prontissimo | kaisou inbox

[He'll keep that whole life lesson in mind, although it can be somewhat tricky to not let people judge him when they're chasing him with harpoons. However, like Alberto his mind wanders to the fish in a bowl. The fish was supposed to be staying alive in a bowl?]

How long did she expect it to live in there, anyway? I mean, she can't have been planning on keeping it too long if she's keeping it in a bowl. Why didn't she catch it closer to when she was going to eat it?

[Because Luca also assumes it was for food. Sure, he's aware of pets like cats and dogs, and of course his family kept crabs and the goatfish (though they were being raised for food), but none of these creatures were being kept in a small container you might put food in. Something like that sounds like it could only be a short term plan.]

[Honestly the fish is a really big distraction. Bruno's still pretty pissy about it and it happened well over a decade ago. ]

I know trust me. She wasn't gonna eat it. It was a goldfish. Y'know, a pet?

[He might be a little confused about how these kids don't know about goldfish. Don't MOST kids have one growing up? They even had them in the encanto and that place was well out of the way of society at large.]

Didn't you guys ever have pet goldfish? They're prizes at fairgrounds a lot, I hear.

[ Alberto casts a wary glance to Luca. Is this a human-ing thing they're missing out on, or is this simply a cultural thing that's different between Portorosso, Italy and El Encanto, Colombia...? Could may well be either — or perhaps even both. It's beyond Alberto's scope. So, as with anything Alberto doesn't fully understand, of course he won't admit to it, and just... boldly pushes on. ]

I meeeaaaan— obviously the ground wasn't very fair to it, considering, y'know, it's dead.

[ He points his fork at Bruno emphatically at the last bit. Not only is he not familiar with the concept of a pet fish, clearly, but also unfamiliar with the term "fairground." ]

Fish can't be pets. At least, on land. Since, hah, they live in the water...? If she went to visit it in the river every day, that's one thing, but, um—

[ He throws another cautious glance Luca's way, knowing his friend will be with him on this, and shifts the direction of his rhetorical fork-pointing Luca's way. ]

...That'd still be pretty crazy, eh?

[Luca had been thinking of an explanation of how of course he's had fish before, they just don't keep them in bowls where he and Alberto were from so it sounded strange. However, when Alberto speaks up, he quickly amends what his response is going to be.]

What he means is, we don't keep fish as pets in Portorosso, so this all sounds very strange to us. We keep cats and dogs as pets, though!

[Just to throw in one thing that he knows is a normal human thing to confirm to Bruno that this is just a small cultural difference, but they still know something about what he's talking about!]

Wh- [you can practically SEE Bruno's brain trying to do the mental gymnastics needed to understand what Alberto is saying] no, no. A fairground is like what this place has sometimes. With the sideshow stalls and the rides?

[He does not want to try and have to explain fairground in-depth, this was an error. ]

But yeah, no. They keep fish in bowls- or I guess tanks here, these days. Have you guys seen any of the pet stores here? You'll see 'em there, just...swimming around. Little fish buddies.

[Whhyyyyy are these boys so attached to fish?]

[ Alberto catches Luca's drift, and nods eagerly along to reaffirm their normalness, yup. They're definitely missing something here... But Alberto is still troubled by all this pet fish business — especially learning there's apparently a literal pet fish business... ]

So let me get this straight: People here go to the water — take the fish out of the water. Put them in a bowl...

[ He picks up Lorenzo off the table in both hands as he talks, and animatedly carries him over the table, placing him at the other end like a little live rhetorical prop... The rat just looks around like "what's going on" as he soars over the table, squeaks as he's set down, then scurries off back to the food with Daniela. ]

...Force them to live alone on land with nothing to do and nowhere to go, so people can watch them swim in circles and pretend it's their pet... And people pay money at the fish store for this. Or win the fish contests at the fairgrounds.

[ He glances to Luca for confirmation on this. He's getting all this right, right? ]

And this lady in the Encanto— she expected her fish to live a long, happy life like that...? And then blamed you when it didn't? Juuust to be clear on all this.

[ Because when you lay it all out like that... that's bonkers. ]

Edited 2022-09-07 05:55 (UTC)

We haven't been to any of the pet stores. I don't think either of us were planning on getting a pet.

[Which is probably for the best with these two. They're not really ready to have a life in their care. Sure, they might have managed with the baby birds, but that was only for a week. A pet is a full time thing.]

Yeah, your fish lady sounds kind of crazy. Also, a lot of fish like to swim in schools, and even fish that usually stay in a small area still swim around in an area larger than a bowl. The people where you're from sound really unfair.

[Bruno has never loved these boys more than he has at this exact moment and he's just met Luca. ]

Yes- oh my God, yes you've got it, exactly, Kids. The whole thing is insane. And she really should have just not had the fish? Or at least not blamed me for the completely inevitable fish death. It was insane!

[ It's at this point that Alberto's incredulity finally breaks into hilarity — he caaan't with this story... He lets out a snort of a laugh, shooting Bruno a wide, wry grin. ]

Pffft... Hah, y'know what, bravo to the fish, man. Good for him! It sounds like it was a wise life decision to die...?

