#bruno and his bucket | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

deliciousangelfestival · 9 months

Text

Switched Sides 2 - Lloyd Hansen Series

Character: Lloyd Hansen x former Hitman!FemaleReader

Summary: Y/N L/N quit her job as a hitman to take care of her nephew after her stepbrother died. It’s been a year since she became a good aunt to her nephews, and she wants to keep it that way. But her quiet life got disturbed when her former boss asked for her help.

Warning: Nothing.

A/N: Reblog and any feedback are much appreciated. I love reading all your comments and funny GIF.

Chapter 1 , Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4 , Last Chapter

Main Masterlist || Buy me Ko-fi please 🥹

Disaster.

That's the perfect way to describe the situation. Today is supposed to be the first day of the school's anniversary celebration.

Every participant for the bazaar was scattering around to pick up all their stuff and set up their tent back to the correct position because a strong force of wind flew all their property, including Y/N vegan brownies cake.

A helicopter suddenly landed in the middle of the football field near the food bazaar.

Every parent, teacher and student was shocked by what happened, and they were even more surprised when people that came out wearing black suits like a secret service approached Y/N.

"Y/N L/N, we need your help." The person standing in front of her is her former colleague Bruno. His code name is 'Poison'.

She knows the only person who will use this method is Lloyd Hansen.

"Y/N, you're not in trouble, right?" A trembling voice came from Jenny, who stood behind Y/N, along with others who were confused with the situation in front of them.

–Flashback Starts–

Everyone was busy setting up their tent, including Y/N until a strong wind and loud sound approached the school.

"Is that a helicopter?

"What happened?"

"Oh my god, are there terrorists at school?"

"No, the decoration is ruined because of the wind!!!"

"Catch the flower buckets!!! That flowers are imported!!!"

–Flashback Ends–

"No, ma'am, the country needs her help." Bruno fixes his aviator, acting friendly towards Jenny. She would never believe this man is dangerous because he uses hazardous chemicals to finish his target.

Jenny grabs Y/N's hand. "If you ever need help, call me. My father knew a few senators."

Lloyd knew a few senators too, and he kept them like figure dolls. He's far more powerful than senators.

"Thank you." Y/N tapped Jenny's hand to assure her that she was okay.

"Give me your car keys; my subordinate will drive your car back to your home."

Y/N gave him the car keys. She doesn't need to tell her address. They have known it beforehand.

"You could bring your…" Bruno pointed at the little human underneath him. "Nephew's with you."

With Kendall in her arms, and her other hand holding Mark, she entered the helicopter quickly so they could leave the school as soon as possible.

"Wow, this is so cool, Aunty."

The helicopter starts to go up, and everyone is in their seat. From the window, Mark saw his classmate look jealous. He lifted his middle finger towards them, but his aunt lowered his hand. "That's rude."

Mark felt embarrassed and lowered his head. "Sorry, Aunty." Y/N shook her head and then checked on the little one who sat on her lap and wore a cancelling headphone noise.

She thought Kendall would be scared, but he's enjoying it. His short legs keep moving up and down.

Bruno sat near her, surprised to see her being gentle, "You've changed, Y/N."

Y/N looked at Bruno, not amused; the way he picked her up would ruin her cover as a regular aunt, and people at the school will ask questions.

"Was it necessary to make an entrance like this?"

Bruno chuckled. "If you didn't ignore him, today wouldn't have happened. Every cause has consequences."

She scoffed, "He must be desperately asking me for help."

"Oh, he is. And we need old Y/N to come back."

Mark clenched her shirt, and she felt it. He must be scared thinking about her old job. Her fingers gently brushed his hair, and she said, "It's gonna be alright."

They have arrived at the top of the building. Y/N knew this place was one of their headquarters, and the location was in the same city. It's better this way than their usual hideout place inside the forest; kids will get scared.

"Wait here", said Bruno and left them.

After waiting for 5 minutes, the owner of the building appeared. He was standing tall with a well-built body. He'd wearing a black shirt, a leader jacket, beige pants and black shoes.

Lloyd smiled. "Hi, pumpkin, did you miss me?"

Y/N does not answer because she is pissed. Lloyd understands her anger. So he wants to mess with the tiny little guest by saying, "I'm your father."

Kendall, who was silent this whole time, suddenly cried, "Waaa…not daddy."

Y/N clicked her tongue; she rubbed his back to calm him down. "Thanks, Lloyd. It took half an hour to stop his crying."

"Uupss." Lloyd chuckled; he didn't feel sorry even one bit.

"What do you want?"

"I need your help since you are the best tracker in the team."

"You said my method is old-fashioned."

"Here's a thing, since I ruined a tourist attraction in some European country, the Big Boss boss banned me from doing any damage."

When Y/N is still working with him, they always argue about how to get their target. She preferred quiet but deadly, while Lloyd chose loud and messy.

"Who do you need to catch?"

"You agree to help?" Lloyd raised his eyebrows, and he was surprised she quickly agreed.

"If I don't do it, you will bother me again until I say yes. What will I get if I do you a favour?"

"A medicine for him." Lloyd looks at Kendall.

"I know you have the money for his oral medicine, but you must wait a year. If you help me, I will give you the medicine tomorrow."

"How?"

"Let's just say there's a patient that doesn't deserve it."

That's a sign she should stop asking.

"Aunty." Y/N looked down at Mark, who wanted to cry.

"I'll be alright. Could you watch Kendall for a while?"

"Nooo." He shook his head and stomped his foot.

Lloyd doesn't want to hear a kid crying in his place. "Bring him, he won't understand anything."

They moved to another floor. On their way to the control room, Mark saw a sports car inside the building. How did they get the sports car into the skyscraper?

He looked up at Lloyd with adoring eyes. Lloyd felt this kid was watching him, so he just smiled back.

*****

"So, who is this?"

"An accountant of the drug cartel."

"He picked the wrong enemy?"

"Yup, and the CIA want to use him to put the drug cartel to jail. But the problem is, he's good at hiding."

"Give me his profile."

Y/N read the profiles thoroughly and picked maps. Her fingers traced the map, then picked a red marker to make an 'X' sign "He's here."

"How did you know?"

"He's a loner, and doesn't have many friends, so I saw his GPS history, sometimes he always visits the area around his university. He felt safe in a place that was nostalgic to him. So that means…"

Y/N pointed at the 'X' sign on the map. "He's here."

"You heard her; send the team around that area." Lloyd gave an order to his subordinates.

"Can we go home now?"

"No, stay here until we find him. I don't want to go back and forth to pick you up. The gas for the helicopter is expensive."

"Ugh, fine."

******

While waiting for the result, Lloyd ensured three of them got comfortable. He notices Y/N's nephew doesn't feel scared, perhaps because they know her aunt is there to protect them.

"You haven't put him down since you got here. Your arms don't get numb?"

Kendall rested his head on her chest, sleeping while his mouth opened. For Y/N, looking at Kendall is this calm, and her tiredness is gone. "No, he's not heavy."

"Hmm, I understand why he loves being in your arms."

Lloyd leaned his head on her shoulder and hugged her left side. "Because I felt home every time I rested my head on your chest." He winked at her. She pushed him away, but he won't budge.

He wants to move away from her, but because of the little kid, she smells like a baby, and he likes her new smell.

Mark looked at this man acting close to Y/N. He whispered in her ear, "Aunty, is he your boyfriend?"

Lloyd smiled at the innocent question. "Yes, yes, I am." He has this proud look on his face and gives a peck on Y/N's cheek.

His moustache tickled her, so she pushed him away. "Don't give him any ideas."

"Mister, why did you call aunty Y/N pumpkin?"

"Because that's her favourite food."

"Really?" He doesn't know his aunt's favourite food, while she knows their likes and dislikes.

Mark's eyes sparkled, this man had a helicopter, and cars, owned many computers, and he knew Y/N's favourite food. He's cool.

*****

After 4 hours, she finally got the news.

Lloyd wears a big smile on his face. "They caught him. I knew I could count on you."

Y/N, while carrying Kendall and Mark, they immediately stand up from their seat. "Great. So send us back home."

"Eh, I want to invite you to have dinner together."

"Lloyd, you don't like kids."

"I could tolerate them as long as I'm with you."

"My patience has its limits." Not just her but the kids too. She could sense her nephew getting bored and exhausted. If they don't go home, both boys will start their tantrums.

"Alright." He offered a handshake when she wanted to shake his hand. Lloyd suddenly pulled her into his arm and kissed her cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Lloyd wasn't kidding. The next day he visited her at her house to deliver medicine for Kendall.

She doesn't know I'd the medicine worked well or not, but it made Kendall sleepy. At least this time, he's not crying in pain.

Since Kendall fell asleep, she couldn't pick Mark up at school. That means she needs to ask a favour. "Lloyd, could you get my nephew at school?"

"Am I a chauffeur now?"

She didn't answer. Instead, she gave him a killer gaze at him, which made Lloyd nod. "Alright, but I want to have dinner with you tonight."

******

Never in a million years would Lloyd think he would step into school again.

While he walks around looking for Mark, every mother and nanny who waited for their kids is looking at Lloyd. It's easy to spot him since he's the tallest person in the area. His style is also modest and stylish.

Then he heard a bunch of kids surrounding one kid; he knew who it was.

Mark is standing alone while his classmates are in the group. His cheeks were red because he was frustrated. "Why can't I join the marathon tomorrow?"

"That's because you don't have a father. It's a father-son marathon."

"What if you team up with our gym teacher? Everyone knows he likes your aunty."

Mark stomped his foot. "No!!!" He doesn't want his gym teacher as his running partner, that would be cheating, and Mark doesn't want his teacher to get close to Y/N.

Then he felt a shadow covering him, and he saw his friend stepping back while their eyes looked up.

He raised his head and saw the person he met yesterday, Mister Lloyd.

Suddenly he got an idea; with his little body, he clung to Lloyd's leg like a koala and looked at his friend. "He is my aunt's boyfriend, and I will join the marathon tomorrow with him!!!"

It's not just Mark's friends who were shocked but also Lloyd. This will be the first time an 8-year-old kid dumbfounded Lloyd.

A/N: Reblog and any feedback are much appreciated. I love reading all your comments and funny GIF.

