#we love dolores in this household

[familyabolisher]

Do you think any of the frameworks you've developed for analyzing love in TLT could be applied to Pyrrha's relationship to cam/pal? Since Nona doesn't understand it well, it's hard for me to get a handle on how those characters relate to each other, but I was wondering where it might stand on what the series considers "perfect love," what the significance of its presence/ambiguity is, etc.

I’m really locked on to this idea of illegibility, actually, and the kind of work that gets done in Nona to problematise efforts to easily name, define, & categorise a relationship or set of relationships. I’m thinking of what Muir said here:

It’s a very strange household. And they are a found family, but I don’t think it’s a spoiler to say that in the last movement of the book Nona questions what that even means—their motives, what they all truly wanted out of each other, their pretenses: are they a family, or are they all just a psychosexual mess of roleplaying and bad meals? (The answer is yes.)

and like, her suggestion that ‘family’ can plausibly be collapsed into a ‘psychosexual mess of roleplaying’ and that the drive of Nona is less about asking whether Cam/Pal/Pyrrha/Nona ‘are’ a family as much as it’s about asking what it actually means to identify them as such; and particularly to identify them as such in a text which does very significant work elsewhere to identify ‘the family’ as a site of violence, a mechanism by which particular forms of violence can be enacted. I’m honing in on that ‘last movement of the book’ comment to say that, like—so, the two narratives in Nona (the ‘main’ narrative ie. Nona et al. on Lemuria, and the John narrative) are spliced together, right, so it makes sense to try and read them as though they’re in dialogue with one another, and the obvious entrypoint for doing so is the fact that they’re both working as an account of the ‘creation’ of Alecto; first through John literally creating her and then through Nona remembering his having done so and thus rebecoming what she had forgotten she was. What does it mean to ‘create’ Alecto?—what are the conditions that Alecto’s creation ushers in, what are the conditions that her creation does away with? The ‘last movement’ of the book is to ‘create’ Alecto for the second time—so, what does Alecto represent, and what about her ‘creation’ leads the text to ask what it means to describe something as a ‘family’ in the first place?

The reason I’m drawn to this reading of Cam/Pal/Pyrrha as like, ultimately illegible, incoherent in that we as audience cannot coherently put words to it and make sense of it in the language readily available to us, is because I think the text understands these processes of ordering, taxonomising, delineating, and categorising as tactics of fascism. This is a tension also at play in Lolita; Humbert ‘orders’ and constructs his narrative via the available tools of literary discourse and similarly constructs his ‘Lolita’ as a labyrinth of cultural references and taxonomies; but Dolores is a ‘Haze,’ Annabel Leigh is a ‘tangle of thorns,’ there exists a being who is able to remain indistinct and impenetrable in a narrative which enacts violence on her by trying to make taxonomical sense of her. Coherence and legibility are mechanisms of visibility; under fascism, to be easily made sense of can be dangerous. The first two books were all about coherence, legibility, interpellation, and the consequences of Living In A Society; what it means to ‘be’ or ‘become’ a cavalier, what the necromancer-cavalier relationship ‘means,’ what Lyctorhood ‘means,’ how these relations of hierarchised sexuality and the interpersonal relationships articulated within the normative language given to them exist to shore up conditions of imperialism. This question of ‘ordering’ goes right down to eg. enumeration (First, Second, Third, etc.) and pretty tightly contained and atomised cultural associations, and the fact that that enumeration can be traced back to Alecto—

D’you know why you’re really the First? Because in a very real way, you and the others are A.L.’s children … There would be none of you, if not for her.

—which cribs this passage, from Lolita:

‘[…] for I must confess that depending on the condition of my glands and ganglia, I could switch in the course of the same day from one pole of insanity to the other—from the thought that around 1950 I would have to get rid somehow of a difficult adolescent whose magic nymphage had evaporated—to the thought that with patience and luck I might have her produce eventually a nymphet with my blood in her exquisite veins, a Lolita the Second, who would be eight or nine around 1960, when I would still be dans la force de l’âge; indeed, the telescopy of my mind, or un-mind, was strong enough to distinguish in the remoteness of time a vieillard encore vert—or was it green rot?—bizarre, tender, salivating Dr. Humbert, practicing on supremely lovely Lolita the Third the art of being a granddad. In the days of that wild journey of ours, I doubted not that as father to Lolita the First I was a ridiculous failure.

—very evenly ties together ideas of reproduction as imperial sustention figured in the language of sexual assault. The point is: as far as the empire is concerned, processes of ordering and taxonomising are equivocal to the mechanical maintenance of conditions of fascism.

Conversely, Nona is a text about when John’s precise demarcation of the world starts to fail and people have to make sense of themselves between the cracks; from Pyrrha as both failed cavalier and failed Lyctor to Cam and Palamedes and then Paul as if not ‘failed’ then at least a new ordering of necromancer/cavalier-ism to the Tower Princes as John’s kind of scrambling effort to rearticulate hegemony post-losing all but one of his Lyctors. Regarding how we are to read Cam/Pal/Pyrrha, I think it’s pretty clear that the text understands the obligations, normative assumptions and expectations, and material consequences of normative kinship relations identified as ‘family’ as part and parcel with the social ordering of a fascistic imperial hegemony; Kiriona, Alecto, and Harrow make up the three key points of contact for this reading, though it’s pretty diffuse across the whole work. We see kinship relations as structuring imperialist hierarchies and we understand the currency of those hierarchies to be death/abuse/sexual violence/totalised control, articulated most profoundly through Kiriona; we also see the destruction of social formations as part and parcel with conquest—

Palamedes said mildly, “You know we’re conversant with the concept of family in the Nine Houses, right?” Pash seemed genuinely surprised. “Why the hell would it matter to you? [...] You don’t give a fuck about families when you’re carving them up—”

—this of course being in keeping with the general conditions of mixed cultures, mixed languages, variances on kinship structures, refugees seemingly thrown together on Lemuria. The bolstering of the social articulations of the conquerors and denaturing of the social articulations of the conquered is rendered as a tactic of conquest; ‘family’ here is figured as a cudgel of imperialism.

Diegetically, as I said, Cam + Pal + Pyrrha + Nona’s social arrangement is not ‘normative,’ neither in the fact that others on Lemuria can make easy sense of it (and thus attempt to do so by referring to peripheralised and marginalised social relations ie. sex work) nor in the fact that they can coherently make sense of themselves via the imperial taxonomy (is Pyrrha a Lyctor greatest thread in the history of forums). Nor is it normative on our end; relative to the nuclear family structure, it’s the ‘wrong’ number of parents, the ‘wrong’ configurations of gender, the ‘wrong’ configurations of blood relation (Nona is a ‘child’ but not an ‘heir’ to anything and not a blood relation of either; Cam and Palamedes as ‘parents’ are blood-related), even the ‘wrong’ overall kinship relations—I put ‘child’ and ‘parents’ in quotations there precisely because I don’t think they’re conditions uncritically reified by the narrative as much as they’re discursive gestures made for the sake of being problematised. Is Nona their ‘child’ in a text where to be the ‘child’ of someone means to be what Kiriona is to John? Is this a ‘family’ when ‘family’ is the mechanic of imperial refortification? Again, like—what does it mean to call them a family at all?

‘Family’ is a label we deploy to give legibility to relations that we are otherwise struggling to make sense of. Setting aside Paul for the moment because I don’t quite know what to do with them and probably won’t have a Take that I can confidently commit to until after Alecto—I think the kind of difficulty that the text has in articulating exactly what Cam + Pal + Pyrrha ‘had’ between them that we see in that final scene is intentional, and I think it’s best understood left that way rather than wrangled into a taxonomy that the rest of the text is v determined to critically unpack. So to answer your question, I think the ambiguity is key—one overarching theme of the series is how people can love each other and articulate that love when the language available for them to do so carries obligations of disparate power, hierarchy, serves a particular purpose that we come to understand as ethically unconscionable; whether that love has to be made sense of within hierarchy, or contravene it, or try and stake a place outside of it. Cam + Palamedes + Pyrrha become the next stage of development in the unravelling of such a discourse; to try and make coherent sense of them could all too easily mean falling back on the language that the text works to identify as socially constructed and thus as limited, and thus imposing those limitations.

[gamerbearmira]

hello hello, how we doing with the batb au 👀

really looking forward to this, especially loved the reunion snippet, kept rereading it because <333

actually speaking of that, we saw how the cool couple reacted, how are the rest of the family doing seeing mirabel actually being there after 10 long years?

love all your stuff mira!! <33

This took me longer than I’d like to admit tbh 💀💀

ANYWAY UH. VERY EXCITED. The ones most excited to see Mirabel again are Isabela and Luisa. Mind you, they’ve been separated for almost 10 years, so there’s nothing to strain their relationship or keep them from being close. As far as they’re concerned, nothing has changed from since they were little. Isabela is still very happy to plant tiny flowers in Mirabel!’s hair and Luisa still loves giving her giant hugs and carrying her around 😭

ummmm Camilo is definitely next, he’s so happy to have his best friend back <\333 he felt like something was missing when she disappeared, so imagine his excitement when she showed up again. Dolores missed her a lot too, and. Immediately starts dressing her up again like when she was little. Antonio has no idea who she is, outside of stories of course. The family told him about Mirabel all the time when she could. Alma made Mirabel's name kind of taboo in the household, and when she was awake (anytime the sun was out), the family didn't mention it; not because they wanted to forget Mirabel, but because they didn't want to hear Alma's mouth 🥸 but anytime at night, mostly when he was going to be, they would tell him stories about Mirabel.

Actually, fun fact. That's also a little sad. Mirabel's part of the nursery has stayed the same all this time. It literally hasn't changed; everything is the same, in it's place, because the family wanted it to be the same in case she came back anytime in those 10 years. Which, technically they weren't wrong ☹️💪

Pepa and Félix literally hug her for so long that it’s not even funny. They’re so happy she’s back, I mean. They were like second parents to her. And they missed her so much. You can’t imagine the storms Pepa had when she was gone, and even when Antonio was born, she had wished Mirabel could meet him when he was born. In this au, I think Mirabel might have mentioned that if another baby was gonna be born, she mentioned that if it was a boy, she wanted him to be named Antonio.

These are just redraws, there are a few design changes but. He, I just wanted to draw them again <\\3

[kikiandclouds]

Halo! I saw the boy and the Heron today and it was amazing!

Not big spoiler but I haven't seen anyone talking about the Dante's Divina Commedia reference, and since in this household we don't gatekeep symbolism here some stuff (I didn't put too much effort on it, just what I recall from highschool, but if you're curious you can search about it ;)

When Mahito and Kiriko follow the heron inside the tower, we see them enter from this door. On top of it, is written "facemi la divina potestate (I've been made by the divine father=god), and this is a part of the quote written on the hell's gate in the third canto of Inferno:

"Per me si va ne la città dolente,

per me si va ne l'etterno dolore,

per me si va tra la perduta gente.

Giustizia mosse il mio alto fattore;

Facemi la divina potestate,

la somma sapienza e 'l primo amore.

Dinanzi a me non fuor cose create

se non etterne, e io etterno duro.

Lasciate ogni speranza, voi ch'intrate".

Here's the English translation:

"Through me the way is to the city dolent;

Through me the way is to eternal dole;

Through me the way among the people lost.

Justice incited my sublime Creator;

Created me divine Omnipotence,

The highest Wisdom and the primal Love.

Before me there were no created things,

Only eterne, and I eternal last.

All hope abandon, ye who enter in!"

