#mirabel's purse

[hiptoff]

My sis did this AWESOME handmade purse for my daughter and we are totally in love with it 💝

[itstheval]

Vale Vs Mirabelle

A @livesworthlivingau Side Story

"H-Hey Vale?" Mirabelle. Short, cute, always reliable. You almost heard her say a sentence without stuttering once.

Okay, that wasn't fair, she's been strong for such a long time - and even more, now that she'd retrieved her medication from the House. She certainly seemed to be steeling herself for something, now that the Scholar had been satisfied and she was tending to your wounds.

"Yes, little Housemaiden?" You've learned the art of asking questions, by now. The exact lilt to your voice, the perfect degree of smile, all to make the question as annoying as possible. All to keep them as distanced from you as possible.

"What Madame said…I want to try it too." Of course. Mirabelle can't get more anxious, and she's learned to put steel in her spine despite it. "I didn't get to fight a lot when we were in the House, and I want to try it. That is…If you want to?"

Well, Stars. That's a face you couldn't say no to. It's not like Eclipse's face, all big bursts of laughter and exaggerated expressions that filled your spirit, but the Housemaiden's eager, gentle looks melted your heart. You don't think you could have denied her if you wanted to.

"Let me get a tonic in me…" You let out a sigh of the eternally put-upon, and wander back a few steps before Flare notices and rushes up. Their little arms were full of all kinds of Tonics, and they grinned up with pride. "I didn't know which one you need, so I brought all of 'em!"

How could you ever have abandoned these people? How could you ever think they'd hate you?

Later.

For now, you take the salty broth (Thank you, Flare, for labeling the bottles!) and chug it back, making a face at the sheer saltiness of it.

"Alright. Let's do this."

The Housemaiden almost looked ridiculous, standing there in all her frills and jingles, with a rapier for a weapon. If you hadn't seen her fight before, you'd absolutely underestimate her. Instead, your foot scuffs the dirt of the road slightly, and your whip snaps out-

"[And The Curtains Open…]" "[Brilliant Reflection Shield!]"

SERIOUSLY?!

You're laughing by the time you get up from your own attack hitting you. She used it now? On the first attack? "That was petty, Housemaiden!" You call out, refusing to let that pass, only to see a look of concentration and…Joy? On her face?

"We're just warming up, Vale!" With that she kicked off the ground, moving as easily in the frills of her dress as another warrior would in the lightest of armour. You try to snap your whip at her, to keep her at bay, but she twists and turns in place so all your whip catches is where she was a second before.

"[Jolly Round Rondo!]" The call comes, and even so close, you can't get yourself into a guarding position in time. As she twirls each of her hands leaves a line of Craft in the air, and then they come together to launch that line at you! Ergh, that took out more of you than you'd like to admit!

You jump backwards, a twist in midair helping you land on your feet as you bring your hands together for [Give Them A Show…], looking up at Mirabelle to see how close she's gotten, to discover she hasn't?

"[Pretty Buffy Friend!]" The call goes out, and the Universe answers, a feeling of another presence blessing her with strength. So, a war of the buffs, huh.

Fortunately, she seems to have decided to test your evasion, and that's one thing you can rely on! Motion after motion of her rapier pushes you back, forces you to twirl, an elegant dance of sword and body that you fall into almost easily. But…You wonder how long your evasion will last, compared to her strength. Either way, it's time to go on the offensive.

"[Special Performance!]" Your whip strikes out, and leaves an image of itself behind once…twice…three times, before the fourth time completes a diamond that tracks towards the Housemaiden.

"[Holy Care Shield!]" Oh come on, she has MORE of those?!

You sigh as you watch the attack bounce off of the wall of Craft, and purse your lips together. For all Eclipse was a Defender, she was proving more defensive than he ever was. You barely slip aside from a deep lunge that cuts right through where your chest would have been, and stagger for a hop before deciding on something that hasn't failed you yet.

"[That's A Wrap!]"

And your whip slips out, wrapping around the Housemaiden, holding her in place as she recovers from her lunge. You let out a sigh, and step towards her, before you see she's…giggling?

"Oh, c'mon, Vale, let me out!" She laughs it out, and you see the sparkles of a Super Sparkle Heal falling over her. "I can heal way faster than this can hurt me, and you know my Scissors attacks will cut right through it."

You take a moment to savor the puffing giggles from her, before letting your shoulders slump. "You're right, you're right. I yield. Did I even land a hit on you?"

"Not a one! I've been practicing!"

"Well practice less! That was annoying!"

"Pffehehehe!"

[gamerbearmira]

RAHGGGGGGG

Sorry for the inactivity lol I'm gonna post some art later today <//333

IN THE MEANTIME GUESS WHO GOT THE LIMITED EDITON CASITA BACKPACK AND DIAMOND EDITION MIRABEL❗❗❗ I DID💪💪💪💪💪

Also taking this post to also show you guys my OTHER Encanto bag I have, it's a purse 🌚🌚 I never showed you guys lmao, I've already used it a bunch 💀

I'M SO HAPPY RAGGGHHH

Totally worth it <33

[hogwartslegacyreactions2]

Thanks thanks thanks again! I have a list of ideas now (hehe), so here's the next one if you're interested.

Maybe it's super funny (in my mind it is) or boring, but I missed it in the game: The professors' (and maybe other victims) reaction when they discover that their personal belongings and letters have been stolen and the locks have been broken with Alohomora. Perhaps they don't see it until very late, or they catch MC in their rooms, or some other poor student (probably Garreth lol) or peeves is nearby and suspected … however you want to write it. ^^

I hope your day is full of joy~

A/N: That is one thing about video game logic that's never made a lot of sense to me. MC can just walk into people's locked houses and take whatever they want without consequence? Weird.

HL PROFESSORS REACT TO MC STEALING THEIR STUFF

MC: They got caught red-handed and sticky fingered. They knew they were in for it.

ELEAZAR FIG: "Oh, I was looking for that! Thanks!" He takes the item, oblivious to MC's intentions.

MATILDA WEASLEY: "You could have just asked." She glares disappointedly at MC. She holds out her hand and summons her possession back.

CHIYO KOGAWA: "How dare you!" She takes items MC was trying to abscond with. "Get out before I give you detention!"

AESOP SHARP: He has a sixth sense for this kind of thing. He grabs MC's hand with enough force they drop what they're holding. "I was willing to look the other way the first time. Now, there will be consequences."

ABRAHAM RONEN: "What are you doing with that? You're not trying to take it, are you?" He stares, dumbfounded that a student would try to take his things

MIRABEL GARLICK: "Hey! Don't touch that!" She angrily stomps over and takes the item. Depending on the value of the item, she may jelly-jinx their legs.

MUDIWA ONAI: "That belongs to me!" She gets a sharp stab of pain from her side when she stands to quickly to stop MC from snooping. She pulls out her wand and summons the item from MC's hand.

BAI HOWIN: "What do you think you're doing? You do realize that's my coin purse, right?" He yanks it out of MC's hand and points to the door. "Out!"

DINAH HECAT: "Stupify!" She leads a confused MC out and pushes them out the door without another word.

CUTHBERT BINNS: Material items mean nothing to him anymore. MC can take what they want.

SATYAVATI SHAH: "Excuse you! That's mine!" She holds out his hand, expecting MC to hand back the item.

PHINEAS NIGELLUS BLACK: "You! What the devil are you doing in my office!?" He sees MC with an item of his and he makes a motion towards them, but they run. He watches them sprint out the door to the balcony and jump the railing. When he gets outside, MC is flying off on a broom.

[miracles-and-butterflies]

Mirabel: Everyone, enough fighting. Let’s hug it out nicely, okay?

The kids: *all hugging each other*

Antonio: Yay! Group hug!

Luisa: This is great! You know, we should do this more often—

Dolores: WHO THE FUCK JUST TOOK MY FUCKING PURSE

Isabela and Camilo: >:)

[pumpkin-padparadscha]

mirabel coming down the stairs with a pile of wrapped boxes: i got you presents!

julieta: mirabel you know its your birthday, right

(each of the family opens their box to find a shirt that says "mirabel was right" on the front)

mirabel: i know! and thats why youre all going to wear~ them~!

isabela: ...one day. you get this from me for one single day, and then its compost

antonio: i love it! what does it say

(most of the family are either wearing or putting on the shirts. alma lifts hers up from the box with pursed lips)

alma: mirabel, dont you think this a little petty

mirabel, holding up a camera: i dont know abuela, was it a little petty when you spent a whole decade treating me like an inconvenience and a shame on this family

(bruno lifts his glass to toast mirabel)

bruno: here here

(alma sighs deeply and puts on the shirt)

[auroracalisto]

better than a lie

jake "hangman" seresin x gn!reader, past!oc x gn!reader, 2.2k words tw: past relationship, not really talked about in depth but it ended badly and the reader is still hurt by it, meeting your ex's wife, hangman is kind of oblivious at times and so is the reader but we love them for it a/n: love jake. love fake dating situations. ex is named georgia, georgia's wife is named mirabel. no sexuality is mentioned for reader, save for the fact that they dated a girl in the past and now, they're crushing on a dude.

"Jake, please," you said, completely exasperated. You held out your hands in front of you in a begging manner, fingers laced together as you gazed up at him.

You never used his first name—like his friends, you often favored using his callsign. It was, in fact, a part so ingrained in him that it worked just as well as his real name. But seeing you like this, hearing how you said his name, he was worried something bad had happened.

He coyly raised an eyebrow, curiosity striking him where he stood.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

You pursed your lips. What would even be the best way to go about something like this? This was your last resort—or rather, you waited far too long to ask anyone for help, and now, Hangman was the only one still remaining by you in the bar. You wouldn't have asked just anyone this. Hell, would you even ask Hangman?

You watched as Jake took a swig of his beer. You didn't have another second to debate. It was now or never.

"Pretend to be my boyfriend for the evening."

Jake sputtered on his drink, looking up at you with wide eyes. He immediately sat the glass bottle down, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

"What?" he asked, voice hoarse from nearly choking. He hadn't expected any of that.

"Just for a few hours," you said. "My ex said she'd be by, and I really don't want to—"

"—why would—"

"—Jake, let me finish!"

He sealed his lips, staring you down.

"She's really successful and married, and she knows that I moved here a little after we broke up," you said. "I don't want her to think I'm still the same loser she dumped two years ago. Just—just for a few hours. Please."

He sighed softly, rolling his shoulders back as he thought about it. He had many things to say, but he wasn't about to unpack that; he knew you were far from being a loser. Hell, his stomach filled with butterflies as soon as you asked him to just pretend. He could do a hell of a good job at something like that—he'd do even better, not pretending.

"What do I get in return?" he asked.

"I'll buy your drinks for a week," you said.

"Deal."

He would have accepted it for far less.

It's not that you weren't friends with Hangman. In fact, you were friends with all the pilots in his squad. But Hangman specifically was someone you weren't too sure about. At times, he was too brash. Too rude. Too... well, Hangman.

He was an attractive man, and when he wanted to be, he was quite funny. His muscles were to die for, and that smile he always shot your way made your heart melt. But he was also an asshole.

And you didn't like him like that.

No, no, you were just observing how incredible he was. He'd never have said yes to you had you not promised him drinks. You were surprised he even agreed to begin with.

As you stood there, prepared to get a drink for yourself, an all-too-familiar voice came from behind you.

She was already here.

"Y/n!"

Your eyes widened. You looked up at Jake for a split second before you turned around, pulling on a smile.

"Georgia," you said, eyes flittering to the woman beside her. She looked just as awkward as you did, if not more.

Your ex reached forward and pulled you into a tight hug.

"It's so good to see you!" she said. "You look great."

"So do you," you weakly said, continuing to smile.

This should have been easy. With a man like Jake by your side, you should have felt more comfortable. But the idea that you were lying to Georgia made you pause. You had been in love with her, and now, she was standing right in front of you.

You didn't love her. Not anymore. But she hurt you more than words can describe. You couldn't fathom going through something like that again.

"This is Mirabel," she said, motioning to her. "My wife."

Oh. She's her wife.

She brought her wife? It was only supposed to be her and possibly a friend. You figured the "possibly" meant that Georgia wasn't sure. That she would just show up, alone. You could feel yourself tensing, on the route to full-on panic mode, when Jake placed a hand on your shoulders.

"You gonna introduce me, or should I do it myself?" Jake said, his voice laced with that teasing manner he always seemed to have.

You glanced back at him. He was here. He was still here. You were fine. You were doing just fine. You weren't alone in all of this. You broke out into yet another smile as you placed your hand over the top of his, looking back at Georgia.

"Yeah... this—this is my boyfriend," you said. You numbly squeezed his hand as you spoke. Jake moved his hand from your shoulder but immediately laced his fingers with yours.

"Jake," he said, sending Georgia a smile. "Jake Seresin. Nice to finally meet you. You can call me Hangman if you'd like."

Georgia let out a soft laugh. "You've talked about me? All good things, I hope," she said.

"Definitely," he said.

You tensed. He didn't know anything about her. Hell, he didn't even know you had dated her. You didn't share everything with the squad—most of your past life had been a well-kept secret. There were reasons you left. Reasons why you didn't want to even see Georgia. And yet, here you were.

"But, you know, they didn't tell me all that much," he said. "Just enough for me to point you out in a crowd."

"Hm," Georgia glanced from the two of you before looking at Mirabel. That same glint in her eye told you she was questioning things. "I'll be right back. I'm gonna grab us a couple drinks."

Mirabel gave a small nod. The rather short and timid woman watched as her wife left before she looked up at the two of you.

"So..." she began, shifting where she stood. She didn't want to be here, either. How awkward was it to meet your wife's ex? "How long have you two been together?"

Oh. Shit. You didn't even think this far. Your eyes widened and you went to speak, but the hand squeezing your own stopped you.

"Going on six months," he said with an endearing mile. "Been a dream the entire time."

Mirabel's eyes softened and she began to smile. Immediately, she was comforted by the comment—she too was uncomfortable with the fact her wife wanted to meet with her ex. But now that she knew you were in a well-established relationship, it was far easier. There would be no worries on Mirabel's part.

"Where did you two meet?"

"They work nearby," he said. "I had run into them a couple times, and then when I saw them at the bar... I knew I had to make a move." Hangman chuckled softly, pulling you into his side. He wrapped an arm around your waist, and you welcomed it. Your cheeks burned, but not out of embarrassment. You were flustered. He did this so well.

It was almost as if he wasn't acting.

Georgia came back with a few drinks, hanging one to Mirabel with a smile.

"Well, you three look well-acquainted already! What did I miss?"

"I was just saying how we'd been together for nearly six months now," Hangman said, nodding in her direction.

You gently gripped at the fabric of his shirt, smiling in return.

"Oh! Are you guys planning to do anything for your anniversary? Six months is a big milestone!"

You winced at the comment. When the two of you had been together, she celebrated every single month. Not that it was a bad thing. You just knew your lies were going to catch up to you at some point, especially when you continued to flounder under the pressure.

Jake just smiled. "Well, I had wanted to take Y/n out to dinner. Nothing too crazy. Maybe hit a couple of their favorite spots. We're both busy people, so whatever we could do would be perfect."

You released the breath you didn't know you had, looking up at him. He returned your gaze, pressing a soft kiss to your forehead.

Warmth spread across your face, and you knew yourself better than anyone—this man had you flustered. He chuckled softly and looked towards the couple opposite of them.

"Do you two play pool?"

Georgia and Mirabel had long since left. You found yourself sitting at the bar, head in your hands as you ignored the whiskey on the rocks you had ordered. Condensation rolled down the sides, completely abandoned by both its maker and its consumer.

Hangman gently patted your back as he took the spot beside of you.

"You wanna talk about it?" he asked, hand hovering over the fabric that clung to your body.

"About what?"

"The elephant in the room."

You pursed your lips, slowly sitting up to look at him properly. "What's there to say, Jake?"

"Are you still in love with your ex?"

Your eyes widened. What kind of question was that?

"No," you immediately said. "No, I'm not. But..."

"...but?"

"I didn't want them to think I was still hung up on them. I'm not. I've... I've not thought of them like that in years."

That was true. When Georgia broke things off, you tried to move on as quickly as possible. You moved, for Pete's sake. But the pain was still there, no matter what. And the idea of liking someone like Jake Seresin was mildly terrifying. He was... incredible. And after tonight, you knew that. You would never think otherwise, ever again.

"So there's someone else?" he asked, grabbing the watered down whiskey you had. He took a sip of it, but it didn't seem to bother him. The alcohol would only help, especially when he considered the fact you might confess there was someone else, and it definitely wasn't him.

You pursed your lips. "Jake..."

"What?" he shrugged, sending you a cheeky smile. "I play boyfriend for a couple hours and suddenly I'm a stranger? Come on, Y/n. You know me better than that."

Warmth crept to your cheeks once more. You looked down at your lap, squeezing your eyes shut as you debated—should you just confess? What would he even say?

"Y/n... I'm sorry," Jake said, setting the glass down. "I shouldn't have asked. I get it, it's personal. I'm just gonna head out—"

You reached forward, quickly grabbing onto his sleeve.

"Wait a minute," you said, looking up at him. Your heart leaped to your throat, and in an instant, you knew everything was about to change.

Disbelief held his features as he peered down at you.

"Out of this whole bar. Out of all of our friends. I... I chose you. If there was anyone out there, and the time came to choose again, I would choose you. Every time."

He paused for a moment, lips quirking up in a small smirk. "Gotcha. Well... I'm glad to know you can depend on me," he said. He gently pushed your hand off of him. "I'm gonna head out," he repeated. "You call me if you need anything, yeah?"

Your eyes widened as he began to walk out. Did he not just hear you? Was that not enough for him? Maybe you have outright said, "Jake Seresin, you big dope, I like you." You jumped off of the stool, rushing after him and into the dark of the night.

"Jake Seresin!"

This caused him to stop and completely turn to face you.

Your hands found his face, and you absentmindedly pulled him down to face you.

"Are you that dense?"

He furrowed his eyebrows in response. Usually, he was so good at telling when someone liked him, man or woman. And yet, this very minute, he had no idea what to do. He didn't know what to think.

You leaned up on the tips of your toes, your lips pressing to his. You squeezed your eyes shut, terrified that he would pull away if you looked at him.

At first, Jake didn't kiss back. When you started to pull away, he wrapped an arm around your torso, pulling you flush against his body as his lips molded into yours. Your hands gripped onto his shirt, body relaxing in his grasp.

As he pulled away, he pressed a few soft kisses to your lips, moving to rest his forehead against yours.

You looked up at him with wide eyes, heart pounding in your chest.

"Jake..."

"Go out with me. Let me take you on a date, for real. And then you don't have to worry about who you talk to. You got a boyfriend, no matter what."

Your lips stretched into a soft smile, your head tilting to the side.

Hangman liked you back.

"I might need more convincing than that," you said, fingers gently releasing the fabric of his shirt to cup his face again.

Jake gained a wicked smirk, excitement scorching his body. "I think I can do that, sweetheart."

[foggyfanfic]

Dodgeball

Alma would like the record to show, that she has always tried to understand her son. Of course she has, she’s his mother, if she doesn’t understand Bruno, then who does?

Nobody, that’s who. Nobody understands Bruno.

Lately, ever since they started talking, really talking, she’s understood his anxieties, his hurt, his loneliness, his love of rats, and even his decision to live in the walls for ten years. But she has accepted that she will only ever understand half of what comes out of his mouth.

It started when he was six and everything he didn’t like was “square”, then when he was a teenager and everything good was that English word “nifty”. Lately, anytime Bruno saw Pepa or Julieta being affectionate with their husbands he would look his sisters in the eye and say “That’s cringe”. She assumed this terminology came from the future, but honestly, Bruno had always been so creative, he might have just dreamed this stuff up.

Now, Alma stared at the box the merchants had brought back from the city at Bruno’s request and debated if she even wanted to know.

Alma took a deep breath in, closed her eyes and slowly breathed out.

“I am trying to do better,” she quietly reminded herself, “I will be interested in, and supportive of… whatever this is.”

With that said, she opened her eyes, turned towards the stairs and started the short journey to her son’s door. She knocked on the blank wood next to the new and improved carving on Bruno’s door. Then she waited.

Eventually, the door opened, and Bruno gave her that quiet smile she had missed so dearly while he was gone, “Hola Má, what did you need?”

“A package has arrived for you,” she told him, “it’s too big for me to carry upstairs-.”

She apparently didn’t need to say anything else, because Bruno’s face lit up and he eagerly stepped through the doorway. He rushed to the banister and looked down at the box, grinning.

“Oh, that’s great!”

“Indeed,” Alma said, doing her best to smile warmly.

“I’ll open it right now and get it outta here,” Bruno promised her, already walking to the stairs. 

Alma followed, “No rush mijo. Do you need any help?”

“Ah, sí. I uh, I will probably need help inflating them,” he said, thoughtfully.

“Oh, well, I don’t know how much help I could be in that regard,” she frowned, then remembered something, “although I think I might know where the air pump is.”

Recently, Luisa had been trying to learn how to ride a bike, and she had picked up a small pump that Alma was pretty sure was in the closet by the laundry room.

“That’d be perfect,” Bruno nodded eagerly, practically skipping down the stairs, “a-and I’ll probably need something big to hold them in. If you don’t-, if you can think of-, por favor.”

“I will see what I can do,” Alma agreed, walking down the stairs at a much more sedate pace.

Bruno’s sandals slapped noisily against the tile as he rushed across the courtyard to the box waiting for him in the entryway. His hands fluttered around it excitedly for a second, then he patted his pockets down for the small pocket knife Camilo had gotten him for his first Christmas back. He carefully opened the pocket knife, then slid it through the tape holding the box closed.

“Bruno,” Alma finally dared to ask.

“Sí Mamá?” He didn’t look up as he unfolded the top of the box.

“What exactly is a ‘El Señor Divertido’s Super Bounce Dodgeball’, and why have you ordered a box of them?”

“Oh! Remember how Mirabel was saying we should find some way to stop people from pestering me for visions?”

Alma pursed her lips, “I do, however, I’m not sure throwing balls at people is the best solution.”

Granted, she wouldn’t stop him if he chose to start throwing harmless rubber balls, but Alma had put a lot of effort into softening the villagers towards her son. Him going on a red rubbery rampage might undo that hard work. Sure, there had always been days when she’d been tempted to throw things at various villagers for the way they talked to Bruno, but in some ways, her renewed determination to protect her son from the village’s disdain required she hold her tongue around others more so than before. Let Isabela and Pepa outwardly fight for Bruno, Alma would use her position as village leader to support his reintroduction into society.

It was the least she could do.

Thankfully, Bruno’s plan did not involve throwing things, or at the very least, didn’t involve him throwing things.

“What? Oh. I guess I could do that,” Bruno paused, frowning down at his box of deflated red rubber balls, then he shook his head and his grin came back, “B-but actually this is based off a joke that’s going to be really funny in the future. You’ll see! This is going to be great.”

She shoved aside her doubts and kissed Bruno’s cheek, “I’m sure it will be. Now, let me see if I can find that air pump.”

It took a day or two, and some help from her grandchildren, but Bruno got all of the dodgeballs inflated and stored in giant laundry sacks. He put the sacks of balls on a wagon and took it into town, leaving it in the town square. 

On the wagon he hung a sign that said “Only people that can aim with the accuracy of Apollo may receive the gift of prophecy. If you want me to give you a vision, first you have to hit me with a dodgeball. You get one try, and are liable for any property damage if you miss. Anyone who misses, then pesters me for a vision regardless, will be reported to Pepa.” 

He’d signed his name in green paint, along with a little hourglass, then in parentheses put “(Oh, and to the kids, you are allowed to play with balls as much as you want, just put them back in the wagon when you’re done. (Kids can also ask me for help re-inflating the balls, adults have to take care of that themselves.))”

Alma and Julieta stood in front of the wagon, staring at the sign. On another day, Alma would have taken the time to be amused that Julieta was standing the exact same way Pedro used to when he was confused, but today she was too busy being confused herself. Confused and concerned.

“Juli, mija, I-, you know I have been trying not to ask too much of you lately, so of course you can say no, however, would you mind-?”

“Making extra arepas in case Bruno gets pummeled with red balls for the sake of a joke nobody will get for another few decades?”

“Sí.”

“I will mind, but I will do it anyway. So long as I am also allowed to pummel him with red balls.”

“…that’s fair,” Alma nodded.

As they watched, a kid ran up and read the sign. His face lit up and he dug into the laundry bag for a ball, he paused long enough to smile politely at Alma and Julieta, then ran off with the ball held over his head.

“Guys, guys, el Señor Bruno is lending us this brand new ball,” he shouted, presumably at the other boys down the street.

“Well, at least he’s making the kids happy,” Julieta noted.

“Indeed.”

They stared at the wagon for another few seconds, then Alma sighed through her nose and walked away. Julieta fell into step beside her a second later. When Alma spared the wagon one last glance, Osvaldo was reaching into a bag for one of the balls.

She sent a silent prayer to God, Mother Mary, and any saint who felt like listening that this wouldn’t end with her son being grievously injured.

It turned out, however, that her fears were misplaced. 

Her first update on the dodgeball situation came from Camilo the next night as they all sat down for dinner. Luisa was giving Camilo a doubtful look, repeatedly asking “Really?” to which Camilo repeatedly answered “Really!”.

When Bruno walked in, head buried in a book, Camilo cheered, “There he is! Watch this!”

Without further ado, Camilo picked up a tortilla and threw it like a frisbee at Bruno. Pepa immediately began admonishing her son, but everybody else watched the tortilla as it sailed towards Bruno’s downturned head. At the very last second, Bruno ducked and the tortilla passed over his head, hitting the wall with a quiet “thwap”.

Bruno lifted his head from his book and looked at the tortilla as it slid down the wall to the floor, then he looked at Camilo, who was applauding him.

“E-even if that had hit me, it wouldn’t count,” Bruno told him, “It has to be, y’know, a dodgeball.”

“I know, I know, but Luisa was doubting your dodging skills,” Camilo retorted, jabbing a thumb at his cousin.

“I wasn’t doubting him!” Luisa immediately said, giving Bruno an apologetic look, “I just… y’know… was having a hard time imagining Tío Bruno jump over three balls at once.”

“Myeh, that’s fair,” Bruno shrugged. He pulled a bookmark out of his pocket and closed his book around it, then sat down, the book disappearing under the table.

Alma had no doubt Bruno would be sneaking peeks at it throughout the meal.

“Three dodgeballs at once?” Isabela asked, then she wrinkled her nose, “How would that even work?”

“El Señors Garcia, Cortez, and Lopez all wanted Tío Bruno to predict how this weeks football tournament will go so they could place bets,” Camilo said, “so when they saw Tío Bruno in the market they ran to the wagon then each grabbed a ball. You shoulda seen it, they were tripping each other and shoving each other, then they all got to Tío Bruno and threw their balls at the same time. El Señor Cortez had to throw his from the ground ‘cause Garcia had tripped him. So all three balls go zooming at Tío Bruno and he doesn’t even flinch, he just jumps straight up and let the balls go past him.”

“Really?” Mirabel asked, turning to look at Bruno.

Bruno shrugged again, “I-It’s not like I didn’t get plenty of warning. They were cussing each other out the entire time.”

“Yeah, but you just jumped straight up! I swear you jumped at least as high as the roof of the bookshop,” Camilo pointed out, gesturing to indicate exactly how high Bruno had jumped.

“Oh! Like in the walls,” Mirabel said, “like how you jumped over that big hole.”

“Basically,” Bruno nodded.

“Big hole?” Alma asked, unable to keep the worry out of her voice. She knew this was in the past, but she didn’t like the idea of her son jumping over large holes when he was in the walls, unable to get help if he got injured.

“Oh, yeah, heh heh, that,” Bruno rubbed at his arm, “w-well it didn’t start out as a big hole, at first it was a little hole. I-it’s only towards the last few years in there that it, you know, got uh, got… well, big.”

Alma frowned, “That doesn’t sound very safe.”

