#with a sprinkling of isabela

[rachelamberish]

i love dragon age because consistently in every game it has allowed me to be a slut for doomed by the narrative romances. Sure you can have a happy ending if thats what youre into but if you want to romanticize existential dread, martyr complexes, the clock running out and falling in love with god bioware sees your freak and matches it

[pfhwrittes]

i'm reblogging this in lieu of actually apologising to my neighbours for the incredibly loud YELL of pure delight i just made.

a new chapter?? for me??? CHARLIE OF SENTIENTCAVE FAME I AM DELIGHTED AND HONOURED!!

please do not push or rush yourself, if it happens it happens. if you want to do other things with your weekend or if another project (or a new project) tickles your fancy i am more than happy to reread the current chapters and wait patiently!

«🩷BEAUTIFUL PERSON AWARD! Once you are given this award you're supposed to paste it in the asks of 8 people you adore! Absolutely no pressure but. It's sweet to know someone thinks you're beautiful inside and out <3🩷»

my mind is still blown that you wrote one of my fave modern aus for dragon age!

love p 💜

Hi P (From @pfhwrittes blog dot com)I love you! You're a beautiful (and dare I say handsome?) person, you bring so much positivity and sunshine into the room (the feed? The home page? I dunno) and I'm so glad we are in these fandoms together!! Thanks for stopping by

I still can't believe you were one of the few people that read that thang! It was my first publicly posted work in like a decade, and I'm gonna update this weekend just for you.

^ Me, working hard to give you a new chapter of something I haven't updated in like 4 or 5 months (It's been written since before I posted anything I just forgor to edit and post)

[captaintrips9]

Bruno loudly saying "MiraBEL" to get her attention when she's spiraling is such big uncle energy.

Like you know he's already super familiar with this because of how overwhelmed Pepa can get, and how when things start to build for her she just rambles on, fueling her own panic ("great now I'm thundering and a thunder will lead to a sprinkle and--")

So when Mirabel starts going OFF about Isabela instead of, you know, trying to figure out how to save the miracle or whatever he's just like, "Dios mio it's genetic."

[snezus-christ-risen]

Stubborn Things, Part III - Plato Fuerte

Wherein Julieta beats herself for not being perfect, Bruno continues to make himself more miserable than he needs to be, and Agustin is just sort of… living his best life for no reason lol

—

“I hope you’re hungry,” Julieta said, adding another sprinkle of salt to the pot. “It’s almost ready.”

Two recipes down, and Bruno remained undeniably sick. If anything, he seemed to be feeling worse by the minute. He was back to pretending he was fine, which would have been sweet had he been doing it to protect her feelings and not to dodge another round of testing. Julieta offered him several opportunities to lie down in the parlor if he promised to submit to supervision, but his stubborn devotion to conveying the illusion of health kept overruling his instinct for self-preservation.

“It smells fantastic,” Agustín said. “And I bet it will taste even better. I really think you have it this time, mi vida!”

Having finished all the prep work that didn’t involve sharp utensils, her husband was seated across the table from Bruno, pretending to read a copy of La Vor��gine that he grabbed off a bookshelf at random. Julieta had tasked him with keeping watch over her brother and, if necessary, intercepting him if he tried to bolt again. Julieta wasn’t sure if he was doing his job well or if Bruno was simply too tired to move.

“Gracias,” she said, grateful for his support but growing weary of his cheerful optimism in light of her terrible track record. “Pero, I’m not worried about the taste or the smell.”

“I am!” Bruno interjected weakly.

“My concern,” she continued, choosing to disregard his unsolicited input, “is that it works.”

“Of course, of course,” said Agustín, finally remembering to turn the page of the book he was supposed to be reading. “I’m just saying, I have a good feeling about this one. They say third time’s a charm, right?”

He threw an expectant look at his brother-in-law, who usually had a lot to say when it came to matters of luck, but this time Bruno had no comment. His head was resting on the table beside an empty cup that stood as a testament to Julieta’s latest failure. The guava and mango juices she had blended together with Isabela’s pelargonium and a dash of aguardiente made for a refreshing morning cocktail, but a woefully ineffective medicine. Bruno claimed to feel better just a few sips in, but then sneezed in short, strangled bursts not long after finishing the concoction. He tried to blame the cooking spices lingering in the air from breakfast, those new plants Isabela had growing just outside the kitchen window, even the minuscule amount of alcohol in the drink, but when Julieta kissed his forehead, it was warmer than the last time she last checked. He muttered an apology that only added to her mounting aggravation. It was her fault, not his, that she couldn’t figure this out.

Now here she was, pouring all of her prayers and frustrations and love for her brother into a pot of ajiaco. It would be cruel to keep him hostage much longer if he didn’t improve after this dish. He hadn’t lifted his head from the table since the juice; the only indication that he was still awake (and alive) was the occasional cough or sniffle, wise-ass remark, and knock knock knocking of his knuckles against the tabletop. Once an annoyance, the repetitive thumping was now a strange comfort, a reassurance that her brother was still here with her.

Julieta was ladeling steaming hot ajiaco between two bowls when she noticed a shift in his breathing. It was subtle, but just obvious enough to someone who knew him as well as she did. When she turned around she found Bruno sitting up but hunched over, gripping his nose between his thumb and forefinger. She couldn’t tell if he sneezed already and was waiting for more to smother into silence, or if he was waiting for a fit to start. Either way, she felt compelled to speak up this time; she could tell that those last sneezes he bottled up left him with a headache, though he refused to admit it.

“Bruno.”

Her tone was just firm enough to pull him from his daze without startling him. He waited a moment, then released his nose from the punishing pressure of his fingertips, huffing sharply and shooting Julieta a look that struck her like a thunderbolt from Pepa. She couldn’t remember the last time her brother looked at her with anything but adoration; whatever this was, she didn’t like it. Her eyes darted to Agustín, seeking backup, and she found him engrossed in the book that he was only supposed to pretend to be reading. She wasn’t surprised or even disappointed; if anything, she was impressed it hadn’t happened sooner. To his credit, he closed the book dutifully upon his wife’s silent request, but not before folding the corner of the page to save his place.

“That really isn’t good for you,” he lectured, adjusting his glasses. “And what a terrible feeling, to waste a sneeze like that. It feels so much better to just let them out, ¿verdad?”

Bruno didn’t seem interested in entertaining Agustín’s musings today. Keeping his fingers curled under his nose, he dropped the bits of leftovers he stashed away from breakfast onto the floor for his rats. They were gathered at his feet, which was odd; normally they were nestled in his pockets or perched on his shoulders. Maybe his fever turned their usual habitat into a inhospitable environment.

“We don’t mean to nag, manito,” Julieta added, drawing his ire back her way. “We just want you to be comfortable.”

What she really wanted was her brother to quit being such a cabezota and stop suppressing a natural reflex like it was some sort of personal failing. She didn’t care if he was annoyed with her, because she was annoyed with him, too. Walking over to the table with the ajiaco - slowly, so as not to spill a single drop of what could have been liquid gold - she watched him paw at his poor nose with increasing aggression. Rather than extinguish it, the rubbing seemed to stoke the lingering embers of irritation back into a roaring flame. Grabbing a clean napkin off the table, he shook it open and brought it up to hover near his face, the cloth fluttering slightly with each trembling exhalation. Julieta decided to hold off on giving him his food and instead stood quietly beside the table, ready to chastise him if he stifled again but hoping he would just listen to his family for once.

Agustín stood up to help her with the bowls, but with an eagerness that suggested he was more excited to start eating than itching to lighten her load. He started to say something, but Julieta bumped him with her hip and gave him a stern look. He seemed to get the hint, but just in case, she shoved one of the bowls into his hands and produced a spoon from her apron pocket. Maybe some food would keep him quiet for a bit.

It didn’t matter anyway, if Bruno’s defeated sigh and deflating posture was any indication. Once again the urge to sneeze strung him along before abandoning him completely, leaving him in a state of bewildered chagrin, but this time it wasn’t Julieta’s fault. She sat down across from him as a plank on the table tilted slightly, sending the salt cellar and bowls of crema, lime halves, and sliced avocado skittering to their end of the table. Bruno turned away from the food to blow his nose, then folded the napkin and clutched it in his fisted hand. He pressed the palm of his other hand against his forehead, eyes squeezing shut. Julieta frowned as he bit into his bottom lip hard enough to leave marks. Definitely a headache.

Tentatively, she pushed his bowl and spoon across the table. Bruno peered out from behind his hand to inspect the offering. His eyes flickered briefly to his sister’s face before settling back on the bowl in front of him.

“Ajiaco?” he asked, squinting.

She gave a quick nod, uncertain if what she was about to say was still true. “Your favorite.”

“Juli,” he said, taking a moment to appreciate her presentation. She felt the knot in her chest loosen when he finally smiled at her. “Gracias. It looks wonderful.”

Agustín indulged in a long whiff from his own bowl and sighed happily. “It smells wonderful.”

“I wish I could smell it,” Bruno said, watching Agustín longingly. “I guess I’ll have to settle for sort of tasting it.”

“I added some red ginger,” Julieta said. “So it should help your headache, even if it doesn’t help with the… everything else.”

Bruno nudged absently at his nose as he studied his bowl. It was filled to the brim, though Julieta wasn’t sure if he had enough of an appetite left to finish it all. He took a deep, resolute breath that, miraculously, did not trigger a coughing fit. He held it in his cheeks and then exhaled slowly, some of the tension leaving his furrowed brow.

“It’s going to work,” he said. “Gus is definitely onto something, because this…” He tapped the edge of the bowl with his spoon for emphasis. “This is the one.”