I don't wanna spoiler anything, so I'm just gonna leave it here for those who are curious and noticed this little detail but didn't know where it came from ;)

[aeshnalacrymosa]

Sleepover with Abuela

Camilo had suggested it as a joke, but when Abuela had agreed to let her grandchildren have their monthly sleepover in her room, everyone was pleasantly surprised. Normally, no one was allowed in Abuela’s room. Rarely had anyone seen Abuela with her hair undone and wearing her nightclothes. But a little over a year since Mirabel had revived Casita, there had been a significant shift in her demeanor. She laughed more and joked more. She sang and danced more. Now that Camilo thought about it, maybe allowing them into her private space was not that far behind, after all.

“Bienvenido, mis nietos. Come in, come in,” she said, grinning brightly as stepped aside to let in her grandchildren. Everyone was carrying their own sleeping bag except Antonio; Luisa was carrying Antonio’s and her own. Abuela looked odd wearing a peach-colored robe and her silver hair in pigtails. But she also looked younger and lighter than usual.

“I hope we’re not intruding, Abuela,” said Isabela as she kissed her Abuela’s cheek.

“Not at all. I love having you all here.” Abuela clasped her hands in front of her. “Now, what do you usually do at these sleepovers, huh?”

Everyone looked at Camilo, who squirmed where he stood. “Why are you all looking at me?”

“This was your idea. What did you have in mind when you suggested sleeping over with Abuela?” said Mirabel, smirking at him.

“Um...” His heartbeat mounting, Camilo locked eyes with Abuela. “I guess... I want to know her more. And Abuelo.” His eyes shifted to the gilded picture frame at the nightstand. It was their wedding photo.

“Aww.” Abuela put her hands over her heart. Camilo relaxed when his sister and cousins were now smiling at him. “Then, I’m glad I granted your request. Make yourselves comfortable, mis amores. Antonio, let me...”

They spread out their sleeping bags until they covered most of the floor. Abuela brought out a stack of photo albums from a large wooden chest. “Most of these photographs are of our family here in the Encanto. But I have a few of my own family and also your Abuelo’s.” Abuela sat at the foot of the        bed while her grandchildren listened to her stories of her youth outside the Encanto. Abuela seemed to transform in front of their eyes as she spoke about her parents, her extended family, her friends, the animals in their household. Her energy and zest for life was most similar to Pepa, and Abuela’s eyes dimmed ever so slightly as she recalled how she had controlled her daughter throughout her life. “Julieta and Bruno didn’t only get their father’s looks. They are so alike Pedro in their personalities, too.” The grandchildren already knew about Pedro’s writing talent and sense of humor, but they didn’t already know about his passable culinary skills and his desire for an extended alone time.

“We wish we could have met him, Abuela,” said Dolores.

“I like to think that you have. There’s a little of him in all of your parents,” said Abuela.

A few hours later, everyone was asleep. Camilo stirred awake. Blinking as his eyes adjusted to the moonlight from the window, he noticed that Abuela was sitting up on her bed and watching them. “Abuela? Aren’t you able to sleep?” he whispered, concerned that she had insomnia like Tío Bruno.

“I will sleep soon, Camilo. Just let me admire you all for a little while.”

[patheticbatman]

Part Four

I'm very proud of these dolls, and I'm also leaving them at my parents' house, so I did a little photoshoot with some books as background so I can have nice pictures of them. This set of pictures is exclusively dolls that I painted, so I’m very pleased to show them off.

This is the fourth and final post, so check out the first for more info!

First up is Sisu, with The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle. I swear that I did not rip the cover. I think that copy is like 50 years old, and I swear I had the ripped of part until recently. I’m very sad about losing it. But in any case, I feel like Sisu would relate heavily with being the only one of her species left for a long while, about how human vice affected her status as an endling, about spending time in a body that isn’t really hers to survive, and the whole quest really. Hell, in the book, Schmendrick and Molly end up together, and we all know that’s going to happen to Raya and Namari eventually lol.

Second is Mirabel with In the Tike of the Butterflies, by Julia Alvarez. I feel like Mirabel would be the most invested in her family in keeping up with the outside, in magical world, as both a breather from all her family’s guilt and drama, and as a future head of the household later on. In her life. I also know that the Latin world paid a lot of attention to the struggle and loss of the Mirabal sisters (The Butterflies) and what with the book being told by Dede (the non-revolutionary sister, the only survivor) and being about a 4 sisters, Mirabel would empathize with this a lot. She’s one out of 3 sisters + a close girl cousin, and is the only one who’s not involved with what made her family famous. Encanto takes place in about the 1950s, maybe 60s, so Mirabel would definitely be interested in this book, because she would have definitely been interested in the real life events that occurred when she was young (the events of the book and the real life murders of the Mirabal sisters occurred form the 40s to 1960, but this book was published in the 90s)

Third is Dolores with Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen. I feel like she is a more overlooked member of the Madrigals, and she probably is a BIG Romantic at heart, though I bet she keeps it secret. as such, I gave her one of the most Romantic books I have as a background.

Fourth is Isabela with The Giver, by Lois Lowry. I think she would find the themes of huge responsibility and the focus on perfection by society to be quite pertinent to her lot in life at the beginning of Encanto.

Fifth is Luisa with Jacob I have Loved, by Katherine Paterson. The title is a reference to the Bible saying, “Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated.”. I DID think about giving this one to Mirabel, but ultimately chose Luisa because I feel like Mirabel never felt she had a chance to live up to Isabela, while Luisa probably felt like she had a chance to under all that *pressure* (lol), like Sarah Louise (the Esau) with her twin sister Caroline (the Jacob). I think the themes of small town life (SL in the book moves from a small coastal island to a mountain town, and the Madrigals live in the mountains) would also speak to Luisa.

I couldn’t decide for Shuri and also wanted to show her off more, so she gets two books! The first is my copy of the collected Infinity War comics, because she appears in it, and the second is The Deep by Rivers Solomon. Shuri gets The Deep because it’s about a mermaid whose people were the magically-transformed fetuses of pregnant African people who were thrown overboard while being transported to the Americas for enslavement. As Shuri’s movie is both about a strong African nation and about a people pushed underwater by colonialism and racism, I just felt that it was fitting. If you look in her hands, one has a heart shaped herb and the other has the bracelet from Namor.

As a romantic and a girl obsessed with the surface, I believe Ariel would love The Princess Bride, full stop. I also think the framing premise would tickle her.

Last but not least, Asha! Her movie ofc hints at her becoming the fairy godmother and crossing over with fairy/Disney tales, so I gave her The Sisters Grimm!

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

[changingplumbob]

New Goth Household: Chapter 2, Part 3

Alexander was sick the day before Halloween. It's not often just one person in the household gets sick… The house hosts a Halloween party and Keira is ready to let Marta know how she feels.

Before the party everyone finishes off their projects to excellent standard, ready to present later. Harvey has stopped by to make sure James won't let Keira's younger teen brother Reece and his friends in. James assures him he has no intention of letting minors in when juice is served.

Keira comes from a premade family and it took me forever to spell her name right. That's why I'm happy that for Halloween this geek can dress up as Qi'ra from Solo. Another woman whose name is pronounced the same but spelled completely differently. Kiera, Kira, Kyra, Keera the variants never stop.

Household picture before the party starts. I must say, the party, not what I envisioned. You'll see but it's an example of "Man plans, god laughs". To equate it "watcher plans, game code laughs".

James had a headache so I sent him for a nap before dinner.

Alexander: What are you dressed as

Joey: Rich lord, ladies love them

Keira: News to me

Joey: You're a lesbian, you don't count

Alexander: It just seems very conservative for you

Joey: Skinny doesn't lend itself to topless costumes

Keira: Ah

Joey: Yo James, you feeling better

James: A little bit

Alexander: Tell me if you need to lie down, please

James: I will. What are you doing Keira

Keira: Me? Just making sure Marta has the address

Joey: I take from your smile she's not straight

Keira: Could be bi, could be pan, but I have a chance

Alexander: Will you be okay with the crowd

Keira: Isn't it just high school friends

Joey: I may have flicked a few extra ladies the invite

Keira: How many are we talking

Alexander: Don't worry about them. Focus on Marta. Let her know how you feel

Keira: I'll try, really I will, just crowds

Joey: Soz

Alexander and the juice keg meet again. Last time didn't go so well, but this is the reward keg from their last party. It'll be... okay, no, it's gone everywhere. Bouncing back from the failure Alexander tries again. Success! We have a working keg. But we also hired a bartender to be safe.

James: Hey love, is everything- woah!

Alexander: Ready for a brilliant night? Yes it is. Come here

Keira meanwhile has had her nerves take a turn. She's now seeing a few stars here and there. Deciding to do her best to ignore this emerging headache she gets started on the juice.

The party begins and the guests start arriving. Most of the buddies from high school got the costume memo but other young adults have just shown up in party outfits, ready for a good time. The mixologist showed up so that's a positive for a sims event.

Keira: Hey Mar- Ah

Marta: Ay dios mio, are you okay Keira

Keira: Yes, I'm fine, I'm fine. Your costume-

Marta: Have you met Dolores?

The two share a laugh.

Marta: Who are you

Keira: Qi'ra

Marta: Huh?

Keira: It's a Star Wars pun. It's pronounced the same but spelled different

Keira: Maybe sometime we can watch the films

Marta: That sounds fun. Are you sure you're all right?

Keira: It's just a headache, shouldn't be contagious or anything

Marta: You know what I've HEARD makes you feel better

Keira: An arepa?

Marta: *laughs* comforting hugs

Keira: Thanks Marta

Marta: I also brought you a gift

Keira: You did

Marta produces a rose.

Keira: A rose? Oh it's beautiful

Marta: A beautiful rose for a beautiful carino

Keira: I don't know that word

Marta: Maybe I'll teach it to you someday

Keira: I'd like that. Very much

Marta's smile lifts Keira's courage.

Keira: Care to duet with me

Marta: I thought you didn't like crowds

Keira: What crowd? I only see you

The two flick through the catalogue and pick Meant To Be by Marta's favourite singer Bebe Rexha. The two begin and Keira feels her worries begin to float away.

🎵No need to go nowhere fast Let's enjoy right here where we at🎶 🎵Who knows where this road is supposed to lead We got nothing but time🎶 🎵As long as you're right here next to me Everything's gonna be alright🎶 🎵If it's meant to be, it'll be, it'll be Baby, just let it be🎶

Alexander: James, are you okay

James: My head is pounding

Alexander: Lets go to bed

James: No love, we've not danced together yet

Alexander: Fine. One dance then we're going right to bed

James: Does that make us bad hosts

Alexander: I don't care, I just care about you

James: How did I get so lucky

Keira starts to realise it's not just that her worries are floating away, she's getting light headed. She figures it's just the juice and carries on.

🎵Whoa, hold up, girl, don't you know you're beautiful? And it's easy to see🎶 🎵If it's meant to be, it'll be, it'll be Baby, just let it be🎶

Joey meanwhile is noticing some lingering glances from one of the guests he's invited. She's an unattached blonde and he wonders if she might like to take things upstairs. He puts on his best fake English accent and goes for it.

🎵So, come on, ride with me, ride with me See where this thing goes🎶 🎵So, come on, ride with me, ride with me Baby, if it's meant to be🎶 🎶Maybe we do🎵 🎶Maybe we don't🎵 🎶Maybe we will🎵 🎶Maybe we won't🎵 🎵But if it's meant to be, it'll be, it'll be Baby, just let it be🎶

The girls finish to scattered applause that rings in Keira's ears as she goes from light headed to somewhat delirious.

