fluxscape | OPEN - I wanna know, can you show me?

Who: Darling and YOU!
Where: Starkbucks
When: Throughout July
What: Darling wants to hear from you! Yes you! Even you! And he isn't above a bit of light bribery.
Warnings: None at the moment, will edit if I must!

After a few days of settling in, Darling has decided it's time to gather more information about the world he has found himself in. His asking on the network netted very few results, and he can only research so much on his own. Sure, he's already got piles of notes and an apartment wall responsible for the emptying of a sizeable box of thumbtacks, but he needs More!

He understands that his reputation here is nonexistent. He doesn't have the pull he had at the Bureau, or any manner of name recognition at all - he's just a middle aged man in a lab coat and sweater vest in desert heat, doing his best to understand all he can about the situation.

That is why, now, he has set himself up in the corner of Starkbucks with a thick notepad, at least four pens, a welcoming smile, and a sign that reads:

TELL ME ABOUT YOURSELF, WHERE YOU COME FROM, AND/OR THIS DIMENSION AND I WILL BUY YOU A COFFEE!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Alice is, of course, aware of the standing offer of coffee Doctor Darling had made her husband; she’d been curled up beside him while he’d furiously texted away. She hadn’t kept complete track, too busy caught up in having him there with her again. (Except for one conversation in particular. THAT one she’d kept careful track of.)

But she’d made note of that.

And later, after she’s fairly certain that Alan has already met with him... she finds her way to Starkbucks. He’s an easy man to find, Doctor Darling, in his lab coat with his sign. So she makes her way over, camera bag over her shoulder.

“Hello, Doctor Darling,” she greats him with a friendly smile, holding out her hand. “I believe you’ve already spoken with my husband and I wanted to meet you myself. I’m Alice Wake.” After all, he knew Alan. And not because of his books. Not just because of his books, at least. She's curious.

Edited 2021-07-13 06:55 (UTC)

Before she can even say her name, he's beaming - he stands to greet her as she approaches, shaking her hand and letting her finish before speaking up in turn. "Mrs. Wake, the one and only! Yes, I would recognize you anywhere," he fairly chirps.

"And I don't only mean from the department files, either. I'm terribly sorry I couldn't meet with you myself, by the way. There were some circumstances at the time that I had to attend to."

No need to scare her. Easy does it, Casper.

There’s no hiding the startled surprise on Alice’s face as Dr. Darling stands to greet her; he knows her, too? That’s not something she could have expected. But it gives her her answer, too. The Federal Bureau of Control. That’s how he knows her. Is that how he knows Alan? It must be, given what he says.

That’s a lot. But it’s good. She thinks. Maybe. It’s enough to distract her from the fact that he sounds... very much like Alan. Nor is he the first, but Scratch (and good that she has a name to use for the thing that had been haunting her) is her husband’s doppelganger so that makes sense that he does. It’s... strange. But just a little. He puts her at ease, and maybe it’s his voice reminding her of Alan, but it’s also just him, she thinks.

“I’m surprised I made into any department files,” she tells him with a laugh. “And that’s okay. We’re meeting now. Under equally strange circumstances, I think.” More strange, actually.

Yep, she's a little nervous. Best tread VERY lightly, then. Last thing he really wants to do is upset her, after all.

"Well, strange circumstances are my life, Mrs. Wake. And I'm sure you have questions, yes?" He gestures to the coffee stand. "I'm happy to answer to the best of my ability - but before that, please, get yourself a coffee on me. Or a tea. May as well be a little cozy about it, yes?"

“Enough that I’m not sure where to start.” But at least she has an excuse to go and get something to drink. Delay it a little while longer. So she offers him a little smile and goes to get that tea he mentioned.

When she returns she settles herself in the chair across from him... and starts with a question he might not be expecting. “Are you aware you sound almost identical to Alan? And the thing wearing his face, although I don’t know if Mr. Scratch could manage sounding honestly friendly even if he tried.” Mockingly friendly, yes.

Darling is patient as she comes and goes, waiting for her to come sit, preparing a new page on his notepad.

And then there's the question - and he blinks...then laughs, nodding just a little. "Ah, yes. I did notice that, while I spoke to him - even before, watching interview tapes. I couldn't explain to you why...it is peculiar, in a very long list of peculiar things I have encountered in my time."

She agrees. She’s at least... sort of used to the idea of doppelgangers, given who and what she’s living with. Even if it’s not usual. But the only part being the same between two people is the voice? It’s weird.

But she guesses there’s weirder things in life. ~~She’s living with one of them.~~ “I think if the three of you reached out on the network frequently at all just using audio that everyone in Haven would be very confused. If they’re not already.”

Taking a sip of her tea, she thinks. Tries to decide on her next question. “What do you know? About what happened to him?” And to her, but she leaves that out. THAT is something she is happy to leave out. She’s shoving that all down. She’s been shoving a lot of things down. Because her husband is back. That’s the important thing. After a decade of being apart, of thinking he was dead... they’re together again. Barry was right. He’s alive.

"Yes, I've thought about that. I'm going to have to be careful to use videos! At least I don't look like either of them." A little laugh to diffuse the awkward situation - not that that lasts for very long, with the question she drops on him.

Gathering his thoughts, he draws a long, deep breath, smile turning bemused as he tries to figure out where to begin.

"Well, I know he spent quite a long time over a Threshold. I know he got dropped in there from the Cauldron Lake AWE. But other than that, I only have bits and pieces. A bit of information on the...Dark." He shuffles things around a little with his notes, looking her over carefully for signs of distress. "I had hoped we could compare notes, if that's all right. I'll tell you everything I know, I promise."

OPEN - I wanna know, can you show me?

HERE WE GO

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject