#hi glitternightingale

[usedtobeguest123]

Hello :)

I'm usedtobeguest123 (...because I ghosted around as guest123 on A03 before creating an account for myself 😁). You can call me Tooby.

I love writing and am dabbling with art (newbie). Feel free to shoot me Encanto writing or art prompts--family fluff is my jam. I have tiny little humans I care for and sometimes go on long hiatuses, but I'm still around. Sometimes I also post for Malevolent.

A probably maybe [not] updated masterlist of my stuff below the cut. My tag system is chaotic and unorganized, but you can try searching #my art and #my writing too.

Writing

Current fic: La Traes - This is the sequel to my first fic, Bruno from Before, but you could probably read it on its own. La Traes is the spanish name for the childhood game of tag, but it literally means "You carry it." This fic follows the (fluffy) relationship between Bruno, Mirabel, and Antonio, and is an experiment where I work through how trauma can rob us of childhood, and how we might possibly heal and get a little bit of it back.

Bruno from Before - My first fic! It takes place about 7 months after the movie. An exploration of Mirabel and Bruno's relationship post movie. Mirabel begins to learn more about Bruno from before the walls and is determined to help him find his way back.

Alma, After - I love Alma's character. This is a little dabble I wrote about her grief, and it ended up being a bit of a epilogue to Bruno from Before. Chronologically, it hits somewhere in the middle of La Traes.

Quiet - A collection of Encanto one-shots. They started out having the theme of "quiet," but it's really just a place for me to put my little snippets of writing :)

A Little Wasted Time - A one-shot where Mirabel and Camilo talk it out. It's a bit of a deleted scene from Bruno from Before.

How Are You Feeling, Hermano? - A one-shot I wrote after seeing this AMAZING art by @junosaccount. Bruno is sick and Julieta is there to do what she does best.

The Time You Give Me - Bruno - A super fun collab I did with the lovely @breannasfluff 💚 The pairing is a fun look into the mind of an introvert (Bruno) and an extrovert (Mirabel) who care about each other. This is the introvert side. Make sure to read Breanna's, too!

El Milagro de la Bebé - My fic for the @encantobigbang! Dolores is worried about her Mamá, and to help her she seeks out the most okayest man for the job - Tío Bruno. Pranks and family fluff ensue. Check out @lunaencantada's AMAZING art that goes with it!

You can find more of my little tumblr only one-shots under Encantober below.

Art

Current Project: A Bruno-centric animatic that I started for @wdtajn. I swear I will finish it eventually! You can see my progress here, and here, and here, and here, too. EDIT: It's done!

Julieta, Bruno, and Pepa as kids having a slumber party

My first Encanto fanart ever, a DTIYS from @glitternightingale

You can find more of my artsy things under Encantober below.

💚💚Fanart by Others💚💚 - These have my WHOLE heart, for reals.

Bruno and young Mirabel from Chapter 4 of Quiet by @junosaccount

The trio at a picnic from Chapter 1 of La Traes by @junosaccount (and the lineart version, which shows the amazing detail on Bruno's ruana from Bruno from Before 😍)

The trio in a tree from Chapter 2 of La Traes by @junosaccount

Mirabel and Abuela from Chapter 6 of La Traes by @junosaccount

Encantober 2022 - @encantober-official

Writing:

Transformation (An Encanto Music Analysis)

Healing

Butterfly

Change

Milk

Strength

Cacti

Head Pats

Animals

Caterpillar

Tragedy

Gift

Pranks

Generational Trauma

Otter

Art:

Rats

Love (Peanuts Style)

Parents

Hugs

Casita

Bees

Tired

Prophecy

Present

Kiss

Book

Thanks for visiting :)

[immabethehero]

Rules: Write the latest line from your WIP (or post where you last left off on in your art) and tag as many people as there are words in the line. Make a new post, don’t reblog. 

Thanks @milokno for this tag!

Camilo watches in disbelief over his papá’s shoulder as the green monster bounces Mirabel up and down in his arms, the baby happily gurgling.

Oh god what have i done

Uhhh you don’t have to do this but

@florenceisfalling, @empty-cryptid, @thecrazyashley-blog, @naoko-world, @breannasfluff, @aetherdecember, @hectic-hector, @metaphoricaltigers, @glitternightingale, @geekyfox2, @10th-no-name-person, @jaeyleo, @aeshnalacrymosa, @greenvillainredemption

[halseyquinn]

I posted 61 times in 2022

That's 44 more posts than 2021!

