#other; mirella (mimi)

[tag-if]

Omg u haven't bothered you in forever. Hiiiii Jester. I hope you are doing splendidaliryyyy (just go with it its a word in my head)

I'm going around bothering my fav authors. Sooo my question if you had to choose a character to romance from your IF who would it be and why?

And I don't want a 1 sentence answer! You write masterful characters with depth. So gimme!!!! 😒♥️

AW YOU'RE SO SWEET <3

also! hello! welcome back :)!!

i've been going through A Time but my lectures start up again soon so the routine will help, i hope you're doing well too!!

as for your question, since you want a longer answer (though some bits may still be vague to avoid spoilers), i'll put it under the cut :)

this is honestly a difficult one, i love all my characters, however i think i can answer this if i split it into two; characters in general, and specifically the romanceable options

of the ROs, i'd have to say T. Bellefleur, I've made it pretty obvious that Tally is one of my favourites, i think, but i'm a sucker for sarcastic characters. having said that if you put me in a poly with A. Caras and Tally i think i would be just as happy. looking at my plans for their routes, the different types of MCs and the ways they can learn to navigate around Caras and Tally and the unique/individual ways they express their emotions really draws me in.

of the characters in general? that was a little tougher, there are so many options to consider. i think, though, i would have to say Mirella (Mimi) Acierno or Hex Seif.

Mimi (she/her) is the MC's personal maid, she's bubbly and strong-willed and will care for the MC deeply regardless of how they treat her because that's just who she is as an individual. i really admire that kind of person, and i think she would be a delight to be around.

Hex (he/they) is one of the townsfolk that MC has the option to interact with on days off (and certain work activities), he's playful and friendly, but there's just something about him that seems...off. they may be a bit of a cliche, to some, but the exploration and things you can learn about him as you develop a friendship with Hex (including his actual name, because it isn't 'Hex') is something that would be so fun to explore.

[ownedbybooks]

I posted 532 times in 2022

That's 532 more posts than 2021!

64 posts created (12%)

468 posts reblogged (88%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@nzbookwyrm

@emily-reads-books

@thequeerlibrarian

@ownedbybooks

@leer-reading-lire

I tagged 118 of my posts in 2022

#bookblr - 78 posts

#booklover - 65 posts

#bookworm - 65 posts

#booknerd - 55 posts

#bookaholic - 52 posts

#book blog - 52 posts

#bookish - 42 posts

#bibliophile - 37 posts

#bookadiction - 35 posts

#book - 25 posts

Longest Tag: 107 characters

#i do have bookmarks and use them oftenly but sometimes i use other objects like my cellphone to bookmark it

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

I JUST BOUGHT THE ERAGON TALES BOOK AND I'M HYPERVENTILATING THERE'S A NEW MAP *cries in worldbuilding*

40 notes - Posted June 19, 2022

#4

✧ bookblr intro ✧

Hello everyone! I’m Mirella, a brazilian graphic designer who loves to read!

I’ve decided to create this blog to talk about my readings through the year… i felt I was missing something last year, so i hope that joining the bookblr community would help me fill that whole in my chest.

Help me find more bookblrs by liking/rebloging this post! :)

🚨Attention!🚨 This is a SIDE BLOG! My main blog is @herslowness, so don’t be surprised if I follow you with that username, ok?

About me:

As i said, I’m from Brazil and a graphic designer, currently working on retail industry. I’m 27 year old and i’ve always liked to read, but it was in 2015 that i’ve began to discover more communities about books and reading (like booktube) and since them i’ve fallen more and more in love with books, even though i was a more of an avid manga reader in high school.

My pronouns are she/her and if you think that Mirella is to formal, you can call me Mi or Mimi.

You can find me on Goodreads, Storygraph and Skoob (brazilian platform)

About my readings:

I mostly read in Portuguese, but i often read stuff in English. Sometimes i read in French, to practice it. I wish to be able to read in Italian in the future, since i’m learning the language right now!

I really like fantasy books, time travel books, fairytales retellings and young adults. but i’m open to explore and i’m always trying a new genre or book to get out of my comfort zone. because of that, lately i found out, i like classics and gothic literature and i’m starting my journey with terror by reading Stephen King’s book (i’ve read IT and I loved it!)

I have a personal ongoing project that i like to call “reading through the zodiac”, where i’ve started reading the epic book recommendations based on your astrological sign. I just started, though… I’m still in the Aries books.

This year i’m joining 2 buddy reads: one is more focused in classics (and we are currently reading War and Peace) and another one is for Cassandra Clare’s books (we are reading them since last year, in order of publication. This month i’m going to read Clockwork Angel).

I actually like reading in buddy reads, because knowing and seeing other people reading the same book as me, at the same time, gives me motivation. Plus the discussion makes me understands better the books, since one person can have a different point of view from mine!

I also LOVE joining read-a-thons, but i can’t do one after another! I must take some time after joining one, so i can heal. If i don’t respect myself I will for sure enter a reading slump phase, so… i just try to listen to my body as best as i can and read with the pace i feel like in the moment.

My reading goals:

This year my goal is to read 45 books.

I plan to finish some books series, but I don’t know which one at the moment. the only rule i set to myself, starting this year, is that if I start a new book series, i have to read it till the end or till the last book released by the author.

I also want to read all my 150+ ebooks i got for free during march 2020, because of the pandemic. but I know it will be quite impossible for me to read that much in a year, so i’m just hoping i will read the most i can from it.

I also have a physical pile of TBR in my room with almost 50+ books that i want to read, but again, it’s too unrealistic that I will read all of them this year, so i’m just going to be more flexible with it again and read the most i can from it.

Plus: i also wanna try and see if i can read everyday. for that i won’t count pages or percentage, since my goal for this is to read as much as i want… even if it’s a little bit.

54 notes - Posted January 7, 2022

#3

2022 Weekly Reading | 14/52

I used all my focus to read Mansfield Park this past week, so now I’m almost finishing it :)

54 notes - Posted April 10, 2022

#2

See the full post

75 notes - Posted April 3, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

I DID IT!!! 🎉🎉🎉

103 notes - Posted November 19, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[womanofwords]

STEM Kids Shenanigans (Chapter 26)

Chapter 26: The Hated One

Melanie groaned as she prepared herself for another day of school. Another day of trying to keep order in a place where nobody appreciated her for it. Even the teachers wouldn't give her the time of day now.

"Melanie, you're late," Mr Oluwatola said. "Care to explain yourself?"

"Traffic," Melanie groaned. "It doesn't matter. Nothing special is happening today."

"Actually, something is, I think," Sonia said. "The nursery near to the school is coming here to partner with some of the older students. Or is that some other day?"

"No, that's today," Mr Oluwatola said. "They'll be coming over to your classrooms while you work."

"So we're just going to be surrounded by a bunch of little children?" Sonia asked.

"I hope my little sister comes to one of my classes," Angelo sighed.

"She won't," Melanie snarked. "I know you, Angelo. She'll probably cause chaos."