Just as Julieta was wondering why his voice sounded sort of wonky, Bruno dropped the spoon with a clatter and brought his hands up to rub urgently at his nose. He managed an exasperated “De verdad?!” between hitching breaths before stifling violently into his crumpled napkin, each sneeze sounding itchier and more desperate than the last. Even with the fabric locked in place to muffle the sound, he insisted on holding them in. He kept his nose buried in the napkin for a moment, then dropped his hand to knock against his chair three times, a delayed echo. His shivering exhale and subsequent coughs disrupted the graceful curl of steam rising from his ajiaco.

“Ay, Brunito,” Julieta sighed, unsure of how else to express her frustration and sympathy at the same time. “Salud.”

Bruno sniffled, expression hazy and nostrils flaring slightly, before giving his head a shake. The movement seemed to dispel whatever irritation remained. His hand crept across the table to the salt cellar to grab a pinch of salt, which he threw over his left shoulder. He hesitated before grabbing another and tossing it behind him in one swift motion, as if Julieta and Agustín wouldn’t see his do-over if he moved quickly enough. Then he muttered something to himself, something with the cadence of a prayer that Julieta didn’t recognize. He scooped up some broth, making sure to capture a good sized chunk of potato. His hand shook, causing some of the liquid to splash off the spoon and back into the bowl. All of his certainty from before seemed to evaporate as the moment of truth drew nearer.

“This is the one,” he repeated, as if saying it more would make it so. “This is the one.”

Taking another deep breath, he held it, then released it and took his first bite. He swallowed, wincing, and took another bite. Then another. As the contents of the bowl dwindled, Julieta felt herself growing more apprehensive. She was too nervous to eat any of the ajiaco Agustín kept trying to share with her. Bruno was still sniffling and coughing between spoonfuls, which wasn’t a good sign. As soon as he drained the last of the soup from his bowl Julieta studied his face, waiting for the first sign that he was still ill, that she failed yet again. He just gazed back at her, expression strangely unreadable.

“So,” she said, when he didn’t say anything first. “What’d you think? How do you feel?”

“It was…” The muscles in his jaw were tense as he paused to swallow. His next breaths sounded a little uneasy as he pushed himself to try again. “It wuh-hh! Sorry, J-Juli, I… h’hiihh!”

Oh.

Julieta felt her stomach sink as Bruno crumbled into his napkin with another string of stifled sneezes. They seemed to be coming on with little to no warning now. He whimpered after the last one, pressing his fisted hand into his forehead and gently pounding at the table with the other. It didn’t even help his headache, Julieta realized.

Something about reliving the same failure over and over again despite her best efforts shifted something inside of her. Before she could stop herself, Julieta was getting up from the table and marching towards the stove. Grabbing the handles of the pot, she hoisted it over to the sink and dumped her cooking unceremoniously down the drain. Steam rose in an angry cloud as the lid crashed against the ceramic. Somewhere behind her, Agustín squawked in surprised dismay.

“Mi vida!” he exclaimed. “Que haces?”

Julieta watched the liquid swirl in the basin before it vanished down the drain, leaving behind chunks of potato and shredded chicken. Her cheeks felt hot and her eyes were burning. “It didn’t work,” she said, speaking slowly in an effort to keep her voice steady. “I was so sure I had it this time.”

She pretended to busy herself with cleaning up, but when she felt a pair of arms wrap around her she dropped the act and turned into Agustín’s embrace. Suddenly she felt very silly, getting so upset over something so relatively minor that her husband felt he needed to rush to console her - that was Pepa’s move, not hers. Julieta closed her eyes and tried not to replay the image of the hard work she sent swirling down the drain in one impulsive swoop. She wondered what her mother would say about her wasting perfectly good food.

Except it wasn’t perfect; that was the problem. She mended four twisted ankles this month, reset a foot full of broken toes, and made countless scrapes and bruises vanish with her food, but when it came to helping her brother with one little thing she should have been able to handle, something that should have fallen within the scope of her gift, something she spent most of her life trying to figure out because it didn’t come naturally to her like everything else did, Julieta was completely and utterly imperfect.

“I don’t understand,” she said, her voice muffled against Agustín’s chest. “Why can’t I figure it out, after all this time?”

Agustín squeezed her tighter, then cleared his throat in a very specific way. He only did that when he was going to say something she didn’t want to hear, but needed to.

“I say this with love, corazón,” he said, drawing back to look at her tenderly. “Abuela isn’t the only one who needs to work on relaxing her standards.”

The only thing that stopped her from getting upset with him was suddenly remembering that nobody had eyes on Bruno.

Her poor hermano, who she had somehow forgotten in the midst of her self-pitying tantrum. Her blurry gaze landed on the chair where he had been sitting a moment earlier, empty now except for a rat grooming itself. Julieta sighed, bringing her hand to her forehead and suppressing the urge to pound against it. She opened her mouth, but Agustín beat her to it.

“Miércoles.”

[dragonologist-phd]

Extremely Ace but "are you wearing my shirt?" Goes so hard I have to see where you take it.

for the subtle smut starters

ooh thank you!

this one ended up striking some inspiration for Hawke/Isabela! i can't believe i've never written anything for my Hawke before...but she's starting off with a bang! (and a bit of angst sprinkled at the end for flavor)

It was a shit day, and by the time Hawke staggered through the door of her estate and dragged herself up the stairs to her room, it had to be said that the shittiness of it all was starting to affect her mood. It also had to be said that Hawke wasn’t known for her good moods to begin with. So being tired and sore and pissed off at near half of Kirkwall was really not a good look for her, and she knew it. It was why she’d shrugged off Varric’s invitation to the tavern. And it was the only reason, having nothing to do with the fact that Fenris had also been invited, because why should she care? All she wanted to do now was collapse on her bed and lay there in a grumpy heap for the rest of the night. Which is exactly what would have happened, had she not thrown open her bedroom door to find somebody else already reclined on her bed.

keep reading on ao3

[gamerbearmira]

La Ballet Madrigal

Ok so I had this cute little idea that on Antonio’s birthday/ceremony he wanted to do a little something special for it and I decided to write it. 

-

It was hard to budge Alma into doing it but eventually she agreed. Ok it wasn’t that hard, Alma could only say no for so long until her ballet bebecitos made her crack. And technically it was his birthday and as the birthday boy he could do whatever he wanted with it. 

And that was doing a small show of what he had learned over the past year. It would be done on Mirabel’s stage, or technically the stage room. His abuela performed on a stage when she was eight, Mirabel performed when she was seven, and luisa performed when she was sixteen. Now at five years old it would be his turn. Kind of like a cute write-a-passage. 

His ceremony would still go on but everyone was invited to casita much earlier for his first performance. EVERYBODY had to come, that includes family so no one was in position for excuses. 

Antonio wore a navy blue button up shirt, baby blue vest with gold animal designs on it, and sky blue tights. He had asked Mirabel if he could wear the ballet shoes she wore for her ceremony and she gladly let him and casita made them smaller for him to wear. No resewing/resizing needed. 

He had also asked luisa if he could wear the feather headpiece she wore when she played the white swan and of course she said yes. Before he even asked Alma, she gave him a magenta beaded bracelet that was given to her by her mama. She had Mirabel wear it for her first performance, then Luisa, then of course, Antonio. 

It was so sweet that he wanted to wear little things from his primas and abuela’s, kind of like little tokens of luck. 

So now he was on the stage, doing the best he could of what he remembered. He was nervous of course, so many people had their eyes on him and expected him to do good, a lot of pressure for a five year old. 

But he stuck to his primas and abuela’s advice;

“Just focus on us and only us, and you’ll be ok”

Luisa’s second tip

“Just imagine everyone in silly costumes”

And he did just that, he only focused on his familia and that made him smile. Alma was right in center, looking as proud as any abuela could for her neito. On her left was his primas, who were silently cheering him on and giving him thumbs up as he went along. 

He tripped and stumbled once or twice but he got right back up and kept going like Mirabel and lulu told him. Apart from those times he kept up with the music and kept balance all the way through. He performed his first solo variation, Blue bird. 

The music had ended and the small boy huffed as he bowed.  The crowd and his familia cheered for him, as always Julieta pulled a bouquet of flowers out of thin air and threw it up to Antonio. The bouquet was an assortment of blue hydrangea and yellow begonias. He of course caught it and waved in the way Alma taught him too. The curtains closed and Antoio walked to the back of the stage and was immediately met with his family. 

Pepa and Felix were the first to give him a big hug, congratulating him, then Dolores and Camilo. After them was the blue family of course. Isabela congratulated him first with a hug and a sprinkle of orange flowers in his hair. Luisa picked him up in a tight hug, Mirabel and Alma following suit. 

“You were so amazing, tonito!” Luisa beamed as the boy giggled in her hug. 

“That was the best show I’ve ever seen, well, apart from Luisa’s” Mirabel chimed in, ruffling his hair and giving him a squeeze too.

“You did so well!” Julieta congratulated as well, but just as she did her daughters, she checked his body for injury too. After he and her daughter reassured her he’s fine she gave him a small peck on the forehead and an arepa.  

“Did I do good abuela?” Antonio looked at his grandmother expectantly as he held a big smile we all love so much. “I did all the turns and spins! And I did the right positions like you taught me!” 

“You did it perfectly just like your primas and me before you, and don’t you worry about your falls, you actually did better than I did for my first time.” Alma patted his head and gave him a forehead kiss. 

“Now, how about we get a picture, Casita!” Alma’s eyes glittered at the thought and Casita instantly brought the camera in for a picture. 