45 posts created (74%)

16 posts reblogged (26%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@waitingonavision

@silver-words-and-inky-secrets

@reversia

@palestxrlight

@luxiferxx

I tagged 36 of my posts in 2022

Only 41% of my posts had no tags

#encanto - 28 posts

#bruno madrigal - 18 posts

#encanto fanart - 14 posts

#bruno encanto - 11 posts

#bruno madrigal fanart - 11 posts

#encanto bruno - 9 posts

#madrigal family - 5 posts

#encanto theory - 5 posts

#julieta madrigal - 5 posts

#alma madrigal - 5 posts

Longest Tag: 31 characters

#inkworld appreciation week 2022

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Sooo - I was wondering the other day: how is Bruno‘s hair still so comparatively short after 10 years behind the walls? Either he cut it himself or...he got “help” - this was probably the first (and last time) ever Bruno let the rats cut his hair LOL-

This is how it probably went:

Bruno: “Hey, little guys - do you think you could possibly help me with my hair?”

Rat 1: “Squeak?”

Bruno: “My hair - you know” *takes a pair of scissors and a strand of hair and cuts it*

Rat 1: “Squeak!” (to Bruno) *turns around to the other rats*: “Squeak-squeak!” [Translation: “Bruno needs help with preening his fur!”]

The other rats: “Squeak!” [Translation: “Alright, let’s do this!”]

Timeskip - about half an hour later...

Bruno: “Uh, guys? You know, the hair is supposed to be the same length on both sides?”

Rats 1, 2 & 3, who have been trying to cut Bruno’s hair for the last 30 minutes: “Squeak?”

Bruno [out loud]: “You know what? I think next time, I’ll just cut it myself - don’t want to trouble you again...”

Bruno [under his breath]: “Miércoles!”

37 notes - Posted July 13, 2022

#4

See the full post

39 notes - Posted April 2, 2022

#3

Mirabel adding something to her dress/skirt (as requested anonymously - I hope this is how you imagined the drawing :)

I personally think that sewing is not only a nice hobby for Mirabel: Each family member’s gift is symbolized by their clothes - so it only seems natural that Mirabel would like to add some “meaning” to her clothes, too - in order to feel more like a part of the family...

52 notes - Posted August 13, 2022

#2

My contribution to the Encanto DTIYS-challenge by the amazing @glitternightingale! Here’s the awesome original drawing: https://glitternightingale.tumblr.com/post/691303126623485952/glitters-dtiys-2022

I drew all of the characters separately bc I wasn’t sure how each one would turn out (I’ve never drawn any of them before, except for Bruno). Afterwards, I cut the drawings out and put them together like a collage and then I played around a bit with Photoshop and added a filter to make it look like an old photograph (I totally imagine them like this at the photographer’s ;) Hope you like it! :)

87 notes - Posted August 7, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

“Bruno grabbed a cup of coffee, pulled a rat out of it, and drank from it” (from the Encanto Deluxe Junior Novel). Ever since I read this, I’ve wanted to draw it - and since today’s Encantober prompt is “rats”, have this little video :)

164 notes - Posted October 23, 2022

[breannasfluff]

I posted 3,029 times in 2022

344 posts created (11%)

2,685 posts reblogged (89%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@captaincravatthecapricious

@glitternightingale

@sketchnwhatevr

@clichejoe

I tagged 2,735 of my posts in 2022

Only 10% of my posts had no tags

#bruno madrigal - 1,090 posts

#encanto - 941 posts

#mirabel madrigal - 499 posts

#pepa madrigal - 263 posts

#camilo madrigal - 243 posts

#julieta madrigal - 223 posts

#the sandman - 206 posts

#writing - 200 posts

#encanto fanfic - 154 posts

#isabela madrigal - 137 posts

Longest Tag: 68 characters

#leave it to camilo to focus on the important part of his tío missing

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[empty-cryptid]

I posted 1,141 times in 2022

That's 1,141 more posts than 2021!

