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#yes she really is the abuela equivilent in this au
kirric-the-fan · 2 years
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Pirate au Character focus: Pepa Madrigal
- Captain of the Casita, and leader of the Madrigals.
- Has more control over her powers than her canon counterpart. More doesn't mean perfect control, but she can direct large swathes of weather when she's concentrating, and push away small clouds without having to rely on 'clear skies'. This is mostly due to having more cause to utilise her powers instead of being stuck with them, and as such Pepa's confidence is much greater too.
- Pepa had always been favoured by Alma. Having control of the weather with a ship based life was hugely powerful, and Alma ensured Pepa was always learning the most about running a ship (starting on how not to damage the ship with her storms). Pepa in her own right has also always been a mama's child, staying closer to her than the other two, which made the breaking of their relationship even more hard for them. Pepa may not have been the older sibling, but she was always the one primed for captaincy (it was decided Julieta's gift was far to useful to risk her as much. also she would have much less time to devote to ships business with the need to cook as well. Bruno was considered lazy (more chilled out/introverted and needed more rest than the others due to his visions), and showed no interest in leading)
- Pepa took over as captain from her ma whilst in her twenties, leading the other two in stealing the casita away when Alma retired. Everyone knows that story, and that the command of the ship changed, but there is obvious and continued bad blood between Alma and her daughter. Their present relationship is strained, or nonexistent. Most people can tell that something serious went down between them, but no-one knows exactly what, and the triplets remain tight-lipped about the details. There are some rumors that Alma disapproved of her daughter's relationship with a merman, but it's hard to judge that aspect of it because Pepa's (and thus Felix's) physical and emotional distance doesn't help with building a familiarity or rapport (these are mostly rumors).
- Pepa is fiercely protective of her family, almost to a fault. Numerous incidents have drawn Pepa to keeping her family close, almost leaving them stuck on the ship with her. Not everybody is happy with that, but they have all been instilled with a strong sense of duty and obligation to stay and use their gifts to help. There is also a little bit of fear in the mix, because even though she wouldn't deliberately terrorise her family, Pepa is a pretty scary and terrifying person at times. She will certainly give no quarter in dealing with those who mean her family harm, and has gained a fearsome reputation for that in addition to her prowess on the seas. She may have lightning and weather on her side, but she also prefers to get 'hands on' at times. A punch can convey a lot more than an otherwise random bolt of lightning.
- Pepa is smart, and cunning in her own right in planning how to protect and bolster the Casita's resources so they can all have the most comfortable life. She also knows how to utilise her families gifts and natural abilities- she draws her brother into planning routes and charting weather courses not just because of his access to visions, but because he can understand the weather interactions better than her. But the pressures of running the ship have pushed Pepa to almost reducing her family to their gifts and what they can do for the ship. She is often blind to their own needs and desires, too focused on preserving what they have. (Pepa is the equivalent of canon Abuela in this au)
- Pepa loves all of the family, but is biased towards favouring her own side of the family, and her closer family members, even though it's more of a subconscious thing than an active attempt to elevate them. It'd be small things, like prompting Julieta to take one of her own daughters with her on a mission, even though Dolores would be the best choice. Pepa is very good at finding reasons to justify her choices like that, but the end effect is the cool colours getting more work, and the warm colours kids getting more bored/at a loose end. Agustín, Mirabel, and, surprisingly, Dolores are all very aware of this discrepancy in treatment. Isabela knows it too, but only in the context of having to keep up with Dolores, who has to do a lot less to get the same sort of attention and praise. On all fronts, Pepa is too embedded in her ways to address this behaviour, so they put up with it.
- Pepa is still firmly entwined with her emotions, has her canon counterpart's love of music and dancing, (and Félix). She also loves sailing, and being out on the sea, and would do anything to live her life on the waves.
(Got any questions or prompts for the au? My askbox is open! Want more pirate content? Mosey on up to my pinned post here for links to more pirate AU thoughts, stories and drabbles!)
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