#I think Bruno should just be a little confused at all times

[foggyfanfic]

Thoughts on the Madrigal's Love Lives

I'm currently playing around with my head canons for Encanto's future and in trying to solidify what each Madrigal's partner would be like I came to a realization. The Madrigals each have such unique life experiences, that their partners would kind of need to be equally unique in order for them to relate to each other. Like every time I start shaping an OC for one of the Madrigals, I just can't see Mirabel connecting to your average joe, or Luisa ending up with somebody who isn't especially gentle. Even when I try making a bland background sort of character, I just find myself asking "Why the hell would Mirabel be interested in this guy?". It's like how Agustin and Felix are both such great characters, they kinda have to be in order for it to make sense that Julieta and Pepa would love them.

[miracles-and-butterflies]

Second part of the Ride the Cyclone AU.

Here’s the first part in case you missed it.

Comments are always appreciated.

Warning, sensitive topics below, especially character death.

~~~~~~

How Can This Be Fair?

Antonio had bounded to the door the second Pico told him that the family had returned.

It was about time.

He was excited and a little impatient. He’d been promised one of the colourful animal balloons; he wondered which one his siblings and cousins had picked for him.

But he was met with the gloomy faces of his parents.

“Mama?” He questioned.

He didn’t get to say the rest. That one word seemingly set his mother off.

She collapsed to her knees in front of him, one hand trying to cover her strangled cries, while the other tried to balance herself. His father stepped forewords without a word, holding Pepa against him as she turned away from Antonio.

Tío Bruno came from the door next, he looked very shaken.

“Sobrino,” he managed, a small smile on his lips. His voice hoarse and gravelly. “Where’s your Abuela?”

“She’s in the dining room. We were having a tea party with all the animals.” Antonio answered.

But Bruno didn’t seem to care. He nodded, giving a silent chuckle, before walking off in that direction. Abuela, presumably having heard Pepa, was already making her way out of the room. Her face racked with confusion and concern.

“What is it? What’s happened? Is Pepa okay?” She asked in a whisper.

Bruno took her hand. “We… we need to talk.”

And they disappeared into another room.

Antonio stood, puzzled, for a moment.

During that time, Tío Agustín and Tía Julieta had made it inside. Casita shutting the door gently behind them, keeping some of the miserable weather out.

Neither of them really looked at him at all. His Tía slowly placed a full basket of food at the door before following after Agustín, who had kept walking and was now upstairs. He knocked at the ordinary door, lacking the usual flare he had when he did.

“Mirabel?” He asked. Not Miraboo. “We need to talk to you. Can we come in?”

Antonio glanced back at the door expectantly. Where was his siblings? His cousins?

It’s dark. They should be back by now.

They can’t have gotten lost, can they?

Agustín came hastily back down the stairs, almost colliding straight into Julieta.

“Mirabel’s not there,” he mumbled, only just loud enough for Antonio to hear.

“She should be back by now.” Julieta reasoned.

“She’s not here.”

“You don’t think she saw…”

They both quickly turned, heading to the exit, quickly grabbing lanterns.

Félix looked up. “Where are you going?”

“Mirabel’s not come back from my parents,” Agustín explained, opening an umbrella. “We think she might have seen or heard the… she’ll have panicked. We’re going out to find her.”

He nodded. Not that he was going to try convince the couple not to go anyways.

Once the door was shut behind them, he returned to soothing Pepa; not sure what else to do.

Antonio wasn’t so dismissive. What about the others that were still lost at the fair? Who was going out to find them?

The boy opened the door, peeking his head out curiously into the night. He had an idea.

“Dolores!” He called. “It’s me, Antonio! You can use my voice to find everyone’s way back to Casita! I’ll keep talking until you come back!”

His father pulled him away.

“Papí!” Antonio whined. “I need to help Dolores, Camilo, Isabela and Luisa get back home!”

“They… they aren’t coming back, Toñito.”

“Sure, they will! They’re just lost. I’ve been lost before and I came back. I’m sure if we shout loud enough, Dolores will hear us and be able to find the way back for everyone—”

“No, Antonio. They’ve gone.”

“Gone? Gone where? They were at the fair.”

His mother weeped, “To see Abuelo Pedro.”

~~~~~~

The children glanced at each other and then back at the strange man curiously. Dolores pulled away from Camilo, stepping forward.

“Play?” She inquired. “What is this? Who are you?”

Without dropping the smile, he said, “Meet Dolores.” A light fell on Dolores and she went weirdly still. Camilo hesitantly poked at her arm, she didn’t react at all. Then suddenly she moved, raising a hand out beside her ear. “Catchphrase…”

“Hm! And I hear you.”

As quickly as it appeared the light went off, Dolores immediately dropped the pose.

She stood in silence, slowly looking back up at the man in complete horror. Her heart racing. “W-what the heck was that?”

“Your catchphrase,” he answered simply.

“No,” she trembled. “I meant me moving against my will?”

“In the interest of the expedition of time, I’ve taken the liberty of choreographing a few of your moves in advance. Don’t bore us, get to the chorus!” He chuckled, clearly amused at himself. Dolores, however, was far from amused. “But I assure you, your will is your own. Let’s play.”

“What is this? Like a game?” She asked.

Something chimed musically and the lights flashed red and gold. Like some of the machines had done at the fair earlier.

“Dolores has selected game mode.” The suited man announced.

“What!?” She squeaked in alarm and confusion.

There was a scoff behind her.

Dolores whirled around to find the others, apparently nowhere near as concerned as she was about all of this. Luisa, in particular, looked pissed at her. Camilo didn’t look pleased either; he had been the one to scoff.

“No! Guys, I didn’t mean—”

Isabela, ever the competitive one, stepped closer; mildly intrigued. “What game?”

“Meet Isabela.” The same fanfare from before repeated itself and Isabela’s body stopped before repositioning itself perfectly. “Catchphrase…”

“Abuela always said to me that ‘ladies do not start fights’. But this lady and her deadly nightshade can sure as fuck finish them!”

Isabela stared at her own hands in disbelief when the feeling returned to her body, covering her mouth before more words could be forced out.

“But to answer your question, this is a game with fabulous prizes!” Was the dramatic reply from the suited man, completely ignoring Isabela’s state of fear. “Like a packet of 19th century cigars!” A trumpet flared and a light briefly fell on each item around the room. “A succulent, uneaten set of obleas! A limited edition homemade shirt still ripe with the pong of the carnie that wore it!”

Dolores turned to him again, agitated. “Look, where are we!?” She demanded.

He gutted at her. “Perhaps you will be interested in the grand prize, Dolores…” A trumpet sounded again and the children found themselves dragged forward under the light, as Dolores has said earlier, moving against their will. “One worthy contestant will be brought back to life to live beyond the Cyclone accident!”

They all turned back to the cart, where just beyond it a pair of velvet curtains had opened to revealing a swirling, golden portal. It shifted and moved like their doors had before they received their gifts. But was echoing the light, sounds and warmth of life, cementing the reality that they were definitely dead.

Beyond that portal, was another day.

And they were all drawn to it. Like moths to a flame.

But, just as they regained control of their bodies and tried to approach it, the curtain was closed abruptly in their faces and they were pulled away.

“The grand prize… to live again.”

“That’s way better than a stack of obleas,” Camilo muttered.

“Meet Camilo.” Just like before the lights changed and Camilo became a puppet, posed dramatically. “Catchphrase…”

“Me constantly shapeshifting into you isn’t usually a sign of mockery or hatred, it’s to disguise the fact that I am a naked child wandering through the wilderness, unsure of what I’m doing.”

Camilo shook himself quickly. “That wasn’t me! I don’t sound like that!”

Isabela and Luisa both had to look away from each other, failing to hide their laughter.

Dolores shook her head, keeping her focus on the strange man. “Why only one of us? Why not all of us? We’re family.”

“Sadly, I have only been bestowed the power to bring one of you back to life.” He admitted.

“Well… what do we have to do to be brought back to life?” She questioned, curious.

“The one who wants to win it the most shall redeem the loser in order to complete the whole.”

Dolores blanked. She turned to the others. Camilo shrugged, cluelessly. Luisa seemed to be busy repeating the phrase to herself. Isabela just a circled a finger around her head before pointing it to the man.

“…That doesn’t make any sense,” Dolores commented.

“I trade mostly in prophecies that don’t make any sense until they actually do.”

“I take it you are the judge?”

A bassoon played a low and depressing note.

The man sighed as he turned to address the others. “It appears that Dolores Madrigal has used up the group’s three questions for this evening.”

Luisa groaned. “Gee, thanks, Dolores. Now we’re never gonna know where we are or who he is or what’s going on.”

“Meet Luisa. Catchphrase…”

“The most depressing thing about all of this is that the donkeys were about to have foals and I was allowed to name one… and now it’s going to be nameless for ever!”

The second Luisa was back in control of her body, the crying instantly stopped and she stood back straighter. The others thought she’d hit the man or something (she was totally strong enough too), but instead she quickly ran off behind them to take cover.

“That was freaky,” she mumbled, to nobody in particular.

“That’s not fair. You didn’t tell us there was only three questions.” Dolores snapped.

“I believe I did.” He said. “After the fact.”

Dolores resisted the urge to smack him. Instead, turning back to the others and taking a few steps to calm down.

“Well… this couldn’t possibly get any weirder.” She assured herself.

The suited man, as though waiting for this exact moment, smiled, “I am under the firm belief that it always can. Allow me to introduce you to the mystery contestant!”

The lights dimmed and the red curtains parted again, this time revealing a girl stood and waiting.

With black lifeless eyes, painted lips and precise brown ringlets. Her face and neck as pale as porcelain, clashing with the colour of her skin. But complimenting that of the pretty, headless doll she held in front of her.

“‘Desconocida’ is what the coroner said; they found my body, not my head,” she said, her voice echoing eerily and the pace hauntingly steady. “No parents came. And so, they never learned my name or who I use to be. My life, an unsolved mystery. From ashes I was made and ashes I return. And so, I walk alone and wonder why…”

The curtains fell closed unceremoniously and lights came back on.

A mouse squeaked somewhere.

What the actual fuck was that?

A human child’s body with a fancy doll’s head?

After a nudge from the others, Luisa stepped over to the curtains and grabbed them in her hands. She quietly counted to three before ripping them wide open.