"She's three. What do you expect her to do?" Angelo said.

"Nothing good," Melanie said.

"What's her problem?" Dante asked.

"She hates us, that's what her problem is," Layla said. "Let's just hope she leaves us alone. She's already lost everything she values."

"The only thing she's ever valued is her prefect badge," Yujin pointed out.

"And since she had it taken away from her, I'm technically correct," Layla remarked.

(PAUSE)

It was art class when the little ones descended by way of an open door. A little boy wearing dinosaur overalls waddled into the room, giggling as students cooed at him. Two little girls wandered in after him. One of them was Mirella.

"Angie!" she giggled, rushing over to him. Angelo scooped her up, sitting her on the desk while the other small children clambered up him.

"Angelo, do you know these children?" Miss Powers asked.

"Yes. This is my little sister, Mirella," Angelo said. "These other children must be her friends from nursery. Mirella, are these your friends?"

"Uh-huh," Mirella said.

"Mirella, where's your teacher?" Yujin asked.

"I don't care," Mirella said. Angelo's classmates laughed.

"Now, Mirella, how about big brother takes you and your classmates back to your teacher?" Angelo asked.

"No!" Mirella snapped. "I stay here!"

"I'm stayin', too!" the boy with the dinosaur overalls said. The other little girl agreed, and Angelo was outnumbered.

"OK. But if your teacher comes in, you have to go," Angelo said.

"No! I can't go!" Mirella said, rushing over to Yujin and grabbing on tight. "I wanna stay with Yujee!"

"Aww!" Yujin cooed.

"They are just the cutest!" Layla gushed. Their classmates were agreeing with them as they orbited around Angelo Riva.

A frazzled young man in a light blue dress shirt rushed in. "Excuse me, have you seen three children?"

"Yes, they're right here," Miss Powers said.

"No, I don't wanna go! I wanna stay with my big brother!" Mirella cried.

"Mimi, you have to go. Your teacher's worried about you," Angelo said.

"But I won't see you until we're at home!" Mirella whined.

"I'm sure you'll live," Melanie spat. She thought she was saying it to herself, but heads turned in anger and shock. The kindergarten teacher looked horrified.

"Melanie, she's only three!" Layla snapped.

"Why is she mean, Angie?" Mirella asked.

"Melanie, outside, please," Miss Powers said. Her typical smile was gone. Melanie sighed and waltzed out.

"Pardon me for wanting class to carry on as normal," Melanie snarked, as she left the room. How was she the bad guy here? Angelo was the one shamelessly milking them for their own reactions by using some little kid, and they were falling for it.

For the rest of the day, she could tell that she was being looked at differently. More people avoided her, people gave her more dirty looks than usual. And now there were the whispers.

"Did you hear what she said to Angelo's little sister?"

"Almost made her cry."

"So glad since she got her prefect badge removed."

"I've hated her since forever."

(PAUSE)

Melanie stomped over to her room immediately after she got home. "Melanie, how was school?" her mother asked.

"I don't want to talk about it," Melanie said, storming up the stairs to her room. Sonia came in a few minutes later.

"What's up with her?" Melanie's mother asked.

"I don't know. I just remember seeing a bunch of little kids invade art class and she's just been in a foul mood ever since," Sonia said. "You'll have to ask her."

Mrs Sainsbury went upstairs to her daughter's bedroom and knocked on the door. "Melanie, dear?" she asked, tentatively. "I'd like to talk to you about school."

"Why?" Melanie sobbed. "I hate it there!"

"Melanie!" Mrs Sainsbury admonished. "This isn't like you at all, what happened?"

"Those horrible kids from the STEM club! One of them made the children like them and the children were interrupting the lesson," Melanie explained in such detail that it made her mother wince. "I wanted the little kids to leave and now everyone hates me! I want a new school!"

"I'm sure you're just saying that," her mother said.

"No! I hate them so much! I want them to go away! I want you to go away! Go away!" Melanie sobbed.

Winifred Sainsbury backed out of her daughter's room slowly. "Sonia, I think Melanie might need some space to think," she said to Sonia.

"Fine by me," Sonia said.

To read the other parts of this fic, see Masterlist.

[ariel-seagull-wings]

FICTIONAL CHARACTER ASK: MIMI (FROM LA BOHEME)

TAGGED BY: @princesssarisa

@professorlehnsherr-almashy

What I Like About Them: She is so sweet and has such an easiness to make friends! I specially like the fact that while its extablished that she is an innocent ingenue, she doesn't have the infamously moralizing aspect of this archetype. For instance: when she sees Musetta in her relationship shenanigans, she could have so easily judged her for "not being a faithfull lover and acting so materialistic", but Mimi does not do that! Instead she gladly accepts Musetta's gift, becomes best friends with her, and is the first to defend her and call her a good person!

More of that, please!

What I Don't Like About Them: What sin did she commited to be stucked with Rodolfo as a love interest? She deserved better!

Three Things I Have In Common With Them:

*Again, like her, i like drinking wine.

*I enjoy the company of artists, poets, musicians and philosophers who will share their creativity and knowledge with me.

*I find coral necklaces pretty.

Three Things I Don't Have In Common With Them:

*I don't have her patience and artistry for sewing.

*Pink is not my favorite color (i like blue more)

*I am not french.

Favorite Line:

Those verses from her ACT I aria Mi Chiamano Mimi

Mi chiamano Mimì,

il perché non so.

Sola, mi fo

il pranzo da me stessa.

Non vado sempre a messa,

ma prego assai il Signore.

Vivo sola, soletta

là in una bianca cameretta:

guardo sui tetti e in cielo;

ma quando vien lo sgelo

il primo sole è mio

il primo bacio dell'aprile è mio!

(They call me Mimi,

I do not know why.

Alone, I make

lunch by myself.

I do not go to church,

but I pray a lot to the Lord.

I stay all alone

there in a white room

and look upon the roofs and the sky

but when the thaw comes

The first sun, like my

first kiss, is mine!)

brOTP: Musetta, Marcello, Schaunard and Colline.

OTP: With better financial conditions and health care.

nOTP: Rodolfo.

Random Headcanon: The nickname Mimi actually was made to mock her because of her small voice and because the sound of her cry was to similar to a "Mimimi" to those people. But she didn't noticed the mockery and embraced the nickname because it sounded cute and endearing to her.

Unpopular Opinion: The opera should have ended in ACT III with the duet Donde lieta usci and the quartet Addio dolce svegliare alla mattina, where Rodolfo and Mimi amicably agree to part ways for her health and her life after the time enjoyed with the bohemians is left ambiguous. Its beautifully bittersweet and it feels more natural to the characters development. Her returning to die in Rodolfo's and his friends appartment feels less like something necessary to the plot and character development and more like something forced because "its an opera and people expect an ending with the tragic death of the leading lady".