Chapter 1 , Chapter 2, Chapter 3 , Chapter 4 , Last Chapter

Main Masterlist || Buy me Ko-fi please 🥹

Join the tag list :

@sabrinaselina55, @magnificentsaladllama , @cherrybubblebullet @inlovewiththefictionalcharacters , @bagoffeelings @darkofimagination, @starsofcloud, @thatzolagirl

#switched sides series #lloyd hansen x reader #lloyd hansen #llyod hansen x y/n #soft!dark lloyd hansen x y/n #soft!dark lloyd hansen imagine #soft!dark lloyd hansen x reader #soft!dark lloyd hansen #lloyd hansen x y/n #lloyd hansen x fem!reader

144 notes · View notes

rebouks · 6 months

Note

Happy Friday the 13th! If your OCs were in a piece of horror media (video game/book/movie), what roles would they play? Who would die first? Who would make it to the end? What kind of horror media would they be in? (slasher film, psychological horror, zombie apocalypse, etc.)

oooooOHOOOOooO this is SO fun morri!! omg let's be semi lazy and thrust everyone into a zombie apocalypse situation n' see what happens ig..

Noah, Aspen & Juni aren't getting out of the house.. 🙈 SORRY! Aspen and Juni get caught out in the summerhouse before Noah even knows what's going on, then he'd quickly get overpowered 'cause he's weak n' kinda useless physically lmao OOPS

similarly, Alton ain't getting far.. he's SO outta shape and easily flustered and Sid's gonna do her best to get em out but he ultimately falls behind n' "heroically" just tells her to GO!

Wyatt probably does alright for himself in the beginning.. and let's be self-indulgent and say he finds Brynn HEUEHU, i can see him wriggling his way to the top of some survivor group only to be killed by his own "people" for being a dickhead in the end LOL 😂 no doubt Brynn would be part of an outcast group who'd leave once he was dead but i doubt they'd get far...

Sid ends up with Oscar n' co who all managed to get out okay in the beginning (let's pretend the twins don't exist yet because i CANNOT) they're all doing good for a while until Cookie gets bit.. Oscar can't finish her off so Tilda has to do it for him 😩

Oscar's next to get got.. he probably would'a been fine if Cookie made it but he's wracked with guilt n shit so probably does smth idiotic and reckless, only making up for his stupidity at the very end by at least saving Robin before being eaten alive.

Robin, Sid n' Tilda tag along with Brivan who're doing pretty great but Ivan disappears on a scavenging mission and never returns 😭

Tilda gets sick and there's not much Sid can do without any proper medication, Robin (like 12 or smth by now) goes on a mission with Bruno to find some supplies.. they get overrun and Robin escapes at the last minute but they return empty handed and Tilda kicks the bucket 💀

Robin, Bruno and Sid are the last one's standing.. Bruno's got the brawn (not without intelligence tho) Sid's got the brains and the medical knowledge and Robin's the lithe/quick one, sick with a crossbow and with extra powers to boot 🤭

i was gonna dress everyone up n' do fun shit but then i got bored so all you get is a lazy zombie apocalypse Robin instead lmao...

#ts4 #sims 4 #ranswers #heheeeeeee #so fun!!#ty for this one <3333

54 notes · View notes

gamerbearmira · 28 days

Note

More resident Evil stuff!

Antonio 1000% tries to follow Mirable everywhere she goes! And as much as Mirable would love to bring him to the meeting she doesn't want to expose him to Miranda anymore than she has too she's the most protective of Antonio because of his age(it also helps that his adorable and is the sweetest little boy ever) he does follow her everywhere in the house and if she's taking a trip to the village or the orphanage he joins her 9 times out of 10. The only time his not allowed to follow her is when shes going down to her lab in the house or when she's going to a religious service in town.

Of course I have Bruno! in my universe a little bit after Mirabel went missing he came out of the walls to try and help find her he helped with the search and after 4 months when they called off the search because it was clear she wasn't in the area he kept trying to have visions but he just kept seeing the black mold and he couldn't make sense of it. He did keep the original vision hidden in fact before he came back he snuck into his old room and found it and completely destroyed his old vision so no one would know(he was still scared of Alma's reaction.) he also refused to tell what was in the old vision that made him leave.

Mirable tries to keep her family away from the religious aspect of the village she's uncomfortable with the fact that she's worshiped and the whole cult that is the village. Of course the family does find out and they're all very uncomfortable with the idea of Mirable being worshiped and the fact that they are viewed as higher beings by the townsfolk because of the relationship they have with Mirable.

Miranda isn't always punishing Mirable, in fact Maribel out of all of the Lords gets the least amount of punishments the difference is that Mirabel's punishments in comparison to the other Lords are much more severe because more is expected out of her. Miranda actually often tries to force weird little dinners/lunches or tea parties onto Mirabel as well as getting her the odd gift of needles,instruments,paints/art supplies and oddly enough toys still, she views mirabel as younger than she is. Mirable gives the toys to the orphanage and then later Antonio after cleaning them (they sat in a bucket of disinfected for days almost a week then were scrub down).

I haven't actually thought about where Miranda made Mirable experiment on each family member and how that would physically affect them. All I know is that they wouldn't have too many mutations because the miracle protects them from it but in return for that their powers act pretty wonky like sometimes they'll work sometimes they won't and it's kind of up in the air when they do and when they don't. I think she might have made Mirable experiment on dolores's ears and maybe her mother's hands but everyone else I'm not entirely sure. I would actually like your opinion on that matter I do like the idea of Antonio and his eye.

Alcina has invited Mirable and her entire family to the castle for visits, let's just say it was very tense the first time that they actually did go to visit. The sisters were glaring at all of the family the entire time and being pretty passive aggressive/borderline threatening with the family and kinda possessive of Mirable. Alcina was being nicer in comparison she was also glaring though but not at the entire family just at Julieta she was being less passive aggressive but still passive aggressive but she wasn't being borderline threatening and was acting less possessive of Mirabel then the girls were though that was because she was restraining herself. They all were of course constantly calling the men in the family "man things" though they were a little bit nicer than they would have normally been and said that "they didn't seem to be as pest like most men".

MORE RESIDENT EVIL💪💪

Glad Antonio follows Mirabel around, and it’s understandable why she wouldn’t bring him to meetings. Even for how much he begs, she still says no. She’s just not willing to take that risk 😭 also Mirabel keeping her family away from all that worshipping stuff is. So true because Miranda is CRAZY and honestly the service are probably really weird, knowing Resident Evil 😭

ALSO BRUNOOOOO LETS GOOOO 🌚🌚 him coming back to look for her, nice to see he cares so much <333 I feel bad that he couldn’t find her with the vision, I mean yeah, it was hinting her location, but like. He don’t know what the black mold is or where it is 🤠 the fact that he tried though is what counts.

Even if Miranda doesn’t punish her. If THAT is tamed, I feel bad and wonder what the others go through (besides what’s seen in the of game). Her viewing Mirabel as younger than she really is terrible like dawg she is??? 15. 16. Wrap it up 💀💀 but at least the gifts go to some use (after some through cleaning). And Alcina and her daughters need to take it down a notch 🌚 I understand that they are attached to her, but I feel like they haven’t realized they haven’t noticed that Mirabel prefers her family, even if she still does like them to some extent. Rip to the guys of the family 🧌 though I always found it funny with Lady D and her daughters called Ethan "man-thing". Idk why 💀

AS FOR THE EXPERIMENTS UHHHHH. Ok I'll try but feel free to switch it up, these are just suggestions/ideas <333

Ok so obviously Antonio was on his eye. Originally it was his mouth, but the black mold spread to his eye, rendering it essentially useless. Camilo, it really didn't affect him appearance wise, but by far, his gift is ALL out of wack, the worst of the family. He cannot control it, and if he tries to use it, he just?? Turns into something not very pleasant to look at. Kinda painful for him as well; the only thing I'd say he could turn into, ironically, is a Lycan, anything human will just. Look like a balck mold vicitim 👺 Dolores' ears kinda always have this ringing sound, and while she can still hear pretty far, it's just overall not a pleasant experience.

Isabela, quite literally, has vines wrapping around her. Like they are digging into her skin, and she can adjust them and they can move, but they never go away. Luisa's isn't as bad, but the nerves in her arm were taken over by the black mold, and she's kinda in constant pain, so she doesn't use her gift nearly as often; in her arms, you can see where the black mold took over her nerves 😭😭

Julieta's hands were experimented on; told by Miranda to Mirabel to do specifically. She wanted to fugure out if her gift could be taken, and if it could be used to revive people. Well, Julieta had a really BAD reaction to the mold, really bad, and her hands started to burn. They, on a day to day basis, will spontaneously combust at any given point, except when she's asleep. Her hands always look burned, and no matter how much of her own food she eats, it never really goes away. Pepa has a constant cloud, even when she's happy. It's not always thundering, so she never knows when lightning will strike; 9 times out 10, it'll strike her, so she has a lot of lightning scars, and the black mold prevents her from dying; her hair has started to turn white. Bruno's eyes were experimented on, and now he's kinda in this perpetual state of seeing the future (and sometimes the past??? Maybe). His eyes are always glowing and he gets bad migraines. His vision is actually hindered a bit and everything he sees has a green hue around it 🗿

Miranda didn't care too much about the husbands because they didn't have a gift, but you know. Agustín got punished because he was yelling and trying to argue with Miranda; he was experimented on, but it didn't really effect him appearance wise. Felíx actually had some reaction to the mold, but mentally it made him really jumpy, and he's just not as happy as he used to be, though he does try to be optimistic, and is still just as protective.

Alma, I'm actually not sure??? Miranda probably doesn't like her very much, Alma is always picking fights, verbally anyway, and Alma will often be caught just glaring at her. She was experimented on but. Idk, maybe on Miranda and Mirabel know how it truly affected her, physically. Unless you or someone else has an idea LMAOOO

I LOVE THIS AU AND I LOVE RESIDENT EVIL❗❗❗🙏🙏 probably gonna do art of whatever the next ask is (if you have one)

Also. If you have any writing ideas I'd totally love to write a snippet or something <33

19 notes · View notes

encantoisawesome · 2 years

Text

hey guys, im probably over thinking this but i noticed this when i rewatched the breakfast scene in encanto

(also i just noticed that antonio is sharing his seat with a baby capybara, thats flipping adorable)

“i told them to warm up your seat”

so in the breakfast scene, antonio (the absolute sweetheart he is) tells abuela alma that he told a bunch of coati to sit in her chair in order to warm it up for her

now further into the movie when antonio invites bruno to do a vision in his room, there is also a bunch of coati in the spot bruno would be sitting

(they werent there when bruno was pouring out the sand to create the circle so they must have hopped into that spot after bruno passed chispi the capybara since bruno comes into the scene from the left after he completed the circle and put down the bucket)

do you think antonio told them to warm up that spot for bruno?

#i dunno #like i said i might be over thinking this #i probably am #encanto #bruno #mirabel #abuela #alma #antonio #encanto bruno #encanto mirabel #encanto antonio #encanto abuela alma #bruno madrigal #mirabel madrigal #antonio madrigal #alma madrigal

599 notes · View notes

wolven91 · 10 months

Text

Rats in Hats - Chapter 1

Bruno slid down the polished ladder with a squeak against his palms into the escape pod which sealed automatically above him. As soon as his boots hit the metal floor, lights flickered to light and illuminated the smooth and 'calming' white walls of the pod. Another bone jarring shudder and a muted roar shook the man from his feet and thrust him into the lone padded seat's backrest with a 'wuff' of air being driven from him.

With a grunt he clambered around to the seat's front where the pod's lone console sat as a 'cockpit' and dropped into the bucket seat. He rapidly snatched the 3-point harness straps and clicked them into place across his body. Bruno was running on autopilot. If he stopped to consider anything that was happening, he may have to curl up into a ball in blubbering fear.

The aliens had drilled this procedure into him, time and time again. Hear the siren, get to the pod. Hear the siren, get to the pod. Every four days while they prepped the man for living life amongst the stars. He had been forced to abandon meals, leave his warm bed in the dead of night, time and time again, just so he'd get *this* bit right, the bit that they drilled into him until he began to dream about it.

Humanity had *barely* made to the stars at this point, in more ways than one. In a short time, they as a species had enjoyed one mishap after the other and the rest of The Galactic Community, feeling guilty for their role in those mishaps, had thought it perhaps prudent to teach these, seemingly, 'unlucky' humans what the correct procedure was should the call for 'Abandon Ship' to *actually* be announced. Every single human that left a planet or was old enough to understand was drilled for months on end how to best increase their chances for survival in space if something went wrong. After all, when stuff goes wrong in space, it's usually way more dangerous.

"Oh, it'll never happen!" Bruno exclaimed sarcastically as he slapped the big blue switch to prep the life pod's systems, an audible hum around him began as all the systems were checked without input from the human occupant, the artificial intelligence within waking to life with new purpose and a new ward to protect.

"Oh, it's just a formality!" He shouted in anger as he opened the clear cover on the other side of the console and turned a key that it had protected. Explosive bolts, holding the pod in place, primed and began to whine at the energy running through them. The AI ran through their checklist, they had done this trillions of times since its manufacture, but the first 'actual'. They were giddy.

"Space is bullshit!" The man spat as he hit the great big 'Eject' button that he'd never *actually* been allowed to press before. He barely enjoyed it and later would struggle to even remember the event even though it had been something he'd dreamt of doing ever since the instructor told him not to press it. A big red illuminated button, that one must never press, and Bruno didn't even recall the moment thanks to the explosion that slammed him into his seat rattling the memory from existence with a stutter of his heart.

The second the button depressed into the console, the angled bolts behind the pod exploded, the force beginning the single person life pod's escape from the doomed mothercraft. Milliseconds later, the pod's single booster burped to life flawlessly and rapidly increased the pod's velocity. From the outside it could have been a bullet fired from the underside of the colossal ship. Inside, a suite of inertia dampeners flickered to life and whilst Bruno felt the sheer power of the engine blasting him clear of certain death and pressed him deep into the seat, he only felt a miniscule amount of the actual deadly Gs that were buffeting the small craft.

The Transport Carrier was inevitably going to be destroyed, the catastrophic damage to the engines thanks to the small crystals travelling just below the speed of light that had punched through the hull, had unfortunately set off a series of events that left it building more and more energy that it would release in a bloom of heat on par with a Supernova. The cosmic event wasn't dissimilar to what was happening in the remnants of the engine room either; the creation and subsequent collapse of a small star, localised within a mile from where Bruno's own quarters on board were. He had been shadowing the engineering crew, he hadn't minded his proximity to the calming 'thrum' of the engine that could be always felt, but it had turned into an unhealthy wheeze through the superstructure after the fateful collision.

Fortunately, the Situation Awareness Module on the little pod could understand the signals and readings they were receiving from the larger ship and knew that the engine they had access to in the pod was not going to put enough distance between them and the resulting explosion that was about to vaporise this part of space.

"Prepare for an emergency jump." Was all the warning Bruno got from the pod before he briefly felt what it was like to step through one part of space to another. SAM, the AI, had chosen a 'safe-ish' vector and had dumped every available ounce of power into the engine at once for the jump. 'Jumping' was not the standard method of travel in the universe, mainly because it taxed engines far beyond what was safe or recommended at the most extreme estimations, but it allowed instant travel from one location in the universe to another. SAM's whole reason for being was to keep their ward alive, it was worth the risk as the alternative was certain atomisation.

Bruno was left gasping, his eyes rolling but not seeing anything at the sudden and unexpected wash of energy. He tasted copper and felt as if his limbs weren't responding properly to him, they flailed haplessly as he ran his tongue against the back of his teeth without thought. SAM watched him carefully, these were all expected reactions with the relatively light shielding of the pod rather than the usual bulky, thick shielding of the larger ships to protect against the reality-staining forces of jumping.

Still... it *was* a human. Knowing their luck, SAM was pleasantly surprised that he hadn't spontaneously combusted. So SAM did everything that they were supposed to do while he came back around.

For Bruno, the first thing to come back was hearing; the high-pitched ringing wasn't coming from his battered mind or ears but an alert from the pod's systems themselves.

The next sense was sight, the previously calming light white walls were flashing red as the alert that was trying to get the pilot's attention was going unnoticed. Rolling his head forwards Bruno got his first glimpse at the planet, which was surprisingly large in the viewfinder until the penny dropped that he was heading directly for this particularly grim looking rock.

The planet looked to be a mixture of greens and blues, illuminated from a distant sun, but it was the dark, rolling storm systems that peppered the surface that looked particularly threatening. If he didn't miss his guess, these were storms that covered entire continents and he was heading right for it.

Bruno grabbed at the control stick, and pulled it roughly towards himself and to the right. He expected to fight gravity, to feel the pod's engines obey his command and pull him free from the planet's hold just like every fighter jet movie he'd ever gotten his hands on.

The SAM, if they had eyes, would have rolled them.

The human's best chance was on that planet, records naming it 7FR-RAHB. It had life, it had water and if the human utilised the ship's Situation Awareness Module, he should be able to enjoy his best chance for survival for the duration of his stay until rescue found him. The SAM mentally shrugged when it granted him that the storms wouldn't help matters at finding his signal, but the satellite buoys the pod had released before approaching would at the very least point rescue in his direction. Plus, the pod was specifically designed to be broken down and crafted into anything he needed during his stay, up to and including an orbital capable ship for rescue.

So, when Bruno yanked on the stick, nothing happened. He opened his eyes from leaning back in the seat while holding the stick towards himself and wiggled the stick forward and back, left and right, to find no change to his approach to the planet, the stick merely rattled as if it wasn't connected to anything.

"You're kidding me." He bemoaned again, there was a moment of fear until the heads up display lit up with a planned route of descent, gently curving into the planet's gravity and seemingly skimming the swirling storm. The planet filled the screen and the clouds got closer.

Somewhere down on the planet's surface it would appear as if a star began to fall from the sky, but nobody was looking up at that moment.

What was happening at that moment was Keest was busy quietly slitting the throat of the fik that had the unfortunate luck to be on guard duty that evening. His entire snout fit within the giant hand that silenced him. His gods must have been displeased with him, she thought grimly as she gently lowered the shivering, but quickly going limp meat to the ground. The mud and foliage would hide him and this time tomorrow the jungle would have claimed most of him. By the time she came this way again, she'd be hard pressed to find the bones.

The night was thick and oppressive, the storm was at their back and sucked the air into itself, the pelt on her arms stood on end with the static in the air. However, thanks to this, they were downwind from their target.

Keest kept low, her bulk was not so easy to hide, but that didn't mean she couldn't be quiet when she wanted to be. She kept her eyes on the guards in the distance, back lit by the fires and ensured that thick trees were between her and them. She stomped forwards, her weight pushing her bare feet down into the sucking mud, but her strength tearing them free as she pushed forwards. She looked to her left and sought her companion. There was a flash of lightning in the distance which allowed her to see a silhouette of another fik letting their guard down and gaining a new opening in their neck as a reward. Like a spirit, Krahl appeared from the darkness shortly after, wiping the wet blade off against her hip without a word. Her pure white fur did nothing to help her in the twilight, but she was wrapped in her signature grubby bandages, covering her arms and legs, finished with a shawl to mute her colouration. All this hid her from watchful eyes. But this was not to mention that she had advantages that those eyes did not in avoiding detection.

Krahl’s white fur and red eyes were merely the outward appearance of an ermin, a fik that had access to certain powers. Their hidden 'gifts' could range from bringing a curse to one's enemies to a blessing of good fortune amongst other things.

Krahl's specific gift was the very rare; Sight, with only the Chief’s seer being the only other ermin known to have it, at least in their clan.

Her eyes may not 'see', and in fact were completely blind, but she moved through the foliage as if she lived there, day to day. She had explained to Keest that the closer the events were to her, the 'clearer' they were to her. Stepping over branches that would snap was far easier than knowing which enemy would call out first before reaching for their weapon, but it was more than enough that she too could assist Keest this evening.

Earlier, their leader, the Clan Chief, had demanded a fik known as the Baron to be killed and the first point of order to do that was to open a passage to his lair from his flank. The Baron had distanced himself from the clan Chief recently, taking a sizable portion of the warren with him. This cult of personality with those with the charisma to lead, had a way with fiks that often-caused a schism as two parties drew from the same population.

The Baron had chosen a good section of the tunnels to create his new clan, it had several bottlenecks that made assault from below and the sides near impossible without catastrophic losses. Tight bridges over chasms, narrow tunnels, redug or collapsed tunnels. Push come shove; he could simply flood the lower levels without ever placing his own in danger, whilst being plenty capable of handling any sized force that the Chief could send.

Which left the above-ground path.