She jolted, Dolores jumped, Isabela clung to her cousins and Camilo gasped. But there was nobody there.

Luisa boldly poked her head in. She looked left, then right, jostled the curtains before one final look either side. Isabela and Camilo also wandered in for a brief check, but found nothing. Luisa pulled the curtains shut again.

And then, walking over and rejoining the group, she swallowed nervously. “Did anyone just pee themselves a little?”

The other three shot her disgusted looks.

“…Me neither!” Luisa said, forcing a laugh.

Something pulled the curtains apart and the girl stumbled towards an unsuspecting but still nervous Luisa with concern, holding out her doll.

“Do you want to brush my dolly’s hair?” She asked.

Luisa turned, only catching a glimpse of the mystery contestant before crying out in panic and backing up. In hindsight, turning her back to the curtain wasn’t the best idea.

“Holy sh— I am really freaked out right now!”

The girl paused, looking up at her. “Do you want to know what really ‘freaks’ me out?”

“No! Not really.. ever… a-at all… really….” Luisa looked to anyone else for help, but nobody moved. The tiny figure stepped closer and held her doll higher for Luisa, as if that was the issue. “Sorry!” She hissed as she pushed the doll back down.

“And finally, meet Desconocida,” the man announced. The girl’s arms dropped instantly and the doll fell to the floor, turning sharply. “Catchphrase…”

“When a lioness has children, she stops making love to the lion. The lion gets jealous, sometimes so jealous he eats the children. You’d think this would upset the lioness, far from it. They make love again like the children never existed. I find that idea… terrifying.”

The girl’s head twitched and she turned back to Luisa, her arms extended again - apparently not realising the doll was lying on the floor.

The strongest whimpered.

“I’m gonna stand a little further away from you, okay?”

[queenofthedisneyverse]

Camilo and Chickpea

Camilo was doing his usual routine of pranking villagers and just having a fun time with his friends. After he was done, he decided to head home for lunch and relax a bit. Unbeknownst to him, a small little yellow thing was following him.

It took about five chirps before he stopped…and looked around. 

“What is that noise?”

Chirp!

He looked down, and that’s when he saw a little chick sitting on top of his foot like it owned it. Milo tilted his head at the little yellow puffball and looked around, seemingly looking for where this little thing came from.

It was from one of the Chicken farms, that much he knew. But HOW did it end up from the other side of the Encanto…to on top of his foot? Without being seen by cats or being stepped on?

So, he picked the little fella up and contemplated what he should do. Should he take it to a farm where this little guy could be used for food or to lay more eggs once it’s older?...or keep it as a pet?

Camilo decided to go with the latter and walked back inside with his new friend. And besides, if Antonio can keep a jaguar then camilo can surely keep a chicken, right? 

Once inside he saw his little brother and prima mira sitting on the floor coloring. 

“Hey, look at what followed me home”

Cami sat down in front of them and released the yellow feather baby. Antonio ‘awed’ and picked the little chick up. Mirabel was just confused as to why camilo had a chick on him. 

“Um…why do you have a chick?”

“It followed me”

“.....a chick…followed YOU home?” 

“Mirabel, I'm not just going to take a chick from its mother. Don’t you think that’s a little cruel?”

“Well I’m finding it hard to believe a literal baby chick followed you home on its own accord”

Antonio chimed in to the conversation “she said she left her nest to see what was beyond that weird barrier that only the big weird looking chickens can go through. After that she got lost and scared and decided to follow that big chicken. I think she means Milo”

“I’m sorry, does she think humans are just…bigger, odd looking chickens?”

“Yeah, all chickens do”

“...Oh”

The chick peeped some more and Antonio leaned down to hear her. “Oh, she says she likes Cami as her mama more. She doesn’t really remember her old one anyway or which nest she came from” 

Cue camilo who looks really emotional “she sees me as her mama?”

Cue Mirabel rolling her eyes “oh hear we go”

After that day, Camilo kept the little chick and named her Chickpea (right on the nose aint it?). All family members find it hilarious and ironic that the shapeshifting chameleon boy has a chicken for a pet. 

Pepa and Felix see Chickpea as their unconventional nieta. They can’t do much given her…chicken-ness but they like to have her around when Camilo is out. Both of them keep her on their shoulders or in their pockets. 

Casita decided to be funny and mark Alma’s door “Bisabuela”. She didn’t understand what it meant until she saw Chickpea and was told the situation. 

Mirabel knitted “father of an animal club” on his rauna. It was originally a club of one, which was just Bruno and his rats but now there’s a new member. Camilo wears it proudly. She also stitched a pocket to the front of it just in case he wanted to carry her around. 

Mira also likes knitting little hats for Chickpea, it’s tedious to make something for a creature so small but she’s up for the challenge.

Dolores takes her role as the honorary Tia very seriously. Same with Antonio. He pledged to be the very best influence on her. 

Luisa and Isabela love her too, although only one of them is trying to be a good influence and it’s not Luisa. Isa likes snatching Chickpea whenever she can and sprinkles her with pollen to make her look “cool”.

“Isabela! She’s MY daughter, not yours”

“I don’t care”

Alma and the blue couple don’t know what to think of the new family member other than she’s cute. And Alma hopes Camilo won’t get bored or tired of the new responsibility because from what she knew, chicks need care like every other pet in this world.

He never got tired of her though and always made sure she was okay. 

Luisa absolutely loves her. Will have her sit on her lap while she reads or just talk to her. 

(teenage and adult years) 

Chickpea is very spoiled and very much a diva (thanks to her “mama”). And used to having her needs met instantly. If they aren’t, she irritatingly bawks like no tomorrow. Not too loud, she knows Dolores has sensitive hearing, but she does it loud enough to the point where it’s annoying enough to get what she wants. And if that doesn’t work, she pecks you.

Chickpea also has her own collection of hats and necklaces thanks to her Tia Mirabel, Tio Antonio, and her “mama”. 

She is very sweet though and knows when someone is upset and needs a cuddle. She’ll cuddle just about anyone if it makes them happy, especially Camilo.

She certainly IS potty trained and knows exactly where to go when she needs to go (if you catch my drift). 

Camilo does include her in on his pranks (thanks to Antonio explaining the concept to her). She’s just as mischievous as her mama and loves chasing people around because it’s funny to her. Seeing creatures much bigger than you run away when you are chasing them is a hilarious thing to see. 

She is also in Bruno’s rat telenovelas as the leading actress. She won’t have it any other way…and yes, she’s just as dramatic as her mother. 

That’s all I got, I hoped you liked these. 

Inspired by @midcanto (Also, I remember you saying Camilo has Disney princess aura and I kind of want to make an au now)

[dailyfatefigures]

Do you mind explaining what evillous is? It looks like miku, rin and len to me? is it just a vocaloid song that they were given unique identities in?

evillious (or the evillious chronicles but that's too much for me to be bothered to type out again and again) is a massive multimedia franchise made by the vocaloid producer mothy!

the vocaloids basically serve as actors in it which is why most characters look a lot like their corresponding voicebanks.... but also the close resemblance the characters can be 50/50 like on one hand you have michaela who looks JUST like miku but on the other hand you have ma who's a luka but looks.. nothing like a luka (tbf that is bc of bodyswapping but also like . come on . the girl she bodyswapped with was also a luka) and then there's characters like bruno who, despite being p fucking important, doesn't have a vocaloid at all

^^ michaela, ma, and bruno

but also i think the reason riliane, allen and michaela look so much like their vocaloids in those figures is bc they're meant as 'rin in this one song', 'len in this one song' and 'miku in this one song' and not 'riliane lucifen d'autriche, a character who has 5 light novels, a bunch of manga volumes, and too many songs to count that are all primarily about her' etc etc (i'm not calculating allen and michaela's appearances or the amount of manga volumes riliane is in you could not pay me to (actually you could and i know the exact price but no one's going to)). also the evillious characters all have p defined facial features that get ironed out when they get converted into generic anime figure style.

^^ maybe my perception is warped as an evillious fan but i do not ever see ichika's illustrations of riliane and think 'that's kagamine rin'

in regards to what evillious actually is though, it's also known as story of evil and the seven deadly sins series, and if you're into vocaloid (esp if you've been into vocaloid for any decent amount of time) whether you know it or not, you are very, very familiar with at least a little bit of evillious. and by that i mean you've heard daughter of evil at least once, and also probably servant of evil, the tailor of enbizaka, the lunacy of duke venomania and judgement of corruption. the story basically follows this world known as the third period from its creation to its destruction (and a bit before and after). the seven deadly sins series makes up the bulk of evillious and follows seven people at different times and locations throughout this world's history and those around them as they get possessed by the seven deadly sins and uhm . well it should be p obvious that nothing good comes of that. story of evil is a colloqiual name given to the pride arc bc daughter of evil, servant of evil and regret message were the first songs mothy released that were explicitly meant to be tied together upon release (he likes to drop a song and then be like 'teehee this was part of the evillious canon all along' years later) and the evillious name wouldn't come around til much later.

if you want to actually get into evillious, you really have to go by release order or you will get very confused very quickly (gasp! the guy who likes fate enough to run a daily blog based around it for over a year has strong opinions on that age old issue of watch order (not the right phrase bc i am a fate anime adaptation hater til the day i die and the evillious anime never actually got made but. you know what i mean)!) mainly bc of the sheer amount of body swapping and reincarnation that goes on and the scifi fantasy concepts that get explained when they first appear and then never again. the songs all have translated pvs up on youtube (a lot of pvs are fanmade and may have aged poorly w noncanon visuals so don't fully let your guard down) and most if not all written materials have tls by @/pricechecktranslations here on tumblr. obligatory warning for a lot of incest and also everyone fucking dying goes here, there are more cws that should be attached to it but we'd be here literally for fucking ever if i were to list all of them bc it's huge and every bad thing happens at least once but those are the two big ones that happen in most if not all arcs.

[kayssweetdreams]

The Perfect Finale Ch80

A Few Days Later...

"...Happy Birthday Dear Kaylo, Happy Birthday to you!" The Bruno family sang. The pink haired girl smiled as her family surrounded her as she blew out the candles on her birthday cake. It had been a very big party, and she had been gifted a lot of presents from her family, and from her friends, but she also couldn't help, that there was SOMETHING she was missing...