Song I Associate With Them:

Mi Chiamano Mimi

Favorite Picture of Them:

Mirella Freni

Fiamma Izo D'Amico with Luciano Pavarotti's Rodolfo

Two pics of Anna Netrebko in the role. In one she wears red, in the other she wears blue

[elliepassmore]

The Storm of Life Review

5/5 stars Recommended for people who like: fantasy, court intrigue, magic, genderfluid characters, pansexual characters, LGBTQ rep, fantasy, fantasy Italy Teo and Cielo are back with even more action, and trouble, than before. After the ending of the last book, this one opens with the two of them traveling to warn other streghe of the Capo's plans to kill them to acquire power. There's definitely some romantic and magic shenanigans on the way, but true to form they rather quickly end up in an even larger mess than the one they left in the last book. Teo's grown as a character since The Brilliant Death and grows even more over the course of this one. At the opening, she's struggling with her magic again due to the morbid manner in which it grew. Her confidence in her magic increases during her character arc as she learns some other rather important things about herself and life in general. Teo does a lot of scheming in this book, seemingly already having another scheme ready as soon as the first one fails...though things don't really work out in her favor for most of the book, so there's that. I think some of the best moments in the book were when Teo was desperate to figure something out and had to rely on wits, magic, intelligence, and the people around her. I think it really showed her growth as a character throughout these past two books and emphasizes the changes she undergoes in this one. Cielo grew less, I think, but he definitely also underwent some growth. During most of this book and the last one, he has this seemingly idealized view on family life, having grown up mostly without blood family, and so he gets a bit of a wake-up call having to deal, directly or indirectly, with Beniamo in this one. We get to see him call in some more of that 27-part favor he mentioned in The Brilliant Death, and thus we also get to see some of his deeper motivations behind things. I don't remember every reveal that happened in the last book, but I feel like we get to delve a lot deeper into who Cielo is as a person and what he thinks about and cares about (other than Teo) than we did in the last one. Cielo and Teo are far more romantic in this book than in the last one. They get a lot of time alone with one another, or with people who already know about their relationship, and so there are a bunch of cute scenes with the two of them. There were also some rather steamy scenes involving the two of them (nothing explicit) and we get to see them shedding more of their defenses, both in regards to one another and with the rest of the world. There's also a mix of steamy-funny scenes in the book, such as one that involves them ending up naked and making out in the garden of a church. Regardless of what they're doing, I feel their relationship is more evolved and developed in this one than the last one. They're more solid as a couple, more hands-on than before, more clear of each other's emotions and intentions, so that was nice to see. Conversely, hardest parts of the book to read were when the two of them were arguing. They work so well together as streghe, characters, friends, and lovers, that it was so hard to watch them fight and be apart for part of the book. I mean, they don't really stay apart that long, but it was still difficult to read. However hard it was, it was also necessary for both of them to grow as characters. Both were so stuck in the way they thought and acted and what they wanted that they couldn't truly see the merits of what the other was suggesting when it seemed to go counter to what they wanted. The time apart helped both of them round out more as characters, I think, and contributed to their character arcs. For side characters, we get to see Mimi and Lorenzo again, Mirella, Vanni, Favianne, and Nicolo...and Beniamo, but I feel that's kind of a given. We also meet some new characters, such as baby Luciano, Xiaodan, and Dantae. Mimi we already met, so it was awesome to see her again and read as she and Teo rekindled the friendship they'd begun in The Brilliant Death. I also enjoyed seeing the kind of magic she could work, since elemental magic is so different from anything we've seen Teo or Cielo do so far. Vanni we also know, vaguely, from the previous book, and we get to know him better in this one. He's super devoted to Mirella and Luciano, though he's also a bit of a goofball. Like Mimi, he works a different kind of magic, but instead of with the elements, he can shape/bend light to his will. Xiaodan is a new character we don't meet until we're a couple chapters into the book. She's more soft spoken than Mimi or Vanni, but she has nerves of steel and definitely has her humorous moments as well. Her magic is the ability to feel and dampen or amplify someone's emotions. Dantae is a fun, slightly murderous and slightly older character who's actually rather similar to Teo once we're past the...violent introductions. In the di Sangro family: Nicolo gets the same kind of role he did before, though he actually pays more attention to the sociopathic son he raised as well as to the magic in his own blood. Mirella features a bit more in this one, though she remains pretty frosty to Teo throughout the book. Luciano is her young son, whom we get to meet around chapter 3 or 4 and who doesn't seem to like very many people holding him. He seems to like Mirella, Vanni, and Cielo and that's about it. Beniamo comes back again, this time in a far more sinister role. He's no longer an owl, but he's still a di Sangro and he's still out for blood, which spells major trouble for everyone in the book, not just our main heroes. In terms of plot, this one wraps up the threads Capetta began in The Brilliant Death and neatly ties off threads that began in this book. The flow made sense from one book to the next and nothing seemed out of place for the world. We get to see a bit more of Vinalia in this one, so the setting was also developed more and played a key role in the plot a couple of times. For both plot and setting purposes, Capetta also gave us more background information about the world. We get some mythology, some facts about streghe magic, about family and country history, etc. I think she also set up the twist rather well so that it felt like one part of the story closed as the twist opened up the next section.

[artsvark]

Three festive concerts coming up in KZN

Classical notes by William Charlton-Perkins:

The Drakensberg Boys Choir perform in the annual ‘Christmas’ concert in the Pietermaritzburg City Hall on Thursday (November 30).

Gearing up for the annual Festive Season concert, simply titled ‘Christmas’, are the Drakensberg Boys Choir, two conductors, pianists, organist and a host of specialist musicians to join them on the Pietermaritzburg City Hall stage on Thursday 30 November.This concert, which starts at 7pm, will see the full Drakensberg Boys Choir of over 110 boys, conducted, rather uniquely, by both principal conductors in one evening; Artistic Director Bernard Krüger and Kenny Kabak. Accompanist Lubabalo Dyasi will join the choir at the piano and will also lead the audience in the singing of traditional carols from the console of the historic and much-loved City Hall organ. Those attending will be invited to raise the roof in singing ‘Hark! The Herald Angels Sing’, ‘Once in Royal David’s City’ and ‘O, come all ye faithful’.

The Baroque 2000 ensemble will accompany the choir in a performance of selected numbers from Vivaldi’s Gloria and celebrated choruses including the sublime ‘Hallelujah Chorus’ from George Fredric Handel’s Messiah. This group of 15 professional and highly skilled musicians specialise in the authentic performance and historically informed performance of late 17th and early 18th century music. Messiah, performed annually in the city for the past 100 years or more, is bound get a fresh new look with this spirited rendition of chorus highlights.

