#right now i plan to finish my encanto fics

[riathedreamer]

With the Encanto fandom being sorta dead (at least compared to last year), fic readers should never underestimate the power of engagement

I’d literally abandoned “Shifting Constellations”, thinking people would rather read my other fics, but this week, three different people have independently asked for an update, and now I’m back at planning the next chapter after getting excited for my own fic again.

[spooky-spextre-arts]

Encanto Fic RECS (Part I)

(*REPOST due to some unnoticed file errors during first posting)

I've been wanting to do one of these fanfic lists for a while now, but never really got to finishing any. Today, however, will be the time I finally make and post my silly little thoughts on some of my favorite fics in the Encanto fandom.

My personal taste is big ol' mixed bag of different tropes, AUs, and (platonic) relationships. However, I'd say I'm usually geared towards your typical gen, hurt/comfort or angst with a happy ending (most of the time).

(OFFICIAL WARINING: Because this is mostly a recommendation list, there are a few fics that may contain upsetting or triggering subject matter. Those fics have been labeled with a little *** next to the title, followed by a warning of what themes they may contain.)

This is merely a Part I, only covering multi-chapter fics I've read so far. Part 2 will be out shortly, containing one/two-shot fics and the ones I'm currently reading or plan to.

With that said, let's get right into it!

To fall apart, to reunite [T]

- Ongoing | by ADabOfBlessings ( @adabofblessings ) & Wikluk ( @wikluk )

Set in an AU where Mirabel doesn't survive Casita's collapse, Julieta struggles the most in the midst of her youngest’s death, hoping against hope to getting her back. Fortunately, she might just have a chance.

This fic is absolutely heart-wrenching, but in the best way possible. I was never as much of a Julieta fan as so many other people were, but I'm pleasantly surprised how much more I grew invested in her since reading this fic. Reading (mostly) from her perspective really helps enhance her character - especially once the rest of the family and even the townspeople get some time to shine. (Just saying, the characterization of Mariano’s grandmother(?) quickly became one of my favorite details of any background character.

One Step Closer [T]

One Step Beyond [T]

Complete | by Breanna (on AO3)

Part of a Bruno-and-Mirabel-centric series, these two fics explore the (platonic!) relationship these two develop with one another and their family in the time set during All Of You (Closer), and even post-canon (Beyond).

I REALLY love the (second) father-daughter sense Mirabel has with Bruno (it will make a lot of sense later in Closer), which leads to some very well-written wholesome and bittersweet moments parsed throughout.

A Place For Crows (to rest their feet) [G]

Complete | by Acewithapaintbrush ( @acewithapaintbrush )

PEDRO LIVES HALLELUJAH!!

As the note above suggests, Pedro did indeed survive the marauder attack and lived for the past 50 years in a town far, far away from the Encanto. Fortunately, after he discovers the new crack in the mountain, he rediscovers his family and how they've grown without him. This fic also explores how much the family's all grown since All Of You, but where they still struggle in a post-canon world.

I really love this one, even as someone who's… not thaaat much into the ‘[insert dead character] Lives AU’. There are both some wholesome and awkward moments where Pedro re-connects with Alma, his children, and the rest of his family. (Let's just say there's one really funny scene early on involving Mirabel, Bruno, and a classic bloodline misunderstanding.)

Because of how long Pedro's been away from his family, there's obviously a heck of a lot he's unaware of (which the family doesn't seem all too keen on sharing with him hmmmm….?) This leads to quite a bit of delicious angst and hurt/comfort, especially towards the end, but I'm happy to say it all resolves quite nicely by the end.

Mariposa [T] *

- Complete | by cloudyencanto ( @cloudy-encanto )

*(mild cw: brief child abuse and violent moments)*

An Encantober series from 2022, writing (again, mostly) from Alma's POV, with each chapter topic centering around one of the main prompts. Starting from her childhood years as a triplet herself, to meeting Pedro, having the triplets, leading the Encanto, to becoming an Abuela.

All of this really culminates into a vast character exploration showing just how much Alma had grown from a mere Caterpillar to a powerful, headstrong Butterfly.

(**As a bit of forewarning, there are a few moments early on that might be difficult to read. **These include moments where Alma's mother verbally and physically abuses her children, as well as quite a few violent moments once the marauders attack the village, and Pedro and Alma are forced to leave.)

Encanto (Tía Pepa POV) [G]

- Ongoing | by cloudy_encanto

Like Mariposa, this one's told from the POV of another character - being Pepa and her side of the family (and a few others, like Isabela, sprinkled in here and there.)

Because this one's told over the course of the movie, there are a lot of new scenes that feature the warm-colored family and what they were doing when the focus was elsewhere on Mirabel or somewhere else. There are several tooth-achingly sweet scenes that really show how much these characters love and care for one another, as well as several tense, angsty scenes that won't fail in tugging on your heartstrings.

Tremors [T]

- Ongoing | by Missilestorm ( @missilestorms )

A post-canon fic where Mirabel receives a gift after Casita's revival. The downside, however, is that this gift causes literal cracks to form. Bruno acts as a much-needed supporter and anchor for Mirabel, who must learn how to keep her new gift under control.

Each character's emotional struggles are shown incredibly well - particularly that of Mirabel and Bruno. It's heartbreaking to see how much anguish this gift causes Mirabel, especially considering how much she's encouraged her family to see their individual values that are separate from tying back to their gifts. On Bruno's end, it's sweet seeing how much he cares about Mirabel, recognizing her struggles with having a potentially dangerous gift, and consistently providing support or an extra hand to grab on to when it becomes too much. This sentiment is also applied to the family themselves, who also reach out to help in whatever ways they can.

Old Habits Die Hard [M] ***

- Complete | by Missilestorm

**TW for SA/Underage !! **

Set just after Casita’s reconstruction begins, Mirabel is sexually assaulted by a rogue townsperson. With Bruno acting as her main supporter and confidant, this fic explores the trauma of the event itself and how past, unresolved familial trauma bleeds into it.

This fic is honestly one of my favorites. I'd say it's somewhere in my top-five favorites out of all the stories I've read thus far. This story is just so raw and heartbreaking - which always hits harder when it's happening to characters you love. Not to mention, the author's handling of the subject matter is done with as much respect and care as I would hope a story with content matter like this should require. I especially love how each character (except for the villain mf) - particularly in the family - is written and how they react to the devastating events playing out around them. Despite this fic mostly centering around Bruno and Mirabel, the rest of the family have time to shine (some more than others), and man, just reading how much they care and want to help Mirabel is - just -gah! I love it, man.

I definitely recommend checking this one out if you're up to it.

we see how brave you've been [G]

- Complete | by hearth_goddess | (Mirabel & Antonio-centric)

Set in alternating pre-canon and canon, this fic is kind of a character study told through the different perspectives of the triplets. The scenes from the triplets' perspectives are of sweet moments involving Mirabel, Antonio, and their friendship (or short moments of just them with Mirabel or Antonio.) These scenes include moments set pre-canon, in-between, and during canon scenes.

One of my favorite gen pairings in the Encanto fandom is the one shared between Mirabel and Antonio. They share an incredibly sweet, wholesome, and powerful bond, despite the... admittedly little time they actually share together in the movie. But this fic definitely fills in the unseen gaps in their friendship, particularly in the moments preceding Antonio's ceremony. Seeing the triplets' reactions to the loving bond the two youngest grandchildren share is just so sweet and proves that, despite everything that led to the cracks, this family never stopped caring about one another.

Cold and Numb [T] ***

- Complete | by Amisaurus

**TW for Self-Harm and Suicide (Major Character Death) **

This one's just sad. Like - very, very sad. Set sometime after Antonio's gift ceremony (and presumably before the cracks appear), Mirabel struggles a lot with her self-worth, believing she isn't wanted in the slightest. Unfortunately, this isn't helped at all with how terribly Alma treats her in this fic and, despite good intentions, how her parents, sisters, and cousins are unable to understand not having a gift. This leads to a devastating moment in the first chapter, with the second chapter showing just how much this action hurt the family.

(With that said, there is a hopeful moment in the second chapter.)

When The Bell Tolls One [NOT RATED]

- Complete | by BudBrock (Alma-centric)

We got another Alma POV!!

Written a bit like 'A Christmas Carol,' this is an ‘Encanto watches Encanto AU,’ where Alma is shown and reacts to the events of the movie after the scene where she begs Pedro to “open [her] eyes.”

What can I say? I'm a sucker for POV character explorations like these, especially for mixed characters like Alma. Out of any Alma-centric fics, this one's definitely one of my favorites. In between, there are some funny moments reading Alma's reactions to certain scenes. However, there are also several moments where Alma is given a bird’s-eye view into the harm she'd unintentionally caused for her family.

Sound of Silence [T]

- Complete | by JilyFirecracker

Also set in an AU where Mirabel dies in Casita's collapse, with the fallout told from the perspectives of varying characters (Agustín, Pepa, Luisa, Camilo, Antonio, and Julieta.)

Definitely a bit of a sad one, especially during flashbacks of each character's core memories with Mirabel. But I really liked Julieta’s part, especially with the note it ends on.

Shining [G]

- Complete | by Sokkas_First_Fangirl ( @sokkas-first-fangirl )

Since the grandkids (not including Antonio) were young, Bruno and his sisters spent their summers at a lake in the Encanto. After Antonio's birth and Bruno’s return, the family makes a date to spend a day at that same lake for the first time in forever.

SWEET SUMMER FAMILY SHENANIGANS! The entire family is written so well, and there are many scenes that show how much stronger their shared bond has become. This is such a wonderful fic to read at a lake or beach on a hot summer day.

That's that for the recommended multi-chapter fics I've read so far. It goes without saying that all of these authors are so incredibly talented and absolutely deserve all the credit for their incredible stories.

Part II will be out shortly...

[emonydeborah]

20 questions for fic writers

thanks for the tag, @curator-on-ao3 :)

1. How many works do you have on Ao3? 43

2. What’s your total Ao3 word count? 289,964

3. What fandoms do you write for? Whatever catches my fancy. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds has the most fics (8), but my most recent fic was for Black Widow.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

Family First- a Coco fic, the first multichap I ever finished, I think. An AU where Victoria stole the guitar when she was a child and she and Elena got stuck in the Land of the Dead.

Sick of Waiting for a Miracle- angsty Encanto! My take of Mirabel growing resentful instead of desperate, and the family falling apart a lot harder. Happy ending though because I am who I am.

Patching Up- post-Incredibles 2 fic of Bob and Helen patching each other up (hence the name). Short fluff I am astonished was my third most kudos-ed fic.

From the Hands of the Weak- Black Widow AU where Alexei and Melina take Natasha and Yelena and run.

Tia Victoria one-shots- Listen. My Coco phase was strong. And I did not have standards yet, so I posted whatever came into my mind. Most of these are about her tragic death. Unfinished, or it would have made "angstiest"

5. Do you respond to comments? Yes! I love responding to comments, especially to follow up on whatever the commenter found interesting.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? I had to go back through my AO3 because no matter how much I put my little guys through, I usually like a happy ending. Technically it would be 5 Times Una Talked Chris Into a Breakup and 1 Time She Didn't. But that's part of a series that had a happy ending, so. I am redeemed.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? I'll go with The World That Lives In You. I always write with a happy ending in mind, even if I don't finish it, but I picked this one because it ends with a domestic little scene of a traumatized family being cute and well-adjusted together.

8. Do you get hate on fics? Not that I have seen.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? Nope.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written? I have, not a lot though. I have a little series where I put the Incredibles in the Harry Potter universe. The Incredibles were Aurors and you can't change my mind was a fun time when I was very into Incredibles 2.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? Once, allegedly by accident.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? I don't think so.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? No, aside from spitballing ideas with @justreckin.

14. What’s your all time favorite ship? Don't do this to me.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? When I first started writing and posting fic, I had an enormous DS9 fic all planned out. It was going to span 20+ years, introduce so many OCs, and center around Kira Nerys, my OBSESSION for a long time. I posted maybe 4 chapters. RIP.

16. What are your writing strengths? Dialogue and cute little moments.

17. What are your writing weaknesses? I get bogged down in details and lose sight of the long game. OR if my intention is to make a little moment stretch, it lasts two sentences. There is no in between.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? I will do one or two words at a time, maybe a sentence if I can pull it directly from the source material and I know what it means and the context.