She was doing her best not to let her fears affect the way she treated her family, but she’d found, somewhat counterintuitively, that expressing those fears helped her to move past them. Besides, when she openly expressed her concern for his safety and well-being, Bruno would smile sheepishly. In the past when she had simply said things like “Do you think that was wise?” Bruno used to hang his head, shoulders drooping.

It was a small change, but one that had made a big difference in their relationship.

“I-I was fine, it’s like Mirabel said, I just uh, I just jumped over it,” Bruno reassured her, “it uh-, I actually got really good at jumping. Hence, y’know.”

Bruno waved a hand at Camilo, who once again acted out Bruno’s jump via hand gestures.

Alma breathed out through her nose, allowing her son's words to reassure her. She smiled at him, and nodded to indicate she believed him. Bruno grinned, as pleased as ever to have helped in any small way.

Dinner continued without any more mention of dodging or balls or jumping. And it was several days before she heard another word about Bruno’s little game.

The next update on Bruno’s new rubber ball based system of distributing visions, was heralded by a lot of angry shouting at Casita’s front door. Alma stood behind the door and strongly considered if she truly wished to open it.

“The sign itself says anyone who throws a ball and misses is liable for any property damage caused,” the voice that sounded suspiciously like la Señora Rivera shouted.

“Well I wouldn’t have missed if Bruno hadn’t moved!” retorted the voice of el Señor Marius.

“What?! You expected him to stand completely still so you could hit him?” Rivera snapped, “In case you didn’t get the memo, this is called a dodgeball. Dodge-ball.”

Alma didn’t wait to hear another word, it sounded like la Señora Rivera had this well in hand. Meanwhile, Alma needed to get started on that grocery list.

As she walked away there was an insistent knock on the door while Marius shouted, “Dona Alma?! Did you know your son has set a trap in order to turn the people of Encanto against each other?!”

“It’s not a trap, you’re just a dumbass!” 

Julieta peeked her head out of the kitchen, curiously. She raised an eyebrow at her mother in a silent question. Alma tapped a finger to her lips.

“We’re not home,” she informed her in a whisper.

Julieta glanced at the door, then slowly nodded, and obediently agreed, “Sí Mamá.”

After that, news of Bruno’s little game trickled into Alma’s ears through a variety of sources. Félix passed along a message from his football team that after seeing his agility and quick reflexes, they’d be happy to have Bruno, if he was interested. Bruno, who hadn’t been invited to join anything since he was seventeen, had blushed and admitted he’d already agreed to help coach the various kid’s teams and wouldn’t have the time.

Osvaldo showed up at Casita in need of an arepa after he threw a dodgeball at Bruno and ended up hitting a particularly vengeful donkey when Bruno ducked and rolled.

Various groups of children came by Casita with flat red balls and happily asked Bruno how he had learned to cartwheel so many times in a row, or jump off walls like that, or bend over backwards the way he had.

The game stretched on for three months, and changed shape as it did so. As far as Alma could tell, the object of the game had stopped being to win a vision two weeks in. Now, the young athletes and old braggarts of the village just wanted to be the one to finally hit Bruno. New rules had been drawn up and transcribed on a sign that was hung next to the first, such as “trapping Bruno is cheating” and “handing the ball to Bruno does not count as hitting him with it” and of course “hitting somebody who looks a lot like Bruno is not ‘close enough’ and Oscar is very sick of you throwing things at him”. 

This last rule was followed by the comment “maybe Oscar should learn how to dodge”, which itself was followed by a note, presumably from Oscar, that had to be covered with black paint and a reminder that kids read that sign.

Finally, in a great twist of fate, it was Agustín who won the game of dodgeball. 

Bruno and Agustín were out with Alma, helping her pick up the last two crates of wine for Dolores’ wedding. For obvious (albeit gently stated) reasons, Agustín was carrying the complimentary chocolate that the winery had thrown in as a wedding gift. Meanwhile, Alma and Bruno each carried a crate with nine bottles of wine.

As they passed through the town square, Alma smiled when she saw a bunch of school children kicking one of the now familiar red balls around. She turned to Bruno and remarked, “If nothing else, you have brought a great deal of joy to the village children.”

Bruno chuckled sheepishly, “Yeah, that’s-. Good, happy to, uh, make people happy. I guess.”

“Oops! Sorry,” one of the kids called to all the rest when he apparently kicked the ball out of bounds, and it rolled over to them.

Agustín, being the only one with a free hand, picked the ball up and said, “I’ll take it back over to them.”

They nodded, Alma bit her tongue to say something that might sound unintentionally judgemental like “Sí, that would be best”. Idly, she tried to think of a casual, non-patronizing way of saying “The fact that you know your limits and work with them instead of getting defensive shows exactly how good of a man you are”. She supposed it would have to wait until a quiet moment, when she could take the time to properly express her admiration of her son in law’s character.

Old Alma would have been content to assume that Agustín understood how much she''d grown to respect him over the years, however Old Alma had also been content to assume that her son understood how much she loved him. And that clearly hadn’t-.

“Whoops,” Agustín yelped, interrupting Alma’s musings.

What came next, Bruno would later insist at dinner, was proof that Agustín was perhaps the most magic person in the village.

Agustín tripped over a raised cobblestone and the ball flew out of his hand. It soared towards the door of the shoe cobbler’s shop, which flew open just in time to smack the ball away. The ball shot into the center of the square, where it bounced off the front of a passing wagon. Now zooming through the air at dangerous speeds, the ball passed over head bystanders as said bystanders threw themselves to the ground. It hit the wall of the church, cutting some of its momentum but changing its trajectory. 

Straight towards Alma.

Alma had maybe three seconds at most to stare at the now rapidly incoming red ball and try to come up with a response. She couldn’t throw herself out of the way, that would mean dropping the wine. However three seconds isn’t a lot of time, and that was the only thing she could think of.

Then the ball was gone, hidden behind her son, who was suddenly standing toe to toe with her, curled protectively around his crate of wine. 

Bruno screwed up his face, and planted his feet. His body jerked as Alma heard the unmistakable sound of the ball bouncing off his back.

For a second the entire square was silent. 

Then Bruno sighed, stood up straight, turned to Agustín and said, “Oh come on!”

People cheered, children applauded, Alma half expected somebody to throw confetti. Some guys came up and firmly patted Bruno’s shoulder, telling him it was “a good way to go out”, while others shook Agustín’s hand.

It took them about an hour to get home as Agustín and Bruno unexpectedly found themselves at the center of an impromptu award ceremony. Turns out, somebody had been keeping track of how many days Bruno had gone without getting hit, and an actual medal with the exact number was being made. Agustín was handed a trophy, probably the only athletic award he would ever receive in his life, and asked to give a little speech. He stumbled through thanking his wife, and saying what a great honor this was, then hit gold with the crowd when he highlighted some of the most memorable attempts by people who were actively trying to hit Bruno.

Soon after, Bruno was convinced to make a tradition of it, although he said that he would want to put some sort of time limit on the game next time.

“M-maybe a month long event?” he had suggested, “It could be-, we could make it a whole tournament?”

Finally, they were allowed to go home as people began debating how they could turn the dodgeball game into a month-long tournament. However, even when they did get home, Bruno and Agustín were cajoled into telling the story at least six times. Bruno added more and more ridiculous ways for the ball to be tossed around the square with each re-telling.

Dinner featured the most exaggerated version of the story of all, with Camilo and Antonio happily chiming in with suggestions to encourage Bruno. And, of course, there was the very noisy debate over whether or not Agustín had magic.

"If he gets magic, I better get magic too," Félix joked, "you ain't the only one who married into this family."

Then, finally, after everything had wound down and the family was headed off to bed, finally Alma got the chance to hug her son.

“Gracias, mijo, for what you did earlier,” she whispered as she hugged him, then pulled back, cupped his blushing face, and kissed his cheek.

“It… it was nothing,” Bruno chuckled in his quiet, awkward way, “don’t mention it.”

Alma shook her head, smiling softly, “Ay, you know, you’ve always been so modest. Even when the entire village crowded around you to tell you how special your gift was, you were such a humble child.”

“O-oh?”

“Sí,” she sighed quietly, “you have always been a good son, you know that, don’t you? Even when I didn’t show it, I have always been proud of you.”

Bruno smiled down at his toes, stuttering over half aborted sentences. Eventually, he laughed quietly, then gave her a crooked half smile, his strange sense of humor glimmering in his eyes, “Right in the feels.”

Alma chuckled, shaking her head. She gave him another hug and bid him good night. It was true that she would never fully understand the things Bruno said, but she knew what he meant.

[spooo00oky]

Siren’s Spell

Chapter one.

Pairing: siren!Wooyoung x reader

Genre: fantasy, eventual smut, romance, fluff

Word Count: 11k+

Warnings: swearing, mentions of sex and sexual innuendos (MDNI), mentions of past near drowning, Thalassophobia, cliff hanger for chapter 1 and more to come!

Author’s Note: Hello! This is my first story posted on here and I’m still getting used to tumblr and it’s been years since I’ve written anything and I’m rusty, so please be nice! The world was inspired by Crescent City so there will be some similarities, and I lightly edited this so there’s going to be grammatical and spelling errors. I already have chapter 2 in the works. I hope you enjoy!

༄

“y/n where’s the order I asked for yesterday?” a voice suddenly asked, jolting me from my thoughts as I worked on the finishing touches of a design in my sketch pad. The line now scratched right across the folds of the dress would have to be fixed, but for now that was ignored in favor of glaring at my boss.

“Belle, I told you to knock. The order is sitting on your desk as per the text I sent you yesterday,” I sighed.

Mirabelle leaned away from the glass door of my office, looking to her own which was two doors down, her blue hair swaying with the movement. Her lips formed a perfect circle as the realization dawned on her that she had completely missed the neatly wrapped box on top of her desk that contained a new shipment from a catalog. “Thank you! Sorry for startling you!” she said before quickly disappearing.

I couldn’t help but chuckle as I went to correct the mistake on my design and continue on with my dress design. Belle was an eccentric fae, always fluttering around and mumbling to herself about whatever upcoming project. She was a great boss but needed help with remembering things, like things such as humans don’t have sensitive hearing and can’t hear most of the staff in the building long before they actually appear. That last part wasn’t entirely her fault though, I was only one in a handful of humans in the office building. It was hard to get accepted into places like this, even more so for humans in a supernatural creature dominated business.

Most humans in the city of Fairhaven stuck to their own sections of the city, where they were safest and not at the bottom of the food chain. Any further away from the human neighborhoods and it became more dangerous for us; not to say that they weren’t protected in the city by law enforcement but there were shady characters everywhere. It didn’t help that other supernatural creatures loved to view us as either toys to be played with or food. It had been a struggle to convince my parents that I would be fine away from home and in the heart of it all, the transition from a sleepy countryside town to a big city was draining enough for them.

I sigh and shut my sketch book. I note the time by the sun beginning to set. I packed my bag and grabbed my purse, heading out of my office. The sound of my door shutting didn’t disrupt the chattering of my other coworkers who were whispering around the coffee machine. “That’s the third one this week alone, do you think it’s a rogue vampire like it was the last time?” one of them whispered, to which the other replied that those were murders and the bodies were found; these were kidnappings.

“Ah there you are! Are you leaving already?” Belle suddenly appeared in front of me, nearly scaring me out of my skin and causing me to drop my things. I placed a hand on my chest in an attempt to calm my racing heart.

“Belle! We’ve talked about that!” I said in exasperation, not having the heart to even scowl at the already apologetic looking fae. She began to rock on her feet, her hands hidden behind her back in embarrassment. It was hard to stay upset with that warm, heart shaped face.

“She can’t hear you coming, remember?” a new voice said from behind me. I turned to see a blonde male come to stand next to me. He began teasingly patting my head at the drastic height difference between us. I narrowed my eyes at him and lightly knocked away his hand from my head, fixing my hair.

“The warning extends to you as well Mingi. There have been plenty of times you’ve scared me as well by sneaking up on me. Belle doesn’t do it intentionally at least,” I shot back at the lion shifter. “Plus she’s sweet so I can’t stay mad at her.”

Mingi rolled his eyes. “This is the thanks I get for getting you coffee every day? I don’t ask for payment or anything, and the coffee shop you like is really out of the way coming into work as well.”

“Mingi, you bought me coffee once like a month ago.”

“The coffee shop is right next to where you live as well. It takes you five extra steps to do it,” Belle pointed out, causing a burst of giggles to erupt from me at the look Mingi gave her. “And if my memory serves me correctly, she’s bought you lunch more times than you’ve bought her coffee.”

Mingi was quick to leave the conversation then, grumbling something about how Belle only has a good memory when it comes to pointing embarrassing things out. I wanted to tell him that it didn’t matter much to me if I treated more than he did, but he was gone before I could even get the words out. I didn’t dwell on it for long though. I’d talk to him when his wounded pride was healed up a bit. Turning back to Belle I wished her a goodnight and safe travel home before heading out myself, adjusting the strap of my bag on my shoulder as I made it down to the streets.

The streets were busy this time of day in Fairhaven. Workers returning home to their families and the nightlife only just began as people milled around, the air alive with music and voices. I headed closer to the small sidewalk near the river that cut straight through the city, they were usually less crowded now as everyone flocked to the riverside store fronts and restaurants for food and company. My eyes gazed out at the deep blue river only a few feet beneath me and my stomach dropped towards my feet. I gave the bank of it a healthy distance to ease some of my nerves, but the idea of falling into it was enough for unease to creep down my spine. My mind flashed back to frigid waters and gasping for air before I shook my head, shooing the memories away. Fairhaven wasn’t the small town I grew up in.

‘You’re right it’s much worse.’ I let out a small huff of air at that small voice in my head, but I couldn’t dispute its accuracy. Here in Fairhaven, the land met the river and eventually the sea along its northern border. The Brighbalt was deep and large and wound its way through the center of the city, and stretched far deeper than originally met the eye. It housed some of the most monstrous creatures in its depths, all citizens of the underwater kingdom, Socix, that merely migrated into the city borders from the sea. It was an unspoken rule to all that no one entered the waters unless on a boat; no one knew for sure what lurked down there. There have been some occasions in which I have looked out at the river and nearly jumped in fright to see eyes staring back at me.

The very thought of those black, dead eyes staring back at me was enough to make my body shudder.

Something flashing in the corner of my eye brought me out of my thoughts, and my eyes glanced over towards the river again. I would’ve missed him if I didn’t do a double take on a secluded dock hidden between some fishermans’ boats, the dark scales camouflaging him in the shadows but the pearlescent sheen caught the sun at the right moment. He was sprawled out on the small dock, nearly taking up most of it as he rested his head on his arms. I would’ve been concerned that he was dead if it wasn’t for the massive dark colored tail sitting half in the water and the patches of scales that littered the upper half of his body.

A siren, I thought to myself in shock. While they most certainly weren’t unheard of, seeing one this far in the city was almost rare. They preferred to stick closer to the ocean, where they were able to sing their songs with no repercussions and prey on humans and supernatural creatures alike. In the city there were laws to follow and repercussions if said laws were broken, and from what I understood most sirens didn’t like that as it controlled a core part of who they were; their voice.

This siren looked like it was only sunbathing, but it was my first time seeing one that it was hard to look away. It became a problem when I suddenly bumped into a gorgon, his snakes hissing at me in irritation as I struggled to regain my footing after the sudden stop. I apologized profusely, seeing the way he had to adjust his sunglasses before walking away. That wouldn’t have gone well for anyone had those slipped any lower on his face. I sighed and glanced towards the siren and nearly froze when I saw his dark eyes were open and on me now, a smirk curling his lips as he leaned his head on his hand to watch me. I flushed in embarrassment and hurried towards one of the numerous bridges that connected the two halves of the city, embarrassed that I had a witness to my blunder.

The rest of the trip to my apartment was, thankfully, uneventful, and I made sure to lock the door behind me before I headed further inside.

With a belly full of reheated leftovers and my skin clean from a shower I fell into bed with a sigh, hoping sleep came quickly tonight. My mind wandered back to the siren I saw earlier, that smirk he had on his face still running through my mind. Of course he had to be attractive too, but that was as common as humans breathing air. It was all part of the trap, as if their voice wasn’t lethal enough their good looks could draw in unsuspecting beings as well.

Sleep did come quickly, but it was filled with nothing but black scales and white, sharp teeth.

༄

The rest of the week went as it usually did, working every day and arriving back home at my usual time. With work being as hectic and chaotic as it usually was for a big designer label, partially thanks to my friends Mingi and San, it was enough to keep me busy and come home exhausted each day. The only thing that stood out as a new occurrence each day was the presence of the siren, much to my own shock. I had thought seeing him that night was going to be it and he would return back to his home in the sea, but he was near that dock at the start of my day and at the end of it. He wasn’t always sunbathing, other times he was floating on his back in the water or he was eating a fish on a nearby rock, but his reaction to seeing me was always the same. He would seemingly perk up and that same smirk from our first encounter with each other would appear, and his eyes didn’t leave me until I couldn’t see him anymore. If it wasn’t for buildings separating his line of sight from me I have a feeling he would only continue to stare.

It was hard to tell if he had genuine good intent with the looks he gave me or if he was planning on making a meal out of me in his head. I was hoping that he was only awkward and didn’t know how to approach a land dweller, so he was hoping a smile would come across as nice. But I’ve heard the stories. Anything was free game if one went deep enough into the water, and sirens had a taste for things other than fish. It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve seen that headline flash across the screen on the news channel; a person went missing only to be found a few days later with a chunk missing from them. There was a reason there were strict laws in place when it came to the ocean dwellers and their powers.

A knock on my door brought me out of my thoughts, and I looked up to see San standing there with a bright grin on his face. “A special delivery for a Miss l/n,” he said and produced a large bouquet of flowers from behind his back. His barbed tail swished excitedly behind him as he handed me the bouquet.

My brows scrunched in confusion as I took it from him, looking to him for answers. The demon looked at me with anticipation and I gathered that he wasn’t the sender of these flowers, and he was waiting for me to look at the card attached and spill the tea. San was such a gossip and so nosey, but it was hard to say no to him. No he didn’t use his demonic powers to sway people to tell him their secrets, he just had really cute puppy eyes. It was a weakness to everyone in the office.

I took the card and opened it, quickly reading through the romantic poem written inside to see who sent them. “They’re from Logan,” I said simply, looking back up at San when he sucked in air. His eyes were practically sparkling with enthusiasm and his tail was wagging like a dog’s.

“Logan as in that forest nymph? The one with the red hair?” he asked excitedly, now sitting on the edge of my desk to lean closer. “He seemed nice when he stopped by last week to give you lunch,” he began before he noticed the less than enthused look on my face. “Unless you guys are fighting and these are apology flowers?”

“What? No no!” I said quickly, laughing as I shook my head. “We’re not even together so it’s not like we can fight like that. This is just another attempt to win me over is all. He’s being very persistent.” I still had the gaudy necklace he gifted me two weeks ago, the wrapping paper and the box it came in worth more than some things in my apartment. The piece he gave me was yellow gold and the emerald that sat in the center of the metal was nearly the size of my palm, weighing a lot more than I was expecting as well. It was fit for someone with expensive tastes, and I was not that kind of person. We’ve only been tentatively talking for two months at best, and a gift as grand as this was too much at such an early stage. Now it had a better use of being a paper weight on my desk at home.

San frowned and his tail drooped. His head lowered slightly as he pouted down at me, the fluorescent lights glinted off of his black horns. “That’s disappointing. I was hoping something would have become of this too, you guys seemed like such a good match!”

I rolled my eyes. “San you’ve seen us together like two times and each of those times lasted ten minutes cumulatively. He’s just being too forward and pushy with it all and it gives me a bad feeling, you know? Like who gives someone a gold and emerald necklace after knowing them for two months?” I was also almost always busy with work. With how busy the design label was even on a slow day the last thing on my mind was a relationship. Logan seemed to want to monopolize my attention and he was about to be disappointed that it wasn’t going to happen. “I think I’m going to try and gently tell him no when I see him next. He should find someone that’s actually willing to give him the attention he wants.”

San pouted more but nodded. “I hope that goes well for you, and you know where to find me if he takes it poorly,” he said before standing to his feet again. He began to head towards the door before he turned to face me again, a serious look on his face. “Don’t let work keep you from being happy romantically, y/n. If you need a couple of nights off to go flirt with people and try to take someone home, just tell Belle. I’m sure she’d give you all the time off you want because she knows how much you do here.” A devilish smirk suddenly appeared on his face. “If you need help in the sex department as well, you know you can come to me for help. I don’t shame people if it’s their first time.”

My face burned bright red and I sputtered. “San! I’m not a virgin! I don’t need sex advice!” I cried just as Mingi stepped in with a folder in his hand. He gave me a wide eyed look as I looked at him in mild horror, having obviously heard everything I just said, before he nodded and walked out of the room without delivering what he had obviously come to do. I groaned and let my head drop to my desk, San’s laugh bouncing off of the walls. I was praying the floor would just swallow me up right about now. “What have I done in a past life to deserve this?” I whined.

“Lots of good things to deserve this blessing,” San said with a smirk as he motioned to himself before he showed himself out of the room, the smugness radiating off of him as he disappeared.

I lifted my head from the desk and began to pack up my things, done being teased for the day. Mingi nor San wouldn’t be letting it go anytime soon, so it’d be best if I disappeared for the rest of the night and recover before the storm tomorrow. Knowing those two they’d get Belle in on it as well, and she’d be buzzing by my office every five minutes to tease me about it.

“Y/n!”

Speaking of Belle. I turned to face her with a tentative smile, nervous that the two idiots that are my friends already got to her. “Yes?”

“I was hoping to catch you before you left, I just wanted to say to be careful getting home,” she said, a concerned expression on her face. “There’s a report of another kidnapping happening in the area, and I worry about you.”

Ah, that’s right. Fairhaven was experiencing a random influx of missing persons, all random citizens with no connection to the other, and all were residents from different parts of the city. Unfortunately there have been no witnesses to these events, and authorities are at a loss on what could’ve happened to them. Some citizens are already pointing the finger at the sea dwellers, while others are more skeptical and say it’s a rogue creature. It wouldn’t be the first time something like this has happened, serial killers are a thing after all. Unfortunately the unknown depths of the river took most of the blame for anything mysterious that happened in the city, even though creatures such as vampires or shifters were capable of such things.

I gave Belle a small smile and nodded. “I’ll be careful I promise, thank you for your concern Belle,” I said with a wave before heading towards the doors and into the night.

The air made my clothes stick uncomfortably to my skin tonight, and I was dreading the walk home already. I sighed to myself as I headed down to the sidewalk, moving past the crowds of people towards the bank of the river. I found myself almost looking forward to seeing the siren tonight, his presence quickly becoming a part of my routine. Was it a little ridiculous that I was eager to see someone I hadn’t even spoken to? Maybe. I didn’t see the harm in it though, it wasn’t like I was doing anything drastic like suddenly marrying a stranger. I was just excited to see someone who was slowly becoming a constant sight is all.

I scanned the waters for any sight of that familiar head of dark hair, not spotting him at first. Has he already moved on and gone back home? I frowned a bit at the thought, but I didn’t get to dwell on it for long before the familiar mop of hair was breaking through the surface of the water. He ran a hand through his long hair as he waded in the blue waters, and I was so caught up in staring that I stumbled over a loose cobblestone. His head shot up at the noise and his eyes landed on me as I struggled to act like I hadn’t been staring at him, and that familiar smirk curled his lips. I smiled back at him as I continued to walk towards my apartment, and my heart nearly skipped a beat as I watched him swim closer to me. I paused in my walk as he opened his mouth, and there was a flash of his sharp teeth as he got closer.

“Little lady like you shouldn’t be walking alone at night,” a voice said and it was a moment later when I realized it wasn’t the siren speaking at all but the voice had come from behind me. Something flashed in the siren’s eyes before he ducked back under the water, quickly disappearing. To say I was a little disappointed was an understatement, but that thought fled my mind when I turned to see who had spoken to me.

“I can handle myself,” I grinned at the tall male behind me.

Logan smirked down at me, his green eyes shining in the setting sun as he reached to grab my hand. “I don’t know about that, it’d be better to have someone walk you home. Just to be safe.”

I made a show of fixing my hair due to a nonexistent breeze, trying to be subtle about not wanting him to hold my hand. If he saw through me he didn’t comment on it, instead he lowered his hand back down to his side. “Are you just coming from work? Did you get the flowers I sent you?”

I nodded. “I did, thank you for sending them. How did you know that roses were my favorite?” They really weren’t. Marigolds were my favorite, but I was trying to be nice at this point. Anything to soften the blow of telling him that I wasn’t interested anymore. Just the thought of doing this was making my hands clammy.

Logan grinned at the praise, his chest puffing out slightly. “Call it a special nymph power if you will. It’s kind of my job to know flowers and what people like, you know? Magic and everything.”

I felt slightly less bad for being mean.

“Well thank you again it really meant a lot. They’re sitting in a vase in my office actually.” They weren’t, I had accidentally knocked them off of my desk and into the garbage can while I was hiding in shame while San was teasing me. I wasn’t inclined to dig them out of there either, so in the trash they remained. I began to walk away from him, mumbling some excuse about needing to get home with a wave of my hand but was stopped as he grabbed it, keeping me in place. I swore I heard a deep rumbling sound but assumed it was a motorbike passing nearby.

“I want to take you out tomorrow night. It’s Saturday night, we’re young and deserve to have some fun, and I feel like I don’t see you enough anymore. You’re so cooped up in that office anymore, it’s driving me crazy,” he said and there was a strange edge to his voice that I didn’t quite understand but my gut was telling me to run. That could also be due to the fact that he could break my hand if he applied enough force right now. “I’ll pick you up from work and I’ll take you out on the best date of your life. Wear something pretty,” he said with a wink before he let go and walked away, disappearing into the crowd before I could even so much as begin to say no.

I groaned, running a hand through my hair in annoyance because now I was going to have to figure out a way to sneak out of work and away from him so I didn’t have to go on what would no doubt be the worst date of my life. Maybe I could call in a favor with San and Mingi?

I felt eyes boring into me and I glanced around to spot the source before they settled back on the water, nearly jumping seeing those dark eyes staring at me. The siren had popped his head out of the water and there was a dangerous glint in his eye, no sight of the friendly smile he had earlier. Already beyond flustered and annoyed with how this day was ending I was quick to leave the bridge, feeling the siren’s eyes on me until I disappeared around the corner of a building. The look in his eyes would follow me into dreamland tonight, and they had the same malevolent look to them as he watched me drown in my nightmares.

༄

I was dreading the morning today. It meant that it was Saturday, which meant Logan would be prowling around my office building when my day ended. I had already notified Belle of the situation and she was quick to respond by telling me to stay home today. I frowned at that option as well, because if he couldn’t find me at work there was no stopping him from trying to find me at my own apartment. I wanted to keep my apartment as a sanctuary for myself and myself only, I didn’t need Logan’s presence to interrupt the peace I had there. Plus he’d probably critique my interior design skills, claiming it needed his so-called “nymph magic” to make it more aesthetically pleasing.

Quickly coming up with a plan, I responded to Belle with what I had come up with before putting my phone away and getting ready for work. In my mind it was a win-win situation, I would still be able to go into work and get some things done and I would also be able to avoid Logan as well. All I had to do was miss him today and the next time I saw him I’d be able to tell him that it’d be best if we saw other people.

There was a pleasantly cool breeze today as I left my apartment building, and after the humidity of last night it left a small smile on my face. It was comical in the way that I kept glancing over my shoulder for any sign of the head of red hair, even though there was no threat of him until later on today. His presence was unsettling and irritating enough to put me on edge for the morning.

Crossing over the usual bridge I took, habitually I glanced out over the water to where the siren usually resided only to be further disappointed. There was no sign of him today, and I kept my eyes in the waves in case he made a sudden appearance like yesterday. There was no sight of him and a frown pulled at my lips when I entered the office building. Maybe it was the look he had on his face yesterday when I walked away from the river that left a sour taste in my mouth at not seeing him this morning, or maybe it was the fact that subconsciously he had become part of my daily routine. Whatever the case may be, the lack of him had definitely affected my mood and it showed.

“Belle filled San in on what's going to happen today, but San won’t tell me about it because I apparently give things away too easily. Would you be so kind as to explain what the plan is so I’m not walking in blind?” Mingi asked, walking beside me to my office. I half heartedly chuckled at his wounded expression, it wasn’t his fault that he didn’t have a good poker face. Mingi was just too honest of a person to hide things well.

“Logan said he was going to pick me up from work today and that he was going to take me out on a date. He didn’t even give me an opportunity to say no and to break things off with him before he left, and I really don’t want to go on this date. So, I have things to get done still but I’m going to be leaving early so there’s no chance of our paths crossing. San is going to distract him and tell him I left early because I wasn’t feeling well, while I sneak out the back and head to somewhere that isn’t my apartment. Your job today is to be a concerned friend because your best friend is sick,” I explained to him, setting my back down on my desk.

Mingi raised a brow as he watched me get settled. “That’s barely a job though, I can do more than that! At least let me be a look out in case he comes in earlier, my office is near the entrance,” he pouted. He was attempting to replicate San’s puppy dog eyes but unfortunately it didn’t quite meet the standard. His presence brightened my mood a bit already though, so I decided to humor him.

“Fine you can be a look out. I doubt he’d come any earlier than when I get off though, he knows Belle wouldn’t let me get off any earlier than what I was scheduled unless it was an emergency.” A total lie. Belle would let me take a month off right now just because I wanted to, but she took on the role of a harsh boss if it meant I could have even a bit of peace in knowing Logan wouldn’t come around during working hours and disturb me. She took great care in that role as well, her usual bright demeanor clouded over by an angry expression and her tone turning harsh and snappish towards those she was close to. It never ceased to amuse San and he struggled to keep his composure when Belle would snap at him about him leaving a coffee cup out and it had spilled all over a magazine she had been reading or whatever else she could come up with.

Mingi’s expression brightened at his now upgraded role in the plan today, and he hurried out of my office and towards his own, leaving me to my own thoughts. I suddenly missed his presence as I began to get to work creating a rough draft for a new dress design, pulling out my fabric and pins to begin the process. He was a great distraction that I didn’t realize I was wanting as I began to work, my mind focused on anything else but the task at hand. I was sluggish from the lack of sleep last night due to recurring nightmares, and my thoughts were centered around iridescent black scales and dark eyes that had bored holes into me even in my dreams. Why had he looked almost furious after I had spoken with Logan? Maybe forest nymphs and sirens had a long history that I wasn’t aware of and his presence had irritated him being so close to his home turf?

I shook my head in an attempt to clear the thoughts away. It was dumb to be this concerned over a person I had never even spoken to. He was a stranger that I saw everyday, nothing more. There had been no contact between us other than glances thrown at each other, so why was it that one morning I didn't see him and it’s enough to dampen my mood? Maybe I should find a different route home from now on so I could distance myself from his usual spot.

The morning dragged on, time crawling ever so slowly as I struggled to stay focused on work. It wasn’t until the rough outline of a dress was pinned to the mannequin that my phone began to buzz excessively, and I dropped everything to grab it. Ten different text messages flashed on my screen, all from Mingi, and my stomach dropped when I read them. Logan had come early with yet another bouquet of roses, asking to speak to Belle about letting me off early today so that he and I could go out for a lunch date. Mingi texted me that he had already sent San out to deliver the news that I had been sent home sick, and that he’d cover for me to sneak out the back door.

I quickly thanked him before I packed up my things, not even bothering to put away the skeleton of a dress before I was walking down the hall to the stairwell. I wouldn’t take a chance on the elevator today because the door to it was right next to the front entrance, and about halfway down the steps I was cursing myself for wearing heels today. If things kept going like this I’d have to make it a point to keep a spare set of sneakers in my office to make a speedy and comfy escape.

Thankfully the building was busy this morning so remaining hidden from Logan’s eyes was easy. Most everyone was taller than me so ducking behind groups of people milling about made my escape quicker, and soon enough I was making my way down the road and away from the office. I wasn’t planning on going home in case he decided to try and show up there, so I headed in a different direction than what I usually took. Instead today I headed towards the busier sections of the city, getting lost in the crowds of people that were out and about. Nymphs have better senses than humans, but my scent would easily get lost in a crowd this large for a nymph. If Logan had been a shifter of any predator variant then it would be a different story and I would’ve had to have been more illusive with my escape.

I trailed along one of the busier streets of Fairhaven, vendors and small riverside restaurants dotted alongside the road. The air was filled with the voices of people wandering around and bartering or ordering their meals, and it was easy to get swept up in it all and just aimlessly wander around as well. I window shopped as I walked, admiring the latest fashion trends and some apothecary shops selling crystals and potions, passing groups of children gazing at a toy shop that had mechanical dragons flying around inside. If I had grown up in the city I would’ve been right there with them, the shop was magical even by adult standards. What I wouldn’t give to see it through the eyes of a child as well.

My head whipped up when I saw red hair out of the corner of my eye and I didn’t even think twice before I was ducking into the nearest building which happened to be a cafe. I got a few looks from the patrons at my rushed entrance into the building but they all went back to their coffee cups with no comment as I made my way to a table hidden behind some plants. I took a seat and kept glancing towards the door, tense as I waited to see that familiar face pass by the glass. It very well could’ve been someone else, but I wasn’t willing to take any chances when it had been going so smoothly thus far. It was possible he had decided to take the same route I had by random chance.

I vaguely realized I looked like I was being chased with the way I kept glancing towards the door, and I was only drawing attention to myself. I pulled out my phone and began to aimlessly scroll through my social media, anything to try and blend seamlessly into the background of the cafe. I’d have to make a point of buying something soon so I wouldn’t get kicked out for loitering, that would be counterproductive to what I was trying to do right now.

The bell above the door chimed and I shrunk further into the shadows of the plant, not even bothering to look up in an attempt to hide my face from whoever had just walked in. Anyone with sensitive hearing would’ve been able to pick up on the way my heart seemed to thump loudly in my chest as my body tensed, seeing the newcomer walking past my table slowly out of the corner of my eye. The conversation seemed to die down momentarily as they passed before resuming at normal volume, and it only made my heart race. Was Logan’s presence enough to cause such a reaction? He was good looking, yes, but nothing worthy of quieting a room full of people. Who exactly had walked in then?

I had been so absorbed in trying to figure out if a celebrity had walked in from the conversations around me and trying to disappear entirely that I missed the deep voice that ordered at the counter and the steps that were rounding back to me until it was almost too late. I shrunk inwards on myself as the steps neared and I didn’t dare to look up until a cup of coffee and a plate of scones was placed in front of me. Confusion swept through me and I ignored every instinct telling me to keep looking at my phone in favor of looking up who had stopped at my table, and when I say I looked “up” I mean it.

He stood at about seven feet tall and I had the startling realization that with how tall he was with legs he had ultimately shrunk from the even bigger size he was with his tail. He seemed pleased by the shocked expression on my face, because there was humor dancing in the deep brown coloring of his eyes as he smirked down at me. Those teeth looked even sharper up close, and my heart skipped a beat in my chest at the sight. He obviously heard it because his smirk grew into a downright devious grin. It wasn’t entirely my fault though, I’d never thought I’d see a siren walking around on land is all. “You look like you could use something to brighten your day, so here,” he said, his voice deep and smooth and I felt myself being subconsciously drawn to it. I quickly regained control of my actions though, scolding myself for being swayed by his powers.

My mind had quickly become scrambled from the sudden appearance of the siren, let alone on legs, and I blinked before finally being able to form a coherent thought. “Oh, thank you…”

“You can call me Wooyoung. It’s about time you got to know what you’ll be moaning later,” he said with a wink and it was a knee jerk reaction to roll my eyes. If I had a dollar for every time I heard that line I’d have enough money to never work a day in my life again. My reaction only seemed to amuse him more as his laugh bounced off the walls of the cafe, the sound infectious. By now the other patrons had turned to watch our interaction, and a quick glance around confirmed that all eyes were on us. In my attempt to disappear I had become the center of attention.

Wooyoung seemed to notice as well, but it didn’t seem to bother him as he winked at me again. “I’ll be seeing you around…” it was his turn to trail off, his gaze expectant as he watched me.

“Y/n,” I introduced myself, reaching a hand forward for the cup of coffee. I didn’t make a move to drink from it yet, though, wanting to see what his next action would be. Also I didn’t want to make a fool of myself if I choked.

“Y/n,” he said the name softly, his smile growing as he tasted the word on his tongue. He nodded to himself before beginning to walk away from the table, sending one more look my way over his shoulder before he disappeared in the crowd of people, sipping his own coffee as he left.

I only turned to the coffee and food on my table when I was sure he was gone for good, taking a tentative sip of the beverage and humming happily. For just guessing he had gotten pretty close to what I would prefer, the sweet taste coating my tongue. The scones were also delicious, but that I already knew from previous times of stopping here for a pick me up. He had been right after all, I did need something to brighten my mood.

༄

Thankfully the rest of the week went by Logan free, and he seemed to buy the excuse of me being sick and didn’t question it much. I did have to put my foot down when he offered to come and feed me his homemade soup though, claiming that his nymph magic would heal me right up. I may be human but I wasn’t stupid, I knew nymphs of any kind didn’t possess healing magic. I was starting to grow concerned that “nymph magic” was a euphemism for something else, and it was all the more reason to keep him away from me.

Belle suggested I take a day off of work to play up the pretenses that I really was sick, and I took her up on the offer. If he had the nerve to try and take me away from my job in the middle of the day I wouldn’t put it past him to try and see me in the middle of it again. I think she was also using it as an excuse to give me a day off, she’s been pestering me about it for weeks now. She tries so hard to be more accommodating to her human employees, knowing that we can’t work as much as the others because our bodies need rest. My pride wouldn’t let me take a random day off in the middle of the week, so we often butted heads on my work schedule. She won this time though, but I’m using Logan as a legitimate excuse to miss one day.

Once that day was over though it was work as usual, the office was busier than usual with the upcoming fashion show in only a few weeks. My excuse of work being super busy to keep me from seeing Logan was a partial truth now, my schedule was packed with meetings and finishing touches on designs. I preferred this though, it kept me busy and kept things interesting. Mingi’s usually well kept long blonde hair looked a little messy each day he came in, like he had just rolled out of bed and barely made it on time, and San had the faintest of shadows beneath his eyes from the long hours. It was during times like this that morale was low and Belle usually stepped in with buying us all lunch to encourage us to keep working hard, despite the bags under her own eyes as well.

Another daily ritual that has begun this week were the gifts from Wooyoung. At first I didn’t think much of it, I had spotted a shiny rock on the sidewalk on my way to work and I had picked it up and brought it home. The second day was different because in the exact same spot were a handful of more rocks, all of varying size and color and all were shiny. It looked like someone had taken the time to hand pick these and set them here, and I had looked around in case a child had set them here for a reason. As I was looking I nearly jumped out of my skin when my eyes met those of Wooyoung who was right at the edge of the river, much closer than I was expecting and making absolutely no sound as he appeared. Had it been a less kinder creature I wouldn’t have even realized that death was looking me in the face until it was too late.

Wooyoung only stared at me, half of his head poking out of the water as he watched me with curiosity. I made no move to grab the stones, holding my hand awkwardly above them as I waited for any word if they were his or not. He was looking at me like they were, and I think dying from touching a siren’s special rock was a really embarrassing way to go, so I had frozen up in the act of reaching for them. We had stayed like that for a few minutes before his eyes flicked to the stones and back up to me, a small nod accompanying the movement.

I got the message and I picked up the stones, smiling at him as I held them up for closer inspection. “Thank you, they’re really pretty,” I told him, putting the rocks in my pocket. His eyes crinkled at the corners and even though I couldn’t see it I knew he was smiling, and the tips of his ears turned red as well. Was he the bashful type? He certainly didn’t seem like it when we had spoken on Saturday, he seemed to be very confident in himself then. “You seem to like to wear this color,” he said, raising out of the water slightly and pointing to a blue stone in my hand before motioning to my ears. I realized he was talking about my earrings. Before I could ask anymore questions he dipped beneath the water and didn’t resurface, and I was left staring at my rippling reflection.

After that the gifts were still left in the same spot accompanied by Wooyoung’s lingering gazes. It remained as pretty rocks and crystals before they slowly transitioned to pearls and even some small gemstones, and I would be concerned he was robbing banks if I didn’t already know there were hundreds of shipwrecks in the waters of Fairhaven. With each grander gift he seemed to grow more confident in himself, winks and compliments often accompanied the stones and gems. “This gem reminds me of your eyes,” was a common one he liked to say, and the usual grin he had grew each time I blushed. Most of the time the gifts were colors that he seemingly picked up on that I gravitate more towards, and others were colors he thought would compliment me. I wasn’t sure if this was just a Wooyoung thing or customary for those who lived below the surface, but it felt wrong to receive so many gifts and not return the favor.

The morning I surprised Wooyoung with a cup of coffee was the day I was sure there were stars in his eyes. I had finally braved getting closer to the water than ever before, walking to the edge of the water and kneeling there. He had arrived a few minutes later, looking like he was in a rush before he deposited a handful of pearls and gems before me. He gave me a sheepish look as I picked them up, seeing that some of the pearls this time were slightly distorted and bumpy; different from the near perfect pearls he would usually bring.

“These were the only ones I could find in time, I’m sorry,” he apologized. “I can take them back if you don’t want them, I’ll find you better ones.”

I closed my hand around them and put them in my pocket, already planning on adding them to the box I set aside just for these gifts. “I love them,” I told him honestly, smiling to try and reassure him. That worried look on his face melted away before being replaced by a warm smile.

I suddenly remembered that I had a gift as well before I held out the cup of coffee, giving him my own sheepish smile. “I wasn’t sure what you liked, so I just guessed,” I explained as I waited for his reaction. I knew he drank coffee at least, if he had a sweet or bitter preference was beyond me though so I settled for the bitter. I had mentally cursed myself for not paying attention to his order when I was in line that morning.

Wooyoung’s entire expression lit up like a child on the Winter Solstice, and he quickly propelled himself out of the water and settled himself down on the ledge before taking it from me. He took a sip and hummed happily, his tail swaying in the water as he looked at me like I had hung the stars and moon in the sky, and I took his reaction as if he liked it. “Thank you so much,” he said, a genuine smile spreading across his lips as he gazed at me with a mixture of awe and something else I couldn’t quite place.

I nodded and kneeled beside him, not even making a move to dangle my feet in the water. “Thank you for the gifts you’ve given me. It’s not much but I hope you like it,” I told him, feeling guilty for how mundane and simple my gift seemed to be in comparison to the actual gems he’s given me. I didn’t want to come off as rude if it was customary to give back a gift if you receive one in his culture, so it was better than nothing. I’d find a way to make it up to him somehow at a different time, but for now the coffee will suffice.

“It means a lot to me,” he said before going back to sipping it, watching me closely.

I suddenly felt exposed under his gaze and I had to look away, anywhere but at his eyes that looked like they were waiting for something else from me. My eyes settled on his tail then, the black scales shining in the morning light as I focused on that instead. My guess is that while in this form he reached around thirteen feet from the top of his head to the tip of his tail, and I nearly blanched at this revelation. Was everything in the water big?

“Your tail is pretty,” I said simply, and had to resist cringing at how lame that sounded. Was it socially acceptable to even say something like that to a siren? I wasn’t sure, in fact, I don’t think anyone really was. Socix was very secretive and withdrawn from everything up top, and gave away very little about their own laws and customs that would be very helpful for situations like this. To be fair, these interactions were rare.

Wooyoung laughed, the sound loud and infectious as he smiled at me. He scooted himself closer to me, swinging his lower half closer in the same movement before he wiggled his brows in my direction. “You can touch it if you want,” he said, truthfully looking like he was talking about something else and not his tail. I decided to believe that he had good intentions and not it was an innuendo and tentatively reached out, my fingertips grazing the smooth scales. It was softer than it looked, and I was quickly mesmerized by just how many colors were hidden in the shine of them. There were even small dots speckled around them, lighter in comparison to the rest of his body.

“You’d be able to see it better if you came into the water with me,” he said suggestively and I was quick to shake my head. He raised a brow at that, reaching out and taking my hand in his. He was noticeably cooler to the touch than I was, but I didn’t pull away. “There’s more tricks that you won’t see up here.”

“I’ll stay up here, actually. I’m afraid of water,” I explained, my cheeks burning in embarrassment.

Wooyoung’s eyes widened comically and then he was cackling, dropping my hand in the process as he nearly toppled over from the force of his laughter. His tail moved and I grimaced as my pant leg was now soaked, thankful that Belle wasn’t a stickler for dress code.

“Well isn’t that ironic,” he said once his laughter had subsided, looking at me with mirth shining in his eyes.

I chuckled and nodded in agreement. “Yeah I guess so.” A girl who’s least favorite thing to do is be around water moves to a city where one of the main focuses is the water? I could see the irony in it, but I had little choice in the matter. It was either this or stay in the small town I grew up in where nothing happened. I was fine with being this close to it before I had met Wooyoung.

“That’ll have to change if this is to continue,” he said before finishing the last of his coffee, neatly tossing the garbage into a nearby trash bin. I was only mildly impressed by his aim and precision. He hopped off the ledge and sank beneath the surface only slightly, his tail propelling him upwards so his head remained above the surface so that he could still speak to me. “I’ll let you be on your way to work though. I’ll see you tonight, be safe please,” he said with a smile before he was gone.

That had been two days ago, and like clockwork I saw Wooyoung each morning before work and on my way home. Each morning he would give me a gift of gems and pearls and I would try to give back when I could, some mornings being just coffee and other mornings being coffee and a pastry from the cafe. He was delighted by each one, propelling himself out of the water to sit on the ledge next to me and talk before I would have to head into work. Most of the time they were really basic questions, such as what was my favorite food or what my favorite color was. Other questions were along the lines of “if you’re afraid of water then how do you bathe?” to which I lightly slapped his shoulder in response to.

Today was no different, I sat by Wooyoung on the side of the river and chatted away with him before he was lowering himself back into the water. He reached out and grabbed my hand, stopping me before I could get to my feet again. He smirked up at me but I was immune to it by now. I figured out a while ago that Wooyoung was a flirt by nature. “I want to show you something tonight, so now you have an excuse to see me when you leave work,” he told me.

I rolled my eyes. “Like I wouldn’t be stopping by anyway.” I gently pulled my hand away from him and stood up from my spot, smiling down at him. “I’ll stop by here I promise,” I said with a final wave before I began to head towards the building, a small smile pulling at my lips as I entered.

The sound of rustling paper reached my ears before a familiar presence reached my side, and I greeted Mingi cheerily.

“Oh someone’s in a good mood today,” he said with a smirk and I had to resist the urge to roll my eyes as I walked to my office. “What happened to put you in such a good mood today? Someone buy your coffee at the shop?”

“Can’t I just be in a good mood? Maybe I caught up on sleep finally and I woke up feeling well rested.”

“Mmm nope, that smile says that you met someone. I’ve seen it many times before. So who’s the lucky guy? Or did Logan finally manage to pull his head out of his ass and you’re finally coming around to him?”

I nearly jumped into Mingi at San’s sudden entrance. He at least had the decency to look guilty for startling me so suddenly, but I huffed in annoyance before entering my office. I was one jump scare away from putting bells on everyone.

The boys made themselves comfortable in the chairs around the room, making it apparent that they weren’t going to drop the subject. That was fine, I was great at ignoring outside distractions and focusing solely on my work. I silently answered in the way of settling in and dragging the mannequin towards me, obviously about to start working on it. San narrowed his eyes before sighing and crossing his arms over his chest, his tail flicking in irritation. “You know we can smell him on you, right? There’s no sense in hiding that you met someone else in front of two creatures that can pick up on the distinct smell that isn’t yours.”

I sighed, sinking low into my seat. Of course I had to be friends with beings who could smell a male on me, and probably knew that he wasn’t of the human variety. The males before me were stubborn as well and I knew they wouldn’t let it go until I spilled the beans, especially San. He was the worst when it came to subjects like this, and it was worse with those he cared about. He wanted to know every detail of my love life and I swear he was more invested in it than I was. “It’s not like that I’ve only known him for like two weeks.”

“Details details, who is it? He smells like seaweed, so did you jump from a forest nymph to a river nymph? Or maybe a shifter? I can’t think of any shifter that I know that can live in water,” Mingi stated, already beginning to ramble a bit. He didn’t show it but he was just as invested as San was in my love life.

“He’s a siren,” I whispered and I swear you could hear a pin drop with how quiet it got in the room. Mingi visibly paled and San’s eyes got so wide it looked like they’d fall out. They didn’t say anything and neither did I, beginning to play with a piece of skin on my thumb as I waited for them to collect themselves. I knew they wouldn’t react the best to the news of Wooyoung’s presence in my life, but no one really did when it came to matters concerning what happened below the river. If Wooyoung was aiming to kill me he had plenty of opportunities to do so, so I don’t think he was a threat to me. If he was a threat to others was a different matter.

“How in the seven rings of Hell did you meet a siren in the city?” San asked, looking like he still hasn’t fully processed what I had just told them.

“He was laying on a dock and it just kind of happened from there,” I said with a shrug.

“Do you make a habit of talking to random half naked men on docks then?” Mingi asked which earned him a smack on the back of the head from San. “What? I know they’re not big on clothes down there!”

I groaned and flopped backwards in my chair. “No I don’t talk to half naked men on docks! Look there’s a lot more that happened and it’s not like that. Wooyoung is only a friend I just happened to make, nothing more, alright?“

San gave me a concerned look before he eventually sighed, giving up on the matter. He stood from his seat and pet my head, concern for my well-being in his eyes, no judgment at all. “We just worry about you, y/n. A siren suddenly appearing in the middle of the city when these kidnappings are suddenly sprouting up is concerning. We don’t want anything to happen to you.”

I huffed. “There’s more than just sirens in those waters, you all know that, and there’s no proof that those missing people are due to things in the water. If Wooyoung truly meant me harm he had plenty of opportunities already but the only male that’s been a burden to me was Logan. I’ll be fine, I promise,” I told him, holding his gaze.

The mention of the fact that Wooyoung has done nothing to harm me yet seemed to lessen the tension in both of their shoulders, and San nodded before patting my head one more time before leaving the room. “Time to actually do work Mingi, no more gossiping!”

Mingi groaned before following him out, giving me one last smile over his shoulder before he disappeared around the corner. I relaxed in my chair once they were gone, letting out a long breath. Their worries were valid, there wasn’t much knowledge about the citizens of Socix and their customs and culture, only the laws that kept everyone safe in both parties. Wooyoung’s arrival to the city was just poorly timed with these disappearances, that was all. He was just a resident like anyone else here.

Finishing up the dress didn’t do much to take my mind off of things, but it did make the time go by faster. Happy with the final touches, I sent the dress off to be approved by Belle and be fitted for a model before packing up my things and heading out of the building. I waved to Mingi on my way out, and he waved back enthusiastically. It seems like our conversation earlier didn’t bother him much, and it was a relief to see that as I left the building.

My first stop was Wooyoung’s spot, but upon arriving I didn’t see him. I frowned and knelt where I had this morning, checking my phone to see the time. I wasn’t early or late by any means and he was usually already waiting here for me, so to not see that cheeky smile waiting for me was disheartening. I decided to wait here for a little longer in case he was running late.

Now that I think about it, did Wooyoung have a job? Were jobs even a requirement to live in Socix or was everyone able to live without needing a nine to five there? It was just now dawning on me that I didn’t know much about Wooyoung and what he does when I was at work. I only know that he shows up in the morning and at night as I’m heading home. I know some of the time is used in searching for the he’s been giving me, that much is obvious, but what about the rest?

I checked the time again and sighed, rising to my feet and starting to head to the bridge. I realized that a part of me had been excited to see what he wanted to show me, even if I ran the risk of having to go into the water. I had been curious and subconsciously looking forward to it, or more likely it was just him. I had been looking forward to seeing him again tonight as I did most nights now, his presence warm and inviting and it was hard not to fall for his charm.

I didn’t even realize I was halfway across the bridge as a voice shouted for me. I turned to look and my stomach dropped to my feet when I saw a face I had been avoiding like the plague for a week now running towards me. I had half a thought to bolt in the opposite direction, but nymphs were faster than humans and I didn’t even have that cover of a crowd to hide in; the bridge was empty right now. Plus it was time I put a stop to this finally, no more playing this game of hide and seek and no more looking over my shoulder as I was walking around. It also wasn’t fair to him that I didn’t have the courage to voice my feelings, he didn’t do anything wrong besides having a not so pleasant personality. He deserved to go find someone that could tolerate him.

“Hey Logan,” I greeted, moving off to the side in case of anyone wanting to pass by us. I glanced down at the water and felt my stomach lurch, and I turned back to the nymph before I could start to panic.

“How are you feeling now? Better I hope, you were looking pretty haggard the last time I saw you before our date. We still have to reschedule that by the way,” he said, flashing me a smile.

I felt my brow twitch in annoyance considering the last time I saw him in person I wasn’t even sick. Was he really that self absorbed to even notice that my appearance had never changed? Or was he that concerned with getting in my pants? I was choosing the latter with the way his eyes flicked over my body, a movement I would’ve missed if I had blinked.

I plastered a fake smile on my face, hoping it was convincing enough for him. “Actually, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that date.”

Suddenly there was a loud splash that rang out, making both of us turn towards the sound just in time to see Wooyoung arching perfectly over the side of the bridge and straight towards me. His eyes glowed with fury and his teeth bared in a snarl as he reached out for me and panic surged through me at the sudden realization that this was it for me. I only had time to gasp before his arms wrapped around me, securing me to his chest and we were diving into the water on the other side of the bridge.

The water was colder that I was anticipating, and I sucked in water on impact. My lungs burned as water filled them and my heart thundered in my chest as I struggled in Wooyoung’s grip. He held on tightly though, his grip strong as he dragged me deeper and deeper until I couldn’t see the sun anymore. Dark spots were beginning to cloud my vision, my lungs feeling like they were about to burst and my struggles began to weaken before stopping all together. I went limp in his arms, too weak to struggle as he drowned me. At least he was giving me that courtesy before he ate me.

His laughter was one of the last things I heard before I slipped into unconsciousness, the sound bringing me back enough to hear his last words to me.

“You’re not supposed to breathe in water, dummy.”

༄

Previous Chapter - Masterlist - Next Chapter

[yellowcry]

Being in service

Part 2!!

What Mirabel had noticed the first was that Luisa worked a lot. The second thing was that Luisa worked way too much. She seemed to appear on the construction site before anyone else and didn't leave until the darkness of the night fell upon Encanto. What was more is that it happened every day. Who set her schedule, and when were the weekends in it? 

Luisa worked more than anyone else did, despite the fact that she probably had the least reason for it. The Madrigals hadn't served her family for the last fifty years. Mirabel had to admit how concerned she was. Luisa was pushing her body too hard and Mirabel could see it in the dark circles under Luisa's eyes. This wasn't normal...

At first, Mirabel thought that it would last after a day or two. She had always been very eager to start a new project. Maybe it was the same with Luisa. But it didn't stop after days, even when Luisa looked like she could faint any moment now. And Mirabel wouldn't let this happen. One way or another, Luisa will get a break. 

"Hey?" Mirabel peeked from behind Luisa. Her hand gripped a picnic basket. 

The taller woman wiped her forehead, smearing the glimmering heavy sweat. "Yes?", She blinked, staring into a space for a short time. Soon enough she noticed Mirabel's presence. "You're one of these Madrigals, right?"

"Yes, I'm Mirabel." She bit her bottom lip and nodded. "We talked before. I just think, how about we take a break together?" Was it stupid? Probably. She and Luisa almost didn't know each other. The Rojas had no reason to do as Mirabel asked. Or even believe them.

As expected, Luisa gritted her teeth, keeping up with her work. "I don't need breaks. I have to work. Do you need anything?"

Mirabel pulled Luisa by the sleeve, trying to get her down. "I haven't seen you taking rest at all." 

