Crybadger continued

[notaccurate]

SEE BELOW I'm making individual threads for things so that if a page gets long we can just move to a new comment thread.

Comments

[inspectormacarena]

["How would you flip the pages?"... Hahahaa, priceless. He'll try to contain his amusement, but hah.]

Yeah, they are. And the footage can be miiighty helpful. [Like the footage of some fire in a factory building that they're talking about right now. Oooh, just look at those flames, all contained in a box in their own living room.]

[notaccurate]

[Luca has figured out that the pictures on the tv aren't actually happening within the tv. Experimenting with the other tv helped him figure that out. He is still surprised to see a whole building on fire like that, though.]

Why are they just watching instead of helping with the fire? That seems irresponsible, the people in the building might need assistance.

[inspectormacarena]

It's up to the fiiire department to clear the place out, baby. They can't allow any civilians to get close. It'd just result in more people needing assistance.

[Which, yeah, still seems kind of unfair, but it is what it is. Not everyone can be a trained firefighter.]

[notaccurate]

...fire department? Is that anything like the fire brigade?

[Same idea different name. Though they're largely for-profit in his time and don't put out fires in uninsured buildings. ]

I am guessing that they are less corrupt in the future compared to my time as well, like the military.

[inspectormacarena]

[Wow, Luca doesn't seem to have much trust in those kind of vital government factions.]

Is there any sort of brigade in your time that iiisn't corrupt, baby?

[notaccurate]

[Luca starts to say 'the universities', but stops mid-sentence. Nope, those places are full of bribery and corruption as well.]

...

Let's just say I tend to notice things a lot of people overlook.

[inspectormacarena]

[Hm. Luca didn't exactly deny the question and that doesn't bode well.]

Some people overlook things like that for their own goood, baby.

[notaccurate]

That is quite a luxury they have.

[Luca peeks in on the food real quick, then he comes back and takes a seat on the couch.]

Ah, but I suppose I shouldn't be so negative. I promise I am not this much of a drag normally.

[inspectormacarena]

[So Luca's actually admitting he's a Negative Nancy. That's half the struggle right there, at least. There's hope for him yet.]

Hah, there's a whole new wooorld for you to explore here, baby. Strikes me as a good reason for you to keep an open mind and appreciate the perks, don't you think?

[notaccurate]

[Hey, get to know him, and he will open up like a book.]

Aaah, but if I enjoy the future too much, I will miss it when I return to my time.

[inspectormacarena]

Missing something just means you had the time of your life while it lasted. Nothin' wrong with that.

[notaccurate]

No, but I am a person who can be easily swayed, and the last thing I need is the temptation to remain here.

[inspectormacarena]

[He knows that feel. It sure would be nice to live a simpler life and hide away from his responsibilities and past mistakes. Things don't work like that, though.]

Ah, yeah, we can't have that. Gotta get you back to your wife and kid, and all thaaat.

[notaccurate]

[Luca makes an unpleasant face at the mention of his wife. ]

I am sure she would be all too happy to have me 'conveniently disappear' and never come home. She got what she wanted from me already, so there would be no love lost.

[inspectormacarena]

[That... is not the sort of reaction Cabanela was expecting, even with how obviously Luca is into men.]

Ah. Well. The missus asiiide, then.

[notaccurate]

[Luca sighs. He knows Cabanela means well, but. Well. He's a butt sometimes. ]

Yes, of course. My colleagues will be missing me, at the very least


[He debates saying more, but decides not to. Instead, he gets up to go finish dinner.

Which is distinctly some kind of Italian pasta dish, by the way.]

[inspectormacarena]

[That's okay. Cabanela's cool with pasta dishes. It's no roast chicken, but it'll do just fine! Especially when it's made expertly with fresh vegetables. He'll report in the kitchen when it's ready and take a deep whiff of that scent.]

Mmmh! That smells deliiicious, baby.

[notaccurate]

If you think it smells great, just wait. It tastes even better.

[A chef is always confident in their cooking, after all. Plus Luca is cocky.

It is just unfortunate that they don't have a proper dining room, and instead have to settle for a small table in the kitchen. ]

[inspectormacarena]

Way to raise the expectations, baby. You'd beeetter deliver.

[Cabanela's used to eating on the couch in front of the TV. A small kitchen table is a step up for him. So's the company, because he's used to having none.

So if the table hadn't been set already, he'll do that himself.]

[notaccurate]

[Yes that is quite helpful, as Luca is a bit busy with the finishing steps. Soon enough, though, there are two plates full of pasta, sauce, and a mix of zucchini, olives, tomatoes, and little pieces of some kind of sausage. To go with dinner there is wine, of course. Because you always have wine with dinner, as far as Luca is concerned. Unless it is bar food, then that gets beer.]

It's nothing too fancy, but it is good for tonight, since I started cooking late.

[He's acting modest but internally he is like 'yessss enjoy the food and compliment me' because he doesn't get many opportunities to feed his ego.]

[inspectormacarena]

["Nothing too fancy", he says. Nothing too fancy. Holy shit. What Cabanela considers 'nothing too fancy' is overcooked pasta with tomato sauce from a can and nothing else. Maybe people just have it way too easy these days.

Either way, he'll just... take a seat and marvel at the food for a moment. He won't even bother to hide how amazed he is.]

Baby, I am sooo glad you're in charge of cookin'. These are the kinda meals a guy could get used to.

[notaccurate]

[That's probably it, there are a lot fewer options for cooking in Luca's time. Canning does exist, but flavor is greatly lost in the canning process, so fresh is always the way to go. He would have even made fresh noodles if he had the equipment to do so, but he settled for inferior boxed pasta this time.]

My mother is quite the chef herself, so I learned a lot from her.

[Yep he was a mama's boy as a kid. Always following after her, even when he was old enough to be running the streets with other kids.]

You will have to tell me if you enjoy Sevallian cooking. I know some Warassa dishes, but they're...not quite as flavorful.

[Aka fantasy-England has the same shit taste that regular England has.]

[inspectormacarena]

[Ahh, that explains it. Mothers always have the best recipes. ...Well, no, that's not quite true. Usually, it's grandmothers who have the best recipes, but if they're passed down through the generations, mothers would have them too.]

I've got no clue what Warassa dishes are, but they say variety is the spice of liiife. Knock yourself out, baby.

[For now, he'll be scooping some of that 'Sevallian' cooking onto his plate. If Luca happens to be used to saying grace or anything like that, it's not gonna be a thing here. Cabanela's got no patience or manners for that.]

[notaccurate]

[Luca disagrees.

He won't say anything about Cabanela immediately eating though, because different worlds and all. Plus Luca isn't that religious himself.

But he will eat more slowly, taking time to carefully swirl up pasta on his fork before each bite. It is so nice to have a real meal after all that crap food, and Cabanela seems to be enjoying it as well, so Luca will have smile on his face for quite a while.

Now, for dinner talk!]

You know, you never told me if you have anyone waiting for you. Besides your friend you already mentioned, of course.

[inspectormacarena]

[That's not dinner talk!!! If Cabanela can help it, that's 'several glasses of wine down the hatch with more incoming' talk. So while he knows exactly what Luca's asking, he's going to dance around the point like the breezy mofo he is. Plus, he'll be trying and failing that fork swirl every so often. It's more difficult than it looks, okay.]

Oh, suuure. Lotsa people. My guys would be lost without me, not to mention some of the gumshoes from the other departments. Eeeveryone looks up to me. Then there's my friend's daughter, little Kamila, and his self-proclaimed apprentice Lynne. I've got so many babies under my wiiing, I lose count. [Love life? What love life?]