19. First fandom you wrote for? NCIS.

20. Favorite fic you’ve written? oof oof oof. Great question. I have plenty that I go back and read just for fun. The one I'm proudest of right now is Discipline, Diligence, and Learning to Fly. My favorites to read are And the Time Eve Collected Human Beings Like Shiny Rocks and Keep Us Connected.

I'm late to the trend so I think everyone has been tagged. Anyone who wants to, and @fiadorable, @justreckin, @sun-lit-roses and @raddocwrites if you'd like! (unless you’ve already done it and don’t want to again 😂)

[sarcasticsciencefictionwriter]

Twenty Questions for Fic Writers

Tagged by @zeldamacgregor thank you so much!

1.How many works do you have on ao3?

One hundred and seven.

2. What's your total ao3 word count?

553,867

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Sanctuary and Stargate SG-1.

4. Top five by kudos

Commute - 87 (SG-1, Sam/Jack)

In-between - 72 (SG-1, Sam/Jack)

One Snowy Day - 66 (SG-1, Sam/Jack)

Two Kinds of Sparks - 62 (SG-1, Sam/Jack)

One Rainy Day - 60 (SG-1, Sam/Jack)

There is a definite pattern here.

5. Do you respond to comments?

Yes! Except when someone was being a jerk to me, I ignored them once or twice.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Oh, man, I have no idea. The Last of the Tau'ri was pretty bleak and angsty, especially since I was evil enough to make it a one-shot.

7. What is the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

No clue on this one either, 'happy' ending aren't my strong suit.

Happiness is an emotion, not a state of being.

I have sweet endings, but I'm not sure I have 'happy' ones? I can't answer this question in any way that satisfies me.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Other than the one idiot that was correcting me on their version canon, nope.

9. Do you write smut?

No. I can't say I ever won't, but at the moment I'm not in a headspace where I feel comfortable doing it.

Let's just say if I want that in my fics, I'm probably going to have to ask someone else in the fandom to right that chapter or an accompanying scene fic for me. 😂

10. Craziest crossover?

Ohhh, I have no idea, I don't think I've gone insane yet.

My upcoming Encanto + Sanctuary is going to take the cake for the moment.

One that actually exists? Howl's Moving Castle + Sanctuary.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Not to my knowledge.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Sort of got two in the works. 😉

And started one with @tina-mairin-goldstein but I haven't committed as fully as I should. (In my defense, I haven't seen the season of Supernatural it would take place in and Hannibal is....not my favorite thing).

14. All time favorite ship?

Helen/John from Sanctuary.

(I can feel the respect the Sanctuary community has for me draining away, especially when my most popular Sanctuary fic is Teslen.😂)

15. What's a WIP you want to finish but don't think you ever will?

I'm determined to finish all of the SG-1 and Sanctuary ones!

The ones I won't finish, I have actively chosen not to finish. I quit writing Fantastic Beasts and I have no plans to further associate myself with/in the fandom.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Foreshadowing and emotions, I think.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Description.

Fluff is also hard because from my view it doesn't seem fluffy, but that's just perspective of author, I suppose.

18. Thoughts on dialogue in another language?

I'd do it more if I had more confidence in being able to do it correctly.

For now, I just sprinkle in a couple words.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Warriors cats before I knew what fanfiction was, Fantastic Beasts once I did.

20. Favorite fic you've written so far?

Enigmatic Confections and The Abnormal X-File. Can't choose between.

No pressure tagging: @tinknevertalks, @chartreuseian, @theleotorrio, @ladyelysandra, @romanaisalive

[invisibleraven]

fic asks game!

5, 6, 12, 18, 30

What work of yours got more feedback than you expected?

I am always pleasantly surprised by any feedback I get, but I have to say that my fics for Polyship week both did really well.

One two three (not only you and me) & I don't wanna miss the lights and you

Favorite title you used

I pretty much almost always use song titles for my fics, but I think the best and most fitting time was when I wrote my Reggie centric fic I am fine, I am totally fine (I'm not fine) because that song from Encanto haunted me for so long, and it just fit the whole theme of the story.

How many WIP’s do you have in your docs for next year?

Oh my poor neglected WiPs... I have been mainly focused on doing prompts this year, and then I wrote my whole fic for NaNoWriMo which took all of my time in November (Ash is almost done the edits, prologue is coming soon!) so I have a few stories I haven't touched in months.

Oops.

I think right now that total is around 8 or 9? Not sure if I will get back to all of them or not, but I really do want to finish at least two of them.

The character that gave you the most trouble writing this year?

Luke. Definitely Luke. Usually he doesn't give me this much grief, but I found it harder to find his voice this year, and I'm kind of sad about it. Might just mean I have to do a re-watch to recapture it.

Biggest surprise while writing this year?

Definitely that I did so much of it! JatP still has its claws in me pretty deep, and I just kept writing, and writing, and writing!

I think I wrote something like 350 ficlets (plus however many smut prompts I did) and counting? I also have no plans to stop, I have actually lost count of where my prompt lists are going until next year. Maybe October? As long as you guys continue to send me prompts, I will continue to write them!

And going over my word count (of works published to AO3), by November I met and then exceeded my word count from last year.

By like ~8k words.

Again, oops.

So anything from this month is basically gravy.

[enchanted-encanto]

La Canción de mi Corazón / The Song of My Heart—Chapter 60: The Song of Their Hearts

← Previous Chapter | Chapter Index

Read this story on AO3 here!

Fandom: Encanto (2021)

Overall Fic Rating: Explicit (for smut)

Relationships: Bruno Madrigal/Natalia Moreno (Original Female Character)

Characters: Bruno Madrigal Natalia Moreno, Original Characters, Félix Madrigal, Agustín Madrigal, Luisa Madrigal, Mirabel Madrigal, Camilo Madrigal, Antonio Madrigal, Dolores Madrigal, Isabela Madrigal, Pepa Madrigal, Julieta Madrigal, "Abuela" Alma Madrigal

Chapter Summary: Bruno, Natalia, and all of the Madrigals revel in the joy of family, gratitude, healing, and above all things–love.

Chapter Notes:

I can't believe I'm actually writing this, that La Canción de Mi Corazón / The Song of My Heart is actually finished. This story and its readers mean the whole world to me, the process of writing this story has brought me an indescribable amount of joy and fulfillment that I will always be grateful for.

To all of the readers of this story–thank you. I can never properly express my gratitude for all of your kind words and support. Your kudos, comments, Tumblr posts, fan art, they have all meant the world to me. This was a passion project I started because I fell in love with the Encanto universe and to think my little story has grown so much and reached so many people is so wild and incredible to me.

I very much plan to keep Bruno & Natalia's story going in different ways moving forward now that the main story is completed–I can definitely see myself writing bonus slice of life chapters about them in the future and sharing artwork I commission of the characters from this story. If you'd like to keep in touch with me you can keep up with me on this Tumblr!

So again, thank you so so much. I truly hope you all have enjoyed reading this story even a tiny bit as much as I enjoyed writing it. Sending lots of love to you all, always. ❤️

______________________________

Bruno opened his eyes slowly, blinking a few times to bring his vision into focus. His heart fluttered when he saw Natalia standing in front of her vanity a few feet away from him, putting the finishing touches on her ponytail. He was instantly mesmerized by her as always–taking in the way her shoulder blades moved, the way her nose scrunched up when she concentrated, the tiny piece of her hair that always fell into her face no matter how many times she tucked it behind her ear.  

 After a moment, Natalia noticed that Bruno had woken up and looked over at him with a sleepy smile. She walked up to hi bedside him and gave him a soft, sweet kiss on the forehead.  

 “Good morning. I love you.” She whispered.  

 “I love you. Have a great day.” Bruno replied, a soft smile on his face. 

A few minutes after Natalia exited the room Bruno sat up on the edge of the bed and stretched his arms out, letting out a big yawn. 

He got dressed and opened the door to leave the bedroom. He took in the familiar sights and sounds of the casita that appeared before him, the magical chaos that he loved so dearly. He heard Camilo strumming on his guitar downstairs, practicing for an upcoming gig later that week. The booming sound of Felix’s laugh made Bruno smile uncontrollably. He couldn’t see either of them from where he was standing, but the joyful flow of Pepa’s sunshine poured out from the entrance to the kitchen below. 

Before he could take another step he heard a whoosh , and looked over to see his oldest daughter floating beside him. 

“Good morning Daddy!” Emilia exclaimed, kissing him on the cheek before quickly flying away. He chuckled, knowing any attempts to slow her down would be fruitless. 

“ Good morning tío!” Mirabel said from the end of the hallway with a small wave. “Remember you need to stop by the bakery today to pick up the cupcakes for tomorrow!” 

“No lo olvidaré, lo prometo!” Bruno said, smiling up at her as he headed down the stairs. 

“Yow!” He heard a voice cry out in pain. He knew right away that it had to be Agustín. He stifled a laugh as he entered the living room, to find a grinning Julieta looking over at her grimacing husband. 

“Caught your finger in the drawer again hermano ?” Bruno teased. 

“Only for the third time.” Julieta replied with a crooked smile. “Today.” 

“It’s been a really good day for me so far actually!” Agustín laughed. 

“Breakfast is on the stove, Bruno.” Julieta continued. “ Huevos con chorizo.”  

“Gracias Juli.” Bruno replied gratefully. “Need me to grab some for him to heal his hand?” 

Julieta shook her head, smiling knowingly as she pulled a cracker out of her pocket. “Got it covered.” 

“That is not how I said it!!” Bruno heard a loud voice say. As he entered into the kitchen he saw two of his nieces “arguing”, while also attempting to stifle their laughter. 

“That’s exactly how you said it Luisa.” Isabela teased, pointing her fork at her sister. “You went, ‘I don’t wanna try on another skirt!!!’, like you were a little bebito throwing a tantrum.” 

“It was the fifth skirt I’d tried on that day!!” Luisa retorted.  

“All in the name of fashion, my dear little sister.” Isabela said smoothly. 

Luisa rolled her eyes, putting another bite of food into her mouth.  

“I’ll remember that next time you ask me to move all your inventory boxes around again.” She said in between bites. 

“Ugh, fine. You got me there.” Isabela laughed, making Luisa laugh along with her. 

“Fighting so early this morning sobrinas?” Bruno teased as he made his plate and sat down beside them. “I figured you two wouldn’t start until at least noon.” 

“We’re not fighting tío, we’re having a...civil disagreement on past events.” Isabela said with a sassy grin. 

“Your ‘civil disagreements’ are way too loud.” Dolores chimed in using air quotes, tiredly walking into the room. “I could use a little more civil agreeing this early in the morning.” 

“It is 11 am, Dolores.” Luisa laughed. “Some of us have had full days already!” 

“And some of us enjoy spending our days sleeping. In the quiet.” Dolores joked back. 

“You wanting any quiet in this place isn’t likely to happen, mijita!” Felix said as he walked into the room, kissing his daughter on the side of her head as he passed. 

“Speaking of things not being quiet, where are my kids?” Bruno joked. “I saw Emi a few minutes ago.” 

“Leo’s out in the backyard playing basketball with Antonio.” Isabela answered. “Not sure where Luna is.” 

“If I had to guess, she’s asleep somewhere.” Bruno said. “She thinks we don’t know she stays up late working on her inventions but she’s always zonking out around this time at some random location in the house.” 

“In all fairness, that kitchen tool she invented for Mom was pretty cool.” Luisa shrugged. 

“Cool indeed, but we’re trying to teach her that she can invent during the daylight hours too.” Bruno chuckled. 

“She’s a noctámbulo like her dad!” Felix exclaimed. 

“Agh yeah, that one’s definitely on me.” Bruno replied, a bit sheepishly. 

The kitchen grew louder and more lively as more and more Madrigals came in and out for their breakfasts. Bruno reveled in the feeling of it all, his family surrounding him in his lifelong home. He missed Natalia during these weekday mornings, but took joy in the fact that she was at the bakery doing what she loved.  

He headed out to the backyard to check on Leo, and no sooner did he step out onto the back patio was a basketball being thrown directly at him.  

“Think fast tío!” Antonio yelled, Bruno barely catching the ball in time before it hit him square in the face. 

“Nice catch Dad!” Leo called out. 

“Thanks.” Bruno chuckled, tossing the ball to his son. Leo and Antonio immediately went back to their game, but the youngest Madrigal boy was no match for his older cousin. Antonio had a growth spurt in his teens and became the tallest member of the Madrigal family seemingly overnight. But despite how much he’d grown physically, he was still the sweet, caring, animal-loving Antonio they’d always known. Antonio and Leo were very close, bonding quickly over their shared love of aquatic animals. They spent a lot of time swimming in the magical pool in Leo’s bedroom, chatting about every type of shark, squid, and anemone a person could dream of. 

Bruno felt a wave of nostalgia as he looked at how much his son had grown in just a few short years too, a quiet content filling his heart as he watched his son and nephew run around and enjoy a beautiful day.  

“Have you seen your sister?” Bruno called out to Leo. 

“Which one?” Leo replied, out of breath as he dribbled the basketball. 

“Ha, sorry! Lulu.” 

“Nope, sorry Dad!” 

“Haven’t seen her either, sorry tío. ” Antonio added as he snatched the ball as it bounced. 

“Oh well, my search continues.” Bruno shrugged. “Have fun you two!” 

He went back inside to go search for his youngest daughter, and after some time not being able to locate her, he had a sudden thought and smiled to himself. He realized exactly where she was. 

He approached the painting that covered the hole in the wall he had used for so many years when he hid away within the casita . It was never covered up or fixed, as the family felt it represented the growth they all had gone through and wanted to leave it as is. Bruno wasn’t surprised in the slightest when he learned that Luna had found the secret space, as she was inquisitive to her core. When she asked him about it after discovering it, he had been open with her about what the space used to be for and the life he used to live in it. Everything he said was explained to her in a way that would make the most sense to a young child. However, despite her age, Luna was pensive and understanding about her father’s story, finding the space to be fascinating rather than sad. She loved to sneak away to the tiny room now and then, using it as another quiet place to think and explore. She wasn’t unlike her father in enjoying some quiet time to herself within the lively casita . 

Bruno pushed aside the slightly crooked painting and stepped inside the hole in the wall, feeling an odd sensation in his stomach. He was struck by what this motion used to mean for him compared to what it meant now. Before, it was a part of his darkest years, an entrance to the place he chose to hide, to cower. He watched his family helplessly through these same walls, his heart aching to be with them. It was a place where his deepest pain and darkest memories took root. But now, that heaviness had nearly entirely faded away. A part of it would always remain within him in some capacity, but the years had provided him, and all of the Madrigals, a remarkable amount of growth and healing. Now, he was entering that space to retrieve his daughter, a piece of his heart that he and the love of his life made together.  

His suspicions were immediately confirmed as he approached a fast asleep Luna on a rug on the floor, a green crayon still curled up in her hand. Surrounding her were blueprint like drawings, etchings from her mind spilled onto the many pages. He scooped her up and she instinctively cuddled into his shoulder. He patted her back gently as he looked around his former home within a home. How dull the pain of those memories felt now, how many changes this space had gone through in his heart, it was an overwhelming experience in its underwhelmingness. He listened to the soft snores of his daughter on his shoulder and marveled in how far life had taken him since those dark years so long ago. 

____________________

Later that afternoon, Bruno walked over to the bakery to visit Natalia and pick up the order Mirabel had placed for an upcoming family party. This walk between the casita and Moreno’s Bakery had become second nature for him and all of the Madrigals, both places feeling like home to the family. It was a picture perfect sunny day, a gentle breeze softly rustling Bruno’s ruana. He took a deep breath, savoring the sunshine on his face and the chatter of the townspeople surrounding him. 

When he approached the bakery, the familiar chime of the bell above the door got his heart racing as it always did, because it meant he’d get to see Natalia in a moment. When he entered, Natalia was busy with a customer putting a few treats in a paper bag. Natalia glanced over at Bruno, her smile and the sparkle in her eyes immediately making his knees feel weak.  

“Oh! Hola Bruno!” The customer said pleasantly as she turned around to leave. 

“Hola Señora Lopez!” Bruno replied, holding the door open for the woman. “Grandkids doing well?” 

“Están bien, gracias.” She replied sweetly. “Nati was just telling me all about your little ones!” She continued, pinching his cheek. “You’re a lucky man to have such a beautiful wife and family.” 

Bruno beamed proudly. “I sure am.” 

“Hasta luego Bruno, bye Nati!” Señora Lopez said as she exited, Natalia waving goodbye. 

Natalia made eye contact with Bruno, her expression quickly growing sultry. 

“Well hello , señor.” Natalia said in a low voice, sparks instantly flying between them. 

Bruno’s cheeks flushed at her tone, but he wouldn’t let her get the best of him just yet. He approached the part of the counter where the cash register was, the only spot on that side where they could easily lean in close to one another.  

“Hello to you, señora.” He replied, matching her tone.

“How lucky I am that such a sexy man decided to walk into my bakery today.” Natalia hummed with a flirtatious grin. 

Bruno leaned in closer to Natalia’s face over the counter, gently taking her chin in his hand.  

“I’m the lucky one today, mi bella.” He said softly out before kissing her deeply. She deepened their kiss, pulling on his shirt collar to bring him even closer. 

When they pulled apart, Natalia’s breathing had quickened.

“Oh no, you don’t get to kiss me like that just once.” She stated. 

Bruno grinned mischievously, nearly sprinting around the counter to approach her. Natalia took him by the hand and pulled him over to the small room around the corner that housed the ovens. He quickly pressed her up against the wall and their lips met again, fiery and passionate. He moved his hands under her shirt and up along her waist, a delicious sigh escaping her lips. Natalia ran her hand through Bruno’s hair as they devoured each other, the spring of his curls soft along her fingertips. Just as things began to heat up even further, the sound of the bakery’s front doorbell jingled. They pulled their lips apart from one another and started to laugh. 

Natalia pulled her top down and smoothed it out. “Well, duty calls.”

She kissed the tip of his nose, a flirty grin on her face. “Until next time, mi amor .”  

She walked out of the room to assist the customer, Bruno staying behind to collect himself. These stolen moments of passion that they always found time to share meant everything to both of them, the flame of their love for each other only growing as the years passed. Their love had become deeper and more complex, their relationship as friends, lovers, and partners strengthening as time went by. The years had brought them every emotion imaginable–joy, pain, loss, hardship, laughter, and everything in between. Throughout everything, they knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that they were meant to be together in every sense of the word. 

____________________

Later that evening, the entire Madrigal family was gathered around in the casita’s living room. A record player gently played an album that the entire family loved. Camilo stood in the center of the room, putting on a show as he danced with Dolores and made their parents beam with joy. The casita moved with him, flipping around the floorboards and windowpanes along with the rhythm. Antonio sat on the floor beside them, his long legs stretched out in front of him and a jaguar cub asleep and purring away in his lap. Isabela and Mirabel flipped through books of Mirabel’s photography together, Isabela finding endless creative inspiration in Mirabel’s work. Luisa was cuddled up between her parents, chit-chatting about their days. Alma sat in her favorite chair in the corner where she could see everyone, smiling lovingly as she watched her family gathered around her.  

Bruno was on the couch with Natalia beside him. Natalia had Emilia on one side of her, Leo on the other side, and Luna sitting on her lap. Natalia was singing to them softly, her voice gentle and sweet. The kids had dozed off a few minutes prior, so comfy and cozy at home amongst their loved ones that they could hardly keep their eyes open. Bruno looked at the room around him, taking in the experience. He watched his family all together, as close as ever before. Beside him, the love of his life singing with the beautiful voice he’d fell in love with immediately upon meeting her, and his children peacefully napping away in her arms.

Everything in his life had led up to a moment like this, a feeling of bliss and contentment washing over him like never before. He thought about how far he’d come from all those years ago when he first heard Natalia singing at a restaurant he likely never would have visited without a little encouragement from the people who loved him. This moment filled his soul with a song more beautiful than he could have ever dreamt of. One of gratitude, one of joy, one of love.

Looking over at Natalia, their children, their family–they truly made up every single note of the song of his heart. 

____________________

End Notes:

Spanish translations for Chapter 60:

-Casita: house -Tío: uncle -Yo recuerdo-I remember -No lo olvidaré, lo prometo: I won't forget, I promise -Hermano: brother -Huevos con chirozo: eggs with chorizo -Gracias: thank you -Bebito: baby -Sobrinas: nieces -Mijita: affectionate term for "my daughter" -Noctámbulo: night owl -Ruana: poncho -Están bien: they are good/they are doing well -Señor/Señora: Mr./Mrs. -Hola: hello -MI bella: my beauty -Amor/mi amor: love/my love

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[banditywrites]

Prompt: TRC AU where C!Syaoran & R!Syaoran are twin bros, with the former as the younger one & the latter as the older one. In this AU, C!Syaoran is gifted with super strength (like Disney's Hercules from the 1997 animated film of the same name & Luisa from "Encanto"). And like any sibling, R!Syaoran is initially envious of his lil bro's gift. But over time, he grew to accept the fact that he's giftless & eventually, he grew protective of his younger bro because the people around them have overwhelmingly negative response to his twin bro's power. They would call C!Syaoran derogatory names, whispering to each other whenever he's passing by, laughing behind his back, etc. This made him self-conscious about himself & as a result, his self-esteem plummeted to rock bottom. Thankfully, R!Syaoran is there to provide him any comfort, encouragement & reassurance. But most of all, they've got each other's back.

It looks like these writing prompts really are going to take me through the rest of my semester. There are still two more after this. I hope to finish them up in the next month.

 So that is a lot of information there. And I was, admittingly, stumped on this one for a little bit, but I remembered I had in my mind a Spiderman fic that had kind of similar vibes. So I borrowed a setting from it. For this, I had no idea how to refer to these boys. In the end I’m going with the younger being Li and the older being Syaoran, because that is the only thing I could think of. So in this AU their last names are something else. Clow maybe…or Reed. Anyway. Since you have provided the backstory, I don’t go into that. The younger was born with powers and the older one wasn’t. This turns out to be a short snapshot into their lives.

EDIT: I was about to post this and tumblr ate it! I had made corrections directly on the post too. I’m so frustrated!

Word count ~1020 (I almost stayed under 1k this time!)

Title: Burdens

Syaoran was careful not to slam the door to their shared room. Just like he had been careful when entering the home not to be too loud, not to be too noticed. He was used to fading into the background and, while he used to resent it, he now found it to be an advantage. As he had been informed multiple times, he was a guest in this house, and he was not allowed to be disruptive. His grandfather permitted him and his brother to stay there because. Well. Because it was the only option. They had nowhere else to go. They could not get kicked out of another home.

Though. That wasn’t quite right. Their mother had been forced to send Li away. The bullying had gotten out of hand and Li was too strong, too angry and too much of everything. So their mother made plans to send his younger brother to the country, to live with their grandfather and try to start over. A new house. A new school. A new life.

Alone.

Syaoran couldn’t let it happen. He had insisted on going as well. Because, despite everything, Li was still his younger brother. And he was still responsible for him. Not that being older by 7 minutes really counted for much, but Syaoran had found his role early on in their childhood. He was the calmer one, the more responsible one. He had always been the older brother and he always would be.

Syaoran moved through their small room, walking on the balls of his feet, quietly listening. Li was in his bed, blanket pulled over his face and breathing a little too harshly to not be trying not to cry.  Syaoran sighed and slipped to the floor, his back pressed against the mattress. He stared out their window and waited.

The course breathing slowed, and Li grew very still. Like when they were little kids and spent late nights hiding from the monsters in the closet.

If you stay quiet and don’t move, they won’t hurt you.

Syaoran shook his head at the memory. Li had ended up punching a hole in the closet door at one point and their mother had been livid.

“You can’t keep doing this,” Syaoran whispered after the silence had dragged on too long. The blanket pile behind him shifted and Li gave a scoff that sounded too weepy to be true annoyance. Syaoran leaned his head back on the mattress. “If you want our classmates to like you, you can’t keep beating them up.”

The blanket was shoved away.

“I did not beat anyone up,” Li bit out.

“You can’t threaten to beat them up, especially not a little girl.” Syaoran turned to meet his brother’s eyes, but Li looked away. He pulled the blanket up again, stopping short of covering his face with it.

“She had powers too,” Li muttered into soft fabric. Syaoran sighed.

“You can’t threaten to beat up kids even if they have powers too.”

“I didn’t threaten to beat her up!” Li snapped the blanket over his head. Syaoran turned and carefully, carefully pulled the blanket down.

“Tell me then?” Syaoran whispered once he caught his brother’s eyes. The older boy folded his arms on the mattress and waited. Li wrinkled his nose under the scrutiny, but he didn’t turn away. He pulled at the blanket’s edge and studied the worn threads straining under his grip.

“I thought she was strong too,” he finally whispered. “I didn’t mean to scare her. I told her to tell me what she could do. I just thought… she was like me.”

It had been hard growing up with a twin who had a gift of strength, while Syaoran had nothing. His lack of special abilities had been difficult on him when he was little, but he realized it was hard on Li too. Having strength that nobody could match. Not being able to play with others unless he was very, very careful. Scorned and shouted at if someone did get hurt when he was around.

 It must have been lonely.

Syaoran tapped his fingers on the mattress, dragging his brother’s attention from the loose threads he was pulling from the blanket.

“Someday,” he cleared his throat. “Someday, you’ll find someone who can match you. And you’ll either be best friends or mortal enemies. I hope it’s the former.” Syaoran lightly flicked his brother’s ear before turning to sit comfortably on the floor again.

The room went quiet. Syaoran watched the light from the window dim with the setting sun, casting an orange glow throughout their room. The shadows deepened around them and Li’s gentle fingers brushed across his brother’s shoulder. When they were young, Li had broken his brother’s arm. Their parents didn’t let him forget it. Their mom failed to remember the speeding truck that Li had pulled Syaoran away from. To be saved from the truck’s path and hurt by his brother’s hands in the same moment… it had been a frightening experience. He had cried a lot that day. His parents had seen his pain, but they had not seen Li’s. That was the first time Li had really hurt someone without meaning to and it left him with a haunted look on his face.  

Syaoran would not forget that his brother saved his life that day. And he would not forget how hard Li cried when his older brother’s arm twisted the wrong way in his hands.

“You think there will be someone like that?” Li whispered, almost too quiet to hear.

“Yes,” Syaoran answered without hesitating. “And until then, you have me at least.” He turned and grinned. “I’ll always be your older brother.”

No matter where they got sent, no matter how the others whispered about Li, they would always be brothers.

Li let the corner of his mouth twitch up.

“Thank you.”

Syaoran ruffled his hair and Li batted him away gently.

“You have me too,” Li whispered. Syaoran grinned.

“I know, I know.”

If you stay quiet and don’t move, they won’t hurt you.

I’ll protect you.

[squeamishdionysus]

can i kiss you?

Pairing: Camilo Madrigal x Reader

TW: none to note

Summary: you never get tired of kissing your boyfriend, and Camilo never gets tired of being kissed.

Pronouns: The reader is female and uses she/her pronouns in this story.

Notes: first fic in a while! more camilo stuff on the way and requests for Encanto x readers are now open!

Masterlist

Today was a special day. It was the first day in weeks that Camilo wasn't completely busy with chores around town, and one of the few days where the two of you had an opportunity to just do whatever you two pleased.

The day had started with Camilo bringing you some arepas his tia had made, sharing a whole plateful with you while you walked through town. His brother, Antonio, had recently shown him a beautiful hiding place near the Encanto's mountains, one where you could see the entire town from. He had wanted to take you there ever since, and today, he planned just to do that.

When you finished your last arepa, you two were already passed the edges of the town, and getting close to the bottom of the mountains.

"You did remember to bring a blanket, right?" you asked him, swinging his hand back and forth gently as you walked. Camilo nodded, gesturing to the bag he had on his other shoulder.

"Yep! Mirabel made a new quilt for me this week, so I just brought my old one."

You giggled and leaned against his shoulder.

"I'm surprised you're even this prepared," you teased, and he rolled his eyes.

"Oh, it gets worse," he said sarcastically. "I brought water and extra snacks, too!"

You gasped dramatically, placing a hand on your chest and bumping your hips into him lightly.

"who are you, and what you have you done with my 'Milo!"

He gave you a wicked grin and spun away from you, his arms bending to resemble the claws of a maniacal villain.

"Ah, you have caught me, senorita! I am not Camilo, I am-"

He straightened his back and threw his arms to the sky, his body shifting and morphing dramatically into a familiar looking middle aged man, holding his arms out in a large wave.

"Jose! The local carpenter!"

You burst out laughing at that, knowing the many times you had injured Jose while helping him move furniture around Encanto. Camilo knew how embarrassing it was whenever you did that, but never failed to tease you for it regardless.

"Camilo! You're so mean!" you laughed, walking up to him and wrapping an arm around him as he shifted back into himself. "i wouldn't be surprised if he was out to get me at this point, though. Did you see his nose after that bookshelf fell on him?"

Camilo winced, the image of Jose's swollen, broken nose filling his mind as he remembered the awful incident that had happened only earlier that week.

"ugh, yeah... it took quite a few arepas for that to get better."

You cringed, laughing awkwardly as you rested your head on his shoulders.

"I'm seriously impressed that you packed so much just for a hike."

A smug grin came across the curly-haired boy's features as he gave a nonchalant shrug.

"Oh, you know my mama! She made me pack most of the snacks and water, just in case."

You chuckled, already picturing Pepa dragging Camilo back to the house to make sure he packed everything she deemed necessary. She was such a caring and doting mother, and you were lucky that she not only looked after Camilo, but you as well.

"I think its sweet how much she cares about you."

"Between you and me, she seemed more worried about you."

He transformed quickly into a shorter version of his mother (just so you could keep your head on his shoulder).

"If you let anything happen to my future daughter-in-law, Camilo, the Encanto will be flooded for weeks!"

You flushed hearing the words "future daughter-in-law," smiling softly and avoiding Camilo's eyes.

"Did... did she really call me that?"

Camilo gave you a soft look and slowly transformed back into himself, giving you a small "mhm," and squeezing your waist.

"She's done it many times before, ever since you came over for dinner a while back."

You grinned, looking back up at him.

"It makes me really happy to know that."

He gives you a small kiss on your temple, slowly slipping out of your grip.

"I'm glad, mi vida," he says softly, taking your hand and showing you the bottom of one of the many mountains surrounding the Encanto. he slung the bag on his shoulders to his back and lead you forward to the side of the mountain, letting go of your hand to hook his on one of the many vines growing up it. He glanced back at you and smiled.

"Follow me!"

And so you did, allowing Camilo to lead you up the short climb to this hiding spot he had been waiting to show you, eventually pulling you up to a small part of the mountain that jutted out. When you finally got a chance to look around, you realized just how beautiful the spot was, with smooth ground below your feet and captivating trees and plants growing all around and above you. You smiled brightly at Camilo, who was taking the blanket out of his bag and laying it on the ground. He gestured to it gentlemanly, waiting for you to take your place and lie down.

You chuckled, taking your time to lie down and take in the view above you. The trees framed a round picture of the clear blue sky, in which you could see toucans and hummingbirds flying from tree to tree and flower to flower. it was truly a sight to behold and you were still surprised Camilo had even managed to find it.

Soon, Camilo had taken his place beside you, taking your hand in his yet again and giving it a gentle squeeze. You turned to him and gave him your most sincere smile.

"This place is amazing, Camilo."

He chuckled, his brown eyes staring deep into yours.

"I'm glad you like it so much, mi amor."

He looked down at your hand intertwined with his, and he slowly brought them up to his face, placing a gentle kiss on the back of your palm. You giggled again, a blush creeping up your face. You slipped out of his hand to hold the side of his face, taking a minute to just admire the boy in front of you. His wonderfully curly hair and adorable nose, and those eyes you could get lost in for hours. The freckles that dusted the bridge of his nose that you often counted when the two of you were alone, and the soft lips that could render you defenseless with a kiss.

As you brushed your thumb across his cheek, you shyly asked a small question.

"Can I kiss you?"

Camilo's smile faltered a bit as he became flustered at the question, a pink hue crossing across his freckles. However, his look of shock was quickly replaced with a dopey grin.

"Sure," he whispered excitedly, and with a swift movement, your lips were on his. The kiss was sweet and gentle, full of the love and admiration that you had for this boy. You felt his arms snake around your waist, pulling you in a warm embrace as he kissed you back. You could practically feel the smile on his face as he kissed you, and when you pulled away, you could've sworn his smile was glowing.

Camilo slowly opened his eyes again, a lovestruck look gleaming in his eye as he tucked a stray piece of hair behind your ear. you leaned into his touch, giving him an equally romantic look back.

It was amazing how much love this boy could have for you.

He felt his heart beat fast as you opened your mouth to ask him, "can I kiss you again?" and he laughed.

"Mi corazon, do you even have to ask?"

You giggled and rushed to meet his lips again, rolling over so that you were on top of him, placing kiss after kiss all over his lips and face. You dotted over every freckle, and Camilo smiled as you leaned back down to kiss his lips, a loud laugh emitting from his chest.

"Amor, it tickles!'

You gave him one last peck on the lips before leaning above him, looking down at the dopey grin spread across his face.

"Sorry! You're just so kissable, Camilo Madrigal!"

He gave you a skeptical look, combing his hand through your hair.

"Really?"

You sighed dramatically, feigning a distraught look on your face.

"Oh yes! It's just so hard to simply not kiss you," you kissed the tip of his nose, "every time we're together."

"Oh, trust me," he said, gently pressing yet another kiss to your lips. "I know exactly how you feel."

[y2fandom]

Step into The Sunlight — Camilo Madrigal

→ Summary: Camilo is the center of your universe. The sun shouldn't pay attention to Pluto, but he does.

→ Genre: Camilo Madrigal x Introverted!Reader | No pronouns | There's mutual pining, there's a little angst, there a lot of shy fluff it's all very light-hearted.

→ Warnings: You call Camilo dummy twice.

→ Word count: 1.3K / Less than 7 minutes read

→ A/N: First Encanto fic let's go! I wrote this in like a day so keep that in mind

English is not my first language and this is not beta-read, please let me know if there are any mistakes

encanto masterlist l navigation l fandoms | buy me a Kofi

The village works as its own little universe, at the very center is the Madrigal family, the sun of everyone else's planets. It is what it is and, honestly, no one seems to mind. How could they? It is not something up for discussion. The planets go around the sun. No one ever thinks "hey maybe the sun should let other's shine once in a while".

If someone asks you though, you wouldn't completely agree. The sun of Encanto is Camilo.

Anyone with eyes can tell, really. He goes around town with a smile on his face and a sunny disposition; ready to help anyone who needs him. He grabs children in his arms with eyes flooding with a warmth anyone would love to bask in. He brings life to every street and every house.

Even he seems to know his place in the center of their universe, always wearing that bright-colored poncho of his that makes him impossible to miss.

And miraculously he remains humble. Never demanding others to regard him differently, instead, he strains himself to help everyone around him.

You are close to him, friends even. But you really want to grow closer to him, and apparently, so does everyone else in a hundred-mile radius, if the way everyone flocks toward him is any indication. By the time you've even considered getting closer and gathered the necessary strength to strike a conversation, he has already disappeared in a sizeable crowd of people.

You sigh and stand on your tiptoes in hopes of seeing over the crowd. You start to consider weaving through the crowd but the mere idea of it is so outrageous to your brain you give up on it before even trying it.

You give the crowd one last longing look before you take off and, impossibly, Camilo’s eyes meet yours. Despite the warm sun rays on your back chills run through your entire body. You try to smile at him. He brightens, giving you a goofy smile back.

You laugh. The action is enough to startle him and make him lose his grip on his power for a second. He disappears from your field of view before appearing again. This time he looks determined, and he tries to —very gently— push his way out of the crowd.

The villagers notice his attempts and balk at them.

“Camilo, wait!”

“Wait Camilo, we just want to talk!”

He hesitates for a moment and you consider walking away to keep him from worrying about talking to you. You see the second an idea comes to his head. It’s all too obvious really, his subtle expression changes give everything away.

“Please excuse me, I want to talk to Y/N.”

Your face heats up at the same time the town’s eyes shift to you. You reconsider the “taking off” plan again, it sounds so tempting right about now.

Curious eyes turn into teasing smiles as the villager’s part to let Camilo reach you. Though you can’t take your eyes from him you are all too aware of the murmured teasing happening between the villagers. You hear someone mention ‘lovebirds’ and it takes all your self-control and at least 5 years of your lifespan to not scream and run away.

“Hey, Y/N,” Camilo says, and he gives you the same goofy smile. Somehow, this expression makes your heart stutter, “I wanted to talk to—”

You don’t let him finish. You grab his hand without a word and drag him away from the audience he had garnered. No one follows you, thankfully. Though you are able to hear a not-very-subtle ‘novios’ thrown in there that makes you grab his hand tighter and take faster steps.

You come to a stop under the shade of a house, safe from the heat and prying eyes. You let go of his hand and turn on your heel to look at him. You almost crash against him but you don’t acknowledge it.