Other items include ‘Santa Claus is coming to town’, ‘Star Carol’, ‘In dulci jubilo’ and the uniquely South African hymn ‘Come, colours rise’. There will be secure, patrolled parking in the City Hall, Tatham Art Gallery and Bessie Head Library precincts on the evening. ‘Christmas’ is presented by Music Revival is sponsored by Parklane SUPERSPAR in association with the City of Pietermaritzburg, CPW Printers, The Witness, Wedgewood Nougat and Coca-Cola Beverages South Africa. Booking www.ticketpro.co.za

Music Revival presents the acclaimed soprano Nozuko Teto, accompanied by pianist Christopher Duigan, in Ballito on December 5, and in Kloof on December 8. Both festive season recitals start at 19:30

South African TV personality Andy Capostagno will be sharing the stage with renowned soprano Nozuko Teto, and pianist, Christopher Duigan, at two special Christmas concerts in Durban. Music-lovers can look forward to an evening of readings, carols and seasonal music at the Grace Hall at Ashton International College in Ballito at 7.30 pm on Tuesday, December 5, and at St Agnes Church in Kloof at 7.30 pm on Friday, December 8.

Music Revival presents the acclaimed soprano Nozuko Teto, accompanied by pianist Christopher Duigan, in Ballito on December 5, and in Kloof on December 8. Both festive season recitals start at 19:30

Capostagno will entertain the audience with his humorous selections of seasonal stories, readings and anecdotes while Teto will sing ‘Ave Maria’, ‘Panis Angelicus’ and ‘O Holy Night’. Together they will lead the audience in carols with Duigan at the piano.

Andy Capostagno has been a familiar voice on Supersport for almost quarter of a century, commentating on everything from rugby to netball. Educated in Bath and Cambridge in the UK he is the author of four books and writes extensively for magazines and newspapers. He comes from a musical family and is a cattle and horse farmer in Lidgetton in real life.

Nozuko Teto studied in Durban and Cape Town. Thanks to a scholarship from the Nicolai Ghiaurov Foundation she was able to study with the famous soprano Mirella Freni in Italy. She sang in many concerts at the Teatro Comunale Pavarotti in Modena with the Puccini Festival Orchestra, in Amsterdam with the Concertgebouw Orchestra, with the Rotterdam Symphony, and she made her debut as Mimi in La Bohème in South Africa in 2010.

Booking for both concerts is via www.webtickets.co.za or email booking@musicrevival.co.za Tickets are R160.

Finally, note that annual Rising Stars concert, presented by Friends of Music in collaboration with the South African Society of Music Teachers, takes place on Tuesday December 5 at 7.30pm at the Durban Jewish Centre, 44 KE Masinga Road (Old Fort). This important event features a line-up of highly talented young musicians from KwaZulu-Natal, who will be accompanied by a variety of pianists. Tickets at the door are R50 (adults) and R20 (students and scholars). Safe parking is provided.

William Charlton-Perkins

Three festive concerts coming up in KZN was originally published on Artsvark

[womanofwords]

STEM Kids Shenanigans (Chapter 25)

Chapter 25: The Other Secondary School

Angelo was not expecting to be pulled out of his morning geography class, but he wasn't complaining. Yujin, Dante, and Layla were waiting outside when he got there.

"Oh, you're here," Dante said. "I . . . don't know what this is about."

"Yeah, me neither," Layla admitted. "But it can't be anything good."

"Maybe it's Melanie related," Angelo suggested. Dr Violet stuck her head out of the room and called them in.

"I'm sure you're all wondering why you got called here so early on in the day," she said. "And I promise, it's something good."

"What exactly does that mean?" Yujin asked.

"Arrow Point Secondary School, a school that we are thinking about having a partnership with, will be making an appearance to meet you," Dr Violet said. "They've heard a lot about you. You might even be working on a project together."

"What kind of project?" Angelo asked. His stomach was doing flips, but in a good way.

"That has yet to be decided," Dr Violet said. "You can discuss it with them when you meet them."

(PAUSE)

They met the other school's science and maths team the next day. There was six of them to their four, meaning they were outnumbered. They were all clearly older than them (around Santo's age) and looked perpetually annoyed at everything, sneering at disgust as they looked at the school they were standing in. The only adult with them was a tall, thin, pale man with a weak jaw covered in stubble and limp, greasy black hair. Oddly, he looked a lot like one of the students, a girl with the same stature and similar greasy black hair.

"Mr Snobton, what a pleasure!" Dr Violet extended a hand for him to shake. "I'd like you to meet the recently established Marbleton Secondary School STEM Club. I have got to tell you about the flying skateboard they made outside of school!"

"Oh, goodness, how wonderful!" Mr Snobton gushed. "And what are their names?"

"Oh, right, of course." Dr Violet asked. "Introduce yourselves, children."

"I'm Dante," Dante said, shyly.

"Yujin Moon," Yujin said.

"Layla Ismail," Layla sighed, rubbing at her head.

"And I'm Angelo Riva!" Angelo said chirpily. The Arrow Point students gasped and took a step back. The headteacher jumped.

"I'm sorry, did you say your surname was . . . Riva?" the headteacher asked.

"Yes," Angelo said. "Why do you ask?"

"You wouldn't happen to be related to someone named Santo Riva . . . would you?" a boy wearing a green turban asked.

Angelo's eyes widened. "How do you know my older brother?"

The visiting students took a big step back and began whispering among each other. "That's the little brother Santo bragged so much about?" they heard them whisper to each other.

"It has to be. They look identical. Wasn't expecting him to be such a nerd. Santo made him sound cooler."

"That doesn't mean that he's better. He could be even worse than his brother was."

"Is everything OK?" Angelo asked.

"Make that one stay away from us!" the girl with a bow in her hair shrieked, pointing a manicured finger at Angelo.

"What? What did I do?" Angelo asked.

"Anybody with the surname Riva is a bad seed! We don't want a Santo 2.0!" Mr Snobton snapped. The students cowering behind him nodded frantically.

"Why? What did Santo do?" Angelo asked.

"You don't know?" another student asked incredulously. "That's ridiculous. You can't not know."

"But I don't. I never got told anything about Santo's school," Angelo said.

"We will not be working with this . . . young man," Mr Snobton said. "I'll talk to you later, Dr Violet. Come along, children. We should leave." The students filed out, shooting smug looks at the Marbleton Secondary School STEM club.

"What is their problem?" Dante asked.

"It's not what, Dante, it's who," Angelo groaned. "And I know exactly who they're talking about."

(PAUSE)

"Angie!" Mirella giggled, when Angelo came home from school.

"Hi, Mimi," Angelo said, scooping her up and carrying her into the kitchen. "Mum, where's Santo?"

"Upstairs," she said.

"Good." Angelo put his little sister down and walked over to his older brother's room and knocked on the door.

"You can come in," Santo said.

"Santo, your old school was called Arrow Point Secondary School, right?" Angelo asked.

"Yeah, why?"

"Some of their science and maths team met with our STEM club and they recognized my surname. They asked if my brother's name was Santo, and then they said that everyone with the surname Riva was a bad seed. What did you do?"

"None of your business," Santo said.

"It kind of is. There's supposed to be a project between our school and their school and none of them want to work with me because of you. They say I'm bad news."

"Oh." Santo sat up and sighed. "Fine. Close the door so nobody else hears."

"Fine." Angelo closed the door, and Santo began to talk.

