#long island children's birthday parties

[roaringroa]

only 2 more days of this and then i can chill and spend a few days thinking strictly about yuri manga and hay day all day long like god intended

[kamaluhkhan]

LONG HOT SUMMER NIGHT

pairing: luke castellan x fem!poseidon!reader word count: 8.4k chapter summary: it's the summer solstice and olympus is throwing a party! thalia notices the tension between you and luke, poseidon gives you some relationship advice and you punch the god of desire in the face. warnings: angst! jealous reader. lots of drinking. complicated relationships. reader dealing with ptsd + survivor's guilt (post-titan war). mention of injuries + blood. creepy guy pushing reader to hook up. ending is a bit steamy but no actual smut. spoilers for the entire pjo (book) series. no betrayal (au where chris was the one who sided w kronos and led the titan army) so slightly ooc luke <3 also reader is in a band called the midnight sirens and is born on the summer solstice! author's note: thank you so much for all the love for part 1!! summer is almost over and this is very much a summer series BUT summer's not over yet !!! hope y'all enjoy this one too and thanks 4 reading 💙

part 1 | series masterlist

♪: long hot summer night by jimi hendrix

mail to: 

Luke Castellan Camp Half-Blood, Half-Blood Hill 3.141 Farm Road Long Island, New York 11954

LUKE! 

I’m sitting in my kitchen right now, watching Percy make us blue blueberry pancakes and hoping he doesn’t burn down my kitchen while doing so. I caved and agreed to take him to Disneyland while he’s here and breakfast was part of the deal, but I think I might regret it later. 

We went surfing yesterday. It was Percy’s first time, but he was (unsurprisingly) amazing at it. I still can’t get over how beautiful the beaches are and the waves — gods, the waves are unreal. You’d seriously love it here. It’s like every day is summer. You have to come visit. PLEASE come visit!!!!

- [your initial]

P.S. The band and I are working on some new music, which means I won’t make it to camp again this summer. I’m sorry ;( Fingers crossed I’ll make it next year. 

P.P.S. hi luke! happy to report that i did not burn down my sister’s kitchen. anyways, can’t wait to kick your ass in sword-fighting this summer. xoxo, percy

THREE YEARS LATER 

the first time you visited olympus, you had been sent on a quest to retrieve zeus’ stolen lightning bolt, bringing luke and charles beckendorf along with you. you had missed the summer solstice deadline, but still tried to reason with the king of the gods when presenting the symbol of power, maybe calling him out once or twice along the way. before zeus could strike you down for your boldness, poseidon stepped in. the war between them was averted in fear of a much larger, looming threat; an ominous introduction for what was to come in the next chapter of your life.

another time, the gods debated whether or not they should kill you, some seeing you as a threat to their future. that was the day you accepted your destiny, not wanting your brother percy or your cousin nico to deal with the weight of the great prophecy. 

your last visit to olympus was on your 18th birthday, after helping to defeat kronos and his army. you made the gods swear to stop neglecting their kids and to allow all demigods, regardless of whether their parent was an olympian or not, to have a home at camp half-blood; to treat their children as children rather than heroes as pawns in their twisted games.

needless to say, it’s quite strange, being back here under very, very different circumstances, where the gods invited camp half-blood’s senior counsellors and staff to join in their summer solstice festivities.

it’s not every day you’ll be invited to a party on olympus; you’re determined to have a good time, to have fun. there’s already an abundance of music, dancing, food, or alcohol, and the night is just getting started.

you’re happy to be there with new and old friends, but you’re ecstatic when you see that thalia grace is there, too. 

“immortality looks good on you, t!” you compliment, raising your voice slightly over the music.

thalia preens, and you bask in her silver glow. 

“bet you wish you took the gods up on their offer, huh,” she teases. then, her eyes widen. “oh - shit! it’s your birthday! happy birthday!” 

thalia tackles you with another hug; even after all these years, she still smells like pine trees. she grabs two goblets of honeyed wine and hands one to you as you catch up. you eagerly gulp the sweet drink, until you’re reaching for another while listening to her stories about adventures she’d been on with the hunters of artemis. 

about halfway through her story about fighting off a manticore during a snow storm, a nymph appears with a platter of the ripest of fruit – sweet plums and fresh figs, tantalising pomegranates, succulent grapes and crisp apples. 

“oh my gods, this is the best apple i’ve had in my entire life!” thalia exclaims after indulging in a taste, herself giddy from a few goblets of wine. “where’s luke? he’s gotta try this — he’s always reminding us to eat more fruit. luke!” 

you hadn’t kept track of luke, at least not on purpose. you assumed he’d been off partying with van or his siblings, and, probably, avoiding you. wherever he was, thalia calls his name twice more and, like a ghost, luke appears. 