“Why did you let go?” He pouts and you don’t know if you wanna smack him or kiss him. Both? Both. Both is good.

“Why’d you do that?" You are trying your darndest to not combust in shame. In the back of your mind, you worry he could mistake your embarrassment for anger but you're too busy feeling a shame greater than that of all your ancestors combined to take a second and explain.

Thankfully, Camilo knows you well. He smiles with ease, putting a hand to your shoulder and letting you breathe. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to put you in the spotlight."

You exhale. "Thank you, I'm sorry too."

He snorts, "Sorry for what? That was cute."

The heat returns to your face and for the nth time in the incredibly long morning you've had you consider running away. Your feet stay planted on the ground and you just give Camilo a smile that is hopefully more "ha that's funny" and less "I am rethinking all my life choices".

He smiles back and you swear the twinkle in his eyes means he is enjoying every second of your suffering.

"I'm sorry because now everyone thinks we are dating." You explain, looking everywhere but at him.

"Now, now, that wouldn't be so bad would it?"

Your eyes go back to him to try and gauge if he means what he has just said. His face shines with so much open sincerity and warmth it makes you feel like you are looking directly at the sun. And like any fool doing so, you look away when you feel the beginnings of tears burn in your eyes.

"Don't joke like that," you mutter.

"I am not—"

You don't let him finish. "Back there, you said you wanted to talk to me about something."

Hurt flashes in his eyes for a second at your attempts to redirect the conversation. Camilo is stubborn though and pushes through your —admittedly very weak— walls.

"I wanted to invite you to Casita. On a date." He says.

You freeze for a second. You've never seen him like this, so determined and sure of what he wants. It makes your heart beat faster in your chest. You so desperately want to accept the warmth he is offering. But it is too much.

You shake your head no and Camilo crumbles.

"I'm sorry Camilo, it's just—"

He shakes his head, rushing to reassure you even after you've practically rejected him.

"Hey, no, it's okay," he places his warm hands on your arms, "I'm sorry. I misunderstood the signals. I just thought maybe you— maybe you liked me as much as— as much as I like you."

"But I do," you are now trying to reassure him. You grab his arms, forcing him to look at you, to see how much you mean every word.

"It is okay Y/N. You don't have to lie. We can be friends I promise I won't make it weird."

"Listen to me, dummy!" You can't help but laugh a little at your situation, he finally looks at you, "I like you, so much, I just hate being around lots of people and I would like to be able to talk during our first date!"

He stops for a second. Then, what you said visibly sinks in. His mouth forms an "o" at the realization.

"That… makes a lot of sense."

You laugh’ "You should've let me finish, dummy."

He smiles sheepishly. "Would you say yes to a picnic date?"

You nod this time, "That sounds amazing."

"I'll get my Aunt's arepas. You are going to love them."

You giggle, giddy with the love rushing through your body, "Today?"

He nods, visibly getting more excited each passing second. "Meet me in the outskirts, two hours before sunset. I'll set it all up."

"What should I bring?"

"Don't worry about it. Anything you want to bring will be perfect," he hesitates for a moment and then plants a stomach-fluttering kiss on your cheek.

He waits for your reaction and when you give him a little kiss back his smile widens.

He runs off. "See you in a little!" He shouts, turning to wave and smile at you.

You give a few steps forwards leaving the shade of the building and basking in the warmth of the sunlight and your budding relationship with Camilo. You wave and smile back.

[biographydivider]

Can we please have a fic about Bruno being oblivious and getting thorns silence and death glares from his sobrinas due to them being on their period on Bruno not realising. When he finally realizes though he feels bad for them and decided to spend some time telling them stories of their mothers when they first got their own cycles, much to julieta and pepa's dislike

Welp - I finished my novel chapters, and a promise is a promise. It's not the situation OP asked for, but it's still period-based and I liked writing it, so I hope you enjoy.

“Mami, my tummy really, really hurts…”

“I know it does, mi vida.”

“It’s like, achey-sore.”

“I’ll make you another chocolate con queso after dinner, sweetheart – you can’t have too many or your teeth’ll fall out.”

“What’s up?” Bruno asked, as he passed the kitchen and heard his sister and oldest sobrina in conversation. Little Isabela – how was she ten already, he was holding her in her arms at her baptism just yesterday, right? – turned to him with the saddest puppydog eyes he’d ever seen.

“Tio Bruno, I’ve got my period and it’s really, really sore.”

“O-oh. I see.”

Julieta laid a hand gently on her daughter’s head. “We’ve been talking about how periods are a natural, normal thing, Tio Bruno.”

Which, you know, was true. Bruno just didn’t realise we were…there, yet. She’d be all grown up before he could turn around twice, at this rate.

“Julieta?” Mamá called, from the main hallway. “Is Isabela with you? I want her to come with me to the Guzmán’s house with me, to organise some arrangements for Mariano’s Mamá’s birthday party.” Isabela winced. Julieta squeezed her shoulder, guiding her towards the sound of her Abuela’s voice. “Mamá,” she started, “Isabela isn’t feeling too well.”

“I’ve got my period, Abuela,” Isabela added. “It’s really bad today.”

From the kitchen doorway, Bruno watched his Mamá glide down the stairs. Descending to give judgement. “Ay, mi vida,” she crooned, taking Isabela’s cheek in her hand. “You are a woman, now. All grown up.”

Julieta cleared her throat. “Oh, Mamá…”

“And, sometimes,” Isabela’s Abuela continued, in a voice so filled with kindness it made Bruno feel a little sick, “grown-up women like you have to do things that they would rather not. For the sake of their community. For the sake of the ones they care about. You don’t want to leave Mariano’s Mamá without flowers for her birthday, do you?” Isabela nodded with a hard swallow. “I know you don’t. Because you are a kind, brave young woman. So why don’t we walk down there together? You can hold my hand all the way, and squeeze it tightly if it hurts. Okay?”

Isabela looked at her Mamá. Her eyes looked wet with tears, even from the kitchen doorway. “Oh…o-okay –”

“A-a-actually, Mamá,” Bruno said, stumbling into the conversation, “I kinda needed to borrow Isabela today. We’re gonna, y’know, organise a surprise for lil’ Mirabel. To…celebrate her…learning to spell her name nice an' neat. Right, Isa?” Bruno widened his eyes at Julieta and Isabela – praying they took the hint. Julieta laid her hand back on her daughter’s head.

“That was right, Mamá. They’ve been planning it all week. You know how hard Mirabel worked on her spelling.”

“Yeah – hey, y’know what?” Bruno said, snapping his fingers, “I’ll take Isabela to the Guzmán’s tomorrow, nice and early. That okay, Isa? Then we can celebrate both…occasions.”

If there was one thing that trumped showing off to the neighbours in Alma Madrigal’s eyes, it was showing off to the neighbours twice in the same week. Mirabel learning to write and having the most perfect granddaughter in the Encanto? Fuhgeddaboudit. Bruno’s Mamá took the bait hook, line and sinker – as long as Bruno promised she’d go tomorrow.

“Hey, kiddo,” Bruno said to Isabela, once Mamá had safely been led away by Julieta. “Gimme, like, five minutes, and come knock on my door, ‘kay? Got a surprise for you.”

Isabela tugged him down to her height (a gap that was closing day by day). “I need to go to the bathrooom,” she whispered. "I need to change my pad."

“Okay. Gimme ten minutes, then. Do what you need to do, then come find your tio.”

Bruno watched her go. Then, he bolted to the kitchen, and then up to Isabela’s bedroom. Casita let him in, this once. The house knew it was extenuating circumstances.

When Isa finally made her way to her tio’s room, the entire ground level of the vision cave had been transformed. Bruno had draped one of her bedsheets – her favourite one, the purple one with the flowers on it – over two of his statues, so it made a little den. Her favourite dolls and pillows and books were in there, lying on a blanket, waiting for her to snuggle up with them. Bruno had brought down every single candle from the cave and lit them all, so the room was filled with nice smells and warm, cosy light. Isabela gasped, hands to her mouth.

“Tio it’s so pretty…!”

“Oooh, a-and, and! The best part…!”

Bruno produced a mug of chocolate con queso from behind his back; still steaming gently, warm and rich and just a little salty. “It’s not magic like your Mami’s, but it means we can sneak in one more before your medicinal…oof. H-hey, kiddo.”

Isabela had wrapped her arms around his middle, giving him as tight a hug as she could. “Thank you, Tio Bruno.”

“Anything for my baby sobrina. Now, c’mon over here and read me a story…”

[riathedreamer]

I'm back again after binge-reading a few (five) more. I noticed you don't keep the same headcanons across stories, it's interesting and gives a sense of intrigue when I know I'm looking through your works specifically, though I'm not sure how purposeful that is. Everything is so fun to read, your pacing is engaging and keeps me invested in the characters and plot that I lost track of time reading. How do you go about writing the plot for something when you've got an idea? Do you write it out chapter by chapter, or have a vague list of points you want to hit?

I think part of the changing headcanons is due to the fact I've soon been in the RvB fandom for six years. You change your mind a bit, seasons give new information, and sometimes you just want to try something new. I don't think it's something I've done truly on purpose? More like, what do I need for this fic. And when canon leaves things unclear.

God, this sounds sort of douchey, but I just want to point out that I'm a published writer in real life. Not a big one. But there are books out there with my name on it. And when I had my first work published, it was a two year long process, going back and forth with a good (and therefore nit-picky) editor.

That means that sometimes (most times), I end up treating fanfiction like a treat. It has to be fun. So while in theory, I will always recommend planning out your fics in good details, I admit, often I just do a "fuck-it-let's-write-until-2am-and-then-post-it-right-away".

This is easier when it's just one-shots, or a collection of these. There, I almost always just let myself loose right away - unless the collection of one-shot leads into a greater narrative, for example with "seasons pass" (jesus Christ 2016-Ria was brutal with that fic, don't know what I was thinking with that ending. Lmao. Anyway, all the chapters built up for it) and my current Encanto fic "Magical Mirrors". However, for long fics, I definitely planning. Lots of it. Someitmes, I take the easy route and just plan like, half of it, cause the overall idea is good, I'll figure out the rest later, let's go, but that makes the overall fic weaker, and I know it.

I just finished planning what will probably be my longest long-fic ever yesterday. The process for that - I get a cool idea. A really cool one. Then I get more ideas. I bounce them off with some friends. This is where I will normally cave in and just write. But for the best result - I sit down with a notebook.

I write down the ideas I have. Then I make a sort of timeline with them. What leads to what. And slowly, quite slowly, you begin to get new ideas. You edit the ones you already have. You get rid of some. I usually have "major points" when I plan a fic, and I will draw those in squares. Then the real magic is figuring out how to turn the squares into a pattern. And then, at some point, you have a fic. It might be a draft, some of the points more vague than others, and for me, that's okay. If I have a point going: "they travel to the mountain", then in the draft, I might not need more than that. But once I get to that point, maybe it's something I will split into more chapters, with more details. The story grows as you write it, and you need the wiggle room. As long as you know where to go next, otherwise, you will end up stuck, or the pace will suffer from it. Not knowing where to go is like riding a train where you have to build the rails at the same time. Some of the scenes are already in great details. I make sure to write those details down, because it might take me half a year to get that chapter. Sometimes, the points are actually bits of dialogue that I know will happen.

When I have the timeline, I sort of get a sense of where I will split it into chapters. In the past, sometimes, I would mark where a chapter will begin and end. However, these marks would sometimes change when you were finally writing the story, so I don't do that anymore. Right now, I'm writing the first chapter of the new long-fic. I looked at the timeline and the points written on them, and vaguely, I have now sort of planned the next three chapters in detail. I don't usually go further than that, because again, things change. Suddenly you get inspiration for dialogue. Moments that will work as foreshadowing. Small details. Just as long as you follow the draft, you can add to the pattern, make moments longer, fill-in scenes, all those moments between the BIG SCENES tm. And for me, I often first get a sense of these when actually writing chapters.

God, this turned into a whole novel. TLDR: I collect ideas, sit down with a notebook, draw a skeleton of the whole plot, makes sure I have all major plot points planned, however, I do not plan each individual chapter right away.

Thank you so much for the support! I'm glad you are enjoying my stories!

[naomijameston]

📙📘📖

Oh gosh, there are so many. 😂 How about the 5 most recent fics that I've poked? 1. "I'll Stay With Her, Kid"- title not final. A missing scene from Disney's Hercules. What did Phil and Meg talk about as she was dying?