For Mira’s first variation she took a picture with Alma, Luisa did the same after her performance, now it was his turn and Antonio couldn’t be more happy. He always saw the two photos hanging up in the studio next to each other now he had the chance to be right next to them. 

The three four of them posed for a photo; Antonio in front, Alma behind him, Mirabel on her left, and Luisa on her right. 

“La Ballet Madrigal” Alma cheered

“La Ballet Madrigal!” all four of them posed and the picture was taken. 

Everything was perfect in that moment; it almost made you forget Antonio had a door to get to…but not too much. The ceremony went on as planned and the boy finally got his own room…time flies. But Antonio made sure to keep his abuela and Primas close to him all night until he slept…for emotional support. 

-

Also, I have a little question. I remember for a suggestion; you said Alma would indirectly pressure Mirabel into doing ballet more. and that had me thinking, would Alma pressure Luisa and Antonio into doing it more too or no?

Also, what would be Luisa and Antonio's favorite ballet shows? I have a little idea that maybe Casita has a way to show different plays such as;

The Nutcracker

Giselle

Swan Lake

Don Quixote

Romeo & Juliet

Little red riding hood

Beauty and the best

and probably many others

Maybe casita shows the plays through a projector of some sort?

SOBBING. CRYING SCREAMING. HE’S SO CUTE WHAT <3333

So funny that they. Literally have to go. Like Alma really got fed up huh 😭 ay but at least homeboy was ready. Just had stage fright but it’s cool. Gotta love Mirabel and Luisa for giving him tips to stay focused and not think about the crowd.

Also???? Loving the idea where for their first performance they wore the bracelet. I also find it funny that that bracelet is older than literally everyone in the family besides Alma. Like she kept it for so long, that it so sweet ‼️😮‍💨

I gave his vest a long tail and. And tried to make it look like feathers. You know so he’s look more like a bird. I think Mirabel would’ve made it. She makes hers, Luisa’s and Antonio’s outfits whenever they have shoes. (Especially Luisa because Mirabel is one of the few who can tailor outfits to fit Luisa).

So. For Luisa and Antonio, it’s not as much. But she is like “it’s a commitment, so you gotta keep it up”. She doesn’t pressure them, but she is like if you’re gonna do it, you gotta come and you gotta practice. For Mirabel, she likes doing it, loves it, but she does feel like she has to. Not on,y to make up for not having a gift, but also because it’s Alma lays her attention when she doesn’t. In the one year from her failed ceremony until she started ballet, Alma kinda avoided her.

So when Mirabel saw that ballet got her attention, she had another reason to continue. It got Abuela’s attention. She was noticed. She got praised. Luisa and Antonio, it’s more like a hobby. A side hustle. They love dancing, especially with Mirabel, so they, especially Luisa, will take time out of their day to go dance, but they doesn’t necessarily feel they have to.

As for favorites uhhhhh. Luisa likes the nutcracker. First time she saw it, she LOVED it, it was also one of Mirabel’s first major roles, she was young Clara. And when she started practicing, Luisa begged Alma to let her play the Sugar Plum Fairy. Of course Alma folded like a wet paper towel. Another Luisa likes is Coppélia. The thought of dressing up and dancing like that of a doll is just. So amazing to her, she loves it. She likes the music too.

Antonio likes Little Red Riding Hood. He unironically likes being the wolf. I’m so serious, he doesn’t care if he’s the youngest and shortest, he’ll still play the role, it never stopped him. His second favorite is Don Quixote.

[thequeenofthedisneyverse]

Camilo and Chickpea

Camilo was doing his usual routine of pranking villagers and just having a fun time with his friends. After he was done, he decided to head home for lunch and relax a bit. Unbeknownst to him, a small little yellow thing was following him.

It took about five chirps before he stopped…and looked around. 

“What is that noise?”

Chirp!

He looked down, and that’s when he saw a little chick sitting on top of his foot like it owned it. Milo tilted his head at the little yellow puffball and looked around, seemingly looking for where this little thing came from.

It was from one of the Chicken farms, that much he knew. But HOW did it end up from the other side of the Encanto…to on top of his foot? Without being seen by cats or being stepped on?

So, he picked the little fella up and contemplated what he should do. Should he take it to a farm where this little guy could be used for food or to lay more eggs once it’s older?...or keep it as a pet?

Camilo decided to go with the latter and walked back inside with his new friend. And besides, if Antonio can keep a jaguar then camilo can surely keep a chicken, right? 

Once inside he saw his little brother and prima mira sitting on the floor coloring. 

“Hey, look at what followed me home”

Cami sat down in front of them and released the yellow feather baby. Antonio ‘awed’ and picked the little chick up. Mirabel was just confused as to why camilo had a chick on him. 

“Um…why do you have a chick?”

“It followed me”

“.....a chick…followed YOU home?” 

“Mirabel, I'm not just going to take a chick from its mother. Don’t you think that’s a little cruel?”

“Well I’m finding it hard to believe a literal baby chick followed you home on its own accord”

Antonio chimed in to the conversation “she said she left her nest to see what was beyond that weird barrier that only the big weird looking chickens can go through. After that she got lost and scared and decided to follow that big chicken. I think she means Milo”

“I’m sorry, does she think humans are just…bigger, odd looking chickens?”

“Yeah, all chickens do”

“...Oh”

The chick peeped some more and Antonio leaned down to hear her. “Oh, she says she likes Cami as her mama more. She doesn’t really remember her old one anyway or which nest she came from” 

Cue camilo who looks really emotional “she sees me as her mama?”

Cue Mirabel rolling her eyes “oh hear we go”

After that day, Camilo kept the little chick and named her Chickpea (right on the nose aint it?). All family members find it hilarious and ironic that the shapeshifting chameleon boy has a chicken for a pet. 

Pepa and Felix see Chickpea as their unconventional nieta. They can’t do much given her…chicken-ness but they like to have her around when Camilo is out. Both of them keep her on their shoulders or in their pockets. 

Casita decided to be funny and mark Alma’s door “Bisabuela”. She didn’t understand what it meant until she saw Chickpea and was told the situation. 

Mirabel knitted “father of an animal club” on his rauna. It was originally a club of one, which was just Bruno and his rats but now there’s a new member. Camilo wears it proudly. She also stitched a pocket to the front of it just in case he wanted to carry her around. 

Mira also likes knitting little hats for Chickpea, it’s tedious to make something for a creature so small but she’s up for the challenge.

Dolores takes her role as the honorary Tia very seriously. Same with Antonio. He pledged to be the very best influence on her. 

Luisa and Isabela love her too, although only one of them is trying to be a good influence and it’s not Luisa. Isa likes snatching Chickpea whenever she can and sprinkles her with pollen to make her look “cool”.

“Isabela! She’s MY daughter, not yours”

“I don’t care”

Alma and the blue couple don’t know what to think of the new family member other than she’s cute. And Alma hopes Camilo won’t get bored or tired of the new responsibility because from what she knew, chicks need care like every other pet in this world.

He never got tired of her though and always made sure she was okay. 

Luisa absolutely loves her. Will have her sit on her lap while she reads or just talk to her. 

(teenage and adult years) 

Chickpea is very spoiled and very much a diva (thanks to her “mama”). And used to having her needs met instantly. If they aren’t, she irritatingly bawks like no tomorrow. Not too loud, she knows Dolores has sensitive hearing, but she does it loud enough to the point where it’s annoying enough to get what she wants. And if that doesn’t work, she pecks you.

Chickpea also has her own collection of hats and necklaces thanks to her Tia Mirabel, Tio Antonio, and her “mama”. 

She is very sweet though and knows when someone is upset and needs a cuddle. She’ll cuddle just about anyone if it makes them happy, especially Camilo.

She certainly IS potty trained and knows exactly where to go when she needs to go (if you catch my drift). 

Camilo does include her in on his pranks (thanks to Antonio explaining the concept to her). She’s just as mischievous as her mama and loves chasing people around because it’s funny to her. Seeing creatures much bigger than you run away when you are chasing them is a hilarious thing to see. 

She is also in Bruno’s rat telenovelas as the leading actress. She won’t have it any other way…and yes, she’s just as dramatic as her mother. 

That’s all I got, I hoped you liked these. 

Inspired by @midcanto (Also, I remember you saying Camilo has Disney princess aura and I kind of want to make an au now)

[adoptedmadrigal2]

The beginning

The beginning of something new. Things are gonna get wild

Pepa, Julieta and Bruno vowed they'd stay close to their home as adults. Not long after they turned 20, Pepa and Julieta both got married to their high school sweethearts Felix, and Agustin.

They both got married in 1990; Julieta just after new years on her and Agustin's five year anniversary, and Pepa that summer on her and Felix's four year anniversary.

1995 came around and they had bought a large house and were getting ready for their babies birth. Ironically both young women had gotten pregnant around the same time, about three weeks to separate them.

"Mama! What are you doing here" Julieta said as she opened the front door

"I came to bless the house before any new arrivals make their grand entrance. I have no doubts that your baby will make things dramatic. Juli do you know how much of a pain you were to birth?" Alma said as she came in and sat her bag on the counter.

"She was the dramatic one? I thought you said I was the dramatic kid," Pepa said recalling a prior conversation

"She was the dramatic birth, you were the dramatic child. There's a difference. Julieta came into this world being dramatic you never stopped pepi." Alma said

The soon to be grandmother pulled out a very old looking candle.

"This candle blessed mine and your father's house. It kept the four of us safe the night he died. It was like the house came alive just to protect us. It's now time to pass the gift along." Alma said to her three children, Felix and Gus watching from the staircase off to the side.

She placed the candle on the floor and sprinkled the top with something that resembled sugar. Then she lit it.