“i’m here, t.” luke’s voice is a deep, steady rumble floating above the music. his cheeks are slightly flushed, either from the heat or the drinks. likely both. “what’s up?”

“you need to try this.” thalia shoves the apple in his mouth before luke can respond. 

luke takes a bite, and some juice drips down his chin. you, in a honey-soaked haze, think about running your tongue over to catch it, but he beats you to it, wiping it away with the back of his hand. 

probably for the best.

“holy shit. yeah, it’s good.”

thalia, a sparkle in her eyes, urges you to try it as well. from across the makeshift triangle the three of you had formed, luke tosses the apple your way. you catch it effortlessly, and sink your teeth into it. 

you’ve almost overwhelmed by the burst of flavor. the fruit is just the right amount of tart to balance out the sweetness, and it’s damn near the best crunch you’ve ever experienced.

“good is an understatement,” you say after another bite. a distant memory crosses your mind. “i wonder if these are the same ones we almost got killed by a hellhound for.” 

thalia shakes her head, laughing in disbelief. “all because luke said we needed more vitamin c.”

“i was just looking out for us!” luke guffaws. “how was i supposed to know that persephone owned an apple orchard in connecticut?”

you pat his shoulder, the three of you smiling at the memory. “let’s call it an honest mistake.”

“well if annabeth had been with us by then, i’m sure that she wouldn’t have made that same honest mistake.” 

“okay, but she’s the daughter of athena —”

you let luke and thalia slip back into their playful bickering as if no time has passed. you listen and continue eating that glorious apple, enjoying how the golden glow of your shared past fills whatever distance might have grown between the three of you. 

somewhere down memory lane, luke’s amber eyes flick towards you.

“hey, you’ve got some….” without another word, luke suddenly reaches over to brush away a trail of juice with his thumb before sticking the finger in his mouth to savour the taste. he holds your gaze as he does so, and you feel a familiar kind of heat rush through your body — not from alcohol or summer sun, but from luke. 

it’s such an intimate gesture that you almost forget that you’re at some extravagant party on mount olympus, where gods and half-bloods and a whole bunch of other mythological creatures are celebrating the start of summer by essentially getting drunk together, until thalia clears her throat. 

“okay, well, seems like the two of you might want some alone time.”

luke’s cheeks grow more flushed than before, and his eyes widen as if realizing what he’d done.

“oh, we don’t need —”

“we’re not —”

you and luke both stumble over your words; thalia just smiles knowingly. 

“i’m gonna go flirt with that nymph,” she announces, pointing across the grand marble pavilion.

“i thought — doesn’t artemis sort of frown upon that sort of thing?” you ask.

“she makes exceptions on holidays. besides, i’m her favourite. you guys have fun.” thalia winks at you and walks away.

you glance at luke and, gods, there’s so much history between you. 

the time you jumped into an ocean full of sirens to save luke from drowning? you have a scar running down your forearm where one of them scratched you as you struggled to get luke towards the surface. 

or when you took turns holding up the sky while on a quest to save lady artemis and defeat the titan atlas? it’s evident in the matching streaks of grey that you each have running through your hair. whenever you see your reflection in the mirror, you remember how you couldn’t save your cousin bianca di angelo earlier that day, and how nico has had to grow up without a sister because of a promise you broke.

how about when you, luke, and one of your best friends were sent on a mission to destroy the princess andromeda, the headquarters of kronos’ army? only the two of you survived, and sometimes you can still feel luke squeezing your hand pike he did during charles beckendorf’s burial shroud ceremony while you both cried.

or when luke took a sword between the ribs for you because he, somehow, knew the one spot the curse of achilles left you vulnerable? he can only slouch for so long before the bones there start to ache.

so, yeah. there’s way too much history, and so many tangled threads, and now really isn’t an ideal time to unravel it all. 

“i’m gonna go find my dad,” you blurt out and disappear into the crowd with no real intention of finding your father. 

the once sweet apple now tastes rotten on your tongue; you rid yourself of it in exchange for some more wine. you’re determined to have fun — no pain or heartache or grief. 

you’ve all had enough of that for three lifetimes. 

summer — age 14

“sorry your birthday was ruined.” 

luke exhaled sharply when you pressed a disinfectant-soaked cloth to the wound on his leg.

“hold still,” was all you mumbled in response, brows knitted together as you wrapped the cut in gauze. 

once you were done with his leg, you moved on to luke’s hands, burned by poisonous acid. the four of you had run into a hydra earlier that night. you managed to wound it enough so you could all get away, but not before a few injuries were sustained. 

you were uncharacteristically quiet as you worked. you only met luke’s gaze to warn him before pouring some nectar on his wounds. you let luke hold your hand, tightly, as the liquid dripped through his fingers and down to yours, first right, then left. the pain was instant, seering almost as much as the hydra acid, but it was over quickly. the last thing you did was bandage each hand before getting up. 