132 posts created (12%)

1,009 posts reblogged (88%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@waitingonavision

@glitternightingale

@junosaccount

@empty-cryptid

@metaphoricaltigers

I tagged 1,050 of my posts in 2022

Only 8% of my posts had no tags

#encanto - 666 posts

#bruno madrigal - 495 posts

#julieta madrigal - 123 posts

#pepa madrigal - 97 posts

#mirabel madrigal - 92 posts

#fanfic - 84 posts

#my writing - 79 posts

#antonio madrigal - 62 posts

#viva la pancita de bruno - 54 posts

#camilo madrigal - 54 posts

Longest Tag: 102 characters

#he's so excited in the first picture what is he so excited for? i want to be excited about it with him

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

So I found some mugs and thought they fit the Madrigals so now you get to look at my long post full of madrimugs.

Alma's mug. This is something she would say, I think.

Julieta would appreciate a cooking pun or two. She seems the type to enjoy a bit of fun teasing.

See the full post

101 notes - Posted November 26, 2022

#4

Finally found myself a Bruno. I'll go ahead and confirm the pancita for you.

See the full post

114 notes - Posted September 17, 2022

#3

Bruno would probably do alright at one of those obstical course agility shows. He would show up and everyone would just expect nothing from him and then he would win and cause an uproar.

227 notes - Posted June 1, 2022

#2

He knows his worth.

253 notes - Posted October 29, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

La Familia Madrigal 

(From the Little Golden Book)

722 notes - Posted September 29, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[aeshnalacrymosa]

I posted 468 times in 2022

That's 468 more posts than 2021!

67 posts created (14%)

401 posts reblogged (86%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@encantowishes

@pinwheelwhirl

@thecrazyashley-blog

@immabethehero

@omgcheez

I tagged 119 of my posts in 2022

#digital art - 45 posts

#encanto - 42 posts

#encanto fanart - 39 posts

#bruno madrigal - 38 posts

#medibangpaint - 37 posts

#fanart - 37 posts

#medibang art - 34 posts

#disney encanto - 29 posts

#medibang paint - 26 posts

#encantober - 26 posts

Longest Tag: 76 characters

#or the same feeling when you're watching a romance you're really invested in

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

"Tío Bruno, it's okay."

From my fic "Viñetas," Bruno is in Isabela's room and getting treatment for his melancholy (depression).

69 notes - Posted October 7, 2022

#4

I know I draw Bruno a lot, but my favorite character is actually Luisa. So it's only fitting that I give her the spotlight for this year's Encanto Sushi Day. 🍣

Since the Encanto is landlocked, I imagine that sushi there would be non-seafood, which I've learned is a real thing, in my research for this piece. On the platter, we have avocado, pork, and eggplant varieties. On the side, we have the soy sauce, wasabi, and gari. I imagine they don't have nori, so for the eggplant sushi, I took inspiration from a Philippine variety of edible seaweed called gamet or pedazo. I realize that's nowhere near more accessible than the nori, but I had fun with the unusual violet color of the wrap.

78 notes - Posted August 25, 2022

#3

I've finished my contribution to @glitternightingale's Draw This in Your Style challenge! This was so much fun. It's my first time drawing Julieta, Agustín, Pepa, and Félix, so it's a learning experience. I'm especially happy with how Pepa's hair came out.

88 notes - Posted August 5, 2022

#2

Luisa gets carried for once. 🏋🏽‍♀️

103 notes - Posted October 2, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

"Look, Mamá! We're a caterpillar!"

171 notes - Posted October 1, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

I'm looking forward to another great year with you all!

[lunaencantada]

He compartido 1242 publicaciones este 2022

¡Son 1242 más que en 2021! <- relax man this blog didn't exist last year lol

69 publicaciones originales (6 %)

1173 reblogueos (94 %)

Estos son los blogs que más he reblogueado:

@encantowishes

@naoko-world

@glitternightingale

@waitingonavision

@lvnamuraart <- this is embarasing ups

He etiquetado 740 publicaciones en 2022

Solo el 40 % de mis publicaciones no incluye ninguna etiqueta

#bruno madrigal: 252 publicaciones

#pepa madrigal: 157 publicaciones

#julieta madrigal: 121 publicaciones

#isabela madrigal: 89 publicaciones

#mirabel madrigal: 80 publicaciones

#my art: 61 publicaciones

#dolores madrigal: 55 publicaciones

#madrigal triplets: 50 publicaciones

#encanto: 49 publicaciones

#camilo madrigal: 43 publicaciones

Longest Tag: 138 characters

#the tall bruno i know had a lot of makeup for the eyes and i had a crisis because............... some people don't have natural eye bags??