As much as the villagers wanted to help, rebuilding Casita had been a volunteer thing. And even if it was caused by the fact that they couldn't stop their life just for one goal. There were kids in school, farmers had to take care of their animals and crops. Even if Rojas didn't have anything else to do, they were supposed to get used to the place. But the only thing Luisa did was work.

Luisa shook her head, punching another rubble up. "Because I didn't take it." She explained in such a calm voice as if it were the most normal thing in the world.

Mirabel wasn't sure what was more worrying. The abnormal passion for work or complete calmness in Luisa's voice when she talked about her unhealthy habits. Even proudness if Mirabel would make an assumption. 

"You need a break," Mirabel stated, firm. She wasn't going to stop with her line.

Luisa sighed, holding herself back. She didn't want to get in trouble for being disrespectful. She didn't have time for this. "I'm fine, I promise."

What was she talking about? It was obvious that working this much didn't give her any good. Unless the trembling of her muscles could be counted as something useful. Mirabel wasn't the type to stop pushing if she really was determined to do something. In this case, she was stubborn in her plan to force Luisa for a break. 

"No, you're not." The Madrigal managed to slide just in front of Luisa, forcing her to back a step away. Mirabel threw back her head to look into Luisa's face with their height difference. She squinted her eyes, seeing a bright sun getting into her vision.

Luisa's eyes ran from one side to another, searching for an answer that was invisible. "Can you just say what do you want from me?" She wanted to get a transparent message instead of whatever Mirabel was doing. 

"I said you need to rest." Mirabel walked closer for Luisa. The latter seemed to be unable to get this information straight into her head.

Luisa pursed her lips, tapping her fingers together. Mirabel tilted her head, feeling her curls tickling her neck. Taking a staring contest against each other without even announcing it out loud.

"As long as these Madrigal leaders won't announce a break for everyone, I can keep up with this." Luisa declared after some thoughts, not backing up. 

Mirabel's eyes blinked. Clap, like a bird's wings. "As long as Madrigals won't announce a break?" 

It took a moment for Luisa to realize. She breathed a curse under her nose. Her hands twisted the cuffs of her shirt. But she couldn't say anything about this fact. Eye twitched under Mirabel's piercing gaze. But as she said, if a Madrigal asked her for a break, she would be forced to take one.

They sat a bit away from the workplace. Mirabel unwrapped an arepa that her Mamá made in the morning. Luisa stared at the ruined Casita, almost frozen in place. Her fists tightened in tense worry. 

"So, how long do I have to sit like this?" Luisa muttered, leaning forward. Trying to keep her voice calm and steady.

Mirabel shrugged. "Twenty minutes or so."

It is not a long time. But Luisa looked like she had gotten a personal insult. "It's too long. I can't just..."

Mirabel rolled her eyes. What was the matter with Luisa? She acted so upset over the break. As far as Mirabel was aware, most people loved their rest time. Even if they adored their job. Luisa didn't seem to like pushing the rubble. But she still did it.

"You actually can." She said, lifting her chin. "And a short break will make you feel better." Mirabel swallowed, trying to find a good approach. "You will work way better if you're well rested."

Luisa rubbed her neck, her eye twitched. As much as she didn't want it, the bigger productivity meant she was more useful.

They sat silent. Mirabel's finger pulled a thread of her embroidery. It left several colorful strings dangling free. Not held back anymore.

"Why are you doing this?" Luisa sighed, leaning on the back of the bench. Mirabel jumped on her place for a moment, the grip on a basket loosened. But it was still steady enough. "I mean... You don't know me. You just could do anything else. I am able to do this"

Mirabel's eyes shifted to the floor. She wasn't sure herself. But, deep inside, she had a kind heart and didn't want Luisa, even if she was a complete stranger to get hurt. "You tried to help me. When we first met, remember?"

Her interlocutor trembled, taking short pined breaths. "Wait, I... I don't remember you?" She muttered, her big brown eyes blinking, trying to distract herself from bad thoughts. 

Right, that girl that Luisa saw in the middle of panicking on her first morning in Encanto. She just wanted to be useful for the community. But, Mirabel forcing her to take a break because of this? She didn't see this coming

Mirabel placed her feet on the ground steady. Unsure of what she was supposed to say. "I just... Thank you? It was nice of you" She wasn't sure of how hard it would be if she was all by herself. But for certain, the presence of somebody made her feel better. A presence of someone who didn't know her as a 'Poor giftless Madrigal who was outcast in her own family and almost got crushed by a house.' Mirabel hated pity. But Luisa didn't know it all. She didn't have any reason to say how unlucky Mirabel was. No reason to play the old record over and over again until Mirabel got sick from it.

Favor for the favor. That's what that say, right? Besides, any person with a social responsibility would do the same thing. Midabel didn't want people to be hurt. And overworking was burning Luisa. Maybe Madrigal took after her mother, she couldn't tell for sure. 

Luisa chewed an arepa. Her eyes narrowed. The free hand wrapped a hand wrapped a strand on her finger. "It was nice, I guess." Luisa breathed out. "I'll see you around."

Mirabel had a feeling she would be forced to grag Luisa for a break again soon enough.

[acewithapaintbrush]

I’d love to see your take on Bruno explaining to the kids that he’s perfectly content without a partner and kids of his own, maybe because they’re (lovingly) pestering him about it or trying to set him up.

(I sent this prompt to sokkas recently as well, but what can I say I’m greedy and curious to see two of my fave writers’ takes on the same prompt. As a treat.)

-gvr :D

Well @sokkas-first-fangirl already did an amazing job, I hope mine will keep up

****

"Tonito. We need to talk." 

Antonio ducks his head. He knows that tone of voice from his Mama. She uses that one when he's done something he shouldn't have done. The 'you are not in trouble but you kinda are' tone. Cami taught him how to recognize it and what to do to get back out of trouble. 

He immediately presses his hands together, makes his eyes go big and round and purses his lips. Exactly like Camilo has taught him. 

"I love you, I'm sorry and I will never do it again." 

Tio Bruno stares down at him with a puzzled look on his face. For a second Antonio is scared that Cami's trick isn't working, but then Bruno's shoulders, which had been up to his ears with tension, loosen up and his lips pull into a reluctant smile. 

"Do you even know what it is you will never do again?" 

Antonio opens his mouth and pauses. "No." 

Tio Bruno finally laughs and Antonio's heart feels a little lighter. Something about his uncle being cross with him is even worse than when it is his Mama. Maybe because it's so difficult to make Bruno angry in the first place. He must have done something truly bad. 

Antonio fidgets with the edges of his vest and only stops when he feels a large, calloused hand gently card through his hair. 

"I'm not angry, Tonito." His uncle instinctively knows exactly what to say to make him feel better. Bruno always claims that he is not good with other people, but Antonio secretly thinks that other people are just not good with Tio Bruno. "I really just want to talk."

"Okay?"

Bruno sits down on the ground and gestures to Antonio to join him. He probably didn't expect the little boy to plop down on his lap, but doesn't push him off either. "You told me Senora Lorna wanted to speak to me. That she needed help with something." 

"Yes."

"But apparently, Senora Lorna didn't need help. She thought it was a…" He clears his throat. "She thought we would be going on a date."

"Did it work?" Antonio asks excitedly. "I read about it in a book. I sent you two on a cute visit." 

"Meet cute." Bruno corrects absent-mindedly. "And no, Tonito. We didn't go on a date." 

"But I thought you like her." 

"I do. As a friend." Bruno sighs and he is really serious all of a sudden. "Tonito, Senora Lorna was really embarrassed. And also a bit sad. It was not nice to lie to her like that." 

Antonio can feel himself tearing up. "I didn't mean to make her sad! I just wanted to help." 

Bruno pulls him closer. "I know. And she knows that too, don't worry. Just please don't do something like this again, okay?" 

"Okay." Antonio sniffles some more. He feels really bad, but he just wanted to make his uncle happy. "I just wanted to help you", he repeats. 

Bruno sighs again. Antonio can't see his face because he is still pressed against his chest, but it sounds kinda sad. "I know, amigo." 

The little boy pushes away so he can look up at his uncle. "Who do you like?" 

Bruno smirks and bops his nose. "I like you, you little troublemaker." 

Antonio giggles and squirms away. "No! Not like that. Who do you like like. Like Mama likes Papa."

"No one." 

"No one?" Antonio shouts. He thought everyone like liked someone. Even Isabela like likes that girl from the village even though she is always denying it and throwing cacti at Mirabel when her sister teases her about it. Mama told him he doesn't like like anyone yet cause he's still too young. "Are you still too young for that?" 

Bruno blinks a few times. He looks like he really needs to think about it. "That's a new one." he mutters under his breath. "I have never liked someone like your parents like each other. Pretty sure I never will." 

"But why?" 

Bruno shrugs. "There are many different kinds of people on this earth, buddy. Some want something like what your parents have, or something like Isa and her mystery girl. They want to get married and have a lot of children. And some don't want any of that at all. Like me."

"But aren't you lonely?" 

Bruno smiles softly and rests his head atop Antonio's. "Oh no. How could I ever be lonely with all of you around? I have everything I will ever need, Tonito. Don't worry about your old tio." 

Antonio kind of gets it. And if Tio Bruno says he's okay and happy, then Antonio will believe him. 

And anyway, this way he can have his Tio all to himself. That's so much better than a new Tia. 

"I'll draw a picture for Senora Lorna. As an apology."

"That's a great idea!" 

"Will you help me?" 

Cami has said that you can also use the big eyes and pouty lips for situations like this. It seems to be working, because Bruno laughs and ruffles his hair. 

"Of course!" 

[morimementa]

I know Mirabel doesn't really need a gift, and it's commonly accepted that her real gift is to be the next keeper of the magic...

But I love the idea of her having a sewing based gift. I first saw the idea in this post: https://thesoffgengar.tumblr.com/tagged/gifted%20mirabel%20au

And I want to add my own flair to it. Like, Mirabel can endow each thing she makes with one special ability. This Ruana can keep you dry in a surprise rainstorm, that purse never gets holes in it, etc. She makes a whole legion of baby clothes that never get stained and toys that never get lost. Each item gets only one special attribute and there's a whole town full of people, so Mirabel is kept very busy.

Because she's so attentive to everyone's needs and desires, she's still the first person to discover the cracks in Casita. Her attempts to shove scraps in the cracks or paste fabric over them fail, leaving shredded cloth in its wake. She realizes quickly that this is something her gift can't mend. Cue hero's journey.

I think there'd be some additional character beats in this AU. Mirabel's similar to Luisa in that she spends to much time making things for other people, the things she wants to make for herself or for fun fall to the wayside. Like Julieta, she's a very behind-the-scenes worker that's constantly kept busy. She's finally starting to admit to herself that she feels overworked when the movie starts off and it helps her empathize with Luisa even more.

Her relationship with Abuela is still strained and distant. Abuela tends to overwork her for the sake of helping people and the long hours she spends in her room leave little time for socializing. Brings new meaning to the whole "I can't take another night up in my room" part of Waiting on a Miracle. For this Mirabel, she needs a miracle to meet her deadline.

Ok, that was a joke.

Abuela would also probably have really high standards of quality for what Mirabel makes. She'd want them to be perfect and pristine. Mirabel doesn't realize it at the time, but she and Isabela have this in common. That would be a nice plot point during their scene together.

Speaking of, the sisters' relationship would be similar to canon, but a bit toned down. They're still distant, pulled apart by their respective roles, but hey, they can go a few minutes without snipping at each other. Isabela might envy Mirabel not having to be in the spotlight all the time, but she also appreciates the things Mirabel makes for her. By contrast, Mirabel might still roll her eyes at Senorita Perfecta, but there's less of a divide between them. The tension's still there, there's just a lot less back and forth. Maybe Mirabel picks up on the fact that Abuela seems to have more suggestions for Isabela's dresses than Isabela herself.

When Casita's being rebuilt, she gets time to sew for the fun of it and makes herself a new dress, this one with butterflies embroidered on it. Her family even makes her a new project bag with symbols of each of them embroidered on it. It's a way of thanking her for stitching the family back together and for making so many nice things for everyone else all this time.

At the end of the movie her gift has returned, but the workload is definitely cut back. Abuela realizes she's been pushing Mirabel too hard and limits the amount of things people can ask of her. She's able to rediscover the fun of sewing and her creativity grows with the renewal of the magic. Abuela even comes to sit with her while she works and catch up.

Let me know what you think and what ideas you have for this AU!

[achitka]

Day Twenty-Nine: Mask

I didn't add how old they were in this... didn't occur to me as I wrote it so, I'll let your HC pick for me.

Day Twenty-Nine: Mask

Mirabel and Camilo were sitting in the nursery discussing the decorations for upcoming Halloween dance at school. Full costumes were required to get in and Camilo didn’t want to just shift into whatever.

“So, you decide who or what you want to dress up as?” Mirabel asked as she sat on the bed. Camilo sat on the window seat and looked outside and said, “Promise not to laugh?” Mira had pursed her lips but nodded. “Okay.”

Camilo opened the book he’d brought with him and on one of the last pages was a picture of an old man with bushy eyebrows, a wild beard and intense blue eyes. “Who is he?”

“Tolstoy.”

“Oh the Russian writer. Well, the outfit looks easy enough to duplicate. Not sure how we could make that beard. Let me think about it.”

Camilo nodded then asked, “What about you?”

“Oh, I’m not going. Once the decorations are done Abuela wants me to stay with Antonio. Guess everyone is going to a meeting in town and...”

Camilo watched as his prima put on her happy mask and tried to convince herself that this was just what she wanted. He knew better, she’d been talking about it for weeks now. It wasn’t like Dolores couldn't look after their brother. She wasn’t going anywhere. Camilo schooled his features otherwise Mira would see how irritated he was. He would let her finish talking then turn the subject to literally anything else.

[gamerbearmira]

AIR BENDA❗

I still haven't watched all of Atla, likely won't but. HEY GOOGLE EXISTS AND. I WANNA WRITE FOR THIS AU.

Been trying to give au's that don't get attention, have gotten a lot as of late/forgotten aus more stuff. Art takes a lot more time, but writing I can do anywhere and I can do a lot more. So. Here this is.