“i’m…i’m gonna check on thalia and annabeth. i’ll take first watch.”

luke caught your hand before you got away.

“wait. you’re bleeding.” he pointed to the cut on your brow. you had been so preoccupied in making sure everyone else was safe that you let crimson liquid drip down your face. it probably stung, too, based on your grimace.

luke wiped away the blood with his sleeve, used nectar to disinfect the wound, and dressed it with a fresh bandage, working silently as you did.

“it’s still your birthday,” luke finally said once he was done. “you get some rest; i’ll take first watch.”

you gave him a small, strained smile before checking on the others. 

later that night, you stayed up with luke anyways. 

seemingly out of nowhere, you handed him your portable cassette player. luke stared at it for a moment, unwilling to comprehend just what you were offering and, more importantly, why. 

you and luke had grown accustomed to sharing things: flannels, socks, makeshift beds and scavenged food. but this —

it was your aunt’s. 

you never met your mother, who’d left you as a baby, and of course, poseidon was too busy tending to his underwater kingdom to step in as a parent. your aunt raised you as her own. and then you lost her, too. 

you kept her cassette player buried deep in your bag with some mixtapes she had made and ones you’d stolen throughout the years. when it wasn’t your turn to keep watch, luke would sometimes catch you with headphones on, looking up at the stars. 

luke liked to think he knew you well; all those subtle elements that made you — the crack of your knuckles, the cadence of your voice, the slope of your nose, the dreams of your childhood. engraved in his own personhood. bones and all. 

and, still: he didn’t know you, not entirely. 

you’d only allowed luke to listen with you once, maybe twice. he’d never forget what it was like: knees pressed together and heads just as close to keep the wires from stretching too far; you gushing about the magic of jimi hendrix, recounting memories that echoed through gentle guitar riffs; luke yearning for one more song to play, for another a wistful smile of yours to appear. luke, wishing to linger in your private oasis a beat longer before you pushed him out again and closed the door behind him. 

the one lock luke couldn’t crack: your grief, and how you carried on so buoyantly despite its weight.

well, there you were, presenting the key to luke as an offering. a sacrifice for something luke would never ask of you. 

“this….” luke swallowed the lump in his throat, refusing to look at you. he turned the device over in his bandaged hands, the metal smooth, though well-worn. “you can’t just —”

leave. you can’t just leave. you can’t just —

“hey.” 

your hand over his, forcing him to stop spiralling and look at you. 

right away, luke regretted it. a small sliver of him, however delusional, had hoped that you were joking. 

you weren’t. behind you, there was an empty space where you had previously wedged your sleeping bag. your backpack was already strapped around your shoulders, fully packed. 

“i need to leave, luke. we can’t stay together. it’s too dangerous.”

“you don’t need to —”

“there’s more of us, now,” you interrupted, pulling your hand away to rest on your thigh. “four demigods together isn’t ideal. we’ve been attracting more monsters. more deadly monsters.”

“that would happen, anyways. it always has whether it’s the four of us, the two of us, or….” 

luke stopped his sentence short, not even wanting to give you the idea to go out on your own, even though you’d probably been thinking about leaving for some time. 

you made reckless decisions sometimes, but this didn’t seem to be one of them.

“well, it’s happening more.” your voice was steady, too steady. luke imagined you rehearsing just what to say to counter the inevitable backlash. 

luke shook his head. “i’d be dead if it weren’t for you.”

“you almost died because of me,” you clipped. you lifted a hand to touch the bruise on luke’s jaw, but let it drop just as quickly. “you know that children of the big three cause more trouble. maybe we managed it when it was the two of us, but now, there’s more to consider. a child of poseidon and a child of zeus, travelling together. it’s like we’re asking to be killed. it’s too dangerous.”

“that’s our life,” luke snapped. “you can’t just run from it.” from us.

you faltered, looking back to where annabeth and thalia were sleeping peacefully. 

oh. he must have said that last part out loud, too. 

“you know i’m right,” is all you said.

luke could only shake his head again. because, fine, you weren’t entirely wrong. it was more dangerous — but it was danger luke hoped you’d all face, together. 

“i’ve made up my mind,” you added, an anchor in the sand.

“don’t leave.” luke’s words came out as a prayer. if he offered something, maybe you’d stay.

you paused to take a shaky breath. “this isn’t goodbye, luke. i swear to poseidon…fuck, i swear to all the gods that this isn’t goodbye.”

luke couldn’t speak. there were tears bubbling in his throat, threatening to spill. 