Keira: You sounded lovely

Marta: Ay dios mio, you're covered in swirls

Keira: I do feel pretty swirly, and stary

Marta: You need rest

Keira: No, tonight is meant to be fun

Marta: It has been

Keira: But I don't want you to leave

Marta: I won't but the rest of your roommates have disappeared. You don't mind if I kick everyone else out

Keira: Kick, kick, I kick a soccer ball very well

Marta: Go upstairs and change, I'll make some tea

Keira: T is a letter

Marta: It is, now go

Keira: You're so sweet, like sweet tea

Marta: Go on

Keira: I am no longer Qi'ra, I'm Keira, ta da

Marta: *chuckles* so I see, the tea will just be a minute

Keira: I didn't know we even had a tea kettle

Marta: I dug through the cupboards

Keira: Huh. This place is so massive

Marta: It is very large

Keira: Guys and their sizes pfft

Marta: Sit down before you fall over, I'll bring the tea

Keira: Thank you. How do you say that in Spanish

Marta: Gracias

Keira: Gra-ci-as. Gracias Marta

Marta: Drink up, the tea will help

Keira: Then what

Marta: Then you sleep

Keira: No! Why? We're having fun

Marta: When we have some real fun you'll want to remember it

Keira: Do I sound drunk or is that just in my head? I'm sure I only had 1 cup of juice

Marta: Get in bed carino

Keira: Thank you, gracias, for looking after me

Marta: No problem, now sleep

Keira: But I want to talk

Marta: We'll talk when you're feeling like you and I'm not looking like Dolores

Keira: Promise

Marta: Promise carino

Marta settles at the computer while she waits for Keira to fall asleep. When she's sure Keira is sleeping restfully, she leaves, but places the rose in a vase first. That way Keira can have her memory jogged in the morning.

Previous Part ... Next Part

[yellowcry]

A little bit of sugar (and lots of poison too)

Yeah, I remembered this exists. Angst is coming here

Warning for Blood/gore and Major character death

"Isabela?" The young woman, winces, staring up at her aunt. Right now Pepa is an unspoken leader oh the household. As both Abuela and Mamá have fallen, because of somebody... She shakes her head, ditching the thought away.

There was no words to describe how bad Pepa looked. Black eyebags sat deep in her sickly pale face. She looked almost white, emaciated to the point when it really terrified Isabela, the edges of the bones were visible through the thin skin of her arms. Was Tía losing weight from anxiety or just so she would be a less attractive food, Isabela couldn't tell. 

Isabela gulped, stepping back from the fence. "Tía, you should eat something, you look ill," 

"Can't force myself to take a bite." The older woman said, taking Isabela's hand. Isabela couldn't argue with this. She barely could eat herself. "What are you doing?"

Isabela's eyes shifted to the candle. The small flame waved like a child who just got a candy. Engraved butterfly flickered in gold, flapping its wings. The same candle that saved Abuela many years ago. The same candle that kept them somehow save for now. The same candle that made Luisa invulnerable.

"Casita said we'll lose our gifts if the candle is gone." Isabela breathed in explanation. She didn't have to look back at her aunt to see her reaction. The cold wind smashing against her was enough of a reply.

"Isabela!" The thunder clouds thickened over Casita, laying with the cold shadows. "We can't just..."  The ginger woman groaned, leaning on the fencing of the second floor. "The miracle is what kept us save!" 

Now, with weather lightening her strict exhausted face, Pepa looked a lot like her mother. The same hard steadfastness, refusal to navigate.

Isabela snarled, her plants bloomed around, breaking free from her emotions. "Right now it keeps us extremely unsafe!"

The thing was obvious. There was no hope of defeating her sister like this, and it didn't seem that Luisa intend to stop her cannibalistic habits any time soon. Isabela didn't want to lose her powers too, rip the magic's wings off. But it at least gave them a chance of surviving. 

They don't say anything for a while. Isabela feels a strong wind messing her hair. The flowers lie of the floor, ripped off the beam.

"Luisa would be very strong even without a gift." Pepa whispers, rubbing her braid. Orange straids falling out from repeating movement. Isabela isn't sure. Okay, her siser might be an oversized giant, but how strong will she be? "I don't want you to..."

Isabela shakes her head, laughing. She can't let her fear show. She is Isabela, she can't be scared of Luisa. "I'd lay her on her shoulder blades with one arm." Just look confident. Tía already has two kids, Isabela didn't want ro make her even more worried. She pets her aunt's back in support. Just a thought about Luisa was enough to make her her stomach twitch. But right now it isn't important. Isabela has to fight for her family. She can deal with a little unsetting feeling. "Can you get the rest of the family somewhere safe?"

Rain drops from the sky. Isabela clentches her hands, everything will be fine.

"You won't believe what I had found!" Luisa broke into the room, excited. 

Dolores groaned, rubbing her temples.  "I'll become deaf with you one day." She fixed her coily straid behind her ear. 

Luisa chuckled and waved her arm in neglectful sorry. Eyes glimmering. "I think I had found a Ancient Greece monument!"

Isabela rolled her eyes, leaning back to Dolores to continue theor usual gossip. She would deal with her sister later, it wasn't this important right now.

Mirabel put whatever she was embroidering away. "Luisa, I love you, but if Ancient Greeks had any relation to Colombia, then I'm a humanized miracle."

Luisa bumbled under her nose, upset with the lack of interest. Not like Isabela could blame Mirabel. Luisa was literally the only person who cared about some things that Ancient people had done somewhere when they existed.

Camilo tilted his head. Even if it wasn't anything related to Greece, he couldn't care less for that, it could make a great stage. Or just be used as an inspiration for a show. "Where is it?  What did it look like?"

Luisa smile grew back, happy that at least somebody believed her. But, as she opened her mouth, it faded as fast at it appeared, replaced with a rapid twitching of her eye. "It was... I can't quite remember..." She muttered fixing her bun. "But I know I saw it! It..."

She couldn't remember. No matter how hard she tried, the thread was slipping out, cutting her fingers raw.

Mirabel stood next to her, concerned. "Luisa, are you okay? You didn't overwork yourself again? Should I call Mamá?" Again, motherly as she was, taking Luisa's big hand with a tiny palm.

Her head is spinning. Hatch, symbols, forest. It's all melting in her brain. She has been trying to help! Right! ¿Quién es ella?

I want to scream, but my lungs are dry, withered into two rotted bags. I feel how my body shinks,  getting out the dirt. Trying to clean itself. I know I can't. What's happening to me? I'm fine, I'm completely fine. (She is okay)

She is frozen in my arms, almost breathless. My big hand squeezes her shoulder until the bones are cracking. Fingers tearing magnenta fabric. And blood is sinking from the nail scratches.

"Mija, how about you rest for today? You look unwell."  

I wheeze, coughing the answer from my tranchea. "Don't worry." Forest thickens over my head. Bones snapping together.

Past and present are mixing together. What am I doing? The dry red stinkes on my fingers slips underneat, staining the wooden stand. I push it, breaking the surface. My mind is cracking, craving meat too much to care.

Everything is totally fine.

Pain what was broke her back. Luisa's breathing hitched. Was she moving? Was she existing? Her hand frantically touched her back. Then looked at it. Red and sticky, freezing to her fingers. She tried to speak but the words couldn't coen out of her sore throat. Trying to blink but she just clised her eyes, not remembering how exactly it was supposed to happen. There was some sick feeling inside get guts, but Luisa still didn't proceed what happened enough to realize it.

This time pain came into her stomach. Luisa hunched over, staring at her big sister.The knife that had stabbed her clanged against the floor as it fell out of Isabela's hands. What the hell was she doing??

It was enough to just clean the fog. Luisa froze, not moving. Not daring to breathe. She did... something bad. What have she done? Something...  Why don't she remember it? Her vision flickered. Luisa stumbled back, her irises shrunk, for a moment seeing blood running up her arms. A torn body falling out of it.

Luisa's breathing got labored, her hands grabbed onto her hair in distress. Feeling wetness in her eyes. There was something wrong with her. There was something wrong with her and she didn't know how to fix it.

"Isa..." She looked back at her shocked sister. Seeing deep bruises on her neck. The trace of a palm that was too big to be anyone but Luisa's. Fabric on the shoulders torn. What was she supposed to say? What if she just hurt her again? The taste of a meat, human meat, was stuck to Luisa's throat.

What if she slipped back to that state? What  if Luisa got back into that gutwretching hunger, drowning without a way out? Luisa coughed out the disgusting black thing, whatever it was. It clung to her fingers, against the lond-dried blood. There was something wrong with her and it wasn't fixable. She would... Today or tomorrow, it would overtake again.  "Isa... You have... kill me, please." Her voice broke,  feeling so weak. Maybe blood loos was fatal already, but she didn't know that.

"...what?" Isabela stumbled back. Heavy breathe running out of her chest. Yes, it was the plan. Kill Luisa so who's left will be safe. But there was a difference between killing somebody who acted like a murderer with a heart of stone, barely resembling human in her behaviour and... And killing Luisa in mental anguish. Killing somebody who begged for it. Because now Luisa was... Luisa again. She was Isabela's sister. It was so much easier if Luisa kept acting like she used to. Unresponsive to any words, not reasonable.

"I don't want to hurt anyone," Luisa cried, hunching over inder the weight of her soul. "What have I done? Why... BELA, PLEASE," hot tears burned her face, irrigating the dry eyes. She would just eat somebody alive if she's alive. She would hurt her family, who survived by now.

Isabela didn't want to hesitate, she wasn't supposed to. But she didn't want to kill her sister, only now remembering that it was Luisa. Here, right in front of her.

But, sometimes you had to push your oen feelings aside. There was no win in this game for both of them. No one could score them and say who was better.Isabela had picked up the knife. It's blade dripped with blood. From having stabbed Luisa twice. The first time when she tried to attack, the second from the rduh of adrenaline.

"Get down..." Isabela breathed out, feeling the wetness in her eyes. If she didn't know better, she would think she was crying. But... it was stupid, right? No, she wasn't...  "I'll... try to make it quick."

Luisa didn't dare to say a word, to looks into Isabela's eyes. Feeling the weight of guilt on her back  She kneeled, making the height difference between them disappear. Now staring onto the floor. It was getting wet with the sprinkles of tears. The metal pressed against her pale cold skin.

It was hard. Isabela didn't think anything existed. Only her hand that pressed a knife against her hermanita's neck. You will bleed fast from here, right? She tried not to think about it. But it was hard. Isabela clenched her teeth. One second. It would take just a moment. (That will last forever). Isabela pished herself by bare instinct, digging the knife deeper into the neck. And the blood has spilled out, escaping the wound.

Isabela felt it clinging to her body hot and disgusting. Rooting deep under her skin like a weed. She gasped in horror, clinging to Luisa who was loosing so much blood. And Luisa wasn't in a better mental state than Isabela at all. The latter felt her dress getting wet in where it was pressed against Luisa's face. Isabela's cried into Luisa's hair. It was painful, it was wrong in so many way. 

Luisa fell, a heavy limp weight on Isabela's body that was dragged down with it. Isabela was alive, survived. But she didn't think she was survivor at all.

[und8e2ff]

When it comes to writing family dynamics, can we PLEASE see more than just sibling dynamics and parent-child dynamics?

I love to see them, I really do, but are yall familiar with the concept of extended family?

Not just the concept, but THE REALITY ITSELF?

I'm an only child but I grew up in a multi-generational household.

a POOR multi-generational household

I had to share rooms (I didn't always have an actual room), clothes, belongings, etc. until I was about 17.

And that was purely because everyone was getting older and finally moving out to do their own thing.

nah, like that place really had anywhere between 7-10+ people in it at any given time-

FAMILIAL LOVE EXISTS OUTSIDE THE IMMEDIATE FAMILY

Close but not necessarily sibling-like relationships exist between extended family members, especially when they live under the same roof, share the same room, sometimes the same bed, play games together, Borrow™ each other's stuff (it was literally just sitting there. you wasn't mad until I started using it-), and the like.

