prontissimo | kaisou inbox

[ The Madrigals should be considered an emblem of the capriciousness of Kaisou — a warning. At first, just one, then two, three — even their magical home itself arrived in town — then suddenly nine of them! Enjoyed months of togetherness, strangers in a strange land with a most familiar respite with each other in their home away from home. But then, one by one, they all disappeared... until only Isabela was left. The eldest grandchild, the golden child — left alone. Now Pepa's returned, and thankfully she remembers her first stay, just like her daughter Dolores, who likewise left, came back, remembered, but then left again... Who knows who will come back next, if they'll remember having been here before, if they'll be someone entirely new who's never been here before, like their abuela Alma — or if someone who's been here before will return but just have no recollection of ever being here before... Say... Bruno... Not so dissimilar, in a sense, to how Eda showed up in Kaisou, but with no recollection of her life with Luz in the Boiling Isles. Just another testament to the unpredictability their current intercosmic predicament saddled them with, a load they all had to carry daily, as much as they all surely tried to push the thoughts aside. Logic only stands to reason they all could disappear as randomly and suddenly as they showed up here. And that's on Alberto's mind... often... It didn't used to be. But for the past few months, it's always somewhere in the back of his mind. Needling him. New material for that now-nameless voice to bother him with...

He knows what Luz must be feeling. And he holds her just as close, as long as she needs. After a cold but comforting moment, once Luz pulls away, Alberto will stand back a bit, placing both hands on her shoulders reassuringly, forcing a weak, lopsided smile. ]

...Well. Shall we? You all packed? C'mon, let's get your things. I'll take all the heavy stuff — heh...

[It was good that by now Luz had learned how to stop herself from obtaining memory through touch: it would have likely resulted in a spiral of images of her and Eda, from their times in the Boiling Isles to the ones they had here, where Eda had sewn her cosplay costumes, had given her money so she could get things for school, had looked after her, time and again.

And with all of that, Luz knew she was going to have to try and pretend everything was normal, and the idea of it just made her want to lie in bed and shut out the world. Of course, now she needed a place to do that, and she knew better than to be that ungrateful].

T-thanks, Alberto. I've got three suitcases. Clothes, some of my favorite pieces Eda-

[Luz's voice caught in her throat, and she choked a little, take a deep breath, trying not to cry].

-really liked. School stuff, some music. Other than that, we should be OK.

The heavy stuff? You sure? You are a little...flaka. I don't want you to hurt yourself.

[It was light teasing. It helped give some levity to the situation].

[ Alberto knew a lot about lying in bed and shutting out the world, in reaction to knowing he'd need to pretend everything was normal — it's exactly how he reacted after Bruno left. Thankfully, he had the cover-up of having broken his phone... but he also stalled on getting a new one for about a month, despite having more than enough money. He wanted to be incommunicado. He wanted to hide. Aaaaand he somewhat regrets doing so, now, in hindsight. He'd worried Luca a lot, especially by not playing music in the house all the time, and probably worried Luca even more when he forced himself to, because he was trying so hard to keep pretending everything was normal. Of course Luca knows the difference. Alberto trying to fake it til he makes it is not anything new, but it was probably almost as hard for Luca to watch as it was for Alberto to fake it, himself. He just still doesn't know a better way to deal, as much as he's learning to open up more. But thank goodness he had Luca to weather the storm with him anyway. He went with the flow, kept Alberto in check one way or another, either by lifting him up or distracting him or soothing him, or every other way Luca helps him just by being there, and Alberto can't imagine what it'd've been like if he hadn't had Luca here — if he'd had to go through that loss all on his own... ...Oh, wait, yes he can — he can imagine that quite well. It was awful.

And he was not about to let Luz indulge the call of that loneliness. Sorry, buddy. Alberto had Luca to cheer him up and keep him grounded. Luz has Luca and Alberto — that's a whole other ball park. Whole other game. He'll go with the flow like Luca had done for him, but when Alberto's 'going with the flow,' the water's always kinda... choppy... for better or worse. But he feels certain their place is the best place for Luz to be right now, and he's already envisioning her there for who-knows-how-long. He doesn't care. He'll make extra dinner every night, buy her favorite snacks at the grocery store, loan her clothes if she needs any of theirs (or just wants to borrow any, cuz hey, their clothes are cool, right), share their art supplies and toys and everything, go out of his way to entertain her, probably surprise her with random gifts... Frankly, she's gonna get spoiled while she's staying with them — just like Alberto spoils Luca... and himself... Ahem. They like stuff. They'll be eager to rope Luz in on their decadent lifestyle of hodgepodge little indulgences — thankfully, they're so easily dazzled, it doesn't break the bank. But what matters, too, is that Alberto will have fun spoiling her; it's his favorite thing to do for his friends. Ungratefulness would be the last thing on his mind even if Luz were still to hole herself up in their apartment, anyway — he gets it. He's just determined to not let it happen if it doesn't need to.

