Story Tales from the Encanto- Kessel Run 2025 Challenge Thread (Encanto)

Kessel Run 2025 Challenge
Tales from the Encanto
Universe: Mirabellious: Double Destiny

Challenge 1:

• Write a story between 100 and 1,000 words that ends with this sentence: “For the first time in her life, she felt powerful.”

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As far as anyone in the Madrigal family was concerned, Delores was nothing but a coward, and she was forever teased and bullied about it. No matter how her Tia Julieta spoke up in her defense, how many hurricanes mami threw at her tormentors, nothing ever changed. It did not help at all her gift was to hear everything. That may have been very well and good in certain situations, but all the noise, noise, noise! Delores could not stand it in the least, there were random times when she would be out and about in the market and then her head would start to buzz, her ears aching! Anything would fire off her aural nerves, bird song, the heavy smells from frying chili peppers and herbs, she would cry and run away, she really was a coward!


Even as she got older and started school, Delores developed a major chip on her shoulder about her gift. As much as she carried tattle to her abuela with what she heard, it was never enough. Her primas, Isabella and Luisa, who also went to school with her and instead of helping her develop the skills needed to stand up for herself, really didn’t do much. Isabella, who was in the same age group, had the gift of growing roses wherever she went, humiliating Delores in any way she could. Delores was something of a slow learner (the term neurodivergent had not made it’s way into the educational lexicon yet). All the noises looped into an unending feedback loop, and that in turn distracted her away from what was going on around her. Lessons were half-heard and any answer given was hit or miss. When the headmistress, Senora Bolivar suggested for headphones and placement in a remedial class so she could catch up and not struggle, Alma Madrigal would hear nothing of it. Taking her granddaughter and speaking to her in a cold-hearted and frank matter, she put the fear of the Lord into the little girl. From then on, Delores began regurgitating verbatim the gossip to her elders upon arriving home from school. She forced herself to become more sociable and stopped caring what people thought of her, for the most part.


By the time her cousin Mirabel and younger brother Camillo started school, Delores was still something of a coward, even though she was doing a better job of hiding that side of her personality. Unlike Luisa and Isabella, Mirabel (who had the dual gifts of electricity and being the next Candle Holder) and Camillo (who could shapeshift), they were protective of her. They were able to help her with practicing her social skills and how to time her comments to upset her tormentors, especially Isabella, who everyone in town over the age of 30 openly referred to as “Senorita Mocasa” (miss brat). Isabella complained about this, but her parents, tia and tio always told her that she was a bully and needed to learn kindness and empathy, but to no avail. Alma let Isabella do whatever she wanted (she was the first golden child in the family, the second was Mirabel) so long as she only grew roses and acted the perfect princess (to everyone else’s concern and disgust). Since Alma’s words were de facto laws in the house, this put the parents between a rock and a hard place.


She finally got her chance at Isabella’s engagement dinner shortly after Mirabel’s 15th birthday. Isabella had ordered Mirabel, “Tell Delores ‘not a word out of her!’, and Mirabel had ignored this order. No sooner had a question came up when Delores gave her best fake smile and said a little loudly with all the fake sugary sweetness she could muster, “Isabella just loves children, Mariano! She told Abuela she wants at least five!”


Isabella could only glare at her cousin, as five flowers popped up in a crown around her head in an instant. Alma gave her nieta a death glare, while Camillo and Mirabel snickered into the ropa Viejas. Pepa and Felix gave warm smiles at their daughter, showing their approval.


For the first time in her life, she felt powerful.

 

Kessel Run 2025 Challenge

Tales from the Encanto

Universe: Mirabellious: Double Destiny


Challenge 2: Write a story between 400 and 800 words using third-person omniscient POV in which a character teaches another character something.

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For the longest time, Mariano Guiterrez had wanted to help his classmate, Delores Madrigal with her classwork. They were in the same classroom together at St. Tomas of Calabria * Primary School, along with Isabella Madrigal. In his opinion, Mariano thought Delores was funny and clever, she had a nice laugh, and she had beautiful brown eyes. He was in love with the idea of being in love, and as a result fell in and out of love at the drop of a hat, which is easy when you are 11 years old and past the age of where girls have cooties.


He had wanted to find a way to help her, but he was unsure of the best way to go about doing so. Isabella Madrigal ruled the social scene at school, her word was law, despite the best efforts of the nuns who taught the classes. He would get inspiration and help from Isabella’s younger sister, Mirabel and it would be during her first day of primary school.