Representation has progressed a lot and while I know multi-generational households aren't all that common in the US, I want to see more stories with these kinds of families.

I adore found family. I understand found family has a lot of dynamics that cannot be cleanly or clearly defined like they can in blood-related families, but I'm not talking about that right now.

I'm also not talking about stories with extended family where them mfs canNOT STAND each other. The evil aunts, mean step-parents, weird uncles, etc.

I would really like to see more stories of extended families living together. As in they're actually close and actually getting along with less of the... idk how to say it, "tribal division" where instead of being an extra-large family, it's just a bunch of small families stuck together for one reason or the other who only really give af about their own?

Maybe I'm not running in the right content circles but most times when I see extended family in media, it's either a one-off, they're passively mentioned, they did something off-screen, or they're an antagonist if not THEE antagonist?

idk man, just-

Like, "Oh cool. You have the standard nuclear family going on. What room is Aunt Tabitha and her daughter Dolores staying in?" Or, "Hey, you're a single parent? Let's write you living with your sibling or even a cousin of yours that's also a single parent."

Let's have that with little to none of the, "But the extended fam is annoying and cruel and evil and they're the problem in the whole story."

nah, liek... The whole family -THEE. WHOLE. FAMILY.- can get along and the problem can be outside of them, NOT them.

I'm bothered.

In closing...

bro- I canNOT TELL YOU the amount of times mfs be havin sad backstories where they're orphaned and all alone but they literally come from a rich, well-connected background and I'm wonderin where tf lil dude's cousins and grandparents is at- LIEK- I KNOW YOU HAVE LIKE 7 SISTERS ALL MARRIED OFF TO RICH DUKES IN FOREIGN LANDS AND SHIT. HOW ARE YOU THIS FUCKING ALONE MY DUDE- ACTUALLY WHY??? WHERE TF GRAM GRAM AT- TAKE AN ANCESTRY TEST AND FIND SOMEBODY- LITERALLY ANYBODY

[casitafallz]

LTRL AU | Actions and Consequences

Dolores lay awake in her room, the sound of the new waterfall in Antonio’s room was out of sync and much lower in it’s rhythmic thudding of water than Isabela’s but she had worked out easily the differences of height from the water drop was a factor to the pitch and there was a pleasantness to it as both were consistent, thumping sounds of the background. Far easier to listen out for.

But she wasn’t listening into Isabela’s room just for her décor sounds, but she could hear the slight unease in her eldest prima’s breathing as she slept but she had waited for it to be a good time to get up. Tia Julieta would be up soon, she could hear the lightness on her breath and more shifting of the bed sheets to know she was entering a lighter sleep pattern.

So she had about thirty minutes to get up, sorted, and back to her room before anyone noticed.

Quietly, Dolores slipped from her room and headed down to the kitchen first and straight to pick up the dry herbs used in her mother and Tia’s teas. She was unfortunate to know how…active both were as loving, affectionate couples but she knew that it was something that was required to make sure that neither she or her cousins had any surprise babies… except Mama that gave them Antonio; he just really wanted to exist despite her mother’s attempts.

But this was a necessity. Isabela could not have a baby in this household with everything so fragile between everyone. Isabela didn’t need the added stress and certainly, that baby wouldn’t need it either so… a preventative was best offered as soon as possible.

Dolores found the pot easily; it was very district with its terracotta ceramic jar, label less with a delicate lid. She plucked out a few herbs, hoping that Tia wouldn’t notice much missing. She set some into a mug and thankfully, Casita had already fired up the kettle to boil so it was done by the time she slipped the rest into a small cup and gently filled it up. The fire died quickly as she padded away but she worried Tia would notice the lingering heat but she hoped Casita would have the fires going by the time Tia got to the kitchen.

There was little hesitation as her feet led the way up the short slight of steps to the front of Isabela’s door and gently knocked upon the surface, wincing a little as it echoed back so loudly against her ear drums that felt like she could wake up the household. Inside, she heard Isabela wake sharply and then groan out in pain as she moved to rise with a fluttering heart rate.

“C-Come in, Dolores,” Isabela grunted softly.

Dolores let herself in though masked her surprise at Isabela’s guess but didn’t think on it too much as she took in her eldest prima in bed. Isabela looked…somewhat of a mess. Her face a little pale, the distinct smell of sweat clung to her and there was a few bruises of a particular nature that lingered just around the base of her throat. It seemed thankful the plants scents masked the rest and Dolores didn’t plan to overthink on it either.

“I brought this, you should drink quickly and get cleaned up.” She whispered, holding out the mug.

Isabela blinked dryly at her then down to the mug, shifting a little to sit up. “What is it? Pain relief?” A hopeful note in her voice as she took it, giving it a quick sniff

“No, our parents use it for birth control” Dolores gave her a soft, patient look though set the other cup down to free her hands “but I figure it’s best to be in a little pain than pregnant.”

The color returned very quickly to Isabela’s cheeks before she felt the girl’s panic as her eyes widened and as she took a heft glug, only to gag but forced it down with tears in her eyes. “Oh that’s not nice.”

“It’s nicer cooler and not that speed. Sip it.” Dolores rolled her eyes, pulling back the bed sheets from the rest of Isa’s body though tried not to cringe at anything else on the sheets. All of it would need to be cleaned. “You bled. We can pass it off as a period, I know you’ve been irregular the last two months so it’ll be easy to mask.” Though she could see some spots of red, there wasn’t a lot which meant it’d stop within the next day or so.

Isabela glanced down and then groaned but nodded though she winced a little as she made to move. Dolores gently held her arm, helping her up as Isa wavered a little.

“Are you still in pain?”

Isabela shook her head softly, “only deep aches.” Her spare hand came to her lower belly. “Soreness.”

Given what she heard before she had shut herself away to dampen the sounds of the world, Dolores wasn’t surprised. “It was your first time, it can ache but as long as the pain isn’t there, that’s good.” Her first time was less messy, but there was aching for her too so she knew exactly how she was hurting.

The soft blush remained though Isabela drained her remaining tea. “Are you going to tell on me?” The note of caution remained in her tone but the heartbeat was increasing with the girl’s anxiety. Fear of exposure but the fact she wasn’t completely losing it was a relief. Last night had done some good.

“No.” Dolores knew the weight of what would happen if she did and it would unpleasant for everyone, more so for Isabela. “You needed it last night. I’m sorry for what happened with…the photo and the presents you made.” She could only imagine what that felt like and to be alone, it was soul crushing and… Mateo was a good choice for her situation. “Also… I felt like I owe you for Mariano so I won’t say anything but… I need you to be responsible here.” She gestured the second cup of herbs she had left “Make your tea in here so your mother doesn’t notice anything missing where the usual stuff is.”

Isabela set her empty mug down, her fingers coming to pick up the herbs gingerly and give them a sniff, her thumb and finger brushing over the leaf a little before she nodded tightly though looked up at her with a calm relief.

“Thank you.”

Dolores smiled softly, her hand coming to Isa’s shoulder. “I know you’re trying and people here aren’t seeing that. You know I want you to be happy as well.”

Isabela’s expression was still soft though she blinked a little in surprise as Isabela’s arms wrapped around her into a tight hug. It took a second to reciprocate and gingerly rubbed her back. It wasn’t about the hug but the distinct smell that only grew in proximity that she wasn’t fond of.

“Isa, as much as I know you want to keep hugging…your mother will be up soon. You should get to the bathroom first and clean yourself up before breakfast. I’ll change your bed sheets.”

Isabela pulled back though not too far to seem offended, though spared a look to the back of her nightgown with a grimace at the reminder.

“You okay with that?”

Dolores nodded softly. “No one else needs to know and I can get away with things more than you can right now.”

-

Antonio had an enjoyable birthday and he loved his gift. He loved each of his new friends and listening to their little stories. Some animals, like Pico and Parce were more there in brains with how they spoke than others and with how they responded to him.

It felt so nice.

But he also felt bad.

It wasn’t a huge feeling except it was a twinge that was in his gut that was there all the time and Antonio tried not to feel it all the time, as Camilo said it was best not to think too much and he shouldn’t feel guilty.

That was what he was still feeling and he didn’t like it. It hadn’t gone away like Camilo had said. He didn’t doubt his brother’s words about him deserving better and he did like the present but that wasn’t what he was so guilty about. It was Mirabel’s ones. One that Isabela had thought had given her and thought she opened it… Mirabel had no idea and Camilo wanted to make sure Mirabel only got the best but…throwing someone else’s present away… it wasn’t a nice thing to do.

Antonio’s animals stayed with him as his Mami picked out his nice new outfit for the day and soon enough they were outside his room for breakfast where the family was setting up. He clambered onto a seat, Parce’s head resting on his lap.

“Can you warm up Abuela’s seat?” He asked brightly to his coatis friends who leaped brightly though there was a minor squabble as their bodies tried to all stay on at the same time.

Though his Papi brought him his plate, his eyes wandered a little though he couldn’t help the gnawing guilt return as he saw his sister with Dolores, Isabela looking tired and pale as she filled her plate with food and sit down with a twitch of her eye like sitting was uncomfortable. He was used to seeing her like that and normally, he didn’t feel bad because he didn’t think he needed to. She hurt his best friend in the world and it wasn’t anything he knew to get involved in when all the adults did.

But she still made a present for Mirabel.

“Mami,” Antonio piped up, tearing his eyes away from Isabela to his Mami who had been about to sit, her head turning to face with him a prideful expression.

“Si, Mijo?”

His mind scrambled to come up with a reason because he didn’t want to make a fuss but…. he wanted this feeling to go. He didn’t want to tell everyone of what happened. He didn’t want Camilo in trouble. “Parce was…telling me about a few things but… I don’t get it but maybe you could…explain it to me better”

The look on his Mami’s face became a little fixed though a slight cloud appeared above her head “What…what has he been telling you?”

Antonio spared a look down the table though she rose swiftly and even his Papi joined and led him away into the kitchen though he felt a little better to be away from so many eyes, he felt nervous still as he stood, Pico grumbling a little about not enough seeds for him to eat in his ear.

“What’s going on?” Mami’s voice turned soft as she knelt down.

Antonio licked his lips, “I think I did a bad thing… I feel bad.” He admitted, “I don’t like it.”

The slight tilt of her head, before her hand came to his cheek. “Oh? What happened? Is it something that needs to be cleared up?”

Antonio shook his head, his guts tensing up though he felt his eyes well up. “Well… well I was here with Camilo and… and he was shifted as Mirabel to cheer me up a bit and…Isabela came in and… gave us a present.” He started, not meeting his Mami in the eye, even as she looked to Papi in confusion.

“Go on?” Papa encouraged.

“Well… she left after she gave them to us and… well she didn’t know it wasn’t Mirabel she gave a present to… and… and Mirabel still doesn’t know.” He spoke quickly though he turned his eyes to the bin where he had seen Camilo drop them off to. “He put them in there because he said we both deserved better.” He pointed. “I’m sorry!” He dove forwards and burst into tears.

He felt the mussel of Parce against his lower back though before the soft patters of rain though the warm comforts of his Mami was nice as she stroked his back.

“Excuse me.”

He barely noticed Isabela come in, clean her plate down and leave without a backward look, watching over his Mami’s shoulder as Papi went to look into the bin.

“What am I looking for?”