Mis publicaciones más populares este 2022:

5

Did you know that in spanish we have many expressions with milk? I don't think it's a thing in Colombia, maybe only here in Spain, but forgive me for taking the opportunity to do a silly comic.

Descúbrela

115 notas. Fecha de publicación: 25 de julio de 2022

4

New storyboards by Ryan Green!

There are a lot of scenes with Luisa, but I'm biased, these two……….

121 notas. Fecha de publicación: 27 de junio de 2022

3

Headcanon about Julieta: her magic is in the act of giving the food to someone

Following my last drawing, I want to talk a little about my headcanon. As I said, I don't think her healing magic *is* her cooking. Why would she spend her days in the town waiting for the people to come to her? She could, Idk, send any of the kids, or just set the table with the food and go on with her day.

We have the townspeople...

Descúbrela

132 notas. Fecha de publicación: 21 de abril de 2022

2

Also, speaking of the Encanto's merch, why did they decide to do a generic jaguar plush when they could do one with Mirabel's style!!!!

I mean!! Super generic, the safe move, boring (I'm sorry Parce!!):

That's the cutest fucking thing I've ever seen in my entire life:

Descúbrela

146 notas. Fecha de publicación: 29 de abril de 2022

Mi publicación más popular de 2022

I don't know about you, but I fear the day that we have a canon sexuality for Bruno because whatever it is, some people will be angry.

I see a lot of people with OCs that are ladies, so I suspect that they want Bruno to like girls. Then you have people who watch him and read his story as the gay uncle whose name the family don't speak, so, achillean. And I think the option of aro and/or ace is popular too? And right now everyone is having a great time with their headcanons, everything is valid.

But Jared Bush doesn't want to answer anything about this topic. He is doing that with the things they want to explore in the future. And yeah, I can imagine the grandkids asking why he is single. They'll make a canon story about that. And some people will be disappointed or angry.

My worst fear? I'm ok with everything, but I guess I can't trust Disney (talking about the company, not the people actually making the movie and trying their best).

I would love Bruno being aro/ace. I crave asexual representation. The A spectrum is so big, they can try so many options (I usually think about him like an ace with a tentative interest in romance). But. Can I trust them to do a nice representation? And, can I trust the fandom who see him as alosexual to be ok with it? Because, I don't want to think bad, but I watched so many dramas in other fandoms... I'm not ready to read more shit about us. I can't do that anymore, I'm tired.

Bruno being gay? Amazing. I love the idea. Beloved character being achillean, nice. But we are talking about Disney. Every year we have a new "the first openly gay person in a disney movie!!!" and is always a background character saying one line or kissing their partner really fast, super easy to cut if they need it. I don't know about the situation in other countries, but here in Spain there is a group of people who are trying to boycott Lightyear because Oh No TwO wOmEn KiSsEd. Encanto is SUPER popular. Bruno is very popular. Some people will be so angry if he is gay. Would Disney risk their public opinion for this? Uuuh.

And if he is hetero or at least they show him having interest in women... It's ok! The movie is not about LGBTQ+ experiences, I don't expect Disney to try more representations after using the "latino representation card" (Too much for them, they'll cry). And we’ll have more opportunities with the rest of the family if we are lucky. But if they go with "he wanted but everyone was wary of him, so Bruno couldn't find a girl" ..... I'll die if the incel community find him relatable or something like that 💀 Or... Imagine if they use Bruno being neurodivergent as the excuse of why no woman wanted to marry him, because he is "strange". More 💀💀

So yeah, I don't know. I'm happy right now. Everyone is having fun. You can read/write about any option or ignore the topic completely. But some day...

176 notas. Fecha de publicación: 28 de junio de 2022

Descubre tu resumen del 2022 en Tumblr →

[brunofanfiction]

🙌🏼 Viva la Pancita de Bruno 🙌🏼

Master List

🙌🏼 Pancita (Series)

By @waitingonavision

Series of 7 works delving into Bruno’s recovery physically and mentally.