[ He gestures with his hands as usual, pinching his fingers emphatically when first applauding the fish; but when he gives a sarcastic wave of his hand as he cracks his joke at the end, he accidentally knocks over the salt shaker on the table. It startles the rats, but Alberto just rests his cheek in his hand smarmily, and doesn't even seem to notice he's spilled the salt — or if he did, doesn't even care to stand the shaker upright again. Definitely just clumsy kid stuff. Ooor maybe it's bad luck to speak so lightly about death, who knows — even if it's just a goldfish... But of course without any regard for superstition, Alberto pays it no mind, because he thinks his grim lil joke is very funny... ]

[Bruno's right. It just seems so bizarre that she cared so little about taking care of the fish, but then got so mad when it died. Alberto was probably right, but it still strikes Luca as a little odd to applaud a fish for making the good life decision to die, so he just turns and stares, not really noticing the salt any more than Alberto did.]

[Bruno, meanwhile, moves to take a pinch of the salt, hucking it over his shoulder, before righting the shaker again, mumbling something under his breath- unintelligible but worried. He busies himself with putting the salt back in the shaker- grabbing a pinch if any spills on the floor in the process- repeating the shoulder action.

Lightly, as if it's not happening:]

Hah, yeah. That fish got out at the right time.

[ Alberto watches Bruno for a second, before glancing at Luca uncertainly. Bruno does some weird stuff. But Alberto does some weird stuff — so he doesn't really ask about a lot of little things. Like maybe the guy just likes knocking on stuff. Alberto likes drumming on stuff; he gets it. But this? This is just a shade weirder than what he'd seen thus far. He keeps watching Bruno for a quiet, curious moment, then shoots Luca another awkward look and a tiny shrug, like his guess is as good as Alberto's.

So indeed, he just guesses — in such a way that might bring Luca back to Massimo's kitchen before they knew what forks were for... Alberto stares Bruno dead-on for a silent beat, his face somewhere between determined and blank. Then with rigid, decisive movements, he reaches out for the shaker Bruno'd just righted, pours a bit of salt into the palm of his hand, which he automatically slides over between him and Luca, and throws a pinch over his own shoulder. All in one stiff motion, eyes unblinking and focused on Bruno... He has no idea if this is the right reaction. But maybe it'd seem more suspicious if they don't copy him...? Bruno's human, Alberto'd asked him explicitly; so just copy the human... That's the golden rule, right? ]

[Luca stares as Bruno seems to alternate between trying to put the salt back in the shaker and throwing it over his shoulder, completely baffled and trying to figure out what he's doing and why. What is this? Is it a human thing? Then, seeing Alberto tentatively join in, Luca decides he might as well follow his lead. Whatever Bruno's doing, it's probably best to seem like they already recognize it and know what they're supposed to do, after all. Taking some of the salt himself, Luca tosses it over his own shoulder while still watching Bruno blankly, wondering if he'll say or do anything that might make it clear whether they're doing this right.]

[Bruno's...really not used to people mimicking his little superstitions. They were always seen as odd and quirky back home. Just a Weird Bruno Thing. As a result, he stills as the boys copy him- suspicious for a moment that they're actually mocking him.

But they seem to be...pretty intently staring at him as they do it and that seems...sincere? He kind of stares back for a minute, not really sure how to process this- tapping his fingers on the table.]

...Right. Yeah. So that was a thing. With the fish.

Mmhmn...

[ Slowly nods, just slowly nods... With another uncertain glance to Luca, he hucks what remains of the salt he'd poured in his hand over their shoulders carelessly. It's— a lot of salt all over their floor now, for no clear reason. A great intro to Living Alone With Alberto now that Luca's moved in, Day Two, hoo boy...

But Alberto's face betrays his puzzlement, although he tries to keep a pokerface. He wants to know about the salt... But he can't well ask "why did you do that" when he copied him like he already knew. So he carefully tiptoes around the issue, finally distracted from the fish at least... ]

...Soooo— you, uh— you do the salt thing in Colombia, too, eh? Why do you guys do it...?

[ Oh, god. Oh, no. Falling back on "cultural differences" is maybe a clever cover-up on the one hand, but on the other, absolutely cannot hold water. Poor Luca — they may be in another time and dimension and country, but clearly, not that much has changed since their time in Portorosso... The boy's just out here doing his best, man. ]

[Luca shoots Alberto a look, silently ask him what he is doing. The 'cultural differences' thing works well, of course, but now they've already done the salt thing, and now Alberto's bringing up why Bruno does it, which might very well lead to him wondering why they do it. He says nothing, hoping he might be able to come up with an adequate lie when they come to it. If they come to it. Luca turns back to Bruno, watching and waiting for his reaction.]

What?

[Well. That might...explain the mimicry a little more. Bruno considers this a moment more and then decides that maybe the boys were trying to copy what they thought was a Columbian tradition. A little laugh escapes him as he shakes his head.]

Ohhh, no. No. That's not a Columbian thing, that's a me thing. It's uh- it's to keep away bad luck. You spill salt, you toss some over your shoulder.