-

The soreness hadn’t left even as Isabela sullenly collected her bag of tools and a new bucket of misty water, gravel and pebbles and left. Only it wasn’t entirely water and stones but she had read her personal pond had a colony bacteria in it to help maintain its waters and it seemed prudent to share if their pond outside was to support any fish life.

Her steps followed the familiar path down through the quiet, early morning streets of Encanto but as light as she felt in her head, the sadness had settled well into her heart but the distance between her and Casita was liberating. They were happy without her at the party, they wouldn’t miss her at breakfast either and she had already eaten enough.

Her shoulders relaxed as she came to the familiar pond.

It had been worked on in the few days of her absence. The pond had the plants it needed but it was still very early days and still trying to find solutions to keep the pond alive with what they had. The outside looked very nice now with a neatened border and a rocky edge for where the new bench was to go. Bushes planted looked to be taken well.

Isabela sighed heavily, setting down the tools before taking off her shoes.

Some elements of her gift couldn’t be suppressed; like how Dolores couldn’t stop hearing. She had always had it; knowing where to grow her plants and where they were outside her vision and manipulate with no obvious movement but now, she felt…good and her mind clear that she felt the soft touches of the grass blades under her feet that used to be a light of a small spark of awareness of the plants around her to a bright light of buzzing.

So much more than before.

The information seemed to tickle though like an expansion of her senses. Impulses flickered across the grass, curving around objects that didn’t connect like stones or diverting down into the ground to follow other, more foreign fungal networks and connecting into other roots, like the trees… she could almost feel how they strained with the wind, the rustling of the warming wind… how the sun was pleasant against the hundreds of leaves that filled their ‘hunger’ but there were impulses that seemed to carry a lot more than just impulses of information she could barely read.

Isabela had read vaguely trees had a system designed to transfer minerals and water to help maintain the plant in it’s environment; to change when it needed to… but she didn’t think too much on that as she skated along the root systems of the grass that seemed to an outlay of world map of her immediate surroundings in pulsing lines in her mind but the subtle shifting from the wind’s was easy to tell from the sudden changes of patterns of something else and non-natural over it’s surface.

Imprint patterns.

Four feet.

Two people.

Or one mutant person but two separate seemed most likely.

It took everything to find her way back but it was so busy. The plant life in the pond, she could feel their roots starting to form properly into the soil, healthy but struggling…. They needed help...or more light.

“Isabela?” A touch to the shoulder was enough to jolt her back to her body with a sharp gasp, her eyes flickering around though she saw both Francesca and Mateo hovering in front of her.

Her eyes flickered between the two, “Sorry… I was…elsewhere.” She shook her head, her hands coming to wipe at her eyes though she swiftly slipped her shoes back on to dampen the background ‘noise’. It was immediate, the buzzing was gone and she felt fully present in her own body.

It felt odd, to be able to process that now. Was a new element of her gift unlocked now? Did having sex just open that area open up for her or was it just…how she was feeling that made that difference?

“Your eyes clouded over a little.” Fran remarked dryly, “I won’t ask, but that can’t be good if you’re not aware of your surroundings” She bent down and peered into the bucket by her feet. “So, this will help the water, Si?”

Mateo lingered if a little, his brow creased in concern still. Isabela patted his arm, just to cool his nerves a little though he lingered nonetheless.

“Isa,” Fran called again, “should I toss the whole lot in or be gentle?”

Isabela licked her lips softly though weighed the options. Either would work but she’d rather not crush any of the plants with a random toss. Fran rolled her skirt up and began to wade in she opted not to follow; the water would overwhelm her just as much as the grass would. So much floating…

“Pick out the large rock, and disperse the rest in the middle. Give me the bucket when you’re done. I want to get more clay.” She could put it to some use and clear out an area here and plant a fruit sapling here, or potted fruit plants, there wasn’t too much light filtered down but it would be nice for people to enjoy a snack.

Fran gave a little half sarcastic salute and began to pull out the rocks and settle them into the water happily, the few loose strands that had fallen from her bun almost dipping into the surface.

“What are you putting in here? I thought the pond was done enough to leave and settle down?” Mateo asked, coming to collect the rake from the box of tools that hadn’t bothered to take home, tucked into a crevice of a large tree. It was easier to leave the large stuff here and take her hand tools back to her room.

“Most ponds have bacteria that can help aid the pond growth.” Isabela spoke, “The pond in my room is…full of that so I’m introducing those bacteria here to colonize the bottom of this pond more efficiently than what’s left over here. It should help keep the water clear but… it’ll take weeks for the bacteria to colonize. After that… then we can add fish. It does feel a little sluggish at the moment but we’re on the right track.”

“Oh.” He hummed softly, gently raking up some of the leaves from the edge and back towards the treeline. “How was…this morning?”

“I didn’t pay too much attention. Ate food and left. I’d rather be out here then… at the Casita. No doubt Abuela’s going to be talking about the joys of a new gift in the familia.” Isabela shrugged, though she pulled out her trowel and began to look for her previous dig patch for clay again.

Bending down was fine but it wasn’t until she was kneeling and using her lower muscles that she groaned out softly, taking a second’s pause.

“You okay?” Mateo’s voice carried in concern though she waved him away from getting too involved.

“I’m fine.” She winced as she slipped to sitting but that didn’t help on the uneven floor.

“Do you need help?” Fran’s voice echoed, her steps sloshing out water as she padded out with the half empty bucket. “You didn’t sit on something did you?”

Isabela shook her head, “It’s nothing, Fran. I…overexerted myself yesterday.”

“In what way that’d hurt downstairs? Your period? Do I need to get Chocolate Santafereño?”

“Er..” Mateo coughed a little. “I think…we should let her be. I don’t think…” he trailed off a little though there was a pink undertone rising up from his dark green collar and he clearly didn’t know how to finish but it made Isabela smile he wasn’t trying to spill. It just made him look awkward about the implication Fran was on about.

Fran turned and have him a sour look, “Don’t get iffy with me about the female body talks, you have a sister and you should know by now, Mateito.”

Mateo looked between a rock and a hard place and clearly, Fran looked eager to mess with him either way so Isa decided to step in.

“I’m sore but I’ll be fine, Fran.” She gave her a look, “Can we please not talk about it anymore… It was a bad day yesterday.”

“What could have happened? Did you fall? Get pushed off the balcony? Get lost in the depth of your cousin’s room? Was it a good party, excluding your situation, Isa?” Her question changed and diverted between them two.

Isabela smiled softly as Mateo began to talk, gently pulling aside some topsoil and gently. Of course, the therapeutic act didn’t last long before—

“What?!”

Isabela jumped a little, turning quickly to see Fran fuming, Mateo with his hands up trying to calm her down.

“What short-sighted person didn’t see that happening? Are they purposely being assholes?” The use of langue wasn’t much of a surprise. Though the look of 'help' crossed Mateo’s features.

“Let’s not bring it up anymore, Isa—“

“—should have called them out on it.”

Isabela winced as she pushed herself up again and clawed her way back onto her feet. “I don’t want to tell them, Fran.” She breathed, her hand gripping the front of her skirt. “There’s no point.”

“Like hell, there isn’t. They had a party and a photo that was well known you couldn’t be in. There are ten other people living in that huge, weirdly sentient house and it occurred to no one that a very significant person in their family can’t come in?”

“If I call it out then it still looks bad on me, Fran.” Isabela tried tiredly. “Everything like that wouldn’t be seen as calling out their issues and only highlighting the fact I’m trying to cause trouble or trying to get pity. I don’t…want to go through that and live with it.” Isa begged softly.

“We…should respect that at least, right?” Mate tried. “Please, Fran. I know you love a sense of justice but let’s…keep a low profile.”

Fran gave him a look, her brow dented though Isa held her gaze.

“What are you two hiding?”

Isa blanched. “Nothing.”

“You’re calm,” Pointing to Mateo, “You look a little too serene for such a shit night.” She added to Isabela though after a second, her eyes flickered back and forth then down to how she gripped her skirt before gasping out. “Oh! You two fucked!”

Mateo backed away at her words, his hands coming to cover his crouch with the bucket. “Don’t shout that out!” He hissed cheeks turning pink.

Isabela also blushed, not quite meeting her eyes.

Fran looked crossed between disgusted and surprised before she took a sudden breath and turned away with quiet mutters. Isabela held her breath, watching as Fran seemed to quickly go through the cycle of grief before turning back like a stern mother looking at the two of them like she was disappointed.

“Isa, answer this to me now. Do you regret your night with him?”

“No,” Isa answered, though her cheeks remained ever pink. “I…I needed him.”

“You?”

“Nope. It was a good night.” Mateo agreed, “Are you okay, Fran?”

Fran licked her lips, her expression becoming dry. “Look, I will put more rules here now and I am serious because this is. I don’t care if you two have ‘fun’ in that way but I will not tolerate if you two sour up this group if you avoid the sex topic that you two have started. If you argue, I expect you to make up and become civil until the pond and this area is done. No making this awkward. Establish what you two have going on because I don’t wanna feel like a third-wheeler here. Okay?”

“Will you promise to keep it a secret?” Mateo asked his face draining of color, “My family will kill me if they find out. Isa’s already in enough heat. You know what rules they have her under.”

Fran inhaled deeply, “The fact you have to ask is mildly offensive. Of course, I will. I love secrets.” She still sounded annoyed but it felt like a weight had been lifted off Isa’s lungs a little.

“Don’t call out my family on what they did yesterday as well,” Isa begged, “I don’t want that, even as wrong as they were. I have to live with them at the end of the day” It would be exhausting and she could already imagine her Abuela getting iffy about it. Or her mother on her calling out the unfairness and her just…not understanding it.

Fran looked less impressed, “You are pushing it… but you have an annoying point.” She spared a look down. “Your first time?”

Isa swallowed, “…Si?”

“Parents gave you the talk?”

“They did.”

Fran sucked on her teeth for a moment, her cheeks flushing a moment though looked to be in debate before pointing a finger at the only male of the group. “Mateo, go get us a Chocolate Santafereño each and some snacks, us ladies got to talk if you two wanna keep going at each other.”

“Fran..” Isa groaned though Mateo was practically gone like a coward running for his life.

Lucky bastard.

The silence didn’t last long before she gave Fran a look but she wasn’t having any of it.

“No, this is serious but I am still a doctor in training. I need to make sure you’re safe.” Fran interjected, “No one should have their first time in the wake of distraught. No one should be pushed into that resort to feel good. I am angry but I care about you… and I don’t want you to resort to sex as means of joy and happiness. It’s not healthy.”

Isabela felt like a red bucket. “Fran…don’t ruin last night for me, please.”

“I’m not. You had a good night and you’ve found a reasonable calm. I applauded that. You should enjoy sex but the reasons for why should always matter. You deserve to have a good time for a good reason, is all I am saying. Both of you.” Her face was surprisingly sweet before her hands came to her shoulders. “That is why you should figure out what you want to be very quick. Friends that fucked once in a night of passion, friends with benefits are more casual or would you want to become more serious. A relationship.”

Isabela swallowed thickly but…she could see what Fran was telling her. It was a nicer picture but… she felt uncertain.

“I’ll consider it.”

“Good. No messing each other around.” Fran patted her shoulder, “My younger sister got messed around by her boyfriend last week and you bet I didn’t handle that well.”

“I heard a pan almost got involved.” Isabela sighed out but couldn’t help herself by pulling Fran into a soft hug, though Fran was stiff, she loosened up after a moment. “Thank you.”

Fran hummed softly, “still pissed at your family.”

-

Antonio sat quietly, idly listening to his mother talking with his tia about his brother and cousins though his attention turned as he saw a few rats scuttling away. Curiously, he slipped off his chair and began to follow though he could hear them talking, he couldn't make out their squeaky words with how far they had gone. Small things had small voices but he could tell they didn't know he was there; too focused. Parce appeared behind though also curiously followed as they made it up to the steps and... straight up towards the painting beside his sister's room.