"What did you wish for?" Her little sister asked. "I can't tell you that! Otherwise it won't come true! Kaylo said playfully, pushing that thought into the back of her head, while she cut into her cake. A little later, it was time for presents (AKA Her favorite part) But that little nagging thought in her head continued to get louder with every present she opened, to the point that she couldn't even ENJOY her gifts.

She looked at the various presents that she had received. From new dresses, to a brand new album. Faking a smile, she gazed over her presents, ready to try on one her new dresses, when Rebecca called to her "Hey! You forgot one!" She said. Confused, she walked back to where her presents had once sat. True to what she said, there was one last box. A small box with strange swirling symbols in rainbow colors.

"How did I miss this one? Who even gave this one to me?" She asked herself. "Well Only way to find out what it is, is just to open it." Trisha Jane said. With a raised eyebrow, She slowly opened the brightly colored box and saw two things inside, a bright rainbow orb, and a note in almost hard to read writing. Taking out the note first, Kaylo almost thought it sounded like a prank. "What's on the note?" Emma asked. "You won't believe this...but it's written in rhyme." Kaylo said, holding up the note. "In...Rhyme?..." Leo asked almost uneasily.

The pink haired girl Nods "Yeah, it reads" She started as she read the note:

To the Birthday Girl, The Bruno with Pink Hair, We come with a gift, after a choice most unfair. You didn't have a say in what happened after the worlds were unweaved. A decision that we very much grieved. So we struck up a deal, before Yang was no more. A small loophole to your memories from before. In that orb, contains the memories of you, and the friends you forgot, All came together in a theater you sought. Just touch it and say in a clear voice. "It's Showtime". At a time of your choice. We hope to see you all again in the end.

Signed Balan and Lance, the ones you always considered a friend.

The kids all couldn't help but feel confused at that very same letter. Was this some kind of prank? "So...You think I should do it?" Kaylo asked "Um...sure?" Leo said, shrugging his shoulders. Kaylo carefully grabbed the orb from the box, and placed a hand on it, like the rhyming note said. And with a firm, but still unsure voice. She said clearly:

"It's Showtime?"

Mei belongs to @sundove88

Rebecca belongs to @thehyperrequiem

Trisha Jane belongs to @lovelyteng

[gamerbearmira]

Monster Girl Mirabel Au! Centaur day

Poor Mirabel, she didn't understand what she has done wrong to make her Abuela so upset. All she wanted is to show her that she has a gift like others but in the end it make Abuela shock and told her parent to lock her in the house. They had a huge fight because of her. The little girl don't want this to happened, all she can do is curled up in her nursery room and listening the argument her parent and Abuela.

The sound of argument had quite down, someone enter her room and it was her Mami. Mirabel want to hug her but due to her new body, she doesn't know how to walk. Gladly her mother understood and lower down to hug her daughter. "Mami, what did I do wrong?" Hearing sad question from her confused daughter make her heart ache. "No, mariposa. You didn't do anything wrong." Julieta tried her best to cheer her daughter up. "But Abuela don't like my gift and everyone afraid of me. Am I bad daughter?"

Julieta so sad seeing her daughter going to cry. "You're not bad daughter. Sometimes unexpected thing happen in life. All we can do is learn to accept thing like... I remember the day when we got our first gift and we tried to understand what happen and what should we do. Well... Sometimes things not as good as we thought but we still learning to accept." Even though Julieta tried her best to explain her daughter, this was the only thing she could say.

"What if I done something wrong or worse... Everyone see me like what Abuela see me." Julieta know what her daughter mean, she remember the expression of her family when they first time saw Mirabel form. She never forget the face of shock, fear, confusion and most of all, the way Abuela tell her and her husband that they had to lock Mirabel in the house in fear and disgusted. She doesn't want her daughter felt as what they see her as just like her brother Bruno.

"Mirabel, it doesn't matter what they see you. What matter is who you are not what you are. You're strong, kind and most of all despite everything you're still my mariposa I know" Julieta told as she hug her which make Mirabel much better. "So if I learned my gift will I make my family proud?" The word Mirabel ask make Julieta feel concern her daughter condition but keep smiling. "Yes, you will. How about we figure this together, it seems you can help carried something heavy and run faster than anyone could run. You want to try your gift." Mirabel nod agree ready to learn her gift with her mami.

NAURRRRR MIRABEL NOOOO :(((

But also YAYYYYYY. MONSTER GIRL MIRABEL CONTENT‼️‼️CENTAUR DAY‼️

Kudos to Julieta for being a. Great mom. Because what was Alma thinking. And Agustín of course, duh. BUT ANYWAY. Last thing Mirabel needs is to be locked in a room with no support. Like she can’t even walk, what hypothetical harm can she get into.

I LOVE THEM🚴‍♀️💨💨💨

[yellowcry]

[Garish au]

Asking Dolores seemed like a good choice to begin with. Maybe Isabela could get some information. Her cousin was aware of everything, far more than people tend to think of. However, as she spotted her cousin, the line was already closed. Mirabel stood nearby and, in a not really quiet voice, asked. "Have you heard anything strange yesterday?"

Isabela winced. Could Mirabel know what happened yesterday? It would be perfect. In a split second, she ran to Mirabel past their Tío Felix and real Dolores. "Hey, sis. I heard you were wondering about the cracks" Mirabel's eyes widened, she stepped back, looking away.

Just as Isabela was about to get through with her answers, a low-pitched voice announced that the table was out. Just great. Luisa surely loved breaking the perfect moments. Now she had to wait until the end of the dinner.

Isabela smirked at Dolores' loving eyes at the mention of Mariano. Her cousin was such a romantic. Not like Isabela could blame her, she hoped to marry some beautiful girl one day. Maybe she could blabber about plants to her? It would be perfect!

Catching up with Mirabel was easier than anything First of all she was short. And Isabela had vines on her side.

Mirabel rolled her eyes, getting out of the greenery that had surrounded her at the snap of a finger. "Isa, maybe you should do something else?" She paced faster, trying to get away to no avail.

"Hey, Mirabel, could you fix my blouse?"

The girl nodded, taking a packet from Osma's hands. This repeated several times.

Isabela groaned, her little sister was so annoying sometimes. "Just tell me what do you know? You asked Dolores about it."

Mirabel, who desperately tried to get away, just to be stopped by a wall of flowers in front of her muttered. "I just wanted to make sure…"

Isabela's eyes narrowed, she stepped closer. "What exactly, sis?"

Mirabel blinked, fixing her glasses. "I'm sure it's nothing. I just saw something. It was probably just my imagination." she didn't sound too convinced by her own nervous words.

"I'm sure it's fine," Isabela waved her hand. The cracks were worrying, but it didn't make her feel too bad. She just needed to know what happened.

Mirabel sighed, giving an awkward chuckle. "It's not like Casita would break."

"YES!" Isabela jumped in excitement, flowers sprouted on the ground around her. "I saw them too!" There was at least one person who knew that Casita was breaking yesterday.

"I- I don't get what you're talking about…" Mirabel gasped, stepping back in horror. Her face got paler in worry. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do anything bad!"

Isabela froze at the last sentence. She didn't think about this possibility at all. If anything, Mirabel had nothing to do with the miracle. "Why would you think that I could blame you?" She lowered her gaze, staring in confusion.

The words left Mirabel's mouth before she could even proceed them. "Mama had left because of me."

She wasn't serious… Was she?

"Julieta had left because she's selfish irresponsible parent." Isabela scoffed, crossing her arms. Nobody said anything in a while.

"I really should get back to work.."

Isabel groaned. Why was it always about a job? "Today's an official day off after the ceremony."

"Well, I got to make up for the lack of a gift," Mirabel whispered, rechecking all the work that she had been given already. "Maybe somebody will say that I'm doing a good job then.."

Oh, poor child.

"I think you need a break," Isabela awkwardly patted her spine.

Mirabel shook her head. "I can get through it." She was about to go away, before looking to the sides all of a sudden. "I heard Abuela once." Isabela was startled, her eyes widened in surprise. "She said something about a vision with our Mama and Casita's destruction." Isabela froze for a good minute, trying to understand all this information. Vision? What had Tio Bruno seen? Probably not much, but still. "If you want to fund anything, our parents' room could be a good place to start."

[acewithapaintbrush]

The Ones That Leave

I am cutting it close with this one. My contribution to week two of @wdtajn

TW for themes of death and craziness and a very open and ambiguous ending. Read at your own risk please

****************

I am like a small creature swallowed whole by a monster, she thought, and the monster feels my tiny little movements inside.

Shirley Jackson, The Haunting of Hill House

*****************

Bruno stares at the crack. 

The handle of the bucket cuts into his palm. It is filled to the brim with spackle and it's heavy, much heavier than his brittle bones and thin arms are used to anymore. And still, he barely feels it. The only reason it hasn't slipped from his hand is because his fingers are clenched around the metallic handle, frozen and stiff. 

His whole body feels frozen and stiff. He doesn't know how long he has been standing here, in this dark hallway behind the walls, staring at the crack. It could be minutes, it could be hours. Probably hours. His eyes are so dry they hurt. When he tries to blink it feels like he is rubbing his eyelids against sandpaper. His lips are dry too, but they always are. That's what you get for not talking for years. In the beginning he'd talked to his rats and given his voice to them for their little plays, but that had only added stress to an already anxious Dolores so he'd stopped speaking completely, had bitten his tongue every time he'd caught himself opening his mouth. 

He's been in the walls for five years by now. He hasn't talked for almost as long. 

He doesn't even know if he still remembers how. 

He stares at the crack and the crack stares back. It is not really a crack to be honest. It is too wide and too big. It starts at the bottom and reaches upwards into the dark, high above his head. It's almost as wide as he is. He'd only need to turn his body a little sideways and he could fit through, step to the other side.

Bruno has no idea what is on the other side. It should lead to the outside, to the garden at the back of the house. At least he thinks it does. But then, wouldn't he be able to see said garden on the other side? The tall trees and the grass and the little bench his mother has put there all those years ago to be able to read in the sunshine?

He doesn't. All he sees is darkness. An inky black, darker than the night, darker than his little room behind the kitchen when he puts out all the candles. 

Maybe he is mistaken. Maybe he got turned around somewhere, lost all sense of direction again. 