The surface was not a barren hellscape but was lush and verdant with a coast to coast forest or jungle depending on how far one travelled up or down the land. However, the storms that lashed the surface could tear even the deepest roots from the ground. Fiks caught by the storms would be ripped from the earth and tossed into the sky without a second's hesitation if they were taken by surprise. The ermin used to talk about how it was a god that was the cause for the storms... a child that had been given everything it ever wanted until finally it demanded godhood, but when even that did not satisfy the child and there was nothing left to give, it began a tantrum that millennia later, was still being felt by the fiks.

The underground world was wholly different, but just as vibrant and one could travel from one coast to the other without ever seeing daylight if one wanted to. There were rumours of tunnels that even travelled beneath the endless seas above, but that was not for Keest to concern herself about, let Tahr and Krahl debate if that were possible for hours on end.

Keest frowned when she noted that Tahr was nowhere to be seen. This was standard for Tahr, to move unseen but this was not part of their plan, she was meant to be waiting for them. Keest wasn’t worried that Tahr had abandoned her; she had found Tahr's handiwork earlier, a fik that was still dying, gurgling away but unable to shout an alarm. Keest had put it out of its misery with a single stomp. She was merely worried that the longer they waited, the sooner that storm would render the upper world untraversable and if they were trapped on the Baron’s side, it would not end well for the three of them.

The fires ahead burnt brightly in the dark of the night. Fiks had no trouble with the dark, but overground, the allure of light and warmth was strong. Especially when relentlessly being buffeted by the howling winds of the spirits that could no longer find their way underground. Even the hardiest fiks would eventually crowd around in the safety of the fire, the spirits were not something to trifle with. The storms drew the spirits to them, one often saw the unseen spectres whistling through the unending woodland. Fires and smoke helped keep the spirits at bay.

Their inherent fear worked in Keest's favour. She grinned a savage smile at the sight that awaited her; they were all huddled around the fire, nice and distracted. She gently slid the two axes from their belt loops and kept them low. She felt Krahl join her behind a knot of tree roots.

"No noises... Some slumber...." She mumbled, barely audible over the wind.

There were too many shadows and lumps to gauge the correct amount of the more numerous smaller fiks that made up the majority of the camp. The two hulking bodies of leaders, or guards were unmissable as they stomped about the fire. They were the same size as Keest and they would be her problem. Neither Tahr nor Krahl were brawlers, Tahr preferred to keep her enemies away from her, or asleep, she loved it when the enemy was asleep. Krahl could hold her own against a single enemy, if not killing it, able to prevent it from killing her with alarming success. It was when she was outnumbered that she would falter. Keest on the other hand, was a fighter, brawler or berserker, depending on who one spoke to. She favoured the twin axes that she had sheathed on each hip.

The confusion of what ‘type’ of fighter she was was not helped by the crude strip of metal spikes that lined her knuckles, strapped into place with yet more strips of cloth. Keest never labelled herself anything, it was pointless as she simply used whatever method was needed, but she could understand why the other fiks wondered what she specialised in.

"Shall we tear out their jaw?" Keest asked the quiet ermin, pondering the best way to utilise a half asleep foe and suggesting killing the leader to panic the others. Krahl closed her eyes and muttered to herself, her nose and whiskers twitching to and fro at unseen scents and sounds. She spoke quietly before opening her ‘useless’ eyes.

"Sah.. Something is coming…. Something good, yes... but … fragile? Attack when it happens." Krahl stated with a nod, seemingly becoming sure of herself as she spoke more. The future became solidified to her, where it remained unknown to the towering Keest.

Keest would never disregard her advice, her Sight was incredibly rare and not what Krahl told others was her gift to protect her.

"Something? When 'it' happens?" Keest asked, giving the albino the side eye. The ermin simply grinned and shrugged, palming a blade. Krahl had to know her vagueness was annoying at times and Keest suspected Krahl was deliberately vague when she wanted to wind Keest and Tahr up. But even so, Keest would never doubt her. Time and time again, her predictions, regardless of whether Keest successfully capitalised on them, came true. Sometimes Keest was in the right place at the right time, others their interpretation was wrong and the prediction came and went while Keest watched from the sidelines.

But what was 'it' supposed to be? They were outnumbered without doubt. Failing here would be death for all of them. When were they to attack? How would they do it? Sneak in and slit throats? Or charge in roaring, hoping for a confused rout?

Rain began to patter through the thick canopy.

Keest didn't move but raised her eyes to the heavens. She couldn't see the souls that glittered and twinkled far above, however wondered if the rain was 'it'. A deep rumble made her reconsider, perhaps the storm?

The storm was almost on top of them now, and the wind changed direction, which was when Keest and Krahl, both smelt Tahr on the air, as did the guards who turned away from where the duo were squatting in the mud. Most remained asleep, but the two larger fiks, most likely bruisers or warriors from the denser muscles and larger, two handed weapons they carried, took a step away from the fire pit.

Keest was already moving by the time Krahl took a breath to suggest that *this* might be the moment. Krahl had always liked how Keest would use her Sight, but never relied on it.

Keest’s footsteps were quiet, despite her size, but they still thudded. The bracken she waded through, snapped and cracked, but it didn't slow her. One of the smaller guards roused, sensing something, but he was too far for her to silence. The small blade that flew in a straight line from the canopy above, sank into the base of his skull from behind, he collapsed back down into the dirt with a sigh, as if merely rolling over in his sleep.

The blade did not go unnoticed however. The burly guards may not have seen what had happened, but they were alert enough to know that something was afoot.

"Oi! Awake!" Bellowed one of the larger guards, still with its back to Keest who was upon the campsite now. Her first axe found a still prone fik, it cleaved the fik's skull from cheek to cheek before they could react and, other than a twitch, they made no further movement. Her second axe she launched in an overhead throw, it rotated twice before sinking deeply into the flesh of one of the warrior's back, sending him face first into the mud, where he roared and flailed at the weapon, but not quite being able to reach it.

Keest didn’t break stride as she stomped on the leg of another of the small guard fiks, snapping the bone within like a dry twig, its owner screaming and aiming to scratch at her calf uselessly before she was out of reach once more. The second warrior fik had his weapon drawn and bellowed a threat that Keest didn't bother listening to. The trio of thrown knives from an unseen assailant above embedded themselves into the neck and shoulder muscle of the warrior. They distracted him enough to stop his threat, but rather than fell him, instead, they enraged him. Keest swang her axe, slicing the curved blade through the arm and into the torso of one of the last few of the fodder fiks, that were supposed to support their larger guardians. The fik, limp, travelled with the curved blade for a step, before its torso tore free and was forgotten.

"Die!" Bellowed the injured warrior bluntly, just as a shadow disconnected from the trees above, and slipped a metal wire around his neck as the shadow landed on his shoulders.

The garrote pulled taut and began to cut into the brute's flesh with some resistance as he reached up in an attempt to stop it. Holding the wire was Tahr. She began straightening her legs against the brute's shoulder blades, pulling the wire as tight as possible using every muscle she could leverage against him. He groped at the wire to try and pull it clear, he even gave an attempt to grab her or her legs, but the loss of resistance by both of his hands was all she needed for the wire to begin to separate the meat of his neck.

His eyes bulged and became bloodshot.

Keest finished him off with a downward, overhead swing that cleaved his skull, the guard's arms going limp and his legs collapsing like a puppet with its strings cut. Keest turned to retrieve her second axe; the first brute that she had hit with the thrown axe was clawing at the dirt. It seemed his legs no longer worked. She gave him a clean death, unlike the axe in his back, she didn’t think he even felt the second blow.

Krahl had done work during this encounter as well, several of the small fiks had new wounds to either the backs of their skulls or gashes across their necks. She confidently walked through the camp now, joining Keest’s side once more with her slightly hunched gait.

Keest nodded once to her, a motion she had no idea if the blind ermin could detect and turned to Tahr.

Tahr was retrieving her knives and after giving a quick wipe across her bracer, replacing them gently into their sheaths. The last of Keest's 'team', Tahr could be the more ruthless of the three. Her fur was jet black, but punctuated by scars from various moments where she hadn't been quite quick enough where the fur now no longer grew. She, like Krahl, was shorter and smaller than Keest, but that put them in line with an average fik.

Whereas Keest could be called brutal, she would happily fight her opponent on even grounds if a duel were to be called. Tahr would much rather slit the throat of any foe while they slept, and would often choose this path first before considering any other. She certainly had zero interest in talking a disagreement out.

"Now what...?" Asked Tahr as she approached the other two, her steps made no noise and her eyes flicked from one direction to the other, constantly observing their surroundings.

"Now we let the runner, back the way we came, know that the entrance is open. The Chief has already roused enough bodies to fill these tunnels." Keest said calmly, recounting the initial plan, pointing towards the trapdoor which hid the entrance to the Baron’s section of tunnels.

As they spoke, the ermin seemed to be mumbling. She often did this. It didn't worry the other two, until one sentence rang cold through Keest; ‘that wasn't it?’. Keest turned to ask her what she meant, aware of her prophecy only minutes ago, when the trapdoor exploded open as a fik far taller and broader than even Keest, charged out from the depths bellowing in rage.

The trio dived out of his way as he stormed past them, trying to catch or trample them in his feral charge. He gave an animalistic roar as Keest, Krahl and Tahr rolled to their feet weapons in hand. The Baron glared at each of the fiks in turn; he had come to them and intended on pulling them limb from limb.

He held in his hands a thick pipe that ended with a chunk of metal grafted onto the end, a maul that in sheer weight could tear the head off any fik that wasn't quick enough.

He, himself was an immense slab of muscle and rage. The various pelts that decorated him were grafted together as no one animal it seemed could cover him. Keest doubted that even the Chief was as large as this monstrosity. The head that adorned the Baron’s shoulders was scarred and nicked, but his bellowing roar shook their rib cages. He swung the two handed maul over his head before slamming it into the ground beside him with a shower of dirt and pebbles in a display meant to put fear into his opponents. Keest released an animalistic hiss. His intimidation worked although none of them would admit it later.

"Saah! It's coming!" Krahl warned, all of a sudden glancing around herself as if demons themselves were coming for her, milky eyes rolling and flicking from shadow to shadow. She was almost ignoring the Baron who took his first world ending step forward and into the path of fate.

Keest and Tahr had their weapons ready, but had no plan or opening that they might use to turn the tide in their favour. The tunnel was to their back and the Baron would not let his prey escape, not when they came to his-

"Hai! Down!" Krahl shouted, flinging herself away from the Baron and into the muck.