January 3, 1942 was cool and calm for that part of Columbia and because it was the height of dry season, Pepa and Julieta had been up and out early to make sure the soil was wet enough to plow and plant the crops so the farming season could get off to as successful a start as possible, and Julieta was teaching everyone basic First Aid and CPR so she would not have to rush from her food stand all the way in the village square to help someone who had stubbed their toe or cut an arm with a hoe. So, Isabella and Mirabel had gone together to school, the two golden children of La Familia Madrigal. Already, it had been a great morning. Mirabel had used her electric powers to shoot down a spy plane that had taken off from Bogota half an hour ago, with help from Delores who had heard the plane take off.


Mirabel had run ahead of her sister to charge a telephone wire line that had ivy growing on it, when she returned to the front lawn, she caught sight of something horrible. Isabella and her friends had gathered in a throng around Delores, shouting and shrieking at the tops of their lungs. Delores’s schoolbooks were being tossed around, and despite Mariano and Luisa yelling at them to stop, Delores was curled into a ball on the ground, sobbing and begging them to stop. “My ears hurt, please stop!” Isabella cruelly strode over to her cousin, but Mirabel jumped in the way! “Out of the Mira-” Isabella hissed before Senora Bolivar walked out!


Because of the situation, Isabella and all her hangers on had to stay after to help clean the building for six weeks. Mariano watched them go in and shook his head, “I want to help Delores, but how?” Mirabel tugged at his arm and explained she could help him with that. “Give me two weeks and I will tell Abeula I am going to tutor you for math,” was what she said before catching up with Luisa.


Mariano felt a good deal better about this and went about his day. Meanwhile, in the multicolored classroom, Mirabel began to formulate a plan. It would be easy enough to build headphones, but it was going to be a two-person job. Despite being in kindergarten for the day, Mirabel’s gift of electricity allowed her to learn science and math concepts learned by children, 5 years her senior had already mastered. Ergo, she would spend her afternoon classes with the senior students.


Mariano did stop by a couple of weeks later, to everyone’s surprise. Mirabel dragged him upstairs to her room before shutting the door. Never had Mariano seen such a beautiful space before. The bedroom had a large arched wall to the right which led to a brightly lit lab highlighted by a corner tower and skylights. Mirabel waved him over; they would be making headphones. Grabbing a chair, he watched her.


Mirabel moved the foam, leather and myriads of metal part together following the instructions provided by Casita. She showed Mariano how to sew the headband together with the sewing machine and how to measure the right amount of foam with a ruler and a manual scale. Mariano knew nothing about electronics or sewing, but he liked building and took this task with great alacrity and vigor. By the time they had finished, they were both pleased with their work.

 

All I can say about Isabella is: Look what roses grow in.

I've never heard of Encanto before.

The second piece was interesting as well. I liked how Mirabel taught Mariano how to make headphones. And poor Delores. Hopefully she will get some help and stop being tormented by... most everyone.

 

@Vek Talis

Thanks for the feedback. Encanto is a Disney film with the music written by Lin-Manuel Miranda (of Hamilton fame) and is probably best known for the song "We Don't Talk About Bruno". Later on, Delores does make friends, but it's hard because of all the sensory overload (she has a sensory processing disorder and an undiagnosed learning disorder within the main story) and Isabella being the school's mean girl. Also, this is small town Columbia at the beginning of the Cold War is when I have the movie set, and her acute hearing is what allows Mirabel to shoot down (communist) spy planes, out of a fear of being discovered.

The reworked lyrics I want for her in "The Family Madrigal" go something like this:
Cousin Delores
Can hear a spy plane
Taking off from Bogota

It's a good film, I would recommend watching it.

 

I too never heard about Encanto but your writing is perfect for getting to know all the characters.

 

I really enjoyed these stories! Encanto is a great movie that seems so light on the surface but has some very interesting layers deeper down about much more serious subjects. (I always liked Luisa. The song "Surface Pressure" has amazing lyrics.)

I can definitely see how Delores's power would be difficult to grow up with. It would be overwhelming for a kid to be constantly bombarded with all that audial stimulation. Then to have so many people around who don't understand and think she's a coward to try to get some peace would be a hard hit to her self-esteem too. I'm glad she has Mariano and Mirabel looking out for her and trying to help.

Great work!