“In which time passes, and Julieta notices that all her and the family’s efforts to get a malnourished Bruno healthy again have finally paid off.” #fluff #hurt/comfort #recovery

CW: malnutrition

🙌🏼Pancita Tales

By @glitternightingale

3 Fics about Bruno’s recovery weight gain

“A year after Casita’s revival, Pepa notices something different about her brother.” #recovery #fluff #Tripletbonding

🙌🏼 Reading Glasses

By @empty-cryptid

“Bruno cleans his reading glasses with his shirt. Julieta appreciates the confirmation that all her hard work has paid off.” #fluff #hurt/comfort

CW: malnutrition

🙌🏼 Reminisce

By @empty-cryptid

“A wineglass knocked over recalls a memory and reassurance from the smallest triplet.” #fluff #familybonding

🙌🏼KUGGIS and FESTLIGT (The Madrigals IKEA in Bogotá)

By @waitingonavision

“What you get when you when you cross a trip to IKEA in Bogotá, a BabyBjörn, a good Tío Bruno, a babbly baby Mirabel and a purposeful Julieta.” #babymirabel #fluff

[encantoartdump]

I only ask they notice me

Because they inspire me!!

REBLOG if you have amazing, talented WRITER friends.

Because I certainly do, and I love every single one of them and their work.

[immabethehero]

I posted 15,052 times in 2022

That's 9,555 more posts than 2021!

137 posts created (1%)

14,915 posts reblogged (99%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@everythingfox

@glitternightingale

@naoko-world

@rammypaige

@oasisofgalaxies

I tagged 14,407 of my posts in 2022

Only 4% of my posts had no tags

#art - 6,826 posts

#disney encanto - 6,365 posts

#bruno madrigal - 3,758 posts

#disney encanto spoilers - 2,789 posts

#mirabel madrigal - 1,526 posts

#funny - 1,364 posts

#pepa madrigal - 997 posts

#julieta madrigal - 973 posts

#cute - 603 posts

#isabela madrigal - 601 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#i’m either a sad lonely uncle being peer pressured into doing stuff by my persistent niece or i’m a persistent niece peer pressuring my sad

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

See the full post

219 notes - Posted January 17, 2022

#4

See the full post

291 notes - Posted April 14, 2022

#3

I did it, I cracked the code

[Image ID: A purple line with three cartoon men above it, all organized in terms of “Rat Man”. Bruno Madrigal from Encanto is in the far left, the words underneath the line labelling him as “Rat Man Skrunkly”. In the middle, Dr. Steven Two-Brains of WordGirl, his label reading “Rat Man Equilibrium”. Far right is Ramsey Murdoch from Epithet Erased, his label reading “Rat Man Bastard”. OP has clearly lost it]

Edit: I fixed it @roseofwisdom​

See the full post

313 notes - Posted May 24, 2022

#2

Sorry guys but at the same time not really this movie is an amazing ride and I had an amazing birthday seeing this in the theatres!

457 notes - Posted January 3, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

See the full post

692 notes - Posted January 17, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

So mine is all Bruno. Why am I not surprised

[misteddreams]

Soon... 🤭

[acewithapaintbrush]

"Mama? What are you doing up so early?"

At the voice of her son, Alma whirls around and almost drops the little tumbler of green paint in her left hand. Good thing she had just lifted the brush away from her canvas or she might have done some irreparable damage. 

"Brunito! You're up early." 

"How about, never went to sleep? " Before his Mama can scold him again for his unhealthy sleeping habits, Bruno steps up next to her in front of the family tree and changes the subject. "So it's that time of the year already? The colors still look good, if you ask me." 

Alma shakes her head. "No. Not all of them." She caresses his faded depiction on the mural. Bruno follows her fingers, swallows and avoids his eyes. He doesn't want to admit it, but the fading of his counterpart on the family tree has been the most painful development during the last ten years. 

Its position in the sun always meant that his mother has to give the colors a little touch-up at least once a year. She would usually use that time to also renew it, update the appearances of her grandchildren a little. Or, like 5 years ago, add another little boy entirely. 

But over the last ten years Bruno's part had been neglected. No touch-up for the forsaken son. Every year a little bit less present. Every year a little bit less vibrant. Less important. 

Less loved? 

"It was too hard.", his mother whispers into the morning air. Everyone else is still asleep. "I would put the brush to your part of the family tree and just… freeze. Sometimes I was so angry and intentionally skipped you because I wanted to punish you for leaving. Sometimes I was so scared that I would start and mess it up because what if I had forgotten what you looked like?"