If Keest had ever doubted Krahl in the past, she might have hesitated, but instead she turned and flung herself at Tahr, whom she knew would absolutely question not either fleeing or fighting the immediate danger. All three hit the dirt at the same time, Keest driving the wind from Tahr.

The Baron took another step forward with mild confusion this time, only to hear a responding 'boom' from above.

Turning to its source the Baron glanced upwards towards the tree canopy as it exploded in fire and light. The next moment, his vision was filled with the underside of a giant, flaming, egg.

He gave no thought to the egg, or rather had no time to think as his top half was liquidated as a superheated metal egg moved *through* him. His legs tumbled after the orb from the resulting forces but aside from those, there was not much that remained of the Baron. The egg itself continued for a time, bouncing, obliterating trees and any other unfortunate animal that was in its way before grinding into the ground with an earth shaking explosion of dirt and foliage.

The resulting silence was deafening.

In unison, the three fiks raised their heads and looked back to where their imminent demise had stood moments ago, then to each other before rolling over and looking at the resulting, burning, tunnel that now existed where one wasn't before. Keest grabbed Tahr’s outstretched wrist and pulled her effortlessly to her feet. To a normal fik they may have stumbled, but Tahr merely flowed with the force.

"*What in Tarquinn's dark dreams was that?!*" Demanded Tahr, her voice cutting through the unnatural and eerie silence of the jungle around them, the only real noise was the rain that continued to patter down, unfussed by the events that had unfolded moments ago.

Keest didn't have an answer so remained silent. The Baron had been a danger far greater than they had been aware of. The Chief, their chieftain, was big, larger than Keest, but Keest had often toyed with the idea that she could perhaps take him in favourable conditions. There was no way that even the Chief could have fought the Baron in a fair fight and he had suggested they kill him if they saw him?!

And yet… he was dead? The gods had seemingly smote him right in front of them. Was it The Petulant Child? Or as Tahr had said; Tarquinn reaching past the veil to strike at those that were not quiet in the dark as punishment?

To the trio, all they knew was that they had thrown themselves into the dirt, an explosion had happened inches away from them and a fik that easily rivalled and very probably surpassed their own clan chieftain was winked out of existence. The tall grey leader hefted her axes and peered around the edges of the clearing.

Keest stepped over to Krahl who was looking down the path of destruction one side of the clearing, to the other, where an identical path quietly burned.

"Was that 'it'?" The grey fik asked the ermin plainly, neither accusing nor demanding an answer.

Something serious had just happened. This hadn’t been something small. It wasn’t a curse to cause a foe's food to spoil, nor was it a warning to avoid the pickpocket in the market. This was an overt act by the gods far beyond any ability by any ermin in their oral history. The fiks were happy to receive what gifts fell from the god's tables, but what had just happened was akin to the gods themselves removing the Baron for them. Keest wasn't pious, but she was not foolish enough to ignore this event without consulting Krahl with reverence.

"Yes... Yes yes, this was what I saw; the guards were never the danger..." She uttered to someone other than Keest, holding her fingers lightly to her head while she concentrated, squinting down the path.

"We." She stopped, correcting herself, opening her eyes again. "You have a choice." She turned on Keest with a serious expression. Her eyes were sightless yet locked onto Keest's own with an intensity that Keest hadn't seen before.

"Follow the burning path or walk the familiar one home. This is your choice, no others matter." She declared, swiping her hand through the air, as if she were brushing aside all other matters.

Keest looked down the burning path, then back the way it had apparently come from. The glittering souls that floated high above were visible, ringed in the fire of the jungle, no longer blocked by the plants. One of the souls, however, didn't glitter, it flashed. Visible one moment, then not, it repeated steadily. No other soul in the veil did that. Keest stared at it, missed by the others.

This night was one of great significance and the gods were watching, now, in this moment.

“What if we follow the fire?” Keest asked calmly, blinking from the sign and turning to her ermin.

“Sah, danger. Something unknown but a boon to you and yours that you hold dear, far and wide. Now and far to the future. You would walk on naught but a hair over an abyss.” Krahl warned, not pulling her punches with her warning.

“What if we go home?” Keest asked again.

“Less danger for you and nothing will change. You will grow old.” Krahl promised with a calmer tone and a nod of confidence.

The grey warrior sneered. The promise of old age was a bitter taste to Keest. She had no desire to die, but unlike the ermin, age would make her useless and rob her of her strength. Time was no different than an enemy to her and was as insidious as the invisible poison air that crept from the darkest depths of the warrens.

"Saaah... Gods or no, we follow the fire." She stated firmly, choosing what felt right to her gut. Without waiting for confirmation from either of the other two, she immediately began to walk, trudging with purpose, splashing through the mud.

Krahl nodded and went quiet, falling in behind Keest as she began her march. Tahr, who had stood to one side with her arms crossed, rolled her eyes and followed the other two with an exasperated shrug, letting her hands slap against the sides of her thighs after a shrug.

Tahr never believed in the gods, but there was now an odd niggling little voice at the back of her skull that wouldn't let her settle into her usual comfortable certainty of the gods being naught but a fantasy.

Her tail lashed in frustration as she jogged to catch up with the other two.

#conservationverse #cuddleverse #human #fik #haso #hfy #humans are space orcs

92 notes · View notes

furienna · 8 months

Text

I've got a very mixed relationship with TV Tropes. They banned me twice for no real reason, but I can't stop admiring their archive of tropes. This is what a work page for my "Encanto" fanfic, "Cracks in the future", would look like. (Some of these tropes also fit the canon characters in the movie.) This fanfic is set in an alternate universe, where Bruno has a wife (Míriam) and two kids (Teresa and Víctor).

A - L

Adaption Personality Change: Downplayed. There's a bit less emphasis in this fic on the weirder things, that Bruno will do in the movie. This is partly because most of it is told from Teresa's point of view, and she's a Daddy's Girl who won't find him strange. But it helps as well that he's happier in this fic than in most of the movie, and it makes his anxieties less pronounced and easier to control. That said, it is made clear that Bruno still manages to weird other people out. Abuelo Gonzalez (his father-in-law) actually wonders if he's "right in the head", and Pablo is forced to admit that he can see why people would find him "odd". But still, while Bruno is likely to cover his face with a hood if he's out in public, except if Míriam is there to pull it down, he will never wear a bucket over his head here. And he still has rats as pets long before it would be seen as normal, but his two alter egos Hernando and Jorge are never mentioned at all in this fic. And even him being superstitious is only mentioned exactly once.

Adaptional Angst Downgrade: Bruno is generally much happier in this fic than in most of the movie. It is true that he still deals with the pressure from his mother, and with a bunch of judgemental villagers. But it's noted that him meeting Míriam has improved his life a great deal. He never hid from his family for years either in this fic, since he could talk to his wife about his visions and had two kids to raise. Bruno and Míriam decided to simply not reveal what he saw in Mirabel's future. That made his mother furious with him, but he didn't have to become a hermit…

The Alcoholic: Tía Malena's husband Enrique is described as a violent drunk, and nobody in Malena's family likes him.

All Work vs All Play: This is what Míriam and Malena were in their younger days. Míriam preferred to stay at home and help their parents in their shop, but Malena would be out dating different guys instead.

Almighty Mum: When a bully's father is about to start attacking Bruno's door, Bruno can't do much except take his crying wife into his tower, and tell his kids to go to their rooms and hide there. And as soon as the man attacks the door, what saves the situation is that the door gives the attacker an electric shock, and that Abuela Madrigal arrives and tells him and his wife off. They try to make it look as if everything is Bruno's and Teresa's fault, but that doesn’t work at all. Abuela Madrigal only tells them to leave. And naturally, they must obey her. * As a matter of fact, people respect Abuela Madrigal so much that Teresa can use it. She learns that if Pablo's father keeps on slandering her and her father, her bringing up her abuela is the only way to make him stop.

Ascended Extra: Bruno has never hidden from his family for a decade in this fic, where he becomes the beloved father of protagonist Teresa. So he naturally has lots of screen time here, that he didn't have in the movie.

Awful Wedded Life: Tía Malena is clearly unhappy with her marriage to Enrique, who's described as a violent drunk who nobody in Malena's family likes. Also, Pablo reveals to Teresa that he wonders if his parents even still like each other. Both of these cases are in contrast to the three happy Madrigal marriages.

Bespectacled Cutie: Mirabel happens to be the only family member except for her father, who needs to wear glasses. She's also the only Madrigal kid to have no gift and struggles with that.

Beta Couple: Julieta and Pepa are already dating Agustín and Félix respectively, when Bruno and Míriam get together in the first chapter. It is later revealed in the second chapter, that Julieta and Pepa are planning triple dates. And later on in the story, the three couples have been married for 22 years and are still friends. * Dolores and Mariano become this to Teresa and Pablo by the end of the story. It is a case though, where the Betas get together later than the Official Couple, since everyone had just expected Mariano to propose to Isabela, while Dolores had hidden her feelings for him.

Big Sister Instinct: Teresa manages to save Víctor from a group of mean bullies, and it's revealed that Pepa used to do the same thing for Bruno.

Birth-Death Juxtaposition: Abuelo Pedro was killed during an attack right after his kids were born.

Bookworm: Bruno is hardly fond of being out among people in public, but he will still take his family on regular visits to the local library. It is noted that he was an avid reader as a young man. So now, it is important to him to encourage his kids to read. And it worked especially well with Víctor, who loves to go to the library. However, Teresa will borrow a book or two as well.

A Boy, A Girl, And A Baby Family: Dolores is 21 years old, Camilo is 15 years old and Antonio is the baby of the family at five years old.

Boyfriend-Blocking Dad: Bruno becomes a downplayed example when Teresa meets Pablo. Bruno is clearly uncomfortable with it, but he still is more nervous than aggressive. And he doesn’t have anything bad to say about Pablo, he is even able to apologize for acting weird, and acknowledge that Pablo is the first person who isn't a family member, who will respect him. As soon as Teresa asks her parents if she can bring Pablo to her room though (she promises that they'll only talk, but they would be alone together in her bedroom), Bruno has to warn him that he can't do anything "improper" to her.

