#mirabel appreciation because she doesn’t get enough

[jacarandaaaas]

why waiting on a miracle is one of my favorite (and one of the most underrated) encanto songs:

So this song in my humble opinion is one of the most under appreciated songs from the movie so I’m here to give it some appreciation! (Also the irony of the song being about being ignored and overlooked and that’s exactly what happened)

So waiting on a miracle is the classic “disney I want song” but to me this song is so much more than that. One thing that sticks out to me immediately is the fact unlike most I want songs, mirabel isn’t singing about wanting more than she already has shes singing about something she lacks but SHOULD have already. From the title most people gathered that she wants a magical gift like the rest of her family and whilst that is true I find it profound that it’s not the magic for the sake of magic she wants. It’s the appreciation from her family. All she wants is to contribute and fit in and she feels the only way she can do that is if she gets a gift. It’s also important to note unlike most I want songs mirabel doesn’t get *exactly* what she wants at the end which she mentions is a miracle. She does however end up getting her ultimate goal which is the acceptance and she doesn’t need a miracle to do that. Also with the title being “waiting on a miracle” a miracle is rare it’s thought to be something almost impossible or not even real. So for mirabels I want song to be about this shows that even she herself is aware it’s literally an impossible ask but she’s just dreaming of the possibilities if she got something as rare as a miracle.

I also found the instrumental quite genius as some have already pointed out all the madrigal songs are in 4/4 time… except this one. Waiting on a miracle is in 3/4 time as yet another subtle way to show she’s out of place. as lin manuel himself said “she’s literally out of beat with the rest of her family” so thanks for that lin the song was already sad enough but you just had to do that👍

also congratulations to mirabel for being one of the few disney characters to actually say when they aren’t ok “I’m not fineeee” I know that seems minuscule but it’s so refreshing to hear a character actually express that they are feeling negative emotions and it’s ok to express that. Especially since bottling up emotions is so common nowadays it’s a good message for the next generation <3

also waiting on a miracle kinda sorta predicts the whole movie? “I would move the mountains, make new trees and flowers grow” “I would heal whats broken show this family something new” she ended up achieving all of that in the movie’ 1. The mountains split when the house was collapsing. 2. She helped isabela discover what else she could do thus making new trees and flowers grow. 3. She basically healed the entire family which is what was broken and she showed them all they are enough without gifts! So that’s just a nice little bit of foreshadowing.

Ok now back to the sad stuff! in the lyric “I would heal whats broken” turns out she’s not referring to the entire family but herself. She views herself as broken because she didn’t get a gift and she wants to fix herself 💔 another lyric to note is “cant keep down the unspoken invisible pain” a lot of people talk about how inconsiderate the madrigals are towards mirabel but the thing is they don’t realize how it effects her. We know she can put on a hell of an act (see family madrigal song) and she herself refers to her pain as “invisible” she’s hiding it from everyone so they don’t realize how badly she’s hurting because she puts on the whole optimistic act. So another way the movie demonstrates the communication issues within the family.

And how can I forget mirabel literally telling herself at the beginning “dont be upset or mad at all” she’s quite literally telling herself to not feel those things that she’s “totally fine” I also love the fact the music is in the tune of “the family madrigal” up until she says “I’m not fine” I just thought that was a cool detail!

I’ve seen people complain about “open your eyes” x3 because it doesn’t get any louder or higher it just stays the same. Well there’s actually a reason for that! the song is called waiting on a miracle, mirabel is stuck in that position. She’s stuck waiting. It’s also important to note that the visual of her begging to her abuela to “open her eyes” and not being noticed implies that she’s been trying for a long time to be noticed but she keeps being stuck.

Also shoutout to Stephanie beatriz for the amazing acting because I could FEEL the emotion and the passion. and yes I know it’s because she’s in labour but I also believe even if she wasn’t in labour the song would still sound emotional as stephanie is a really great actress! I believe in an interview she stated she wanted to perform this song like it’s the first time mirabel is expressing these feelings to herself. Basically yeah that’s true she had been lying to herself for a decade and finally she decides to admit to herself she’s not fine she’s not happy and she wants a change. The voice crack on “I’m not fine” is actually heartbreaking and this is the moment her facade breaks entirely, and I love the vocal cry she does on “longing to shine like all of you shine” it’s just these little vocal details that add so much to the song and make it so powerful

I’ve also seen people complaining this song isn’t “belty” enough but it’s just not that type of song! mirabel is stuck in her position and if you notice in a lot of Disney movies once it reaches the climax of the i want song the protagonist comes to a decision of sorts. Take “how far I’ll go for example” she decides she’s going to sail beyond the reef and the music climaxes, she also has the triumphant high note at the end. Waiting on a miracle unlike how far I’ll go is NOT a triumphant song. The music does climax but only to emphasize mirabels false hope as she’s saying all the things she would do.

with the high note I firmly believe that there’s only one significant high note at the end for a particular reason. Like I said above usually high notes in Disney songs symbolize achievement or a sense of strength found. Mirabels high note has the opposite effect. She’s quite literally begging for a miracle in desperation only to realize she’s wishing for a fantasy. “Am I too late for a miracle” is the line the song ends on and the visual is important here too. We see the fireworks fade away and mirabel is left standing alone in the dark because it was all in her mind. (Looking at you “mirabels gift is time stopping” theorists)

So yeah I find this song to be quite unique and raw for an I want song and I think the “vent” aspect of it is what makes me appreciate it even more. It’s not sugar coated. To quote stephanie beatriz herself: “real, human, imperfect, yearning to belong and hoping for something beyond what she sees in herself: an expression of hope and fear, all wrapped in teen angst.”

So uh go stream waiting on a miracle because it’s a great song 👍(also yes this rant is a mess I’m terrible at articulating my feelings on songs but it’s also just for fun I’m like not a professional lmao)

[miracles-and-butterflies]

The second wip of the Reincarnation AU series; Isabela’s death.

Featuring another sketch at the end.

Time skip of fourteen years. What happened between Mirabel and Isabela’s deaths? You’ll never know.

Comments are always appreciated.

Warning, sensitive topics below: murder and character death.

~~~~~~

So Much Hides Behind My Smile

“Knock, knock? Mi flor? Are you in there?” Someone asks, opening the door.

Isabela is sat at her vanity, carefully taking out the flowers she’d woven into her hair that morning. From the mirror’s reflection, she can see Milagro stood in the doorway, her family going about minding their own business just behind.

It had been a busy day, of course. Her perfect, albeit long awaited, wedding.

“Of course, mi vida. Did you need something?”

“I just came to see you,” he answered, shutting the door behind him. He laughed, walking over to her, just about to set a hand on her shoulder. “Well, it’s been a long day but we’ve finally made it to the wedding night—”

“Get the fuck out of my room.” Isabela snarls.

Milagro blanks for a minute. “Um… where else am I meant to sleep?”

“I don’t care. It’s not my problem.” She seethes, turning back to the mirror.

“In case the rest of the day didn’t clue you in, mi flor, we are unfortunately husband and wife now. It very much is your problem. And from what I understand, the sooner you have a baby, the happier your Abuela will be. Which you’ll have a hard time achieving if you don’t want me here.”

“If you so much as touch my shoulder, I will rip your penis off and feed it to my carnivorous plants.”

Neither says anything more.

But it takes exactly two seconds for them to act.

Milagro goes to charge his entire body into hers but is yanked onto the floor by throned vines, as Isabela throws herself straight onto him.

“How dare you treat me like this!?”

“How dare you!? This is my room and don’t you forget it!”

“Just because you’re a Madrigal doesn’t mean you can get away with everything, princesa!”

They scratch and hiss and hit like wild jaguars, fighting over the last scrap of meat.

It just keeps going.

Not only does he deserve it and worse, she can let out all the steam that’s been building inside her.

~~~~~~

“A perfect match,” Alma hummed, as Bruno poured them all another round of wine. “Isabela deserves the best and that is what she has. They will both bring so much good to the Encanto.”

“I can’t believe it. Where has the time gone?” Bruno added.

Pepa nodded, still drying her hair. “It feels like just yesterday Isabela was born and now she’s married and going to have babies of her own.”

“That will be our Lolita soon,” Félix smiled.

“I’m too young to have grandchildren! We’re too young to have grandchildren! No offence, Mama.”

Alma was in too good a mood to even remotely care.

“Is it really Dolores’ wedding next?” Bruno asked, teasing. “Because I had a little peek into the future and I saw—”

“NO! DON’T YOU DARE RUIN IT! I DON’T WANT TO KNOW!” Pepa shrieked.

Bruno held his hands up in surrender as his sister began a play fight with him, Félix laughed riotously.

“Hey, I was only kidding!”

“Well, I don’t believe you!”

Alma chuckled too, before getting up. “I am going to check on Julieta and Agustín.”

“You do that,” Félix said. “I’ll keep an eye on these two.”

The rest of the grandkids, all of whom were drunk, were out in the courtyard, hyper as anything.

Camilo, Antonio and a variety of animals were dancing while Dolores played some lively tune on her bandola; Luisa singing a completely different song over the top.

Honestly, you wouldn’t know they were adults.

On any other day, she would probably have scolded them and sent them to bed. For now though, she is happy enough to just leave them. They aren’t hurting anyone or causing any trouble, to be fair.

Agustín and Julieta were sat quietly in another room, without the wine. Julieta has been in an odd state for the past few years with seemingly new cure, and Agustín has always preferred to keep some distance from his mother-in-law when he can help it.

But they should be together right now. This is Isabela’s day and they have all been her biggest supporters.

“They certainly make the happy couple,” Alma said, taking a seat beside them.

“Indeed.” Agustín agrees. “I had my doubts about this match, but I’m glad that I’ve been proved wrong.”

“So long as my girls are happy, then I’m happy.” Julieta declares.

“Well, mija, I can attest that Luisa is definitely happy.” She paused, trying to get the pair to hear the carryon happening outside. “And trying to make herself a soprano, apparently.”

After some wonky, forced long note from Luisa, they broke into laughter.

“It’s nice to see the kids are still enjoying life and spending time together,” Agustín remarked, smiling fondly.

Julieta’s smile drops.