So he parries with her light jab at him, keeping some level of levity in the air, too — as always. He narrows his eyes at her indignantly, scrunching up his face at her with a pointed stare, like he's so insulted, then moves fast to snatch up a suitcase away from her. And then another. ...And then the other. Just to be spiteful. The threeeee probably is pushing it, and he is holding the last one clumsily, another precariously balanced as he tries to take off, shlepping them all on his own. Just to prove a point. He actually is quite strong, a lot more so than you'd think from looking at him — plus he's been working out a lot low-key ever since joining Katsuki's Fight Club. But he's a gangly noodle all the same, flaco indeed, and just looking at him now haphazardly hauling the suitcases now, it's very likely he'll pull or tear or strain something like this. But being warned against doing something usually ensures that Alberto's gonna do it. He's probably best off with just two of the three large suitcases — but if Luz insists on taking one, he will still absolutely insist on carrying the heavier two. A fair compromise. But he has to defend his honor now, by showing off his strength for no other reason but to show off his strength. He hams it up jokingly, it's obvious he's just poking fun back at her, but really... he has a point to prove. Always. You can't just say stuff like that to him, Luz — that's exactly how to injure Alberto. Injure his pride even slightly, and then he'll do the rest and go injure his body himself. Tends to be how it goes. ]

[Amity had been a blindside Luz hadn't expected, and when Luz had indulged, it had been her friends but primarily Eda who had helped her get out of that hole, who had humored her when she thought Amity might have been kidnapped, who'd comforted her when Luz realized the truth. Throughout everything, she HAD Eda, and she couldn't make herself feel better by saying it hadn't been "real" Eda.

This Eda had cared for her, taken her in, taken AMITY in, had sewn her cosplay clothes. She'd indulged her, enough Luz worked for her happily. It WAS her Eda, and that didn't change because she didn't remember the Isles. It was still Eda at heart, so no matter what Luz tried to think, her own was breaking knowing she wouldn't see her again. Luz closed her eyes, taking a breath. doing her best not to break down again, because her stupid emotional brain was going to have her fall apart, and that was the last thing she wanted.

She wasn't alone. That was the big thing. She wouldn't be abandoned even if it did feel a lot like it right now.

Which was why, when Luz witnessed Albertos' reaction, she was taken aback before realizing, yes, she had insulted the kindness of her friend, and that was stupid. True, she was only trying to bring some levity she could only halfway pull off, but knowing it might have actually hurt Alberto. Luz sucked her breath, knocking herself in the head as an admonishment, and then took one of the suitcases. The lightest one.

She lugged the last luggage, and quietly said, "No quise herir tus sentimientos. Lo siento."

Luz didn't like to admit that she had no idea how to function right now, and it was taking everything not to punch several things. She was grateful to Alberto, but it was hard to not feel anything but numb, and wanted to at least seem like she wasn't absolutely crushed right now.

[OOC: And to finish this I had to thrown on "Between the Bars" by Elliot Smith, because why not make this a million times more sad]?

(( ooc: and similar sound, I think, to add another sad song to this line-up for ~*~AmBiEnCe~*~ "At the Door" by the Strokes might hit the spot rn too!! ))

[ Alberto's taken aback by her apology. Yes, he's always quick on the defense, especially ready to prove he's strong cuz, well, he's a fifteen-year-old boy, that's usually kinda part of the deal. But was he also pretending to be more insulted than he actually was, trying to ham it up for comedic effect? Absolutely. But seeing as that joke failed to land, it prompts him to maybe switch up his approach here... This isn't gonna be an easy distraction like when Amity disappeared, and Luz had still been nursing the hope she hadn't — which Alberto of course encouraged. But Eda, Eda we know is gone... There's no hope to nurse there, except that maybe she'll come back. This was way worse — for so many reasons. One being that Amity's still gone, herself. Luz is probably barely keeping it together... He gets it. And he feels sheepish that his attempt to lighten the mood and joke around hurt her feelings thinking that she'd hurt his — the last thing he wants to make her feel right now is guilty. Though... he gets that, too.