Casita is confusing, sometimes. Sometimes it feels like she is moving the hallways at will, to drive him crazy confuse him. He will turn a corner and realize he's forgotten something and turn back only to be faced with a wall or, even worse, another hallway impossibly stretching on into the dark forever and ever. It's given him vertigo before. It has made him curl up on the floor, shaking and crying. 

Casita always relents after a while. Bumping his feet with her floorboards in apology and gently guiding him back into his room at the end of the day where he then will collapse into his makeshift bed, spent and exhausted. Sometimes he wonders if he'd ever be able to find his room again without her help. 

Sometimes he wonders if he'd ever be able to leave without her help. If she'd let him. 

But it's just a game. Certainly just a game. 

Casita is vindictive playful like that. 

Casita is cruel mischievous like that. 

Casita is… 

Bruno takes a shaky breath. It hurts in his chest. Maybe he hasn't been breathing this entire time. 

Casita is haunted. That's what the old man had said to him, all those years ago. He'd taken eight year old Bruno by the shoulders. He'd shaken the boy, leaned down so he could stare right into his face. His eyes had been red-rimmed and wild, his hair greasy, his breath smelly. The spittle from between chapped lips and bad teeth had hit Bruno right on the cheek and he'd been so disgusted and scared that he'd almost missed the words. 

"That house is haunted! Unnatural! It is evil! Get out boy, get your Mama and sisters out of there!" 

Alma had finally found them, locked in a staring contest filled with fear and revulsion and horror and pulled the man away. She'd screamed at him, told him to leave her child alone, to never dare show his face in front of her family again. 

Later that night Bruno had tried to see into the future of the man, scared out of his mind that he would return, would suddenly stand in front of his bed in the middle of the night to scream at him again. 

The vision had shown the man walking towards Casita with a match in his hand, muttering and stumbling. But then it had shifted into a picture of a wall. Nothing but a wall. The one on the second floor, near Alma's room. 

Bruno doesn't know why he never told anyone about this vision. Doesn't know why he stared at the green slab depicting nothing but a wall and decided to destroy it and never talk about it again. 

Two weeks later, the man was declared missing. Everyone assumed that he had simply left the valley after he'd been ostracized by pretty much everyone for upsetting the revered Alma Madrigal. 

But Bruno had heard it at night. The faint sound of scratching from behind the walls, of footsteps hurrying up and down unseen hallways. Wailing and moaning. 

He'd close his eyes and hear all these noises and see the image of a wall, immortalized on a green slab and tell himself that it's nothing. 

Just the rats. Just the creaks of an old house. 

Just the screaming and begging of a trapped man  howling of the wind. 

Surely, nothing more. 

Once, and only once, months after the sounds had grown fainter and fainter and ultimately disappeared, had he asked his mother about the man. What had happened to him. 

"It doesn't matter.", she'd said. "He left."

But he'd seen it in her eyes. Had seen it in the way she'd clenched her fists and in the way she'd glanced at the walls surrounding them, in the way she'd lowered her voice and tried to keep a smile on her face and failed horribly. 

He'd seen it all and he'd understood that it wouldn't have mattered if he'd told her about his vision in time. 

It wouldn't have mattered at all. 

And he'd nodded and agreed. 

The man left. 

Except Bruno knows better now, has always known better. He can sometimes see something moving out of the corner of his eyes. A man-shaped shadow, a fleeting misplacement of light. Once he'd tried to turn a corner and Casita had pushed him back, had hit him in the chest with one of her floorboards so hard it had taken his breath away. But not quickly enough to prevent him from catching a glimpse of the heap of ruined clothes on the floor. Of white bones sticking out of them, fingers like sticks still reaching out to scrabble at a wall covered in scratches. 

He doesn't go into that part of the house anymore. It is probably covered in cracks by now, but he doesn't care. If Casita ever breaks apart, that hallway will be the epicenter. One of the scratches will have turned into a crack and that will be the one that tears her apart in the end. 

That's where her end will begin and maybe that's how it's meant to be. 

Bruno steps closer to the crack that is not a crack. The darkness behind it is absolute, but it still looks like there are things writhing inside of it, shadows battling for dominance. He has stared into it for so long that he's beginning to see faces in its depth. Contorted, grotesque faces. 

His mother. His sisters. Their children. 

The man. 

His father. 

Maybe the man was right. Maybe there has always been evil in these walls. Or maybe Casita is just a little bit too human. Capable of change in the worst ways possible.

Maybe it started with the man. Maybe it started long before that. 

For the first time Bruno wonders what it must be like to be a thing with a conscience. To see and hear and feel but not be able to move in any way that matters. Only opening cupboards and swinging doors and moving floorboards. Housing beings with whole lives and emotions within you and still only looking in from the outside. Watching their lives pass you by, growing older while you are stuck just the way you have always been. 

It's enough to drive someone crazy. 

Bruno laughs, shrill and loud and crazed. It's the first sound he has made in five years and a small part of him hopes Dolores is asleep or far enough away to not have heard. 

What a horrible first thing to hear from her uncle after five years of silence. 

The darkness answers him, it ripples and wavers. He hears a small boy laughing in there, hears a small girl laughing behind him. What a merry little symphony they make, full of bells and death life. 

The walls expand and collapse, the floorboards under his feet vibrate. 

Ah, Bruno realizes. Casita is crying laughing too. 

The darkness creeps out of the crack door. It slithers at the corners, looking like vines testing the air. And then it passes that invisible boundary and reaches out to him. 

Bruno reaches back. He's always been the one to reach out to everyone but at some point the people have stopped accepting his outstretched hand, have pulled back instead, and so his outstretched arm has withered away like a flower cut off from its stem. 

But here in this dark and dusty hallway a darkness reaches out and Bruno reaches back and it welcomes him. It is so cold where it touches his fingertips that it burns. It feels like he is touching a candle flame and Bruno shivers and a grin pulls at his lips. 

He has been cold for so long. He can't wait to get warm again.

He gets pulled towards the dark doorway and he willingly steps forward. 

Casita SCREAMS laughs and Bruno SCREAMS laughs with her. 

And then he is gone. 

He left. 

[ciaossu-imagines]

*dragging myself out of the deepest depths of hell to come ask you about your ocs*

Hello, my friend ❤️

I hope you’re doing well! I’ve come to send your oc prompts for your KHR OCs (from the Accardi Famiglia ✨✨) This is for Prompt 3!

for Luca -

18. a memory that still makes your OC angry?

For my lovely Bria -

20. a nostalgic memory from your OC’s childhood?

I hope the formatting of this was okay and not confusing!!!

- R

It's not confusing at all! Thank you so much for sending this in – it’s always a treat and a delight to see you in my inbox 😊 I hope everything is going amazing for you, my dear R, and that the depths of hell don’t have you in to much of a clutch, haha! And thank you so much for showing an interest in my babies. I do adore them and really appreciate the chance to talk about them some more!

18) A MEMORY THAT STILL MAKES YOUR OC ANGRY?

Luca’s a really nice guy. Too nice at times. He’s the type of guy to not only give second chances but fifth, sixth, even twentieth chances. He’s the type of person to never want to think bad about anyone else and when he gets frustrated or upset with someone, he assumes it’s a him problem, that he’s being judgmental or mean and should give others the benefit of the doubt. Because of this, and a slow-burn of a temper, there’s not many things that make him angry enough to hold grudges over. However, there is one thing…or rather one person. Luca would never say it out loud, because he is a little ashamed that he just can’t forgive this one guy, but he doesn’t. In fact, he kind of hates the guy, a Guardian of his father’s. The guy is still alive and kicking, actually working now for the family member that took down Luca’s father and that enough is grounds to hate him. But Luca’s hated him for far longer than that and it’s because this guy, Bruno, would always tease and belittle Luca. He called Luca a lot of things – a gimp, a freak, damaged goods, all forgetting that Luca could read lips. But even more, whenever he came across Luca, he’d always yell and make exaggerated gestures, really just tease and make a big show out of Luca being deaf. He’d act angry when Luca didn’t respond, toss up fake hand signs that were exaggerated grossly and looked, quite honestly, like the jerky movements some developmentally disabled people involuntarily make. He did all that for as long as Luca can remember and Luca wonders if he’s a bad person for being angrier and more unforgiving about the life-long teasing than he is about Bruno switching sides like a coward after Luca’s father was gone.

20) A NOSTALGIC MEMORY FROM YOUR OC’S CHILDHOOD?

Honestly? It’s tag. The kids spent a lot of time playing a mix between tag and hide and go seek when they were younger. Sometimes they’d even sneak out, late at night, armed with flashlights and play flashlight tag, trying their best to be quiet, all muffled giggles and tiptoed steps to avoid the adults catching them (the adults always did, but depending on whose parent it was, they’d let the kids get away with playing just a hour or so more – Guiana’s father was the best that way). Those are the memories she sinks back into at the worst of the worst, and when things between the teens are getting tense and everyone’s on edge, Bria waits until nightfall, brings out a bunch of flashlights, and starts a game of tag.

[streussal]

Response to the OJ Simpson anon. I was confused to receive this, but I'll try to respond in good faith:

Copy + Paste of what I got in my inbox (under a cut because it's so long (not doing a screenshot because it would take 3 screens)

The Court TV docuseries OJ25 (2020) is the best and most truthful account of the trial. 2016 Vulture interview with juror Sheila Woods: I guess maybe black people cheering was less about O.J. and more about the politics of the LAPD at the time, police brutality. A lot of their catharsis was bigger than O.J. I can understand that. But at the end of the day, two people were murdered. I think most people thought we based our decision on race. Race never came up in the topic of our deliberation, or even how the LAPD treated black people. Like, regarding Fuhrman, none of his comments really … The thing with Fuhrman was once his credibility was shot, you really could discount anything he said. He was definitely a liar — he lied on the stand — and when he came back to the court, he took the fifth on everything. Why would you trust anything he said? He was the detective that found all this evidence: the blood on the Bronco, on the back fence, on the glove … all of that created reasonable doubt. Was there a moment in particular during the trial that really swayed your decision towards reasonable doubt? Yeah, when they started talking about the blood evidence. There was, like, a milliliter of blood they couldn’t account for. And they found blood on the back fence of Nicole’s condo, and that particular blood also had the additive in there. That additive is only found in [a test tube of blood], so why would the blood sample on that back fence contain that additive unless somebody took the blood from the test tube and placed it there? Do you think O.J. was framed? I don’t know if he was necessarily framed. I think O.J. may know something about what happened, but I just don’t think he did it. I think it was more than one person, just because of the way she was killed. I don’t know how he could have just left that bloody scene — because it was bloody — and got back into his Bronco and not have it filled with blood. And then go back home and go in the front door, up the stairs to his bedroom … That carpet was snow white in his house. He should have blood all over him or bruises because Ron Goldman was definitely fighting for his life. He had defensive cuts on his shoes and on his hands. O.J. only had that little cut on his finger. If [Goldman] was kicking to death, you would think that the killer would have gotten some bruises on his body. They showed us photos of O.J. with just his underwear just two days after, and he had no bruises or anything on his body.