“so, keep this for me,” you whispered, once again placing your hand on top of luke’s. his fingers gripped your cassette player tightly, like it was the only piece of driftwood leftover from a shipwreck, keeping him from sinking into the cold, dark nothing. “you’ll give it back when we see each other again.”

a promise. 

“fine,” luke conceded, though he wanted to scream at you. he wanted to argue like little kids — petty, loud, meaningless, back and forth until tears streamed down cheeks and throats were raw. 

but, you were leaving, one way or another. luke didn’t want this shared memory to be tainted if it might be your last.

“you have to take this, then. give it back when we see each other again.”

luke removed the chain from around his neck, the one that held the key to his childhood home. he placed it around yours, instead.

he didn’t need the key now, but his mother had given it to him when he was six. before he knew what it meant to be the son of hermes, god of thieves. 

call him sentimental, but luke had kept it. just in case he ever got lost. 

“if you’re ever back in connecticut, you have a home.”

“yeah, okay.” you smiled softly. 

it fell just as quickly. 

“take care of them,” you told him. “of yourself, too. i’ll see you again when it’s safe.”

luke didn’t ask when it would be safe, because the truth is that it might never be.

“because you want your cassette player back?” luke joked, instead trying to lighten the mood, to capture one last moment of brightness.

you laughed softly to not wake the others. 

“yeah. that too.”

you pressed your forehead to his, something you hadn’t done since you were kids. 

“i’ll see you again,” you repeated.

without another word, you got up and jogged away. luke shut his eyes, refusing to see you become nothing but a shadow. 

(you looked back several times, but he couldn’t see through the darkness.)

now

call the gods out on their bullshit (you encourage it), but if they have one thing going for them, it’s that the olympians know how to throw a party. 

the night grows darker, yet somehow becomes more lively. demeter and persephone had supplied a generous amount of fresh, decadent fruit, and dionysus an even more generous amount of wine. apollo starts a karaoke corner and you’re just tipsy enough to agree to sing a duet with him in order to break the ice. apparently, he’s a big midnight sirens fan and had seen your band when you headlined at glastonbury festival. you smile to yourself, imagining your bandmates’ faces if you told them that the god of music had watched you perform.

as you hand the microphone to a giggling dryad, the sound of your name washes over like gentle waves on a shore.

“if it isn’t my sweet, summer child!” your father brings you in for a hug and an ocean breeze engulfs you — salt and sand and sun. 

“hi dad,” you exhale as you pull away. 

you hadn’t seen each other in a while, but poseidon looks the same. he’s dressed in a turquoise hawaiian shirt and birkenstocks with a crown of seashells on his head. there’s a cocktail umbrella in his glass, a slice of pineapple wedged onto the rim. you’re about to ask him how he managed to secure a pina colada and where you might find one, too.

“that was quite the performance!” poseidon takes an eager sip of his drink, green eyes sparkling like sea glass in the sun. “i must tell you: your newest album is all the rage in atlantis. the nereids and merpeople can’t seem to get enough of it and, truthfully, i find myself playing it on repeat as well. you’re quite talented.” 

you try not to let your shock slip through, instead smiling and asking how things are in his underwater kingdom, but you’re….touched at your father’s unexpected praise.

the gods aren’t perfect, and your father is no exception. they’re divine beings who have time to conceive children, but not to raise them. there’s a long history of them abandoning, mistreating, and manipulating their own offspring. of course, being the prophecy child, it became practically impossible for your father to ignore you; you’re sure that being dubbed the saviour of olympus gives him bragging rights with his immortal family. even with their sworn promise to change, it’s impossible not to resent the gods in some ways. 

still, you feel comforted by your father's presence at times — when you catch the perfect wave on your surfboard, for example, or when you sit on your fire escape during a storm after a bad day. it’s been like that pretty much all your life: poseidon there in spirit, not in practice. despite everything, he’s watched over you, and percy, throughout the years.

and here poseidon is now, grinning at you like you’re his pride and joy. 

“enough about aquatic politics.” he pats your shoulder enthusiastically after telling you about the struggles of keeping humans from overfishing. “i came over to wish you a happy birthday. and to give you this.” 

poseidon reaches into the pocket of his shirt and hands you something you’d long thought gone: a leather cord with several clay beads and a silver key.

“i found it off the california coast,” he explains. “i kept meaning to get it to you, but i suppose time has a way of getting away from us, immortal or not.”

a warmth grows in your chest as you run your thumb over your old camp necklace, bright and full. it had fallen off one day when you’d gone surfing, and you assumed it was lost to the ocean. you'd been given a fresh leather cord when you arrived at camp earlier this summer, but it felt empty. hollow.

