating whale carcass that he feels brush past his skin as they float past, he screams.
"No! No, no, no, no, no! I'm not supposed to be here!" he yells out to no one, because no one's there to hear.
Luca then takes off, desperately swimming up to escape the Deep, even though he can't see any signs of even the slightest sliver of light piercing the darkness to indicate that he might be escaping.
He's in such a frenzied panic that he doesn't even know how he ends up reaching land, only that he finds himself in a new place he's never been before. He quickly shakes himself off to remove any remaining droplets of water, triggering his transformation back into his human form. Still trembling slightly from the sheer panic of thinking he'd be trapped in the Deep, he looks around and spots a nearby bench and decides to have a seat. That's when he notices the strange, rectangular device next to where he's sitting, and under the device is a little booklet with directions on it's use. Strange...why would something like this just be left here? Is it for anyone to just pick up and use? It must be, because why else would someone leave it with step by step instructions on how to use it?
Curious, Luca picks up and starts messing with the strange device, following the instructions to try and understand it.
WHERE: Somewhere in the city
WHEN: Right after Luca's arrival
WHAT: He just got out of the labyrinth, found a weird device with directions on how to use it, and he's trying to figure out what's going on
WARNINGS: Fear of extreme isolation and mentions of whale carcass
Luca doesn't know how he got here. One moment he's on Genova, the next he's suddenly deep underwater. He's never been to the part of the sea he finds himself in before, but he instantly knows where he is, because it's exactly how he pictured it. The Deep.
It's dark. Completely pitch black, nothing to see. Nothing to hear, either. It's quiet, incredibly quiet, enough to make him feel alone and isolated because clearly there aren't any other sea monsters around. He doesn't even hear any other fish or sea life around to catch his interest. There's just...nothing to see or do, just endless emptiness with nothing to engage him but his thoughts...and the smell of rotting whale meat that seems to permeate the water.
Why is he here? He was in Genova, on land. His parents had gone back on this, they weren't going to send him here. He shouldn't be here!
Terrified, not of any imminent threat because there certainly doesn't seem to be one, but of being trapped in this place while he slowly goes mad from the endless monotony, living off the bits and pieces of floating whale carcass that he feels brush past his skin as they float past, he screams.
"No! No, no, no, no, no! I'm not supposed to be here!" he yells out to no one, because no one's there to hear.
Luca then takes off, desperately swimming up to escape the Deep, even though he can't see any signs of even the slightest sliver of light piercing the darkness to indicate that he might be escaping.
He's in such a frenzied panic that he doesn't even know how he ends up reaching land, only that he finds himself in a new place he's never been before. He quickly shakes himself off to remove any remaining droplets of water, triggering his transformation back into his human form. Still trembling slightly from the sheer panic of thinking he'd be trapped in the Deep, he looks around and spots a nearby bench and decides to have a seat. That's when he notices the strange, rectangular device next to where he's sitting, and under the device is a little booklet with directions on it's use. Strange...why would something like this just be left here? Is it for anyone to just pick up and use? It must be, because why else would someone leave it with step by step instructions on how to use it?
Curious, Luca picks up and starts messing with the strange device, following the instructions to try and understand it.
no subject
[ He gives Luca a couple loose, reassuring pats on the shoulder. Alberto's excitement is mounting as his train of thought deviates, though he knows at the same time that he should be considerate to how scary this must be for Luca... But he's been here for so long, been without Luca for so long, has fantasized about exactly what he'd want to share with Luca should he ever arrive, that he can't swallow his smile. Alberto keeps them on the path back to his flat, not so far from where he'd found Luca, feeling all the surreality of this walk. ]
no subject
[After all, he no longer has to figure out everything on his own. Oh, he'll still try to get it figured out, but it's always easier when Alberto has his back.]
Although...going back to your place first probably is a good idea. There's a lot I still have to figure out, and I can't wait to see all your stuff!
no subject
But however wild and unmonitored, he's still made progress all the same. Fewer mess-ups — still plenty, but fewer. No harpoons thrown at him. Only a couple well-contained explosions. Nothing important set on fire. No fistfights yet. Humaning convincingly enough to not be exposed as a sea monster, even after so many months. So, really, on a better track than back in Portorosso, if that's the criteria! The fairies had been fairly tolerant, even when he flubbed his work (which he did a lot); the manual labor in Stardew was hard to mess up (although somehow he still managed) and he had no one to really report to there anyway, so he sufficed for himself just fine in the fields; and the only two grownups in his life otherwise have both been exceedingly patient despite their obvious concern. No one's intervened exactly... Maybe all this means his "ruining everything" days are soon to be behind him? And now that Luca's here, that's just extra incentive! He's determined that everything will be okay now — for Luca's sake more than his own. He wants Luca's words to be true. Maybe it's not exactly been true on his own so far. But he'll make it true now.