2. "5 Times Julieta Saved Augustin, and One Time He Returned the Favor"- Encanto, Julieta/Augustin. It's six scenes from their life together, from first meeting to Casita accepting Augustin, and then a final very painful scene (when Augustin saves Julieta). I may still work on this and perhaps I'll finish it someday, but I am also very well aware of the fact that I am white and have no connection to Colombian culture outside of this movie. It doesn't feel right for me to be writing fanfic when I don't know anything about the culture, you know?

3. "Mutiny"- based on the song "Mutiny" by Caleb Hyles and Jonathan Young. The music video tells its own story- a captain yelling at his crew, who abandon him as the ship sails into a storm. I'm just adding a relationship between the captain and the first mate. :D

4. "Satisfaction"- Nanny McPhee, Cedric/Evangeline, but from Mrs Brown's ghost's perspective. Just a quiet, soft piece. It's been done for ages but it feels incomplete. I'm worried it wants to be in present tense. 😫

5. "The Key to Her Heart"- title not final. Snamione, AU. Do you know the story about the witch who says she'll only marry the person who can get the key from her cat? And how people try all sorts of tricks to catch the cat but one person has the time and patience to make friends with the cat? (There are a lot of different versions. In some, the person also wants to marry the witch but has some reason to not pursue the cat (disability, self-doubt, etc.). In others, the person is interested but doesn't want to "win" the witch.) Then it turns out that the witch is a shapeshifter and she IS the cat??

Well, in my version, Hermione is the witch and is completely fed up the local Gaston figure, Ron. He's been pursuing her relentlessly and making a nuisance of himself. So she says she'll only marry the person who can get the very brittle key off her cat. Any act of aggression will break the key, so the person has to be kind and patient. Ron scoffs at this and sets off to get weapons. He figures the cat is a ruse and that the witch will actually summon a dragon or something. He plans to kill the dragon and take the witch by force, or kill her too.

Severus is the local blacksmith who refuses to supply Ron with weapons. Ron injures him rather brutally because of it, and Severus runs off to warn the witch. On the way, he sees her cat wandering around and scoops him up to take him back to safety.

Hermione is thrilled that Severus shows up with the cat instead of Ron and declares them married. They're both adorable fools- Hermione is all, "Hello husband!" and Severus is like, "Okay, uh, can we deal with that later? Ron is coming to kill you." 😂

Anyway, I kind of lost the thread when Minerva showed up as Hermione's mother and while she is scolding Hermione for causing trouble, Ron shows up completely kitted out in shiny armor. Hermione shapeshifts into a dragon to fight him while Minerva heals Severus' hand and explains what the hell is going on.

I've pretty much given up on it, to be honest. It's a big old mess and I don't know that it can be saved. I feel bad because an H&C member was excited to read it and when it looked like I was going to be able to finish it, I told them to expect it. But now I have nothing to show them and I feel really bad about it.

Anyway, uh, I hope you enjoyed this? 😅

[hammieslice]

I got tagged by @onewhoturns !!

Rules: Tag 9 other people (tagged below)

Favorite color: Hmm... I like a lot of colors, and I kind of want to do combos? But most of them are shades of blue, purple, or yellow. Teal blue is a favorite though.

Currently reading: Nothing, ironically enough, haha. I have picked up The Witcher series though, so that’s something I want to start, and I have plans to re-read The Last Unicorn!

Last song: Breaking Out by The Protomen! I don’t. Usually listen to this kind of stuff, but it scratches a certain itch in my brain today.

Last series: I don’t. I don’t remember. I really want to just be a cop out and say The Magnus Archives because I’ve been trying to finish it, but I genuinely have no idea what the last TV show I watched was. Does bits of House M.D. from coming downstairs to talk to parents count?

Last movie: Encanto! I didn’t get through the whole thing, but the bits I did watch were very very pleasing. Unfortunately, it didn’t wow me like it wowed a lot of other people, but that might just be because it’s not up the alley for what my mood is right now.

Sweet, savory, or spicy: Savory and spicy! Savory first though.

Currently working on: Oh I have so many unfinished WIPs in my docs you have no idea. Uhh a good bit about my Warden from Dragon Age (Diego Amell), the Kaz/Darkling fic that’s still going, a bunch of stuff for discord roleplay servers, and some V/Takemura for Cyberpunk I started on a whim. Please ask me about things. Please.

Tagging! @starchemist @crychan @halfasleepheadcanons @starlit-bawka @systemsatellite @redjeliton @firekitten830 @twitchyglitchy @fish-harlan

[feathersandfoxtails]

Tumblr Writer Q&A

Thank you for the tag, @oonajaeadira

1) How many complete fics/one shots do you have that you have not published (yet)? None. I don't sit on something for more than a few days after it being finished or I edit it to death.

2) How many WIPS do you have right now? I don't have anything really started, but I do have some notes down for two stories.

3) Do you take writing requests or write original ideas, or both? I mostly do whatever stories pop into my head, but I am definitely open to writing requests! Honestly I feel like sometimes I don't have any ideas but still want to write, so I love fulfilling others' story wishes.

4) If you do take requests, how many do you currently have? I have three sitting in my inbox that I plan on getting to; I've just been really busy lately and reading a lot of fic instead of writing.

5) How many fandoms do you write for? Just Lin characters (and haha, I count Bruno in there).

6) Are there any fandoms you wrote for in the past that you no longer write for? I got into writing fics waaaay long ago. I published the most for Doctor Who. I also wrote X-Files fic in notebooks.

7) Do you write for ships, reader inserts or other? I LOVE reader inserts! I will do ships as well, but most of Lin's characters don't have them so we have to make our own.

8) Niche fandoms/characters you write for? uh, my whole fandom? we are tiny but lovely. I got a ton of notes on my Encanto fic and got a little scared of that, haha. I just want to hide in my little fandom corner.

9) Do you read fics as well as write them? YES. I love reading fic. The only reason I started writing again is because I was reading so much of it.

10) What is your favorite genre to write for? anything Romance.

11) What is your favorite trope (to read/write)? I adore enemies to lovers and friends to lovers. also give me a good there was only one bed fic any day of the week.

12) What do you do to get motivated to write? watch the source material and/or look at pictures from the source material.

13) Is there a trope/genre you like to read, but not write? I think I stick pretty close to reading what I like to write, but I do read a lot more porn with plot than I actually write.

14) Any characters/fandoms you want to write for that are never requested? I love Alvie so, so much and want to do another fic with him.

15) How long have you been writing fan fiction? since I got back into after a very long hiatus, about a year?

16) Did you read fan fiction before you started writing? definitely. I read it a lot years ago and then stopped. the pandemic helped me rediscover it.

17) Do you only post on Tumblr, or any other sites as well? I started posting on AO3 first and now I cross post.

18) What do you personally consider the word counts of “Drabble”, “One shots” and “fics”? Drabbles are exactly 100 words!! lol. One shot is anything that is only one chapter, no matter the length. Everything is a fic.

19) Which do you prefer to write more? HC, drabbles, oneshots/fics, multi chapter stories, other? I like multi-chapters because I feel like I can delve into things a little more.

20) Are there any stories you have discontinued? If so, why? nope!

21) What is one of your main “pet-peeves” as a writer on Tumblr? although the LMM fandom is AMAZING, I know writers in other fandoms get hate and just, what is the point? if you don't like it, scroll on by.

22) Do you write a particular time of day? I write best in the evenings.

23) Do you listen to music, ambiance/noise, etc to write or do you need silence? mostly silence, though sometimes I have some movie soundtracks I listen to. I find it hard to write to anything with lyrics. however I LOVE making playlists for my fics and will play those constantly throughout my day while I daydream about my fic.

24) Do you outline your fics at all before writing? I'm a pretty big outliner, although it depends on the fic. One shots definitely just sort of come out as they will. But usually with multi-chapters I have a certain arc in mind for the story and make notes to help myself remember and keep myself on track. Pass Back Through The Heart (my Lee story) was heavily outlined because I had two fucking timelines going on at once and wanted each flashback to relate to what was happening in the present time in each chapter. That being said, things still changed along the way!

25) Do you post your writing as soon as you finish it, or do you schedule it to come out at a specific time/day?  I post within a few days of it being done. sometimes I like to let it sit for a day or two and then come back to it again with fresher eyes. For my last two multi-chapters, I was trying to publish a chapter every Sunday, which was a nice self-imposed deadline. I seem to work well with those.

no pressure and all love tagging (with request to start a new post if you partake): @weshallbegolden, @beecastle, @queenofworry, @linnamonrolls0

[yuusaris]

Rules: tag people you want to get to know/catch up with

Tagged by - oh, god @pyro-sea I just saw your blog on desktop for the first time and I was not expecting to be invited to a bowling alley birthday party - I'm here for it, don't get me wrong, I just did not bring any money for Shirley Temples, the quintessential drink of bowling. As we all know. [/jk ilu]

Last Movie At Home: My husband (@tepperz) and I just watched Encanto last night. And it is solid, I've been listening to Surface Pressure all day, I'm in love with Luisa, what's the news there... I have my little umbrages' with it (Mostly spoiler stuff, but also that I wish it wasn't Disney animation, I felt like it needed something a little more unique to really make the story pop - like how The Book of Life's already solid story is enhanced by it's style? I think a different animation style would have made it just a bit stronger.), but that's any Disney movie really? It was a fun movie, I haven't had fun with a Disney movie in a long while. I do reccommend it.

Favorite Color: Hnnnngggrhgleggfsjglaks don't ask me thiiiisssss, they're all good for different thiiiiings.

Uh, fuck, uhhhh llllightish red?

Last Song: Surface Pressure from Encanto, like I said. All day.

Sweet, Savory or Spicy: Ohhhh, they're all so good, but I gotta go with sweet. I love spicy foods and savory foods, but after eating any of them, I immediately crave sugar.

Currently Reading: A shit ton of witchy books that I haven't had the spoons to crack back open - primarily wanna finish Murphy-Hiscock's "House Witch" just to say I finished it, but at this point it's mostly a resource book. I wanna go through and highlight the parts I would reference though. Afterthat, I wanna pick The Crooked Path back up.

Otherwise, I'm currently on the audiobook for Iron Widow which is fantastic and gorgeously crafted. 11/10, recommended. Well worth it.

Currently working on:

So, like, I'm currently wrapping up the finishing touches on chapter 1 of my Body/Life follow up, Wedding Soup, which pal was kind and gracious enough to beta for me, and working through it with Tay, he and I are just trying to make some things more clear because the beginning isn't clear in how far back a flashback it is or if Ryou didn't know Bakura yet or not and ftgyhujiko a lot of things just need to be fixed.

Meanwhile, I need to start working on chapter 2 - Chapter 1 invovles an ao bozu, the second was planned to involve tsuchinoko but now I'm questioning if I'm really into the tsuchinoko angle as a choice for this, but I'm struggling to come up with more, so I just need to write it out, y'know? See what I want and what sticks, third chapter is nearly all the way written, and I know what I want for the others, but Chapter 2 really is kinda sticking it to me atm.

I am STILL working on the Rose/manipula fics Pyro requested in that prompt meme, but I'm making progress!

This is what I do when I'm stuck between paragraphs, I just blurt out what I want and how it should happen and then I color it purple because that's the color I use for text that needs to be changed/altered. I've doing this with manipula next, but it's been helpful for rose so far, I managed to bridge and eliminate a lot of unnecessary gaps and refine my pacing - it's still kind of a sloggy fic atm, but it's almost done and I can look it over more when it's a full copy.

Oh! I also started - okay Vrains has 120 episodes, I have 118 left to watch because I started a Chatshipping fic and I love them together, aaand I wanna work on a combo DM/Vrains vampire fic and for both fics I need to finish Vrains. My Chatshipper brain knows no bounds.

I'm also just dumping more FeyFic thoughts into a document right now - if anything, it'll at least be a good dump doc post, this fic is a plague upon my brain - Did i say Ryou stole Bakura's attention? he got mine in the deal too.

I am also.... on a binge to comment on every single ao3 fic in my bookmarks to show my appreciation for how much I loved reading it all, but got too self-obsessed to comment on when I added them. I'm really enjoying it, actually , even for fandoms I wasn't in for very long, there's a reason I bookmarked them, y'know?

And in my endeavors... I learned that - a lot of them updated.

With about 20+ chapters.

A piece.

I have... a lot of reading to do.

....