(PAUSE)

Ever since I was a little kid, I knew I hated rules. They were often stupid and punished the wrong people. The bullies would get away with things all the time and the normal people would get punished. The teachers would do their little talks and tell us that bullying was bad and bullying took place when someone with more authority repeatedly harming someone else with less authority. And the biggest authority figures, other than the teachers and the adults, were the kids that they put in charge and had to make sure that we were following 'the rules'.

Sweet faces to teachers and nasty faces to us, the teachers' pets made our life hell. They would even make up new rules that we had to follow or else. I had to take them down a peg somehow.

"Who put glue on my chair?"

"Who drew a moustache onto a picture of the headteacher?"

"Who rigged all the timers in science class to go off at once?"

It was always me.

Unfortunately, as a result of all of these acts of rebellion, I had gained the reputation of being a bad kid. Mama and Papa got called to school, I got yelled at and grounded, all sorts. Things didn't get any better when I got to secondary school.

The teachers made the rules, but the science team broke them with impunity. And in a school like that, a science-based school, those guys were in charge.

And they let me know it. They let everyone know it, and we all hated them for it. Someone had to bring them down a peg. Someone like me.

And it was glorious.

"Who made cookies with chilli inside that burned the mouths of the science team?" the teacher demanded.

"Who rubbed itching powder into the lab coats?"

"Who gift wrapped an exploding glitter bomb and sent it to the science team meeting room?"

And it was always me.

Admittedly, the thing that got me expelled was my very own magnum opus. You wouldn't know; you were only eight at the time, and I was thirteen. The science team was going to be receiving yet another award, and that was my time. I used a bunch of robot snakes and a very real snake, along with a remote control that would set off the sprinklers when I pressed the button. Once their shiny new trophy was being handed over, I released the snakes onto the stage and waited.

It was glorious.

They were screaming, the audience was screaming. Then the sprinklers came on like the best symphony.

And as they screamed, I sat back and laughed.

They found out it was me, of course. I was caught on CCTV sneaking the robot snakes onto the stage and setting off the sprinklers, and this was my last straw. I was expelled, the school banned my siblings and younger cousins from enrolling, and I had to swear not to tell you or Mirella or the younger cousins what I did.

(PAUSE)

"And that's what I did to the science team back in the day," Santo finished, breathing a sigh of relief. "You know, back when I was your age and stuff."

"Whoa," Angelo said. "Santo, that was . . . THE COOLEST THING EVER!"

"Keep your voice down!" Santo hissed. "Look, Mama already knows. But don't tell her that you know."

"I won't tell her," Angelo said. "But I do have to use it to clear my name."

"You're not clearing your name. You did nothing wrong. Just . . . stick up for people when they need it."

(PAUSE)

At the next STEM meeting, the four complained about the snotty Arrow Point science club. "Those kids were jerks," Dante complained, twirling a finger around his braid.

"And they're rubbing my brother in my face," Angelo said.

"Do you even know what he did?" Layla asked.

"Yeah, he told me. He got some remote controlled snakes and snuck them onto the stage with them. While they were freaking out, he set the sprinklers off and they were drenched. He got expelled and had to go to a different school," Angelo said. "Every child in my family is banned from Arrow Point."

Yujin gasped. "Even your adorable little sister?"

"Yes, even her." Angelo chuckled.

"They banned such a sweetheart?" Yujin gasped. "How evil!"

"She probably wasn't even born yet," Layla sniggered. "Although that is pretty harsh, now that I say that."

"I hope we don't have to work with them," Dante said. "They are way too high-energy for me."

And they laughed together.

(PAUSE)

They weren't out of the woods yet. As they walked out of school together, Angelo was collected by his brother and sister. Santo was wearing his spiked denim battle vest, contrasting Mirella's puffy pink dress. Unfortunately for them, Melanie saw this.

"AHA!" Melanie exclaimed, pointing at Angelo with a smug grin. "I always knew that Angelo Riva was a troublemaker! Just look at his brother!"

"Leave him alone!" Yujin yelled, using herself as a shield between Angelo and Melanie.

"Leave my little brother alone," Santo said, staring Melanie down.

"Yeah, what the hell, Melanie? You're not even a prefect any more," Layla said. Melanie gasped and stepped aside.

"How dare you! I am doing my best to ensure that this school doesn't go down the gutter, and you're just bringing street rats here!"

"Don't call my brother a street rat!" Angelo yelled.

"Come on, let's go," Santo said, dragging Angelo and Mirella away.

"I don't like that lady," Mirella said.

"Me neither," Angelo said.

(PAUSE)

"What kept you?" Angelo's mother asked.

"The mean lady," Mirella said.

"What mean lady?" Mrs Riva asked.

"This prefect girl from my school. She called my brother a street rat," Angelo said.

"She said what?" Angelo's mother looked at them with horror. "Who did it? Angelo, tell me who said that."

"This girl. Her name's Melanie Sainsbury," Angelo said.

"Great. And how do you spell that?" she asked, getting out a piece of paper and a pen. "I'm reporting her to the school."

"I don't think they'll do anything," Angelo said, sighing. "Santo's not a student."

"I'm not, but you are," Santo said. "Mama, make the call. Angie, after you tell Mama how to spell that girl's name, you can play with Mirella."

"Fine," Angelo said, scribbling something down so his mother could call the school and complain later. "That's it. Now leave me alone."

"That was all we wanted," Santo said, as he watched Angelo take Mirella upstairs.

"Angie, I wanna go to school with you when I grow up," Mirella said.

"Really? Why?" Angelo asked.

"So I can be in class with you and your friends," Mirella said.

"Mirella, that's the sweetest thing!" Angelo scooped his little sister up in a hug. "Can you promise me something, though?"

"Uh-huh."

"When you're my age, make good friends, don't get in trouble and be nice to people. OK?"

"OK!" Mirella said.

And just like that, Angelo figured that everything would be OK.

To read the other parts of this fic, see Masterlist.

[womanofwords]

STEM Kids Shenanigans (Chapter 22)

Chapter 22: Matching Patches

Yujin was packing ribbons into her bag with glee. Now that Angelo was no longer grounded, they could come back to his house to meet up. They probably wouldn't be allowed to go back into the basement again without supervision, but that was OK. They weren't planning to do any of that this time.

"What do you need the ribbons for?" her dad asked.

"We're going for a makeover at Angelo's house," Yujin said.

"A beauty makeover?" Yujin's dad raised a skeptical eyebrow. "With two boys?"

"No, not that kind. We're getting decorative patches sewn onto our bags. Angelo said he was going to show us how to make them."

"Really?" Her father leaned over to her. "I didn't know that boy could sew."

"Well, he can. He does it for his sister," Yujin said. "She rips her clothes a lot."

"Hmm." Her father looked thoughtful. "When are you coming back?"

"Seven."

"Good. I'll pick you up when you're ready. Have fun." His tone became more teasing. "When you come back, tell me more about the boy that sews."

"APPA!"

(PAUSE)

Yujin arrived to chaos. Instead of being the first to arrive, she was the last. Angelo's mother opened the door looking exhausted. "I hope you're not as loud as the other three," she said.

"Loud?" Yujin asked. She sighed and took them into the same room they were in before. And there, she saw chaos.

"You are so weak! How did you survive this long?" Dante laughed, sitting on Angelo.

"I just had to run from people a lot," Angelo groaned. "I never actually had to fight anybody."

"This is such an unorganized selection. And why is there so much black thread?" Layla asked.

"Hi," Yujin said, waving awkwardly. They went silent and waved at her.

"Hi," they chorused.

"What were you doing?" Yujin asked.

"Angelo said that he would be able to beat me in wrestling because he was bigger," Dante said proudly. "He was wrong."

"And I was reorganizing the thread," Layla said. "It was a mess."

"You haven't really missed anything. We did nothing productive," Angelo insisted, as Dante let up.

"Let's start designing things now," Yujin said.

"Yes, that would be good," the other three agreed.

"How about a hexagon shape?" Angelo suggested.

"How would we even do that?" Dante asked.

"Fold and cut. Easy." Angelo rolled his eyes.

"Also denim is really difficult to cut through," Layla said.

"Difficult, but not impossible," Yujin said. "But it's still impractical. Let's just go with a simple square shape."

"Finally, some good ideas!" Layla sighed. "Yujin arriving with the common sense!"

Yujin turned red. "Thank you," she said quietly.

"What colours would you like to pick?" Layla asked. "There are a lot here."

"Thank you!" Angelo said.

"We can try out different styles, too," Yujin said.

"Nice! What did you have in mind?" Angelo asked.

Yujin grinned as she brought out her sketchbook. "Well . . ."

(PAUSE)

An hour and a half later, the kind of lettering had been chosen and colours had to be picked out. "There's four letters in STEM, and there's four of us, so each of us gets to pick a colour," Layla said, counting off letters and colours on her fingers.

"Yujin, what colour do you want?" Angelo asked, giving her the repurposed popcorn bucket full of spools of thread.

"Green," she said.

"I'm taking red," Dante said quickly

"I get purple, then," Layla decided.

"And I pick yellow," Angelo concluded. "This is going to be a fun project to work on. They should be done in . . . two weeks."

"Why two weeks?" Dante asked.

"Because I have a life," Angelo pointed out.

"Angie!" Mirella said, stumbling into the room with her arms outstretched. "Cookie."

"More like your sister has a life, and you're just a part of it," Layla teased.

"Angie, cookie," Mirella said, pointing at the kitchen.

"Mimi, Angelo is busy," Angelo said, looking at his friends, who were giggling.

"Yujee!" Mirella giggled, rushing over to Yujin. Yujin squeaked as a three-year-old collapsed onto her, as Dante and Layla laughed.

"I'm so sorry!" Angelo squeaked, as he scooped up his little sister. But Mirella whined.

"Yujee. Yujee is pretty," Mirella whined.

Yujin's heart melted. "It's OK. I'll hold her," Yujin said. "Mirella, you want to try on some of my ribbons?"

"You have ribbons?" Angelo spluttered.

"I brought them because I thought I would need them," Yujin explained. Clumps of ribbons were produced, which made Yujin wince. "Mirella, wanna try? Sit down and I'll put them in your hair."

Mirella sat down immediately, and Yujin expertly braided the ribbons into her hair. Swap and twist, swap and twist. The other three watched in awe as Yujin finished on one side and began on the other.

"How do you do that?" Angelo asked.

"I'll teach you some other time," Yujin said. She put bows on the ends of Mirella's new braids, and the little girl squealed with glee.

"Pretty! I'm pretty!" Mirella squealed.

"What do we say, Mirella?" Angelo prompted.

"Thank you!" Mirella sang, hugging Yujin.

"Oh my goodness, this is adorable," Dante said.

"Do you want me to tie up your hair like Angelo's little sister?" Yujin teased.

"I do it!" Mirella insisted, toddling over with a hair bobble. "I make Dante pretty!"

"OK." Dante sat back and let Mirella tie his braids back into a ponytail.

"You look great, Dante," Angelo said, sneakily taking a photo.

"Shut up," Dante muttered.

"Hi, just wanted to - oh." Angelo's mother stopped dead in her tracks when she saw the scene in front of her. "What is this?"

"We were making matching patches when we got . . . ambushed," Angelo said.

"I can see that," she said. "Why did you do Mirella's hair?"

"That was me," Yujin said. "I'm sorry, I can take it out."

"No, it looks wonderful!" Angelo's mother insisted. "Mirella, do you like your hair?"

"Pretty!" Mirella cheered. "Yujee is the best! She can sleep in my room!"

"Mirella, Yujin has a home that she lives in," Angelo explained. "I'm so sorry, Yujin. Mirella really likes you."

"She is so sweet," Layla said.

"If my little brothers were like that with me, then I would actually want to have them near my friends," Dante sighed. Yujin's phone rang, and all eyes turned to her.

"I'm sorry, I have to take this," she said, sidling out. It was her dad. It had to be her dad. "Appa?"

"You're late. You said you'd be home by seven. It's seven fifteen."

"Sorry, Appa! I lost track of time. I'll leave now."

"No, no, it's dark! Just tell me where you are and I'll get you." Yujin told her dad Angelo's address. "OK. Stay there. I'll call you when I'm outside." He hung up. Yujin walked back in and was ambushed by Mirella.

"Mimi, no!" Angelo yelped.

"Yujee came back!" Mirella cheered.

"My dad's coming to get me soon, but . . . is it OK if I stay here until then?" Yujin asked.

"Sure!" Angelo and his mother said.

"Yay! Angie's friends stay forever!" Mirella cheered.

"Oh god," Angelo groaned, as Dante laughed hysterically.

(PAUSE)

Angelo gave Yujin her patch at school a week later. "It's finished now," he said, handing over a pristine patch. Not a stitch was out of place. Angelo was good.

Yujin turned it over in her hands. "It looks amazing."

"If you want, I can sew it to your bag or . . . whatever you want me to sew it to."

"It's OK. You've already done so much. I'll do this." Yujin stuffed the patch into her badge and walked to class.

"What's in your pocket, Moon?" Melanie asked, popping up out of nowhere.

"I didn't know it was any of your business," Yujin said, walking away.

"I saw Angelo give you something, and I want to know what it was," Melanie snapped.

"Leave me alone." Yujin walked faster, and Melanie grabbed her.

"Show me what it is," Melanie snarled.

"Get off her!" a man's voice yelled. It was Mr Oluwatola. Melanie released her grip immediately, and Yujin rubbed the life back into her arm. "What is going on here?" he asked.

"Yujin Moon was given something suspicious by Angelo Riva. It's in her pocket right now," Melanie said.

"It's just a denim patch," Yujin said, producing the patch. "Everyone in the STEM club has one. We designed it ourselves and Angelo stitched this himself."

"Ah. Very nice." Mr Oluwatola walked away, and Melanie glared at Yujin.