"what's going on?" Julieta said when the candle began to flicker.

The candle shone so brightly no one could tell what was happening, but when it dimmed once more the candle looked restored and had engravings on it.

"why are the doors glowing?" Agustin asked looking at the doors along the second story.

Pepa, Bruno and Julieta approached one of the three glowing doors.

First was Julieta who touched the knob and watched the door shine and engrave itself. The design was medicinal looking. She didn't know what it meant but waited for her siblings

Bruno went next. His door engraving an hourglass design Bruno's green eyes glowed for a moment and then a small green tablet appeared in his hand. He didn't look at it but waited for Pepa.

Pepa grasped the doorknob at last and watched as weather patterns engraved themselves, she was confused and above her head sprouted a small grey cloud.

"Bruno? What's that?" Pepa asked

"I don't know. But it says something," he told Pepa

"well? Are you gonna read it?" Julieta said impatiently

"it says 'to my children. I may not have been there to see you grow but I'm proud of how far you have come. This is a blessing for all generations of madrigal children starting with you three. To my oldest Julieta, you have the gift to heal ailments with food. My only son Bruno, you can read the future and show pieces of the past. And lastly to my little red Pepa, your mood controls the weather in whichever room you're in. I wish you the best, Pedro'" Bruno reads

"Dad?" Pepa said. The cloud above her was drizzling slightly

"Soo... I can see the future now." Bruno said

"Your father always dreamed of magic and magical abilities. When I sprinkled a touch of his ashes on the candle it miraculously brought his dreams to life for your families and furthermore." Alma told

Bruno's eyes shone green unexpectedly and another tablet showed up in his hand.

"do you want to know what you're having?" Bruno asked

"I know I'm having a boy" Julieta said

"it's a girl, I'm telling you," Agustin refuted

"team girl all the way" Pepa said, Felix nodding behind her

"you're both having girls," Bruno said.

"what?" Julieta squawked

Here's to the beginning of something wonderful to come.

Two dramatic births later and Isabela Melody, and Dolores Alayne were finally here. Ready to take on the world, and become the beginning of something beautiful.

Hope you enjoy ❤️

[foggyfanfic]

The Jorge Situation

The Abyss

Preview: “Papa! Wake up! You need to tell Isabela you kiss men,” a voice hissed, and the words were so absurd that for a few seconds he thought he was still dreaming, "C'mon Papa! Before she runs off with Vanessa."

Or read it on AO3

He hadn’t noticed it at first, but now it was undeniable. That crack that had opened in the floor on the day Antonio was born had slowly grown into a hole over the past two years. And it seemed to be growing even larger.

Bruno stared down at it with his hands on his hips. He was pretty sure spackle wouldn’t fix that.

It wouldn’t be too hard for him to hop over it, but he turned around and walked back to his bedroom anyway. Leandra was still awake, reading a book on architecture. He wondered if that book had any information about fixing holes in the floor.

“You’re back early,” she said cheerfully, she slipped a bookmark into her place and shut the book.

“The floor’s falling apart,” he said, sitting on the edge of the bed and gently prying the book from her hands. A quick glance at the table of contents proved to him that the book was about the different types of windows. He hadn’t realized there were so many.

“What do you mean?” Leandra scooted so she could wrap herself around him, encasing him in warmth.

“You know that crack in the floor, it’s growing,” he leaned back into her, “I tried to step over it and the floorboard snapped underneath me.”

“Are you alright?”

“Eh, a little uh-. Almost had a heart attack when it happened, but yeah, I’m not hurt or anything,” he looked over his shoulder at her.

“That’s good,” she gave him a little squeeze, “so the floor is falling apart back there?”

“Sí, apparently,” he pursed his lips in thought for a minute, then said, “I don’t know what to do about that.”

“What’s under the floor?”

“Nothing.”

“What?”

“There’s nothing under the floor, when the floorboard fell it just disappeared into mist and uh I didn’t hear it land,” he told her.

“Oh,” she said, and there was a long pause, then, “then I don’t know what to do about that either.”

“Hm.”

They sat in contemplative silence for a little, then Leandra got up and put her robe on. She slipped on some socks, then one of her dustier pairs of boots. Meanwhile, Bruno got up and perused the bookshelf for a book on floors. They had one on tile, and another on floorboards. He pulled out the one on floorboards and put it in his “To Read” crate.

“Let’s go,” she had moved to the tent’s entrance while he was distracted, a lantern in one hand and a conspicuous bulge in the pocket of her robe. She held her free hand out for him and he took it. Together they returned to the walls, although they had to let go of each other when they passed through the hidden entrance. Leandra followed behind him, making very quiet “Hm” sounds every few feet. Just in case, he waited until they were on the ground floor to ask what the sounds meant.

“What you thinking?”

“Airs a bit stale back here,” she murmured, “has it always smelled like this?”

He sniffed, then shrugged, “Must have for a while, I-I’m too used to it to know what you mean.”

“Hm,” she said again, “I’ll have to take care of that.”

“Can you take care of this too?” he stopped at the hole in the floor and gestured at it. It wasn’t large, just one half of a floorboard that had fallen out from under him, but if it was going to keep growing they’d have a problem.

She blew out a slow breath and squeezed around him to get a better look at it. She pointed the lantern at it, but all they saw through the hole was swirling mist. After a few beats, she set the lantern down while putting her hand in the pocket of her robe. Leandra pulled out a bag of marbles the kids had long since grown bored with, without taking her eyes off the hole she untied the drawstring and worked the bag open until she had pulled a marble out. Then she knelt down, reared back, and threw the marble down the hole. They both listened.

Nothing.

She pulled out a few more marbles and sprinkled them around.

More nothing.

“Hm,” he said.

“Hm,” she agreed, slowly she stood with the lantern, still staring at the hole.

“Do you think it’s safe to put a board over it?”

“Um,” she knelt down again and stuck her arm in the hole, apparently feeling around for any support, then she made a face, “I have no idea. There really doesn’t seem to be anything under there.”

She stood once more.

They stared at the hole together. He turned his head so he could look at her, she looked back at him and after a second he saw a spark of understanding in her eyes. As one, they both stepped back from the hole until the floorboards felt a little more steady beneath them.

“There has to be something, though. Right?” she asked.

“I dunno, Casita is magic, a-and right now we are in the walls that surround our magic rooms that uh you know, seem to um, sort of exist outside of I don’t know, logical space? M-maybe…? I really don’t know.”

“Well, let’s put a board over it for now but uh keep an eye on it?”

“Guess that’s all we can do, isn’t it?”

She nodded and for a few more minutes they stood in silence, contemplating the various mysteries of their magic house.

“No offense to Casita, but the next time we get married and start a life together, you’re moving into my house instead.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. For next time.”

With that established, they turned back, quietly discussing where to get the board and how big it should be and whether they should nail it down or leave it loose so they could check under it. When they were back in their room, sliding under the covers Bruno laid on his side, a thoughtful look on his face. Recognizing that he was getting his thoughts in order to say something, Leandra lay facing him, waiting.

“Mirabel is really in tune with Casita, I mean more so than anyone other than Má, you know? Maybe Casita is sick or something, and Mirabel was in that vision because she understands Casita well enough to help.”

“I think you were close the first time. Maybe she got magic, but it’s all being used to keep Casita going,” Leandra tacked on with a shrug.

“Maybe Mirabel has magic, and the miracle is feeding off of it to fuel itself.”

“How was the miracle fueling itself before?”

“My Má. And the rest of us get ours from them.”

“You think Abuela and Mirabel are the only two people in the family born with magic?”

“Maybe,” he shrugged, “or maybe Casita is actually a wandering god house thing that needs a family in order to survive, or maybe this is all an illusion from an evil wizard, or maybe the real cracks are the friends we’ve made along the way.”

“Maybe the friends we’ve made along the way are real cracked.”

“God knows I am.”

“Well, I do consider you a friend.”

“That’s weird, I’ve always considered you a wife.”

“Always? Even before we met?”

“I can see the future.”

“Fair point.”

They both laughed, quiet little huffs of mirth mingling in the scant air between them. She put her hand on his and let him fiddle with it as he thought. His mind chased itself around and around in circles for a little, trying to figure out how the magic worked, and how it might be failing. Maybe Casita used the ground beneath it to build all the magic rooms and was now cracking because all the ground was gone. Maybe Casita existed in some sort of pocket dimension, allowing for the rooms to break the laws of physics but leaving the house floating in empty space. Maybe Casita… was just playing a giant prank on them that would take about a decade to reach its punchline. Who knows.

When he had sighed one too many times, Leandra scooted into his space, “You’re stressing yourself out now.”

“I know,” he said.

“You should sleep.”

He snorted, “Easier said than done.”

She kissed him again, more fully, then pulled back and gave him a mischievous grin, “Bet I could get your mind off it.”

He raised a brow, “Bet what?”

“I bet you one well rested husband I can get you thinking about something else,” she said, in a low sultry voice.

“Hm well, I-I’m not usually a gambling man, but…”

She giggled, tugging him into another kiss. An hour later they returned to the bed after changing the sheets and, as promised, Bruno dropped right off. In the morning, when his brain started working (thanks to his third cup of coffee), it would occur to him how fortunate it was that both he and Leandra had put their clothes back on before going to sleep. Otherwise he would have had a very traumatized daughter on his hands.

“Papa! Wake up! You need to tell Isabela you kiss men,” a voice hissed, and the words were so absurd that for a few seconds he thought he was still dreaming.

“Hm, que?”

“C’mon Papa, before she runs off with Vanessa,” the voice, which proved to be Amada’s voice, continued.

