fiddlestick | IC Inbox (Kaisou)

[At least this is...less terrible than Elliot is thinking.

Or at least, it's not terrible in the same way Elliot is thinking.]

Bruno, that's me, yeah.

Okay so. I'm one of the seers here, and I looked into his future for him. I won't share the details but it was really bad. I gave him what comfort he could, but he could probably use some from someone he's a lot closer to than me.

I'm worried about him. He's a good kid and I have a bad feeling this is gonna make things worse.

[....Well, shoot.

This isn't the kind of message he was bracing for, so that's something, but it's certainly still a worrying message. Especially with how Luz has been struggling with something she learned back in the Boiling Isles.

He makes several attempts at typing a message ]

Did it have something to do with Emperor Belos?

[He knows Bruno probably won't give him many details, but he needs to narrow it down at least]

[It's so worrying, Bruno is so damn worried.]

Oh yeah, it sure did. That guy messed that kid up A LOT. He was so scared of even slightly disappointing or angering him.

But I do know what the hijueputa looks like now- so we can be ready for that. If he ever shows up here.

[So they can keep him as far away from Hunter as possible.]

Yeah, I've noticed that behavior from him.

[To put it mildly. ]

What did Belos look like? And I don't suppose you noticed a girl named Luz in the vision? About fourteen years old?

[Narrowing things down further, seeing if this is the same thing that's been bothering Luz since she arrived.]

Edited 2022-05-23 00:32 (UTC)

I think he believes anything that would slightly disappoint Belos would mean the end of him and I do not like thinking about how he came to that conclusion.

[Because there really is only one way a kid can come to that genuinely. ]

Luz was in the vision too, she was with him...wherever they were. And yeah, here you go:

[He'll attach two sketches, one of the Belos with his mask and the other of the man himself. Frail and scarred but definitely dangerous. ]

So we know who to look out for, if he ever shows up here.

Mm. I'm pretty sure all he's ever known is following and serving Belos. It's so bad he doesn't seem to know what to do with himself without an authority figure telling him. Pretty sure that's the reason he's latched onto me, to fill that void ... though I try REAAAAALLY hard not to think on what that says about me.

["you remind me of a tyrannical dictator" is not something anyone sane wants to hear ever, okay.

He downloads the images and looks at them. So this is the bastard that did this to Hunter. He can't help but hiss a little as he takes the images in. Once he's done memorizing them, he'll put them under password protection and store them in one of his lesson plan folders. Should be safe from Hunter there.]

Thank you. I'll be sure to keep an eye out for him.

[Now he can address the Luz part. ]

I thought that might be the case. Luz arrived in Kaisou recently, and it sounds like she lived through the vision that you saw. I don't know the details, but I know they're bad. Really bad.

I told her to tell Hunter when she's ready to talk. She's just a kid too, so I don't want to force her to relive through something before she's ready.

As for Hunter...I'm preparing for the fallout. He's good at denying the reality of his situation, but he can't shield himself from the truth forever. Nor should he. I've been doing little things to help try to chip away at Belos's hold on his mind where I can. Nothing too obvious though, I don't want to risk harming the trust he has in me.

That's the impression I was getting too, and I'm absolutely sure of it after that vision. And yeah, I mean, in HIS mind it's probably a good thing? It's probably less of a you thing and more of a you're giving him something he really needs thing.

[That doesn't make a lot of sense, he knows, but he's trying here. And yep, yep Bruno's definitely not forgetting Belos' face anytime soon. He's not prone to violence, but this is a guy he would happily fucking punch. ]

Yeah I ran into her. Good kid. And I agree. They're too young to be dealing with any of this and they need at least a little breathing space beforehand. But he needs to come to this on his own, it's hard realising the person you trusted the most in the world didn't have the best intentions for you. I think the best you can do is just prepare for it. Get ready for when that dam breaks, y'know?

Yeah, you're right. And no matter if his reasons were good or bad, he's stuck with me now. So I don't mind that much.

[He can't say adopting a witch child that he's stealing from an evil emperor of another dimension was where he imagined himself being a few months ago, but hey, what's life but unexpected.]

Yeah, I know they're too young, but we can't really change that. All we can do is try to look out for them and support them when they need it.

Thank you though. For helping Hunter.

Sometimes they just kinda latch on like that. I'm finding that with Alberto.

[Bruno never actively planned on suddenly being a parent at 50, but here he is. ]

That's pretty much it, soften the blow as much as we can.

Don't mention it, I wish I could have done more.