Keeping the smile on his face, he straightens his posture a little unconsciously, a springier spring in his step, and claps Luca lightly on the shoulder. ]
Heh. We'll figure it all out together~ Everything you need. Money, food, clothes, shoes, anything: I’ve got it. I've got all kinds of new human stuff here — crazy stuff we didn't have back home. You'll see. The technology here is— wow, haha~! After we eat, I'll teach you how to use the Everything Machine, and the Internet— oh, and the magic TV-VRC-VHS box! You're gonna love it.
[ Uh, he means a TV with a VCR, but why does he have a VCR, it's the 2020s, um...? Making this sound way more technical and scientific than it actually is, too, naturally... He found a technically-functional, tiny old TV at a yard sale with a box of random cassette tapes; all he figured out is how to use the buttons — really overselling it here. Because of course he is. That's about how this introduction to modern American life is gonna go down. Cultural tour by tech-guru Alberto with a busted obsolete TV he thinks must be a special treasure cuz he's never seen another like it... not realizing that’s only because it’s so old. Luca's in for a ride — but, well, surely he already knows that much. This might go marginally better than their first foray into the human world together, though — maybe. Probably? Yeah, probably, yeah! ]
no subject
[Luca's clearly in awe of all the letters Alberto was able to spew out just them.]
So the Everything Machine...you mentioned that before. Is that this?
[He holds up the cell phone. Sure, it could be something completely different, but he's sure Alberto will correct him if that's the case.]
And I can't wait to see the internet and the tvvr...
[What were the rest of the letters?]
The other thing you said.
[It's like when they first met, where Alberto had all the knowledge and Luca was eagerly eating it all up. At least on the surface. Of course, Luca knows that Alberto was (somehow) here way longer than he was, so he does assume Alberto genuinely has all that knowledge now, but this time around he does realize how Alberto is and that he'll want to be ready to correct some of this information later if a human informs him some of this isn't the case. Still, Alberto is his primary source of information now, and right now he has so much to learn.]
no subject
[ Alberto nods enthusiastically, finally releasing Luca so he can pull his own phone out. Same model as Luca's, and in fact the same phone he'd found when he first arrived — just now with more scratches and the smudged ghosts of fingerprints on the screen... which are less noticeable than the little cluster of shattered glass in the top corner... but it still works perfectly fine, and by some miracle, has survived this long. Hardy little thing. Something metaphorical there, probably.
When he clicks it on, though, the cracked screen lights up with a photo of some weird/funny thing he passed by three days ago... which is a long-living phone background for Alberto. Once he opens the phone (with no passcode or anything, just, free for all) the background inside is far more tender... and familiar. It shows that even if Alberto has been here so long, Luca and his life in Portorosso are both still very much on his mind.
It's gone in a blip, though, as he pulls up app after app after app. ]
Telephone... Camera... Paperless photo album... Paperless letters — or "texts," as they say~ Paperless calendar... Paperless money... Paperless paper...! Haha~ Alarm clock and a pomodoro...! Mathmaker... the Every-Question-Ever-Answer-er... Little cinemas for little movies... Aaaand it's also a Magic Singing Lady Machine without the black plates, a radio without the commercials, and a free tiny jukebox. Plus a bunch of other stuff I'll show you later.
[ His made-up terms being, in other words: his bank app; notepad; clock app (including his mental image of a classic tomato kitchen timer, a physical one of which he owns anyway); calculator; web browser; YouTube and Tiktok; and, his favorite, the music app. But as per usual, Alberto rattles off these given names with all the confidence in the world, as if everyone calls them that. So, useful as all Alberto's guidance and information is, indeed, Luca will have many misunderstandings to comb through in time... ]
no subject
Luca watches in awe as Alberto goes through all the different features of his tiny device.]
Wow...I wonder how they manage to get so many things inside such a tiny machine. It seems like it can do...
[Everything.]
Oh. I guess that's why it's called the Everything Machine.
no subject
Check it out— This is an Everything Machine-camera! You can see the photograph before you take it, and, you don't need to develop it or wait for the paint to dry like a Polaroid, like back home! There's no film or paper. The picture just lives inside the machine, and it's ready instantly~ Look– Smiiile~
[ And with that, snaps a photo of the two of them. He releases Luca, standing straighter again, and hands the phone over to him for him to examine. Luca can judge if it's a good picture or not. Alberto automatically assumes it's great no matter how it turned out, of course. Immune to quality checks... ]
no subject
[It just seems so much faster and more convenient than anything he could have imagined! He quickly smiles for the picture, looking at it once Alberto goes to show him.]
That's amazing! And it looks great!
[Though Luca might not be the best person to judge Alberto's photography skills, either. Just like the picture Alberto drew was the most amazing drawing he'd ever seen, this picture was the most amazing photograph he'd ever seen. Sure, Luca might be more aware of Alberto's flaws and that he doesn't know as much as he likes to pretend, but Luca still thinks the stuff Alberto does is great.]
no subject
[ They're definitely reliving a flashback here in the excitement with which Alberto's showing all of this off. He reaches out to take the phone back, and switches it to video, pointing it at Luca. He sticks his free hand out into the frame to show it waving at Luca, his voice singsongy in the background. ]
Ciaaaaoooo~
[ After a couple seconds, he stops recording, and hands the phone back to Luca again, pressing play to show off the little clip, his voice playing back on the phone's speaker. He's so delighted by this feature every time — well. Every feature, really. ]
See~? We can make movies on this thing, too! Tiny movies! Hah!
no subject
[Then Luca draws the only possible conclusion from this.]
We should make a movie! One about space!
no subject
Ah! Yes! Yes! I've got all sorts of things we can use to make space-stuff, hah! Oh, oh— and we can post it online! So anyone can see it! Just like movies at the cinema! I'll explain that part at home, but...— Hahhh, Luca, we'll be movie stars, haha~!
[ Already feeding off each other's energy, and Luca's been here how long exactly...? It's as if they just saw one another yesterday. Alberto shoves his phone back in his pocket, biting his lip without losing his smile at all, drawing his fists up to his chest gleefully. He's even more eager to get home now. He points forward and taps Luca's chest again, stepping off once more with an all-too-familiar exaggerated strut. ]
no subject
[Because, of course, Luca is far more familiar with seeing posters advertising various movies than with movies themselves. Still, he's gained a brief explanation of what a movie is, so he knows enough to feel confident that they can make one of their own. Luca eagerly follows alongside Alberto, already imagining all the neat space stuff they could do.]
no subject
[ Practically buzzing with enthusiasm, just as when Alberto and Luca had their first round of brainstorming together, what feels like so long ago — and yet also somehow now like it had just been last week they were crashing garbage-Vespas in new innovative ways on a daily basis. Probably not the hobby to pick up again. They've got so much more to hyper-fixate on now. ]
no subject
[It's going to be amazing!]
no subject
Heh~ ...C'mon, haha! My place is just around the corner, dai—
[ He gives Luca another encouraging slap on the back as his apartment building comes into eyesight, pointing forward and then upward. ]
It's that tall building, right down there.
[ ...Not... immediately mentioning it's literally one room in that building, but, y'know, details. They'll come to light. In time. ]
no subject
[He stares at the tower in awe. It's even bigger than Alberto's last tower!
It's so huge! You must be rich!
[Because while he may be new to the concept of money, he knows the more of it you get, the bigger and nicer the things you can get will be. And that building is very big.]
no subject
Hah! Yes, but no. It's not all mine. Other people live here, too. Just not with me. Think of it liiiike— a reef. Ah, here, look, hah—! Check this out~
[ Once they reach the door, Alberto taps Luca excitedly on the chest with the back of his hand to secure his attention, as if he didn't already have it, drawing his focus to the keypad on the outside. He shows it off with both hands demonstratively, before turning to tug the door handles with just as much showiness and some loud clattering. Locked. He holds up one finger silently in anticipation, then punches in the passcode on the keypad, which blinks and blings, and the whir of the electronic locks sliding inside the door can be heard as it unlocks. Alberto opens the door for Luca with a flamboyant little wave, sticking his leg out exaggeratedly as he lets him in, so gentlemanly-like. It's the most basic of things... but even after all this time here, something small like that does still seem pretty magical to Alberto every day.
As they enter, Alberto slings his arm around Luca's shoulders again, waving past the modest lobby area and toward the elevator at the end of a long hall of nearly identical doors... ...one of many nearly identical halls, Luca will soon find out. ]
Keyless keys, magic doors... and behind every one of those doors, is someone's house. Like a house-in-a-house. Pretty cool, right? Avanti. Mine's upstairs.