“Not all of them.”

~~~~~~

Long after Milagro is gone and her temper has cooled, Isabela heads downstairs.

It’s late now.

The rest of the family is in bed. Or at least in their rooms.

She doesn’t know where Milagro went after she kicked him out, probably the guest bedroom, but she doesn’t care enough to check. He can sleep outside for all she cares.

She heard some footsteps on the way to the kitchen, but brushed them off.

One of Antonio’s animals, no doubt.

In the kitchen, she makes her way over to the coffee pot. It’s half full, just needs to be reheated - no doubt Luisa has beaten her to their usual midnight drinks.

Casita takes over, sliding her signature cup along to her.

“What do you think of all this, Casita?”

A few tiles clink.

“Mirabel? I’d be lectured for at least two hours about failed marriages in history or something if she was still alive.” Isabela glanced to the side. “Can’t imagine how she’d take this… knowing I just went back.”

More clinking.

“Well, what was I meant to do? I couldn’t say no.”

A cupboard smacks her shoulder, lightly.

She chuckled. Taking off the wedding ring.

“Haha, good point. You know, I always thought getting out of the Guzmán engagement would make me happy, and now I’m about two seconds away from committing murder.”

The beams squeak supportively.

“It’s nice to know someone’s got my back.”

The coffee pot, ready, is tilted over Isabela’s cup, filling it to the brim.

“Maybe I’ll let it happen. Let the family see he’s awful and then I’ll be free.”

It smells as good as usual, there’s an underlying hint of something that isn’t coffee though. She shrugs, and drinks it anyways.

Luisa’s been drunk since the ceremony ended, who knows what she’s put in here since. It’s probably alcohol - that she’s added in some spark of creativity. And Isabela isn’t too against the idea of alcohol in her coffee at all - it’s an idea she’ll try later, when she isn’t about to go to bed.

It doesn’t taste any different though.

She lets Casita dispose of the ring.

She returns to her room steadily, not paying much attention to the beautiful decorations that have been hanging since this morning.

It’s one of the odd times where she wasn’t the one to decorate Casita in her flora - it was her day. Abuela had made it very clear that she didn’t want Isabela to lift a finger.

She never really got a chance to admire them this morning either. She’s spent most of the day outside of Casita and when they have been home, she was in her room, getting ready with Dolores, her maid of honour.

Ah well.

They will still be there tomorrow.

All that matters now is that she’s alone, out of that hideous wedding dress and can sleep off her frustration with a drink.

She doesn’t bother switching on the light, just clambers into bed and setting the cup on her bedside table.

The café con leche is as inviting as always.

[Note reads, not in Isabela’s handwriting:

Dear family,

This is not about you, this is about me. I can’t cope with the pressure of being the perfect Madrigal any longer. I was not made to be a wife and mother - my most sincere apologies to Milagro, mi vida. I tried. You should not blame yourselves. I hope whatever is is next is better than this.

— Isabela]

[hashtagboykisser]

LOVE LANGUAGES !!

ENCANTO KIDS !!

characters included: mirabell madrigal, camilo madrigal, luisa madrigal, dolores madrigal, isabela madrigal

this is in terms of RECEIVING, not GIVING, if this is liked enough i might do another :)

MIRABELL MADRIGAL: quality time

most may think mirabell’s love language would be words of affirmation - considering her family didn’t give her that for most of the movie,

but imo she puts her family and lover into two separate categories, and she doesn’t expect the same thing from each.

and plus, she does like affirmations like “i’m proud of you” not so much “you’re stunning” (as much as she does appreciate it, she would just explode lmfao)

she likes living in the moment with her partner, and it doesn’t matter what they’re talking about, or what they’re doing. it’s a breathe of fresh air - and she needs a lot of it sometimes - especially when she’s stressed.

she loves any kind of love her partner gives, but quality time means the most to her :)

overall rating:

quality time: 10/10

words of affirmation: 9.5/10

gift giving: 7.5/10

acts of service: 6/10

physical touch: 5.5/10

CAMILO MADRIGAL: physical touch

i think the main reason camilo is so into physical touch is becuz this boy CANNOT keep his hands to himself (well, he can, but only if he has to.)

i feel like he’s not a huge fan of words of affirmation and acts of service, he’ll enjoy them coming from u, but there not his favorites.

he doesn’t need words of affirmations becuz he already thinks he’s amazing lol. like you’d go “camilo, ur awesome.” and he’d be like “ik sweetheart, ty for the reminder.”

he also wants to show you how manly he is so he is big on doing acts of service for u, but not so much the other way around. XD

gift giving (or ig receiving in this case) and quality time are something he loves, but physical touch still is at the top.

this bitch is a damn love machine, so he’ll take from u and give anything to u.

overall rating:

quality time: 8.5/10

words of affirmation: 7/10

gift giving: 9/10

acts of service: 6/10

physical touch: 10/10

LUSIA MADRIGAL: words of affirmation

lusia goes through a lot of stress - even after the events of the movie (imo.)

so hearing a simple “your doing great today!” or a “i’m proud of you” makes her cheeks swell from smiling.

she also really appreciated acts of service becuz of this!

she loves gifts, but she feels bad about u spending money on her😭🥹

on top of all this, she loooves physical touch. she loves giving headpats lol. and she loves receiving hugs and kisses, hand kisses will be the death of her heheheheheh

overall rating:

quality time: 7.5/10

words of affirmation: 11/10 !! lol

gift giving: 7/10

acts of service: 10/10

physical touch: 9/10

DOLORES MADRIGAL: receiving gifts

gifts - big or small, mean the absolute world to dolores! to her, it shows you cared enough to 1: buy her something and 2: pay attention to what she likes. and she’s all for it!

your family doesn’t have much money? no biggie! she love’s physical touch too. hand kisses, holding her hips, and playing with her hair are her favorites :) are this things small? yes. but does she love small gestures? also yes.

words of affirmation she also loves, but the appearance based one’s rllyyyy get to her. “you look like stunning today.” or “i love your smile.” are the kind of things she loves :)

quality time doesn’t mean to much to her - as she can always hear her partner anyway. but don’t take that as she doesn’t wanna see you at all, because it’s quite the opposite!

she likes doing acts of service for her partner, and not so much the other way around, just becuz she likes having the feeling of doing something and crossing it off a list.

overall rating:

quality time: 6.5/10

words of affirmation: 9.5/10

gift giving: 10/10

acts of service: 5/10

physical touch: 9/10

ISABELA MADRIGAL: acts of service

home girl can get stressed out - just like the rest of her family, and she really appreciates when it’s taken off of her shoulders.

she really enjoys massages - so physical touch is smth she enjoys.

words of affirmation are sorta different for her, she wants to hear “you’re not perfect, but that’s what i love about u.” or “trying your best is all u can do, don’t push urself.” yk?

isabela enjoys receiving gifts, but it’s not always the way she likes to feel loved, but she cherishes everything u can give her like a diamond🫶

she likes quality time as well - but i can imagine her being busy a lot so sometimes it isn’t always so easy.

overall rating:

quality time: 7/10

words of affirmation: 8.5/10

gift giving: 6.5/10

acts of service: 10/10

physical touch: 8/10

hey heyyy

i hope y’all enjoyed!

if u wanna request smth go for it!!

if there’s anything offensive/inaccurate here feel free to lmk🫶

love yaaa!! <3

-hermy

[gay-jesus-probably]

Random Encanto Headcanons

Everyone’s bedrooms in the house change around a little bit over time to suit their owners; for example, after Pepa and Julieta got married, their rooms shifted to make space + accomodations for their new husbands.

Bruno’s room is Like That both because he doesn’t live there anymore, and because of how distanced he is from the family. It used to have less stairs and more actual living space, but in the decade he was gone, that all sort of just faded away. Also it’s really god damn hard to reach the vision cave, because that’s where Bruno hid the shards of his vision of Mirabel, and he doesn’t want anyone to be able to get up there to find it, so his room changed to fit what he wanted.

For the Madrigal’s whose gifts that tie into their emotions, their powers become kind of hard to control as teenagers, due to puberty fucking with their emotional equilibrium. This wasn’t a problem for Julieta, Dolores, or Luisa, because their gifts are just always working the same way. Camilo doesn’t have it so bad, he just tends to accidentally shapeshift when he’s surprised or particularily upset, like in the movie. Isabela was also pretty much fine, but didn’t appreciate the constant accidental flowers popping up around her, especially since they were rarely perfect. Pepa… oh, poor Pepa was a mess as a teenager; she’s already pretty volatile as an adult, as a teenager? It was a living nightmare. Alma deserves a medal for handling that as a single parent with two other teenagers.

But Bruno had it especially rough, because his powers going out of control couldn’t really be stopped by him trying to stay calm, it was something that just kind of Happened. Poor kid found himself having dream visions frequently, often including sleepwalking and sleep ominiously writing on walls to spice things up. While awake he’d have random visions sometimes, usualy once or twice a week, where he would just kind of check out of reality for a minute or two. These wouldn’t be massive, life changing visions, they were stuff like someones goldfish dying, or what’s for dinner tomorrow. From the outside, Bruno would just kind of slump over and stare at nothing; he’d have the spooky glowy green eyes, but nothing else would happen. Eventually he’d snap out of it, and carry on. He’d feel them coming on, but only with a few seconds of warning. Basically enough time to warn anyone around him, and sit down (to reduce the risk of him falling and hititng his head). These visions didn’t really bother him much, but they were annoying and pretty disorienting, especially if he had several in a row.

Normally this was like a weekly thing, but sometimes he’d have rough patches where he got spammed with visions. One especially bad day had a sixteen year old Bruno experience eight different visions over the course of his day. It was a school day. The teacher gave up and sent him home after they checked on Bruno during his sixth vision and realized he’d been taking notes on next weeks lecture for like half an hour.

As an adult, Bruno can direct those visions a bit more; he still gets them randomly (though much less often), but he can make it happen on purpose. He mostly uses this to watch telenovelas in the future.

The whole process of having a vision with a sandstorm and making a glowing glass tablet is for when Bruno is actively trying to use his gift, and share it with others. He can share the vision with other people (like he does with Mirabel in the movie), and has more direction over it, letting him examine branching possibilities and outcomes, as well as being able to control what exactly he’s trying to learn about. He usually saves it for trying to see major events, although he does occasionally try to have visions of important, happy moments for his loved ones, so that he can give them the resulting tablet.

When the grandkids start turning five, Bruno shamelessly abused his gift to find out what would be the best birthday present for his nieces/nephew. His visions wouldn’t tell him what their gift was going to be, he’d just know what present would work well with their gift. He got Isabela a book on plant identification for her fifth birthday, and a pair of earmuffs for Dolores on hers (as she was overwhelmed by the noise at first, and really needed the option to muffle the noise). Luisa got a book about Hercules, which she loved because she’s quietly a history nerd.

Before Mirabel’s fifth birthday, Bruno couldn’t get a vision of a personalized gift for Mira’s soon to be new power, but decided not to express concerns and hope everything worked out. Likewise, Delores hadn’t heard the Casita building Mirabel’s new bedroom during the lead up, and decided not to say anything, in the hopes that it’d be fine and she’d just missed something.

Camilo and Mirabel still have their fifth birthday presents from Tio Bruno, but neither can remember who gave them the things.

Alma wasn’t 100% in on ‘kids must use gifts to help village’ from the start. The Encanto had a rough start despite the magic, given that it was a village founded entirely by traumatized refugees, many of who fled with just the clothes on their back. Like all kids, the triplets wanted to help people, so when they got their gifts they were the ones that were determined to use it to help their mom and the village. It was a slow development over the decades into the sort of pressure that the grandkids had to deal with, as the Madrigals and the village just kind of internalized the idea that the point of the gifts was to help as many people as possible.

Hernando and Jorge began as an inside joke among the triplets. Whenever Pepa and Julieta were annoying Bruno, he’d pretend that he wasn’t related to them, and the Madrigal triplets were just Bruno, Hernando and Jorge.

When the triplets were young, they all had something special they bonded with their mom over. Julieta and Alma liked cooking/baking together, with Alma having taught Julieta. Pepa and Alma kept a flower garden together and liked to try and experiment with planting new flowers, although neither of them had much of a green thumb and would usually kill their experiments (to be fair, Pepa accidentally blasting them with extreme weather didn’t help). They still had fun with it anyways. Julieta eventually planted her own herb garden, which her mom and sister were permanently banned from going near, thank you very much.

Bruno and Alma both had insomnia fairly often, due to Bruno’s visions and Alma’s PTSD, so when neither of them could sleep, they’d keep each other company. Sometimes Pepa and Julieta would wake up to find their mom and brother asleep at the kitchen table together.

Little Isabela loved Alma and Pepa’s garden, and liked joining them in working on it. When she got her gift, Isabela and Alma would bond over Alma teaching her about different flowers.

Julieta did have to put some work into her gift, beyond just learning how to cook. Her food couldn’t heal nearly as well at first, but she spent most of her teens studying normal medicine + biology, and her medical knowledge caused her healing to be more effective. When the Madrigal’s lost their powers while Casita was being rebuilt, Julieta was still able to treat injuries fairly well, as she still had the knowledge, she’d just never really used it.

When Encanto was first founded, Casita was the only building. It was obviously the Madrigal’s house, but at first the entire village lived there while waiting to get houses built. The triplets had a small army of babysitters when they were little.

Luisa loves her whole family, but she has a soft spot for Antonio, due to them both being the odd ones out; the triplets are obviously the same age, Isabela’s only a few months older than Dolores, and Camilo’s only like a month older than Mirabel. Luisa and Antonio are the only ones that don’t have a sibling or cousin the same age as them to play with, so Luisa’s careful to make extra time for Antonio, and to invite him to come ‘help�� her with her chores if he looks lonely. She remembers being a little kid tagging along after Isabela and Dolores, who weren’t always super thrilled about it.

Dolores is Bruno’s favourite niece, due to them bonding over both knowing entirely too much about everyone’s personal business. Bruno helped Dolores adjust to her power, both in helping her cope with overstimulation, and advising her on how to be responsible with the things she learns. They have a standing agreement that if Dolores overhears something that shouldn’t be shared but she really wants to talk about, she can go to Bruno and he’ll never breathe a word to anyone. In return, he sometimes tells her about visions that he’s not going to share, like warning her to get used to the sound of crying babies, because she’s going to have a younger sibling several years down the road.

Isabela and Dolores both remember their Tio Bruno very fondly, hence the two of them defending him during We Don’t Talk About Bruno. Luisa also has fond memories of him. Camilo only really remembers Bruno as keeping rats and being kind of spooky while having a vision (hence the constant glowing green eyes when Camilo turns into Bruno). Mirabel can’t really remember Bruno at all, because he vanished in the chaos after her fifth birthday, and as she gets older, it’s pretty hard to remember anything before that day, what with the massive consequences it had for her life.

Alma was always a little strict, but the failed gift ceremony for Mirabel and Bruno’s disapperance scared the hell out of her, and she doubled down on her perfectionism in the aftermath as a desperate attempt to hold her family together, since everything seemed to be falling apart at the time.

Despite that, Alma was better with Mirabel when she was younger, and made sure to make more time for her youngest granddaughter after the failed gift ceremony, to make sure Mirabel knew she was still loved. Alma taught Mirabel embroidery, and they used to bond over working on projects together. As Mirabel grew up, they drifted apart, with Alma’s perfectionism slowly getting worse, and Mirabel being a more sensitive teenager, made worse by Alma assuming that Mirabel didn’t need as much emotional support to know she was loved as she got older and appeared to be well adjusted.

Camilo and Mirabel used to be extremely close when they were kids, due to them being the same age, but they drifted apart as they got older.

After Mirabel’s failed gift ceremony, the adults had to really work to stop Camilo from trying to cheer Mirabel up, because he was worried sick about his cousin, and was too young to really understand that him going in there and shapeshifting would not make Mirabel laugh, it’d make her feel even worse.

When Felix and Pepa started getting serious about dating each other, Julieta and Bruno introduced themselves to Felix as the ones who would poison him and hide the body (respetively) if he ever hurt their sister. He was both terrified and slightly confused about how Julieta the healer was being scarier than Bruno the ominous seer. Luckily for him, he had no intention of hurting Pepa, so he got along great with his future in-laws after that.

When Julieta started dating Augustin, Pepa and Bruno attempted to deliver a shovel talk, but couldn’t bring themselves to follow through on it, as every time they tracked him down for it he’d gotten himself hurt in some way. They couldn’t threaten someone like that, they felt too bad for him.

Augustin endeaed himself to Bruno by never once blaming him for his visions having bad outcomes, and always thanking Bruno for warning him if he was going to get hurt that day, so he’d make sure to carry some of Julieta’s food with him. Bruno appreciated the positive reaction, and got in the habit of starting the day by checking to see if Augustin was likely to get injured somehow (the answer was frequently yes).

When Bruno was younger, he’d occasionally have visions of the past. They were his favourite, because they’d always be nice visions, and specifically visions of Pedro Madrigal. He liked having the chance to know his dad in a way. He’d always tell Alma about the visions he had of his dad, usually during one of their insomniac club meetings, and it did her a world of good; she hadn’t been able to really talk about Pedro before then, as it hurt too much to think about him, so being able to reminisce about the good times helped her heal.

Bruno only tries to have a vision of the past intentionally once, and it takes him the better part of a week to get it right. It’s all for the purpose of making a vision tablet that shows Alma and Pedro’s wedding, as their wedding photos were all lost when they fled their home village, and Bruno wanted his mom to have something. It’s one of Alma’s most treasured possessions. After Bruno vanished, it just kept reminding her that she’d lost her husband and now also her son, so she wrapped it up and put it away.

[montymollusk]

first original post on here in a while because i’ve been watching encanto on a loop since it came out and i have THOTS.

my major one is how dolores’ verse in we don’t talk about bruno is so centered around bruno’s pain and struggle within the family- how no one ever understood him or his gift. she doesn’t demonize him, unlike some people (cough cough resident theater kid) and needs mirabel to understand that bruno is not and was never a bad guy. her desperation in the line “do you understand?” gets me every time

and why would she? even aside from knowing that he’s listening, dolores understands better than ANYONE how it feels to have knowledge you didn’t want and that people resent you for. dolores just has no way to turn it off.

there’s also the fact that we never see her really helping the town throughout the movie. abuela seems to have pretty limited ideas for what her family’s gifts can do for people, and i doubt she would have many ideas for how dolores gift would benefit the community, same with how she shows some trepidation with figuring out what to do with antonio’s gift, mostly just focusing on her relief that the encanto is working properly again.

it makes sense to me that after a while, abuela probably left dolores to her own devices. not trying to completely demonize abuela here, i have complicated thoughts on her character but i do NOT think she’s a monster, i just think that she would try to focus on more concrete and simple ways to help the community in day to day life, where dolores’ gift is pretty specialized. maybe every now and then she relays messages from the townspeople when there’s an emergency or someone doesn’t feel like coming all the way to the casita, but i doubt abuela would come up with anything else.

all this to say- i think dolores understands what bruno went through with his gift, being deemed either useless or actively malicious. dolores was probably terrified of people targeting her for knowing too much, the same as bruno being targeted for not always having happy visions. she knows what happens to people when their gift isn’t helpful enough, so she melted into the shadows.

i think bruno probably appreciated having someone in his corner even before mirabel came to him, someone who gets it like no one else in the madrigals can. though i bet it probably killed him that his niece had to go through what he did, especially after giving her the vision of mariano. i definitely agree with the hcs that dolores snuck him notes or food any chance she got, she probably misses the shit out of bruno and wishes he could sit with everyone at dinner for real.

anyways. bruno and dolores solidarity.

[16magnolias]

Encantober Day 10: Animals

Bittersweet Family Feels, (Stuffed) Animals

***

She doesn’t know they’ve kept them.

Every single one.

The unicorn – uni-donkey? – she made Luisa for her thirteenth birthday is still displayed on her bed, front and center in a place of honor.  

The little capybara she’d made for Dolores when she was nine and Dolores was fifteen sits displayed on a shelf in Dolores’ room, beside the carved wooden hummingbird her padre made for her.  

The chameleon she made Camilo when they both turned twelve is stuffed in the organized mess beneath his bed.  If anyone ever found it, he’d deny he even knew it was there, but he knows exactly where it is and sometimes he takes it out and squishes it whenever he’s feeling particularly frustrated.  He always apologizes to it afterward.

Pepa and Julieta were her first recipients, way back when she was six years old, when Agustín had begun giving Mirabel sewing lessons. The little stuffed heart and the little stuffed sun that she’d made as a result were given to her madre and her tía, respectively. Pepa still has the little sun – a sad little faded yellow blob of a pillow with a lopsided smiling face – tucked away in a keepsake chest so it doesn’t get ruined when she rains.  And Julieta still has the heart, displayed with love on a shelf in her room.

She’d also made a rat.

A sun, a heart, and – a rat.

She made the rat hoping one day her tío would come home and she could give it to him.

It was only fair.  She made one for two, she had to make one for the third triplet. 

The rat sits on her shelf in the nursery for nearly two years before it disappears.  When she asks Casita what happened to it, the house simply shrugs its shutters and clicks its tiles. But by that time, she figures her tío isn't coming back and even if he did, he wouldn't feel left out because she was pretty sure her tía didn't have hers anymore either, and so it doesn't really matter. 

(Bruno still has it, in his home within the walls.)

Her padre has a little stuffed needle with a little smiling face because eight year old Mirabel thought it was the funniest thing - the one needle that would never injure her father. 

Tío Félix got a little stuffed tiple for his birthday when Mirabel was nine years old, and he keeps it in the same case he keeps his music in.

Even Isabela – Isabela keeps the little stuffed animal Mirabel made for her when Mirabel was seven and Isabela was thirteen.  It’s a little lopsided potato with a goofy face and green leafy hair and a little felt straw hat, too.  It’s so ugly it’s adorable, and Isabela keeps it hidden in her room in a place where neither Mirabel nor Abuela will see it. 

She’s never made a stuffed animal for Abuela.  She’s made other things – plenty of practical things, plenty of pretty things – but she’s never found anything quite right for Abuela in the lovie department.  ‘Snuggly’, ‘cuddly’, and ‘warm’ are not words she’s used to describe her grandmother…in a long time.  Abuela might have accepted a six-year-olds’ attempt at a stuffed art project, but now?  At fifteen?  It would just be seen as another way she’d messed up.

(She doesn’t know they’ve kept them.  All of them have kept the things she’s made for them.  Every single one.)

She hopes, as she bites the thread to break and tie it, putting the finishing touches on the jaguar she’s made Antonio for his gift ceremony, that he’ll appreciate it and remember how much she loves him whenever he snuggles it.

She doesn’t realize it, but they've all hung onto the stuffed animals she's made them, as surely as she is hanging onto hope that one day, she'll be special enough to earn a miracle of her own. 

She doesn't realize it, but she is already a miracle - she is already the thread that holds her family together. 

***

[haystarlight]

More Madrigal headcanons:

Pepa was very supportive when Isabela came out and, when her sobrina eventually gets married, she'll make a whole ass rainbow 🌈 for the wedding.

Felix and Pepa can tell the difference between a shapeshifting Camilo and the actual person. They're the only ones who can do it without fail. Dolores can tell sometimes by using her powers but not always.

Camilo is the type who likes to travel and, when he grows up, they'd definitely want to leave Encanto to travel the world for a few months. He'll have their own adventures, take a lot of pictures, make a lot of friends and buy souvenirs to bring back for the family. He'd build his own reputation, abusing his powers a little to mess with people who don't know who they are.

Isabela discovers she likes to draw and paint so she starts turning her room into a fusion of a garden and paint studio. She paints portraits of the family to show how much she loves them and Casita even lets her paint the walls. Sometimes, she paints abstract but she also paints figures. She doesn't even bother wearing aprons because she thinks paint stains give her dresses character.

Bruno starts out awkward around Antonio because he’s the one sobrino who was born after he left. They eventually connect with each other through the rats. However, with the other 5, the problem is different. Bruno only knows things about them he remembers from when they were 4, 12 or 9 so he tries to connect with them but can only think of games they played when they were kids. There’s an adjustment period but all the cousins love their tío so much and appreciate his effort.

After the events of the film, Alma spends a long time being overly affectionate to Mirabel and Bruno to make up for 10 years of not hugging them or kissing them or telling them “Te amo”. Mirabel and Bruno have mixed feelings on this. On one hand, they’re both super starved for affection and attention, specifically coming from Alma so they are very happy to receive it. But it also gets awkward at times. They appreciate it and are confused by it at the same time. 

Bruno is very superstitious ("knock on wood" and flinging salt). He gets scared when he sees black cats or broken mirrors. He often burns benjui to calm down.

Isa and Luisa took ballet classes when they were little. Isa was good at it but hated it, Luisa was bad but loved it.

Isa loves kids and she does want to be a mother someday, just not with Mariano.

Isa and Luisa love each other very much, get along quite well and almost never fight. Most of the fights they did have happened before the events of the movie and mostly involved Luisa getting mad at Isabela for being rude to Mirabel. Sometimes, Luisa would even get the parents involved and that's when Isa went really mad.

Dolores loves Isabela and doesn't resent her at all. However, she still has an inferiority complex from growing up with Isa as "The Favorite". Not pretty enough, her gift isn't cute, it's creepy, no one ever pays attention to her. It's not just about Mariano, it's also about the rest of the family not seeing her. It takes her a while to work through her insecurities but Isabela always tells her she's beautiful and worthy.

Bruno goes through ridiculous lengths to make sure he spends equal amounts of time on each sobrino and sobrina. He never wants them to think he has a favorite. If you ask him whether he has a favorite, he will go OFF on you. And an angry Bruno is not a pretty sight.

Félix traveled to Encanto from El Caribe, while Agustín is a city boy from Bogota (this is canon from the Encanto Art Book). They both left their homes in their youth and met up on their travels, becoming good friends. Once the two young men arrived in Encanto together, they were fascinated by the magic that sorrounded them. Felix saw Pepa making a giant storm with hail and everything one day and was like "That one. I want that one" and Agustín was like "You're crazy but go off, I guess". Agustín went to Julieta every time he got hurt (a lot) and tried his darnest to make her laugh, he says her laugh is wonderful.

Félix liked to tell Pepa storied about his travels around the entire country of Colombia and some other places in South America, too. Pepa, who has never stepped outside the town, was fascinated by this adventurer who experienced so much. Pepa tried really hard to hide her crush on him but it was kind of impossible when, every time he came around, the temperature went up to 40° Celsius.

Bruno was very awkward around his sister's past boyfriends because he already knew they were going to break up and he sometimes couldn't help but tell Pepa or Julieta about the break up ahead of time. When he met Agustín and Félix and was able to predict that those were their future husbands, he was so relieved. The 3 men are very good friends and Agustín and Félix missed Bruno on the 10 years he wasn't home.

Every Halloween, people of Encanto asked Isabela to make them pumpkins and, on Christmas, they asked her to make pinetrees. Before the events of the movie, those holidays were her favorite time of year because she got the make something that wasn’t pretty pink flowers. She absolutely loathes Día de San Valentín. 

[achillesmonochrome]

I honestly wonder if some of the grandkids (and Bruno for that matter) felt left out because of the type of power they had.

Like sure, when you have powers in a town where no one else has, you would be look as someone special. 

But I imagine they were compared to other members of their family.

Pepa and Julieta got amazing gifts that can help the community in incredibly ways.

Julieta can cure people, I don’t know if is just wounds or any type of issue (like sickness) but can you imagine how amazing that is? Not sure if there is a doctor in the village but with her power it may be almost unnecessary. 

Pepa’s is also incredible, specially considering this place and time period. Since they are a village in the mountains they probably grow their own food and such, having someone who can control the weather comes really handy. 

Sure, Pepa cannot control her powers, not fully at least, and most of the weathers she created is of her own size. Yet it is mentioned in “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” that she could create weather enough to cover the village, which means if she push it she could create rain or sun. 

This means unless stuff like pest happens, the crops would be fine each year, that is MASSIVE.

Bruno’s power is also really helpful...if people appreciate it that is. 

From what we know, people in general think Bruno will create misfortune, despite that his power is just tell the future. He doesn’t create the future, he just tells what will happen.

Is unclear if there is anything to be done about it; sometimes watching the future means you cannot change the outcome, you can just know what will happens, in others you can actually change it. 

For his vision of Mirabel, I think both of the things he said happened. The house was destroyed and had to do with her (is not her fault, is just that she was the tipping point) yet it was because of her the family came together and they got the Encanto back. 

I imagined he grew up constantly compared with his sisters, who had amazing gifts that help the community, while everyone else thought he caused back luck. That couldn’t had been easy.

Now on the Grandkids. 

To be honest, despite how it is described in the song, I think Luisa and Antonio are the ones with the most helpful gifts. 

Luisa can help with constructions and well, donkeys, which of course is amazing in this setting. Specially considering things as cars doesn’t seen to be around yet.

Antonio can talk with animals, which again, in a place like this where agriculture is important, is massive. 

Isabela, despite being described as the perfect golden child, I think needed to rely on charm and beauty to get in that position. I love her don’t get my wrong, but I don’t think flowers are as useful. Sure, she later learns she can grow any plant, which would make her a lot more useful, but they don’t know that until later. 

Camilo of course can help, like it is seen in the song. I don’t think there is as much useful ways, but giving a hand by having a specific body can help.

Dolores’ probably has the less useful gift. Like I can see how it may help (and that would have its own post) but from what we had gathered, she just hears a lot; which only helps if you people like gossip (and another stuff that I will say later!)

Overall, while this is about the usefulness of the gift, that doesn’t mean I dislike these characters, or think their value depends on it. Not at all! I love this family in general, I just think a big part of how the Madrigals became so important was because of what they could do, which is why I wanted to talk about it. 

[mcmactictac]

Hello and welcome to the 7 (plus nico and Reyna) watching Encanto headcanons

Leo- likes Camilo. Projects on him and laughs about it as a funny joke. He jokes about being the handsome guy who makes everyone laugh. Sees Julieta and mirabel interact and is no longer laughing. That scene in the kitchen messes him up, he misses his mom so badly. Also being the most fluent Spanish speaker, he picks up on most of the little references and stuff. if people have questions about something he will turn to them and explain what it means. Dos oruguitas Is an incredibly sad song and all of his joking stops when he hears it. He hums the song for days after they watch it and grows to find it comforting. Really appreciates all of the subtle things in the movie that make him go “hey, I do that”

Hazel- her mother reminds her of abuela. She sees herself as Bruno because she also feels outcasted for powers she can’t control. She did the best she could and cared for her mom but it was never enough. The same way Bruno never met Abuelas expectations, she feels like a failure, a curse. Always felt very isolated and out of place when she came back. She feels bad about how poorly he was treated and thinks he forgave abuela too quickly.

Annabeth- Percy did the 👀 thing everyone jokes about to annabeth when surface pressure came on. She totally relates to carrying too much. She won’t say anything but she also feels like Isabella. Especially on her relationship with her mom and Isabella’s relationship with abuela. She wishes she could be perfect and seen as good enough, despite it being inauthentic. It’s refreshing for her to see Isabella let go and grow by letting go of her expectations for herself. She thinks it’s a good movie but will choose to repress any emotions that come with it

Percy- this movie messes with Percy to his core. He’s got a split of Luisa and Mirabel. Man has WAY too much pressure placed on his shoulders yet always feels disconnected from those around him. Julieta and agustin remind him of Sally and Paul. Hispanic Percy lives rent free in my mind so dos orguitas has him absolutley SOBBING and annabeth is like bro are you good. Percy is just doing the silent sob to not get peoples attention. He also thinks about annabeth as Luisa first, talks with her about it and she’s like “yeah but you really remind me of her too like think about these lyrics” and Percy takes a second and is like. “Wait. I AM carrying too much.” He’s also a huge Bruno sympathizer and thinks he deserves so much better.

Frank- Frank thinks this is a great movie! His grandmother and abuela are very similar to him and sees a lot of the sane traits reflected. The unintentional passing of trauma. He relates to mirabel and is not afraid to say it. He heard waiting on a miracle and was kinda like :o . He spent so long waiting on a chance to be recognized, for someone to really SEE him and even after he gets the blessing from Mars he still feels lost like Mirabel is. Likes the end of the movie with the resolution between Mirabel and abuela. He also adores Antonio. Would protect him with his life.

Piper- I’m gonna say she sees herself as Dolores now let me explain myself. She’s always cast aside but not in a Mirabel way. Like she’s there but is just kinda off to the side and no one really pays her any attention. She’s powerful and empathetic, a wonderful character who struggles to find her place and what to do with her family. She’s there, but not quite there. Although this movie isn’t as impactful for her she still talks about how it’s a good movie that showcases intergenerational trauma really well. It’s not a concept she’s foreign too, she just doesn’t feel pulled toward one particular character

Jason- Jason’s just vibing. He relates to Isabella and Luisa but not on an earth shattering level. He goes mhm yeah I get that and moves on. He also sees lupa as abuela and does not see a problem with it. Jason would pull up like “yeah I think abuela was right to be so hard on Mirabel it made her stronger” and 8 different heads spin towards him. He doesn’t really get it. Piper and Leo have to have the “this is not acceptable behaviour and this movie shows the dysfunctional relationship in this family. This is not healthy behaviour” talk with him. It’s awkward

Reyna- my god did she see Isabella at first and go uh the pretty girl gets everything so easy and then she sang and she was like ahaha. Wait. If anyone asks, she did not find any character in the movie super relatable but she thought it was good. Dos oruguitas was a hard hit for her. Hylla reminds her of Luisa

Nico- I know Nicos Italian but I feel like he knows a decent amount of Spanish. My brain just says he picked it up growing up. This movie messes him up and not why everyone thinks. It’s the end with dos oruguitas that ruins his life because it reminds him of Bianca? Like the way abuela is sobbing on the ground all alone that sends him right back to when he learned Bianca was dead. The song reminds him of Bianca. Leo and Reyna understand the words but doesn’t get why it hits him so hard. Percy gets the words but It takes him a while after watching it to understand why it was so hard for Nico. But it’s random one day when Leo is humming it as Nico is in the room and Nico tenses up a bit and Percy has the “oh” moment. He blames himself for making Nico relate to that song. Shocker to no one, Nico is also a big Bruno fan/sympathizer though not really a kin. Nico would have left and never gone back.

These are all just random headcanons of mine but I’d love to hear any other thoughts on it!

[isamiral-soulwolf]

Madrigalcest Week Day 5: Jealousy

Another one that was pre-written, so it doesn’t have my Forbidden brain worms. Enjoy!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jealousy, Isabela had long ago learned, wasn’t a rational thing.

This wasn’t a particularly shocking revelation for her; by design, nothing about jealousy was supposed to make sense so far as she could tell. Whether it was jealousy over a relationship, over someone else’s valuables, or even over the fact that one wasn’t in the spot they wanted to be–jealousy made no sense. It simply was, and Isabela had felt it enough times in her life to accept it. She’d been jealous of many things, once upon a time; jealous of Mirabel’s giftless status, of her freedom, of the fact that she was one of the youngest and had fewer responsibilities placed on her shoulders.

(Most of Isabela’s jealousies centered around Mirabel. It was something Isabela had made a point of not thinking about too deeply, because she wasn’t sure she wanted to see what was at the end of that road. Still, it persisted, but she was very good at this point at ignoring herself.)

Jealousy wasn’t a rational thing, but it didn’t stop the occasional flash of it as Isabela had recently found a new target: being jealous of herself.

It was a funny thing, because if you had asked Isabela she had no desire to go back to the young woman she’d been before Casita’s collapse. The woman she’d been then, that version of Isabela, hadn’t been her; she had been a mask, a carefully crafted image to please Abuela and the townspeople. She was glad now to be rid of her, to get down in the dirt with different kinds of plants while she built a garden in their new home.

She’d be lying if she tried to say she sometimes missed the praise, a little bit. None of it had been genuine in the end, but Isabela could admit that she was occasionally vain, and if she’d taken pride in anything during that time of her life it was her appearance. She had worked hard to be perceived as beautiful, and while many of the compliments had lost their warmth and drive over the years, she’d appreciated the reminder that what she did was working.

Oh, Isabela knew realistically nothing about her had changed physically. She was still the same beautiful woman she’d been for the last few years of her life after reaching puberty. And how she was now–well, it wasn’t a quick transition by any means, but she was trying. Trying to be louder, trying to wear different colors and talk about different plants. And for the most part, everyone in the village was supportive of that.

Almost everyone.

The ones who weren’t… well, they were smart enough to keep it quiet, mostly out of a very real fear that if any of them said a word about it Abuela would drive them out of the valley because the poor woman was quite possibly at her limit of what she could tolerate being heaped on her family. But the quiet told Isabela all she needed to know.

It was a strange sensation, being jealous of herself. She supposed it all tickled that part of her brain that still wanted to be perfect, still wanted to be good enough for… someone. She didn’t know who.

(This was a lie.)

It was fine. Jealousy or not, Isabela was happier than she’d been in a long time; she could live with the fact that some people no longer found the new her particularly attractive, even if it twinged somewhere deep inside. She’d spent so long jealous of Mirabel, it was almost fitting now that it had come full circle and she was occasionally jealous of herself.

“Isa? Hey, Earth to Isa, you still with me?”

Isabela blinked, jolted out of her thoughts at the sound of Mirabel’s voice; she shook herself and turned to her, absently brushing her hands against her dress. “Yes, sorry,” she said. “I zoned out for a second there.”

“Everything okay? I was asking if you wanted to take a break, we’ve been working all morning.”

“We probably should.” It was a laugh, as Isabela suddenly became aware of the sweat on her face and the dirt on her hands, under her nails. She’d tied her hair up early on to keep herself cool, but it had clearly stopped helping at some point. “I lost track of time.”

Mirabel grinned, carefully setting down the small cactus she’d been moving. “It’s okay. I can agree on needing a break though, we did…” She looked around the slowly blooming garden, giggling. “A lot, actually.”

“We did. Thank you for helping, Mira.”

“Any time.”

Isabela absently ran a hand through her hair as she caught her breath, not caring much for the dirt or how it loosened some strands to fall into her face. “Let’s head back to the others for now. We can get some water and eat, I’m starving—“

“You look really beautiful like this.”

The words left Mirabel’s mouth in a rush, and when Isabela looked to her, startled, she somehow managed to turn even redder than she already was from the sun. “Sorry, I’m sorry, I just—um, you are? I didn’t mean to blurt it out like that.”

Isabela blinked at her, processing those words. “I’m sweaty and covered in dirt, Mirabel.”

“Yeah—you are, but still, you know, it’s… you look happy, and that’s really…” Mirabel trailed off before she cleared her throat, giving herself a hard shake. “Forget it, that was stupid. Are we going back?”

Isabela nodded, finding she couldn’t form words at the moment as Mirabel’s statement rattled through her head. The last time Mirabel had called her beautiful, it had been an insult.

Maybe it was stupid, the way Mirabel’s words had settled in her heart and warmed her in a way the sun couldn’t. But as Isabela fell in step with her sister for the trek back to their family, it occurred to her this was one thing her true self had over her past self—a genuine affectionate compliment from Mirabel.

Suddenly, she didn’t feel nearly as jealous of her old self anymore.

[fangirlwriting-stories]

Seeing Worth

Summary: Agustín doesn't like it when people don't appreciate themselves.

Agustín did not like when people did not see their worth.  He’d known this about himself for a long time.  When he was young, he had a habit of befriending the people who seemed lonely, because he knew how that felt and it was never fun.

Julieta had never had that problem, being a member of the Madrigal family and with two other triplets, no less, but they were drawn to each other for very different reasons, reasons that were more due to the fact that Agustín had often ended up in need of her care.  He had always been accident prone, after all.

Through his many visits, Julieta had grown on him to a degree he hadn’t expected, and when he’d actually asked her if maybe he could take her to dinner sometime, Julieta had handed him an arepa and kissed him on the cheek, and then told him it was a deal as long as she got to fix his nose.

Abuela had never liked him as much as she liked Félix, but she hadn’t objected to him outright, which was about as good as Agustín was ever going to get.

He got to know Félix himself much better after joining the family, and they’d found their own way to establish their worth in the family together.  It was easy to feel rather un-ceptional and lonely as the only giftless members of the Madrigal family.  But Agustín didn’t like it when people didn’t see their worth, and that included himself as well.

He and Félix got pretty close as a result of their bond, and though Agustín hadn’t known him beforehand, he was very grateful to have him now.  They had found themselves many times just meeting up to discuss how amazing their wives were, because if there was one thing the two of them had in common, it was the way they adored their chosen partners.  They were also in charge of keeping up with the family chores, and found a ton of ways to make it fun.  In the end, things settled into a normal that was very pleasant, and Agustín found himself quite content with his situation.

Mirabel presented a new challenge.

She never seemed to want to discuss how she felt about not getting a gift, but Agustín remembered the comfort that she had needed the night after the ceremony.  He was sure she’d grown more comfortable with herself since then, but he didn’t think it was safe to say she felt completely at peace with her place in the family.

So, he tried to make it clear to her that she had one.  He shared his own struggles with being a giftless member of the family, and Félix’s too.  He and Julieta both often tried to remind Mirabel that she had nothing to prove.

He worried sometimes that it wasn’t enough, but there was only so much you could do if the person wasn’t willing to talk about it.  If nothing else, Agustín was sure that his daughter knew that they believed in her worth.  He’d just have to hope that was enough, and that she could see herself as just as special as he did.  And if she ever wanted to talk, or needed his help, or anything else, he’d be there.

She was worth too much to him to not.

[jacarandaaaas]

ranting about mirabels character again because I can:

I really hate when ppl go “oh she’s just quirky for the sake of quirky and is just a nothing character” UH NO. Think about it for a second, mirabel has been brought up being an outsider to her magical family and as shown in the movie is told often times to stay out of the way. Mirabels family all have gifts that make them INTERESTING to other people. Mirabel does not. It felt like to me she tried being overly bubbly and persistent to make people have an interest in her. She’s so used to being pushed aside she wants something that will have people want to stick around. It’s obvious in the opening a lot of it is an act to mask her own unhappiness and I truly believe a lot of the reason she uses humor so much is to cope with her feelings. Like as Steph herself said mirabel is trying to find her own identity when everyone seems to have theirs figured out. She’s a 15 year old girl! She just wants people to love her how she is! People also say disney only made her clumsy so she’s “quirky” DID YALL FORGET WHO HER DAD IS!?? like mirabel isn’t just some half baked character and I’m tired of ppl acting like she’s just a quirky tm disney lead. Even so she’s not even that weird?? like I recently rewatched the movie and she’s quite chill unless it involves covering up something or trying to impress someone or get information. Like idk her character just feels so natural to me?

[miracles-and-butterflies]

Third chapter of Intertwining Threads of Gold, based on a prompt by @time-for-a-grandkid-round-up.

Mirabel becomes the matriarch.

Isabela continues to try and help Mirabel, failing to gain the assistance of the rest of the family. Things come to a head when she manages to catch her sister alone.

Comments are always appreciated.

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~~~~~~

Intertwining Threads of Gold III

“Hey, can I talk to you?”

Luisa opens one eye. She closes it, shifting against the grass under the sun, then smirks as she points a finger to herself. “Who? Me?”

“Yeah, you.”

When she gets no response, Isabela rolls her eyes. She kicks Luisa’s legs aside to clear space and sits down beside her sister, ignoring the younger’s huff of annoyance that her afternoon nap has been ruined. And that she could have simply chosen to sit elsewhere.

Not that Isabela doesn’t share in that annoyance.

Of course, it eventually came to this.

She’d rather it be anyone else that she has to speak to. Seriously, anyone else. But if there’s any chance Isabela is going to get Mirabel to open up, she needs Luisa.

Fucking Luisa.

And Isabela has put this off long enough. So as much as she hates this and hates Luisa, the fact ‘she doesn’t want to see Mirabel going down the same path she did’ kind of outweighs that.

“You are closer with Mirabel than I am,” Isabela started.

Luisa looked confused as she sat up. “It’s not like you to say that, but I’m glad you’re finally admitting it.” Isabela rolled her eyes again. Luisa only smiled more. “Yeah, I’m closer with her. What of it?”

“Does she… I don’t know, does she seem off to you? Like different to how she normally is?”

“No,” Luisa scoffs. “It probably just feels like she acts differently to you than she does me because we don’t like you.”

“Luisa! I’m serious!” Isabela snapped. “Something’s not right. Mirabel’s acting weird. Did you see the new dress? It’s not her colour or her - not even a single fucking piece of embroidery on it, and she doesn’t even care!”

“She’s too polite to say anything. And she does care. I was the one who held her after she opened it.”

“Well, she’s not above saying the whole matriarch thing isn’t right. When we told her, she was begging against it - hell, threatened to kill herself over it. Then spends two weeks without saying a word to anyone and suddenly she’s bowing before Abuela in agreement?”

Isabela pauses, letting Luisa process.

Maybe there was a reason to not including Luisa earlier by the adults; whatever it was, Luisa looks offended that things have happened without her.

“It really isn’t clear if this is a good or bad thing as someone who isn’t close with her. So, as much as I hate it, I need you. And I know you’re not gonna want to help me, but you would want to help Mirabel, wouldn’t you?”

Luisa thinks for a moment, then gives a shrug.

“I’d know if something was wrong with Mirabel.” Her face hardens then. “But there isn’t. She’s clearly happy - aside from the dress. So why are you trying to find drama that isn’t there? Why can’t you just be happy for her? Why won’t you let this go?” She stares down at her sister, searching her face for something. Isabela doesn’t get the chance to answer herself, as Luisa gasps with wide eyes in realisation. “You’re jealous.”

“What?”

“It all makes sense now. All this interrogating and making our parents feel bad and having everyone doubt themselves - how did I not see it before?” She asked out loud, hitting her own head.

Isabela was baffled into silence.

Luisa carried on ranting, but it was all going over Isabela’s head. Partially because of the ridiculousness of it all, and partially because her attention was side tracked.

Several steps away, Abuela was leading the way home, alongside Tío Bruno and Mirabel, flunked by a couple councilmen.

Said new dress was eye-catching amongst everything, though not in a good way.

The colour, which Mirabel had called cornflower, was no real compliment to her complexion. Even Isabela (with no care for colour theory) could say that her sister looks better in deeper colours - she just looks washed out now. The dress itself was no resemblance of Mirabel’s usual porcelain doll-like (detailed, hand-stitched, slightly old fashioned) wardrobe. The dress was covered in butterflies in some shimmery type of fabric, varying in shades of pale blue. And it’s definitely missing the flare-out effect that Mirabel likes in her skirts.

Isn’t it ironic that the seamstress is wearing a store bought dress?

Something bubbles in Isabela’s stomach. She remembers the disgust at wearing things that weren’t her. All the pink and the roses and—

Fashion aside, Mirabel is her usual self. She’s too far away for Isabela to actually hear what’s being said, but she can see that after every answer, Mirabel turns expectantly to either Abuela or Bruno. As if saying, ‘was that good?’ and ‘can I go home now?’ and—

Isabela’s view is blocked by Luisa, who hasn’t stopped talking, suddenly moving to point at Isabela’s chest.

“You want this whole matriarch thing for yourself! And the only way to get it is have Mirabel step aside for you and get the adults change their minds because they think she doesn’t want it.”

She shook her head, glaring. “That is bullshit, hermana, and you know it.”

“I should’ve known you hadn’t changed,” Luisa was saying. Too busy talking, she probably hadn’t heard the woman at all. “Still the same selfish, entitled bitch you always were.”

And as much as Isabela wanted to punch Luisa in the face for that, she knows she needs her help.

“I am not asking you to do anything for me,” she groaned. “I am asking you to make sure Mirabel is okay because you’re the only one she’ll talk to.”

“What? And hear whatever lies you’ve fed into her?”

“Just speak to her! If something’s wrong, then I was right, if not you can—”

Luisa grasped Isabela’s hand, slowly bending it back. The older hissed, but couldn't really do anything to stop the strongest.

“I’m not hearing anymore of this,” Luisa growled. “Go bitch elsewhere about something else. And keep the fuck away from our sister, or I will leave your body so broken Mama won’t be able to heal you.”

“Luisa, I swear to God—”

“I mean it, Isabela. I will not let you ruin this for her.”

With that, Luisa dropped her hand and stormed off to join the others.

~~~~~~

Any plans of confronting Mirabel herself were firmly abandoned now. Luisa was like a mother jaguar, constantly prowling around, watching out for her defenceless cub.

What? Isabela has been spending a lot of time with Antonio recently; nobody else wants to spend time with her. Even Dolores had grown sick of Isabela’s whining and was now avoiding her entirely.

Antonio hadn’t noticed anything going on with Mirabel, beyond the new dress, which he was a fan of - though some of his animals weren’t. He had promised Isabela that he and his friends would keep a lookout for Mirabel and let her know if anything happened.

It was still more than the rest of the family.

Camilo wasn’t much help either. He’s brooding about the whole thing.

“Yeah, no kidding,” he had muttered, in response to Isabela explaining how this matriarch thing was doomed to fail. “And somehow the grown-ups think she’s the most qualified. Ironic because she’s the least. You need three skills for this job - confidence, leadership and socialising. And Mirabel has none of them.”

“If she is so unqualified, why would the council have agreed with us?” Isabela had challenged.

“She’s the only Madrigal who has no backbone.”

Isabela ignored it for the most part. Camilo is just upset that he wasn’t considered the top candidate; given the ‘three essential skills’ argument, it does seem weird that Mirabel was placed before everyone else. And there’s the fact that he (and Luisa) weren’t asked to sign away their rights like she and Dolores were for Mirabel. So he’s been very snappy with the adults, especially his mother.

But a part of her does begin wondering why exactly was Mirabel chosen? She understands the family’s motives and reasons - she was there for those discussions - but what of the council? It’s something that sits in the back of her mind.

Lacking the help of the family, Isabela was on her way to try and recruit Mariano - she needs someone to actually help her and he’s the only person Mirabel might speak to, who isn’t part of the family. And that’s when she found Mirabel setting the table for dinner, with no Luisa in sight.

…Because she’s still working.

Isabela doesn’t know exactly how much time she has, but she’s not going to wait and find out.

“Morning, sis!” She calls.

“Evening, Isa,” Mirabel corrected.

“Right, right, same thing,” Isabela muttered, walking over, and instantly hitting her leg off the table. That’s the fourth time this week. “Shit! I swear Luisa moves this fucking thing closer to the door every day just to fuck with me!”

Mirabel leaned over to straighten a fork that Isabela had slightly nudged out of place in the process. “I don’t think she does it intentionally.”

“That’s because you don’t get the pleasure of dealing with Luisa’s bitchy side.”

“Language. And don’t speak about people that way.”

Isabela pulled out the chair closest to her and sat down, mentally cursing when she realised it was Luisa’s. But she wasn’t going to move now.

“You know, we haven’t spoken in a while… Wanna sit down and tell me all the gossip?”

“I kind of need to be on my feet,” Mirabel said, tilting her head to the table she was still making her way around. “And I don’t have any gossip. Nobody tells me anything and you consider what I know already boring.”

“Well, we can just talk. Have you done, I don’t know, anything interesting recently?”

“Oh, I did finish reading a wonderful book on Princess Élisabeth of France—”

“You got this new dress a few weeks ago,” Isabela pushed, tapping the edge of the plate thoughtfully. “There must be a good story about that.”

“It was a present. There’s not much else to it. The book was by—”

“From who? Why?”

“Abuela thought it was high time I have a colour of my own. Tío Bruno picked it with her help while I was at school. That’s all I know. About the book—”

“You have a colour of your own.” Isabela pointed out. Mentally noting Mirabel’s determination not to discuss this dress. “You’re also the one who’s been preaching for the past ten years that it was a completely different and separate colour to Mom’s.”

“Well, yes.. they are…” Mirabel struggles to explain. Her eyelid fluttering against her hand. “But, I mean, my teal and Mama’s turquoise are, admittedly, a little bit similar.”

At least Mirabel is trying to hide her eye-twitching; Luisa just seems to think nobody else can see hers and leaves it. Thank God Isabela missed that gene of her father’s.

“Do you like it? The new dress? The cornflower or whatever it was called?”

“The colour? It is certainly different.” Mirabel chuckled, ruffling the skirt with her hand. “Cornflower is an odd choice for me. Not that I’m complaining. I appreciate the gesture and, of course, I wasn’t there at the time to compare with fabric swatches. Now that I’m not hiding away sewing all the time, I might actually get some sunlight. I burn but maybe, given time, I’ll tan a bit too. Or at least, that’s what I’m told. I’d rather stay in here.”

Isabela nodded along, though all she was obtaining from this conversation was how Mirabel was avoiding it. Granted, her sister’s clever, more than most of the town - in any case, more than Isabela herself - but she’s a terrible actress.

“It’s not just the colour. The whole thing. It is… very simple and plain for you.”

“Oh, I haven’t had the chance to embroider—”

“I mean, it’s not you.”

Mirabel blinked.

“You wouldn’t have picked it.”

She waved Isabela off, beaming. “Perhaps. But, you don’t pick out your own Christmas presents. And you still love and accept those, don’t you?”

“It’s not Christmas though.” Isabela argued.

“It was still a present,” Mirabel said.

The older dropped it. The dress was minor. Shocking, but minor. It wasn’t what she had come to ask questions about in the first place.

She can’t waste her time either. She doesn’t know when Luisa will show up.

“You know,” she started, whispering, “I don’t think you like that dress. I also don’t think you want to be the matriarch.”

Mirabel squeaked, quietly. “What? I-I don’t even know what you’re talking about, Isa.”

“Don’t you?” She asks. She turned to her sister. “You don’t look or act like someone who wants this glorious future. More like you’ve just accepted it. I know it must have felt awful when we told you and nobody really listened to how you felt. We didn’t mean to make you think you didn’t have a choice in this. I’m serious, you don’t need to do this—”

“I do. I want to, that is.” Mirabel said. She paused, but not long enough for Isabela to get a word in. “What has got you so worried about this?”

“Um, because I was just here?” The older questioned, getting impatient. “In this same place, not that long ago? About to be forced into something I didn’t want? I almost married Mariano and ruined my life until someone stopped me! Oh wait, hang on a sec, who was that again?” Mirabel looked unimpressed with the dramatics, but Isabela couldn’t pull back her frustration. “Oh yeah, right, that was you!”

Mirabel just made for the courtyard.

She stood up and following instantly, catching a vine around Mirabel’s ankle and curling it up to her knee when she reached the stairs.

“I am done talking to you, Isa.” Mirabel said.

“No, you don’t get to walk off. If this was the other way around, you’d be a stubborn, little pest. I’m not stubborn or little, but I do have the power to keep you here.” She couldn’t help but smirk a little. “So we can do this the easy way or the hard way, your choice, either way you aren’t leaving until you start talking.”

Mirabel merely tugged pathetically at her leg. “Let go of me.”

“Nope,” Isabela replied. “I’m not gonna let you ruin your life.”

“I am not ruining it. I want to do this.” She argued, before muttering “¿Por qué son tan fuertes?” under her breath.

“I’m gonna be honest, sis, Bruno’s rats have better acting skills.”

“Speaking of honesty, it doesn’t concern you what I want to do with my future. Is it so much to ask for you to stay out of this?”

Isabela didn’t answer. She can’t help but think back to her confrontation with Luisa. Is that all the family see her as? Some stupid and jealous woman, trying to stir up drama? She knows that’s not how Mirabel meant it, but…

Her vines tighten their grip in her anger, thorns starting to grow on the surface.

Mirabel yelps, pulling her hand away from leg immediately. She looks a little teary-eyed as she watches the red dots leak, but she shakes her head, trying and failing to appear unaffected. “I waited years for my opportunity, whatever it may be, to do my part in this family. I want to do this.”

“Oh, okay then,” Isabela sighs, sarcastically relenting. “You don’t have anything to fear, do you? The councilmen will love you, they agreed to have you for a reason: to walk over and do whatever the fuck they want with you, that’s why! The only thing you are doing for our family is preventing one of us from wasting our time and gifts as their useless and worthless pawn!”

Isabela regretted the words as soon as they left her mouth.

She hadn’t meant them, not a bit. And especially not like that. But like the thorny vine that’s clearly dug its way into Mirabel’s lower leg, blood is actually dripping onto the tile underneath, her anger has just boiled over.

“Hey, hey, hey sis,” Isabela said, quickly walking over. “Uh, fuck… I didn’t mean it. It’s not true. Okay? I was angry, not with you. You know that, right?” She smiled a bit, nodding, hoping it was putting Mirabel at ease.

But Mirabel isn’t even looking at her.

She reaches a hand out, holding onto her sister’s shoulder. She can feel her trembling.

Isabela doesn’t know what else to do. “Sis, I swear I didn’t… I didn’t mean to—”

“ISABELA CRISTINA ROJAS MADRIGAL!”

She doesn’t have time to react before she is pulled away by the adults.

Isabela isn’t exactly sure who exactly shouted at her, maybe it was a few of them. All she knows is that her father and Tío Félix are quickly dragging her away as subtly as possible; Bruno is just watching in the doorway, awkwardly in the middle of feeding some of his rats; and Pepa is stood behind her brother, trying to shoo a curious Antonio away from the scene.

Her mother is already at Mirabel’s side, kneeling down beside the girl, cupping her face in her hands. “Mirabel? Mirabel, mi amor, it’s okay. Let’s get you out of these vines.”

“What do you think you are doing?” Her father whispers at her, reprimanding. “You are an adult, Isabela. You know better—”

“She was clearly on edge before I did anything.”

“Then why didn’t you just tell one of us and leave her be?”

“I wanted to get her to talk. I didn’t mean to… hey, you don’t get to say that. None of you would have believed me if I told you— let me talk to her! Let go of me!”

“No,” Félix said. “It’ll be better for both of you to spend some time apart. Luisa will be back soon and make sure Mirabel’s okay, if you’re concerned.”

“Fuck Luisa! Mirabel is my sister too! It was an accident!” She snarls.

Agustín is trying really hard not to raise his voice at Isabela. A vein almost popping out in the effort. “You need to be quiet, Isabela. I don’t know what you think you are doing, but you aren’t helping her.”

“And neither are any of you! I’m trying to tell you that something is wrong! She doesn’t want to be the matriarch!” Isabela screeched. “And I’m not jealous or stupid or whatever else you think I am! It’s not my fault that none of you care! It’s not my fault that you are all fucking hurting her!”

The last thing Isabela sees is Abuela stood in the doorway, Dolores and Luisa behind her.

[doloresdraws]

| time-lapse of the painting on my youtube |

❤ I wrote these for Twitter, but decided to post them here as well ❤

Werner Adler, Nosferatu residing in San Francisco, Embraced in 1970 in his mid 30s.

1. Werner is pretty chill most of the time, more than angry he gets frustrated from not being satisfied with his writing or when he says something that makes complete sense, yet the other person still fails to acknowledge it, especially when it is about something important.

2. I think he never believed in soulmates, until he met Leslie. Now when she is gone, a part of him is gone too.

3. His pet peeves: When people call themselves stupid or speak about themselves in a degrading way, especially women and children. Also when he sees grammar mistakes like they're/their, etc.

4. Unfortunately, what used to be his happy place now brings him a lot of pain, so he rarely allows his thoughts to venture there. When Leslie was still alive and he thought she was living a happy, fulfilled life somewhere, he often thought about their life together.

5. He has suffered from depression since his teens, but his happiest time was when Leslie said yes to his clumsy proposal, they got married and were planning their future together. Despite his coming and going depression and some bad days, she made him very happy.

6. His least happy time: Finding out that Leslie was dead, running to the hospital morgue and seeing and holding her lifeless body in his arms.

7. I think he is neither. He would sit at the bar minding his own business.

8. As a mortal, he never had any serious physical injuries (mainly because he was at home most of the time) As a vampire he got his wrist broken by the Gangrel who had found him after the Embrace, Werner didn't understand anything and wanted to just run away.

9. He doesn't really remember his Embrace as he was passed out sleeping, so the Embrace itself isn't a traumatic experience for him. There is a lot he would rather forget during his Kindred existence, but nothing tops his desperate attempt of Embracing Leslie's dead body.

10. His childhood wasn't exactly filled with many good memories. His parents argued a lot and it ended up in divorce that left him living with his quite overprotective mother. His fav memory would probably be time he spent hanging out with his best friend, a neighbor kid Mike.

11. Honestly, no, he doesn't have a type. He was seriously in love only with Leslie. They had a connection right away as she as an artist understood his need to be sometimes left alone with his writing and at the same time possessed quite a different, more positive outlook in life.

12. A pen that he bought from his first salary. Lucky for him, he was able to keep it even after his Embrace. Also his and Leslie's wedding rings and her journal that he stole after sneaking into her husband's hotel room and going through her things.

13. +14. No tattoos or piercings, even if he wasn't a Kindred/Nosferatu he wouldn't even consider it. He is quite old school, he doesn't really like them.

15. He had his dream house already. Not long before he got Embraced, he and Leslie had bought a house in a small town in Maine. It wasn't much, but they had so many plans for the garden and for the kid's rooms.

16. I think others, especially Kindred of other clans wouldn't probably expect him to be so well-mannered, gentle and well-spoken considering his dishevelled, unclean looks. He just sees no point in showering or caring for his look when he isn't really socializing with anyone anyway.

17. He is very thoughtful when it comes to gifts. He is that kind of person that would give you a present out of the blue, just because he would see something that he thinks you would enjoy.

18. He has a love-hate relationship with his writing. Some days he thinks he is really good at capturing the right mood with his words, other days he is questioning his writing skills and if he should even continue. He isn't proud of anything that he does, unfortunately.

19. A stranger would probably describe him as a sad man who desperately needs a bath and new clothes.

20. A close friend (Kayley) would describe him as kind & caring, but broken man who is trying his best and tries to do the right things.

21. He actually isn't concerned about his looks at all, he didn't care much about his looks even when he looked normal. His biggest insecurity is fear that somehow deep inside he is a bad person and that he somehow deserves what happened.

22. Physical: dexterity, non-physical: Intelligence.

23. If he knew that the lie was for his own good, he would actually appreciate the thought. If it was a lie to spare him from fear (I am looking at you Kayley) he would get upset at the sheer irresponsibility and the harm that could have happened and you would be in for a lecture.

24. He doesn't care much for the weather when he's spending most of his nights alone in his sewer haven, but he finds rainy nights inspiring and accurate to his own feelings of despair. He sometimes goes to the cemetery when it pours, stands in the rain and allows himself to cry.

25. He has no problems saying I love you to the people that he cares about when it feels right and appropriate to the situation. Though he usually never says it first, but more as a response :)

26. He doesn't like to talk about his worries - like when he was a mortal he really didn't like to talk about his fear of not having enough skill to make it as a writer, as he felt like he was failing Leslie to not make enough money for them to be able to raise a family.

27. He murdered a man that was a threat to Kayley and Jane. He really thought that there wasn't another way, but he sent the children away while he did it, so they didn't have to see. He was on the verge of frenzy and part of him could justify the murder as the man was a scumbag.

28. He isn't ticklish, but he would probably try to stop you tickling him anyway.

29. As a mortal, he had pretty low pain tolerance, but as a Nosferatu and after Leslie's death he realized that any amount of physical pain was nothing compared to the crippling pain and guilt that he feels inside everytime his mind slips and he thinks about what happened.

30. He wishes he had the courage to walk up to Kyle (Leslie's then husband) and tell him that he was sorry, that he was weak, selfish and negligent and that it was his fault that Kyle lost his wife and his unborn child. But of course, he never did it, and now Kyle is an old man.

31. Messy: feeding is a very stressful ordeal for him, he only feeds on the homeless men from his herd and he gives them money for it. It's always a terrible time for him, it takes him a while to actually bite down and then he wants to be done with it as soon as possible.

32. When 14 yo Kayley made him bite her after she found out the truth about what he was and she wanted a proof that it didn’t hurt when he fed on people, despite him reassuring her it didn’t. He was deeply hurt by this request, but he forgave her, he realized she was just a curious child, she didn't know how much pain this was causing him.

33. When Leslie found him and despite seeing how he changed, she still told him she loved him and was willing to stay with him. And maybe even more when they had met a few years later and despite the time, he could still see love for him in her eyes like nothing had changed…

34. Hard choice between vision & touch. Both would hinder his ability to write and that is that is the only thing that keeps him somehow sane. Well, together with caring for Kayley, but as she is growing older it is better she sees less of him and has a normal life.

35. He can hold on small talks pretty well,it's actually the only kind of talk he is willing to have with other Kindred after Leslie's death. Mirabelle especially noticed the change in his behavior, but she understands that they weren't really friends and she has no right to pry.

36. He would ask Leslie if she can forgive him for what happened to her and her unborn child. But the truth also is that he is absolutely terrified at the idea as he fears that the truth is that wherever she is, she hates him.

37. The past-so he would have never traveled to San Francisco, or at least he would have traveled to the night when Leslie came to him and this time he would be stronger and pushed her away, not letting her touch him... The future is pointless, there is nothing left there for him.

38. Positive - Leslie made him feel understood, Kayley - gave him some will to live back, Jane - made him feel like he made a difference in her life by persuading her to own her mistakes.

Negative - His Sire who made him question why he deserved this fate for his kindness.

39. He was used to live alone, then he met Leslie and then he was alone again. He was always a solitary person, so the solitude and isolation actually didn't even bother him after the Embrace.

40. The worst had already happened to him, so for a time there wasn't really anything that would make him terrified. But then he met Kayley and of course he fears for her safety as he feels responsible for her. He's afraid that her compassion will one day cost her her life.

Werner © me/doloresdraws

[aggieharkness]

Hay que encontrar su propio futuro

Summary:  She never meant to hurt her family once more, she had only expected to wake up with a hangover not with someone beside her that was about to turn her entire life upside down. She never thought she would get a chance at a new life with someone so different and at the same time so alike. Can they really find a future together?

a/n: Welcome back!! At last, the moment has arrived, so read it with all the love you can muster and enjoy it all as much as you can. A bit of a warning for the next chapter, it will contain smut, so if you are not ready for that, you've been warned... I was going to do one long chapter so I could give you everything, but this one is already my longest ever and I don't want you to get overwhelmed or bored. As always I appreciate feedback and if you have any ideas or what me to write something I'm always here, multitasking as best as I can. Enjoy!! :) I'm Spanish so I used expressions from my own language. I'm afraid I don't know Colombian ones so I had to work with the ones that I know. If there are any Colombians out there that would prefer for me to change what I have written I would very gladly do it, but even so, I hope you like the ones I have used.  

warning: age difference, implied sexual content, past use of alcohol. mention of graveyards. Most importantly no Alma Madrigal bashing, i love this woman.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 15 Part 16

Hay que encontrar su propio futuro

-Did you get the garter? Dolores, please, for the love of God tell me that you went to the shop and got it, your abuela can’t go to her own wedding without it!

-Mami, calmate, I went yesterday morning and señor Hernandez gave it to me for free, he insisted it was a present. It's right behind you in that pink box.

-Madre del amor hermoso, now I understand what mamá means when she’s in charge of the parties and says that nothing is ready; how can she get anything done with this level of stress?!

-Pepi, hermanita, you are the only one who’s stressed. Take a deep breath and let Dolores handle it, she’s the Godmother for a reason.

-I still don’t understand why mamá didn't choose you.

-Because I didn’t want to be. I knew you would be all over the place and I’m not omnipotent yet, besides, I have to watch Agustín and make sure he doesn't die before the “I do”.

With the curlers still hot on their hair and wearing their blue and yellow robes they laid all the makeup the family owned on the kitchen table along with brushes, bobby pins, hair ties and lots (and I do mean lots) of hairspray that Rosa had brought as soon as she had managed to escape from her nieto, that today could be confused for a plate full of gelatin. Spring had ended some months ago and the heat that came through the windows stifling everyone inside Casita was a great representation of just how hot summer was going to be this year, the only thing that helped was Pepa’s giddy cold winds that thankfully blew all over the building; it was something that no one understood as of yet, why whenever she was nervous and the wind began to pick up it was always this freezing hellish air what surrounded them and not the normal temperature breeze everyone always expected. Up in the second floor Mirabel had secluded herself in her room to iron her abuela’s dress and leave it absolutely perfect for the ceremony in a few hours, Dolores waving her mamá and tía goodbye as she rushed out the door to check on Isabela and the flowers. How was it that at this time of the day and after having most of the family woken up around dawn, no one had collapsed yet was a miracle as big as that of why black makes you look slimmer and white bigger; shouldn’t it be the other way around? Alma was the only level other headed person apart from Dolores and that was enough to allow her to just go about her day; she had gone through this before and although she was nervous she managed to sleep until eight but her daughters and grandaughters hadn’t managed to keep quiet since about seven and with that much noise bothering her every five seconds she had been forced to get up and face the truth of her day: she was getting married.

After great discussion it had been settled that the wedding was going to be in the afternoon to survive this heat, somewhere around six or seven so they could head for the reception and the dinner around eight and party until the last person standing fell asleep. Isabela and Luisa had left shortly before lunch to make sure the church was ready and there were enough flowers to drown in inside of the temple and outside, the town dressed for the occasion with every single street decorated with wreaths of daisies and pink roses, a beautiful spread of blue, white and purple Canterbury bells with red lilies mixed in the plaza and around the fountain; that last flower had been chosen by Mariano without giving much explanations only a mysterious secret reason that Isa thought was related to something her abuela might like but in reality he had a memory from this “other life” he was grown rather accustomed to where he watched from a distance how Alma’s younger self was walking home with several red lilies for her sister, every day without missing a single one for almost seven years, that counts as something a person likes, right? Luisa had to make sure the church was straight and that the river, which she had rerouted at her mother’s request so it would be closer to the building a few days before, could be heard from every single point and angle of the temple. At first she hadn’t understood very well what her mamá had meant when she had asked for that but later that night she had realised Julieta had wanted her papá close to her mother’s wedding and the only thing she could link to him was the sound of the river, so Luisa worked her ass off to make sure not a rock or twig was out of place and that the waters that run around them were as pure and clear as glass. Reflecting on the surface you could see that the skies were the purest shade of blue anyone had ever seen with not a single cloud in sight, the sun way high up in the sky burning the cobblestones of the streets and the air that swayed lazily in between the scents of fresh flowers that floated around the town. It was a surprise to see that even if Pepa happened to be all over the place, much like Marianowas back at his house, she could still have some semblance of control over her powers thanks to all the practice and reassurance she had got from her mother in this past two years; as a thank you, today Alma would be married with clear skies, no hurricanes or rain even if it cost Pepa her sanity.

As well as the redhead was doing everything in her power to make the day perfect, Julieta had been forbidden from cooking, an order more than a request that Alma had made very clear the instant she had come down for breakfast, watching from the corner of her eye the suitcases Agustín and Felix had been carrying to the carriage outside Casita with the help of the recovered and in excellent shape señor Hernández. There wasn’t room for arguing, not when Dolores was in charge and her abuela had made things very simple so everyone would understand that even though today’s event was for her and Mariano, her family had the right to celebrate and therefor not work; the exception to the rule was that the cake had been finished at dawn by Julieta’s expert hands and put carefully in the ice box before anyone had woken up, away from her husband’s clumsy hands and Camilo’s always hungry metabolism. That’s all she had managed to get done in secret with her hysterical sister stuck to her back looking for things that were already there and others that weren’t necessary, and her missing hermano, because no one had seen Bruno since dinner. Although they were worried he had missed breakfast, his door was still glowing, a sign that he was still there, somewhere and if he dared miss his own mother’s wedding he would have to face the wrath of not only Alma, but his sisters, nephews and nieces, Rosa and the soon to be husband, Mariano and as dumb as Bruno could be sometimes he wouldn’t risk his life like that. Wherever he was, her sisters just hoped he wasn’t planning on getting into any mischief before the ceremony, afterwards it could always be blamed on the alcohol.

Camilo entered the kitchen, his hair soaking in a nutritious deep in conditioner hidden underneath a bright orange bonnet so he could later define his curls, little Antonio with a much similar outfit holding a little bag of painting brushes while his brother dropped his own makeup kit on the table with such force the legs cricked under the weight earning a scornful glance from his mother. Everything had to be in one place for everyone to grab if they needed it, there was no time to waste screaming through the halls where someone’s blush was or if anyone had taken a lipstick, they were already far too tense to worry about such a trivial thing. In the midst of it all they had forgotten to check on the most important person, Alma, who was sitting over the covers of her bed in her usual magenta dress rigling her hands on her lap as she looked intensely at the picture she carried of her Pedro inside her locket. Was she doing the right thing? Couples argued, that was natural, but her and Mariano’s disputes, as few as they had been, were big, like huge compared to the ones that she had had with Pedro and sitting here while hearing her family get ready she couldn’t help but wonder if maybe this wasn’t a good idea after all. He was young and had an entire life ahead of him, she felt guilty about taking so many chances away like starting a family of his own but in her heart she felt that even if there was a little sparkle of love and hope she could go ahead with it all. She had had nothing back when she had married Pedro, they built a life together out of thin air, now she had the entire world at her feet and yet she couldn’t care less as long as she looked into his eyes and still felt the butterflies flying inside her chest. For once the logical part of her brain could go to hell.

Lunch was a thing of the past and had gone by in the strangest way ever, picking up sandwiches off of a plate that had been placed buffet style on the kitchen counter as everyone went about their chores with barely any time to eat. If they hadn't left things for the last minute they wouldn’t have had to have such a shabby meal and they could have sat all together at the table to enjoy a home made lunch, but this whole pick what you can and run sort of meal was what they needed, at least today. Rosa had sneaked some for her grandson when she had accompanied Isabela and Dolores to the plaza earlier in the morning, through one of his friends who had made sure her nieto couldn't see her or he wouldn’t have let her leave in a thousand years, hearing Mariano scream where his cufflinks were while she passed a few sandwiches and a ton of cut up fruit for the growing boys, only for him to be reminded by another voice that he wasn’t going to be wearing any. How was he going to survive this day? No idea. It had taken her months to finally start accepting that Alma was all he needed and that her nieto was all her best friend had ever wanted but the age difference was something too big to wrap one's head around in just a few days, though in the end Rosa had understood that this was happening whether she liked it or not and she didn’t want to lose her family over something that she knew was clearly love. And what an erratic, eclectic and explosive love it was, Rosa had spent days without barely seeing him because he had planned something for Alma and he and other times she could barely make him leave the house based on the excuse that today his partner was busy on family duties and he wanted her to have that time as well. Rosa had a couple of ideas on why he stayed inside though: make more plans, save some more money to buy her pretty flowers and food, tons of food, and probably to let her have some well deserved space away from such a buoyant man, as a twenty three year old usually is. Then when the argument happened Rosa’s entire world shifted from not being very sure of this whole thing to wanting to rip the insides of his own nieto out for making a woman, not just her best friend, fall in love to then hurt her endlessly. Anger and frustration had been her day to day attitude for an entire week trying to come to terms with what he had told her the night of the incident when he had explained to her his real intentions towards Alma, when everything at last really dawned on her. They were in love and in her mind she couldn’t let one quarrel throw such an important thing away, although in the end the plans Dolores’ and her had been working on hadn’t been needed, they went back to each other of their own accord. Don’t they say love is blind?

And it all came down to this day: a wedding, her nieto’s wedding and to be more specific, to her best friend. Rosa was currently standing in front of Mirabel’s room waiting to get the dress out of the girls wardrobe praying that Alma hadn’t gained any weight in the last few days, there wasn’t any physical time to fix the garment before the ceremony and she couldn’t remember how to handle a nervous breakdown properly, she usually picked up a glass, filled it with some ron añejo and chuck it down in one gulp. Effective most of the time but not very pleasant for people not used to alcoholic drinks. Down in the courtyard the front door open to let Dolores, Isa and Luisa while up in the second floor Alma’s eyes rested on the picture of her soon to be ex husband, her beloved Pedro, letting her mind wonder how things might have been if he had made it out alive, if he had got to watch their children grow up, help them play pranks on her and the village, hearing their laughter run through the walls of Casita… In the end they were dreams, her life had been completely different and if Pedro had been alive Mariano would have been a friend of her nietas, nothing more, nothing less and she wouldn’t have even entertained the thought of becoming anything but maybe an acquaintance. She wouldn’t have minded, of course, her beloved Pedro would have been with her, but in the circumstances of the real world she was more than happy to engage in holy matrimony with someone who had both dark and light and with whom she could learn all the things she hadn’t got the chance the first time. It had been maybe an hour since she had secluded herself in her room and she knew she should head down to the kitchen before Pepa barged in in absolute panic, the poor thing wasn’t handling all this stress well, she hadn’t back during her own wedding, Alma couldn’t expect her to control herself during hers, but she’d rather stay in her room for a little longer enjoying the silence and peace of being a widow for just a few more minutes. Mariano had made it very clear after they had made their engagement official that Pedro was to be part of their lives, he didn’t want her to try and get him to fit a shoe that wasn’t his to wear and she had agreed; each were their own person and each had brought and would bring wonderful new things to her life.

Soon enough the first knock came disturbing the silence, signalling her that her single life was about to end and after a deep breath while putting the locket away in a drawer for the first time in fifty years she headed for the door ready to be a bride. Upon opening it she found Rosa smiling softly at her with Julieta behind her, a couple of hot rollers in her hand, flashing her mother a happy grin before returning to work on Rosa’s hair. There wasn’t a minute to waste, not when you had ten people to dress, not counting Bruno, who they only wished wouldn’t wear his ugly worn out sandals and put on a nice pair of shoes for once in his life. The kitchen was a mess of people and movement, Isabela straightening her hair with the iron while Dolores helped little Antonio with his curls after having washed the conditioner off in the sink, Camilo and Mirabel arguing in angry whispers about what colour codes to chose for the accessories while Luisa calmly brushed her soft waves in front of a hand mirror, the only free one in the entire house. Pepa rushed to her mother in under a second pulling a chair and forcing her to sit down while talking a mile per minute, each single word passing around Alma’s head like sand that gets blown away by the wind, her eyes simply looking at the way her Pepa’s lips moved without having any idea what her daughter was saying. A couple of words managed to make their way to her brain, but together they made no sense whatsoever so after a few minutes of hearing radio waves instead of a natural paced conversation she just gave up and let the metaphorical hurricane of her girl sweep her into the air. Alma’s meticulous hairdo started coming undone by the expert and kind hands of Julieta while Rosa helped Luisa do a half up half down with a lovely indigo bow, Pepa grabbing the curling iron from the table before Camilo could snatch it for Mirabel, the entire side wall filled with bags where their suits and dresses where neatly kept.

How strange it all was, not the wedding itself but how well her family blended together when faced with such a happy event. She hadn’t seen Isabela and Mirabel laugh so hard at something so simple as a uneven eyeliner but it brought joy to see that after the huge gap between the sisters caused by Alma's own wrong doings, they had learned and were now the best of friends, just like when Pepa and Julieta had been young and the redhead had argued with the brunette days on end because of the stupidest things like a missing scarf or a better mark in school. Life was nice now, with living, and she wouldn’t change any of this, not even the slightest detail even if she could.

-Alma, tell me, how did Osvaldo take your rejection? -Rosa looked over the top of Luisa's head while her fingers worked in braiding the girl's waves.

-I didn’t reject him, I explained that I was never free, sort of speak. He’s a nice man but I think he’s destined to be a bachelor forever.

-I suppose so, but you can’t tell me that it wasn’t funny having half the village after you before you announced your engagement.

-Not really, I had a psychopath stalking me for years who almost killed a man. -the way Julieta's fingers turned white at the forced used to take the pins out, lips thin as lines, didn't go unnoticed by Pepa and Rosa, Alma feeling the stronger and a bit more painful pull as Juli took one of the hairpins out letting a strand cascade down her mother's back.

-I was not talking about the butcher, which reminds me, Sofia is doing great with the store. Like she’s getting even more customers than Pablo did when he owned it.

-I’m glad, but it makes me much happier that she returned to the village even after what happened. If it makes Mariano happy, it makes me happy; I’ve said that word too many times now it makes no sense. Happy, happy.

-We are drifting, Alma. Doesn't having men after you make you feel, I don’t know, wanted?

-It flatters me, but I’m not defined by how many men want me or think they want me and saying it on my wedding day should count for something, so I hope that’s argument enough.

-Great way of dodging the question.

-I’m not dodging anything Rosa. Are you so desperate for me to leave your nieto alone that even today you are trying to get me with Osvalod?

-Madre del amor hermoso, no. I’d rather have you marry my Marianito than him, I’m not saying I have anything against Osvaldo but… please, the quality of my nieto's entire being it’s much better, he has my genes.

-Dios nos asista entonces.

-Don’t be like that Alma.

-Can we please focus a bit? We have so much to do and you are just chatting here. Where’s the foam? Julieta, have you seen it? - like a chicken without a head Pepa moved from one side of the kitchen to the other one lifting up boxes, opening drawers and cupboards with Camilo’s eyes glued to her form with raised eyebrows.

-What foam Pepa?

-Oh, you know! The thing that goes sufts or whatever and leaves a lovely whipped cream sort of thing in your hand that you can’t eat. I used it for Dolores' hair when she was little all the time. The foam! Do I have to spell it?

-Why do you always get so… bitchy when stressed? - she whispered the “naughty” word to make sure Antonio didn't hear it coming from an adult and think it was okay for him to repeat it, but whenever something wasn't going to plan or when people expected her to give more than she could Pepa would become this huge bitch that no one could stand or control. -The foam you are looking for is right behind you; it's a bright red can, you can't miss it and yet you did.

-I really hate you sometimes Julieta.

-Don't lie, you love me. I've saved yours and Bruno's asses more times that I can count. Which reminds me, did anyone go with him to get a new pair of shoes and a new ruana?

-New ruana? I made it very clear that he is to wear a suit, just like Agustín's. Who said he can go to my wedding in a ruana?

-He told us you had allowed him to, mami. -The last hairpin was placed on the table next to someone's hairbrush, greyish brown locks of wavy hair cascading down the back of the chair.

-I didn't say such thing. Where is he?

-Ey, sientate! - Alma pushed herself into a standing position to only be pushed back into her chair by the redhead’s hands, the can of curling foam landing on the table with a metallic click rolling onto the edge of it; it was grabbed by one of Isa’s vines before it reached the floor. - Ya le buscaremos luego and if he has to wear one of Agustin's suits or even one of Felix’s and go around grabbing his pants and pulling them up so he won't step on them, he will, I'll make sure of it but right now we have to work on you or we won't get to the wedding! Camilo don’t touch that curling iron or it’ll be the last thing you do!

The boy quickly walked backwards away from it until he was able to hide behind Mirabel, whispering something only her and Dolores heard, earning a playful chuckle from his sister as she applied various shades of lipstick on her lips to try and find a perfect match. She had got over Mariano’s betrayal partially, some part of her still felt something for him but the other half  had been perfectly aware of the entire situation and understood that he had never been meant to be hers, if her tio’s words back on the day of the argument were true about his vision. She might have never got her heart broken if things had worked out differently, but would she have been happy knowing all along she was always going to be the other woman in his heart even if she wore his ring and bore his children? In a small little way she was glad this whole thing had happened and that the truth and love had finally won at the end of the day, besides people dress nicely for weddings and who know her perfect someone might be waiting for her in one of the church benches. Next to her Mirabel sat in front of a mirror she had managed to steal from Isa’s bag brushing and styling her soft curls with her thin fingers working on each strand slowly but her hair wasn’t as curly as Luisa’s and as much as she tried it ended up looking like it always did, nothing special like Isabela’s colourful strands or Antonio’s absolute perfectly tight curls. Seeing the way her face fell after inspecting herself in the mirror her twin came to the rescue taking a few strands and braiding each lock softly before pulling them back to pin them with a butterfly clip at the back of her head. The reflection she met on the surface of the mirror that time was someone she liked, very much, with her big green glasses framing her brown eyes and her hair pulled back so that her face was free with only a couple random little curls still falling bouncily on her forehead; she looked beautiful, just unique like everyone in this world and she liked how pretty she looked and how powerful it made her feel, like she could conquer anything. She was smart, of course, but every once in a while it wouldn’t kill if she put on some makeup or if she wore her hair in a different style, it was part of her journey of becoming her true self.  

Back to the chair where Alma was sitting Julieta kept on working incessantly on her mother’s updo, brushing, twisting and pinning strand after strand of hair on the lower back of her head, spraying and intoxicating everyone around them with the hairspray Rosa wouldn’t stop handing her, making sure to shake the excess product off with a smaller brush to also help keep some random baby hairs were they were meant to be, Pepa curling two short front locks with the curling iron. At first they didn’t come out as loose as she had wanted them, her mother looked either like George Washington or like a grandma version of Goldilocks, but after the second try they managed to bounce nicely framing her face in a much more old Hollywood sort of look. Isabela had already finished both her own hair and makeup, with several Bellflowers and Morning Glories popping randomly from in between her hair, topping it all with a lovely orange Daylily that she had clipped to the side of her head to keep those long side fringe strands out of her face, soft tones of a pinkish eyeshadow making her dark eyes stand out as well as the purplish nude colour she had chosen for her lips. With a wave of her hand a big bright red hibiscus flower appeared on the table, the girls eyes pointing at it while looking at Dolores, who understood that as soon as she was done with her hair her cousin wanted her to clip the flower on her beautiful tight curls; she was forgoing her usual red bow to go for a more natural look, a small accessory wouldn’t hurt. As the she carried on with what she was doing Isabela walked over to her mother and abuela inspecting the hairdo for a few minutes before a bright smile was displayed on her features, a string of white daisies serving as a diadem right above the bun Julieta had perfectly nailed without any help. As much as Isa wanted to cover her abuela in beautiful flowers she knew that less sometimes meant more and back when she had placed all those gorgeous flowers in Alma’s braid during their sleepover she had been just so happy and excited she hadn’t noticed it was all a bit too crowded, today it wasn’t required, her abuela needed to look beautiful and she would make sure of it.

Like a chef who uses her sharpest knife to slice through onions and carrots effortlessly her eldest nietas worked as if they were professionals, ensuring that every single product they used on their abuela’s skin felt light and hydrating, fingers moisturising her face as a prep for the makeup. Alma had flawless skin with very few wrinkles and only a couple of spots that in their opinion didn’t need to be covered so Dolores pushed away the entire box of foundations her cousin had and pulled out the hundreds of eyeshadow palettes out of Isa’s case and Camilo’s, a rather tall tower of eye makeup forming on the kitchen table as she kept on pulling them out in an never ending procession of expensive makeup. After a few minutes the last palette was placed on top of the tower as Isabela examined her abuela’s face and studied her complexion and tones to choose the colours that she thought would look best on her. Pepa in all of this had been coaxed to sit down so Rosa could do her braid, Julieta finishing Antonio’s hair by twisting the very few curls that were left with the handle of his brush, doing the bouncy test before she tapped him on the butt and he rushed to sit on a chair with his jaguar pet. The kitchen was big but not big enough for ten people, furniture and a jaguar but no one had the heart to tell the animal he had to go, it kept the little boy occupied and out of harm's way, unlike Camilo. If Pepa didn’t know better she would suspect that Agustín might be his father and not Felix, she could swear on all of heaven above that her eldest boy had a knack for injuring himself in the most absurd ways and of course since Juli’s husband was not to be seen inside Casita today  somebody else had to fill his shoes; Camilo’s hand landed right on the curling iron just mere seconds after his mother had placed it on the table, a howling screaming tearing its way out of his throat. Everyone stood still as his tía rushed to him to check on his injury, pulling him towards the sink and placing his burned hand under the water before she practically parkoured her way to the pantry to grab one of Gus’ emergency arepas.

She shoved it into his mouth before turning the tap off watching in relief as his skin returned to its natural pale tone and the frown of pain vanished into thin air. The next second he was getting lectured by Pepa on how to act around hot objects as if he were five years old but both her arms were around him to make sure he was fine and no longer in pain which made it more difficult for Rosa to finish her hair and for Camilo not to get his freshly styled curls crushed by the strength of his mother. Dolores and Isa’s eyes switched from the boy’s form back to their abuela’s who was staring intensely at her nieto two seconds away from standing up, her body on the edge of the chair; it wasn’t until both girls whispered that he was fine, complaining that Pepa was choking him that she visibly relaxed and sat back properly on her chair, but her eyes never stopped glancing back at him for the remainder of the time they spent inside the kitchen. Alma’s eyes closed for several minutes as Isabela worked on them, soft strokes with the brush leaving the rose gold pigment on her olive skin, a small thin line extending the lines of her eyes to give them a more almond shape with Dolore’s eye liner, aiming for a soft, natural look unlike Isabela’s almost scandalous sharp eyes, mascara giving some more volume to Alma’s usual full eyelashes. The practice both girls had on putting makeup on each other helped immensely at using only maybe ten or fifteen minutes to finish their abuela’s look, finishing their masterpiece with a soft mix of a purplish and peach blush giving some colour to her cheeks and a lovely pale red lipstick. Looking in the mirror they handed to her, Alma couldn’t remember when it had been the last time she had looked as beautiful as she did today, her natural glow shining through this magnificent look making bubbles rise in her chest like a child who sees their favourite toy under the tree at Christmas.

-Good job Lola, un placer trabajar contigo.

-Likewise Isa. Nailed it. What do you think, abuela?

-I don’t have words, girls. You should do this for a living, I’ve never looked so pretty in my life.

-Nonsense abuelita, you’ve always been beautiful and it helps working on something that we don’t have to change at all, not a single inch. Why did you think you have such a gorgeous nieta as me? Because I inherited from you.

-There’s the humble Isabela, who doesn’t need anyone to tell her that she’s pretty or smart, she says to herself.

-I have confidence Lola, why shouldn’t I say what we all think: I’m the prettiest Madrigal, after abuela of course.

-What about me? Am I not the prettiest and cutest? Mamá says it.

-Of course you are Toñito. - Rosa finally tied the orange bow to the end of Pepa’s braid, sitting on a chair Casita had brought for her tired body after having fought with the hyperactive woman. The redhead tried to throw a glare at Isa but upon seeing her hair and makeup she just couldn’t deny that the girl was beautiful but she wouldn't go as far as saying that she was the prettiest in the family, the only person she would call ugly would be Bruno and only because of his messy hair and the fact that he carried rats everywhere and she did mean everywhere. - My little boy is the most handsome boy in the entire world, right Isa?

-Yes, of course he is. I’m the prettiest girl, and there’s Camilo who comes from another planet.

-Isabela, please, don’t start an argument with your cousin today, we still have a lot of things to do and your abuela isn’t even dressed yet. Come and help me with the back rollers, I think I have knots and they are stuck.

Free from the furious activity of getting her ready, Alma took the opportunity to leave the kitchen and head to the courtyard, the only empty and relatively cold place in the entire house hearing in the background how Isabel was complaining about her mother’s hair and Pepa was practically yelling at Camilo to stay still so she could inspect his curls which he was refusing with the excuse that she was going to crush them and they would go all limp on him. She loved her family, they were her everything but that didn’t mean that she didn’t like to spend some time away much more so when they were as anxious and stressed as they were today and the one getting married was her! Her dress hung from the dining room wall in a transparent bag looking back at her as she eyed it from her spot, the boxes of her underwear, shoes and jewellery on top of the dinning table in their pristine cases away from dirty hands. In the back of her head she knew that she should be grateful Rosa was lending her her own wedding necklace but part of her felt that leaving her locket in a drawer on such a special occasion as it was today she was betraying herself and her previous marriage so after glancing at the kitchen to see that everyone had their backs to her she rushed upstairs and into her room, closing her door in the quietest way possible. Just as she was making her way towards her nightstand a loud noise came from the back wall, as if bricks were moving or falling and the walls were ripping and for an instant she wondered if the cracks were coming back even after the fact that as soon as Mariano returned to her life they had all vanished out of the blue as if they had never ever been there in the first place, but upon turning around she found a window facing her right next to her small reading area with a tiny bookshelf, a comfy armchair and a little wooden table, a brand new set of white curtains flowing in the breeze coming from the open window.

It took her several seconds to register a voice calling for her from the back garden, her feet heading its way to see down by the yellowish grass Mariano in a beautiful white guayabera with two patterned thick lines on the front. From this distance she couldn’t make out what the symbols were but if she were down there beside him she would be able to see that they were made out tiny little butterflies and waves representing the lake up in their little spot; he was also wearing pale yellow or brown pants and a pair of very light moccasins, his hair slicked back and onto one side letting his waves roam free and his fuller beard perfectly trimmed with not a single hair out of place. He was the most handsome man she had seen in her life, deceased people excluded of course, and she found herself staring at him with lovestruck eyes not hearing a single word he was saying, until Bruno made himself present by coming out of some bushes in a green linen suit and a pair of pale green open moccasins carrying a guitar which he handed to Mariano while giving him the thumbs up, returning to his bush to give them some privacy. The first strings of the guitar started playing and soon the sound of the birds chirping and the song of the cicadas was nothing but an almost nonexistent background noise as the man’s voice filled her soul making her ears only able to listen to him.