“thanks, dad.” 

you smile at him as you put on the necklace; it feels like coming home. your father then asks you about your summer so far.

you tell him all about your life as of late, until you catch a glimpse of luke with van on a marble bench at the other end of the pavilion. van is sitting in luke’s lap, and they lean over to whisper something in his ear before kissing his cheek. 

you freeze mid-way through your sentence.

sensing the shift in mood, poseidon frowns. he turns his head to follow your gaze.

“ah.” poseidon turns back to you and clears his throat. “now, i don’t mean to pry, but i saw you earlier with the castellan boy.”

you flush at the fact that your moment with luke was witnessed by your own father. “dad —”

“did you know in ancient greece, throwing someone an apple and having them catch it is considered a marriage proposal?”

“i’m pretty sure that was disproven,” you scoff.

poseidon raises an eyebrow at you, clearly amused. “which one of us was actually there, hm?” and though you roll your eyes, you can’t argue with that. “i just wanted to know if there was a wedding happening in the near future.”

you almost choke on the last remnants of your wine. “dad.”

“i’m kidding. i’m kidding! mr. castellan seems otherwise occupied.” 

“yeah, it does seem that way,” you grumble.

poseidon puts a hand on your shoulder, firm but reassuring. “regardless: if you find someone who would go to tartarus and back with you, someone who would fight alongside you every step of the way, you hold on to them. there’s only so much time you mortals have on this earth.”

you sigh — easier said than done — but your father is trying, so you manage a nod.

“i’ll keep that in mind.”

“now, i better go — ” poseidon looks over your shoulder, where the air behind you starts to feel staticky. “it seems a disagreement is brewing between zeus and hades. they always get into it whenever dionysus makes the wine a bit too strong. brother, put away the lightning bolt —” and he rushes away to prevent another divine conflict from arising.

left to your own devices, you venture over to the food table, finding an array of fresh and dried fruit, breads, cured meat, fresh oysters and, of course, more wine. you grab a goblet and a few dried figs.

“careful, i heard dionysus made the wine extra strong tonight,” someone warns, creeping up beside you. the voice is soft and alluring, and you feel something tug at your heart. 

you do a double take when you turn to them; the person is devilishly handsome, a golden aura paired with a golden smile. 

(you will soon find out that the god flirting with you is the son of ares and aphrodite, the latter of which takes the appearance of whoever the onlooker loves. as it turns out, her son appears in the same way. 

all this to say: it doesn’t mean anything that this god looks like luke castellan to you. 

it doesn’t mean anything at all.)

“i’m eros.”

“hey. i’m —”

“i know who you are, savior of olympus.” eros winks at you. “i just never realized you were so beautiful.”

your cheeks heat up as you take a sip of your drink.

oh, shit. 

okay. the literal god of desire and pleasure is flirting with you. 

you’re flattered, really, and maybe the wine has gotten to your head, but you’re not eager to turn him away.

“well, i’ve definitely heard about you, and the rumors do not do you justice,” you quip, painting on a flirtatious smile.

eros puffs out his chest, clearly pleased. 

over the next few minutes, you decide that eros can hold a decent conversation, asking you the classic first date questions about your likes and dislikes, and he’s cute enough that you wouldn’t mind things going further. 

(he might be a god, but he’s no luke. you push that thought away, and force yourself to flirt with helios. eros. right, eros.)

eros leans in close, pretends to listen to you, lets his gaze drop every so often to the deep v-neck of your shirt.  

“no way! 13 going on 30 is a classic,” you argue. you nudge your shoulder into eros’s playfully, and let the contact between you linger. eros, the inspiration for cupid himself, has angel wings, and you feel them brush softly against your burning skin. 

“it’s totally overrated!” eros exclaims. “also, the childhood friends to lovers trope gives people false hope.”

“it’s not false hope. it’s about the buildup to their happily ever after,” you reason, swallowing some wine to dislodge the lump in your throat.

eros shakes his head. “trust me, baby, it’s all about the instant attraction. that’s where the excitement is.” 

he’s so close now, you can smell the sharp alcohol on his breath. not wine, but something stronger.

“oh? what do you mean by that?” you lean impossibly closer, trailing a finger down his chest.

eros smirks, placing a hand on your thigh. “want me to demonstrate?” 

not even a second after you whisper a yes, eros crashes his lips onto yours, and you will yourself to kiss back. he slides his tongue in your mouth, runs his hands over your body. 

you’re making out with the god of desire and passion, so, objectively, it’s a good first kiss: soft around the edges and firm where it needs to be.

sure — you feel nothing, no real spark, but it’s almost enough to fill the hole in your heart in the shape of a certain son of hermes. 

the son of hermes who has moved on and is in a loving relationship with a perfect emotionally available partner. 

so, it’s fine. 

this, this thing with eros, is fine. 

you’re fine.

eros pulls away first, but keeps a hand on your cheek.