He stops and stares at her earnestly for a second, pausing to process if only cuz she apologized so quietly — but he heard it and understood it all the same. His brain defaults to Italian at first, ironically because he's so eager to make himself clear, but he shifts gears to match her sudden Spanish, just as eager to practice and to reiterate his forgiveness. ]

Non l'hai fatto, cara. No te preocupes. Estaba—... [ He forgets the word for scherzando. Tries again, second-guessing himself but still undaunted. ] ...¿brooomeando? Sì. ...¿Sí?

[ Double-checking his recall! And yielding to Luz's expertise to defuse the tension a little, hamming up his confusion instead now for levity's sake, even if he thinks he did remember the right word ultimately. He'd rather navigate to calmer waters for the time being, at least until they're in the privacy of home. A more neutral topic. Less risk for misunderstood hurt feelings... like they need any more of those. ]

((OOC: Playing it as we speak! Had to shift away from my Janelle Monae playlist since it was leaning toward happy and that's not the mood I need for this reply!))

Luz had been trying to joke, but she also wasn't trying to be ungrateful. She wasn't ungrateful. If anything, she felt so indebted to Alberto right now, the last thing she wanted was to lead him to think she was laughing at him. Luckily, she was beginning to see that he WAS just joking, and had even tried to reply in Spanish.

Such a good friend. It took all she could muster not to hug him again. She laughed].

Sì ho capito, il mio amico dai capelli ricci! Sorry if that was bad, still learning!

[She gave him a shaky smile and a thumbs up. Well. They're trying]!

[ As heavy as this moment is, Alberto can only keep up that solemnity for so long. Especially when Luz is whipping out lines like that... He tries to keep from bursting out laughing, snorting loudly, but he can't contain himself, and after a moment just cracks up. ]

...Pffft— Ahah, sì, sì! Perfetta. Brava, ahah — ragazza pazza~

[ He leans in and bumps into Luz's shoulder with his, nudging her teasingly as they walk along with her suitcases, nearing the bus stop not far from the Owlery. At least this moment of levity is genuine and organic — a good omen that they'll be able keep it up well together when needed from now on, perhaps.

When they reach the bus stop they need, Alberto sets Luz's suitcases down with a soft thud, and whips out his phone to check his bus tracker app. He's been at this a while — so good at human-ing now, sincerely. He grins and flashes his phone at Luz to show her where it is on the map, leaning against the bus stop casually. ]

Ehi, che fortuna~ Arriverà tra tres minutos. Fantastico.

[ He'll keep the "Itañol" exchange up until it becomes too clumsy — as he usually did with Bruno, too. It'd come in waves until they'd fall back on their mutual English for ease. But for the time being, he gets a kick out of practicing Spanish outside of class, will always leap at opportunities to speak his native tongue, and this little back-and-forth seems to be a good distraction for Luz right now, so he'll keep it up as long as she gets a kick out of it. It's a bit of bittersweet fun for him, too, happy to indulge his old "Itañol" shtick he'd nurtured with Bruno; it makes him miss him, which is nothing new, but perhaps a bit suiting for today's themes. Little ways his memory very much lives on — like Eda's will. ]

Edited 2023-05-14 01:53 (UTC)

[It's Luz, she's gonna be Luz no matter what. Being called crazy isn't going to rattle her in the slightest either because A) It's Alberto and B) she's been called worse! Besides, all of this is perfect distraction.

Non dovresti chiamarmi pazza, pesciolino!

[Luz sticks out her tongue defiantly, bumping his shoulder right back. It's going to be weird when the Owlery returns, but Eda forget both that Luz lived there and has no recollection of why Luz's staff is gone. It'll be hard to come to terms with, but in the end, Luz knew better than to engage with the way Kaisou was.

This, for right now, was for the best.

Luz does let Alberto handle this though, since he knew how to get his place by bus and Luz had only done so by staff. She looks over at the phone, giving him a thumbs up].

Bien bien. Cuanto menos tengamos que esperar, mejor.

[Luz didn't mind jumping from one to the other, and it at least helped take her mind off of things for the time being. She took a long breath, tipping her head back].

I guess I have to find another staff. It's going to be weird, doing it without Eda. She was going to help me carve my Palisman. Amity even told me it was an egg, because I wanted it to choose what it wanted to be.