[ He claps Luca on the back again as he steps off in an over-animated strut toward the elevator. Missing Alberto may or may not come with missing all his unnecessary physical contact, but here they are, and he's just as excited as the day they met to show off a whole new world of novelties... ]
no subject
[He feels a little silly for thinking the whole place was Alberto's. The reef explanation, of course, makes a lot of sense to Luca and it's really familiar to him. Like how all different fish live together in different nooks and crannies of a reef, or how different families of sea monsters live in different underwater caverns all in the same mountains of rock.
His attention shifts back to Alberto the moment he taps on his chest, and Luca looks at the door to see what he's going to do. He notices the weird panel with numbers by the door, but doesn't understand the significance until he watches Alberto demonstrate that the door is locked, then demonstrate that he can unlock the door just by hitting the secret code on the panel.]
Woah...
[This place is full of so many amazing things! Luca walks inside, appreciating the feeling of Alberto's arm over his shoulder. He can't explain why, but all the little touches and bits of contact that serve as reminders that Alberto's by his side always make him feel all warm and happy, and that feeling is all the stronger since he's been missing his friend. Luca listens to Alberto's explanation as he stares at the massively long halls, imagining how many people must live here. There's probably more people in this building alone than in all of Portorosso.
Once they reach the elevator, Luca looks at the buttons with arrows pointing up and down.]
So what are those? Is there some kind of code you put in there, too?
no subject
[ He gives another showy, demonstrative little wave over the keypad. Alberto's gaze keeps shifting to glance at Luca, fascinated as always to watch his reactions. It's almost half the fun, just watching Luca's eyes go wide at every other thing Alberto shows him. It's just like the first time Alberto showed off all his surface stuff and shared all his human knowledge with Luca, but now it's even better, because: 1. he's actually lived with humans for a long time now, so he knows what he's talking about (or so he thinks); 2. this human stuff is way cooler because it's from the future (aaand he didn't find it at the bottom of the ocean or risk his fin stealing it off a boat); and most important, of course, 3. Luca's staying this time. That's the best part. It's just them. Sincerely doing whatever they want, no adults to punish them, no one else's business to get wrapped up in, just... endless exploring, endless explaining, endless excitement.
At least that's how Alberto's already imagining it privately, by the time the elevator starts going up. He knows he's getting ahead of himself and that Luca's probably also pretty scared still, even if he's not letting on so much (largely because Alberto's dazzling him nonstop, that is), so he's not voicing the depths of his exuberance here... Though the idea of somehow reclaiming some part of their lost dream makes his heart soar. This, though, is a very different arrangement than driving someplace new everyday on a Vespa and sleeping under the stars; this is just... living together. He doesn't even know if Luca will want to live with him. Which would be fair if he didn't... if not disappointing. He's not so sure he should make any assumptions here, despite all his first instincts. It may not be like "That-Week-on-the-Island: Deluxe Edition." Just because Alberto wants this go-around to pan out like their original plan had been supposed to — "just you and me out there, free" — doesn't mean it's bound to happen like that... after all, it didn't even happen like that the first time.
So as they find their first moment of stillness and silence since their reunion, Alberto doesn't let on to his own vaguer worries lurking just below the surface of his mind. It's not Bruno whispering things to make him doubtful, exactly, but rather more, a streak of... clarity... and consideration... maturity... that Alberto lacked back then on the island. This go-around, having had Luca there to help him build that maturity and gain that perspective, and now finally having him here again, Alberto's determined it's only gonna go better than it did before. And for how horribly awry things went before, things still went amazingly, sooo... whether those hazy, looming question marks forming in his mind are justified and rational or not, they're just as easily overtaken by another wave of excitement, the elevator bouncing softly when their short ride comes to a halt. Alberto's eyes are searching Luca's face as if trying to read him, as the elevator doors open onto their floor... which looks almost identical to the hall on the first floor. But Alberto still steps out confidently to lead the way, just– slightly less showily now. Just slightly... ]
no subject
[He hits the button with the '3' on it and watches it light up and feels the elevator moving up.]
Wow...so the tiny room just...moves to wherever you tell it to?
[That seems kind of incredible, and Luca never imagined anything like this could exist. This whole place seems to be filled with all sorts of incredible technology...and that's just in the building itself. He can't imagine what other devices and gadgets the people in this place might have.