“let's get out of here.” 

he grabs your wrist before you have a chance to answer. you stand up, let him weave you through the crowd towards the stairs of the pavilion. apparently, his room is just through the garden. 

as he tugs you along, he looks back at you, smiling. under the glow of the stars, eros looks just like luke, except it’s becoming harder to ignore that he isn’t luke and that makes you feel all sorts of nauseous. your camp necklace weighs on your chest and, in particular, the silver key that you’d kept for all those years burns through your skin. 

lightheaded, you pull away from eros’ grip just as you reach the top of the stairs and place a hand on the column next to you to steady yourself.

eros turns around sharply. “what is it?”

“i changed my mind, actually. let’s just…keep talking here.”

eros grabs your wrist again, his grip tighter than before. “don’t be a tease.” his tone is ever-so-gentle, but there’s an edge behind his words. 

this time, your voice comes out more assertive. “i just changed my mind. that doesn’t make me a tease.”

“come on, baby, don’t you wanna experience what real passion is? this is a once in a lifetime opportunity that a million girls would kill for. you’d be an idiot to pass it up.” he brags, and you’re this close to breaking this guy’s nose, god or not. 

“i don’t care,” you snap, struggling to break free from his grip. “and i’m not your baby.”

“okay, whatever,” eros rolls his eyes, but quickly plasters on an arrogant grin. “we’ll go somewhere private and i’ll call you whatever you want.”

he manages to drag you down two steps as you strain against his iron grip, now almost cutting off your circulation. your heartbeat quickens and you feel dizzy. finally, you grab onto the railing for leverage and use your strength to rip out of his grip, forcing eros to stop in his tracks.

“what is it now?” he snaps, whipping his head around once more. 

he looks nothing like luke, now.

“just stop, eros.”

“listen,” he starts, speaking to you almost mockingly, like you’re a naive little kid. so much for being the savior of olympus. “trust me, i know what people want, so you don’t have to be shy. i promise to be the best you’ve ever had —”

“eros, is it?” the rest of the party is in full motion, but here’s percy, giving eros one of the most intense death stares you’ve ever seen. percy, your little brother who talks to lonely fish at the aquarium; who, if you cut open, would bleed blue m&m’s; who would never let anyone, god or otherwise, hurt someone he loves. “i’m gonna have to ask you to let go of my sister.”

“mind your own business, kid,” eros hisses. “we’re kinda in the middle of something.” he tries to move you down another step, but you stand your ground.

annabeth, no longer the scared little seven year old you, luke, and thalia found behind a dumpster, is also glaring at liam from the top of the stairs. one of her hands rests firmly on her belt, where she keeps her dagger. 

“i’d back off, if i were you,” she warns. “wouldn’t want to cause a scene.”

“just mind your own business,” eros snarls.

“they said leave her alone,” thalia asserts, walking over once she sees what’s happening. “and you don’t wanna mess with us, trust me.” she clenches her hand into a fist.

“who the fuck are you? her bodyguards?” 

“just let her go,” percy orders. “my sister can do a lot better than a minor god with a major god complex.” 

eros growls, baring his teeth at percy. “you impertinent little shit.”

as soon as eros lunges for your brother, you tug one of his wings towards you, hard. he whips around and you take the opportunity to punch him in the face. he doubles over, golden ichor gushing from his nose.

“i’d be careful if i were you, baby,” you seethe. “you wouldn’t want to go up against the demigods who led an army against kronos and won. unless, of course, humiliation is a kink of yours.” you laugh humorlessly at the way eros scowls at your words. “to each their own,” you continue. “but i’m not in the mood to fuck an entitled creep with angel wings to compensate for his tiny dick. you better fucking respect that, and leave us alone while you’re at it.”

eros’ flirtatious smile is long gone, replaced with the kind of anger only entitled, self-important jerks have when they don’t get what they want and they’ve taken a few blows to their ego. 

call it stupidity or arrogance, but his only response is a punch delivered right back to your face. 

you hear a crack upon impact, and pain radiates from your nose. you stumble, but percy manages to reach out and catch you before you fall down the stairs. he holds you as thalia and annabeth create a barrier between you and eros. you hear them shouting at eros over the music, but their exact words don’t register.

you lick your lips, tasting blood. your ears are ringing, and everything is suddenly all fuzzy. percy tries his best, but you slump your body weight into his and he almost topples over.