Brooding Boy, Gentle Girl: Downplayed with Bruno and Míriam as he is as gentle to her as she is to him. They were also both lonely before they met each other. However, Bruno was extremely unhappy until then. And he still has his anxieties and a bad reputation. Míriam managed to see that he wasn't dangerous though, even if she was the only girl in the Encanto to be willing to date him. Nowadays, it is her job to help him deal with whatever his problems are… * Pepa and Félix are a gender-inverted example. She is very hot-tempered and overly emotional, and it became his job to calm her down (and it's a very important job, since Pepa's mood controls the weather in the Encanto).

The Bully: A gang of them attack Víctor in an alley before Teresa can stop them. One of the bullies who insults their father gets what he deserves though… * It is revealed that Bruno also was attacked by bullies when he was younger, and that Pepa had to strike them in their heads with lightning.

Bumbling Dad: Mirabel's father, Agustín, is clumsy and always attracts bees, but he does love his wife and his daughters dearly and will do anything for them.

Canon Foreigner: Míriam, Malena, their parents, Teresa, Víctor, Leonor, Pablo, Pablo's family and Enrique are all characters, who don't appear in the movie.

Clashing Cousins: Teresa and Isabela are never able to get along. But then, Teresa suddenly has an epiphany that Isa almost accepted a loveless marriage. And it makes her feel sympathy for her at last…

Daddy's Girl: Teresa is very devoted to Bruno and won't let anybody insult him (and that is what most of the villagers do). She is very adamant about assuring that he's right about all of his visions. Her theory is that she got the same gift as him for this reason: Since she loves her father so much, she can't imagine having a different gift…

Demoted To Extra: This happened to several of the characters from the movie. Mirabel is Teresa's best friend and still an important character, but she's not the protagonist and will not appear in every chapter. And as much as Julieta, Pepa, Agustín, Félix, Camilo and Antonio are still there, they only get a few lines each. When it comes to more minor characters from the movie, like the kids who pestered Mirabel, Señora Pezmuerto and Señor Flores, they are still around as well, but they're not named and don't get any lines. Osvaldo Orozco Ortiz is an aversion though, as he is in the spotlight in one scene.

Disappeared Dad: Abuelo Pedro was forced to sacrifice his life to save all the other villagers, when they were attacked when his three kids had just been born. Not only did this traumatize his wife Alma (a k a Abuela Madrigal), but it's clear that Bruno (who was the only boy) also struggled a lot as he didn’t have a father. * Nobody has ever found out what happened to Teresa's cousin Leonor's father. He seems to have just disappeared one day. So he must have either been killed, or he found some way to leave the Encanto and abandon his pregnant fiancée.

Energetic and Soft-Spoken Duo: Mirabel and Dolores end up with this dynamic, when they're in the same scene together. Mirabel is very bubbly and talkative, Dolores is calmer and much quieter.

Fiery Redhead: Tía Pepa is red-headed and really hot-tempered. Her mood is what controls the weather in the Encanto.

Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: Míriam had become the responsible sister, who preferred to stay at home and help her parents in their shop. Malena would be out dating different guys instead. Even as they've reached their middle age, Míriam is Happily Married and described by Teresa as a perfect wife and mother, while Malena is stuck with a violent drunk and is very jealous of her sister.

Freudian Trio: The three middle-aged women in the Casita form a trio like this. Pepa is really hot-tempered (the Id), Julieta is the calm and responsible sister (the Superego), while Míriam does her best to be the perfect wife and mother, but she can still start crying and lose her temper (the Ego). * This is true for their husbands as well. Félix is jolly and extroverted (the Id), Agustín is calm and more composed (the Superego), while Bruno is introverted, but will often show emotions like sadness and anxiety and shame (the Ego). * And naturally, this is true with the triplets too, with Pepa as a hot-tempered Id, Julieta as the calm Superego and Bruno as the introverted but nervous Ego.

Generation Xerox: Míriam got really scared the first time she saw Bruno's eyes glow green, and it made him plead with her to not leave him. Years later, this is repeated but gender-inverted with Teresa and Pablo. He is very startled when he sees her eyes glow green, and it makes her plead with him to not leave her. * Pablo's mother says that Teresa reminds her of her mother though. But later, Pablo reveals to Teresa that her eyes will look sad even when she's smiling. And that's a trait, that she's apparently inherited from her father. * Víctor is very much like Bruno, which has become notable to lots of people. Both of them are described as having a melancholy and nervous personality. Their pictures that hang next to Abuela Madrigal's door are nearly identical. Both of them are also into writing stories and theater and have rats as pets. * But a lot of this might go back one more generation. As soon as Pablo sees a painting of Abuelo Pedro, he says he thinks that Bruno looks a lot like him. Bruno and Víctor are also implied to have inherited their writing skills from him.

Generational Trauma: Abuela Madrigal watched her husband get killed during an attack. And it made her think that her kids and grandkids have to work hard, and produce new generations of Madrigals, so the magic and their protection from new attacks will stay strong. But it makes her do things like allowing the villagers to slander Bruno, pushing Mirabel to the side until she feels unloved, pressuring Isabela to think that she must enter a marriage that she doesn’t want, and Luisa to think that she has to work hard until she almost burns herself out. Teresa is mostly left alone until she meets Pablo. But then, Abuela Madrigal makes it clear that she wants great-grandkids. It is only after the Casita crumbles and the magic is lost, that a healing process can begin…

The Glorious War of Sisterly Rivalry: Míriam and Malena have a responsible vs irresponsible divide, and not a smart vs pretty divide (even if Míriam is the wiser out of the two, and Malena is described as having been the more popular sister). But still, Malena seems to see her whole life as just a competition with Míriam. Malena is very bitter and jealous since Míriam has a better life than her. * Mirabel and Isabela are unable to get along, and Mirabel and Teresa love to mock Isabela for being so haughty. But they can reconcile after Isabela reveals her secret: she was only going to marry Mariano to please Abuela Madrigal.

Glowing Eyes: This is what happens when Bruno or Teresa looks into the future. Their eyes will glow green.

Good Parents: Teresa and Víctor feel that Bruno and Míriam definitely are this. Teresa adores her father and admires her mother, just as much as Víctor adores his mother and admires his father.

Green Thumb: Isabela's power is that she can grow plants out of nowhere.

Happily Married: Teresa is glad that she grew up around three happy marriages (Bruno/Míriam, Pepa/Félix and Julieta/Agustín), but she can also describe her abuelos as being devoted to each other…

Hidden Depth: Even if Teresa didn't quite agree with Mirabel that Mariano was a "dumb hunk", she is very surprised when she learns that he's a poet.

Honorary Uncle: This story has an inversion. Normally, Teresa and Víctor would have called Tía Malena's husband "Tío Enrique". But nobody in Malena's family likes him because he's a violent drunk, so nobody has taught Teresa or Víctor to think of him as their tío. He is therefore referred to as just "Enrique".

Housewife: Zig-zagged with Míriam. She devotes a big chunk of her life to just taking care of her husband and her kids, and that is clearly what she wanted. However, she likes to run her family's shop too after she gets a chance to do so. Still, she is ready to cut down on her hours in the shop after the magic returns.

I Am Not Pretty: Teresa is very surprised when Pablo actually calls her pretty. What she thought was that Isabela was the pretty one.

I See Dead People: Víctor's power is that he can both see and hear the spirits of the dead.

I Want Grandkids: Actually, Abuela Madrigal is pushing for great-grandkids now. This is very justified though since she believes that if the Encanto will survive, there must be new generations of Madrigals to keep the magic strong.

In-Series Nickname: "Mira" for Mirabel, "Isa" for Isabela and "Juli" for Julieta. Antonio and Pablo are called "Toñito" and "Pablito" by their respective mothers. * As a way more negative example, Bruno is known as "Bad Luck Bruno" among the villagers. It is even used by his brother-in-law Enrique, but he's not portrayed in a positive light anyway.

Jacob and Esau: Pablo is clearly his mother's favorite, and Pablo is convinced that his brother Manuel is their father's favorite.

The Jinx: Most of the villagers consider Bruno as one of these. They think that not only can he see the future, but he will make all kinds of bad things that he sees happen. Teresa is later accused of causing an old woman's death as well…

Like Mother, Unlike Daughter: Mirabel and Dolores swapped their mother's roles. Mirabel is bubblier than Julieta, while Dolores is quieter than Pepa.

The Lost Lenore: Abuelo Pedro was forced to sacrifice his life during a war. That is when the miracle was born, but it has truly traumatized his wife, Alma, who saw it happen in front of her eyes. As the years went by and she became best known as "Abuela Madrigal", she started to put a lot of pressure on her kids and grandkids. She thought that this was the only way to keep the magic strong, and it would give them protection from new attacks…

#fan fiction #encanto #fanfics #tropes

48 notes · View notes

skysquid22 · 1 year

Text

What Makes Jotaro Kujo The Most Powerful Stand User

Sorta. Arguably he’s beaten out (with good reason) by GER Giorno and Johnny’s Act 4 Tusk in terms of power, but in-universe he’s considered to be the world’s most powerful Stand user both by characters within the text treating him as such and the overall narrative.

Case shut, post over it seems, but let’s dig a little deeper into the why… besides being the main character.

The above screenshot frames Jotaro as the most powerful Stand user, but he doesn’t even have the most powerful version of his Stand in Diamond is Unbreakable (it’s actually the weakest). The Stand stats page for Stone Ocean’s Star Platinum reveals that the most powerful version of Jotaro is “when Jotaro was in his prime (18 years old).”

Narratively, the most powerful Stand user is Jotaro at the very tail end of Stardust Crusaders, after he has gained Time Stop. This is his prime. Another way to pop the bubble on my own analysis here is point out that canon focuses on this moment because it’s right when he kills DIO. Very much usurping a king to take the crown.

But before the story ended, we saw Prime Jotaro do something else which I believe is (also) what makes him the most powerful Stand user in existence. It’s a small, almost forgotten moment. Tucked in between Jotaro learning about Kakyoin’s death and reviving his grandfather.

It’s the time when Jotaro tries the impossible.

SDC Time Stop Jotaro isn’t considered the most powerful Stand user because he’s in his physical prime with a powerful ability. He’s considered that because this was the very moment he decided to try. That’s what makes him the most powerful Stand user.

Which makes it all the more painful meaning that the times that Jotaro fails are the moments were he doesn’t try enough.

More analysis below the cut. Spoilers for part 6 btw.