"Mama I'm sorry, I-" 

"Don't apologize." She cups his face and smiles a little when a bit of green paint smudges his cheek. Alma tries to rub it away, but only manages to make it worse. "Ay. I'm making a mess. Always making a mess, your old Mama." 

Bruno takes her hand and squeezes it. He can feel the paint in his beard. It reminds him of easier times, when his sisters and him were little and still allowed to help coloring the mural. 

"I should have done this weeks ago. I'm the one who needs to apologize." She squares her shoulders and smiles. "But I'm gonna make it up to you. I'm gonna make you the most handsome man on that tree. My beautiful, handsome bebe!" 

"Mama!" Bruno laughs. "Just a few less grey hairs will suffice."

"Any more requests?" 

"Well, if you ask me like that…" 

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

Camilo and Mirabel admire the repainted family tree. Finally their tio is just as colorful as the rest of the family. It's about time. 

Mirabel leans closer and straightens her glasses with a frown on her face.

"What is it?" Camilo asks. 

"This grey smudge." Mirabel mumbles and points to something small between Tio Bruno's neck and curls. "Doesn't that look like a little rat?" 

Camilo leans closer as well. Both of them stare at the rat-shaped smudge, then at each other, wondering if Abuela would really be so whimsical as to add something like that to the beloved, sacred family tree. 

"Nah!" They drawl at the same time. 

(It is, in fact, a little rat. But maybe that can stay a secret between the artist and the muse.)

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

This was inspired by @glitternightingale and @vaguewaves post about how maybe Alma is the one who painted the family tree

[lunamadrigal]

OMG LOOK AT THE LIL HEEL IN HIS PANCITA AHHHHHH AKAKJABSBAB

No but I have to do this.....

Modern AU Bruno being dragged around Ikea with the BABYBJÖRN on while the kiddo is using his pancita as a squishy foot rest. Man's probably less excited than stock photo guy and definitely has an Ikea hotdog in one hand.

Ask and you shall receive!

Bruno just has too much tío energy--!

Don't steal or repost!

[captaincravatthecapricious]

My contribution to milk day is: ANGST!

Below the cut is a little ficlet I wrote to go with it, that the wonderful @breannaaiedail offered to edit, and she did a wonderful job!  Thank you thank you thank you again!  And thanks for encouraging me to write something Encanto. 

I’m gonna tag some people who inspired this!  @glitternightingale (happy birthday, friend) @mmollymercury @thisstableground @cannibalthoughts

Alma’s steps are quiet and measured as she follows Bruno. It had been several hours since her botched first family meal. Perhaps one conversation hadn’t been enough to loosen her tight control over her family.  

And by that, she means she failed.  

Utterly and miserably.  

Luisa fled the room, crying, and Isabela got so frustrated she tore her napkin in two without realizing. Antonio started the meal teary-eyed, so Mirabel and Camilo did their best to distract him, loudly. Dolores hadn’t said a word, and Pepa, Julieta, and Alma plied Bruno with food until he was quite literally and abruptly ill.

He’d, unsurprisingly, fled the room after and not even Mirabel could find him for the next hour. 

If she’s honest, Alma didn't expect to see him again. If the holding pattern the two of them fell into ten long years ago was to resume.  

She’d push Bruno, as she always had, and he’d fade into the shadows.  He’d pad through the house in the silence of the early hours. Occasionally running into Julieta, but on the whole, avoiding everyone but the children.  

Of course, the thought of him vanishing so soon after his return filled her with dread, and she enlisted her present hijos, their esposos, and Mirabel to aid in her search. Mirabel told her he’d be back, likely as soon as she stopped searching. She was a voice of reason, despite it being a role too heavy for a 15-year-old.  

Mirabel was proven correct when Alma had heard her son’s near-silent footfalls slinking towards the church’s kitchen, just a few hours later. Perhaps the earlier nausea finally faded enough to let his nutrition-starved body demand food. 

Alma slipped after him, careful not to startle him. 

Julieta wasn’t idle after the search had been called off. She tied up her skirt and searched through the rubble of their home for her medical texts. Then, she spent the morning reading and sharing what she learned. 

So Alma followed her youngest, her Brunito.  And she poured him a glass of milk as he shrunk away from her, avoiding her gaze, just as Alma avoided looking at the faint scars on his too-thin wrists when he tightly clasped his left arm with his right. 