“i’ve got her.” luke’s calm and measured voice cuts through the chaos. you feel a strong, familiar arm wrap around your waist to steady you. “from what i remember, you were too much of a coward to even step foot on the battlefield, so i’d listen to her if you know what’s good for you.” in a haze, you guess that luke is directing his sharp words towards eros, before turning to the others and instructing: “you guys take care of this — find clarisse if you need back up.”

somehow, you find yourself over in a small secluded temple, sitting on a window bench overlooking the clouds as luke sits next to you.

like most of olympus, the building is made of marble with gold accents; this one has roses engraved on the walls, and the space smells like flowery perfume. it’s much quieter than the pavilion, though you can hear laughter and music in the distance. it’s cooler, too, but not by much; even without all the body heat, you're left with sticky summer air, and luke’s breath on yours, sweet with wine and ripe fruit, as he carefully examines your injury.

you feel your head spinning all over again. maybe it’s the alcohol, or the adrenaline, or the fact that the two of you haven’t been this close in a while — probably a dangerous mix of all three. 

you know (from trying not to but ultimately not being able to pull your attention away from him after all) that he’s had a few drinks as well; it seems like the two of you ignore each other best when you’re sober.

“thought the curse of achilles would protect you from nosebleeds.”

“guess it doesn’t protect against —” what did percy call eros? “ — minor gods who have major god complexes,” you recite.

luke looks slightly amused. “that’s a shame,” he hums. “would have been nice to get one birthday without being injured.”

a smile creeps onto your face, despite the dull ache from your nose.

“you remembered.”

“of course i remember,” luke almost scoffs like the mere suggestion of forgetting what day you were born is an insult to his very character. he meets your gaze, and you could melt when he offers you that lopsided smile of his, painfully familiar. “happy birthday, aquagirl,” and it’s the softest he’s spoken to you in a while. just like old times.

he remembers. 

somewhere within him, luke holds on to fragments of you.

he wipes the blood off your face, the sleeve of his silk white button-down now stained crimson. “how’s your hand?” he asks. 

you flex your fingers. “it’s been better,” you answer, your knuckles slightly aching. “totally worth it.”

“i guess all those years away didn’t change anything. still willing to put a god in their place, huh?”

all those years away. 

the reminder feels like a stab to the heart, and you’re worried that it might burst the comfortable bubble you and luke had drunkenly stumbled into. 

thankfully, luke continues:

“the kids really take after you.”

he says as a joke, mostly, but there’s a sincerity in those deep brown eyes of his, too. something you also hadn’t seen from him in a while. 

the kids, who you’d in some ways raised together when monsters were trying to kill you and the gods didn’t care enough to stop it. 

the family you and luke had built together despite being born into the world of greek tragedies. 

“as if annabeth wasn’t threatening to pull the dagger you gave her, skywalker,” the nickname rolling off your tongue with ease. “besides, they’re not kids anymore.”

“yeah.” he pauses. “neither are we.” 

luke’s fingers trace your camp necklace, brush against your collarbone. the breath hitches in your throat.

here you are again, at the edge of something real and very scary, and you fear luke is going to push the two of you over. 

but he doesn’t. instead, luke suggests, jokingly: “maybe we should start a fight club at camp.” 

you take that as a good sign: like you, he’s hoping to preserve the playfulness between you before everything else seeps in and ruins it. before you’re brought back to the present, where you’re practically ignoring each other.

where you’re fine, but really. 

you snort. “chiron and mr. d would love that.”

“like they’d ever find out!” luke explains. “you know the first rule of fight club —”

“don’t talk about fight club,” you finish together. 

luke laughs, even though it’s not that funny. you laugh, too. 

and that’s the thing that really, truly gets you. 

try as you might to ignore it, some days it’s hard to forget the pain and heartache and grief. 

you still feel like your life is a battlefield; you still see the ghosts of everyone you couldn’t save even though people call you a savior; you still have those scars, inside and out, that seemed healed but ache every once and a while. 

but that isn’t all. 

sometimes it hurts more thinking back to the good times and knowing, deep down, you can never go back.

summer — age 13

“ugh — you think with all their power, the gods could help stop global warming,” you groaned, swatting away a mosquito that tried to land on you. “do you think they have air conditioning on olympus?”

“oh, for sure,” luke quipped. he gave you a lopsided smile, his curls sticking to his forehead, drenched in sweat. 

it was the summer solstice, the longest and the hottest day of the year so far. the two of you had found a perfectly good hideout, but luke insisted that this place would be worth the move. 

he’d been leading you down side streets for what felt like forever. the sun had already set, and you were very close to passing out from the heat, until luke finally stopped at a door behind an alley, with a sign reading CLOSED FOR RENOVATIONS. 

luke knelt down to do whatever son-of-hermes lock magic he had to do to get the door open. he flipped a switch, and you winced at the sudden overwhelming brightness. 

the destination was different than the hideouts you usually sprung for: those small, hole-in-the-wall type places. instead, this space was big and bright, filled with arcade games and fun posters and neon colours. the type of place a kid might have a party or where a group of normal teenagers might spend their friday night. 

