madebycoffee

[madebycoffee]

This Must Be the Place Prologue: 8

Our first year of marriage went much more smoothly than our engagement did. Having lived together for so long definitely made things a little easier. 

Of course there was the additional stress of combined finances that we hadn’t dealt with before, but we came up with a system that worked for us.

We both had our own freedom to make smaller purchases like Paul's gardening supplies or my tattoos, but bigger expenses would be decided together. Since Paul knew he had more expensive tastes, he realized he’d have to make some compromises and defer to me when deciding if a purchase was worth the cost. And since I knew I had trouble keeping up with the more practical things, Paul was the one who handled making sure the bills were paid.

There was something big that changed in us after we got married. Before long, the idea of having kids didn’t seem like such a big deal. I mean, it was, but it would be a big deal whether we waited until after Paul finished school or not.

I pointed out that if we were going to have a big family like Paul had always wanted, we were better off starting sooner than later. Paul agreed, knowing that the process would take a while. So we started looking into how exactly to make that happen.

Our options were pretty much limited to adoption or surrogacy. While we weren’t against the idea of adoption, we knew it was much more complicated than people made it out to be. It could take years, and that doesn’t even touch on complex issues such as adoption trauma.

Ultimately we decided surrogacy would be our best option, but then we had to decide who we wanted to bear our child and hope they would agree.

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Epilogue 💛 Atlas

The rest of the year flew by in a rush of one event after another.

First, there was Spencer’s birthday party. It was the first family event that Ezra and I were both present at, and overall, it went okay. I focused on spending time with everyone else and just let him exist in the same space as me, which was the best I could do at the time.

Dawn also saw Ezra for the first time since high school that day. She did try to be kind and talk to him, as is her nature, but it was quite satisfying that Phoenix didn’t like him from the moment she introduced them. Maybe that’s petty of me, but it’s true.

The important thing though, is that, even though we all walked away a bit sore, Spencer had a great birthday, ice skating and celebrating with her family and two best friends.

When Winterfest came around, we stuck with our original plan to visit Phoenix and Dawn in the city. It was fun to see Aspen getting excited and opening presents. I know our little ones won’t quite be old enough to properly enjoy the holiday, but I’m still so excited for next year and our first Winterfest with them.

Dawn also surprised us with an amazing gift. She knitted two little onsies for Sadie and Simon, which I’m happy to report, they’ve both finally grown into!

That afternoon, when they were ready to head to Copperdale to see Pheonix’s uncle, Ash and I decided to spend the rest of the day with the Goodes after all. I’m glad we did. Even with Ezra there, it was nice to have our usual evening of games and music.

I’m absolutely in awe of Spencer with her violin. She finally mastered Einaudi’s Experience and wanted to play it for us, a duet with Pop on the piano, of course. The performance brought tears to our eyes. Listening to her play with such skill and emotion, she should be in a concert hall, not standing in our living room in her little mis-matched socks.

As happy as I am to have our own place again, I wouldn’t trade the time we spent living there for anything.

For New Year’s we’d planned to take it easy. Watch movies and likely fall asleep well before midnight. But, as you can see, that isn’t what happened.

We got a call from Lex saying that Evan had been dumped, so we cancelled our plans and drove to the city. Charlee raced to Evan’s apartment and dragged them to Lex’s where we were all waiting for them. After a bit of venting and a few tears, we were able to cheer them up, and we all celebrated the new year and good things to come. Charlee was even able to convince them to move to San Sequoia with her and Jay, which I know Ash is happy about.

I’m really grateful we ended up spending New Year’s with our friends because the going away party they had planned for us the following weekend ended up being canceled because… well…

The next morning, I woke up on Lex’s couch being jostled by Ash. He was in a panic because our phones were blowing up, and with the way I was laying on him, he couldn’t get to either of them. He was worried something bad had happened, that someone had been hurt.

But, when I sat up and checked my phone, it was the opposite. Li was in labor. All at once, everything became real.

We drove to the hospital as fast as we could and barely made it in time. But we made it. And now that our twins have arrived, life will never be the same again.

I suppose you want to meet them now. You will. Soon.