Anon I am not sure why you sent me this. I have two posts tagged OJ Simpson, from April 12 & 13 of this year (a few days after his death).

One, a link to an article Andrea Dworkin wrote about Nicole Brown Simpson and domestic violence.

Two, a poll asking "did o.j. do it?" on which my tags were: #yes #but also one of the main police detectives was recorded being very racist in interviews with a journalist a few years earlier #(and cops are generally racist but this was a lot)#and there was an inconsistency in records of how much blood was drawn from oj for dna samples#and the transporting officer dropped by the crime scene before delivering the blood to evidence#which lends credence to the evidence planting theory#(it was a tiny inconsistency but like. that is not proper evidence handling)#also the prosecution fucked up a few times#so like. it makes sense why he was acquitted#(and again: he did it. more stuff came in at the civil trial like the bruno magli shoes)#(but the jury finding reasonable doubt wasn't completely insane)

So I'm not sure if you were just sending it to let me know about a true crime series that I might like, and giving more info on jury opinions?? In which I case I'm a little confused by the timing, but sure, why not. I hope this was not a "actually OJ was innocent" thing you just me though. I have trouble telling.

[everestica]

Hello I saw the event of the song so I came as fast as I could, if it's not too much trouble I would like to request: Character: (twst) Silver x (Fem) reader Song lyrics: Nothing by Bruno Major Dumb conversations We lose track of time Have I told you lately ♡I'm grateful you're mine♡

Take your time and no pressure, have a good day :D

'*•.¸♡ Silver x Reader - 200 Follower Event!♡¸.•*'

➳ Of course it's not to much trouble! This was so cute and I loved writing it!! I hope you enjoy it!<3

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ.───

Silver had asked you to meet him outside a little ways from Ramshackle dorm during your lunch period, after you had gotten something to eat. It had been a couple days since you had actually seen your boyfriend just because he was busy with school, training, sleeping, and studying. So when you finally finished eating you made your way back towards your dorm where he had said to meet him, you ended up stumbling upon him asleep under a tree, so deciding not to wake him you just sat under the tree with him and decided to scroll on Magicam and maybe see what new thing Cater had posted or whatever was new. A couple hours later he finally awakes and realizes that there was another person there with him, which at first he didn’t know if he should make it known that he was awake and ready to protect himself or if he pretended to keep sleeping they would go away. Then you sighed and looked back at the sleeping(?) boy and just played with his hair, that’s when he realized that he invited you during lunch and while waiting for you ended up falling asleep! That’s when all of a sudden the boy perks up and starts spewing apologies to your confused figure. You laughed a little and said it was fine and you didn’t think he was actually gonna be awake when you got there anyway, and that you didn’t really mind, you just wanted to be in his presence and/or the same place as him. When he realizes that you actually aren’t mad he decides to make it up to you by instead of heading to his last class to just sit with you under the tree and talk about whatever comes to mind.

“Dumb Conversations”

Before long it was already way past the class time and almost time for everybody to head back to their assigned dorms to call it a night. 

“We Lose Track of Time”

Silver was already on the verge of passing back out as both you and his eyes noticed as they kept closing and reopening every couple seconds, so you decided that it should probably be time that you said your goodbyes and met again another time, but Silver, he had other plans. He still had felt really bad that you had to wait all that time for him to wake up so he asked if maybe he could just stay in Ramshackle with you and maybe cuddle instead of him heading back to Diasomina for the night?

“Have I told you lately”

 You agreed as it was closer than walking all the way back to Diasomnia and he was already about to pass out, also how could you say no with the sweet way he asked you? The two of you walked back to your dorm before making it up the stairs, changing and getting into bed. By the time that Silver had you in his arms and his head hit the pillow he was out like a light, but there was still some faint muttering that could be heard from the boy. 

“I’m Grateful You're Mine”

[miracles-and-butterflies]

It's funny how in the Karma AU, Camilo has shown remorse to everyone but the actual victim of his and his friends' "prank" and has apologized as a way to downplay the role he had in it.

He’s not been allowed near the victim - so it’s not entirely his fault.

~~~~~~

Julieta sighed heavily when Agustín returned with a full plate.

“She won’t eat?”

“No. Bless her, she tried.”

She sighed again.

Turning back to the food she was currently preparing for Luisa’s throat.

Luisa was hanging about the kitchen too, having opted to busy herself by starting on lunch, with the hope that she might be able to convince Mirabel to eat something.

“Her temperature’s getting worse too,” he added. “And she’s definitely not slept well. Bled through the bandages. Luisa has gotten her to sip some water, it’s not much but it’s a step in the right direction...”

“What is she doing now?” Luisa asked.

“Explaining to Isabela why Marie Antoinette was a good person. She’s still struggling to do anything though.”

“At least it’s distracting her.”

“And notice how your sister found a way of doing it without hurting herself, Luisa,” Julieta chided.

Luisa shrugged, casually. “I’m not hurt. And it was totally worth it. She laughed. She puts up with so much of my stupidity - I could wake her up in the middle of the night to sing to her and I’m pretty sure she’d clap.”

“Luisa, please, don’t wake anyone up at midnight to sing for them.”

~~~~~~

“Tío Bruno? I need a vision.”

Bruno blinked at his nephew. He looked around in confusion.

“Uh… aren’t you meant to be grounded?” He asked.

“Abuela said I should go out and burn off some energy, and Isabela is probably still fixing my room.” Camilo explained.

Unconvinced, Bruno looked around again. There was nobody in sight to help him.

What was he meant to do?

“What do you need a vision for?”

“I wanna know when this all goes away. When everything goes back to normal.”

“Normal?”

“Yeah.”

What is he meant to do?

He knows very little about parenting and discipline and he’s honestly the last person who should be left to deal with a child.

“Nobody said anything about me not getting a vision, so it’s probably still allowed.” Camilo assured. “And I’m sure you want to know too. You didn’t look like you enjoyed breakfast.”

“I don’t think anyone did, sobrino.” Bruno muttered.

“Did something happen?”

“Just your mother and Tía Julieta. They aren’t getting along because of… all this.”

He glanced around again.

“I really don’t think I should be talking to you. I don’t want either of them shouting at me, it’s bad enough when they want me to pick sides against each other.” He shook himself at the thought. “Maybe it’s best you just go back up to your room for the time being, okay?”

Camilo huffed. “Okay.”

There was a moment of hesitation.

“I am sorry,” the boy insisted. “She wasn’t meant to almost die.”

“Um… well, that’s good to hear?”

“It was only a prank. It wasn’t meant to be such a big deal.”

“…Don’t you think you should be saying all this to your cousin? Instead of me?”

Camilo scoffed a bit. “As if any of my cousins will let me apologise properly. Luisa will kill me. Isabela would interrupt me and just laugh. And Mirabel will complain about my word choice or something dumb.”

To be fair…

No. Actually, he was pretty spot on.

That is exactly how is three nieces would react to Camilo.

At the sound of footsteps, Camilo quickly tiptoed back up the stairs and into his room. Bruno likewise hurried off into his own - afraid it might be one or both of his sisters.

[geckooo]

Encantober Day Five: Pranks

Word Count: 589

AO3

The Mystery of the Left Glove

It was a cool, calm morning that promised to turn into a beautiful day. Pepa was helping Agustín make breakfast, while Julieta got a start on cooking up her daily supply of food for the town. Camilo was slouched over the kitchen table, not quite awake, but in position to be the first to grab a serving of breakfast. It was quiet. Pleasant. 

“THE LEFT GLOVE!” 

Félix stormed in from the toolshed, said glove clutched in his upraised fist. “The left glove! I lost this thing months ago, and now it’s just appeared again!”

Pepa exchanged a confused look with Agustín, not sure why Félix was so worked up about it. “Good?”

“No, mi vida! Not good! Because now the right glove is missing! As it was two months ago, before it was swapped for the left! And again, two months before that!”

Julieta whipped around, spraying wet dough from the wooden spoon clutched in her hand. “It’s los duendes!” 

They’d all heard about Julieta’s mischievous elf problems. Portions of meals disappearing while her back was turned, ingredients running out more quickly than they should, the occasional odd whisper of a voice. 

Yes, they’d heard all about it.

Pepa exchanged a rather more droll look with Agustín, this time. They didn’t say anything, but Julieta caught it anyway and tossed her hands, flinging more dough around. 

“Oh, you’ll live in a magical valley in a magical house full of magical people, but los duendes are too much for you?”

Agustín wisely didn’t comment. Wiping flecks of dough off his glasses, he turned to Félix. “Are you sure you aren’t just misremembering which one was lost?” 

Félix was shaking his head before Agustín even finished his sentence. “No, no. I thought I was going crazy, but now I am certain. Camilo!” He whirled on their son, who squawked and sat up straight. 

“It wasn’t me!” 

“Just like gradually making the legs on my chair shorter wasn’t you?”

“That wasn’t me, either!” 

“And filling Isabela’s shoes with wet paint?”

“Okay, that one was me.”

Which actually brought up a good point. Pepa tilted her head and hummed. “I don’t think it was Camilo. He doesn’t have the subtlety or patience for that.” Camilo squawked again, this time in offense. She shrugged apologetically. “I’m sorry, niño, but it’s true.” 

As far as Pepa was concerned, The Mystery of the Short Chair remained unsolved, and it seemed The Left Glove might join its ranks. She suspected Dolores was the culprit behind the former, based on the knowing look she’d had in her eye when they all finally noticed that Félix’s chair was getting shorter with every meal. Although, honestly, the tricks reminded her a lot more of… 

No one. They reminded her of no one. 