Edited 2023-05-14 07:08 (UTC)

[ Alberto chuckles smugly when Luz sticks her tongue out at him and calls him pesciolino. Her Italian has really improved, and he's chuffed to hear it. Just as chuffed to put his Spanish to use, knowing it's improved, too. But for such an important conversation as talking about Luz's palisman, they've got to have full understanding for sure, nothing falling between the cracks, and he follows her lead as they jump back to English just as fluidly. ]

Wait— You guys found some palisman wood? Where? Do you still have it?

[ Hopefully not something that disappeared with the rest of Eda's things... He knows the wood is hard to come by because of Belos ~~and his many palis-nipples~~ but if there's a chance Luz can still have her staff... then at least that's a bright silver lining to look at here. ]

[Luz is always trying to interact with Alberto as best as she could, and this was one way that the two of them could do it! It was becoming increasingly important to her that they had this way of relating, and it was nice to have that kind of correspondence that only they had.

Ah. She never did tell him].

Eda stole it, with King. Unfortunately, SHE had it, so I didn't have it here, and this Eda wouldn't even know what to do with it. Guess I'll have to find SOME other kind of staff there.

[ Alberto grows quiet, face turning vaguely ruminative. He knows how important this is to Luz... So much has just been yanked out from under her feet. ]

Well— ...who knows, maybe you'll, uh— Oh.

[ He doesn't finish that thought, as their bus rounds the corner a little early. He didn't have a full thought to finish it with, anyway; just sympathies. He shoots Luz an empathetic, uneasy look, then stands up straight again, grabbing the suitcases by their handles right away. The bus pulls up and to a stop with a slow hiss, the doors opening to let a mom and her young child get off, as Luz and Alberto stand waiting to get on. Alberto gives a little nod toward it, forcing an awkward smile at Luz. ]

Eheh. Sorry. This is us.

[ He lifts her suitcases up at once, ready to shlep them up, but lets Luz take the lead. ]

[It was way more than Luz was ready for. Just a few days ago, she'd injured Owlbert, and had been wracked with guilt over how she was going to reveal this to Eda, and explain to her that Owlbert had always been HERS, that Luz had really only been borrowing the noble creature and hadn't meant for him to be hurt.

Now, it seemed, Eda would not need to be told: in a few days, Eda would be back, having forgotten about both Luz and Owlbert, and though that would be painful, Luz wouldn't have to investigate to find out Eda had forgotten. It had happened with others here, and the biggest indicator had been Owlbert disappearing.

Luz's life would be changing, and she would have to be ready for all of the trouble that came with it].

Ah. OK. Let me just-

[She grabbed the suitcases, sighing slightly, then forcing herself forward to get off the bus with Alberto in tow].

-Yeah. Right. Uh, I'll treat you to Denny's after this, of course. Thanks, for being here and helping me.

[ The bus ride is uneventful, both the kids being wise enough to not go on talking about magic this and non-human that on a public bus. Though they surely both take turns pensively staring out the windows, the cityscape melting and shifting as they go along, Alberto still tries to keep Luz's thoughts from drifting too far or too long... He'll whip out his phone and start showing her random pictures in his camera roll, mostly weird photos he's taken around town, many mundane but exciting little things — and lots of neighborhood cats... And lots of pictures of Luca. A glimpse into the world through Alberto's eyes, apparently. Just to kill the time and talk about something inconspicuous for the short bus ride to the Zodiac Apartments. Once they're there, the stop thankfully right outside the complex, Alberto's quick to shlep all the bags down the steps of the bus, carefully but still unfortunately pretty gracelessly... Hope she packed her fragile stuff well! When she thanks him as they get off the bus, Alberto gives her a curious look, a little caught off guard, but then just shrugs it off dismissively — in the most loving way one can be dismissive. ]

Mah, of course. We're friends. This is nothing.

[ He gives her another well-meaning little nudge, before leading the way up the steps to the entrance of the apartments. She's come to visit them so many times, even knows the door code at the main entrance, having let herself up on plenty occasions, but it's surely surreal to be here on these same steps with all her things now... He politely holds the door open for her with his foot, still clumsy with her bags, before they make their short way to the elevators and up to the third floor — home, for now. Something like it. Familiar at least. Alberto tries to make light chitchat on the way, trying to stay peppy while still getting down to business, but it's hard to dance around the facts. ]

Y'know, I know it's not great, but I think you're gonna have fun here anyway! Luca's making room for you to keep all your stuff. I, um— told him already. I mean, I'd just kinda guessed, before I left. But I was right. So he knows. He's fine with you staying — however long you want. Hah, honestly, this is sort of weird to say, cuz all this sucks obviously, but we're kind of, um— excited feels like the wrong word right now, hah...? But yeah, we're excited for you to stay with us, Luz, heh.