'they're in the walls.' Parce noticed, sniffing around, nudging the frame that moved a little open though Antonio's attention turned to a lingering rat that stood frozen at the sight of Parce as it failed its climb up in time.

"Big. Cat. Eat us!"

"No, he won't hurt you!" Antonio called " He's my friend. Where are you going?" Antonio dropped to his knees, offering a hand out. "Please don't be scared. i want to help you."

'help?' slowly, the rat moved with hesitancy but moved into his hands quickly, eyeing Parce with fear still.

Antonio nodded. "Si! I've got a cool gift and I really want to help. Do you want some cheese?"

"Cheese. Bruno. need cheese."

"Is that your name? Bruno?"

"No. Bruno is Mama. Bruno is your Tio. Bruno hiding. Bruno hungry. We bring him stuff.'

"Bruno is my Tio? Why is he hiding?" but he didn't get the answer before a crack of thunder made him jump, almost dropping the rat in the process.

[knowledgepanel]

What Made Young Ronaldo Stand Out: The Untold Stories Behind His Rise to Football Stardom

Cristiano Ronaldo’s name is synonymous with greatness, but the man we know today as CR7 had humble beginnings. Behind his dazzling skills, iconic goals, and countless trophies, there lies the story of a young boy from Madeira who overcame countless challenges. From battling a severe heart condition to nearly becoming CR28, Ronaldo’s early years are full of untold stories that shaped him into the global icon he is today. Let’s explore what made young Ronaldo stand out and how his journey to stardom is an inspiring tale of passion, perseverance, and destiny.

 1. Humble Beginnings in Madeira: Dreams Fueled by Passion

Born on February 5, 1985, in the sun-soaked streets of Funchal, Madeira, Cristiano Ronaldo grew up in a humble household. Despite financial hardships, young Ronaldo’s love for football was boundless. Kicking a worn football through narrow alleyways, he dreamt of greatness that stretched far beyond the island’s borders. His mother, Dolores Aveiro, and father, José Dinis Aveiro, a kit man at Andorinha Football Club, nurtured his passion. It was in the small football club of Andorinha where Ronaldo’s talent first began to shine.

Even as a child, Ronaldo displayed an exceptional work ethic. While other kids played for fun, young Ronaldo practiced relentlessly. His passion for the sport, combined with his innate talent, caught the attention of local coaches, who quickly realized they had a prodigy in their midst. But as talented as he was, Ronaldo’s journey was not without its hurdles.

 2. A Brush with Fate: The Battle Against Tachycardia

At the age of 15, Ronaldo faced a life-altering challenge: a severe heart condition known as Tachycardia. The condition caused his heart to beat irregularly, which not only threatened his career but also his life. For a boy whose entire existence revolved around football, this diagnosis was devastating.

Doctors advised surgery, and Ronaldo underwent a procedure to correct the issue. It was a pivotal moment that could have ended his burgeoning career before it even began. However, young Ronaldo’s resilience shone through. He recovered quickly and returned to the pitch with renewed determination. This setback only seemed to fuel his ambition further, a characteristic that would define him throughout his career.

 3. The Unlikely Number 7: The Birth of CR7

When Ronaldo joined Manchester United in 2003, he was just 18 years old. He initially preferred the number 28 jersey, the number he wore at his previous club, Sporting CP. Young Ronaldo was hesitant to take on the iconic number 7, a number previously worn by Manchester United legends like George Best, Eric Cantona, and David Beckham. The weight of the shirt came with immense pressure, and Ronaldo, still new to the club, was unsure if he was ready to carry such a legacy.

However, Sir Alex Ferguson, the legendary Manchester United manager, insisted that Ronaldo take the number 7 jersey. Ronaldo was initially “petrified,” as he later confessed, but this decision would become one of the defining moments of his career. Instead of crumbling under the pressure, Ronaldo embraced the challenge. The number 7 became more than just a number – it became a brand, a symbol of his relentless ambition, and a reflection of his will to surpass expectations. Thus, CR7 was born.

 4. Unyielding Work Ethic: The Foundation of Success

While Ronaldo’s natural talent is undeniable, it was his work ethic that truly set him apart from his peers. From a young age, Ronaldo was known for his extraordinary dedication to training. Stories from his teammates and coaches paint a picture of a player who was always the first to arrive at training and the last to leave.

His determination to improve every aspect of his game, from speed and strength to technical ability, made him stand out. While other young players enjoyed their downtime, Ronaldo was always pushing himself to the limit. His legendary training sessions, which included extra hours in the gym and practicing free-kicks long after everyone had left, are a testament to his commitment to greatness.

 5. The Influence of Family: A Strong Support System

Behind every football legend is a strong support system, and for Ronaldo, it was his family. His father’s role as a kit man may seem small in the grand scheme of things, but it provided Ronaldo with the early exposure to the world of football. Ronaldo’s father, though struggling with alcoholism, was immensely proud of his son’s achievements and supported his dreams from the beginning.

His mother, Dolores, was a driving force behind his success. When financial challenges threatened to derail his footballing aspirations, she made sure that Ronaldo never lost sight of his dreams. The love and support of his family grounded him, ensuring that no matter how far he went in the football world, he remained connected to his roots.

 6. The Hidden Talents: Table Tennis and Beyond

Before football took over Ronaldo’s life, he showed immense talent in another sport: table tennis. His quick reflexes and hand-eye coordination, which later became hallmarks of his footballing style, were honed during intense table tennis matches with his cousins and friends. These early experiences in table tennis would later translate to Ronaldo’s agility on the field, allowing him to react quickly to defenders and goalkeepers.

Interestingly, this hidden talent also reflects Ronaldo’s competitive nature. Whether it was table tennis or football, young Ronaldo hated losing. His relentless drive to win, in every situation, helped mold him into the fierce competitor he is today.

 7. The CR7 Galaxy: A Cosmic Honor

Ronaldo’s influence isn’t limited to football. In 2015, astronomers discovered a galaxy so bright that they decided to name it after him: the CR7 Galaxy. This is a testament not only to his astronomical rise in football but also to his cultural impact around the world.

For a boy from a small island to have a galaxy named after him is nothing short of remarkable. It speaks to Ronaldo’s global influence, transcending borders, and extending beyond the confines of sport. The CR7 Galaxy serves as a symbol of Ronaldo’s limitless ambition and his ability to inspire millions around the world.

 8. The Legacy of Young Ronaldo: More Than Just Football

Cristiano Ronaldo’s journey from a young boy in Madeira to one of the greatest footballers of all time is a story of talent, resilience, and unrelenting work ethic. But what truly made young Ronaldo stand out was his ability to overcome adversity, whether it was a heart condition, the pressure of the number 7 jersey, or the challenges of his humble beginnings.

Today, Ronaldo’s legacy is etched not only in football history but also in the hearts of fans worldwide. His story is a reminder that greatness is not just about talent but also about determination, discipline, and the courage to rise above challenges.

 Conclusion: The Making of a Legend

The untold stories of young Ronaldo offer us a glimpse into the making of a legend. His rise to stardom is not just a tale of football prowess but also a narrative of perseverance, sacrifice, and the unwavering belief in one’s dreams. From battling a life-threatening heart condition to embracing the iconic number 7 jersey, Ronaldo’s journey is a source of inspiration for athletes and dreamers alike.

Ronaldo stands as a testament to the idea that football legends are made, not born. Through hard work, determination, and an unyielding desire to succeed, young Ronaldo transformed into CR7 – a name that will be remembered for generations.

[lady-vixen-17]

A FELLOW DOLLY SIMP

YESS SIIIIIRR. WE LOVE DOLORES IN THIS HOUSEHOLD!

[toddstool]

long and spoilers ig under the cut

notes as i was watching:

THE GRANDMA IS SOOO MEAAANNN that grandmother disappointment hits different. reminds me of mine and how she's always kind of "gently" disapproved of me being me (mentally ill and gnc and weird)

I read a theory that since mirabel is the next head of household, antonio got his gift from mirabel and not from abuela like the others, so his room and his gift aren't oppressive and mainly used just to serve. it's more about him and what he wants; what makes HIM happy. and that that's kinda shown when abuela is displeased to find animals warming her chair the next morning.

mirabel better than me cuz i woulda cussed every one out, ran away, and sabotaged them. like straight up I would've been the villain of this movie fr. someone said they would've blown that candle out and that's so real 💀

the casita def started cracking not because mirabel was feeling bad, but because the rest of the family left her out and were ignoring that one of their family members was hurting. because abuela decided to just overlook mirabel and kind of discard her after she found her useless, and when antonio got his gift and she was so happy, purposely just forgetting the "mistake" resulted in the house starting to shatter, because their family started to shatter (specially the member that is going to be in charge of the house next was left behind, cuz i mean she also did that with bruno and the house didn't start to crack) also how tf did bruno fix the house that fucking quickly

another theory that i read: luisa: brawn, isabela: beauty, therefore mirabel: brains. BUT STILL WHY DIDNT SHE GET A FUCKING DOOR THEN IK ITS JUST FOR THE STORY AND TO PORTRAY INTERGENERATIONAL TRAUMA BUT DAMN

mirabel's mom is soooooooooo pretty

abuela pulled the one white flower out of isabela's hair 🕵 pretty sure someone's already pointed that out tho

I wish the sequence for "surface pressure" was based on more of her daily chores and was realistic. i think that would flesh out the surroundings more.

isabela probably had to go thru SO MUCH SHIT as the first grand kid YIKES. i imagine she was much more messy and creative as a child and just got constantly shut down and shit on. and then as she got older she projected all that hate onto mirabel

i definitely feel like this story wasn't fleshed out enough and that they didn't have enough time to portray what they wanted to. cuz it does feel like a lot of love went into this but at the same time why does some of this shit happen? why does that stuff in bruno's room happen? almost like there was some executive interference with the storyboard-ers.

we don't talk about Bruno but the entirety of the town is gonna participate in this musical number

I really need to watch that youtube essay titled "disney has an adorkable problem" cuz true

dolores lowkey sucks like girl can u not shut up. she probably hears so much shit but she has to say something about this during this dinner. ik it's just to further the plot but I hate writing like that.

the fucking door kick back into bruno's rat nest 💀

dolores had to hear their whole convo in the walls right??

the kid that voiced antonio did a great job

again to reiterate: grandma being a hater is what's causing the cracks, not mirabel's existence. her tough attitude was necessary after the war but it's not needed now

love fixing a sibling rivalry that's been going for almost a decade with a single musical score👍

ooo I forgot about the part during this song where isabela and mirabel stop in front of the candle to hug and it glows brighter and the cracks fix themselves. i guess luisa's powers are not working because she still doesn't believe in herself and still bases her worth on what she does for others

are mirabel and abuela the only ones that are able to control/communicate with the casita? I think they're the only ones shown to do so at least.

why tf did pedro stay back and try to stop the men on horse back what the hell was he gonna do. i just feel like some of this stuff wasn't thought out idk.

the whole ending seems like it was cut short and just happens so quick.

the adorkable problem is strong with bruno and mirabel and it just makes their characters dislikable, but then again this was made by millennials. and also it's a children's movie.

what's "the stars dont shine they burn" supposed to mean

movie should've been 2 hours at least, with more interactions with mirabel and her cousins and aunt/uncle, to show more problems with the family and more of her fixing that.

i did read that some people didn't like the fact that they get the magic back once mirabel touches the door knob, but i think that shows the magic is in mirabel and she watches over it and is the next family matriarch pretty well.

with a little rewriting and adding some more points it would've been great but all together i feel it was just a bit lacking. the world building didn't feel very real for some reason, it felt stiff and small. i didn't like some of mirabel's writing/portrayal like i said before, but I do like her, just could've been better.