“I’m telling you,” Julieta groused, turning back to her mixing bowl. “It’s los duendes.” 

------

Okay, so maybe it was a little mean. 

But there wasn’t a lot of entertainment to be had, and driving Félix up the wall with plausibly deniable little tricks had always been fun. 

Bruno felt a little bad that Camilo often took the blame, but the boy had embraced and eventually earned his reputation as a prankster. His were flashier than what Bruno preferred, but he hoped Camilo was starting to pick up the finer art of psychological warfare, through observation if nothing else.

Bruno was sorry he couldn’t mentor him directly, but in a way, he still felt like he was passing things on to his nephew. 

Even if no one knew it.

[oncexinxmyxdreams]

Encanto OC Event Week 2: Francisca and Bruno. Two Black Sheep.

(Far behind than I planned! Need to get another one completed!)

These two first hear about the other before meeting. Alejandra talks a little about her sister and when she arrives home, she has plenty to tell. Pablo's fight, the con artists gang, finding a secluded paradise and a kind family. She respects the Madrigal's privacy by not discussing their gifts. Though she wants to because it's beneficial. She shows Francisca the tea Julieta makes for Bruno's migraines. Teas are nothing new to Francisca, but she keeps it. She's not surprised by their father having warned Alejandra it wouldn't go well. She knows they'll have to be vigilant with the gang. However, if they were southwest, far from Boyacá, she's confident they won't appear soon. As for some secluded paradise, she has no interest. She's curious that this family knew their mother, but doesn't think they'll learn anything new. She's not sure about this Bruno Madrigal that Alejandra talks about so highly. Especially how he has these funny alter egos called Hernando and Jorge. (Anyone who puts a bucket on their head has insanity issues.) She brushes it all off and continues with her busy life.  

After Bruno arrives to Boyaca, Francisca's not there due to work, shows up for dinner. She's confused seeing a small, slightly unkempt man. When Alejandra introduces them, Francisca's not impressed. It's hard to impress her anyway, but she's analyzing him. She can tell from the ruana he picks loose threads and likely has insomnia due to the dark circles under his eyes. Oh, and great! He's a rat person. (Beatriz tagged along wanting to see Alejandra.) She has no interest in him and isn't thrilled he's staying for a few days. At first Bruno's annoyed by Francisca's dismissiveness but trusts Alejandra saying her sister's not social. Besides, he knows there's more than meets the eye.

He sees a gentler side to Francisca with her cat, Litzy. How she and her twin sit alone at night in a peaceful silence. When Francisca goes through a terrible migraine, he finds Alejandra trying to comfort her twin. It's nearly identical to Julieta and Pepa when he had them. Alejandra tells Bruno the tea from Julieta didn't work. It wasn't a quick fix like her food. Bruno admits that when he took it, it would slowly help him recover since migraines are a side effect from his gift. It should work fast for an average person, but why not for Francisca? After she's recovered, Bruno asks her about her experience. Francisca sarcastically comments he must be a doctor. No, but he's had them all his life so why not discuss? He remembers Mercedes mentioned her family had a history of migraines. Francisca reluctantly sits down and talks with him. She goes over in detail her remedies and the timing of migraines. It seems like she's holding something back. 

Bruno's a bit stunned he's concerned for her. She's not like Alejandra, being more independent and calculated. Yet, like with Alejandra, he's seeing a part of himself in her and wants to help. They don't have anything in common though...until she offers to give him copies of old theater books. Bruno's pleasantly surprised since he already has those and didn't think she liked theater. Her answer? "I don't. I just read them because I was bored." It leads into the topic of reading which leads to Mercedes. Francisca's not as stiff talking about her and gives sparse details about their lives.

She asks him a strange question: does he have any kind of visions? He admits he has future visions. As nerve wracking as it is to try a vision outside from home, he'll try. Francisca thinks he's joking using some process to see them. She's thinking more medically than fantasy. She declines saying he wouldn't understand. When he inquires why she suddenly brought up visions, she admits she has some disorder where...she sees things. She explains how she's researched and diagnosed. Bruno's not sure, but listens. Maybe she's clairvoyant like him or something along the lines. Francisca refuses to buy the clairvoyance since magic isn't real. Sort of frustrating, but Bruno realizes she's practical and if she saw the Encanto she'd probably understand. They talk a little about being the odd one in the family: the black sheep. They gain a new respect for each other after this. She admits she likes him a little because he reminds her of Alejandra.       

When Bruno leaves, he reminds the girls the family would be happy to see them and they're welcome anytime. He also tells Francisca if she ever wants to talk about visions, he'll listen. A while later, Alejandra and a begruding Francisca visit the Encanto. She actually wanted to see just Bruno with more inquiries about visions. Alejandra jokingly tells him that means she missed him. The Madrigals are glad to see Alejandra, but it's another story with Francisca. She can't comprehend magic or the gifts. She especially can't grasp how Casita is alive. Francisca feels like she's going mad and there's discord among the Madrigals. She even offends Casita and causes a temporary rivalry. Bruno and Alejandra find themselves having to keep the peace. It doesn't take long for Antonio to like her thanks to Litzy coming along and telling him sweet stories about her owner. 

Bruno offers Francisca the tablet of young Mercedes holding a baby. He says Alejandra told him to keep it but wants Francisca to decide. She checks it thoroughly and says it's neither of them. She admits something she's kept to herself since Mercedes died. Mercedes was writing in her final days. Francisca found notes for her and Alejandra. Mercedes wrote heartfelt memories and encouragement. Francisca found discarded drafts, but one with few details that left shock. It was Mercedes admitting to the girls, she had a miscarriage. From what Francisca could gather, Mercedes kept trying to reword it and finally decided not to reveal. She's not sure when it happened, but she's certain it's when the twins were toddlers. Bruno's shocked and devastated to know Mercedes went through it.  

Not long after, Francisca admits she's curious how he has visions. She's speechless seeing a vision of Alejandra in danger. It's the same one Bruno had which made him travel to Boyaca. He's concerned when it appears she goes into a panic attack and suddenly goes rigid. To his amazement, her eyes are now a faintly growing dark green! They suddenly stop and Francisca collapses as if she's fought for her life. Bruno gives her time to breathe and when she demands he can't tell anyone, he reassures. She confesses everything since Bruno's earned her trust.

She's had visions of the past since she was 5 and never told anybody besides her twin. Not even Mercedes. She's kept it secret in fear of being deemed insane and being locked up. She has little control of the visions and holding them back causes worse migraines. Her 6 months in prison was an endless blur of visions leaving her weak. The minister who helped her leave was only called because the guards thought she was possessed, but he was experienced enough to know this was different. Francisca couldn't believe when he suggested her visions could be from higher powers and maybe even a gift. Now? She's not sure about anything. Bruno doesn't know either, but promises she's safe and nobody will lock her up. She's had to take care of everybody else. Now it's her turn to be helped and he'll do it. 

He suddenly wonders if Alejandra has something similar and Francisca only says, "You'd have to ask her."   

@encanto-extended-edition

[casitafallz]

LTRL AU | Birthday repairs

Agustín didn’t linger too far at the table and easily followed up to his wife’s back, his hand coming to catch her hips.

“Mi Vida…”

“You were right.” Julieta hissed, “Stupid idea…”

Agustín inhaled deeply but shook his head, gently tugging her weight back into his chest. “It wasn’t a stupid idea, My Vida. Just…the wrong person.”

It had been a long discussion the last few days on what sort of party they were doing and in all honestly, Agustín hadn’t liked the argument he had gotten into with Julieta last night; he had stepped by to keep the peace. He had wanted to throw a small party, the family, his parents and sister, maybe his Sobrina as well from his sister’s side. Isabela had barely interacted with her younger cousin and Tia that… he thought she might benefit from opening up to the other’s of their family.

Abuela had stepped in and pressed for something even smaller; to keep the celebration private to avoid any incidents that could arise and had reasoned that Julieta’s health would benefit for something more mundane. He had caved, in most part Julieta had been getting bad headaches the last few weeks and…he didn’t want to keep adding stress onto her shoulders. It wasn’t work stress—not anymore— that much he knew but she was a worrier by nature and probably the build up to this day had been the cause.

“We shouldn’t have put off the birthday talks.” Julieta grumbled, “we…we might have had more time to get….decorations.” She inhaled shallowly, her eyes prickling with tears. Agustín’s hands moved to rub soft circles into her back. “I feel terrible.”

“Juli, we made a mistake. It happens.” Relief settled as she turned and hugged herself into his chest,  arms snaking around his waist. “We just…need to apologize.” At the very least here because… well he should have seen a bad reaction the moment he saw her look around… and he should have wished her a happy birthday this morning but both he and Julieta were still recovering a little from last night. He thought the others would at least, he certainly heard Mirabel. “and we need to make it up to her.”

Julieta’s breath wavered a little but her bun bobbed as she nodded. “I know.”

“what do we do now?” Mirabel’s voice echoed behind them.

Agustín jumped a little, Julieta stiffened in his arms before stepping back but kept a hand resting on his arm, unwilling to let go. Julieta looked a little lost for words, uncertain.

“Let Isa have a minute,” Agustín gave his daughter a soft look, even as Mirabel pouted a little. “I’ll go talk to her first.”

“Okay, Papa.” Mirabel moved forwards abruptly and sunk into Julieta’s arms to comfort her mother.

Agustín patted her shoulder softly though he turned his gaze to his mother-in-law who had remained seated with a perplexed expression, her meal untouched as most now aside from Camilo who had no issues eating through such an uproar that even Antonio was giving him a confused look. Bruno still ate but with more awareness and care to not chew too loudly.

“Don’t get upset at Isabela,” he requested directly to her, “We are at fault for this.”

Abuela’s head rose, lips pursing a fraction. “There is little way to salvage such an incident, Agustín. Let’s eat and clear up. We can talk to Isabela tomorrow on this.”

“No.”

Abuela took at him sharply.

Camilo’s crunch loudly echoed in the dining room, earning the kid a soft budge from his father but Agustín wasn’t for back out because of an audience.