Ay, ay, ay, ay

Canta y no llores

Porque cantando se alegran

Cielito lindo, los corazones

His eyes gleamed in the sunlight like melted chocolate, as sweet as candy and as dark as the deepest part of the ocean, a pool of the most wonderful and tasteful candy that even from a distance she could taste on the tip of her tongue, her heart beautiful at the tempo of the serenata.

De la sierra, morena

Cielito lindo, vienen bajando

Un par de ojitos negros, cielito lindo

De contrabando

De la sierra, morena

Cielito lindo, vienen bajando

Un par de ojitos negros, cielito lindo

De contrabando

She was falling, slowly and at the same time at the speed of light into his soul as the words felt out of his lips, peach coloured and as soft as the petals of a rose, so delicate to the touch of her fingers and yet so far away from her reach the music filling the silence of her room like a transparent elixir of life freezing her on the spot.  

Ay, ay, ay, ay

Canta y no llores

Porque cantando se alegran

Cielito lindo, los corazones

Ay, ay, ay, ay

Canta y no llores

Porque cantando se alegran

Cielito lindo, los corazones

Ese lunar que tienes

Cielito lindo, junto a los ojos

No se lo des a nadie, cielito lindo

Que es para mi gozo

Her fingers instinctively reached out to touch her own face, smiling as broad as her muscles would provide as he changed the lyrics  of the song to fit her and only her. It wasn’t anything gloriously exciting or a change so big that made him feel like he was singing her a completely different song, it was a small little touchup that made it unique as his heart sang it just for her, each single word pouring out love from every pore and crevasse the invisible poem.  

Ese lunar que tienes

Cielito lindo, junto a los ojos

No se lo des a nadie, cielito lindo

Que es para mi gozo

Ay, ay, ay, ay

Canta y no llores

Porque cantando se alegran

Cielito lindo, los corazones

Ay, ay, ay, ay

Canta y no llores

Porque cantando se alegran

Cielito lindo, los corazones

She couldn't believe that even after fifty years she had a man under her brand new window serenading her in private without anyone but her son hiding in the bushes. She hadn't expected Mariano to remember this tradition, no one in the village usually did, maybe Agustín had back when he had been courting Julieta but that was practically it; Pepa had never been very found of listening of it so it wasn’t strange to find that when Felix had tried she had thrown a shoe at him forbidding him from opening his mouth, explaining to him in her own way that if he wanted to sing they would do it together and have as much as they could along with it, but it was a lovely touch that her soon to be husband hadn’t completely erased such a simple and romantic action from the events of the day and was now throwing kisses up at her while two bony hands picked up the guitar and practically flew out of the back garden as if he didn't want to get caught or be seen. Maybe Bruno was hiding from his sisters so they would leave him alone, if that was the case she couldn't blame her son in the slightest. Her hand travelled to the back of her hair and took one of the white daisies, quickly taking a pin out of a drawer after half screaming, half whispering at him to stay right where he was, throwing the flower from her window. It swayed in the air softly from side to side landing perfectly on the palms of his hands, quickly pinning it to the front of his guayabera before looking up at her.

From where he was standing his view of her rosy skin and cherry lips intoxicated his lungs and he wasn’t even close enough to smell her perfume. She would be his end, her mere existence on this planet was wonderful enough for him to carry on living, but seeing her as beautiful as she looked today and mere hours away from becoming his legal wife was making his heart explode inside his chest. Noises in between the leaves of the forest cut this beautiful moment short and after she threw a kiss at him and he returned the gesture he was running back to his house and Alma quickly grabbed the locket from her drawer and rushed back downstairs. Now she was ready to get married. When she entered the kitchen everyone was practically dressed which made her wonder just how much time she had spent upstairs but her daughter’s didn’t give her any opportunity to check the clock, Alma was being pushed towards the dining room asking Camilo and Antonio to head down to Mariano’s place to see if they were ready and to get a head start to the church. She was stripped from her dress and handed her underwear which she quickly put in the bathroom to later suffer the pain of getting the corset on and settled before Pepa and Juli pulled and tied the strings. She was old, that was a fact but that didn’t mean she couldn’t look beautiful. There were no mirrors with which she could check herself in not that she needed to, the instant she heard the zip of the bag come undone behind her her questions and doubts about whether she had done the right thing by letting her nieta and her son in law make her a “modern” dress dissipated. The satin fabric swished over the tiles as her daughters and granddaughters quickly undid the buttons and placed it at floor length in front of her, waiting for Alma to step into it; she hesitated for a minute before Mirabel took the liberty of holding her hands and began to pull her softly towards her, Alma’s feet moving freely and into the dress.

Feeling the cool fabric around her body she smoothed the garment with her hands, her fingertips following the lines of the embroidered flowers on the bodice, the bishop sleeves made out white transparent chiffon finishing right about the middle of her forearms matching the same fabric around her neck and upper chest; the transparent turtleneck blended into a low portrait collar marking the beginning of the bodice. The rest of the dress was made out of pale cream colour satin, tight fitting, the main reason why today she was wearing a corset and not her usual less constricting underwear, beautiful little pearls and white tulips and carnations embroidered around her waist and hips, the flowy A-line skirt falling around her legs in a simple clean piece of fabric that ended just at floor length, a slight trail on the back of the garment of about maybe a feet or two with golden butterflies and real undying daisies sawn onto the fabric by expert hands that held the delicate touch of tailor and the love of a granddaughter. Not a single stitch was out of place and the dress felt both light and cool in the summer heat. Reflected, in a slightly blurry manner, over the tiles on the walls she saw a young brunette girl staring back at her with the same happy childish smile her older self had, lovestruck eyes full of hope and dreams locking with her much wiser ones; she realised on that spot as Dolores handed her mother the pink box with the garter and the linen stockings, that she would have to give up a little on that past life that she had been holding on to for fifty years, but not in a metaphorical sense of speaking; it was in a physical one, meaning that as she looked down at her hands, eyes landing on one finger in specific, she would have to take her ring off. The panic quickly settled in and at the prospect of letting go of such an important momentum of her life her knees started to buckle under her weight. As quickly as they could, Julieta's hand’s shot up to prevent her mother from falling flat on the floor, Casita sending a chair their way.

-Mamá, are you alright?

-Is it your blood pressure? - the brunette carefully guided her mother to the seat feeling how Alma’s muscles were tensing and trembling under her palms, her chest rising and falling at such speed Juli feared she might start hyperventilating. Of course her sister’s comments didn’t quite help ease her worry. - The heart? Have you drank and eaten anything today?

-Pepi, please, let her speak. Dolores, cielo, ¿puedes hacerle un té a tu madre a ver si se calma de una vez?

-Of course, come on mami, let’s get you some delicious lavender tea.

-But… Ugh, de verdad, sois imposibles. Go ahead, don’t listen to me but if mamá collapses at the altar don’t come crying to me! - she stormed out of the dining room with a growing cloud hovering over her head, small quiet thunders and lightning forming in between the fluffy clouds with an extremely calm Dolores following her into the kitchen.

-Mamá, what’s wrong? Cold feet? It’s very normal, I don’t I know of anyone who didn’t start asking themselves if they are doing the right thing by getting married, you don’t need to-

-It’s not that - Alma worked on her own at controlling her breathing, her heart rate slowing down after a few minutes. - It’s quite childish really. It didn’t occur to me until now that I need a free finger for my new ring and that means… taking off your father’s and I don’t think I can do that.

-Oh, mamá.

-I know I shouldn’t make a great deal out of it but… I can’t help it. It’s one of the very few things I have to remember him by and suddenly I’m expected to push it aside and I really do not think that I have the strength to take it off and just keep it in a drawer or my jewellery box. It’s meant so much to me for such a long time…

-Have you talked about this with Mariano?

-How could I, if I didn’t realise it until now?

-Hold on, I have an idea. Mamá, undo the first few buttons of abuela’s dress, I’ll be right back. - there was no hint, not even one word of what the girl had thought of, but her feet shot towards the staircase running to her room and back in under five minutes, a single piece of white thread in her hands. - Can I take it off for you, abuela? I promise I won’t let it fall or lose it. - a single nod was sufficient answer for Mirabel as she carefully pulled the golden band off her abuela’s finger letting it get wrapped on the thread she had brought before her hands wrapped it around Alma’s neck, under the translucent fabric, tying it at the back. It felt oddly strange not to have it on her finger after such a long time, she felt naked somehow but at the same time having it close to her heart seemed to her like it was its rightful place. With the dress buttoned up once more her fingers travelled to feel the cold metal band over the skin of her chest. - I promise I’ll get you a better chain for it but for the time being it should be more than enough. What do you think?

-Don’t rush it Mirabel, cariño. I quite like it this way, a little detail from your abuelo adjusted by her granddaughter, it’s quite fitting don’t you think?

-Si, creo que si but I will get you a better chain so you can wear it always. There is no reason why you shouldn't keep it close, abuelo is very important to all of us just as much as he is to you, Mariano will understand.

Mirabel was such a smart and kind girl, she could read everyone around her like a book and she had the wonderful ability to always know what people needed and wanted almost all the time without missing a beat. Being her abuela only enhanced this gift her Mira seemed to possess, helping and guiding the older woman through the treacherous paths of the modern world and on how to adapt her old life to the new one. Her hands caressed the girls cheeks for a moment before Pepa returned to the room with a steaming cup of tea and a sour face, Dolores following in her usual calm demeanour but in her eyes a thin veil of exasperation was beginning to form, her mother’s moods affecting her at last. Luisa handed the pink box to his abuela who quickly took it and opened it to free the delicate lavender blue garter after she had put the stockings on, stretching the garment softly in her hands before slipping it on her left leg. There really wasn’t much need for it, not with this new sort of tights and socks, but it added some spice to the activities planned for later and she most certainly wasn’t going to stop him from enjoying every single inch of her. The only thing left was the shoes that rested inside their white box on the kitchen table. It had been a nightmare trying to find a nice pair that wouldn’t be too ordinary or too luxurious for her feet, practicality was the main factor playing this time instead of prettiness, but like every moment of her life magic seemed to have her back and two weeks ago in the store in town a gorgeous pair of block heels of just a few inches with closed toes in an absolutely stunning tone of pearl white with two small bows on the front showed up. It had been like love at first sight, such beautiful shoes couldn’t have just been on that window out of luck, the world had smiled at her that day and without even thinking they had bought them. Isabela handed Alma the box helping her abuela to unwrap them and place them on the floor right next to her feet but just as the girl was about to raise the skirt her own mother asked her to stop, telling her that she had to go get something from her purse. As far as they knew there was no need for Alma to wear anything else on her legs and she wasn’t going to put any gloves on so it came as a surprise when Julieta had come back with her coin pouch instead of some forgotten garment. It clicked on their brains as she handed a single coin of fifty pesos to Alma that no one had remembered to leave some money out for her to wear on her shoe, another tradition but this one was indeed followed by everyone in the village; after placing los pesos inside the brand new pair of shoes Isabela tied the strings around Alma’s ankles until they were secure enough, the older woman shaking her feet a bit to test them.

The hours were passing as fast as possible and at the same time it all seemed to have frozen, everything around her walking past her in slow motion, words and noises dragging out for ages as she finally stood up to let Julieta clip her own veil on her mother’s hair, the something old, something new and something blue checked out of the list. From the kitchen table she could see herself in one of the mirrors that had been left laying around, finally meeting her reflection. She was looking at herself but she seemed to be facing a stranger wearing a wedding dress, the only recognizable thing being her eyes; time had been kind to her, that much was undeniable but age had modified her body in the strangest ways to a point that she could hardly believe this was her, she had grown accustomed to seeing herself as an old widow that it had never even crossed her mind that one day she would be standing in her own home dressed like this with no longer brunette braids but greish locks of thin hair, tired and wrinkled skin that showed just how long it had been, her once girlish eyes transforming into those of a woman who had lived and suffered too much. It really was strange just how different the circumstances were and yet how completely normal and similar it all felt to that first time. The lace of the veil rested on top of her shoulders swimming down her back up to her hips, Pepa’s cold breeze returning to the house as the redhead sipped on her cup of tea, the previous dark clouds dissipating. Then the church bells struck six, telling everyone that the feared yet expected time had finally arrived; her daughter’s were the first ones to get a move on, telling the girls to start heading to the door, leaving Juli and Pepa alone with Alma and Rosa, the latter handing out her jewellery box to her best friend, waiting for her to open it.

She had seen the necklace before, she was no stranger to such beauty but it never ceased to amaze her, the perfect white gold shimmering under the sunlight that came through the windows, sparkling diamonds scattered along the chain as Rosa took it gently from her hands and clipped it around her neck, the weight of the piece falling perfectly over her collar bone without hiding the ring. The something borrowed had finally finished the look, Alma’s heart thanking heaven above that it was over, hammering against her ribs and corset, but a soft ringing in her ears kept on telling her that something was missing, that she was forgetting something but couldn’t quite figure out what it was. Just as Pepa returned to the kitchen to leave her cup in the sink and Julieta and Rosa headed for the courtyard her feet started moving towards the door, that was until her eyes landed on the locket as she glance back at the table, where it laid half hidden, accidentally, underneath one of the boxes and without thinking her hands shooting to grab it, her arms slamming over the wooden surface in her hurry to get it. She had nowhere to keep it and she couldn’t wear it, it was slightly chipped and it had lost its shine but she was not going to leave him behind, he had accompanied her every single day of her life and it just didn’t feel right to have him forgotten underneath a box or inside a drawer to catch dust as the bubble of guilt grew and grew inside Alma’s chest. Without knowing what she was doing she wrapped the chain around her wrist until she was sure it wouldn’t fall off her arm and left the room to join the rest of her family.

There by the front door was Bruno with his messy curls brushed into a ponytail and his usual ruana ditched for the day in exchange for a dark green suit made out of linen, the sleeves rolled up all the way to his elbows, his horrid sandals laying on the mountains of sand in his room since his feet were covered by a pair of pale green open moccasins, just as she had seen him when Mariano had come to serenade her. He winked at his mother but it came out more as if he was about to sneeze, his other eye squinting a little but she understood, a soft smile plastered on her face as she walked towards him. Both his sisters were too busy making sure the girls looked perfect that they simply nodded at Bruno to acknowledge his presence before they returned to mother mode smoothing dresses and returning random strands of her to their rightful place. Underneath Rosa’s arm was the box where Alma’s mantilla was kept, safe until they got to the church. The sun was still pretty high up in the sky but the way it hit the ground underneath was less scorching than it had been around lunch time, the fresh smell of flowers and ready to be picked fruit mixing with that of the warmth that levitated in the air. The bells of the church sang the upcoming celebration with giddy notes that echoed in between the mountains, the procession of the Madrigal’s walking down the path, over the bridge and into town, the strong perfume of Isabela’s flowers filling up their chests. Bruno had asked his mother to walk with him by giving her his arm, not a word breaking the comfortable silence of their stroll, but behind them the rest of the troops laughed, joked and scandalously talked, excitement palpable in the air, Julieta, Pepa and Rosa chatting calmly at the end of the group.

-You sneaked Mariano out of his house, didn’t you?

-Maybe, but he did sing to you so…

-I wasn’t going to scold you. I’m rather thankful, Brunito, honestly, and it makes me very happy that you haven’t brought any rats to my wedding.

-Oh, but I have, Agustín made me some ratpockets on the jacket so Cecilia and Robeto could watch the ceremony.

With the smile of a child who had just been given some candy he opened his jacket enough for her to see two rats poking out from a rather big pocket in the inner part of the garment. And as angry as she wanted to be with him, the only thing she managed was a soft chuckle along with a short shaking of her head. He would always be a little boy in her eyes and it kind of saddened her to know that she had missed so much time; she had almost forgotten just how much he liked to have some Cholado in the summer months or the sound of his knuckles on the wooden surface of tables and the bannister when he retired for the night. Small little things that she hadn’t realised were part of her just as much as they were his. The concert of heels on the pavement echoed against the decorated walls of the buildings, houses closed as well as shops since everyone in town would be in church by now, their steps light and quick. The tower of the church came into view from in between the houses, the bells clunking over their heads as they got closer and closer and just as they rounded the corner the temple came into view standing high and proud, front doors fully closed except for the small gateways that allowed the very few people that were still entering the building. The wedding jitters were beginning to take hold of Alma’s body, knees trembling and hands sweating a bit, her breathing coming in long huffs to make sure she didn’t go into a full panic attack. He was at the other side waiting for her and for some reason she wanted to either run away or jump into his arms, unsure of which to do but her feet were glued to the floor and her legs felt like lead, impossible to move so either way she wouldn't have been able to do neither of them. She had dissociated for just a few minutes so when the sight of the church vanished under the white fabric of her lace mantilla, the garment brushing against her cheeks and nose, her hands clutched Bruno’s arm out of surprise and anxiety, her heart skipping a beat. She could still see through the holes in the embroidery but it didn’t stop her heart from hammering against her ribs now that she was mere minutes away from stepping inside the church.