I hate finishing a piece of media and coming out of it thinking "man that could've been great", something i feel way too often nowadays, and i definitely felt that with encanto. i like the world building, i like the characters, kinda like the story, but there's just something off? or missing? not sure

anyway

would.

thinking about encanto again jfc

[beanswrites]

"Encanto" is one of the best Disney movies ever, and here's why

1. Representation of mental health in a children's movie

This movie so brilliantly showed mental health issues in many of it's characters. Mirabel thinks that she isn't good enough because of Abuela, which is a good sign of Avoidant Personality Disorder. Luisa obviously has crippling anxiety from the weight that's been put on her shoulders, and Bruno is showing hints of depression and anxiety as well.

As the oldest sibling of my family who had severe anxiety all my life, never have I ever related to Disney songs as much as "Surface Pressure" and "Waiting On A Miracle". I think it's beautiful how Disney made not one but two songs about mental illness, and dealing with it. It teaches kids to not hide their feelings!

2. Showing diversity by having a Colombian family as the main characters

This movie is one of the rare ones which don't have a white protagonist. I noticed that in the last few years Disney started showing more and more diversity with non-white female leads (Tiana, Moana, Raya, and now Mirabel), and I especially love how it's a family! A great detail that needs to be recognized is that even tho they do look alike (because they are a family), none of the characters look the same. I feel like in the older movies, even when there was some diversity, all people of color would look the same. It shows how much Disney has improved!

It also shows toxic family relations in Latina families, like how Abuela favorited others over Mirabel, especially because Mirabel is a middle child. This movie is on all levels so realistic. Besides the magic.

3. Having a strong female lead with realist proportions and an actual personality

Since the beginning of 2000 up until now, Disney and Pixar have been doing a great job at making characters with realistic, complex personalities, and it really shows. They really went from having white princesses being saved by a prince charming to strong, diverse women who have enthusiasm and take charge by themselves. Don't get me wrong, I still love the older white princesses, but I'm glad that nowadays every little girl can look at the screen and see a princess that looks like them! Disney still has a long way ahead of them when it comes to diversity (would it KILL you to make an LGBTQIA+ character?? Or a Muslim character??), but we gotta appreciate how far they came!

I also loved this movie for it's lack of small waists, for it's realistically sized noses and actual hips on characters. Feels good to have realistically proportionate people in cartoons, it reminds kids that all shapes and sizes are gorgeous!

4. Awesome plot and great animation

The plot and even the idea of "Encanto" is really interesting, and it isn't one of the classical, overused tropes. The story is very original, and it isn't the classical family cliché.

I loved the animation, it's really raw and full of emotion. There were some scenes I didn't believe were actually animated because of how good they are, like Abuela crying.

5. Having an amazing soundtrack written by the legend Lin-Manuel Miranda himself

Name one bad song from this soundtrack. I'll wait.

From the beat to the lyrics and even the placement of the songs in the right moment, everything about this soundtrack is awesome! The tunes are so catchy (everybody has "We Don't Talk About Bruno" stuck in their heads) that it still reminds you that it's a Disney movie, but the lyrics are so deep and meaningful and clever and touching. The way Dolores smugly hid the fact that she can actually hear Bruno thru the walls in "We Don't Talk About Bruno" and then asked Mirabel "Do you understand?" was brilliant.

Also, "Dos Origuitas" is 2021's version of "Remember Me" from Coco. It has the same sad but also beautiful vibe.

Bonus:

Pepa and Felix being the best married couple ever

I- They are seriously the cutest. Pepa is so interesting and weird, and Felix is such an awesome, supportive husband that it's practically impossible to not love them. Felix is the type of a guy that would cause an unexpected rain all over the Encanto just and only because he tickled Pepa so hard that she started crying (brb gonna go write a fanfic like this). They are awesome partners, and even more amazing parents.

If you say that you don't simp (or at least love them) for Dolores or Camilo (or in my case both), you are lying. I don't make the rules.

--

All in all, Encanto is an awesome movie, in all aspects. I can just tell that one day, in like 30 years, kids are gonna be watching and loving this movie like we love "Beauty And The Beast" today. This one is gonna be one of the classics.

[xgatheringdust]

Encanto AU 👀? -☯️

Oh- I’d love to take credit yinyang friend but this (unfortunately) was the work of my tumblr nemesis @zlixlriffs in vc new years night.

And since I wasn’t in that vc I’m not 100% if the story changes or not but I’m pretty sure it doesn’t. I do not question Zlix for fear that he will say something. We don’t want him speaking in this household 💖.

Character list for the interested:

Abuela - Pixlriffs (candle- CANDLE!!!! i think thats the reason?)

Julieta - Lizzie (She- she just feels right for some reason?)

Agustin - Joel (Simp who hurts himself and loves wife.)

Pepa - Scott (Wouldn’t you like to know, weather boy.)

Felix - Jimmy (Himbo who calms down his partner with only love in his heart.)

Bruno - Xornoth (we dont talk about him.)

Isabella - Pearl (Flower lady who wants to be acknowledged as more; also read shrubs.)

Dolores - Katherine (Makes sense when you read shrubs.)

Mariano - Shrub (Was told to marry the plant one and got them mixed up for a while oops.)

Luisa - Sausage (Strong ol boi with so much pressure on him poor guy.)

Camilo - Joey (Solely- SOLELY for the scene where he simps over Xornoth.)

Mirabel - Gem (Because its funny that wizard lady is the token powerless character.)

Antonio - fWhip (Roseblings 🥺.)

[needs-to-stop-looking-at-valves]

Hear me out! We need a toddler Mirabel and Felix having a tea party with pretty dresses and hats!!!

This is the cutest fucking prompt to EVER hit my inbox. Let's fucking go.

Félix loved Dolores. Loved his Camilo too, and even loved Isabela and Luisa. But truth be told, he always had a sort of simpatico with Mirabel. Always in her siblings shadow for one reason or another. Now he wasn’t going to discredit Agustín or Julieta, one was a single child and the other was the pride and joy of the household, but neither truly understood this sort of sibling situation as he did. It was why he agreed that while Pepa took today off for herself, while Julieta and Agustín went on a date, he'd agree to make today about Mirabel.

Ever since her ceremony, it's been...hard for her. Abuela favored watching over the other children over her, and didn't...smile the same. Félix never had to go through this magic stuff, but he knew what disappointment looked like. Parents were good at that feeling, and as he sat here, sorting snacks to take upstairs, he hoped it was the one emotion he WASN'T good at showing.

"Tìo! You almost done?!"

"Si mija! Just one more minute!"

Didn't matter. She just needed one day for her, to make her feel special again. He pulled the chilled tea from the fridge, added it to the tray, and went upstairs to the nursery. And there she was, just so happy to see him.

"Yay! Feels like you took forever!"

"Sorry, had to make sure it was perfect! But how come you're still in your pajamas?"

"I wanted you to help me pick my dress!"

She did have quite a few. Many thought her gift would include clothes or sewing, so she had MANY dresses given to her during her birthday. He chuckled, setting the tray on the dresser.

"I'd be honored, mija. Do you need help getting dressed?"

"Nope! I'm big enough!"

"Well alright! How about I set up your table, and the little lady can just try them on for me to see? Like a little fashion show?"

"YES!!!"

She snatched a million dresses from her dresser, before diving behind her folding screen. It took up almost half the room, but she wanted it terribly, claiming it made her feel like a lil lady. Besides, he could fold it up when he was done. He set up the table, including their little plates and teacups, and added the snacks accordingly. It was a good thing Camilo wasn't here, or these would be gone. After he set them up, he carefully sat in one of the small chairs (god don't let it break under his fat ass), and waited for her to come out. It took a minute, and he was getting worried.

"Mirabel? You okay? You need help?"

"I got it! Just getting my shoes on!"

She stepped out, wearing one of her red dresses, and Pepa's heels. She took one step, and of course, almost fell. Had he not dove in when he did, she would've face planted onto the table.

"Hijole-Mirabel, where did you get those shoes?"

"...from tìa's room."

"Did she say you could have them?"

"I...i was just gonna borrow it. Tìa said I could once I was a lady."

"Well, you are a lady. Just a little one. Come on, take those off, put on some of your own shoes."

She pouted, but did as he said. She changed her shoes to something for suited for her.

"Better?"

"Much. Now, how are we feeling about this red one?"

"Hmm...I like it. But I wanna try another one. Oh- how about pink?!"

Something about him made him wince. He had a feeling if Abuela saw her in pink like hers, she'd look down upon her even more. Whatever, he wasn't gonna let her ruin a whole ass color for her.

"Sure. Let's try pink. Go ahead."

He sat at the table and waited for her to change. She did, but dressed in her yellow one, the one with sunflowers.

"Is this one pretty?"

"Si, but I thought you said you wanted to try pink?"

"I just. Really wanted them to match these."

She held out a box to him, and sure enough, they were a pair of Pepa's old earrings. The lightning ones, the same ones she wore when they were teenagers. It brought back memories, really it did.

"You wanna wear these?"

"Would tìa get mad?"

Mirabel fiddled with her little hands in nerves. He chuckled.

"No, she won't. If anything, she'd be flattered. Here, let your tìo help you."

He was careful as he took off her current pair, and put these new ones on. She giggled as soon as he was done, trying not to jump in place.

"Am I pretty like tìa?"

"No. You're pretty like YOU, mija."

He kissed the top of her head, and tried not to squeeze the life out of her. She was so small and adorable, she was practically his own. She dove into her closet real quick, before coming back with just a MESS of hats.

"Speaking of pretty, we need hats! Its. Uhm. What is it called- dress code!"

"Do I get to pick my hat?"

"Mmmmmm. No."

He shrugged as she put hat after hat on his head. A blue one, a red one, a green one, a purple one. She finally settled on a very big, very annoying sun hat. Why a small child had a hat bigger than her whole body, who knew? He just nodded in approval.

"I like it. Careful, I might keep it."

"You can keep it! You do look at tìa all day, I feel like it hurts your eyes after a while."

He knew what she meant, and it was sweet, but the idea of it being used as an insult made him smirk into his hand. Kids were just special like that. After she chose her hat (an orange bowler hat), she went to her dresser yet again, pulling out a makeup kit. Mirabel was kinda showered in gifts, suffice to say.

"We doing nails today?"

"AND lipstick!"

"Alright, just be careful with the mustache, that's my best feature."

"That's not what tìa says."

He pushed the hat back a bit to give her some room, letting her tiny hands hold onto his face as she started to add some kind of powder.

"Oh yeah? What does tìa THINK is my best feature?"

"Your hands. She said you were good with them. I asked her like how, and she got all red and said hand holding. Camilo said it was gross."

Yeah, that sounded like his Pepita.

"Well that's good. I like holding her hands too-"

"Tìo don't move too much, I don't want it to smudge."

He stayed silent as she continued to add her makeup. Some powder, some lipstick, something on his eyes. He knew she was done when she moved to his nails, finding a pretty turquoise color for him. He kept still, not wanting to make her mess anything up.

"You REALLY are going all out, huh?"

"Well yeah! I wanna make sure you look pretty! You're my special guest. Even more special than Señor Oso!"

She gestured to her stuffed teddy bear in a top hat, and he nodded.

"Well, don't I feel special. He looks fancy."

"He owns a hat store, and he likes candy."

"Oh he must be...unbearably busy."

