Punishments are not meant to be so terrifying you'd rather turn yourself in for the lesser versions of them than what he would do if he found out. We hide bad things we've done from dad all the time to avoid punishment and risk the worst one.
I was not going to explain any of those, it was a generalized statement.
Besides, after Piedbald, and dad finding out we were doing hero work for months on our own, if he doesn't assume we are hiding at least some sins, then he is a fool. Father is no fool, he just doesn't know what they are to determine how angry he has to be.
But no matter how angry, as long as it doesn't involve the accidental isolation of one of our sisters for the better part of the year, none of his punishments would be traumatic.
Do it and the records I have on a six month timer will reveal everything without my deadman's passcode.
Our father had a pet goldfish. A pet who, while we all loved and adored, was still an entirely normal animal at the time. Through a series of mishaps, we lost her to the sewers and had no means of tracking her down.
Then a year later, she was mutated like we were and came home and found out we had lied to dad. She was understandably very upset by the entire affair, as was dad. After a whole to do, she obviously couldn't be considered a pet since she was sapient, so upgrade to sister.
In our defense we didn't know about it at the time. So it is not our fault. Even if one of us did take the blame for it since he was the mastermind and all around brains of the operation and it would have never been an issue if it hadn't been for factors outside of his control.
[ Hang on, Hunter needs to picture Belos a) having a goldfish for a pet, b) that pet becoming sapient, and c) what kind of punishment Hunter would have gotten in a similar situation.
(Just like losing a palisman? Probably. Except Belos would NEVER have called such a person kin.) ]
[And for Hunter, he... sound really genuine in that.]
We're getting away from the point here though, which is that your creepy goop uncle is evil and also gone, so you can relax and get to know what siblings are really like.
[He shifts, arms fold on the edge of the couch, so he can look at Hunter directly. He glances at Leo and then focuses on Hunter. Hunter is like him. Clear explanations don't go wrong.]
Leo and I fight a lot. We can have really bad fights. There are some fights where we seem to not even remember them the next time we see each other and some fights where we will stubbornly bicker or ignore each other for a week out of pettiness.
And sometimes, rarely, we will have fights where we hurt each other deeply. Where it wasn't petty.
But. [His hand reaches out for a moment, stopping short of touching Hunter, but hovering over the scar on his face.] Leo's never put a scar on me during those times. And likewise for myself. [He lowers his hand, tapping along the edge.] I have never been afraid of Leo.
When those fights happen, we eventually get over ourselves and apologize. Find a way to communicate the necessary points to be able to move on.
[ His usual scar has been overtaken by a much larger streak in the same spot; it cleaves halfway across his face, with more bleeding down his neck. But Hunter knows what Donnie’s talking about, of course. The fact that his scar is bigger now really just proves Donnie’s argument even more.
He listens to all of that, and … you know what? He DOES appreciate a clear and direct explanation. After years of walking on eggshells, trying to anticipate Belos, reading his every move like tea leaves for hints of approval or disapproval…
Yeah. He ducks his head a bit, eyes swimming. ]
I guess I still don’t really know how to do that. It’s - hard when you’re used to the outcome being a threat, or worse.
[Leo just... watches that. Listens to Donnie and then Hunter. Trying not to think about how something in the back of his head just burns while they talk about their brother squabbles and their family.]
Not to like. Minimize what you've gone through or anything - because clearly there's unresolved issues that a loooot of therapy will help, but like. I kinda get it? I mean, there's a reason we made a pact to lie to our dad. Like, he loves us, he'd do anything for us, but also? Real scary sometimes.
So... It takes time. And you'll get there. Got us and plenty of others around here who clearly care about you to help you figure it out.
Though the scary is more it doesn't feel good to have him angry or worse, disappointed in us. Maybe the punishments for the pact stuff, but as much as we want to avoid it, we wouldn't ever fear for our literal lives.
But....but it's like the story I told you before. When dad lied to me and I got angry. When I wanted to pull from the contest, he started to get mad until he saw how upset I was. He realized he couldn't be mad because HE had messed up. He admitted fault. I doubt Belos has ever done so.
[He nods in agreement.] There are a lot of people to help you. You can also figure out what you can and can't handle as you do. Maybe arguments won't ever be okay and that's fine.
Apologies that put the fault on you are not apologies. [Absolutely parroting that from Mikey.]
That's because you're a very likable person. [Lightly nudges his shoulder with the back of his hand before he has to pull back.] And we're pretty good at helping people adjust to some sense of normalcy. You should have seen the growing pains we had with Cassandra.
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I applaud her ability to handle it with grace, I'm rather certain most would be horrified at that.
[Glances at Leo for confirmation.]