“Why would Isabela run off with Vanessa?” Leandra muttered, face down into her pillow, “She could do so much better. Tell her to run off with that sweet Petunia girl.”

“Wai-? Does Isa even like girl? I mean girls,” Bruno pushed himself off his pillow and looked at his clock, he’d had a whole half an hour of sleep, “What’s happening?”

“You didn’t notice? She had the biggest crush on- ugh, what’s her name,” Leandra also pushed herself up and looked at the clock, then groaned, “Why’s Isabela running off at this time of night? Tell her to do it at a decent hour.”

“She’s not, but she might do it in three years,” Amada said, wringing her hands.

If Bruno’s daughter wasn’t in the room he would have cursed up a blue streak, as it was he collapsed back onto his pillow, “So we got plenty of time to stop her.”

“No! If she drinks mint tea by herself when she gets up in ten minutes she’s going to run away with Vanessa and come back in twenty years with tattoos and a bald spot.”

“Why would she have a bald spot?” Leandra asked.

“I don’t know, but this isn’t about the bald spot Mama,” Amada stamped her foot, “Papa needs to go tell her he kisses men, and that both his sisters and you know, and he’s still loved and stuff so she’ll stay here and end up with this really short person who is sometimes a woman!”

“Sometimes a woman, is that an option? To only be a woman sometimes?” Leandra looked to Bruno and he shrugged, he didn’t care enough about gender to use his gift to research it the way he’d researched his sexuality.

“Mama, you’re missing the point,” Amada insisted.

“Right, sorry,” she sighed and put her head back down, “you heard the girl, go tell our niece you kiss men.”

“I don’t kiss men,” he retorted, “I kiss my wife, who is you.”

“Also not the point,” Amada huffed. He looked at her, she was still wringing her hands and now biting her lip, she didn’t usually look this nervous over her visions. This must have been serious. Damn.

“Come on mi reina, let’s go talk to our niece,” he sighed, getting out of bed.

“Why do I have to come? I don’t kiss men.”

“I’m a man,” he pointed out, pulling his ruana on, he decided not to mention that after the brief peek he’d taken at the future of the gender movement he had decided he was a man simply because being anything else looked like too much bother. That wasn’t important right now.

“You know what I mean.”

He grunted, staring at her. She pouted back at him, then eventually rolled her eyes and got out of bed. Amada kept her eyes on the clock while Leandra pulled her robe on, occasionally telling them that Isabela should have the cinnamon tea or some milk, that she should go for the shortbread cookies or the coconut cookies, that they definitely shouldn’t touch the leftover croissants from the French Bakery.

“Would you like to come with us? Make sure we do this right?” Bruno asked, leading the way out of their sleeping cave.

“No, if I’m there she’ll run away in two months instead,” Amada shook her head, “but it’s ok to tell her I love her and accept her and hope the short person ends up being a woman. They’re both happier when the short person is a woman.”

“Then I hope the short person is a woman too,” Leandra said through a yawn.

“Uh-huh,” Bruno dully agreed as he trudged up the steps. They made it to the kitchen with just enough time to put the kettle on and pull out the cinnamon tea before Isabela walked in, hair ever so slightly mussed and eyes somewhat red.

“Hey mija, couldn’t sleep?” Leandra asked, which was a much more casual greeting than Bruno was about to spit out. He had been about to look her in the eye and simply inform her he’d kissed a man and that she should have the cinnamon tea about it.

With a bit more thought, he could appreciate that this situation probably called for more tact.

“Oh, uh, n-no, not really,” Isabela shuffled a little awkwardly in her pastel purple slippers. She probably hadn’t been expecting to find them down here, she had probably been planning to drink the mint tea in silence while her thoughts got all wound up.

“Sit, there’s enough for all of us,” Leandra gestured at the kitchen table.

Slowly, Isabela did as she was told, looking at them nervously and biting her lip. When she was sat she began forming flowers in her hands then fidgeting with them until they were little more than a pile of petals in her lap. Eventually the kettle whistled and he poured the hot water into the tea pot while Leandra set three cups on the table. She sat next to Isabela and after a moment of silent debate, Bruno sat on Isabela’s other side and poured the tea. Isabela accepted hers, but didn’t drink it, she just stared into it.

Distantly, Bruno remembered what it was like to be young and realize the way he experienced attraction was different than the way the rest of his peers experienced attraction, the problem was that for him it was just another thing to add to the pile of stuff that made him weird. For Isabela, who spent so much time and energy trying to be the perfect eldest granddaughter, being attracted to women was its very own pile. And probably not a small one.

He sipped his tea and thought about how to broach the subject, but when Isabela squeezed her eyes shut and just sighed as a tear ran down her cheek, the words fell out of his mouth with little input from his brain, “I’ve had sex with men.”

Leandra, who had been mid-sip of her tea, snorted, then sputtered, then laughed, “Bruno mi amor.”

“What?!” Isabela breathed, eyes wide with both shock and horror. No more tears fell, though, so he counted it as a win.

“I meant to say that better,” he told her with an apologetic grimace, then shrugged, “b-but uh yeah, my last relationship before Leandra was uh with another man.”

“It’s true,” Leandra nodded, pulling Isabela’s eyes to her, “Bruno is attracted to both men and women, something that I, your Mama, and Pepa know and accept.”

There was a long pause, then Isabela simply asked, “Am I that obvious?”

“No,” Leandra and Bruno both said, her with a casual shrug and him with uncertainty. Most things weren’t obvious to him, at least not when it came to other people and their emotions. Leandra had apparently noticed on her own, but she was good at the whole people thing, so her noticing might not mean anything.

“Then why are you telling me-? How do you know?”

“Amada saw you running away with Vanessa,” Bruno said. This may have been the wrong thing to say because Isabela jolted in her chair a little.

“Which by the way you can do so much better than her,” Leandra interjected, putting a hand on Isabela’s arm, “Amada also said that you seem happiest when you end up with a short woman.”

“Right. Don’t run off with Vanessa, she’s tall,” Bruno chimed in, then because he felt like he might have phrased that weird, “w-what I mean is, don’t run off. You don’t need to. We love you and we always will. No matter who you end up with.”

Isabela stared at him for a few beats and it looked like she wanted to say something, but she didn’t, she just turned back to her tea and got lost in its depths. Bruno leaned around her to make eye contact with Leandra, he was moderately sure they were too tired to handle this conversation correctly. Leandra examined Isabela with pursed lips then answered his silent question by wobbling her head back and forth; they weren’t doing great, but they weren’t doing horribly either.

He sighed, but settled back into his chair, not completely screwing this up was all he could really ask for. He glanced at Leandra again and saw her also settling into her seat. It would seem the plan was to just sit with Isabela for as long as she needed.

“We’re rooting for you and the short woman, by the way,” Bruno said out of the corner of his mouth after he had finished his second cup of tea and topped Leandra off.

Isabela briefly smiled, then frowned, then sighed yet again. She continued to contemplate whatever it was she was contemplating.

Leandra got up when they’d finished off the tea and put the pot in the sink, then got out the shortbread and coconut cookies and put them down on the table. Isabela grabbed one, a coconut cookie, then took one bite and held it in her hand on the table.

The clock had never sounded so loud.

“You’re attracted to both men and woman?” Isabela suddenly asked, when Bruno was in the middle of trying to judge if that was pre-dawn light in the window, or lantern glow from the village.

“I uh yeah- well, it’s technically a little more complicated than that.”

She turned her head minutely towards him so she could watch him out of the corner of her eye, she didn’t say anything else and he took her silence to mean he should elaborate.

“Um, I have to know them first, b-before I can be attracted to them,” he said, “a-and the man or woman part doesn’t seem to be uh, that important? It’s not really a factor in the equation I guess? It’s about what type of person they are. A-all of my um… romantic people have been confident and uh accepting of my you know, well, everything and sorta flirty I guess you would say.”

“We’ve all been the sort who will make the first move,” Leandra offered.

“Yes, that, they’ve all been better at making the first move than me,” Bruno nodded.

“So I might just need to get to know a guy better to like him?”

Bruno paused, examining Isabela, “Have uh have you ever…?”

“Isa, mija, have you ever felt attraction for a boy? Any boy?”

“Well, no, b-but that could just be because I haven’t met any of them that are my type,” Isabela said with wide eyes and a slow shrug, “all of the- um a-all of the girls I’ve had crushes on have been uh a certain way. And I can’t think of any boys who are that way, so maybe I just need to meet one!”

“Um, I don’t know if you’re taking away the right message here,” Bruno said slowly.

But there was no derailing the train Isabela had hopped onto, “I can still get married and have kids that can carry the miracle, I just need to meet the right guy.”

“Well, sure, that’s certainly-, we’ll love you no matter who you end up with, and if you end up with a man and a traditional life and you’re happy that way, we’ll be happy for you,” Leandra started to say, “but it sort of sounds like-.”

“Gracias Tio Bruno! Gracias Tia Leandra,” Isabela stood and kissed them both on the cheek, then she shoved the cookie in her mouth and threw back her long-since cold tea, “I should get my beauty sleep though.”

She left without another word, despite Bruno trying to tell her, “Liking both is definitely possible, but it’s ok if you only like-. And she’s gone.”

“Well,” Leandra sighed, “at least she probably isn’t going to run away now.”

He grunted then looked back at the window, that was definitely pre-dawn light, “Let’s try to get some sleep, m-maybe we can try talking to her again when we’re uh well rested.”

Leandra nodded, pushing herself away from the table. Silently they cleaned up the cookies together then trudged back to bed. When they were under the covers he wrapped an arm around her waist and pressed his face to her shoulder.

“Should we tell Julieta?” Leandra murmured.