That made her giggle, showing off her little teeth. One was missing, as it had just fallen out, but it was so cute. She finished his thumb, and after getting the command to blow on them, she handed him a small hand mirror, letting him get a look. And it looked exactly how you thought it would, honestly. Not that it mattered, she was proud, she was having fun, who cared how it looked?

"Is it good?"

"Oh it's PERFECT. Pepa is gonna flip when she sees this. Mira, I look so beautiful, I'm going to make your mami jealous."

"Mami gets jealous?"

He nodded, a flashback of their younger years coming back in his mind. She sat at her chair, and she let him do HER makeup. He was no expert, but growing up with three sisters, he knew enough to make a little girl presentable.

"Oh absolutely. Your mami once thought Pepa was trying to date your dad, before they were official- she got MAD. The stories I could tell. Let's just say there was a reason why her siblings listened to her, and not JUST because she was the oldest. I remember once, when Brun-"

He stopped himself, but it was too late. He saw her little eyes past her glasses, and pain flooded her vision. Right. They weren't supposed to talk about Bruno. He opened his mouth to change the subject, but as children did, she said what she was thinking.

"Can you tell when Bruno was mad? Was...was tìo Bruno mad when I didn't get my gift? Like Abuela?"

Félix sighed. He stopped the makeup, to cup her face in his hands. She looked so small, so frail. He was naturally a nuturing figure, and he knew he'd do anything for this little girl in front of him.

"One, your Abuela was not mad at you. You did nothing wrong. What happened is just...one of things. Bad things happen, often to people who don't deserve it. As for Bruno...I can't tell you. But I can tell you this. He was the most excited at your ceremony, practically bouncing in place, like those little jumping mice. He was not mad at you. He left because...well. He saw something that demanded his attention. And when he's done, he'll..."

He wanted to say he'd come back. It's what Pepa would say. But he couldn't lie to her, he'd never forgive himself. He sighed.

"He'll...maybe, come back. I don't know. And not knowing is okay sometimes. I'm sorry, Mirabel. You deserved a gift. But I will tell you this. You do have your family, and sometimes, that's all we need. I mean, you have me, and you like ME, right?"

"Of course! I LOVE you!"

"See? THERE'S that smile!"

He kissed her little baby cheeks like a mad man, and ahe giggled like crazy. He knew she still didn't get it, hell, even HE didn't understand what happened or why. But he did know, that he REALLY wanted to tuck into some well deserved lunch. With one more kiss, he gestured to the table.

"Now! We gonna let Oso eat all these, or what?"

She hopped into her chair, practically skipping, before putting some of the snacks onto his own little plate, and handed it over to him. He let her pour the tea (he even put just a BIT in the kettle so it'd be light enough for her) into his own tea cup, and after they gave a salut, they enjoyed. He remembered exactly which cookies to get her (the one's with the lil pineapple filling, NOT the cherry ones), and made sure the tea was just perfectly sweet. Félix looked at the other party guests, trying not to ruin his lipstick or his nails as he ate and drank.

"Okay, so we have Oso. Who else is here?"

"Oh right, I haven't properly introduced you to everyone! You know Señor Oso,"

Félix tipped his hat to the stuffed bear, before looking to the stuffed horse on the other corner.

"That's Señora Caballo, she owns a glue factory,"

He snorted loud enough to stop her flow, trying nit to lose his goddamn mind.

"She. She what?"

"Owns a glue factory. Camilo said she looked proper enough for it. Why is your face like that?"

Of fucking course it was a Camilo idea. That little shit. He forced himself to breathe, before shaking his head.

"I'm. Good. I was just. Really impressed. It's tough out there for women."

"Isn't it? She's been through five businesses, and seven husbands. Though I'm a little suspicious of the last two. I'm not accusing her, but I'm just saying the timing of the insurance was pretty suspicious."

Why the fuck were kids just endless entertainment? He nodded at her, following along with the honestly great set up she had here.

"And the Bunny?"

"Oh, that's Señora Saltos. She owns a carrot farm."

"Ah, a farmer, we have something in common."

He nodded at her, and was about to resume eating his snacks, when Mirabel gestured at her with his lips.

"Don't be rude tìo, your turn. Name and occupation, please."

"Hmm? Oh. Okay. I'm Félix Madrigal, husband of Pepa, and uncle to the cutest host ever."

"And also the ugliest guy I've ever met- the fuck are you doing, dude?"

They turned to look at the just opened door. It was his little brother, Mateo. He nodded at him, lifting up his little teacup.

"One, manners. Two, having a tea party, don't be mad that you weren't invited. How come you're here?"

"I needed some of Julieta's arepas for dad. You know him and his hip. Seriously though, you look gay, bro."

"You're just mad that you'd be ugly WITH makeup."

Mateo glared at him, before sitting at the table on the floor, and clicked his tongue.

"Screw you. Kid, doll me the hell up."

"Yay!! Surprise guest!"

Mateo was always like that. Ever competitive and angry. He did look pretty with a feather boa though, he'd give him that. Mateo got pretty into it actually, and next thing he knew, he was totally stealing the attention with his stories.

"So, this guy tells me he could punt me like a football-"

"He could. You are a small, angry little man."

"Don't interrupt, that's rude. Anyway, he was talking all that s-er. Mess. So what do I do? Kick him right in the shins, and when this tall guy comes to the floor, wham, right in the face!"

Mirabel was pretty damn excited to listen to his stories, even though they were on the violent end.

"Mateo doesn't fight properly. But he fights ANGRY, and sometimes that's enough. Not that it's appropriate dinner conversation."

"I think its appropriate? If anything, we should teach her how to fight!"

"During a tea party?"

"You don't know- maybe Señora Caballo wants to start something. I won't lay hands on a woman, but if she starts something, I want the kid to be protected."

Mirabel jumped up and down on the spot, clearly giddy.

"I WANNA LEARN HOW TO FIGHT IN A DRESS!"

"Thatta girl!"

Should he encourage it? Absolutely not. But Mateo actually bonding with the kids, and her being happy? Who was he to refuse? He sighed, and clanked his glasses against theirs.

"Fine. But that's AFTER cake. Everyone knows fighting before cake is rude."

"That sounds wrong, but I don't know enough about tea parties to dispute this."

Félix was about to get up to get the cake he bought from the kitchen, when the door opened yet again. Abuela.

"What's going on in here? We heard yell...what are you wearing?"

"We were doing a tea p-ay ay ay!"

The kids flooded in in curiosity, and every one of them gasped at the set up. Camilo immediately went for the snacks, and went on through stuffed cheeks.

"No fair Mirabel! You should've done MY makeup! Like sure for dad it's okay but for MATEO? There's NO helping that!"

Félix had to remind Mateo that he could, in fact, not throw hands with a child. Mirabel held up her makeup kit, clearly flattered that someone else wanted her to do their makeup.

"I can do your makeup if you want?"

"YES."

"Mira, me too!"

"No fair, I'M her sister! I wanna go next!"

"Can I get a unicorn nails?!"

All the kids wanted their turns, and Fèlix looked at Mirabel. She looked happy. Looked proud, as if she found her purpose. People needed a purpose in life, and even if this wasn't permanent, he was happy that she found it for right now. Camilo stuck his tongue out at everyone else, huffing like the brat he was.

"Nope! I go first!"

"Nuh uh! Girls first!"

Camilo turned into Dolores, looking as smug as smug could be. Dolores scoffed, looking at her Papi while she pointed at her brother.

"Papi! Tell him that doesn't count!"

"Sorry mija, imma count it. You can go second in line though! Come on, line up everyone!"

Camilo grinned smugly, turning back into himself as he sat in front of Mirabel, letting himself get fitted for a hat. Félix kept to the doorway to give room to the kids, when he noticed Julieta and Pepa just walked in. Pepa gave him a look, before she walked over, laughing into her hand.

"Oh my god what happened to your face?"

"What? You jealous that I look so pretty?"

He did a little pose, and it made his Pepa laugh oh so beautifully. She plucked the hat off of his head, using it to cover the view of them kissing. Yep.

He loved his family.

[sidecharactersdomatter]

Thoughts I had during Encanto

Sir that is my emotional support Casita.

Man she is really good at Embroidery. (I should try to return to that hobby too)

That kid drinking coffee I can’t XD

There’s the 1st ‘We don’t talk about Bruno’

This movie has so much diversity they really outdid themselves!

She’s entertaining the young’uns Abuela.

That guy just had to rub in the salt.

(I secretly think her gift is infinite resilience)

If I had a nickel for a certain musical Disney related work has a hispanic character named ‘Isabel(l)a’ I would have 2 nickels. Which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it happened twice.

I love her parents.

Ok I freaking love Julieta.

I love Mirabel’s older sister energy.

(I’ve also got a secret theory that her gift would’ve been related to sewing or the fiber arts)

Oh man the way those tiles shift is so fluid.

Casita: The door’s for Antonio and not you two

I love Antonio’s family so much!

Felix feels like the guy that would give the best hugs.

Now I have the urge to comfort young Mirabel.

Look at all those Toucans. There’s Coatis, Capybaras and is that a Tapir!

Haha that Dr. Who Quote XD

Ok I feel like Anna from Frozen would be really great friends with Mirabel.

Those hummingbird wings in slo mo! My god!

Her dad plays the Piano?!

Can’t wait till Babish cooks the Arepa Con Queso.

Julieta’s so supportive.

Those Coatis! (Swiper’s got competition)

Geez Mariano maybe settle on a smaller number.

NGL Hercules looks better animated in 3D than 2D.

Obligatory Disney Ice berg meme

Man those villagers don’t have to always rely on Luisa for all their problems.

That hourglass symbolism.

This is why we have elevators.

Man she’s super resourceful.

Woah that looks really intense.

Thank you Luisa.

Dios Mio Pepa.

2nd we don’t talk about Bruno.

(This song really slaps in Latin Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese)

Kyoka from BNHA would get along with Dolores ngl.

I think Dolores, Isabela, and Julieta are the only members of the Madrigal household that don’t speak ill of Bruno.

I love Dolores line on Mariano so much!

That montage wow!

He’s stuffing the pieces into his pockets and Dolores is across XD

Dios Mio that’s all I can say.

Dolores. Has. Cracked.

Those villagers were waiting outside.

Everything is not fine.

So many rats.

Man Bruno is ready for Quarantine.

Song: We don’t talk about Bruno. Bruno stans: We beg to differ~

Antonio totally followed them.

That Capybara.

Antonio’s a good nephew.

The hummingbirds!

The potted plant!

I love the drama between sisters!

Isa’s song slaps in Spanish Br Portuguese and Korean.

A severed head!

Mira’s line has a similar rhythm to Isabela’s verse during ‘We don’t talk about Bruno’ dang.

That Cartwheel!

Pansexual and Bisexual flag colors.

Prophecy fulfilled (almost)

It’s like hair dye!

Really good video Essay title: How Encanto resolves internal conflict.

There goes the flame.

Dolores being a good granddaughter to Abuela.

Casita protected Mira in it’s dying breath.

I like to imagine that some of the villagers offered to let the Madrigals stay in their homes after Casita was destroyed.

Young Alma and Pedro Mí Corazón…

Ok, maybe Mirabel’s gift involves recreating a person’s memories…?

Shame we don’t really get to see what’s really inside Julieta, Pepa, Luisa, Dolores, and Camilo’s rooms.

He brought a Horse!

Totally Camilo.

Bruno and Dolores got Bars.

Madrigals did so much for their villagers, and now they’re returning the favor.

First we went from Elsa’s “You can’t marry a man you’ve just met” to Dolores’ “Slow Down.” Do you know what that is? Growth.

And now Antonio held her hand. ; - ;