"I'll get rid of your pathetic little club someday," she hissed, before stomping away.

(PAUSE)

Once she was at home, Yujin searched for the glue. It had to be around there somewhere. "What are you looking for?" her father asked.

"Glue. I want to glue this patch to my bag." Yujin continued to search. Her dad pulled it out of a drawer behind her.

"I'll do it. Bring me the gloves and a lamp. And your bag."

Yujin watched as her father slowly glued the patch onto her bag, tongue sticking out with dedication as he completed the painstaking task. Eventually, it was done, glued to her badge with pride.

"Thank you," Yujin said. The patch somehow looked even better now that it was on her bag.

"The stitching is very good. That Angelo boy did it?"

"Yes."

"He's very good."

Yujin giggled as she played with a piece of her hair. "Yes, he is."

To read the other parts of this fic, see Masterlist.

[womanofwords]

STEM Kids Shenanigans (Chapter 20)

Chapter 20: A Very Grounded Young Man

Angelo shrank under the glare of his mother as she took him down to the basement. "Anything else that you've made with those friends of yours whilst under this roof, mister inventor?" she asked.

"Nope, just the flying skateboard," Angelo said.

"Honey, the school said him and his friends were the pride of the school, lay off him," his dad said.

"Any college that knew that him and a bunch of friends made this during their secondary school days, they'd all get in for free," Uncle Antonio helpfully added.

"Did I ask for your input?" Mrs Riva asked. The brothers shrank and shook their heads.

"We just wanted to test something," Angelo said meekly. "For science."

"You'll be testing out a hospital bed for science if you ever do anything that dangerous again!" his mother thundered.

"Angie, play with me!" Mirella burst in with a teddy bear wearing a tutu around its waist.

"Angelo is not allowed to play. Angelo is grounded," their mother said, barely concealing her rage at her middle child.

"Go play with Santo, Mirella," Angelo's father suggested. Mirella burst into tears.

"No Santo! Just Angie!" Mirella wailed, tears rolling down her face.

"Why no Santo, Mirella?" Angelo asked.

"Santo's mean!" Mirella cried.

"Oh, really? He is? How so?"

"He won't play!"

"Mirella, how about big brother Angie talks to big brother Santo?" Angelo scooped up his little sister and walked away to find his older brother. They bumped into him in the corridor.

"Watch where you're going, baby brother," Santo chided.

"Hey, Santo, you have to play nicely with Mirella. She cries at the thought of spending time with you," Angelo scolded.

"I'm sorry, OK? I just don't do well with Mirella's girly baby stuff," Santo said. Mirella burst into tears again.

"You don't have a choice. I'm grounded because of the flying skateboard thing, so to punish me, I'm banned from playing with Mirella," Angelo said. "As her only other brother, you have to play with her now."

"What?!" Santo's eyes widened. "She won't play properly!"

"She's three! Let her win!"

Santo rolled his eyes at it all. "I can't believe that Mama's punishing you by stopping you from playing with Mirella. Technically, that's a punishment for everyone."

"Mirella just wants to play. Just go along with her ideas."

Santo rolled his eyes. "Fine. Come on, Mirella. I'll play nice."

"Fine," Mirella said. Angelo put her down and she toddled over to her other brother. As he was led away to his sister's bedroom, Santo mouthed the words 'help me' to Angelo.

But Angelo Riva's hands were, effectively, tied.

(PAUSE)

Angelo was doing his homework in peace when he heard a crash. "What the heck?" Uncle Antonio choked on his coffee.

"Did that noise come from the basement or Mirella's room?" Angelo asked. A thud was heard, along with a little girl's scream. "Oh, great, both."

"You finally get grounded and chaos erupts," Uncle Antonio laughed. "This is what happens without you."

"I know. Now, I'm going to check on Mirella. You can check on whatever the other sound was," Angelo said.

When he got up to Mirella's room, he found Santo wrapping a finger in a band-aid. Mirella was crying her eyes out in a corner while holding the stuffed bear.

"How do you do it?" Santo croaked.

"What happened?" he asked.

"It was an accident. I ripped her bear's ballet outfit while holding it. I tried to fix it for her like you do, but I keep hurting myself." Santo held up his hands, showing his little brother the now four band-aids that were on him.

"You should have called me earlier," Angelo sighed. "Hand over the sewing kit and never touch it again."

"Gladly." Santo relinquished responsibility, and Angelo took over.

"Hi, Mimi." He crouched down onto the floor, putting himself at the same eyeline as her. "Can you tell me what happened?"

"Santo ripped my bear's clothes," Mirella sobbed. "She's super sad now."

"I don't blame her. That dress was very pretty," Angelo inspected the bear's outfit and found the problem: the seam connecting the two sides together had come apart. An easy fix. "Oh, that's going to be easy. Does the bear have something else to wear while I fix her dress?"

"She has a princess dress!" Mirella suggested, her face lighting up.

"Good! Now, you can change the bear's clothes and I'll take the dress whenever you're ready. Until then, I'll wait outside." Angelo stood outside his little sister's room and closed the door.

Mirella opened it just a crack a minute later and shoved the ripped bear's dress out through the gap. "Here."

"Thank you." The tutu ended up in Angelo's room while Angelo went back to the living room. Then he heard another scream from the kitchen.

"AAAH!" screamed someone from the kitchen.

"Arthur!" Angelo's dad rushed upstairs, searching for his little brother. Uncle Arthur, the youngest of the three brothers that lived with him. "God damn, I have to be the eldest for my whole life, don't I?" the patriarch grumbled. "I thought looking after Artie was for when we were kids."

Angelo and his father followed the noise to the kitchen, where they found Uncle Arthur with blood on his hands. The third uncle, Uncle James, was staying with him.

"I cut myself with the knife while trying to make dinner for myself," Uncle Arthur said weakly. "It hurts."

Angelo went pale. "Oh, great, that's blood." He steadied himself against a wall. "OK, let's handle this. How many times did you cut yourself with the knife, Uncle Arthur?"

"I didn't really count. It just hurts." Uncle Arthur sounded sheepish, embarrassed that his nephew, of all people, was seeing him like this. He was the adult.

"And what did you need a meat cleaver for?" his dad asked.

"I couldn't find the normal knife for butter," Uncle Arthur said. "I wanted a grilled cheese."

"You were going to use that for butter?" Angelo's jaw was wide. "I'll call an ambulance for you. You clearly need it."

"Thank you, Angelo," Uncle Arthur said.

"Angelo, you're not getting an ambulance, I'm getting the ambulance," the boy's dad said.

"Hey, Ignacio, isn't it funny that all this happens on the one day that you ground Angelo?" Uncle Antonio said, chuckling. Uncle Arthur laughed too, despite himself and the pain he was in.

"Not a word," Angelo's dad said, rolling his eyes as he went to call an ambulance.

(PAUSE)

"What the hell is happening with you all?" Angelo's mother asked. Santo was adjusting the band-aids on his fingers, while Uncle Arthur was being administered to in the back of an ambulance. "What extraordinary thing is happening that is making so much go wrong?"