Alberto?

[That's a name he doesn't recognize. Oh no is there another one?]

I understand that feeling, really. But I think what you do really matters. Even if it's not always obvious.

One of the other world kids here, he's 14.

[Bruno just immediately leaping into this at the worst possible age - teenagerdom.]

I guess not. Good luck, you'll both probably need it.

Oh! Another one that's around middle school age. I hadn't heard about him.

[

]

Edited 2022-05-26 20:57 (UTC)

[Sorry buddy!]

We've got a few of them around that age. It's pretty worrying.

Yeah, I'd say so.

I mean I worry about the high schoolers too, but they'll usually listen to reason. And a lot of them can take care of themselves pretty well. Like Hunter can probably handle himself in a fight better than I can.

The middle schoolers...not so much.

Oh yeah, Hunter definitely knows how to talk care of himself, Mirabel too. To a point. Like they get hot to look after themselves in a conflict, it's more the...emotional stuff they need help with, I guess?

[Bruno, YOU need help with the emotional stuff.]

But yeah. The middle schoolers need all-round help.

[Emotional stuff, right. Elliot is pretty sure he remembers Mirabel's essay mentioning something about this guy living in walls which doesn't exactly scream someone who has it together emotionally .... but you know what? He doesn't want to judge a book by its cover. So he'll leave that one alone! ]

Haha, pretty much. They're almost ready to fly the coop, we're just here to make sure when the time comes, they'll be able to soar.

[....Ok it's probably gonna take Hunter longer to reach that point than Mirabel, but the point stands!!]

Yeah, they do. I'm trying to think up ways to keep an eye on them, but I haven't figured out anything foolproof.

[Wose move, Elliot! Don't kick that particular hornet's nest, it's not worth it!]

That's a nice way to put it. I mean, our family never really flies the coop as it were. We all just live in the same house for generations- but the concept is still there!

[He's lived in the same house for fifty years of his life, bar the month he had in a shitty Zodiac apartment before Casita inexplicably showed up again, after all. He is well and truly staying in his coop.]

Other than putting bells around their necks? Which honestly, Alberto would probably just end up doing himself a mischief with so probably not.

Right. I guess it's an analogy that fits some family situations better than others. I left home at 18, so I'm just used to that line of thinking.

[Which...ok he doesn't recommend. It was rough and only now was he just starting to get his head above water, years later.]

Ehe, well now that's an idea...but yeah. I can't see Ken or Souta taking well to having bells on them either.

Man, what was that like?

[He might have had dreams of getting the fuck out of the Encanto at 18. Just pipe-dreams, he knew he'd never really be able to leave his family.

...But when he was younger and so very tired of it all, he did think about it. Who wouldn't, in his situation? ]

HAH I know Souta, he's a good kid, has a thing with flowers. Probably wouldn't be thrilled with the bell though, no.

Tough. Pretty sure the only reason I made it work was I was too stubborn and prideful to give up.

[Plus you know, if he had failed he would've had to go home and enlist in the military. If that's not an incentive to survive on his own, nothing was]

Yeah, I know he's growing some clovers. Still getting to know him, but he seems like a nice boy.

Hey, there's a lot to be said for stubbornness and pride! It can really get you places sometimes.

[It can also make a complete mess of everything (thanks mom) but he chooses not to type that part.]

He's a pretty senstivie soul, but he's a good kid.

Oh, it can! Though lately I've been coming to the realization that I may have been relying on them a little too much.

[It's ok Bruno he's already aware. What started as a way to prove he wasn't weak had become a way to keep people from getting close. It was only when a certain kid started metaphorically scratching at the door to be let in did he start to realize how bad it'd gotten. ]

I don't know. My mom managed to use it to strongarm her way through pretty much her entire existence.

...But yeah, has its downsides. Didn't get her everywhere.

[Or rather, it did, but at the detriment of literally everyone around her.]

[.....

Yeah. Being likened to both Belos and Alma in the same conversation is a bit too much for Elliot. He knows from what he's picked up from teaching the Madrigal kids that Alma is nowhere near as bad as Belos, but Jesus]

Right, well, I think I need to go smoke some weed and see if I can schedule another therapy appointment to help me re-evaluate all my life choices.

Is there anything else I can help you with Bruno?

[Sorry, Elliot. It's a real bad time and when Bruno realises what he did he'll feel pretty bad about it.]

Oh! Good luck with that. I hear both those things help. A lot?

No. I'm good. Thanks for listening.

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