Prev // The Goode Life

A/N: I will try to introduce everyone to Sadie and Simon this weekend.. just know I’m completely obsessed with them! But this wraps up this part of my story. From here, I plan to split into two stories: The Good Life will focus on Atlas & Asher (and occasionally the extended Goode family) and my Star Sign Legacy will go back to Phoenix, Dawn, and Aspen as the main focus. I’m currently writing their next big arc, which will take some time, so for now I’ll be sharing sporadic gameplay of the boys (cos infants are my favorite thing in game)

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Previous // Next

Manager: Levi, tills! Levi: But-… Manager: They’ll wait ‘til later, move your ass! [Levi sighed wearily, tossing his greasy rag upon the counter with a classic amount of teenage enthusiasm] Levi: I barely know how to work the tills. Manager: Well, you’re the only one on shift with half a brain and Mel called in sick, so today’s your lucky day-.. again. … Bianca: I promise it’s not as bad as it looks… [Penny grimaced, she’d smell like burgers for a week if she so much as stepped foot in such a disgusting place] Penny: I can’t eat carbs, Bianca. Bianca: I literally saw you eating waffles for breakfast the other day. Penny: Do we have to? Bianca: My sister insisted on having her dumb party here and it was actually pretty good, I swear! … [overlapping chatter] Bianca: [giggling] Hi, stranger. I’ll have… [Levi stared straight through Bianca; his gaze locked on Penny’s look of utter horror and contempt. How was he supposed to talk his way out of this one-.. what on earth was she even doing here?] Penny: This is where you work? Levi: No, I’m just-.. I, uh-… Penny: Ew. Levi: Wait! Penny: Don’t touch me. Levi: I can explain, okay? I-… Manager: Levi! Levi: One second! Manager: Erm, no-.. leave those poor girls alone and get back to work, there’re people waiting. [Levi remained rooted to the spot, impervious to the chatter around him and his managers impatient yelling] Levi: I’m gonna throw up… Manager: Oh, for god’s sake-.. not there! … Levi: Penny! Penny: Go back to work, Levi. Levi: My parents just wanted to teach me the value of money or whatever-.. I don’t want to work here. [Levi wrung his hands together awkwardly, even he didn’t believe his own words anymore. Sure, the Grease Trap was disgusting and the hours sucked, but at least it got him out of the house. His co-workers were kinda fun too, and he got free food most nights; hell, even his manager treated him fairly and somewhat appreciated him] Penny: I know I’m not the cleverest person ever, but if you think I’m stupid enough to believe that… Levi: You’re not stupid. Penny: And since when did you need glasses?! Levi: [sighs] Can you just give me a chance to explain everything? Penny: Why, so you can carry on lying and avoiding me? I think I’m over-… Levi: Trust me one last time, then you can decide, please..?

[madebycoffee]

Just cameras

[madebycoffee]

Bystander Intervention Training

so, the US just attacked Iran, and that is fucking terrible. Something we all need to think about right now is how we can stop the harassment and violence against Muslims and Arabs in the US that got so much worse in the early 2000s from happening again to people now.

To that end, I wanted to share some resources on Bystander Intervention. One of the biggest things I learned from training like this is that there are many ways to intervene, and they don't all involve putting yourself in front of the person who may harm you or others. It's ok if you feel intimidated by that because there are more ways to help! And once you do the training, it might not be so scary.

Right to Be has Bystander trainings based on the 5Ds of Bystander Intervention (Distract, Delegate, Document, Delay, and Direct). The trainings are free!! sign up here.

I took one of their trainings a few years ago (when the org was called Hollaback!) and it was really very good, they have trainings at multiple levels and focused on various topics. They also partner with other orgs to focus on specific issues (like anti-AAPI harassment and with CAIR Chicago for anti-Muslim harassment, etc.).

Here are a few more resources:

APA Bystander Intervention Tip Sheet

RAINN Practicing Bystander Intervention

I think I'll sign up for one as a refresher.

[madebycoffee]

This Must Be the Place Prologue: 7

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[madebycoffee]

This Must Be the Place Prologue: 6

Even though we were now engaged, the waiting game didn’t end. I knew Paul wanted a longer engagement so we would have time to plan the wedding of his dreams. Besides, with him being in school still, he didn’t have much time for planning. We knew it would take a lot of effort on both of our parts to pull this off.

I never knew how right people were about the stresses of wedding planning until I was engaged myself. Adding to my stress was deliberating over whether or not to invite my estranged mother to the wedding. I kept in minimal touch with her over the years, but I doubted she would approve of my relationship given her past homophobic views. I decided to simply let her know that I was getting married and go from there.

Her reaction was what I expected; she expressed disappointment that I couldn’t find a nice girl to settle down with. Obviously, I didn’t bother extending an invitation, but the reality of not having my mom at my wedding dampered some of the excitement of planning.