There’s that common joke pointing out how ridiculous it is that Jotaro tells Josuke that “you can’t bring back a life once it’s lost” after Josuke’s grandfather dies because Jotaro was literally able to do just that. Sure, the circumstances were different especially with the vampire blood giving immortality, but Jotaro’s attempt was to see if flushing Joseph’s body back with his Joestar blood would revive him, with no intention to turn him vampiric (which it doesn’t. Or it does and Joseph gets the immortality but not the rest of the bad side effects. Joestar blood is too op pls fix in next patch dev team). Regardless, it’s pretty odd and perhaps unintentional parallel that two grandfathers tip the bucket and one survives and the other’s grandson is told that the dead will always remain dead.

Speaking from a in-universe perspective, Jotaro’s speech to Josuke should be taken at as the truth. Bruno dies against Diavolo during their first encounter, with him essentially living as a ghost(/soul) within his own withering corpse thanks to Giorno’s intervention. More obviously in Stone Ocean, when Pucci finds Perla’s body and gets a memory of DIO telling him that there’s no way to bring back the dead.

So the one exception of cheating death outright is in Joseph being revived by Jotaro. It could be explained by the aforementioned vampire/Joestar blood BS. It could be a simple retcon that got established in DiU so a situation like Joseph wouldn’t happen again. Both interpretations make sense and I would agree with both.

However, I would like to argue that Joseph’s miraculous survival is not a narrative oversight. His revival is proof of Jotaro’s power as a direct result of Jotaro’s willingness to try. Jotaro plans for DIO and Joseph’s body to be put into the same ambulance to return the Joestar blood back to his grandfather. It’s an idea he’s not even sure that works, he asks the doctors if it was possible to transfer blood between the corpses. Joseph is very much dead at this point. If Jotaro calling Joseph’s body a corpse and seeing his soul float off wasn’t enough proof, the doctors immediately call the revival plan impossible/useless.

I want to stress this is the worst night of Jotaro’s life.

Right before this scene happens he overhears the radio confirm that Kakyoin is dead. He went into the final fight with DIO knowing Avdol and Iggy were both dead, upping the pressure to keep the rest of his friends/family alive. He watched his grandfather die right in front of him and DIO promptly desecrate the corpse. If it weren’t for his own actions, Polnareff would be dead too. He doesn’t know if he killed DIO in time either, from his perspective his mom could’ve died before he could save her in time. (Ha. Time.)

I suppose, in a sea of despondent despair, there was no other options than to cling to the impossible. After all, against all odds, he was able to learn Time Stop and kill DIO. He had to make it worth it. He was there to save his family, his friends died to save his family, if Joseph or Holly died… well.

He wanted to beat the odds again. And he did. In a way, this is him beating fate or at the very least—fate was literally in his hands and he made the decision to bring his grandfather back no matter what.

In DiU and beyond, Jotaro becomes resigned to fate and thus the weakening of his power overall. If fate determined that his friends would die in Egypt, then that would lessen the weight of blame on him and put their deaths as more of an inevitability. Fate is final. You can’t change it.

Jotaro doesn’t feel pressured to act upon something until he has to, then he does what he needs to be done. In SDC he doesn’t really care about women until they need to be saved or protected. In DiU he says he “hates doing anything tiring” as he saved Koichi from Sheer Heart Attack. He doesn’t visit Jolyne until she’s in jail because of a plot against him (and he couldn’t let DIO’s resentment ruin his daughter’s life).

The actions he takes are what he believes to be the best option, but that option is probably a compromise, not an attempt at the best possible outcome. His treatment to Jolyne is the subject here. He focused his priorities on keeping his family safe by baiting his enemies to himself instead of them, instead of trying to find a compromise where he could be with his daughter and protect her. I can’t blame Jotaro for this decision, but I also can’t avoid the simple fact that he hurt himself and his family for being distant. When fate does catch up, as he expects it to, it bites him in the ass—the stubbornness of DIO’s followers outlived Jotaro’s and he ends up in a coma, unable to act and unable to protect his daughter.

I don’t mean to say that effort isn’t shown by him, he’s extremely observational and analytical and uses those skills to his advantage in practically every fight he’s in. I think the Anubis fight is good proof of that, being brought to his physical limits to the point he can’t move after it. He tries plenty, but it seems clear to me that he tends to only lose when he’s not trying hard enough.

He almost died to a rat because he didn’t plan ahead and figure that the bullets would ricochet. In Stone Ocean, his Time Stop isn’t long enough to save everyone from Made In Heaven. He didn’t maintain his prime Time Stop or sought to expand it, because that was DIO’s goal or, more simply, he didn’t bother to. He went ten years of not needing to use it until Josuke forces him to.

Even with his ability becoming duller in later parts, the story and characters still treat Jotaro like The Most Powerful Stand User. In DiU, after the culmination of the Gang’s efforts, it’s up to Jotaro to stop Kira from reactivating BtD. In Stone Ocean, it’s up to Jotaro to kill Pucci when no one else is literally able to. Stardust Crusaders’ final fight is when Jotaro is completely alone, when there’s no one left but him to stop DIO.

The narrative again and again reenforces the idea that Jotaro is the strongest Stand user in the story, that everything falls on his shoulders and he is the one to make sure the evil dies and who’s left, lives. Past part 3, the narrative continues to say that he’s the most powerful Stand user, but it’s also clear that it’s not true anymore. His Time Stop isn’t as strong as it was in his prime. He no longer lives up to the expectation he made for himself in the few minutes after he killed DIO.

That moment in the ambulance, that’s the moment Jotaro tries without the pressure of death—the dust has already settled—or his own sense of justice—the evil has been fought. Joseph is dead and DIO is dead. Out of the desire and the off chance that he could hear his grandfather share stupid trivia with him, Jotaro reaches for the impossible, the best possible outcome, and gets it.

After the end of Stardust Crusaders, Jotaro no longer is at his ‘prime’. For someone who hates useless things, he becomes what he deems as useless. He’ll live the rest of his life in the shadow of his own self, the self that proved that he could do the impossible.

#jjba #jojo’s bizarre adventure #jotaro kujo #stardust crusaders #stone ocean #diamond is unbreakable #character meta #skyspeaks #my writing

141 notes · View notes

impossiblefangirl0632 · 3 months

Text

Take Back the Kingdom Master List

I've decided to compile everything related to Take Back the Kingdom in one easy place. This entire universe has been co-written with @optimistic-violinist

Fics by Us

Take Back the Kingdom: This is the main fic that as of posting this has one chapter left. (Edit 3/29/24: Now complete plus one epilogue) It's a fantasy kingdom/modern AU with found family, adventure, mystery, a smidge of humor, and buckets of angst. Rated T, currently 169K words

The Appendices: These are outtakes and other material adjacent to the main fic.

To Fall Apart (to reunite): A deep dive into Bruno's backstory using the 2023 Encantober prompts. Fleshes out his relationship with Razili and gives more backstory for Oscar. Includes bits and pieces of the yet to be published Like Ships.

Like Ships (Coming soon-ish): Bruno/Razili's story

Home: A little AU oneshot that I should really post to the Appendices that is currently only on tumblr. Bruno manages to find the canon Encanto and things get confusing.

Valentine's Day oneshot: What it says on the tin. Bruno/Razili

Adjacent Fics by Others

Just Your Ordinary, Everyday Encounter with… Yourself?: This is a crossover fic we wrote with @16magnolias that has our Bruno/Razili meeting Mags' Bruno/Lucia

@ramblesanddragons 's first oneshot based on TBTK

Reading Take Back the Kingdom by Asteria_Leon: One of our readers asked permission to write a read it fic of TBTK. It has our AU characters reading the fic before the events of Antonio's gift ceremony.

A Lonely Soul and a Hearty Laugh by @ramblesanddragons : An excellent snippet of Bruno's life and a bit of human kindness. (I'm still not over this, thanks again Rambles)

Art by others (Still not over this!)

@16magnolias drew the flying scene from chapter 28 for my birthday and IT'S SO GOOOOOOOOD!!! She also drew Bruno and Razili!

Razili among some other excellent OCs by @teawizard

@greenvillainredemption drew Razili in another group of amazing OCs

@dragondrawer28 drew the ceremonial robes!

Art by me

Razili's Character Sheet: (This has art by others as well)

This silly Spoilers Without Context I made for Chapter 31 of TBTK

Pirate Bruno and Razili

Art by Britt

Her AMAZING ANIME OPENING/ANIMATIC for TBTK

My posts about this universe are tagged either TBTK or Razili

#TBTK #Razili #phew this took forever to compile #my fic

12 notes · View notes

the-illiterate-pirate · 10 months

Note

For than isekaid villainess au

Your a reincarnated as webnovel’s villainess, who was know for her squad of nine loyal knights. You went back in-time before the story even started, you bail out la squadra from the trafficking dungeon sooner than you should while also freeing the other slaves who also became your loyal attendants. As such you began to improve the villainess’s image.

When you and your knights visited the fiance’s home, you had them get buckets of ice water. You made your way to his room when you all hear noises, the boys had the most rage filled expressions when they realized what going on but you told them to be quiet.

You silently opened the door to see your fiance and another women in bee.La Squadra silently creeped up to them and dumped their buckets.

Naturally your fiance in enraged and screamed profanities at you, even more when you demanded an annulment to your engagement. To which Prosciutto kicked him and coldly telling him to learn his place.

Your response?

“You may have thought you were clever, but karma has a way of catching up with cheaters.”

From this moment on, you have La Squadra’s hearts.

(Unrelated note, the FL here is your best friend and in love with Bruno)

For than isekaid villainess au

youtube

You silently opened the door to see your fiance and another women in bee.La Squadra silently creeped up to them and dumped their buckets.

Your response?

“You may have thought you were clever, but karma has a way of catching up with cheaters.”

From this moment on, you have La Squadra’s hearts.

(Unrelated note, the FL here is your best friend and in love with Bruno)

OKAY BUT WHAT ABOUT THROWING A SHIELD-HERO ESQUE PUNISHMENT TO RUIN THEIR IMAGES INSTEAD? Legally renaming your ex to "Dickhead" and his fling to "Bitch" then publicly nulling your marriage to "His Highness Dickhead" for some of that sweet revenge.