It wasn’t much.  Just a glass of milk, but her eldest assured her it was the first step to seeing her little boy healthy.  Something he hadn’t been in a very long time. 

[reversia]

Bruno’s abdomen: my almost medical opinion

I've seen a lot of interesting posts on this topic, such as this and this and many more, so I wanted to investigate it too. And since I am pursuing a medical degree, this post will deal specifically with the possible pathological causes of the "mystery stomach"™ @glitternightingale (I hope it's okay that I tagged you)

Warnings: anatomy, biomechanics, medical terms, naked (?) Bruno from animation test, just nonsence?

So.

Bruno has a posture disorder. Literally in every scene with him, you can see how his head protrudes too much in relation to the rest of his body, and his back is "round".

The way I see it, this type of posture disorder is a kyphotic-lordotic posture (2nd type in this picture):

The curvature of the thoracic region is called kyphosis, the curvature of the lumbar region is called lordosis. In this type of posture disorder these curvatures are enlarged, so the terms "hyperkyphosis" and "hyperlordosis" are often used.

A kyphotic-lordotic posture is characterized by this:

Increase in all the curves of the spine, forward tilt of the head, neck, shoulders, protrusion of the abdomen, straightened knees, flabby abdominal muscles, and possible ptosis of internal organs due to weak abdominal press.

So, in this case, the protrusion of the abdomen is caused by displacement of internal organs under pressure from the "overhanging from above" thoracic spine and thorax in general, and from the lumbar spine in hyperlordosis (from behind). But besides this, with this type of posture disorder, not only displacement of organs is possible, but also their prolapse (splanchnoptosis in scientific terms, or just ptosis) due to the weak musculature of the front abdominal wall. And this increases the protrusion of the abdomen.

Bruno's asthenic/ectomorphic constitution, which is characterized as follows:

High height, narrow, flat chest, sloping shoulders, long neck, thin and long limbs, elongated face, poorly developed musculature, pale, thin skin, internal organs (heart, lungs, intestines, etc.) of relatively small size. People with the asthenic type are characterized by increased excitability of the nervous system, a tendency to ptosis (prolapse) of internal organs, neurosis, hypotension, tuberculosis, peptic ulcer.

may have contributed to this.

In addition to poor posture, ptosis can also be caused by lifting weights. Bruno single-handedly transported a couple of barrels and a large armchair to his room, and also ran around the house with buckets of putty, which must not have been easy either.

Thus, the causes of the protruding abdomen may be:

1. Kyphotic-lordotic posture;

2. Ptosis of internal organs;

3. Weakness of the muscles of the anterior abdominal wall, which cannot restrain the pressure of the organs.

Now let's consider the question of why the belly appears and disappears.

In my opinion, it all depends on the position of the spine. Let's start by looking at what proper posture looks like.

Normally, the perpendiculars dropped from the shoulder girdle line and the lumbar line are on the same axis. In the picture I have marked it with a red line.

Now let's look at these frames.

When the shoulder girdle and lumbar spine are on the same line, there is no belly (1st picture). This happens because neither the thoracic spine (above) nor the increased curvature of the lumbar spine (behind) presses on the organs. But as soon as the thoracic spine overbalances and leans forward, the pressure on the internal organs increases and the belly appears (2nd picture).

The similar thing happens in these frames. But in this case there is overextension of the lumbar spine (hyperlordosis) in the second frame, and therefore the belly appears again.

Hyperlordosis again (this frame probably shows it most clearly).

And finally we can see it in the movie.

If the protruding abdomen was caused by excess subcutaneous fat, changing the position of the spine would only slightly reduce the belly, but wouldn't completely remove it.

As for more severe pathologies such as ascites or hepatosplenomegaly, I think this is unlikely because Bruno has no risk factors for diseases that cause them (such as cirrhosis of the liver and heart failure).

Of course, it is unlikely that the animators in creating Bruno model thought about such pathologies as splanchnoptosis and weakness of the muscles, but posture disorders are quite possible.

I don't pretend to be correct in my opinion based on my meager medical knowledge and I realize that it's probably TOO MUCH, but maybe someone was interested in reading this. Anyway, I'm sorry for this rambling and thank you if you read to the end :) Any feedback is welcome!