[At least he bought the cultural difference angle! You win boys!]

[ Alberto knows they're not quite out of the woods yet, should Bruno ask why they do it in Italy, because as Luca can probably guess, he doesn't have an answer locked and loaded... And he might normally come up with one in this moment, were Bruno's answer to his question not so suddenly fascinating. It distracts and disarms him from his questionably smooth cover-up. ]

Wait— For real? You can keep away bad luck? Do you have to spill the salt for it to make the bad luck go away, or can you just—

[ He takes the salt shaker up again and shakes it directly over his shoulder. Because if it's that easy, he's astonished. This new fact is relevant to his interests — he can use all the help he can get staving off bad luck. Unfortunately, most all his bad luck is merely the consequences of his own actions falling like dominoes, but hey, can't hurt to ward off bad luck in general anyway, right? ]

Edited 2022-09-23 07:36 (UTC)

[Luca's fascinated by this as well, and starts with his own questions.]

And if you're having really bad luck do you just have to throw more salt? Can you reverse one of your visions if you throw enough salt?

I- I mean, I don't...the amount of salt doesn't really affect the luck?

[Oh god he regrets everything. People never asked him any deep-dive questions about his little tics before. They've just accepted it as a Weird Bruno Thing and left him alone.]

It's just a supersition y'know? I mean...I think it helps? Some people don't. It's not like a Gift or anything. It's just a thing people do to try and make things...less unlucky for them.

[ Alberto listens to Bruno with full focus still, then glances to Luca deliberatively for a beat, as if to say "yeah, checks out," without so many words. Alberto hadn't really believed in ghosts before he came here, until a ghost (awkwardly) tried to drown him just a few days ago... so he's already especially inclined to question his supernatural skepticism right now. Also considering he's been spirited away to another dimension across time and space, magically learned another language without effort, and objects from Portorosso mysteriously showed up in his home, not to mention he was kidnapped by fairies, is talking to a man who can see the future, and is himself a sea monster? Alberto's in no position to play the skeptic on this. Luca knows plenty about sea monster superstitions, too, so he figures he'll trust his judgment on this?

He gives Luca the slightest twitch of a shrug and a long face to defer the call onto him and end that silent blip of a conversation, like all that goes without saying between the boys. While Alberto's become particularly close with Bruno over the past month, far more than with anyone else here, he of course still is not completely open and transparent yet — and frankly, he really isn't with anyone but... Luca... So seeing this rapport between the two of them shows another side of Alberto, already obviously happier and more at ease beside his legendary best friend. He seems to act on autopilot with him now, even slightly more humble than usual perhaps, the two communicating so much this whole time with so many little looks. They just feed into each other's inquisitive energy, to boot, which is probably a sweet dynamic to see in person at last but — yeahhhh, overwhelming, very. Luca lives up to the hype Alberto's built, and now the hype is... here. With Alberto, who is now extra hyped. Tagteaming Bruno in this impromptu interview from the start. Pobrecito... ]

Oh.

[Now the gears in his brain are working. He wonders if there's any way to test how much less unlucky it makes things? Maybe, maybe not. He's not sure. Still, it certainly couldn't hurt to throw some salt over his shoulder. Although he might not want to throw as much as they'd been throwing, since that might just make a mess.]

That makes sense. And it can't hurt to try it and see if it makes things luckier!

There you, go, exactly! Better than not doing anything at all and feeling super cursed, right?

[One might say that this deep-seated superstition comes from Bruno being able to see the future and has felt helpless in controlling it for the vast majority of his existence. But that is a deep-dive that Bruno never wants to do thank you! ]

Ha, for sure.

[ Something about the way Bruno phrases that strikes a weird nerve with Alberto, too, but he's not tuning into that either, thanks. He's just hot on the idea that he can keep away bad luck potentially. And if Luca's on board with it, he's even more inclined to take it as fact. Especially coming from Bruno. He'll definitely be looking into this on his own now, too, finding more anti-bad luck methods... No doubt about that. ]

Y'know— back home in Portorosso, lots of people were superstitious. Pretty much everyone. But some superstitions are true! Right, Luca?

[ He flashes Luca a grin, keeping it lighthearted, not all that suspicious, moves right along past that innocent little aside; but privately, Luca knows Alberto's actually just going Hahaaaa... ]

So just in case the anti-bad luck stuff does work, s'worth a try. Heh, I mean, I need all the help I can get, ha~!

[ The humblest thing Alberto's ever said of himself...? Too bad the bad luck that follows him just so happens to resemble the consequences of his own actions; six of one, half a dozen of the other... ]

Right! Like if you try to fish somewhere that fish have died, you won't catch any fish!

[Also known as a 'fish graveyard'. Of course, there are a million exceptions. It doesn't count if they've died there because someone caught it for food or if a predator ate it. And sometimes fish die and you can still catch fish there. Still, there's sometimes in some places where fish die and you won't find many living fish in the area. Also, these areas are haunted and if you stay in these zones for too long the fish ghosts will make it hard to breathe. It's the superstition he figures would be the least suspicious, since humans fish, too, and it's not something that would have to be happening exclusively underwater.]

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