..... I'm gunna tag @justapalspal, @pyropelove413 @ygio and @tepperz

[enchanted-encanto]

La Canción de mi Corazón / The Song of My Heart—Chapter 16: The Beach Party

← Previous Chapter | Next Chapter →

Read this story on AO3 here!

Fandom: Encanto (2021)

Overall Fic Rating: Explicit (for smut)

Relationships: Bruno Madrigal/Natalia Moreno (Original Female Character)

Characters: Bruno Madrigal Natalia Moreno, Original Characters, Félix Madrigal, Agustín Madrigal, Luisa Madrigal, Mirabel Madrigal, Camilo Madrigal, Antonio Madrigal, Dolores Madrigal, Isabela Madrigal, Pepa Madrigal, Julieta Madrigal, "Abuela" Alma Madrigal

Chapter Summary: Natalia and all of the Madrigals attend Luisa's surprise birthday party at the beach.

______________________________

After what seemed like an eternity after Isabela had first told Bruno about it, it was finally the day of Luisa's surprise party at the beach!

Natalia had woken up early to do some last minute prep on Luisa's cake before Mirabel came by to help her finish decorating.

The party's at noon, so if I do my hair now I should be able to be totally ready in time to get there for the surprise, Natalia thought.

She put the in-progress cake back in the refrigerator to cool, and headed back upstairs to start getting ready.

She separated her dark tresses out into sections and curled each section into loose waves, pinning and tying the sections up to create a soft wavy bun on top of her head. She wrapped a red hair scarf around her styled hair and tied it off in a fashionable knot.

"Cute, beachy, and out of my face. Perfect!" She said out loud, breathing a sigh of relief to have that part of her routine done.

She applied some lightly tinted sunscreen to her skin, winged black eyeliner and mascara to her eyes, and a cherry red lipstick to her lips to complete her look.

She rubbed her lips together a few times to get the lipstick evenly distributed evenly when she heard a knock on the bakery's door.

Whoops, totally forgot to unlock the door for Mirabel!

"Be right there!" Natalia yelled down the staircase.

She sped down the stairs and through the bakery counter's swinging door, unlocking and opening the front door to reveal a smiling Mirabel.

"Good morning Nati, oh my goodness your hair and makeup is so gorgeous!" Mirabel exclaimed.

Natalia pulled Mirabel in for a hug.

"Thank you thank you! It probably looks a bit odd with my work clothes on but I swear I'm going to change before the party."

Mirabel laughed. "I figured."

"How are we today?" Natalia asked, grabbing the cake out of the fridge.

"Much better." Mirabel said. "I actually ended up talking to Isabela for a long time after I got home last night. She apologized like, a lot. She told me she never meant to make me feel the way I had, that she had just got so worked up with all the planning, like you said was likely the case, and never meant to hurt my feelings. It was the longest we've talked in a long time and it was really...nice."

Natalia beamed. "I am so, so glad to hear that, that makes me extremely happy. And big props to you for talking it all out that same night, I know that couldn't have been easy."

"I'm glad I did. I likely wouldn't have without your advice Nati, so thank you again."

"Anything for you." Natalia said with a grin.

Natalia clapped her hands together. "Now! Vamos! This chocolate monstrosity isn't going to frost itself! Go grab your apron and wash up and we'll tackle this beast."

Mirabel laughed, walking over to the back room to grab the same apron she wore the day before.

"I put what's called the crumb coat on earlier this morning, it's just a rough base layer of frosting that firms up in the refrigerator to make the last part of decorating much, much easier." Natalia said.

Natalia and Mirabel spent some time chatting and applying a smooth, even layer of the chocolate frosting all over the cake.

"Gorgeous, looking great!" Natalia said excitedly. "Last step, and the most fun part in my opinion."

Natalia grabbed a bowl from another counter.

"Chocolate shavings to go all over the frosting we just put on."

"Wow, when you said this thing was a monster you weren't kidding." Mirabel said, impressed.

"I don't half-do anything for my Madrigals." Natalia said with a smile.

They applied the chocolate shavings around the entirety of the cake except the very top.

"I won't ask you to pipe any lettering since even I mess that up 75% of the time and I do this for a living." Natalia joked. She grabbed a piping bag filled with white frosting.

Natalia leaned over close to Mirabel and said in a hushed whisper, "Even the white frosting is chocolate. It's white chocolate. Get it."

Mirabel laughed loudly, putting her face in her palm.

"When you commit you commit Nati, I'll give you that." Mirabel said lightheartedly.

Natalia carefully piped the words "Happy Birthday Luisa" on the top of the cake in beautiful cursive lettering.

"Okay, that is amazing." Mirabel commented as she stood behind her watching.

"I got lucky this time, honestly. But thank you." Natalia replied. "I have a two and a zero candle too that I'll bring with me to put on the cake when I get there. But that my dear, does it! Thank you for your invaluable help, my assistant chocolatier."

"Thank you for letting me help, this was so much fun!" Mirabel exclaimed. "I can't wait to taste it later."

"Me too!" Natalia said. "I don't eat my own desserts too too much because I'd get so sick of them so fast, but it's been an extra long while since I've had this particular cake recipe so I'm excited."

Natalia looked up at the clock and saw the party was about an hour out.

"Alright cariño, out you go now! Go finish getting ready and I'll see you shortly okay?"

Mirabel gave Natalia a hug and then headed out the door. "See you soon, Nati!"

____________________

Natalia put the finished cake back into the refrigerator to cool some more until she was ready to leave.

She went upstairs to her closet and changed into her favorite one piece bathing suit. The suit was the same shade of red as her hair scarf and lipstick, with a sweetheart neckline and two medium thickness straps on her shoulders. it had some small ruffles in fabric in the center of her chest and along her stomach, allowing the second layer of fabric to move more freely on her body. The bottoms came down just a tiny bit lower than a normal swimsuit bottom would, creating an almost skirt-like effect. She loved the way this swimsuit made her feel and how comfortable it was to actually swim in without fear of any of her boyfriend's family seeing way more of her than they ever signed up for. She slipped on a black sarong-like wrap skirt that came just to just above her knees and had a tucked knot at the top near her left hip.

She covered herself in sunscreen everywhere the sun could find her and took a final look at herself in the mirror.

"Okay, I think that's–oh, sunglasses."

She grabbed her sunglasses off of her desk and put them on top of her head, they were a big thick pair of black cat eye frames that acted like their own accessory to her entire look.

She slipped on a pair of black sandals and just as she was about to grab the cake out of the refrigerator, she heard a knock on the door.

She walked over and opened the door to see none other than Bruno Madrigal standing in front of it. Bruno was wearing his usual green ruana but with no shirt underneath it, and a pair of dark green swim shorts and sandals.

Bruno and Natalia's eyes met and the sparks between them were so strong that they could almost feel them in the air.

"Oh my god you are gorgeous, how are you even real." Bruno choked out, his jaw hanging open.

"Well hi there." Natalia said sweetly, slipping her hands under his ruana and running them along his chest.

Bruno took Natalia by the arms and stood back to look at her fully again.

"Natalia, this is just unreasonable. Leave a little beauty for the rest of us, won't you?" Bruno said, feigning annoyance.

Natalia laughed loudly, kissing Bruno gently on the lips as to not leave too much lipstick behind.

"I am very much enjoying this daytime shirtless Bruno Madrigal, what a truly gorgeous sight." Natalia flirted.

"I am very much enjoying this...my god, this everything." Bruno said, motioning up and down her body frantically with his hands.

"Here to ask me to be your date to the party?" Natalia asked, batting her eyelashes at him.

"That, and I thought you might want some help bringing the cake over." Bruno said, taking Natalia by the waist.

"You're sweet, thank you." Natalia said softly.

Bruno started to kiss along her neck, making Natalia giggle.

"Oh no no, no time for any of that."  She said.

"There's a little time," Bruno whispered, working his kisses down to her shoulder.

Natalia pulled away from his arms, still laughing.

"You and I will make up for lost time later." Natalia said in a low voice, the look in her eyes not making Bruno's current predicament any easier for him.

She started walking towards the back room and Bruno cocked his head a bit, eyeing up her backside as she moved.

"Hate to see you go but love to watch you walk away, baby." He teased, Natalia looking behind herself and smiling at him.

Natalia pulled the cake out of the refrigerator and set it on the counter in front of Bruno.

"Oh wow that is chocolate chocolate. I'm impressed." Bruno said.

"You have no idea. I took Isabela's words literally, this is a truly terrifying amount of chocolate." She replied, making Bruno laugh.

Natalia slipped the cake skillfully onto a serving plate without disrupting its shape and placed a glass lid on top of the entire thing.

"I'm fine carrying this amor, really." She said.

"Not happening." Bruno replied, Natalia crossing her arms and smiling.

"Well, thank you. Hmm, what can I carry then?" Natalia walked behind Bruno and grabbed his butt over his clothes with both of her hands, squeezing a few times before wrapping her arms around his bare waist.

"Since I've helped you in the bakery before does this count as workplace harassment?" Bruno joked.

"Are you feeling harassed?"

"Honestly you could harass me a whole lot more if you wanted to."

Natalia laughed into his ruana, Bruno grinning widely at the feeling of her laughter on his back.

"Come on, let's go before we miss the whole 'surprise' part of the surprise par–ooh!"

Natalia squeaked as Bruno pinched her butt in retaliation before grabbing the cake off the counter, a much closer pinch since her clothes were thinner.

They laughed together as they headed out of the bakery.

____________________

When Bruno and Natalia approached the sands of the Encanto's off-the-beaten path beach, all of the family except Luisa and Agustín were there setting up tables, chairs, and decorations. What seemed like a million different types of blue flowers, Luisa's favorite color, were spread all around the outdoor furniture and sand, making for a truly beautiful scene.

"The chocolate terror has arrived!" Natalia said as they approached the family.

"Nati, hi!" Isabela said, giving Natalia a hug. "You look incredible–that swimsuit, your hair, your makeup, all of it is divine!"

"Thank you Isa, you're the one that looks absolutely beautiful!" Natalia replied, admiring Isabela's pink one piece swimsuit with a slightly darker wrap skirt to match.

Bruno set the cake down on one of the tables and Natalia looked it over to make sure everything had remained relatively steady on the walk over.

"Looks perfect, excellent transportation job." Natalia said to Bruno, giving him a thumbs up.

"You probably would have stopped loving me if I dropped it, so I had good motivation." He teased.

"You are absolutely correct." Natalia replied with a smile.

"Pepa, your dress looks so beautiful!" Natalia said as she approached Pepa and Félix. Pepa was wearing a bright yellow sundress and a big woven hat to protect her from the direct sunlight.

"She's a vision as always." Félix said, looking at his wife adoringly.

Pepa's face lit up. "Gracias, Nati!" Pepa reached over and gently touched one of Natalia's curls. "This hairstyle is so beautiful, you'll have to show me how you do it one day."

"Any time you'd like." Natalia said with a big smile.

Dolores, Antonio, and Camilo approached where they were chatting.

"Hi Nati!!!" Antonio exclaimed.

"Hi sweetie!" Natalia exclaimed, leaning down to give Antonio a hug.

"Natalia, you are a vision. Absolutamente asombroso." Camilo said, intentionally deepening his voice.

"Still attempting, quite unsuccessfully I might add, to steal Nati away from your tío there, son?" Félix chuckled, Pepa shaking her head amusedly.

"And I will until she comes to her senses, obviously." Camilo replied with a smirk.

Natalia laughed. "Good to see you too, Camilo."

"Dolores, orange really is your color. You look gorgeous!" Natalia said to Dolores, giving her a hug.

"Thanks Nat." Dolores said with a smile. "I heard someone across town this morning talking about the orange tree outside their window so this color has been in my head all day."

Natalia walked over to Mirabel and Julieta who were prepping the food tables and greeted them both with hugs and hellos.

"Anything I can help with?" She asked.

"I think we've mostly got everything all ready to go." Julieta said. "Agustín should be on his way with Luisa soon, you brought your fabulous cake–"

"Which we owe in large part to my wonderful sous-chef Mirabel." Natalia said sweetly.

"Isabela's got all the flowers ready so I think all that's left is to surprise my sweet Luisa!" Julieta said. "Ay, I can't believe my little Luisa is already twenty. I remember when she was just this big." Julieta motioned with her hand at the level just above her knees.

"Mamá, you say that about all of us!" Mirabel said with a laugh.

"Because that's how it feels!" Julieta exclaimed, taking Mirabel by her face and pressing her cheek against her daughter's affectionately.