When it came to the wedding, Paul didn’t want to skimp out on much. Both my dads and Paul’s parents were helping us with the costs, which helped a lot. However we still found ourselves getting into little disagreements over the details. I’ll admit that a lot of it was me being dismissive of Paul’s grandiose visions. I just didn’t see the point of caring about place settings or floral arrangements. 

I was frustrated over his attention to pointless details, while he was hurt by what he saw as a lack of interest in our wedding. I handled this by deciding to take over picking out the invitations.

I spent weeks searching for something that I felt would match both of our tastes–not an easy thing to do, by the way. I thought I’d found something that fit the bill, only for him to reject it because the envelopes were “too busy.”

What followed was our most explosive argument to date, which culminated in me throwing the envelopes at him. He just started in shocked silence until we both started laughing at how ridiculous the whole thing was. 

After that, we both took a more relaxed approach to wedding planning. I stepped up more, while Paul became more willing to compromise on the details. After all, the most important thing was vowing to devote ourselves to one another for the rest of our lives.

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[madebycoffee]

the couple that bakes together stays together <3. Utonne and Moses are having a friendly (?) competition on whose dessert is superior!

[madebycoffee]

I heard there was a simblr Juneteenth cookout!

Mr. and Mrs. Drake came with a spread baby. While Darren handled the grill, Indya took care of the baking! Here's what we have:

BBQ ribs (beef)

Grilled Mahi Mahi

Hennessey (obvi)

Homemade Croissants w/ honey & fig butter

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

Red Velvet Cake (with hand-piped florets - she's a beast)

Sweet Tea

The first pic is right after Darren dominated the spades, bones and dice games - leaving everyone penniless - and right before everyone sat down to eat. Y'all uncles HATE to see him comin!!

Happy Juneteenth from the Drakes!!

[madebycoffee]

"None of us are free until all of us are free"

June 19th is Juneteenth in the United States! In case you are unfamiliar with this super Black holiday, learn about it! <-

I don't have much, except for a recolor of @awingedllama's wall flag!

Found in Misc Deco

Three Swatches

Custom Thumb

Searchable using "Juneteenth"

Mesh included per AWL's generous TOU

Download

[madebycoffee]

Juneteenth / Levesque Edition

✏️ I’d already queued up before I saw the post, so they aren’t in dress code. But they’re bringing platters from all over the diaspora 🖤✊🏾🇳🇬🇳🇪🇸🇳🇿🇦🌍

🎩 tip to @noir-pixels

[madebycoffee]

so long and goodnight~

when u get inspired after putting a sim in the Helena dress and then go dress another sim up like ur early 2010s dream emo boi. 😃

[madebycoffee]

THE BIG DUMB SMILE I HAVE ON RN 🥰😭💜💜

This Must Be the Place Prologue: 5

On our second anniversary, Paul had a surprise planned. At first, it seemed like a typical anniversary date. He wanted to take me to his mom’s restaurant, which was one of my favorite places to eat. I’ve never been able to resist Lucinda’s authentic Tartosan cooking. 

When we arrived, I noticed the staff was setting up for some type of event. There were candles everywhere and it looked very romantic. “I wonder what that’s about?” Paul had asked, dashing my hopes that it had to do with us. 

“I don’t know. Maybe someone’s getting engaged,” I’d replied, rather pointedly.

We got inside and hadn’t yet ordered when Lucinda approached and asked Paul for some help. She explained that she needed him to help her carry something. He helped his mom with things like that all the time, so I didn’t really think much of it.

Until, that is, I’d been sitting there for several minutes with no sign of my boyfriend returning. Lucinda eventually came back and apologized, explaining that it was taking a bit longer than planned and asked if I could pitch in. I agreed, and she lead me outside to where we’d seen the candles earlier.

There, I saw Paul standing expectantly and slowly realized what was going on.

“This was for me?” I asked incredulously. I saw a smile spread across Paul’s face. “This was for me.” I said again, only this time, it wasn’t a question. I knew I was right. I felt tears of happiness rolling down my cheeks as Paul got down on one knee.

“John, I know I said I wanted to wait, but I realized you were right. I know I want to spend the rest of my life with you, so why should we wait any longer for the rest of our lives to begin? Will you marry me?”

“Of course I will!” He placed a ring on my finger. We embraced and kissed–a lot.

There was a table set up outside with our favorite dishes, and we sat for our first meal as an engaged couple. It was one of the happiest moments of my life, with many more to follow. 

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Prev // Next

Transcript below the cut:

Atlas: Thanks for meeting me. Ezra: No problem. I’m glad you called.