If Alberto searches Luca's face for signs of what he's feeling, all he'll see is a look of wonder and amazement as Luca looks at everything around them, a million questions about how everything works racing through his head. Of course, he's still a bit in shock from all of this, but it's easy to forget all the fear and panic of showing up in a strange place when Alberto's showing him all of these strange and fascinating things. Of course, naturally he assumes he'll be staying with Alberto. It's just a given, and since the moment Luca saw that Alberto was here he hasn't considered any other possibility.
And then, as if by magic, the doors opened on their own, just like they did when the boys went into the elevator. Luca steps out and...looks confused.]
Um...Alberto? I think this is where we just came from.
1/2
Hah! Every hall looks aaaalmost the same. It's kinda creepy. I've got markers at home. You can write the number on your arm every day. That's what I did when I first got here. Or you can draw a map. I did maps sometimes, too.
[ They were not... as reliable as he'd hoped they'd be, ultimately. But he had good intent, there. He's managed without for some time, though, it's clear, taking a turn sharply on his heel and stopping short outside his flat's door. He did, however, if Luca notices, draw a little sun and a cloud beside the doorknob with a permanent marker... So there's always that, if he should get lost. No doubt Alberto did.
Once they stop, Alberto hops up into the air once, twice, three times, smacking at the top of the door frame to slide his hand along its edge, until he knocks off a small silver key. Once he retrieves it from the ground and goes to open the door with it, he does a triple-take, looking tentatively between the key, the top of the doorframe, and Luca, before moving on to unlock the door, adding as he lets them in: ]
...We're gonna have to find a different hiding spot for you to reach.
[ Because Alberto won't carry his housekey on him. Out of wisdom. He knows himself. He'd lose it every other day if he did that. No, no, much safer option is to hide it in easy reach... sensibly. ]
2/2; a novella, for you lol with love
And excess is exactly what he's collected. There's a growing library of the most blindly assorted VHS tapes around his acclaimed television set (along with at least four unplugged, non-functional, obsolete novelty telephones; why? why not!) and myriad other tchotchkes. Some decorations in the room serve a clearer creative purpose, such as an old bicycle wheel repurposed into a bulletin board of sorts, an ever-changing wheel of notes to himself and favorite drawings and other little paper items that he wants to keep in plain sight... but still ultimately seldom looks at. Other decorations, on the other hand, have more, um... mystifying artistic intent behind them. Some, like the toaster on the floor with its slots jammed full of tools and hardware supplies, or the empty olive oil bottles scattered around the room used as either poorly concealed piggybanks for his cash savings, or as vases for any cool plants he might stumble upon about town, somehow serve both function and... fancy? All of it brings him some small joy, though, like his growing collections of cool rocks, acorns, marbles, buttons, you name it, all stored surprisingly neatly in their own respective repurposed sauce jars, which hang from the ceiling by poorly macrame'd knotted nets... which fall down at random at least on a weekly to bi-weekly basis. Still, he's undaunted. Because he has fun with it. That ingenue and enthusiasm is seen in nearly every detail of Alberto's new home. He's even created his own coffee table in the living area, which in fact is just an old rusty fountain basin, like a giant metal bowl, filled with seashells, topped with a thick circular piece of glass (the only item he paid for to construct this) to serve as the tabletop, sitting on top of... a wooden cheese wheel box. Still has the cheesemakers' logo on it and everything. It may be bizarre to some, but Luca knows better than anyone that Alberto's enjoyment is paramount above all. The thrill of the hunt.
Not far off from the nest of cushions and homemade "table," he has a record player set-up along with many vinyls nearby, and any records too scratched to play anymore serve as fine decorations, along with a few scratched CDs (he doesn't even have a CD player yet!) amongst an endless smattering of posters and notes and personal artwork. There's a roll of butcher's paper mounted to the wall (improperly, and against building code, bound to fall out of the wall at random someday), above an open hardcover Samsonite suitcase overflowing with every imaginable color of crayon, marker, color pencil, pastel, pen... and several signature Alberto-y doodles on the page, illustrating random bits of his life here and things he's seen around town that've caught his intrigue. Beside this creative little spot, his workspace shows all the touches of Alberto's many interests: whittling, drawing, a couple old, cold cups of abandoned espresso, Massimo's Polaroid camera left out of its case unfolded, the desktop and floor lightly littered with peel-away film casings and stray photographs.