“Not without Isabela’s permission,” Bruno said.

“Hm, makes sense,” she turned her head so her cheek was leaned against his forehead, “just worry we’re not going to get through to her.”

“Si, might be a bit out of our depth.”

“Si.”

They drifted off, and managed to get in a whole two more hours of sleep.

[606xx]

Second one, with the theme "Burn"

After rebuilding Casita, Isabela wants to do something to thank Inés, her new friend, for all the help she has received. She thought that cooking for her would be an easy way to give her a gift, but what she didn't foresee is that cooking is harder than it seems.

Hope you like it!!

Are you sure you don't want me to stay? - Mom asked nervously, I didn't see her very confident of what I was going to do.  

No, mom, you've already helped me a lot by giving me that recipe, I'll be able to manage on my own- I answered confidently. A month had passed since we returned Casita after staying with the families who took us in during the reconstruction, during that time I made my first friend, Inés, who helped me a lot and gave me another way of seeing things. I was very grateful to her, so I decided I would prepare something to thank her, as she was, behind my cousin, the second person with the biggest appetite I had ever seen  

Just remember to keep an eye on the burners and be careful not to lean on them - she advised me, I saw her worried about leaving me alone in the kitchen.  

Mom! Nothing is going to happen to me- I tried to reassure her somehow, I know I've never cooked, but it seemed like she didn't trust me at all  

I'm just worried about you, honey - she said, coming closer as I saw her eyes scanning all the utensils I had laid out. I planned to use all of them.  

I know, but don't worry. You started doing it when you were five, so it can't be that hard - After all, if a five-year-old girl could cook for an entire village, that meant it couldn't be too difficult, right?  

But once again mom came closer to me- Tie your apron tightly- and before I could check if it was tight enough, she was already fastening it for me - And remember to be careful when cutting, don't get your arms too close to the fire, don't set the heat too high or it'll splatter, and the first aid kit is in the second drawer under the sink - She reminded me opening said drawer for me to see it.  

Yes, yes, go on, don’t worry, I’ll be fine - I said accompanying her to the kitchen door- Come on, Dad must be waiting for you - and as soon as I mention him, he appeared  

After several long minutes in which I spent convincing mom once again to leave, I was finally alone in the kitchen. I approached the counter and saw the recipe that I had asked my mother about, chicken with rice. I remembered that Inés had once told me that she liked it, and without distracting myself much more, I began to prepare it.  

We peel the garlic cloves and chop them... - I read the recipe and carefully took the garlic cloves - only two? They´re so small... I´ll add two more - I said, grabbing a couple more cloves and starting to do what the recipe instructed. But as I was chopping them - Ouch! - I cut myself off - Why are they so small?  

I rushed to wash my hands with a huff and pulled out the first aid kit, I didn't think I would actually need to use it, but after a few minutes and with a band-aid on my hand, I continued with the recipe.  

Pour a generous splash of oil and sauté the pieces of chicken in the paella pan... - This seemed easy, I took the bottle of oil and poured enough oil to cover the bottom of the paella pan and then I put the chicken pieces all this on the fire. - After seasoning with salt and pepper... oops! I had to do that before putting them in - I hurriedly grabbed the salt and pepper and sprinkled them over the chicken already in the pan.  

Suddenly, the oil started to splatter - What is happening?! - I said while covering myself with the cutting board and then I remembered my mother's words: "Don’t set the heat too high or it'll splatter."  

Quickly, and still using the cutting board as a shield, I managed to lower the heat, but the chicken had already turned a blackish color. - It probably still tastes fine - I told myself, but when I saw the kitchen full of oil, I sighed.  

After cleaning the kitchen, I continued with the recipe. I was already tired and I was only getting started. "We set the chicken aside, and sautéed the garlic over a low heat, then added the two types of peppers cut into squares and sautéed..." I did exactly as the recipe said, and left everything on a low heat.  

I continued following the rest of the recipe for a few more minutes and when I was about to add the white wine- Oh, Isabela? - I heard a voice behind me. it was Inés's- I didn't know you cooked...  

Inés?!- I quickly turned around, and without realizing it, I leaned against the burners. Immediately, I let out a scream and pulled away. - AAH! - Instinctively, the kitchen filled with cacti, and one of them appeared near the burner where I had just burned myself. Just like me, it started to catch fire.  

Inés quickly grabbed a cloth, wet it, and managed to put out the fire on the cactus. Then she moved the pan away from the heat and turned off the burner where I was cooking.  

Isabela, where’s your first aid kit? - she asked. By this point, I was embarrassed, hiding my burned hand behind my back  

Second drawer under the sink - I said with my head down listening to the drawer open and Inés' footsteps came back towards me.  

Without saying aa word, Inés gently pulled my hand from behind my back. It hurt. Her touch was careful and gentle, but my skin was so sensitive that I couldn’t help but let out a small groan between my teeth.  

Let’s get some water on this, - she said, guiding me to the sink and turning on the faucet. After about 20 minutes, she dried my hand and wrapped it in a bandage. "What were you trying to make?"  

Chicken with rice - I reply avoiding her gaze. too embarrassed to look at her, at least directly. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Inés silently taking in the whole kitchen, the paella pan, the cutting board...  

Do you want me to help? - she asked, trying to get me to look at her. I shook my head, still too embarrassed. It was supposed to be a gift for her; I couldn’t let her help. - Isabela, I don't mind, really. Besides it's not like I'm very busy. - She smiled at me, patiently waiting for a response  

You can't... it's a gift - replied, feeling my cheeks flush as I saw her look at me, confused by my answer - You're not supposed to help with your own gift  

Is it for me? - she asked, but instead of backing off, she looked even happier and insisted again - Let me help you- as if she hadn't heard what I said before.  

I was about to argue with her for not listening when she smiled back at me - The chicken and garlic are a bit burnt... but I think we can still fix it. What's the next step? - she asked, gently taking my uninjured hand and guiding me away from the table, bringing me back to the counter.  

I was pouring the wine, so after that, we need to stir and add the chicken with the cups of broth and... wait, no! - for a second, I got carried away, it always happened with her. I could never stay in a bad mood for long before she somehow made me forget why I was upset. But this time, I couldn’t let that happen. - Didn't you hear me Inés? This is a gift for you, I can't let you help me.  

I know, you said it earlier- she replied with a smile that almost drove me crazy - But I don't want you to hurt yourself- Suddenly, I wasn’t angry anymore, just embarrassed- let me help - she insisted again, and I swear she looked at me with her eyes shining, she must have done it on purpose, because I was weak and I ended up reluctantly muttering my acceptance.  

With a huff, I continued with the recipe, and just as I was about to pour the cups of broth, Inés stopped me again. - What?  

If you pour it from there, it’ll splatter - she said, gently lowering my arm so it was closer to the pan, letting me pour the broth - see? Much better from here  

I didn't know you could cook- I said, realizing her advice had actually been helpful  

Not usually. My dad is the one who cooks, but I help him from time to time - she answered while looking for the recipe to see what to do next  

Though I didn’t want to admit it, the dish turned out much better than it would have if I had made it on my own. Once we set it on the table to eat it, Inés spoke again.  

Hey, can I ask you something? - she said serving herself a bit onto her plate. I nodded- why did you want to give me a gift?  

I blushed and looked away-...to thank you...- I whispered  

What did you say? - Inés leaning in closer  

To thank you! - I shouted red as a tomato  

Inés was perplexed for a few seconds and then started laughing, making me turn even redder if that was possible. - Don't laugh! You helped me a lot with my grandmother and while Casita was being rebuilt, I wanted to do something to thank you. -  I felt my cheeks puff up and my lips pout; Inés made me feel more childlike, and sometimes I even surprised myself.  

I watched as she wiped away a treacherous tear that was slipping down the scar across her eye. - I didn't do any of that so you'd thank me, - she said, smiling at me. - I did it because I'm your friend and I care about you, and that's what friends do.- She continued speaking as she served me a plate as well.  

We both stayed silent for a few seconds and to avoid her gaze, I decided to start eating. But as soon as I put a bit of food in my mouth, I wrinkled my nose at the taste.  

Are you okay? - I heard her ask, but I had already gotten up from the table to spit the food out and drink some water under the faucet to wash away the taste.  

D-don't e-eat- I responded, but it was too late; Inés, curious about my reaction, had already put some food in her mouth as well. Her reaction was similar to mine, and soon we both found ourselves at the sink, spitting it out and drinking water to get rid of the taste.  

Sorry, I can’t even make you a decent gift - I said once I had calmed down, leaning against the counter with my hands covering my face.  

Hey, it's okay, everyone makes mistakes - she said, rubbing my back to comfort me - I think it was the garlic that gave it that burnt taste  

She stayed there, comforting me in silence for a few minutes, then added - besides, I liked my gift - I peeked out from between my hands and looked at her, perplexed.  

Did you like that? - I asked her, who could possibly enjoy that bitter food?  

Well, not the taste- she said, laughing a bit, which made me roll my eyes - but it was fun the time we spent making it, so how about I take that as my gift?  

I finally pulled my head out from between my hands and rested them on the counter. Honestly, there was no understanding her, but that silly comment made me smile - Maybe another day we could try to make a dessert- I suggested, leaning a bit closer to her, and as she hugged me, she accepted the proposal.  

By the end of the day, I couldn’t help but think that no matter what happened or what I did, everything would be fine as long as I was with her.  

Even if it leaves us with a burnt taste in the end

[psalacanthea]

Getting to Know You

Thanks @litlunacy for the tag! I am not very interesting today, sorry, but I did my best after an inadvertent and wholly trashy nap that left me feeling manky.

Three Ships: Merrill/Isabela (dragon age), Spike/Buffy (i would also say wash/zoe but that's too much whedon), Vimes/Lady Sybil (discworld)

First Ship: I was really invested in Sorka and Sean from Dragonsdawn by Anne McCaffrey (the dragonsinger trilogy was my favorite but menolly deserved to get with that old man and I was mad she didn't don't @ me)

Last Song: What's Left of the Flag- Flogging Molly

Last Movie: I had to think for a minute, but I believe it was Clue. Or The Suicide Club. I rewatched both in the last few days.

Currently Reading: Re-Reading the Vampire Lestat- in the bath

Currently Watching: Never Stop Blowing Up on Dropout.tv

Currently Eating: a can of Mac & Jack's African Amber and bell pepper strips with chipotle honey sprinkle seasoning, as well as some garlic dill pickled red radishes. And a large gummy frog (red and blue flavor).

Currently Craving: I could murder some garlic knots. Or a really big Caesar salad.

[raincoonparade]

My OCs list

I'm having a hard time sharing art here, not only cause I'm being indecisive but also I'm not sure how to present them, I want my Tumblr to look pretty vjkvf so, while I decide on that, I thought about sharing at least the fandom, names and some of my favs drawings of them!

I'll edit this post constantly whenever I have new art, delete or add OCs

Whenever you see TBN it means they don't have a name or I'm changing it so, heads up lol... Anyway, let's start:

Here's the full list! (March 2023):

Animaniacs - Zane

Art sona - Miss Disfortune

3. Ben 10: Omniverse - Skylar 4. Boku no Hero Academia - Aki, Ha-eun, Hoshiko, Itsuki, Journey, Serena, Tomomi, Toshiko, Yuna TBN, TBN

5. Brand New Animal - Cassie, Robin 6. Cannon Busters - Yazmin 7. Carole & Tuesday - Kora 8. Coraline - Zarina 9. Craig of The Creek - Anayance, Barbara, Melisa, Quetzali, Scooter, Tara, Ula

10. CSI series - A.J. 11. Dr. Stone - Chie 12. DuckTales 2017 - Alana, Cambri, Lafayette, Luoana, Taumn 13. Encanto - Esmeralda 14. Fantasy/Ghibli OCs - Zephyrine & Minuette

15. Fairy Tail - Erandi, Luna 16. Food Wars (Shokugeki no soma) - Ginko 17. Free! Iwatobi Swim Club - Violet 18. Galatea (my personal project) - Aisha, Allastor, Allister, Arturo, Beetlepache, Chenzira, Cherry, Kalem, Nisha, Nitzia, Raymundo, Pandora 19. Gargoyles - Altea 20. Ghostbusters - Jackie

21. God of War - Zeltzin

22. Goofysona - Blair, Oceana 23. Kaleido Star - Mirana 24. Kotaro lives alone - Vanna 25. Las leyendas Saga (Ánima Studios) - Iztli 26. Loonatics Unleashed - Hadley, Kit 27. Marvel - Donaji, H 28. Mexopolis media - TBN 29. Monster High - Jericho, Scooter, Winter 30. Monsters Inc. / University - Vesper 31. Music sona - Chia

32. My Little Pony - Fawn Spellbound, Mind Dusk, Pumpkin Moon, Sugar Sprinkles 33. No Straight Roads - Zohnette 34. One Piece - Ginger, Senki, Preya, Yue, TBN

35. Over The Garden Wall & Infinity Train - Ollie 36. Rain (hard to explain where she from) 37. Percy Jackson and the Olympians - TBN 38. Pokemon - Juliet, Patch

39. Radiant - Nahia 40. Ranma 1/2 - Gumi 41. Shaman King - TBN, TBN 42. Shinbi: The Haunted House - Gumiho 43. Sing (Illumination movies) - Bia, Dawn 44. Sona - Scooter 45. Spiderman 2017 - Echo 46. Splatoon - Frizzy 47. Stardew Valley - Rain 48. Steven Universe - Moonstone, Yellow Amber 49. Tales of Arcadia - TBN 50. Teen Titans - Aura, Calliope 51. Teen Wolf - Jack 52. The Amazing World of Gumball - Pumpela 53. The Legend of Hei/Spirit sona - Qiu 54. The Muppets - Nehru 55. The Umbrella Academy - Quetzal 56. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - 3n1d, Crystal, Draq, Frankie, Scooter, Tommy, Vivienne 57. Undertale - TBN 58. Victor y Valentino - Whisper (Jun) 59. Vocaloid - Dalia, Isabela 60. Young Justice - Liv, Razz

Yeah, I know... They're a lot haha. As you can see, I haven't draw them much... I'm still redesigning and creating some of them so, so far, I mostly just have half body references? And some information and facts on a private document and lots of notes... My OCs life is as messy as mine as you can tell ahaha

I have a Toyhouse page where, I hope, I'll be updating and sharing more of my OCs soon! All the redesigns and reference I've made so far are already there in case you want to check them out!

If you read everything, thank you, here... Have a cookie 🍪

[lunaencantada]

When official content isn't coming soon, my main fuel for my hyperfixation is the fandom. It's thanks to the people I have interacted with that I've been able to produce so much content in a year and a half. I would never have made so many animated videos in other circumstances. I'm very grateful for the time I've spent here.

But because it's my fuel, the moment there's a problem everything goes to hell. The hiatus I have in my art blog is because I only have a month and a half left before my final exam, I have to study (the MH series is finished, I'm just posting them now). My three Encanto projects are waiting for the summer. But it's also because I'm burnt out. I've only been reading problems for 5 months now, including a very big argument that left me without energy. I still draw some silly little things, but I don't post them because part of me doesn't want some people to enjoy my content, which for me is a very weird feeling.

It's like I was cooking and eating my favorite dessert but someone sprinkled ashes on top and now everything tastes bad to me.

I want to keep "cooking" because I have a lot of ideas, so I sincerely hope I can continue my Isabela animation this summer and push forward with the things I wanted to do, including an animatic done collaboratively with the fandom and other collabs. But I'm also tired, you know?

[marzopups]

A quick treatise on the relationships in Dragon Age 2 vs. Inquisition

I was very strange, having started the series on Inquisition and worked my way backwards, for full disclosure. But I also think it's really interesting because I played Inquisition not knowing the other games, and loved the way companions and romances went in that game, before going back and seeing just how different the relationships in DA2 felt. And, while I think in terms of execution Inquisition was superior, DA2 definitely beats it like, conceptually.

Relationships in Inquisition don't exactly feel like an afterthought, because there's a lot of work that clearly went into them (at least the ones I've done; Josephine and Blackwall), but they're not integral to the story. They're like sprinkles on a cupcake. Anything they actually add to the story of your Inquisitor exists in the negative space between what is actually happening on screen and how you imagine this relationship affects things in your head. Especially for the advisors, who can't even go out into the field with you. And that's not inherently a terrible thing, because it's a roleplaying game, and that sort of imagination is kind of required.

But gosh, I romanced Isabela in DA2 and it adds so much to the story, because she as a character is integral to the story. Your relationship adds an entirely new dimension to what is happening onscreen. The game shouts 'you chose to be in a relationship with her; is it worth it? Are you willing to go to war over this person?' It enhances what's already part of the main plot, rather than just being an additional thing you can or cannot choose to focus on. And doubly so if it's Anders you're romancing! It supercharges everything that happens in Act 3.

Maybe this doesn't make a ton of sense, but I dunno, they just hit different.

[mirabelmadrigal10182004]

Julieta giving her cash: Here you go, Mirabel, Isabela, and Luisa.

Mirabel: I would like a ice cream.

Julieta: What are you waiting for? Let’s go to ice cream!

Girls: Alright, alright, alright!

Ice Cream Man: Hello, May I help you?

Mirabel: Hello, I’d like to Vanilla ice cream, please.

Ice Cream Man: Would you like any toppings?

Mirabel: Yes, I’d like to chocolate sauce and cherry, please.

Ice Cream Man: Here you are, That’ll be $3.50.

Mirabel giving her cash: Here you go.

Ice Cream Man: Thank you! Hello, Can I help you?

Isabela: Hi, I’d like to strawberry ice cream, please.

Ice Cream Man: Would you like any toppings, madam?

Isabela: I would like to chocolate sauce, please.

Ice Cream Man: That will be $3.87.

Isabela giving her cash: Here you go.

Ice Cream Man: Thanks! Hello, what would you like to have?

Luisa: I would like to chocolate ice cream, please.

Ice Cream Man: What would you like any toppings?

Luisa: I would like to sprinkles, please.

Ice Cream Man: Yes it is, that will be $5.75.

Luisa gives her cash: Here you are, keep the change.

Ice Cream Man: Here’s your chocolate ice cream with sprinkles.

Girls: Thank you.

Raya: Ice cream! Ice cream!

Ice Cream Man: Hello, may I have?

Raya: Hello, I would like to mint chocolate chip ice cream, please.

Ice Cream Man: Sorry, Out of mint chocolate chip ice cream. buying the ice cream are tomorrow.

Raya: WHAT????! *groans and faints*

[casitafallz]

Stray AU | An Innocent Set of Glasses P2

Mirabel lay on her bed thoughtfully as she mulled on what Señora Rojas had suggested. The glasses remained unwrapped on her bed side in her indecision. What did her mother have to do with these glasses? Did she know the Rojas son? But he’s been gone for 16 years so why—

Mirabel’s mind paused.