"Alright everyone, into positions!!!" Isabela yelled out. "Dad told me they'd be leaving the house right at noon so they should be here any minute!"

Natalia walked up beside Bruno who was helping put a final chair out into the sand and slipped her hand around his waist. Bruno's heart pounded at her touch. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and kissed the side of her head.

Luisa and Agustin's footsteps could be heard just outside of sight and the second they stepped onto the beach–

"SURPRISE!!!!!!!!" A chorus of voices cried out upon their entrance.

Luisa's face lit up with genuine surprise and joy.

"Guys! What is all this!" Luisa exclaimed.

"A fiesta for your special day, of course! Happy birthday mijita." Julieta said, coming up to Luisa and kissing her cheek.

Luisa made her way through the family across the beach, thanking all of them.

"Tío Bruno, Nati, thank you so much for being here!" Luisa said.

"Are you kidding? Wouldn't miss this for the world." Bruno said affectionately as Luisa pulled him in for a hug.

"Um, duh, of course. Happy 20th, viejita." Natalia teased, receiving another wonderful and crushing tight hug from her friend.

Luisa laughed. "I see quite a ridiculously amazing looking cake over there, might that be your doing?" She asked with an eyebrow raised.

"It might." Natalia shrugged, smiling.

Luisa rubbed her hands together excitedly. "Yes, I am so pumped."

Natalia and Bruno laughed as they watched Luisa walk away to greet the other guests.

____________________

A few hours later, the heat of the day began to arrive in full force as the sand warmed up beneath everyone's feet. Everyone had been eating chatting, sunbathing, and generally enjoying each other's company.

Natalia was sitting on a beach towel with her legs crossed. Antonio was sitting in front of her facing towards her, showing her a lizard he was holding in his hand.

"And he's called a rainbow lizard because of all the pretty colors across his back!" Antonio explained, holding the calm lizard in his hands.

"Wow, he's gorgeous!" Natalia exclaimed.

"He said thank you." Antonio replied with a small smile.

"Are we showing Nati our lizard collection, mijo?" Félix said to his son, a slightly apologetic look on his face. "Sorry Nati, I swear I don't know where he keeps finding all of these."

Natalia laughed. "Not a problem at all, I have very much enjoyed learning about this lovely rainbow fellow!"

Antonio smiled brightly at her.

"Come on big guy, let's go help your brother build a sandcastle hmm?" Félix said.

"Okay!" Antonio said, jumping up and running alongside his dad.

Bruno approached Natalia on her other side, holding a plate of food.

"Hungry, amor?"

"You must've read my mind!" She said gratefully.

"Well, learning all of that lizard knowledge can take it out of a person." Bruno joked.

"He's the cutest thing, I adore that kid." Natalia said fondly, taking a bite of food off of her plate.

"Have you gotten like, three shades tanner since I saw you 15 minutes ago?" Natalia asked, looking over the exposed parts of Bruno's skin.

Bruno laughed. "I tan really fast, never really burned much. Not like my poor sister Pepa, she fries like an egg in no time flat."

"Ahh, that's what the hat's for." Natalia said, her mouth half-full.

Bruno and Natalia watched Mirabel and Luisa swimming not far from the shore, laughing as they splashed each other and tossed a beach ball back and forth. Mirabel's splash was normal and playful, and Luisa created a near torrential downpour on top of Mirabel's head, nearly knocking off her glasses. Watching Mirabel's expression was enough to crack Bruno and Natalia up.

"Would you be up for a swim after you eat?" He asked, nodding his head towards the water. "It's been a long time since I've set foot in the ocean."

"Isn't that like, illegal? You have to wait one hour after you eat to swim or something?" Natalia joked.

Bruno laughed. "I don't think anyone'll tell on you." He leaned in close to her ear and lowered his voice down to a murmur. "And it is extremely unlikely I'll have my hands off of you long enough to let you drown."

Goosebumps appeared all over Natalia's skin at Bruno's tone, followed by a gentle kiss on her shoulder.

"I may be willing to bend a few rules for you." Natalia flirted back.

She finished her plate of food and Bruno took her hand to help her stand up. She untied her wrap around her waist and put it and her sunglasses on her towel.

Her and Bruno approached the shore and slowly began to wade in the water.

"Ooo, this is nice." Natalia said, enjoying the feeling of the cool water on her warm skin.

Once they got about chest deep but were still able to stand if needed, Bruno dunked his head under the water and slicked back his hair when he resurfaced. He grabbed Natalia around her waist and pulled her towards him, making her giggle.

"What did I say earlier? You're not going anywhere." He said with a smile.

"You are a man of your word." She said, wrapping her arms around his neck.

She smoothed out a couple stray pieces of Bruno's hair and caressed his cheek.

"You somehow get even more handsome every time I see you. I don't normally get to see your face like this, all out in the sunshine without that gorgeous head of hair of yours in the way." She teased.

"It does feel nice to get a little sun on my face. I'm enjoying my view far more than the sunshine though, I assure you. You are so beautiful, my love."

"I love you, Bruno." Natalia sighed, moving in to kiss him deeply.

From across the beach, Félix looked over at the horrified expression on Camilo's face as he caught a glimpse of the couple's affection from down the beach.

"How's that whole, 'I'm totally going to win her love' thing with Nati going again, mijo?" Felix teased Camilo with a big laugh.

"Asqueroso." Camilo replied, turning around quickly to keep working on his and Antonio's sandcastle.

"Tío, think fast!" Luisa yelled from across the water, beaming Bruno in the head with her beach ball with a loud boing!

Natalia, who somehow managed to avoid the projectile, bust up laughing at this turn of events as Bruno took a moment to collect himself.

"Glad you're enjoying my suffering." Bruno said with a chuckle, rubbing the top of his head.

"Your suffering is funny, what can I say?" Natalia replied, still giggling.

"Luisa, I know this is your party and all but maybe try not to kill your tío today?" Natalia yelled lightheartedly across the water.

"He's fine!" Luisa replied with a amused grin. "Hit it back!"

Natalia took the floating beach ball and served it back over to Luisa, who kept it bouncing up in her hand before it was tossed back to Mirabel, and then back to Bruno, who had a bit of time to anticipate it this time around.

Bruno tossed the ball gently but directly into Natalia's face, making her sputter. From a few feet away Natalia heard Mirabel laughing hysterically.

"Whose side are you on, Mira!" Natalia yelled out.

"I'm sorry!!" Mirabel cried between laughter, "He was just so close to you and it bounced so hard off your face!!"

Mirabel's infectious laughter made Natalia laugh, and she tossed the ball back over to Mirabel.

Natalia leaned in close to Bruno.

"It would be such a shame if I had to peel this tight swimsuit off my wet body by myself later, wouldn't it?" She replied, her green eyes burning into his.

Bruno gulped, having trouble fighting fire with fire here as he desperately tried to calm himself down.

"That's just playing dirty." He said back softly.

"Wouldn't you like that." She whispered.

He ran his fingers through his hair and dunked his head under the water again, trying desperately to wash off some of the lust that was creeping through his blood in that moment.

"Cake time!!!" Isabela called out from the shore.

"We are not done with this conversation, amor." Bruno said into Natalia's neck from behind, making her shiver.

"Is that a threat or a promise?" She asked, turning her head slightly towards his voice.

"Yes." Bruno responded, leaving her breathless.

Natalia was both very excited by Bruno's words and thoroughly annoyed that he had riled her up so well when she was doing such a good job being the riler this time.

Everyone in the ocean swam to the shore and dried off with their towels, approaching the table with the cake on it.

Natalia took the lid off of the cake and placed the two and zero candles on top.

"This cake looks increíble, Nati!" Pepa cried out, clapping her hands together excitedly.

"Hey Nat," Dolores said, approaching Natalia from behind. "Thanks for everything you did for Mirabel last night. I heard a good portion of it before I went to bed, and I can tell she was really touched by the things you said. And thank you for the kind things you said about me, too."

"Of course, amiga. I meant every word with all my heart." Natalia said with a warm smile. "You've been a little extra quiet today, you doing okay?"

Dolores nodded, her expression serene. "I can't hear as much as I normally can from this place, I can really focus my gift on hearing the ocean waves and block most of everything else out. It's really peaceful."

"That wonderful, I'm so glad you have that here.” Natalia replied. “It seems like everyone is having a really wonderful time."

Agustín came over to the cake to light the candles with a match, burning the tip of his index finger in the process.

Julieta lead Luisa to stand behind her cake.

"Alright, time to sing everyone!" Julieta said. "Ready–uno, dos, tres!"

♫ Cumpleaños feliz te deseamos a ti cumpleaños Luisa cumpleaños feliz! ♫

Luisa shut her eyes to make a wish and then blew out her candles, everyone clapping and hollering.

"Nati, would you mind cutting the cake? I'm sure you're by far the expert on that." Julieta asked.

"Of course, I'd be honored." Natalia grabbed the cake cutter off of the table and expertly cut off a perfectly sized first piece, placing it onto the empty paper plate in Luisa's hands. She then went family member by family member, cutting them each slices before cutting her own.

Luisa hadn't spoken for nearly a full minute after biting into her cake.

"Luisa, you're awfully quiet back there." Natalia said, facing away from her still as she finished cutting her piece. "Don't keep me in suspense."

"Nat, I honestly might cry it's so good.” Luisa said, her tone deadly serious. “There are no words."

Natalia's face lit up with joy.

"Mirabel, mission successful!" She said excitedly across the table.

"It's even better than I imagined, Nati!" Mirabel exclaimed.

"It was that special Madrigal touch this time around, I think." Natalia said, making Mirabel smile even wider.

Natalia took a bite of her cake slice and was very pleased with her and Mirabel's work. The cake was moist, rich, and had a deep, complex chocolate flavor with just the right amount of sweetness.

"I would kill a person for this cake." Camilo said softly to no one in particular as he took his third bite, Félix nodding in agreement.

"I'll take murderous thoughts, that's a solid compliment." Natalia grinned.

"Amor, this is ridiculously good." Bruno replied, wiping the sides of his mouth with a napkin.

"Thank you corazón." Mirabel replied with a chuckle. "You being my official taste tester and all, that means a lot."

"Hey everyone," Luisa said at a slightly elevated volume, capturing the group's attention. "I just wanted to say thank you all so much again for everything today. It's been the best day I can remember having in, well, ever. I love you all so much."

"We love you Luisa!" The group cried out all at once, Luisa's parents embracing her from both sides.

Natalia watched with absolute glee as the family took second and third pieces of cake over the course of the evening, only leaving a small amount at the end.

____________________

The air stayed warm even as the sun went down, and a sleepy contentedness could be found on the faces of everyone at the party. Natalia had an absolutely incredible time bonding with the Madrigals, talking with everyone for hours, swimming, flirting with her boyfriend, eating lots of delicious food, and relaxing. Luisa looked truly joyful and relaxed the entire day.

Everyone worked together to get the party completely cleaned up and pack any leftovers up to be transported. Natalia made sure to give away the rest of the cake and only take the container home with her.

Natalia said all of her goodbyes and gave all of her hugs–making sure to hug the birthday girl a few extra times–and then walked over to Bruno.

"Time to go, it seems." She said a bit sadly, taking Bruno's arm and resting her head gently on it. "What a wonderful day."

"It really was, we couldn't have really asked for everything to go better." Bruno said.

"Bruno, are you walking Nati home?" Félix called out to them.

"Yep! See you guys after." Bruno replied, Natalia waving a last goodbye to the group.

"Oh, just taking me home to make sure I get there safe, right?" Natalia smirked as they started walking, looking up at Bruno with her eyebrows raised.

Natalia felt a familiar electric chill run down her spine as Bruno wrapped his arm tightly around her waist.

"Oh no, bella." He said to her matter-of-factly, his eyes starting to glow. "I've got a whole second night planned for you."

____________________

End Notes:

Spanish translations for Chapter 16: -Vamos: let's go -Cariño: sweetie, dear -Ruana: poncho -Amor: love -Gracias: thank you -Absolutamente: absolutely -Asombroso: breathtaking -Tío: uncle -Mamá: mom -Mijita: affectionate term for "my daughter" -Viejita: old lady -Mijo: affectionate term for "my son" -Asqueroso: digusting -Increíble: incredible -Amiga: friend -Birthday song rough translation: Happy Birthday We wish you Happy Birthday Luisa Happy Birthday! -Uno: one -Dos: two -Tres: three -Corazón: heart -Bella: beauty

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