Upon closer inspection, particularly around the bed area, Luca will later find some familiar and unfamiliar photographs from home taped to the wall. What's quite peculiar is that their drawing together is apparently now in Alberto's possession again, rather than Luca's, and is displayed prominently right in his line of vision from where he usually lays his head, along with the rest of the photos from home. Just as miraculously, he has his old Vespa sign once more (also improperly mounted to the wall without property managers' permission), which draws the eye right away above the bed area. It's just one of many focal points, though, so much for the wandering eye to land on. The windows are decorated with glass trinkets and sheer shawls that cast colorful shadows all over the room, lending a warm glow in the sunshine to help several strings of fairy lights, perpetually left on, a good mix of both rainbows and pure whites. Draped over the entranceway to the slightly less cluttered kitchenette (inside which, all the evidence of Alberto's newfound love for cooking, surrounding the stove and his prep space, are immediately visible from the front door), an elaborate beaded curtain catches the light, its many beads and sequins twinkling in the corner of the eye every now and again. It's all for a charming and colorful ambience, a certain chaotic coziness, that "Alberto-esque" vibe Luca surely already imagined the space would have. Although for how vivid Luca's imagination is, Luca probably didn't imagine quite... all this...
But whatever "all this" really is, Alberto seems just as smitten to show it all off, almost as much as he'd been of his collection back home the day they'd first hung out. He flings the door open onto this scene with no small bit of flair, before standing back with his arms crossed over his chest, a wide smirk on his face as he leans back and watches Luca take it all in. As chuffed as ever, he gives his friend a moment to process... ]
...Hah. Told ya. So~? Even better than my collection back home, huh?
I love it!
Now, at Luca's measly 4'7, if he actually wants to get inside once they get here, then Alberto's absolutely right and they will have to find a lower hiding spot.]
Maybe under that?
[Luca points down at the doormat. And then Alberto opens the door, and Luca sees...everything. His mouth drops in wonder as he steps in and looks at everything. It's like the tower, but so much more. It's beautiful. So many strange new things to look at and explore, so many things they could make stuff out of, a roll of paper on the wall where Alberto can draw to his heart's content, posters, books, a singing lady machine...and that table. It reminds him of home with all the seashells.]
Alberto...this is amazing! We could make so much more than the Vespa with all of this!
[And then he spots their drawing together and walks up to it...]
So that's where that is...when I first got here I looked through my backpack and didn't see it, I was worried I lost it because I know I put it in there. I'm so glad it's here!
[He'd much rather it be here than think it could have blown away somewhere or got lost in the Deep somehow.]
It's so much better than your collection back home, and your collection back home was amazing! We have so much stuff!
[Because yes, Luca's assuming they'll be sharing it because he's assuming they'll be living together. It's not a question. He lives with you now, Alberto.]
also lmao at the children leaving their housekeys BARELY hidden, literally in front of their door...
What draws his smile the widest yet, though, is when Luca offhandedly disproves Alberto's secret doubt that Luca might not want to live with him... Talking about where to keep the housekey for the both of them to reach was testing the waters... When he hears Luca say "we have so much stuff," though, that confirms it: Luca will be living here. He can't keep from beaming at the boy, pushing himself off the door with exaggerated fluidity and walking over to place a hand on Luca's shoulder again. ]
Yeah, and, we can do pretty much whatever we want here, Luca...! It's just us. Hah, we can make it our dream house...~ So whatever you wanna do— this is your home now, too, okay? ...And! And, as you get used to life here, I bet you'll have all kinds of ideas to make this place even more amazing, hah~! Right~?
[ He gives Luca another little playful slap on the chest, grinning at him with warm, fond eyes. It's ironic, almost. Now they really are here on their own, no one to tell them what to do, just like they'd wanted in the beginning — just the two of them, free... The magic of independence may wear off eventually, but for the time being, Alberto's heart is soaring at the idea of reclaiming this dream they'd dreamt together. Just as it turned out in Portorosso, it's quite different indeed, but a little closer to the image Alberto had had in mind when they first embarked to the human town: mainly being that Alberto and Luca are together. That's the most important part. The rest will fall into place, he figures. Like it did before — but this time, even better. He's determined. ]
Super safe!
[Which hadn't really been a choice he'd wanted to make and he'd really wanted Alberto to stay with him, but he figures Alberto probably needed Massimo after...everything. But here that doesn't matter. That's in the past now, and now he has school and Alberto.]
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you can go whichever way you'd like w this! Alberto's cooking runs a wide gamut of quality lol
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wrap?
Works for me!