Her father had been gone for 16 years, just about… not dead on but anyone would round the months up smoothly… She knew her father’s first name was Agustín… Agustín Rojas. Agustín Madrigal…

She jumped off the bed, her heart hammering but she grabbed the glasses and shoved them into her bag then shot from the room and down to the dining room and stopped at the family tree. Next to her mother was the faded picture of her father. It was hard to make out any of the features aside from the darkest colours, which was the blue suit, a pink flower that was clearly from Isabela over the chest pocket.

Mirabel lent closer, examining the faded colour of his face. A simplistic design but…she could make out the shape of glasses. Abuela clearly did little to touch up on its design; Tio Bruno had more colour... Her fingers traced over the faded paint. Dolores’s picture was still small; her 6 year old self in the ageing family. It looked odd to see the contrast. While Abuela did like to do this; such a change to the family tree was Casita’s doing, like to make space for a new baby.

No care for her father’s picture. If… if they truly were the same man, then… he was dead. Not lost. Not a kidnapper. Dead.

“Mirabel, what are you doing?”

Mirabel jumped out of her skin, whipping around to see Camilo standing in the doorway with a raised, somewhat amused expression.

“You scared me!”

Camilo shrugged, though he stepped closer before he looked to the family tree and scowled. “Him? Seriously.”

Mirabel’s jaw clenched with a wash of anger at the venom and hate in his tone but she felt her eyes prickle. “Shut up.” She snapped, “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Camilo scoffed, his arms folding across his chest. “Don’t I? If it wasn’t for him, I’d still have my sister. Don’t defend him, Mirabel, not to me.”

Mirabel’s back straightened. “Then respect the dead, Camilo.” She bit back and walked off, not noticing how he blanched for a moment then frowned uncertainly at the picture but as she went up the steps, her head towards the steps up towards the tower.

Tio Bruno had disappeared after her gift ceremony.  Felix told her a little about him when she had found his door… Mirabel knew he had the gift to see the future, so why…why didn’t he foresee what happened to their family?

Curiously led her feet to the steps.

Would he have any visions there.. if he left any physical trace of them. Mirabel suspected so Tio Felix had mentioned ‘vision-tablet’ before so that seemed to suggest so.

His room was the…obvious place to keep it.

Her eyes flickered about, making sure she wasn’t spotted before she padded up the steps and through the door.

 -

The steps, Mirabel found, was horrible to climb and the definitely signs of decay that bordered deadly before she had even swung across to the other side. Mirabel’s eyes ran over the stone décor but there was no mistake the unease as she clutched the bag she had closer. A peek in had been a comfort reminder her father’s glasses were safe in there.

Inside, the chambers it was much cooler, a wind tickled across her skin as she peered into the darkness before the doors slammed shut. Her teeth dug into her lip, taking a second to compose herself in the dark before she noted the sprinkles of green within the centre pit of sand. Her eyes turned around but there were other green glows from the side. What was in the pit was probably too recent to be relevant; by 5 years.

So to the other tablets, she drifted to and began to pick up them and examine; one showed…her birth.

Julieta on her bed with Pepa and Abuela at her side, staring down at a bundle on her mother’s near-bared chest with clear sight of her new-born ass; cord attached and all on display. Mirabel set that down before Camilo’s birth vision was underneath….a few more visions bore images of woodlands… before she notices one that she was putting to the side that shifted as she tilted it away.

The image shifted.

Mirabel frowned.

It was of the same woodland area but… low to the ground to face up towards the back ground with a distinct shape of a jaguar; one with markings of a fresh kill on its claws. But it was tilting it that Mirabel felt her gut turn to ice.

The delicate frames…a little broken doll that was...tainted with red splodges and smears. It’s implication was clear as anything.

Her eyes closed before she felt the weight settle in her chest…

Her father was truly gone then. Tio Bruno would have had no reason to just…see this; he must have been looking. Couldn’t have seen the attack if he was asleep, he could only see the future; not the past. Too late to see…

The sounds of cracks pulled her attention away from the growing grief before she realised the danger, hugging it to her chest before she darted from the room.

Slowly buried under the sand as the room caved in behind her was the shattered vision of Mirabel standing in front of a cracking Casita; a set of glasses in hand in a way that was held up to be seen. No tilting would change the image.

 -

Vera Rojas hated walking, more so in her increasing age that ached her limbs and joints but she knew this was important as she let her husband and daughter led the way through the trees with a tense atmosphere between them.

Just them.

What they expected to find, Vera didn’t know but her granddaughter had delivered them a terrible truth that needed to come to the surface. An unsaid belief after her son’s disappearance because there was no way to leave Encanto… if it was designed to keep people out then those leaving would not be fortunate without magical guidance.

Sofia had been the one in denial, and Vera was sure her daughter still was but it had taken a lot to persuade her to come and leave her husband and son for this trip. She had lost her brother and they had lost a son; they needed this.

The factor of Dolores Madrigal also was taken in account; the missing Madrigal child wouldn’t have survived if her son hadn’t. A terrible news that would leave a cloud over the magical home in more ways than the literal one. They also had to prove that too. A child wouldn’t have survived long in the woods if she didn’t make it back to Encanto. Super hearing was no plant gift and no super strength. No defensive gift.

Pepa Madrigal’s hate of her son was well known for her belief. Vera never believed the rumours that her child would do this but now they’d never know the true reason why they were both gone… but they needed to bring closure to the families. Pepa Madrigal would finally know what happened. No more wondering. No more hate for her son.

“Looks like the stone formations Mirabel was on about.” Ruben spoke, drawing their eyes up to the distant clearing.

Upon getting there, Vera was the first to spot a colourful, loose thread; proof Mirabel had been here. It certified this was the right spot.

Vera slipped off her bag and pulled out her flash for a sip of water and passed it around, though Ruben was already occupied and pulling a stick to pull away at the tree undergrowth; dirt and leaves. Vera checked her pocket watch for the time before she put her flask away to help.

 -

It took hours before they were able to find anything but soon, remains of…things buried began to come to the surface as they switched from sticks to the borrowed trowels; digging away 16 years of build-up and decay.

A dolls head with a crack had been recovered before the rest of its porcelain body parts were found but while the cloth was gone, a nauseous dark reddish strain lingered along the cracks that not even the rain had washed away nor the rot that had consumed the doll’s clothes and strings.

Sofia had been the one to find the bag.

Leather took decades to decompose; but Vera recognised the bag; she had made it for him for his 15th birthday. He had kept it.

Seeing it dirt encrusted ached so painfully that it brought tears to her eyes, her hands shaking as she pulled it from Sofia’s to open it up, barely noting the slashes in its shoulder strap.

Inside were rotten clothes mostly, his pocket watched that looked to have stopped… surprisingly clean as they laid each item out. There were books, half rotten but Vera couldn’t help herself as she opened the most intact one, but from inside fell out a black and white photograph of her son and Julieta; their wedding photo…

Ruben pulled out the rusty tent rods; the tent itself gone…

“He’s really gone…” Sofia breathed, running a hand though her greying hair. “I… wanted to believe he was happy elsewhere.”

Clink

Her eyes flickered to a small glass jar had been unearthed where the bag had been found, but inside she could see the white.

Sofia sniffled as she reached over first, dusting off the encrusted dirt before she began to attempt to open it but…it didn’t come loose. Her hands shook as she pressed her finger tips in but her grip just kept slipping….

“Hija,” Vera reached forwards, taking it from her reluctant grip. “Let’s take this home.”

“What…what if he’s here?” her hand guesting to the ground and soft soil around them. “the girl too…. We can’t just leave them… him behind….not after 16 years…”

“We can come back tomorrow…once things have been sorted. We have all the proof we need to confront Alma on what prompted him to go...” Ruben spoke, “I’ll talk to the priest about a memorial. He deserves that.”

The chances of human remains were few and far between and with how long it’s been Vera had little hope but she’d allow her daughter to stay with her husband; she didn’t want to be here any longer.

Her son was dead. Now she had to…find a way for her granddaughters to rightfully know their father’s fate; that he hadn’t just walked away…and that he didn’t simply kidnap a child…why he even left Encanto was beyond her but he surely left with a reason. She intended to know why it cost his life to do so.

 -

Mirabel sat solemnly at dinner, picking at her plate and not listening much to Abuela but she couldn’t help but shake the feeling that something was going to go wrong very quickly. But…it felt far away.

Why did her father have to go? Why did… why did Dolores go?

Just…why?

Mirabel’s eyes turned to her eldest sister thoughtfully, watching her as she sat next to Mariano and talked. 6 years old when he left. She knew him.

Mirabel felt the slither of jealously. She knew Isabela didn’t display much of an opinion after their Papi but… she knew him.

“Mirabel,” Abuela’s voice turned her head before Mirabel faced her with a cool expression, “Can you pass the cream.”

Silently, Mirabel reached over and pushed the pot down the line.

“Are you alright?” Tia Pepa asked next to her, “You’re very quiet.”

“You don’t like the answer.” Mirabel replied glumly. “You hate talking about him.”

Tia Pepa’s posture stiffened a fraction before a low clap of thunder but her eyes turned sad. How could they explain to Tia that Dolores didn’t make it? She knew Tia hoped Dolores was out there… clawed onto that.

“No mention of that man over dinner, Mirabel.” Abuela spoke, “We don’t talk about him.”

“Why not?” Mirabel scoffed, stabling at her plate, “you don’t even know what happened to him…I didn’t even know his last name was Rojas. I had to learn about him all by myself!”

“Mirabel.” Julieta warned, “Not now.”

“It doesn’t matter…”

“Is it about the glasses you found?” Antonio’s little voice echoed, drawing the attention to his end of the table, “the ones with the jaguar markings on. Are those Tio Agustín’s glasses?”

Outside, there was a dull knocking on Casita’s front door.