“The meal may be ruined but the evening is not. It’s only six-thirty after all.” He intended to do more than just let Isa drown in her upset when they needed to address this. “You don’t have to be down here, but it’d be nice to try and salvage what we can. Isabela thinks she still being punished, I don’t intend to validate that.” He straightened up. “Pepa, Felix, I think it’d be best if—“

“Don’t worry, I think it’ll be easier with fewer people.” Felix waved off casually, his hand coming to his wife who begrudgingly nodded. “I do want to give her my gift personally, however.”

“I’ll talk to her.” Agustín promised.

Taking their plates, or what was left, the yellow family opted to finish their meal to the privacy of their rooms, or Antonio’s room is the 5-year-old’s suggestion had any weight. A flash of red showed Dolores hurrying with them as well.

Which left Abuela and Bruno at the table with Luisa looking like she was stuck in the middle, fiddling with her cutlery.

“Mama, let’s take a walk first.” Mirabel encouraged behind him but, a loud knocking against Casita’s door pulled any attempts to digress.

“Casita,” Abuela rose to her feet at that before leading the way out to the door, Agustín followed though he already had a hunch on who it was long before they got to the door that swung open with some level of hesitancy from Casita and both his parents came in, blissfully unaware.

It was no secret that he had inherited both his style and looks from his parents and even to their greying years, they hadn’t tried to keep to Encanto’s fashion and he did enjoy the unique look they had. It showed their family profession quite well.

His father was suited into a bottle-green suit with a complementary brown coat, his grey-almost white hair slicked back and had a familiar warmth in the lines of his face. His mother’s features were much sharper but with softer brown eyes; her grey hair was up into a typical bun and in her hands was a large, wrapped gift with ‘Isabela’ written onto its tag.

“Abuelita!” Mirabel darted forwards and immediately hugged her.

“Ay, Mirabel.” His mother smiled, her arm juggling the gift to free one up, and gently hugged Mirabel back. “I’m glad to see you… and that you’re hugging again.”

Mirabel pulled back, lips wavering for a moment but nodded softly, “I’m getting there.”

Her mother didn’t press much more than to a simple nod of acknowledgment and touched Mirabel’s cheek affectionately before dumping the gift for Isa into her husband’s arms. “Luisa, come hug your Abuelita…”

Luisa rose without a second of doubt and easily pulled her grandparents into a hug with a more relaxed smile, her tall frame easily towering over the two as she straightened up nerviously.

“Mijo,” Abuelita wandered away from Luisa, her eyes touching over Abuela and Bruno though her eyes became much more fixed as she realised who was missing. He could already feel the unease in his gut now because… she was not going to be happy. “Where’s the birthday girl?” Her tone was calm and warm and laced with a casual question but he internally winced like there was a threat to her words.

His mother was sharp and clearly, she was reading the entire room in the space of three seconds to know something was wrong. He knew better than to lie to her- late sixties or not, she was intimidating.

“She’s… in her room, Mama.” Agustín admitted though he gave her his best assuring look, “Dinner’s gone a bit sidewards. I was about to go up to her.”

His mother’s smile vanished though it was uncanny of how the look of displeasure was something she and Isabela had shared.

“It’s a minor miscommunication,” Abuela spoke up, “nothing that can’t be taken care of but…perhaps you should return tomorrow when Isabela’s in a better mood.”

“No, I came to see my eldest granddaughter and give her her present, which will not change.” Abuelita’s polite answer though she turned her attention to Mirabel, “Mira, what happened?”

Mirabel flushed a little, “Well… there was a suggestion of doing a little surprise party and….Isa may have thought that the family forgot about her birthday and—“ Mira stopped as Abuelita raised her hand.

“I see.” She inhaled deeply though her gaze became stern, “Agustín, Julieta, would you mind if I spoke to Isabela first?”

Agustín felt his wife’s hand snake into his, her eyes baring unto his uncertainly but nodded after a moment. “I’ll get you something to drink.”

“Here, I brought this from home.” From his coat, he pulled out a large bottle of wine and Julieta led him towards the kitchen, their voiced quiet and carrying but Agustín was glad that his father was probably the best to distract Julieta.

“Why don’t you two go and set up a comfy spot by the corner,” Agustín suggested to both his remaining daughters. “Bring the cake and presents and make it look pretty, okay?”

“Okay, Papa.”

-

Vera was quietly fuming by the time she reached Isabela’s door, momentarily taken aback by the change of her door’s entire placement and the little hallway steps up that hadn’t been there before. It ruffled her feathers, so to speak. Vera did know it had been a good few months since she had been down here… since Mirabel’s Quinceañera at least and Isa’s door hadn’t been like this… something was wrong.

Her knuckles thumped lightly across the glowing, wooden door before silence echoed, no reply or inclination of permission to enter.

“Can I go in?” She felt odd to talk to the house but the tiles by her feet shifted in a way she hoped was a yes before she touched the handle and poked her head in. Inside, she had expected to see the fields of pink but she felt her jaw drop at such a new room and color.

A huge tree was what pulled her attention first, massive and looming above it all and…stunning if that was one of her granddaughter’s creations. Clearly, there had been a lot she was unaware of… why hadn’t Agustín had told her this when they had last spoken?

Carefully treading, Vera felt so small in such a jungle of colors and plants. A pitcher plant with bird feathers sticking out its bowl had her step a little quicker. Cavernous plants, trees, brightly colors pods….was that an herb farm? Were all those her creations too?

Against the canvas of colour, her eyes caught sight of Isabela sitting in a ball beside a tall, slim waterfall that thundered a cool mist across the large space and surrounded by a multitude of random flowers and plants; all sharp and prickly which…felt symbolic at the least.

“Nieta?” her voice carried as she settled the gift to her feet.

Isabela stiffened a little more but turned to face her swiftly, her hair like a curtain and seemed to hide her face away

“Abuelita?” Her voice was so soft and surprised.

Vera sighed softly though happily moved forward a few steps as Isabela struggled to her feet and sunk into her held out arms, her body shaking with soft sobs. “It’s okay,” She rubbed her back, “You’re okay.”

It took a few minutes and slowly getting to the bench a few meters away before she felt Isabela relax a little, staying leaned into her side like a child.

“Can you tell me what happened?” Vera encouraged, hoping to get her side of the story out as well.

Isabela sniffled, her eyes looking straight to her lap. “I…I knew I wasn’t…going to get a big party like-like last year.” She took a shallow breath, “But…. they didn’t even bother with decorations!”

It sounded like a very small thing and not something to throw a fit about but Vera was a big-picture woman. Isa had clearly drawn a comparison between her last birthday to this. She did recall Mirabel telling her they had a surprise planned, she could see why Isabela would be so much more affected.

“Ay, that’s something I agree with. They should have had decorations and they certainly should have made it look so much more important. You’re only twenty-two once.” Vera rubbed her back, “Anything else?”

“No one wished me a happy birthday this morning. Only Mirabel… and she gave me this as well.” Her hand patted the damp blue shirt she wore. “Mama only just told be before dinner but…it felt cheap…why wait all day to tell me?”

It was stunning, Vera noted and she could see it was certainly a work of art. Mirabel had come to her shop once for some help but that was before things had been added. The fact the girl gave Isabela that showed that she had forgiven her for sure for what she had done.

Vera was not the one to condone violence and she had offered to take either Mirabel or Isa in after it had happened but Agustín had assured them has it handled. She didn’t know the full story but she was glad there had been punishment given and that Isabela was mature to take it with a high head.

But, she could now plainly see why Isabela would be so upset. No inclination of a surprise on top of no well-wishes of a special day… it must have built throughout the day for her to react like this. It felt a little familiar.

“Happy birthday, niñita” Vera brushed some of her hair back behind her ear. “I’m sorry that happened. I think…they were planning on surprising you after dinner so they were probably trying to save it.”

Isabela scoffed, wiping her eyes on her wrist, “I don’t care for surprises, Abuelita. It…doesn’t feel like that they wanted to put the effort in for me. It…it was my special day today” Isabela looked so deflated, her eyes welling up.

“Ay, it is your special day for sure… and in all honesty, I thought your Papi knew better than to go for a surprise party.”

“What do you mean?”

Vera hummed softly for a moment; a story Agustín must not have told her. “When your Tia Sofia was turning 14 when we thought of doing a surprise party. Doing everything in secret, hiding the decorating, even the ones we ordered….” She trailed off, “Agustín accidentally set a fire and destroyed the decorations so we had to put in a late order again on the day…”

She could feel Isa’s curious gaze now. “Wh-what happened?”

“Well, your Tia was on some medication when she was a child to help with some pain, your mother was unavailable at the time but… it wasn’t brewed correctly. That’s my mistake there. We were so frantic on the day, she left early to see her school friends but… the medication also made her paranoid.”

Isa’s lip twitched.

“So, she did come home early and nearly caught us putting stuff up but, your Abuelito was picking up the new order at the time while I had a neighbor help around at the same time. As soon as I heard her, I had the neighbor grab the boxes and shoved him into the nearest room…which just happened to be my bedroom.”

“What?”

“Yes, I know.” Vera smiled, shaking her head. “So, the evening comes around when we have Agustín bring her home—I had her go to play with her friends—but I didn’t know that…she had peeked into my room through the outside shutters and saw the neighbor when she had left, not the decorations and had…assumed I was having an affair on her birthday.”

Isa’s jaw dropped a little. “What?!”

“It gets worse…”

“How?”

“Because when she came in, we all shouted ‘surprise’ and she burst into tears…. She had thought the party was me announcing to her that I was leaving her father for the neighbour. She had built an entire narrative in her head throughout the day on what could have happened; all the hush-hush, the secret talks me and the adults had…” Vera shook her head, “she thought that the party wasn’t about her special day and more about a divorce.”

Isabela gaped at for a moment, but now had entirely relaxed like Vera had hoped the story would do “Is…is that why we’ve never had that sort of party before?”

“Si, and one of the reasons I would have thought your Padre would have been against it. It’s the worse day for misunderstandings.”

Isabela looked down, “This wasn’t a misunderstanding.”

“Perhaps it’s more of a…lack of communication. I’ve heard things haven’t been easy for you and it’s….easy to think the worst. You do have presents and a lovely cake waiting for you, if you’d like to come down?”

Isabela shook her head. “No… no dinner’s ruined.”