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Hunter meanwhile looks baffled. Still. Camila had explained, of course, but... ]
That's what I had to do with Belos. If I messed up and he found out before I could fix it, it would be so much worse.
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Punishments are not meant to be so terrifying you'd rather turn yourself in for the lesser versions of them than what he would do if he found out. We hide bad things we've done from dad all the time to avoid punishment and risk the worst one.
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And. Pauses. ]
What agreements?
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I was not going to explain any of those, it was a generalized statement.
Besides, after Piedbald, and dad finding out we were doing hero work for months on our own, if he doesn't assume we are hiding at least some sins, then he is a fool. Father is no fool, he just doesn't know what they are to determine how angry he has to be.
But no matter how angry, as long as it doesn't involve the accidental isolation of one of our sisters for the better part of the year, none of his punishments would be traumatic.
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I should kill you for saying that much.
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Our father had a pet goldfish. A pet who, while we all loved and adored, was still an entirely normal animal at the time. Through a series of mishaps, we lost her to the sewers and had no means of tracking her down.
Then a year later, she was mutated like we were and came home and found out we had lied to dad. She was understandably very upset by the entire affair, as was dad. After a whole to do, she obviously couldn't be considered a pet since she was sapient, so upgrade to sister.
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In our defense we didn't know about it at the time. So it is not our fault. Even if one of us did take the blame for it since he was the mastermind and all around brains of the operation and it would have never been an issue if it hadn't been for factors outside of his control.
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[ Hang on, Hunter needs to picture Belos a) having a goldfish for a pet, b) that pet becoming sapient, and c) what kind of punishment Hunter would have gotten in a similar situation.
(Just like losing a palisman? Probably. Except Belos would NEVER have called such a person kin.) ]
How exactly did you lose her...?
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Its not our fault she ended up traumatized since a fish would have a difficult time fully conceptualizing all that happened.
As for losing her. [He looks at Leo.] It was extremely accidental.
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[And for Hunter, he... sound really genuine in that.]
We're getting away from the point here though, which is that your creepy goop uncle is evil and also gone, so you can relax and get to know what siblings are really like.
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I'll probably keep saying weird stuff and asking questions.
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[He shifts, arms fold on the edge of the couch, so he can look at Hunter directly. He glances at Leo and then focuses on Hunter. Hunter is like him. Clear explanations don't go wrong.]
Leo and I fight a lot. We can have really bad fights. There are some fights where we seem to not even remember them the next time we see each other and some fights where we will stubbornly bicker or ignore each other for a week out of pettiness.
And sometimes, rarely, we will have fights where we hurt each other deeply. Where it wasn't petty.
But. [His hand reaches out for a moment, stopping short of touching Hunter, but hovering over the scar on his face.] Leo's never put a scar on me during those times. And likewise for myself. [He lowers his hand, tapping along the edge.] I have never been afraid of Leo.
When those fights happen, we eventually get over ourselves and apologize. Find a way to communicate the necessary points to be able to move on.
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He listens to all of that, and … you know what? He DOES appreciate a clear and direct explanation. After years of walking on eggshells, trying to anticipate Belos, reading his every move like tea leaves for hints of approval or disapproval…
Yeah. He ducks his head a bit, eyes swimming. ]
I guess I still don’t really know how to do that. It’s - hard when you’re used to the outcome being a threat, or worse.
[ He does touch his own scar here. ]
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Not to like. Minimize what you've gone through or anything - because clearly there's unresolved issues that a loooot of therapy will help, but like. I kinda get it? I mean, there's a reason we made a pact to lie to our dad. Like, he loves us, he'd do anything for us, but also? Real scary sometimes.
So... It takes time. And you'll get there. Got us and plenty of others around here who clearly care about you to help you figure it out.
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But....but it's like the story I told you before. When dad lied to me and I got angry. When I wanted to pull from the contest, he started to get mad until he saw how upset I was. He realized he couldn't be mad because HE had messed up. He admitted fault. I doubt Belos has ever done so.
[He nods in agreement.] There are a lot of people to help you. You can also figure out what you can and can't handle as you do. Maybe arguments won't ever be okay and that's fine.
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Belos has never admitted fault in his life. At least - nothing other than “I’m so sorry you made me hurt you.”
[ DEEP BREATH. even he knows that ain’t kosher now. ]
But - yeah. Tons of people here. And in the Human Realm too, and … I don’t know how I managed it, but I’m glad.
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That's because you're a very likable person. [Lightly nudges his shoulder with the back of his hand before he has to pull back.] And we're pretty good at helping people adjust to some sense of normalcy. You should have seen the growing pains we had with Cassandra.
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Yeah. I - guess I do have all of you now.
Who’s Cassandra?
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Woman who was an enemy, then changed sides at the last second. Pretty sure it's because she got to know dad, but she's a friend now.
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