[biographydivider]

Ever since I saw @glitternightingale's amazing Milk Day comic (and connected it to my own fic where Bruno lightly confuses a cow and a horse), I couldn't stop thinking that he just...doesn't know animals very well. And because my headphones died on the way to work, I wrote this on my commute today.

In the world of Bruno Madrigal, there were only two types of animal: Rats, and Not-Rats.

This affliction wasn't a result of him being in the walls for years with only rodents for company; sadly, it was something he'd lived with his whole life. Once, when he was about six, he'd begged and begged his mother to let him adopt 'the puppy' that had just been born on Señor Roja's farm.

It was a goat.

"Alright, alright Tio," Camilo sighed, holding up another of Antonio's animal friends. "What's this?"

Bruno pursed his lips, deep in thought. "Baby snake."

"It's a gecko, but that was close." Camilo let the lizard go and sat back on his haunches, tapping his lip. Bruno's sobrino had become midly obsessed with his 'animal blindness' ever since he found out Bruno once tried to milk a burro. A male burro.

"Okay, okay; I got one. Name five animals that live in...water. Any type of water - sea, rivers, whatever. Go!"

"Milo...."

"Do it or I tell Mami that you stole the last of her fancy eye cream!"

"Okay, okay! Jeez." Bruno ran his hands through his hair, steadying himself with an exhale. He could do this. It was easy. Right?

"So. I-in the water. There...are...frogs. And fish. Big fish...a-and small fish...and...regular fish."

He nodded, satisfied with his answer. Camilo groaned, tugging on his hair.

"Ay, Dios mio."

"Tio Bruno?"

Luisa tapped on his door, peeking in shyly. "Tio, I don't wanna interrupt, but I thought you might wanna know, well, your present's here."

"Ooh!"

It had been the triplets' birthday the week before, and Luisa had been devastated that her present for her Tio - whatever it was - hadn't arrived on time. Bruno hugged her tight and told her it didn't matter, it'd arrive when it arrived; but he'd been waiting with baited breath for days now, all the same. Even at fifty-one, he still loved presents. Who didn't?

"Can I see?"

"Okay....so I really hoped she'd be here by last weekend," Luisa babbled, producing a small, wooden box from behind her back, "but the man in Bogotá said she needed more time to be weaned, and..."

"She?"

Bruno took the wooden box from his sobrina - noticing it was dotted with tiny holes and seemed to be squeaking - set it down on his bed, and slid open the lid. There, nestled in pile of shredded newspaper, was a tiny, caramel-coloured rat; only just old enough to be away from her mother. She blinked, looking up at Bruno with sleepy eyes, and his heart was lost.

"Ohhhhh," Bruno breathed, slowly holding out his hand for the rat to sniff. "Hiii, cariño..."

The rat stirred; blinked again, and snuffled at Bruno's fingers. Her tiny, dainty whiskers tickled his hand, and he grinned. "You're so cute, aren'tcha?"

"'s a mouse," said Camilo, leaning over his tio's shoulder to peek into the box.

"No!" Luisa protested, puffing herself up even taller than she was normally. "She's not a mouse! I made sure! The man in Bogotá promised me! He said she's a --"

"She's a Satin Coat," Bruno murmured, almost to himself, gently stroking along the rat's back with one finger. "See how straight her whiskers are, with the lil' curls at the end? That's how you can tell. And that she's so shiny. You're so shiny, aren'tcha cariño? I think she's a...she's not a Topaz coat, I think she's Fawn. Is that right, Luisa?"

Luisa and Camilo gaped at their tio. "I..." Luisa stammered. "I-I think so. I've got her paperwork in my room?"

"Oh, I'd like to see it, very much." Bruno scooped up the baby rat and placed her in his flattened hand, never taking his eyes away from her. "Thank you, mi vida. She's perfect, I love her already. O-oh, I have a spare nest over here somewhere, she can stay there 'til she gets used to things...you've got lotsa brothers and sisters, mija, but we'll introduce you later, yes we will..."

"I knew you'd like her," Luisa beamed. "We'll leave you to get her settled in."

"She's the best present ever! Thank you, again!"

"Guy can't remember snakes don't have legs but he knows about Rat Colours an' crap?!" Camilo protested, as his prima ushered him out of the room, closing the door on the happy sounds of squeaking.

(And by the way, her name is Sweetie)