"The stuff that got them hurt is normally my responsibility, but I'm grounded and all I'm allowed to do is homework," Angelo said.

The teen genius inventor's mother turned on her heel to glower at her son. "Really, Angelo? You're going to use this to argue why you shouldn't be grounded?"

"Yes, actually." Angelo's jaw was set. "Everything that hurt them is typically my domain. Sewing, cooking, playing with Mirella."

"Playing with Mirella is not dangerous!" his mother pointed out.

Angelo smirked. "It is when Santo does it."

"Angelo, shut up," Santo snapped.

"This is incredibly harsh for something that the school commended him for," Uncle Antonio said. "No friends over for a month and no devices."

"And you confiscated Mirella," Uncle Arthur said. "How do you confiscate a younger sibling from their older sibling?"

"I wish my parents had confiscated my little brothers from me as a punishment," Angelo's dad said.

"We are right here," Uncle James said.

"Dad, it only works on me because I actually love Mirella," Angelo explained. "For you, it would be a reward."

"Good to know what you think of us, Ignacio," Uncle Antonio snarked.

"Angelo, you could have gotten very badly hurt! Maybe your new friends are bad influences on you," his mother said.

"I've done this since before I met them. Remember the spring shoes?" Angelo pointed out. His uncles and brother laughed.

"Oh God, I remember that!" Uncle James laughed.

"I still have a picture of it!" Santo laughed.

"Stop laughing!" Angelo's mother said, shutting them up. "Angelo, you aren't getting out of this. No laptop, no phone, no inventing, no Mirella."

"This is cruel," Angelo said. "Mirella didn't do anything. And how are you going to confiscate a three-year-old?"

"I have my ways! Now where is she?" Angelo's mother stormed off to grab the only girl, and Angelo sighed.

"I can't believe it. Nobody has ever confiscated a sibling before. My mother's a disciplinary trailblazer," Angelo groaned. "The one time in my life that I have friends and I'm banned from meeting up with them outside of school."

"They're not meeting up with you for another two weeks, Angie," Uncle Antonio said.

"What did you just call me?" Angelo snapped.

"I called you Angie. Is there a problem?" Uncle Antonio raised an eyebrow.

"You don't get to call me Angie. Only Mirella gets to call me Angie," Angelo said. "She can't really say Angelo properly."

"Oh."

"Angie, all done now?" Mirella asked.

"No, not yet," Angelo said.

"Oh," Mirella said.

"Mirella, do you want big brother Santo or big brother Angie?" Santo teased.

"No!" Mirella rushed over and kicked Santo. "You no say Angie!"

"I'm not?" Santo asked.

"You say Angelo," Mirella instructed. "I say Angie."

"You knew how to say Angelo this whole time?" Angelo spluttered. "Why didn't you do this earlier?"

"Only I say Angie," Mirella said, glaring at her eldest brother.

"OK, OK! I won't." Santo put his hands up in surrender.

"Good," Mirella said.

"Did Mirella just intimidate you?" Angelo sniggered. The uncles started laughing.

"Like a pink, frilly, really small mafia boss," Uncle James said.

"Holding a bear," Uncle Antonio laughed.

"Angelo, shut up," Santo snapped.

Angelo blew a raspberry in his older brother's direction. "Make me."

The uncles let out an ooh as Santo cracked his knuckles. "Fine by me," the eldest child said, as he scooped his little brother up and carried him away to Santo's bedroom. The moment he was put onto the bed, Angelo was Santo's personal toy. "You know, I think I should be in charge of your punishments and not Mama. She is not effective enough for you," Santo mused, as fingers drilled into Angelo's hips.

"YAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Angelo shrieked, squirming in his older brother's arms. "LEHEHEHEHET ME GOHOHOHOHOHOHO!"

"Let me think . . . nah," Santo said, smirking down at his hysterically laughing brother. "I don't think you'll ever get out of this punishment."

To read the other parts of this fic, see Masterlist.

[ownedbybooks]

✧ bookblr intro ✧

Hello everyone! I’m Mirella, a brazilian graphic designer who loves to read!

I’ve decided to create this blog to talk about my readings through the year… i felt I was missing something last year, so i hope that joining the bookblr community would help me fill that whole in my chest.

Help me find more bookblrs by liking/rebloging this post! :)

🚨Attention!🚨 This is a SIDE BLOG! My main blog is @herslowness, so don’t be surprised if I follow you with that username, ok?

About me:

As i said, I’m from Brazil and a graphic designer, currently working on retail industry. I’m 27 year old and i’ve always liked to read, but it was in 2015 that i’ve began to discover more communities about books and reading (like booktube) and since them i’ve fallen more and more in love with books, even though i was a more of an avid manga reader in high school.

My pronouns are she/her and if you think that Mirella is to formal, you can call me Mi or Mimi.

You can find me on Goodreads, Storygraph and Skoob (brazilian platform)

About my readings:

I mostly read in Portuguese, but i often read stuff in English. Sometimes i read in French, to practice it. I wish to be able to read in Italian in the future, since i’m learning the language right now!

I really like fantasy books, time travel books, fairytales retellings and young adults. but i’m open to explore and i’m always trying a new genre or book to get out of my comfort zone. because of that, lately i found out, i like classics and gothic literature and i’m starting my journey with terror by reading Stephen King’s book (i’ve read IT and I loved it!)

I have a personal ongoing project that i like to call “reading through the zodiac”, where i’ve started reading the epic book recommendations based on your astrological sign. I just started, though… I’m still in the Aries books.

This year i’m joining 2 buddy reads: one is more focused in classics (and we are currently reading War and Peace) and another one is for Cassandra Clare’s books (we are reading them since last year, in order of publication. This month i’m going to read Clockwork Angel).

I actually like reading in buddy reads, because knowing and seeing other people reading the same book as me, at the same time, gives me motivation. Plus the discussion makes me understands better the books, since one person can have a different point of view from mine!

I also LOVE joining read-a-thons, but i can’t do one after another! I must take some time after joining one, so i can heal. If i don’t respect myself I will for sure enter a reading slump phase, so… i just try to listen to my body as best as i can and read with the pace i feel like in the moment.

My reading goals:

This year my goal is to read 45 books.

I plan to finish some books series, but I don’t know which one at the moment. the only rule i set to myself, starting this year, is that if I start a new book series, i have to read it till the end or till the last book released by the author.

I also want to read all my 150+ ebooks i got for free during march 2020, because of the pandemic. but I know it will be quite impossible for me to read that much in a year, so i’m just hoping i will read the most i can from it.

I also have a physical pile of TBR in my room with almost 50+ books that i want to read, but again, it’s too unrealistic that I will read all of them this year, so i’m just going to be more flexible with it again and read the most i can from it.

Plus: i also wanna try and see if i can read everyday. for that i won’t count pages or percentage, since my goal for this is to read as much as i want… even if it’s a little bit.