…

Atlas: I must’ve thought about all the things I wanted to say to you about a hundred times, but now that we’re here, I’m coming up empty. Ezra: Would it help if I start? Atlas: [shrugs] Go for it.

Ezra: Atlas, I am so sorry. For everything. For how our last conversation went. For interfering with you and Henry. For outing you at school. I had no right to do that. None. And I wish I could say that I didn’t know what I was doing, but I did. I knew the people I told would spread the word fast. I knew the way everyone would react, and the way they’d treat you. It’s the cruelest thing I’ve ever done, and I’d take it all back if I could.

Atlas: Well, you can’t. Ezra: I know. Is there anything I can do? Atlas: [shakes his head] Not really.

Atlas: I’ve been doing a lot of thinking over the last few months. And a lot of talking to friends and family and my therapist… and I’m tired. I don’t want to do this. I don’t want to have a big conversation about how much you hurt me, and how sorry you are for it. I don’t need that. And, frankly, I don’t care. I’m not afraid of you anymore. You or what you represent, and that’s enough.

Ezra: Okay… So, what does that mean exactly?

Atlas: It means… The Goodes are the best thing that ever happened to me. When Asher and I first started dating, he invited me over to spend Winterfest with them. His parents were so warm and welcoming that it made me anxious and I spent an hour hiding out in Megan’s greenhouse. I thought they’d be angry or offended, but they weren’t. They were so kind. I wasn’t used to that, and it took me a while to trust it, but eventually I did. They became my family, and I love them. I love them so much that I took their name. And their home, it became such a safe place for me.

Atlas: And then you showed up. You. The person who destroyed what little sliver of joy and safety I had back then, which wasn’t much to begin with, was sitting in the living room of my home with my family. I wasn’t just angry at you. I was terrified. Terrified that you’d come back to do it all over again. Ezra: Atlas, I— Atlas: Don’t. Don’t apologize to me again. Please.

Atlas: I get it. I know why you did it. I know you’re sorry. I know that you being here isn’t nothing. And I know you’re not going to destroy what good I have in my life… again. Even if you tried, you couldn’t. I know that now. But it’s going to take a lot more than an apology for me to forgive you. I don’t know what it will take, to be honest, but whether I like it or not, you’re a part of this family too. So, I’ll give you one chance. Starting now, we can leave the past in the past, where it belongs, and get to know each other as the people we are today.

Ezra: I appreciate that. I know I probably don’t deserve it. Atlas: We’ll see, won’t we? Either way, I’m not doing it for you. Ezra: Understood. Well, in the spirit of getting to know each other, there’s a coffee stand across the road if you’re interested. Atlas: Not today. I’m not quite ready for that yet. But I’ll see you at Spencer’s party on Saturday. And you’re welcome to come by the house anytime. Ash and I will be in town through the holidays. Ezra: Okay. I’ll see you soon then. Atlas: See ya.

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This Must Be the Place Prologue: 4

It wasn’t too far into our relationship that I started thinking about the future. I was still young, sure, but I knew I’d found the one and I didn’t want to waste any time moving things forward.

Paul was likewise serious about me, but falling in love with his roommate and building a life with him wasn’t something he’d planned for. As easygoing as Paul could be, he’d spent a lot of time thinking about his ideal life and what order things would go in.

First, he’d focus on school and starting his career. He didn’t want to wait until after school to start a relationship, but he did want to be more settled before taking a big step like marriage. Then, he’d want to be married for a couple of years before starting a family. Very traditional and responsible, and not at all what I had in mind.

I was ready for marriage a year in. Paul still had a few more years of school left at that point, and he tried to impress on me the benefits of waiting. I wasn’t buying it. We were in love, what else did we need? Naive, for sure, but what can I say? I’m a dreamer.

Still, I knew I had to be patient. Paul did make some good points, and I had to admit that I had the habit of acting without considering the consequences.

As for Paul, he agreed to consider getting married before he finished school, but he didn’t want to rush things. I would have gladly eloped, but I knew Paul wanted to take time to plan the perfect wedding. 

One thing we agreed on was that we'd like to take some time to enjoy married life before having kids. That didn’t stop me from dragging him to the baby section when shopping “just to look” or giving him The Look whenever we were around his niblings.

How could I not? He was so good with kids; he was very patient and knew how to explain things to them in a way that they could understand. He was even leaning towards working in Pediatrics. Still, we both knew kids would have to wait. 

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‿̩͙⊱༒︎༻♱༺༒︎⊰‿̩͙does it make me bad?‿̩͙⊱༒︎༻♱༺༒︎⊰‿̩͙