Lea get it

-----

Mirabel pulled her nightdress over her head, readjusting her glasses as she put her bow onto her vanity. After she left her room, she glanced up and down the hallway. The family was asleep, or at least in their rooms. She felt Casita's tiles shift and she shushed the house playfully.

"I know, but it'll only take a second," Mirabel whispered before going downstairs. It was a routine at this point. Since she didn't bend anything on her 5th birthday, she figured she was a late bloomer. After all, her primos and hermanas could bend. Her mama, tia, and tio could. So she just had to be able to bend something...right?

And it wasn't like she was singled out because she couldn't bend. Her abuela, papa, and tio Félix couldn't bend. And she had trained with melee so far, and she found it fun! But...something deep down wanted her to be able to bend. She just wanted to be like the other family members.

So, every night, before she went to sleep, she would go up to the table and try to bend something. Of course, she hadn't been successful in the past 5, almost 6 years but...she wasn't giving up now. Something told her she was close. Her next birthday was soon, her 11th, and she wasn't gonna give up now.

She finally came up to the familiar room she had been in and walked back several times. She could see the four objects used to see if a Madrigal child could bend were sitting then. A bowl of water, a few rocks, a candle, and some marbles. The marbles had never been used. No one could airbend. The only airbender had been her Abuelo, Pedro. But he was long gone, and no one in the entire village had been able to end the air. Water and Fire were common, but Earth wasn't unheard of; there was her Tio Bruno and her sister Luisa. (Though something told her her littlest primo, Antonio would also be able to earth bend come his fifth birthday).

"Ok," Mirabel said taking a deep breath. "Two thousand-ish times the charm. Right, Casita?" Miravel asked and the gave a positive reaction, encouraging the girl. Casita was a big supporter. Of course, her family was also there, but they didn't exactly know she did this. Dolores did but...she didn't tell anyone.

Mirabel raised her hand. She copied a move she had seen Isabela and her mama do a million times. The water was still. No result. Moving onto the rocks, her arms shot forward as she stomped her feet. Still, no result. The fire reflected off her glasses as her hands moved gracefully about her. The fire didn't even flicker. Mirabel pursed her lips as she looked at the marbles.

She didn't know any airbending moves. No one did. Her abuela had shown one off, one that Pedro had taught her. Of course, no one was able to use it, but it was pretty cool to watch and fun to do. Mirabel took in one last deep breath as she raised her hands. Her movements were fluid, natural even as she moved. As were all of her movements, she practiced all the elements of basic moves at least a million times, and she loved dancing. Bending was a lot like dancing, at least to her. Her hand was closed as she stopped in front of the marbles.

And they moved.

Her eyes widened as she stared at them. They. Moved. She looked at Casita's beams. They were still before something similar to a shrug revealed that Casuta wasn't even sure. Mirabel's arms shook as she once again performed the move. The moved again. They lifted off the table.

"Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh!" Mirabel felt a smile spread across her face as she picked the marbles up. She used her free hand to gently spin a circle around them. The air around them shifted, and they lifted out of her palm and into the air. "Oh my go-" Casita bumped into her feet cutting off. She silenced herself. It was late, that's right. Everyone was asleep, and she didn't want to wake anyone up, especially not little Antonio.

But she could bend! Finally, finally, after all these years. She was right, she was just a late bloomer!

"I have to practice," Mirabel whispered before grabbing the marbles and rushing up to her room. She giggled softly as she sat on her bed. She decided not to tell her family yet. She would wait until the next morning. In the meantime, she was going to practice and practice. Even if it took all night.

Mirabel spun the marbles around and around. It was just so...well she couldn't even describe it. But she was happy. More than happy. She couldn't describe it.

And she couldn't wait to tell her family in the morning.

-----

WHEN THE MARBLES❓

No but I did wanna do something like this. Mirabel bending air is so rad. And she's the only one aince her abuelo who could do it. Now whether Pedro was an Avatar or not is up for debate. If he was, it would make sense how he died, I mean Aang had mad folks after him so.

Idk what do y'all think

[im-just-a-br0adway-baby]

Pepa held Antonio’s hand to make their way to Casita’s only bathroom. She told him there was a surprise for him there. They made their way inside the bathroom to see a small, light blue potty training seat in front of the bigger toilet. Pepa kneeled down in front of Antonio to his level to explain the change.

“Antonio, now that you’re going to be three years old very soon, and you’ve been doing a very good job keeping your diaper dry for long periods of time, it’s time for you to go to the potty like a big boy.”

Antonio looked at the potty, and then back at his mother. “Potty?”

“Yes, Tonito; you’re going to start using the potty. That means soon, you won’t need to wear diapers anymore. You’re going to start wearing big boy underwear like your big brother, Camilo.”

Antonio smiled and bounced, then gave his mother a hug. He then pulled down his pants and his training pants, and sat on the potty. He was so excited to start using the potty that he wanted to start as soon as he possibly could.

“Corazon, if you ever feel like you need to go to the potty, you can tell me and I can help you. But we’re going to need to buy some brand new underwear for you. Do you want to go to town with me to pick out some new underwear?”

Antonio got up from the potty and pulled up his pants. He jumped into his mother’s arms and they made their way downstairs to head to the village to pick out underwear for him. Felix came from the kitchen to come with his wife and son, and Dolores and Camilo noticed them heading out the door of Casita and wanted to come. Antonio smiled and grabbed his big brother’s hand. The five of them made their way to the village, and now that Antonio is going to have Dolores and Camilo help him pick out underwear, he’s even more excited to start using the potty.

Once they got to the village square, they made their way to Senora Lopez’s tailor shop. She has been friends with the Madrigal family since Agustin started working with her, and later introduced Mirabel to her. Antonio ran into Senora Lopez’s shop and the rest of them followed. Camilo grabbed his little brother and carried him onto his shoulder and headed to Senora Lopez’s front counter.

“Hola, Pepa y Félix! What can we help you with today?” Senora Lopez asked with a smile. 

“We’re beginning to potty train Antonio and we wanted to try and find some underwear for him so he can be more excited to wear them,” Pepa explained.

Senora Lopez walked from the front counter to the children’s undergarments section of the shop. “We have a whole section of underwear for boys that I think would be perfect for Antonio! He would love these.”

Pepa and Felix followed Senora Lopez to the children’s undergarments section and noticed their children perusing through the section to find something for Antonio. Camilo grabbed a pack of underwear that had jaguars on them and handed them to Antonio.

“What do you think about these? These are perfect underwear for a big boy like you,” Camilo said.

Antonio smiled and grabbed the underwear pack from Camilo. “Can I, mami?” he asked happily as he jumped up and down.

“I guess we’ll take those. He seems excited about wearing them,” Felix pointed out as he took the pack of underwear to the counter.

“Perfecto! That will be ten pesos,” Senora Lopez replied.

Pepa grabbed ten pesos out of her purse and gave them to Senora Lopez. She gave her and Felix the underwear and Pepa put the pack inside her purse for safekeeping when they walked home. Dolores gathered Camilo and Antonio and the three made their way back to Pepa and Felix to head back to Casita. As the five of them walked back home, Antonio held his mother’s hand the entire way.

“Are you excited to start wearing your new big boy underwear, Tonito?” Pepa asked as she leaned down to give Antonio a kiss.

“Yes! I want to start wearing underwear and using the potty! Soy un niño grande!” Antonio replied with excitement.

“Mirabel and I can help you if you need any. I know Antonio loves spending time with Mirabel and me, so helping him use the potty can be a great way for us to spend more time with him,” Camilo added.

“Gracias, Camilo; you and Mirabel will be an amazing help for Antonio. And I think Mirabel would be the best fit to help with Felix when we’re out in the village doing our chores,” Pepa explained to her older son.

Camilo hugged his mother from the side as they continued walking in the village and back home. Pepa and Felix already went through potty training with two children already, along with assisting Julieta and Agustin with potty training their daughters, so they knew it was not going to be easy, but it was going to be worth it when Antonio was fully potty trained.

Once everyone got back to Casita, Antonio rushed upstairs to sit on his new potty. He pulled his pants down and sat on his new potty. He sat for what felt like forever, but nothing was coming out. He sat some more, but still, nothing was coming out. Antonio was starting to feel like he was not going to go to the potty for that time, so he gave up and pulled his pants back up. 

“Maybe soon,” he thought to himself as he walked out of the bathroom and back into the nursery to play with Mirabel.

Antonio met up with Mirabel in the nursery to color while he waited for any feeling of needing to go to the bathroom. About an hour later, while they were coloring together, Mirabel noticed Antonio’s pants slightly sagging down.

“Antonio, do you feel like you have to go to the potty?” Mirabel asked.

“No,” Antonio replied.

“Because I think you may need to go. Do you want to at least try?”

Antonio nodded and made his way back to the bathroom. Mirabel waited in the nursery so she could give her cousin some privacy. Once he got to the bathroom he pulled his pants down and noticed his training pants were wet and filled with bowel movement. He cried as he removed his training pants and put them in the garbage. After twenty minutes, Mirabel knocked on the bathroom door to see how Antonio was doing. He was taking so long that she wanted to see if he was okay.

“Antonio, are you okay in there? You’re taking quite a long time.”

“No! I’m never going to go to the potty!”

Mirabel slowly made her way in the bathroom to see what Antonio was so upset about. She saw him crying on the potty and noticed the soiled training pants in the garbage. “Are you upset about not making it to the potty on time?”

Antonio nodded and Mirabel sat on the floor in front of Antonio. He got off of his potty to give his cousin a hug. She gave him a clean pair of training pants to put on and he put them on before putting on his pants. When he was done, he sat on Mirabel’s lap for another hug.

“You don’t need to feel bad. It’s going to take a lot of practice to go to the potty. I had a difficult time going to the potty at first, too. When I was about your age, Abuela gave me a potty that looked just like yours for my birthday. That was when mami, your tia Julieta, talked to me about how Isabela and Luisa use the potty, and it was time for me to use the potty. I was so excited to use my new potty that I sat on it immediately. I sat there for a long time until I decided to wait a little longer. Not that long after, I did end up going to the potty, but it was still in my training pants.

“I felt the same thing as you, that I was never going to go to the potty like Isabela and Luisa and that I was going to be in diapers forever. But there was one day I saw Luisa going to the potty on the big toilet and decided to go with her to my potty. As I was sitting in front of her, I felt something come out of me. I stayed on the potty and Luisa was there to help me wipe. When I was done, Luisa got mami and papi to see that I went to the potty. They were so proud of me, and I was proud of myself.

“It’s going to happen eventually, Antonio. You don’t have to rush it. You can go when you feel like you need to go. And it’s okay if you need help wiping. You have a whole family that can help you.”

Antonio gave Mirabel another hug. He felt better after she told him her potty training story. “Can I go to the potty with you?”

“Sure you can, Antonio; and even when I’m finished, I will be right here to help you wipe yourself.”

Antonio and Mirabel hugged again and they made their way back to the nursery to play some more. While Antonio was still a little impatient to learn how to use the potty and wear his new underwear for the first time, he at least knew that the day he used the potty was going to come eventually. 

Several months have past and Antonio had several unsuccessful attempts at using the potty. He ended up doing his business in several places other than his potty, along with several accidents in his training pants. He was still getting support from the entire family throughout his journey.

Until one day, Pepa walked upstairs to notice the bathroom door was slightly ajar. She put one eye against the crack of the door to see her younger son sitting on his potty, with her youngest niece sitting on the toilet. Pepa took her eye off the opening so it did not look like she was invading their privacy. She went back downstairs as a rainbow shone over her head on her way down.

Only ten minutes later, Antonio ran downstairs to get his parents. He found them in the living room and jumped on Pepa’s lap. “Mami! Papi! Look what I did!” Antonio shouted before pulling Pepa and Felix upstairs and into the bathroom. Mirabel was right in front of the bathroom door when they got there, and the four of them went in, noticing the potty was filled.

Pepa’s rainbow grew brighter as she and Felix held Antonio to give him a hug and a kiss. “We’re so proud of you, Tonito!” Pepa said as she continued kissing her son.

“I felt like I needed to go to the potty, so I asked Mirabel to come with me because she helped me not feel bad about accidents anymore. Now I finally went to the potty!” Antonio said with excitement.

“I let Antonio try to go while I was going, so he didn’t feel alone in doing so,” Mirabel explained to her aunt and uncle. “I saw him upset that he had an accident and I let him know that it was normal for kids his age to have accidents. I told him that I and the rest of the family had accidents while we were still potty training when we were his age.”

Pepa and Felix hugged their youngest child again and gave him the biggest kiss they could. Antonio was just as proud of himself as Pepa, Felix, and Mirabel were of him. Pepa and Felix took the potty over to the toilet and dumped everything inside. Antonio flushed the toilet and made his way to the sink to wash his hands. Mirabel washed hers with him and Pepa and Felix made their way out of the bathroom.

Antonio continued to use his potty successfully with Mirabel and Camilo for the next several weeks, still wearing his training pants during his naps and at night to avoid staining his sheets. He continued practicing every day until he kept his training pants dry throughout the night and Pepa and Felix were confident enough to let him stop wearing his training pants at night. Antonio could not be any prouder of himself.

[miracles-and-butterflies]

[Reincarnation AU]

Isabela, sadly: Guys, I have some really unfortunate news. It’s gonna be hard, but I have to tell you… to be able to move on…. Surface Pressure is my second favourite song in the soundtrack.

Luisa: I KNEW IT!!!! See? Everyone likes Surface Pressure, it’s always in the top three Encanto songs.

Dolores: Not for me. My top three are Dos Orugitas, Waiting On a Miracle and All of You.

Isabela: My top three is What Else Can I Do?, Surface Pressure and We Don’t Talk About Bruno.

Luisa, definitely bragging: I mean, I don’t know why you have your song ranked so high - it’s not like it topped the charts like mine and Bruno’s. It’s okay, sis, we can’t all be hit songs. Without the flops, how would we know what the good ones are?

Luisa: Anyways, my top three is Surface Pressure, We Don’t Talk About Bruno and Colombia, Mi Encanto because it is a bop and people need to start respecting it.

Dolores: On that note, what people really need to start respecting is the score and sound throughout the movie.

Mirabel: Oh, I absolutely agree. My favourite sound is Disney’s empty purse after I sue them