“But not this evening,” Vera tried, “Why don’t you come down with me? Come and see your Abuelito? He’d love to watch you open your gift.” Which she had now realized was on the grass, the paper getting soaked with waterfall mist.

“Go down? After what happened?” Isa’s voice wavered, “I… I can’t face them.”

“Why not?”

Isabela shook her head. “I ruined dinner…it’ll be too awkward. They’ll want apologies and—“

“Well, they’ll have to apologize first, niñita” Vera hoped Dolores would pass that along, “You’re allowed to be upset for them not giving you happy birthdays or decorations. I don’t know who insisted on a surprise but…lets not waste this evening when it’s young. You deserve a good evening so why not try?”

Isa’s face still looked conflicted but Vera gave her hand a soft squeeze.        

“If it’s still too much, then you can come back. I won’t stop you.” Vera reasoned

Isabela exhaled but thankfully nodded, “Okay, Abuelita.”

Isabela knew her Abuelita was trying and she was glad it was her. Someone not…so into this whole mess to judge her on why she was here. Like her Papa, she knew she was far paient; at least she knew where he had gotten it from.

Together, they walked from her room, Abuelita grabbing her present on the way out though thankfully began to talk.

“So, what presents did you receive?”

“One of my friends gave me some…bookmarks,” Isabela spoke softly, glad to focus on that. “My other friend, Fran; she actually set up lessons for me in town.”

“Oh?”

“Well… I finished a project with her and… well I had nothing else happening. Fran thought it could be useful for me to learn other things. Pottery sounds good; I have a lot of plants that’ll need pots… but…I’m curious about…textiles.” Isabela watched as her Abuelieta looked at her in delighted surprise.

“Textiles? Like sewing?”

“No, now…sewing.” Isabela winced, “I don’t have skill in that regard.”

“Pray tell.”

“Making threads and material, that sort of thing.” Isa knew it sounded very out of context but…she wasn’t quite ready to admit she could make cotton or fabric plants… not yet. Only Fran and Mateo really knew and… well Dolores by her gift but she hadn’t really approached Dolores and didn’t plan to.

“Ah,” Abuelita nodded. “It’s a laborious art, Isabela. Me and your Abuelito only tend to work with the finished sheets. I hope you’re…prepared to endure the long tasks it brings.”

Isabela shrugged, “Well, I suppose I’ll either learn or drop it but either way, I’ve tried it out.” It would be far easier to at least learn how to spindle, at the least, even if she never got further than that because at least then things were half-processed.

Abuelita smiled at her, though still keeping an eye as they reached the bottom of the balcony steps, “I suppose that is all that should matter.”

Isabela smiled softly though she could see the back of Luisa seated in at the other end of the courtyard which made her uneasy that…now she was out of her room. Out to see her family and… whatever they had pitifully pulled together to make this…work.

“Come,” Abuelita encouraged her onwards, and begrudgingly, Isabela forced herself forwards and tried to ignore the increasing beat against her ribs.

“Ah, Isabela.” Abuelito was the first to swoop in, drawing the rest of the family’s attention to her but Isa strictly focused as Abuelito pulled her into a hug, noting the distant smell of tobacco on his suit before she patted his back, allowing her to be released. “I’m happy you’ve come down, you look stunning. You always did look good in blue.”

“Thank you, Abuelito.” Isabela straightened out the creases that had formed in her new shirt, internally wincing because she knew she had probably splodged her tears into it. “Mirabel did a wonderful job.”

“Si, Si.” She kept her gaze down a little as she felt the eyes on her, though she could see the…cake her mother had made now. Two tiers, a light blue, base that was decorated with shaped and crafted sugar flower petals of lilacs, blues, and pinks as if it was a bouquet. Icing complimented and eased the flow and décor. It was beautiful and she appreciated the work her mother put in to create such art.

But… on top of the day, it felt like it lacked…heart. Isa could reason she had perhaps her mother had worked all day onto it which did spring from warmth back into her chest but the doubt remained like it’s shadowed companion.

“Mija…” Julieta appeared next, her face melded in concern and…somewhat apologetic, though Isa couldn’t help but notice the slight dark circles under her eyes as her mother reached for her arm. Mama was tired…. Guilt wiggled a little in her gut but she lightly smiled back, not genuine but enough she hoped to appease her mother.

It did, if a little. “Lo siento, Isa” Her mother spoke. “This…day should have been better for you and… we want to make it up to you.”

“You don’t have to,” Isa replied because she didn’t want that; all she had wanted was a birthday, something proper. Not something to make up for their lack of consideration on an important day; it made the action feel… guilt-riddled. They weren’t necessarily doing it for her and for the most part, to make themselves feel better for this. She didn’t want to hold it against them… but she didn’t feel the enjoyment as she should have.

She wanted something real.

“How about we cut the cake?” Abuelita suggested, guiding them both to the spare seats. Isa kept her posture relaxed as her papa pulled out a knife.

“Where are the others?”  Isa asked; it hadn’t escaped her notice her Tia, Tio and cousins weren’t a part of this… her Abuela for that matter. Tio Bruno though, she could see the edge of his ruana from a hammock, rats running up and down the string and disappearing to snuggle or play against him.

“They’ll come by later. Tio Felix wants to give you his gift a little later personally.” Luisa spoke next, fiddling a little. “Happy birthday.” She added a little awkwardly.

Isabela nodded, her shoulders relaxing. Leaning into her mother’s side a little as she lent forwards and took the knife from her father’s hand, gently cutting through the first layer and then handing it off for him to continue himself. Soon enough the cake was shared but the slight reservation in the air didn’t break until Abuelita shoved a particular covered piece of cake straight into Abuelito’s face than his mouth.

A moment’s silence lisps before Mirabel began to snigger. Luisa’s lip twitched a little though isa couldn’t help but fall into giggles as Abuelito shoved his straight back, coating the front of his wife’s shirt in blue frosting and icing as if they were teenagers.

Their antics did calm before anything could be thrown and Isa was sure it could have easily gone that way if Camilo or Antonio had been a part of it. Isa held back on her tia and Tio’s present when they had gotten to unwrapping, the air now feeling far more pleasant to move on.

“Present time!” Mirabel hopped up excitedly and took the lead on the wrapped boxes, her enthusiasm making Isa smile as she began to unwrap them.

From Luisa, she had simply gotten new gardening tools, nothing from Camilo unless you counted the single, terracotta pot that clearly had been a last-second buy—probably for his sake than hers— and from her parents, she had received a new set of shirt and a skirt; much thicker material which meant it was sturdy.  Dolores had given her a knitting set, which felt odd but she opted not to question it.

But what was the prize of her gifts was what her Abuelita and Abuelo had made.

A leather bag. Was big, large enough for her to store gardening tools, books, and had a lot of pockets, probably good for holding seeds. Its décor was tanned-brown, but was beautifully made with meticulous designs of flowers and herbs and had a beautiful brass latch. She could even smell the leather polish.

“Woah.” Agustín lent forwards, “Mama, that’s stunning.”

Isa touched along the designs, her eyes welling up happily before she jumped up and threw her arms around her. “Thank you! It’s so beautiful!”

Abuelita’s chest rumbled, her chuckles soft in her ear. “Ay, you’re welcome, little one.”

“I almost don’t want to put anything in it! I’d hate to ruin it by accident.”

“Ay, you worry too much.” Abuelito chuckled, his hips curling into his mustache. “Like I said to your father, our home is always open.”

Isa’s head cocked to the side, her eyes turning to Agustín curiously. What did that mean?

[seroothincs]

Some headcanons about the wiseguy's music tastes.

One thing I always adore when I create personal headcanons is to come up with, who I think are suitable music tastes, for each character. so Let's start off with the big boss. Don Vittorio = guy likes it classy, prefers Jazz over everything. He definitely owns 5 clubs of his own. Some favorite artists of him would be Jula De Palma and Bruno Martino. Fat Tony = Him and Music, well I put a lot of thought into this one but I'd say he seems more of the traditional pop type of guy, plus a lot of folk music. I can see him being a big fan of Frank Sinatra and Connie Francis. but as revealed in "The Fat blue line", Tony likes to sing show tunes in his spare time. Seeing as he sung "I'm still here" From a certain Musical adapted from the book of the same name, "Follies". I do not know what Tony sees in that musical but hey that's his business. So listening to broadway tunes is also on the list, something tells me he would like the broadway version of "Heathers". Legs = Guy's classic, his parents listened to nothing more than Italian opera so he grew up with legends like Renata Tebaldi and Franco Corelli. Growing up they weren't really lucky so they didn't have a radio or a tv, they had to rely on what they already had like the old record player in their living room with multiple vinyls left from his grandparents. Though occasionally, and as Legs grew up into being a proper adult, he slowly began to grow a liking towards Old School Hip Hop, artists like the Crash crew. But other than that, He's a HUUGGEE Mina fan-boy. That dude knows every lyric to her songs and Will put it on when it's karaoke night. Tony and Louie can absolutely not stand any of that and are confused for why he even likes that. Speaking of Louie~ Louie = Now there's no surprise here, the guy was seen attending the Rolling stones rock camp so that dude is obviously a huge fan. He likes classic rock but something tells me he is a huge fan of Psychedelic rock aswell. He likes both the stones, obviously, but also the doors and Jimi Hendrix. Legs is so fed up each time Louie puts on "Purple haze" but what else can he do other than groan and just wait until the song is over? Frankie = Ohh-- THIS GUY. This little baby man, oh he listens to modern pop- Huge Taylor swift fan but he also stays true to his Italian side, so both Taylor and Marco Mengoni fan. I couldn't think of anything else that would fit him other than being an obvious pop fan. Feel like he dances to Shake it off when he's alone. And that should be all for the main guys. If you're asking where Johnny is in all of this-- well, that's a story for another time~

But I would like to include some one-time characters aswell. Willie Whatever is a big rock fan, Dan Gillick is a very big Beatles and The Yardbirds fan, Jimmy "The Axe" loves disco, once it was popularized in Italy he couldn't stop listening and going to disco clubs. HOWEVER, one band. One most crucial band that everyone can put their differences aside for is Måneskin. Oh, Louie loves them, Legs admires them and Tony doesn't know if he should like them or not, the portrayal the band and overall appearance leaves him a bit uncomfortable. But nevertheless, they love them and even went to a concert together. I swear, they even have records in the club. Just for entertainment.