Small little Bells of Ireland wrapped in between the fabric of the mantilla now that it was secured to Alma’s head, Isa’s job almost done; just before she headed inside with her family she quickly created out of thin air the most beautiful bouquet of flowers; laced inside the white bow that tied the stems all together soft pink Peonies mixed with white Gardenias, strong purple Lilacs giving that bit of colour along with bright yellow Chamomiles and blue Poppies that it need, between green leaves and stems that gave depth and a rich aura to the whole thing. The girl rushed to give her a peck on the cheek before she practically flew inside the building, Luisa flashing her a smile before following, Dolores and Mirabel squeezing her forearms to later disappear through the doors. There really wasn't much time left, the clock ticking in slow motion around her, the bells booming inside her head but she stood her ground. Rosa whispered a soft good luck in her ear; the next instant she was gone leaving her standing there with her children. She thought she had been done with this sort of thing after Pepa’s wedding, that once her grandchildren began to settle down she would be just a feature in their brand new lives, and a very happy one at that, but it saddened her that as much as she had dreamed of walking down the aisle once more it was not her place to do so anymore. She had watched with tears in her eyes when both her daughters had reached the altar in their beautiful white dresses, Bruno clinging to her as if he was afraid she would shove him towards any single woman out there but she wouldn’t have done that, as much as she had expected him to finally settle down, as the years went by she realised that was not the life for him and surprisingly she was okay with it. Being in front of the church today being the one about to get married was terrifying but it brought a rush of joy to know that her family was there, all of them, supportive and ready to watch her take the next step.

Julieta’s eyes were gleaming with tears and as if she hadn’t thought of this before she felt as if she was looking at her father smile through her dark pools of kindness and understanding, seeing her sister jumping in absolute delight through the green fields of nature that laid behind Pepa’s eyes, Bruno’s fingers pressing on her arm softly as she came face to face with him. Everyone was here today, her ears picking up as the bells stopped, the gentle sound of flowing water, the ripples on the surface reflecting its patterns on the walls of the church embracing her into a pair of invisible arms. Her daughters kissed her before walking inside meeting Felix as he came out with little Antonio. The boy would be the one to carry the rings up to the altar, so he was supposed to be the first one to enter the church, Felix heading towards them ready to walk Alma down the aisle, but Bruno didn’t let go of her arm; he seemed determined to tell him something although the words were getting stuck in his throat. It wasn’t until the broad man placed one of his hands on Bruno’s shoulder that he finally let the words fall off his lips in a rather hurried and a bit stumbly way. If she hadn’t been there hearing him she wouldn’t have believed it, her son, her little boy had asked Felix if for once they could change the traditions and let him instead of the Godfather walk her up to the altar, and like the good sport he was, Felix hadn’t even tried to explain to him all that bullshit Alma had heard throughout the years that they had to follow and honour the traditions and such, no, he had smiled as bright as the sun and simply had told him not to get his feet caught in her dress and to keep his back straight to make himself look taller. The tension visibly left his body, shoulders relaxing beside her, eyes following Felix’s form as he talked with Antonio, gave him the cushion with the sewn in rings and left, giving them all a thumbs up before Pepa’s hands grabbed his collar and pulled him inside.

At last the time had arrived and as the doors opened to let in Antonio she could have sworn she was two seconds away from fainting but her legs didn’t betray her and her feet took a step forward, and then another until she was maybe a foot or so from the tiled floors of the church. From the ceiling soft white petals fell over the aisle in a gentle rain getting caught in between the boy’s curls as he proudly headed for the altar, the cushion tightly in his hands. In the first benches fluffy clouds had formed, but a bright yellow umbrella protected those underneath from the shower that fell from them, probably Pepa and Julieta. The organ began to play the first notes of the bridal march and without even having to force herself to move, her feet accompanied Bruno’s in short calm steps down the central corridor, her eyes observing everyone through her mantilla until they landed on the figure of her beloved that as she walked got closer and closer. Bruno was practically beaming as he escorted her, holding onto her arm a bit as if she was the one guiding him and not the other way around, but no one cared, it looked right to have him accompany his own mother down the aisle until they reached the altar,  passing the bouquet to Dolores as Alma took Marinao’s hands and walked up the mini stairs. The warmth of his palms against hers calmed her speeding heart as he guided her towards the priest, his fingers travelling up to her mantilla to lift it gently off her face, revealing her to the world but mainly his own two eyes where tears had gathered at the sight of his bride. Dolores came to the rescue picking up the garment from his hands since she feared it might fall to the ground without him even realising; finally everyone was in place.

Whatever father Flores was speaking came through one ear and out the other, she just couldn’t take her eyes off of Mariano. Not only he had made himself even more handsome but the air that surrounded him had changed completely and it drew her in like metal to a magnet, his aftershave sweet perfume that intoxicated and drugged her into this euphoric state of love and romance that she wasn’t battling at all. His eyes had locked with hers the instant the mantilla had been lifted and from then on they had been lost inside each other’s souls oblivious to the world around them. A bomb could have gone off right beside them that they wouldn’t have noticed. He felt his knees go weak every time she blinked or when her cherry lips turned up a bit, a smile just for him, sending soft electric shocks through his arms, because now that he had her right in front of him he just could let go, although that static might come from Pepa since she was practically all over the place. Around the couple time stood still, no one or nothing moved, no sounds disturbed them as if the world had stopped turning but they couldn’t care less, they were taking the last step, through thick and thin they had managed to stay together, forgiving each other’s mistakes and learning how to move forward, together, not listening to the voices that told them this wasn’t meant to be; they had built something they couldn’t break down, and they would continue to do so until their bodies drew in their last breath. The spell was broken when the priest announced the next few texts were going to be read by some members of this church. Mirabel stood up and headed for the pulpit, coughing softly before she looked down at the book claiming the text was from the book of Rut, her word echoing against the perfect walls of the church, the wooden carvings of the Virgin Mary and Jesus almost listening as intensely as her abuela was.

Rut respondió:

“No insistas en que te abandone y me separe de ti,

porque donde tu vayas, yo iré,

donde habites, habitaré.

Tu pueblo será mi pueblo

Y tu Dios será mi Dios.

Donde tú mueras moriré

Y allí seré enterrada.

Que Yahveh me dé este mal

y añada a este otro todavía

Si no es tan solo la muerte

Lo que nos ha de separar”

Palabra de Dios.

To her surprise Luisa stood up and took Mirabel’s place, quickly flipping the pages to find her text before people started to talk and their focus shifted to something else. Smoothing the page with her hands, her booming voice reverberated all over the building and explained that what she was going to read belonged to the first letter from the apostle Saint Pablo to the Corinthians.

El amor es sufrido, es benigno;

el amor no tiene envidia;

el amor no es jactancioso, no se envanece,

no hace nada indebido, no busca lo suyo,

no se irrita, no guarda rencor;

no se goza de la injusticia,

sino que se goza de la verdad.

Todo lo sufre, todo lo cree,

todo lo espera, todo lo soporta.

El amor disculpa sin límites,

cree sin límites, espera sin límites,

aguanta sin límites.

El amor no pasa nunca.

Palabra de Dios

The texts hadn’t been chosen by the priest, they were too specific for him to have randomly selected them, her granddaughters must have talked with him so they could read them, not that Alma would ever complain, the words were like balms to the part of her heart that still held onto Pedro as if it were the only thing that kept it beating, a single tear sliding down her cheek in silence as the girl returned to her seat in between her sisters. Mariano’s hand quickly travelled to her face, whipping the droplet with his thumb, but he wasn’t worried about her, the bright smile that she was giving him could have easily been the only oxygen he would have ever needed to survive. Soon enough, Father Flores began the most important part of the ceremony, the one that everyone wants to see, both because it means the wedding will end soon and they can eat and because it's the next step to finally be done with all this and be considered officially married. He asked them to stand up from their stools, neither of them ever breaking hand contact to look at the priest, ready and wishing it all was over already.

-Alma Madrigal y Mariano Guzmán, ¿vienen a contraer matrimonio sin ser forzados, libres y de manera voluntaria?

-Si, venimos libremente.

- ¿ Están decididos a respetarse y amarse siguiendo la vida del propio matrimonio, durante el resto de su vida?

- Sí, estamos decididos.

-¿Están dispuestos a recibir de Dios responsable y amorosamente los hijos, y a educarlos según la ley de Cristo y de su Iglesia? - a couple of chuckles were heard from in between the guests, a tight smile gracing Alma’s lips as she swallowed the lump that had formed on her throat.

-Sí, estamos dispuestos.

-Unan sus manos y manifiesten su consentimiento ante Dios y ante la Iglesia. - Mariano was the first one to speak, dropping his left hand to his side to leave just their right ones in front of father Flores. - Mariano Guzmán, ¿quieres recibir a Alma Madrigal, como esposa, y prometes serle fiel en la prosperidad y en la adversidad, en la salud y en la enfermedad, y así, amarla y respetarla todos los días de tu vida?

-Si, quiero

-Alma Madrigal, ¿quieres recibir a Mariano Guzmán, como esposo, y prometes serle fiel en la prosperidad y en la adversidad, en la salud y en la enfermedad, y así, amarlo y respetarlo todos los días de tu vida?

-Si, quiero

-Lo que Dios ha unido, que no lo separe el hombre - the breath he didn’t know he had been holding released the instant she said those words, one step closer to being hers forever and ever, feeling like all the traditions and things they had to do were keeping him from her more than helping him get her in all full honesty and commitment. Felix handed the priest a little silver tray where the rings were, free from the cushion where Antonio had carried them. - El Señor bendiga estos anillos que van a entregarse uno al otro en señal de su amor y fidelidad.

-Alma Madrigal, recibe este anillo, en señal de mi amor y fidelidad hacia ti. En el nombre del Padre, del Hijo y del Espíritu Santo. - he slipped the golden band on her finger effortlessly, the metal of the ring contrasting with the warmth of her body. It was strange, of course, she had spent fifty years wearing a ring that had been a symbol of a past life so the new one she wore now, polished and gleaming in the light of the stained glasses, fit perfectly and felt just right, not a doubt in her mind that she wasn’t making a mistake. Taking the other ring from the tray it was Alma’s turn.

-Mariano Guzmán, recibe este anillo, en señal de mi amor y fidelidad hacia ti. En el nombre del Padre, del Hijo y del Espíritu Santo.

In the excitement of it all Mariano almost jumped to kiss her, but Felix quickly pulled him back and whispered something in his ear, the young man’s face dropping for a minute, before with certain resignation he returned to his original posture raising his shoulders towards Alma. In all of this, Father Flores had turned his back to pick up yet another silver tray but this one contained twelve golden coins and a platinum one, holding it up in the air as if he was presenting it to the Lord and the guests before he did the sign of the cross over it.

-Bendice Señor, estas arras, que Alma y Mariano se entregan, y derrama sobre ellos la abundancia de tus bienes.

He dropped the coins in Mariano’s hands who carefully placed them on Alma’s open hands before she gave them back to him, returning them to the tray where a soft piece of lace laid over it. Of course, he had forgotten about that, they were supposed to use that for the hat of the Christening outfit of their first child, the thorn digging deeper in both their hearts, but they didn’t show it, only carried on listening to the priests words as he read several more texts, offering the bread and wine to the couple before he handed the cup and plate to a few of the monaguillos so he could bless the rest of the guests. There weren’t one or two, it was a whole town and it bothered the hell out of them both that they had to wait even more for them to finish before they could be done with this whole thing and finally be free, but fate seemed to be creating a bit of a setback for them and what they thought would be maybe ten minutes became twenty as they sat back on the stools to wait. Finally Rosa took the last sip from the cup and the priest returned to his place, handing each a candle, lighting them with a match before he stood in front of them with a third one. Carefully both tilted their own to light the new one, observing how the flame began to form until it burned on its own, each blowing their own candles before putting them aside and taking the one they had just lit, hearts hammering as the priest finally blessed them and declared them husband and wife before he bid them goodbye and a happy, healthy and long marriage. They stood there for a few minutes looking at the flame before their eyes locked, brains registering at last that it was over, that they had just got married. As much as he wanted to kiss her until the world ended he only gave her a quick peck on the cheek, promising her a better one in just a minute.

The guests rushed to the doors as the couple walked back down the aisle with the candle still burning in their hands until the sun of the evening greeted them and both blew it out once they were standing on the stairs of the church, his arms wrapping around her waist drawing her near. Lips pressed together in a gentle dance, the cheers of the people around them deafening, rice and flowers falling on their heads as she pulled him impossibly close while wrapping her arms around his neck, her feet lifted off the floor as he twirled them on the spot. SHE HAD GOT MARRIED!! If she had been a firework she would be exploding non-stop in the sky, rainbows and excited breezes enfolding them as Pepa cried and laughed in Felix’s arms, Julieta watching her mother with her head resting on Agustín’s shoulder. It had all worked out in the end, Bruno smiling softly beside Rosa, handing her a handkerchief since the poor woman seemed to be sniffling her lungs back into her body. With the grandkids screaming and heading to Casita the guests followed, Dolores not forgetting to return the bouquet back to Alma promising the newlyweds she would provide them with a few minutes of privacy, practically hoarding everyone to Casita. Alone in front of the church they just couldn’t believe what they had done, his arms never leaving her waist, while her free hand held onto the lapels of his guayabera, the few inches that had separated them vanishing as lips met once more. This was heaven, this was how living in the garden of Eden had felt to Adam and Eve, having Alma as his official wife made him feel like he was living in paradise.

When their lungs began to scream for air they were forced to break away from each other, a sudden idea popping into his head. With her hand secured in his he pulled her to the edge of town, the gates to the graveyard coming into view after maybe a five minute walk, the trees that surrounded it swaying softly in the afternoon breeze as the heat of the day dissipated somewhat and a gentle chilly air finally began to cool down the atmosphere. Her steps were unsure and maybe a bit slow, but she followed him nevertheless, Mariano pushing the gates open and guiding her to the back, where the sun bathed the statue of the angel and the marble cross. Standing in front of their graves she was unsure what to do or say, she usually felt sad and heartbroken when she came to visit but today she couldn't find those feelings anywhere, but when Mariano wrapped his arms around her waist from behind whispering in her ear that not always words were needed she saw the silver lining. Picking out some Lilacs from her bouquet she placed them on the ground in front of Pedro’s, kneeling to place a kiss of her hand before it travelled to the stone, inexplicably cold and warm under her fingers, some Peonies placed on the base of the statue, another kiss landing over the plaque. Mariano stood a couple feet away to give her some space so when she felt the brushing of some fingers on her cheek she assumed it had been him, but when her eyes landed on his form her heart skipped a beat, the translucent figures of those ghosts she had felt around her getting swallowed by the first few rays of dusk, their job done and their journey over now that hers was beginning.

[sid-the-science-kid]

Encanto Review

Okay, so if you’ve been on my blog, you’ve seen me talk a bit about it Encanto. And let me just say: I love that moving so freaking much. From the song “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” to the little moment at family breakfast when Felix gave Antonio a thumbs up for having his animals warm Abuela’s seaT BYE THAT WAS SO CUTE EIRJDSISBZ-

Things I loved:

I loved seeing each of them express who they were within a matter of worded

There’s a lot I like about this movie. One of them beating how amazing the characters are developed.

For example, Pepa’s little, “oh great, now I’m thundering!” That was so great😭 and it shows that side of flustered she gets

I appreciate the little things about this movie like Felix’s thumbs up. That was cute, and shows a bond between them.

Loved Dolores’s little squeak habit throughout the movie (I’m glad it never got annoying lol)

When Camilo turned into a baby- laughed so hard in the theaters 💀 my three year old brother couldn’t get enough of it either.

I love Luisa’s constant need to be perfect, alike from Isabel’s (I’ll talk about her) you see this big bold lady who’s basically a giant teddy bear and I love that.

I loved how Augustine tried to relate to Mirabel- father goals

Speaking of him- loved (and also hated) that he was the one that spoke up for Mirabel when Alma was trying to find her and all of that after the family dinner. I just didn’t like that he was the ONLY one, and the rest of the family just stood by and kept quiet. He’s an amazing father.

I loved LOVED LOVED Mirabel and Antonio’s little moment at the beginning of the movie- again, it shows a bond between them. I just wished they interacted more throughout the film, but whatever. I got enough.

Julieta is also a good mom, and I don’t blame her for not fully being on Mirabels side when Mirabel claimed to see cracks in the house, which she did. Julieta seems like someone who doesn’t like conflict, so she was trying to consider all sides of the story, offering the fact that maybe Mirabel was stirred up from that night- Antonio’s night.

Bruno baby I want you

He’s my little actor man

I love him so so much

I would watch rat telenovelas with him for hours

But for real though, love him as a character, and I feel bad about the way he was treated by Alma.

Freaking loved the tucan, he’s hilarious. Why arent they marketing him as the sidekick but the capybara? ;-;

I could go on for days about how much I love Encanto. But…

Things I didn’t love:

I probably need to rewatch it all the way through first to confirm, but did Alma ever Apologize? For like, everything??

Speaking of her, why was she forgiven so easily? I guess I wish there was more words traded between her and bruno.

I wish I got to saw each family member interact with each other, like in Raya and The Last Dragon. We saw each character interact with one another in some way. And while yes, because Encanto’s cast is bigger, they can’t do all of that in a movie I guess. Which leads me to believe that this should be a series. I wanna see family bonding.

I wish they didn’t market this film as an adventure film, because I came in super hyped, expectations high- and I wasn’t disappointed…just underwhelmed?

On that note, I wish the stakes were higher. Like, so what if they lose their magic? Oh no they go back to being regular citizens? I mean yes, losing their house was the risk, maybe I’m being petty. But definitely would’ve wanted higher stakes. Because I didn’t really care about weather they lost their powers or not. Sure, they were cool, but so what? You know?

Camilo. Deserved. More. Screen time.

There’s not much I dislike about this movie. It was fun, and colorful, and a great time. Definitely recommend, let me know what you guys think.