[Luz is grateful for the time they could waste, and she talks excitedly to him about the things he's taken pictures of. Luz has had her share of exploration of Kaisou, and imagined that she was going to be doing a lot more of that now that she had no staff to start traveling around with. She's already noting all of the surrounding area so when she has to leave or come back to the apartment complex, she'll know exactly where to go].

Hey, no dude. This is something. I really appreciate it. Once I'm back on my feet, we have a night of it, ok? You, me, and Luca!

[Because she did take note of his favorite muse in pictures, obviously. Luz, who's own phone had plenty stored pictures of Amity, certainly wasn't going to complain.

Once they're at the place, it does hit home that she won't have the Owlery to be her place anymore, and that revelation does sting. With Alberto's words though, Luz manages a smile].

It could be a better situation, sure, but I'm pretty lucky to stay here if I have to be anywhere. You guys have been a big comfort to me, so staying here for an extended time is going to be pretty fun!

[That and Luz will at least be able to pick up after them a bit. Luz knew how easy it was to fall prey to being sloppy, something her mom had broken her of in all their time living together. Now Luz absolutely needed organized space within her chaos].

[ Alberto gives her a wide, warm, lopsided smile, words failing him as they reach the door. It's a sad occasion. One he can relate too far more than he'd like to be able to, time and time again... But in a bittersweet way, it does make him all the happier that they're all still here together and that he can be there for a friend. It's a heavy feeling, being helpful, after a life in near isolation. Alberto's probably a little more gratified by being able to host Luz than he should be, given the circumstances.

He plops the suitcases down on the ground outside the door, and kicks up the doormat ~~(y-you couldn't just lift it, Alberto, is that too boring)~~ to reveal a house key. He bends over and holds that up to Luz firmly. ]

So, this is the only key. We keep it under here, so we don't lose it.

[ Safety. What safety. Why would they think about safety. ]

[Luz gave him a small, weaker smile, one that she knew he would understand. It was an attempt try and seem composed, though it was pretty clear she was at her limit. It would help to get in as soon as she could, just so she could give herself as much distance from the place that had been where she and Eda were able to maintain their relationship.

She'd be here, and then she'd have to find another place soon. In the back of her mind, she knew this.
For right now, she was happy to be with her friends].

Wait, only one key? What would you do if you lose that key, or someone takes it?

[Luz, who was someone that normally tended to forget safety, was thinking about it a LOT when it came to Luca and Alberto].

[ Alberto gives her a jokingly flat look... b-but is he joking? ]

Thaaat's why we keep it here and never take it. So we don't lose it.

[ Because why would anyone want their key or to come into their house? Except their friends? Who so far have all been polite enough to knock. Luca and Alberto don't go into random strangers' homes, so why would they even entertain the possibility of a random stranger coming into theirs? Obviously... ...He's never heard of burglars. ]

[And Luz is going to return that look with one of her own].

You DO know people steal sometimes, right? I wouldn't want you to lose any of your treasures, or have someone attack you guys.

I mean, sure, I'd hex them to kingdom come if they even tried it, but what if I wasn't with you guys?

Welllll... Hasn't happened yet. Besides, the only people who know where we live are our friends, so.

[ So there. Why would strangers steal from strangers' homes? What a thought. He shrugs and cocks an eyebrow at her as if he's won this argument, and goes ahead opening the door with the key. ]

I'm gonna make a copy, just in case, ok, migliore amico?

[She'll let him win. Mostly. She's following him in though].

kaisou inbox

oooh damn I'm about it. not our usual fare, but I offer you this visceral gem: youtu.be/Q8k3qB61lhk

It might take some getting used to, it gets VERY hard to hear the words. I like the music though!

yeah it's Julian Casablancas' noise rock project, the frontman of the Strokes, if you like them too!

I know (now, actually) but it is REALLY interesting, and I'll probably give it some more listens!

the whole album Tyranny is a work of art imo but all the vocals sound prettyyy much like that haha

I was listening to some of it today! Gotta sit and hear the whole thing!

lol it's a weird album, ngl, fs. but also yayyy Janelle! c: but lol yes v different moods there haha

Janelle's newest stuff is WILD but yeah!

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hope this works! just to get them home w Luca faster

Ha ha I thought we were already there!

no worries hahah!

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