(Unrelated, it took me until now to realize FL probably means Female Lead, and I concur with this idea)

#asks #villainess au #also this au is giving me so many ideas

31 notes · View notes

peculiarcharlotte · 1 month

Text

the boy in striped pajamas: my sentiments

rating: 9.8/10

warnings: spoilers ahead + emotional damage (be prepared)

this was in my bucket list for quite some time, and i’ve only gone around to watching it a few days ago. to be frank, i’m still recovering, and i’ll probably never truly recover from this drastically touching cinematic masterpiece.

bruno was the son of an auschwitz’s commandant who moved his family to the countryside for work duties. in my eyes, bruno’s character was so beautifully human. unbothered by the atrocities currently happening, he remains curious and compassionate within his little bubble of innocence. he questions unashamedly, about the strange horrid smell coming from the “farm's” chimneys, (from the burning of jews), about the numbers on shmuel’s so-called pajamas (a jewish boy whom he had befriended).

unfortunately, purity never sustains in our blood-wrenched world. in the end, bruno’s death was a karmic result of the nazi regime, and his father’s ignorance and failure to protect him. it saddens me deeply knowing he died believing his father was a rightful man. he died thinking he’d find shmuel’s father in the concentration camps. he died so unknowingly. what breaks me the most, was he died gripping the hands of his beloved friend, shmuel, inside that gas chamber. i’m not lying when if i tell you i cried for three hours straight after this movie. it’s infuriating, knowing this wasn’t just made-up, stuff like this has happened, and honestly, they’re still happening! how could anyone let these children be stripped away of their humanity and futures like this? how does ethnic identity completely decide your social mobility? how is it justifiable in any way for genocide to even be worshipped?

therefore it’s such a provoking thought knowing if we could just entirely eradicate everything we’ve known about something and approach it through our intrinsic nature, perhaps we would've been so much more connected to our roots: to merge into a mere species, the human race. sometimes i wonder if current and past societies removed all the societal structures, the ingrained bigotries and biases within themselves, would racism and exclusion of marginalized groups ever exist in the first place? would i be able to kiss a person without the fear of being discriminated against? would the gender wars between man and woman become an incomprehensible notion? would we be able to finally collectively strive for the common greater good? would the generation of our offspring still have to worry about whether they’re going to be competent enough for the work market? so many questions and none can be answered. so many voices and none were heard. so many potentials, but none fulfilled.

overall, the film articulately depicts the true horrors of war and the tragic consequences it enforces. every scene was so raw, so full of emotions and authenticity. i would watch this again, probably just to feel something, even if i might be more emotionally damaged from being reminded of the devasting aftermath of bruno and shmuel’s forbidden comradeship.

8 notes · View notes

acewithapaintbrush · 10 months

Text

The Ones That Leave

I am cutting it close with this one. My contribution to week two of @wdtajn

TW for themes of death and craziness and a very open and ambiguous ending. Read at your own risk please

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

I am like a small creature swallowed whole by a monster, she thought, and the monster feels my tiny little movements inside.

Shirley Jackson, The Haunting of Hill House

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

Bruno stares at the crack.

The handle of the bucket cuts into his palm. It is filled to the brim with spackle and it's heavy, much heavier than his brittle bones and thin arms are used to anymore. And still, he barely feels it. The only reason it hasn't slipped from his hand is because his fingers are clenched around the metallic handle, frozen and stiff.

His whole body feels frozen and stiff. He doesn't know how long he has been standing here, in this dark hallway behind the walls, staring at the crack. It could be minutes, it could be hours. Probably hours. His eyes are so dry they hurt. When he tries to blink it feels like he is rubbing his eyelids against sandpaper. His lips are dry too, but they always are. That's what you get for not talking for years. In the beginning he'd talked to his rats and given his voice to them for their little plays, but that had only added stress to an already anxious Dolores so he'd stopped speaking completely, had bitten his tongue every time he'd caught himself opening his mouth.

He's been in the walls for five years by now. He hasn't talked for almost as long.

He doesn't even know if he still remembers how.

He stares at the crack and the crack stares back. It is not really a crack to be honest. It is too wide and too big. It starts at the bottom and reaches upwards into the dark, high above his head. It's almost as wide as he is. He'd only need to turn his body a little sideways and he could fit through, step to the other side.

Bruno has no idea what is on the other side. It should lead to the outside, to the garden at the back of the house. At least he thinks it does. But then, wouldn't he be able to see said garden on the other side? The tall trees and the grass and the little bench his mother has put there all those years ago to be able to read in the sunshine?

He doesn't. All he sees is darkness. An inky black, darker than the night, darker than his little room behind the kitchen when he puts out all the candles.

Maybe he is mistaken. Maybe he got turned around somewhere, lost all sense of direction again.

Casita is confusing, sometimes. Sometimes it feels like she is moving the hallways at will, to drive him crazy confuse him. He will turn a corner and realize he's forgotten something and turn back only to be faced with a wall or, even worse, another hallway impossibly stretching on into the dark forever and ever. It's given him vertigo before. It has made him curl up on the floor, shaking and crying.

Casita always relents after a while. Bumping his feet with her floorboards in apology and gently guiding him back into his room at the end of the day where he then will collapse into his makeshift bed, spent and exhausted. Sometimes he wonders if he'd ever be able to find his room again without her help.

Sometimes he wonders if he'd ever be able to leave without her help. If she'd let him.

But it's just a game. Certainly just a game.

Casita is vindictive playful like that.

Casita is cruel mischievous like that.

Casita is…

Bruno takes a shaky breath. It hurts in his chest. Maybe he hasn't been breathing this entire time.

Casita is haunted. That's what the old man had said to him, all those years ago. He'd taken eight year old Bruno by the shoulders. He'd shaken the boy, leaned down so he could stare right into his face. His eyes had been red-rimmed and wild, his hair greasy, his breath smelly. The spittle from between chapped lips and bad teeth had hit Bruno right on the cheek and he'd been so disgusted and scared that he'd almost missed the words.

"That house is haunted! Unnatural! It is evil! Get out boy, get your Mama and sisters out of there!"

Alma had finally found them, locked in a staring contest filled with fear and revulsion and horror and pulled the man away. She'd screamed at him, told him to leave her child alone, to never dare show his face in front of her family again.

Later that night Bruno had tried to see into the future of the man, scared out of his mind that he would return, would suddenly stand in front of his bed in the middle of the night to scream at him again.

The vision had shown the man walking towards Casita with a match in his hand, muttering and stumbling. But then it had shifted into a picture of a wall. Nothing but a wall. The one on the second floor, near Alma's room.

Bruno doesn't know why he never told anyone about this vision. Doesn't know why he stared at the green slab depicting nothing but a wall and decided to destroy it and never talk about it again.

Two weeks later, the man was declared missing. Everyone assumed that he had simply left the valley after he'd been ostracized by pretty much everyone for upsetting the revered Alma Madrigal.

But Bruno had heard it at night. The faint sound of scratching from behind the walls, of footsteps hurrying up and down unseen hallways. Wailing and moaning.

He'd close his eyes and hear all these noises and see the image of a wall, immortalized on a green slab and tell himself that it's nothing.

Just the rats. Just the creaks of an old house.

Just the screaming and begging of a trapped man howling of the wind.

Surely, nothing more.

Once, and only once, months after the sounds had grown fainter and fainter and ultimately disappeared, had he asked his mother about the man. What had happened to him.

"It doesn't matter.", she'd said. "He left."

But he'd seen it in her eyes. Had seen it in the way she'd clenched her fists and in the way she'd glanced at the walls surrounding them, in the way she'd lowered her voice and tried to keep a smile on her face and failed horribly.

He'd seen it all and he'd understood that it wouldn't have mattered if he'd told her about his vision in time.

It wouldn't have mattered at all.

And he'd nodded and agreed.

The man left.

Except Bruno knows better now, has always known better. He can sometimes see something moving out of the corner of his eyes. A man-shaped shadow, a fleeting misplacement of light. Once he'd tried to turn a corner and Casita had pushed him back, had hit him in the chest with one of her floorboards so hard it had taken his breath away. But not quickly enough to prevent him from catching a glimpse of the heap of ruined clothes on the floor. Of white bones sticking out of them, fingers like sticks still reaching out to scrabble at a wall covered in scratches.

He doesn't go into that part of the house anymore. It is probably covered in cracks by now, but he doesn't care. If Casita ever breaks apart, that hallway will be the epicenter. One of the scratches will have turned into a crack and that will be the one that tears her apart in the end.

That's where her end will begin and maybe that's how it's meant to be.

Bruno steps closer to the crack that is not a crack. The darkness behind it is absolute, but it still looks like there are things writhing inside of it, shadows battling for dominance. He has stared into it for so long that he's beginning to see faces in its depth. Contorted, grotesque faces.

His mother. His sisters. Their children.

The man.

His father.

Maybe the man was right. Maybe there has always been evil in these walls. Or maybe Casita is just a little bit too human. Capable of change in the worst ways possible.

Maybe it started with the man. Maybe it started long before that.

For the first time Bruno wonders what it must be like to be a thing with a conscience. To see and hear and feel but not be able to move in any way that matters. Only opening cupboards and swinging doors and moving floorboards. Housing beings with whole lives and emotions within you and still only looking in from the outside. Watching their lives pass you by, growing older while you are stuck just the way you have always been.

It's enough to drive someone crazy.

Bruno laughs, shrill and loud and crazed. It's the first sound he has made in five years and a small part of him hopes Dolores is asleep or far enough away to not have heard.

What a horrible first thing to hear from her uncle after five years of silence.

The darkness answers him, it ripples and wavers. He hears a small boy laughing in there, hears a small girl laughing behind him. What a merry little symphony they make, full of bells and death life.

The walls expand and collapse, the floorboards under his feet vibrate.

Ah, Bruno realizes. Casita is crying laughing too.

The darkness creeps out of the crack door. It slithers at the corners, looking like vines testing the air. And then it passes that invisible boundary and reaches out to him.

Bruno reaches back. He's always been the one to reach out to everyone but at some point the people have stopped accepting his outstretched hand, have pulled back instead, and so his outstretched arm has withered away like a flower cut off from its stem.

But here in this dark and dusty hallway a darkness reaches out and Bruno reaches back and it welcomes him. It is so cold where it touches his fingertips that it burns. It feels like he is touching a candle flame and Bruno shivers and a grin pulls at his lips.

He has been cold for so long. He can't wait to get warm again.

He gets pulled towards the dark doorway and he willingly steps forward.

Casita SCREAMS laughs and Bruno SCREAMS laughs with her.

And then he is gone.

He left.

#encanto #bruno madrigal #encanto fanfic #wdtajn #Prompt horror #Horror and creepiness #I tried at least #What if Casita wasn't magical so much as haunted?

43 notes · View notes