“what…what is this?”

“you thought i forgot, didn’t you?” luke smirked at you. he sat down on the colourful carpet, taking out some snacks, a small plastic bag with coins, a wrapped box, and a plastic blue crown, and gestured for you to join.

you did, in fact, think that luke had forgotten your birthday. 

birthdays were bittersweet for children of gods, who were constantly reminded that any year could be their last, their youth cut short by monsters or prophecies or a fatal flaw. all the two of you usually did on either birthday was split any sweet treat you could get your hands on. 

it wasn’t a big deal, really, to skip that tradition of yours. there were much more urgent things to worry about, like finding food and water and shelter, and not being devoured by monsters. 

you did think it was strange that luke hadn’t so much as said happy birthday to you all day, but you knew that he loved you.

(like a friend loves a friend. nothing else, no matter how much your stomach fluttered at the thought of him.) 

“i wanted to surprise you,” luke explained once you claimed your spot next to him. he reached over to place the crown on your head. “i found this place a few days ago during a food run. it reminds me of where we had your —”

“eighth birthday party, yeah.” you smiled at the memory of running around and feeding quarters to every machine and trying every game, of your classmates singing happy birthday to you off-key before you all stuffed your faces with sickly sweet confetti cake. 

truthfully, you never thought about having another celebration like that again.

but, it was five years from that faded childhood memory, and luke was presenting you with something you didn’t even realize you had needed: the chance to be a kid again.

“so,” luke got up, a wide smile on his face. he held the plastic bag in one hand, extending the other to you. “which do you wanna play first?”

you started with space invaders, then moved on to dragon’s lair and pac-man. you took a break before street fighter ii so that luke could ceremoniously light a candle and present a cupcake that had been tossed around in his bag (but you were still very, very grateful for), along with fresh batteries for your portable cassette player. he had made you a mixtape too, though you couldn’t figure out how. 

your last stop was a photobooth. you vowed to keep those pictures — a collection of you and luke together, smiling bright and colourful, goofing off and laughing — for the rest of your life.

now

those moments from past summers are like popsicles melting in the sun: tangible for a limited time before leaving you with a sickly sweet mess of what once was. 

you think about what happened earlier, how percy, annabeth, and thalia stepped in to protect you, still the brave kids you had once known so well. how luke is here with you now, taking care of you so tenderly even after you’ve silently agreed to give each other the cold shoulder. 

maybe luke is right. maybe all those years away didn’t change anything. 

except — once you leave this temple and the alcohol leaves your system, it won’t be the same. 

none of you are kids anymore, if you ever even were. 

“why’d you go for eros, anyway?” luke asks, breaking you away from your thoughts. he removes his sleeve from your nose since the bleeding seems to have finally stopped.

“you really wanna know?”

“yeah. most gods are assholes. and you’re…” luke places a hand close to your leg, pinky finger brushing your thigh. “you.”

“i went for eros because….well, honestly, i don’t think i cared who it was, as long as they made me forget you,” you admit, because what did you have to lose. you probably have a broken nose, you definitely have blood on your shirt, and your time with luke is running out. 

luke’s eyes darken. his fingers start to play with the hem of your shorts. 

“did it work?” his voice is a whisper, but he’s close enough that he’s crystal clear.

“no.”

it’s hard to determine who leans in first, but soon enough your lips are on luke’s — messy and urgent. noses bumping together, teeth clacking against each other. he cradles your face in his hands, and you move to straddle his waist. you taste wine on his tongue, and maybe a hint of sweet pears, but it’s overwhelmed by the salty, metallic taste of blood stained on your lips. when you run out of air, you pull away. it’s clearer now: you’re not dizzy from the alcohol or adrenaline, but dizzy from him. luke’s gaze is heavy on yours as he traces your top lip with his thumb.

“luke,” you whimper, itching to kiss him again. 

“you’re still bleeding.”

luke wipes away the blood with his thumb. before either of you can do or say anything more, there’s an echo of footsteps on the marble floor. a flower nymph, there to leave an offering and let you know that, while aphrodite encourages acts of love, she prefers it doesn’t happen in her place of worship. 

you realize that aphrodite also might not look so fondly at you kissing someone else in her place of worship after publicly rebuking her own son.

luke untangles himself from you, and you know that he’s been jolted back to reality, too. 

and, just like that, another moment has melted away.

your father was right. time has a way of slipping away for us, immortal or not.

summer — age 18

“hey, you awake?”  

“yeah,” you replied softly. sleep hadn’t been easy, in the days and weeks and months leading up to that final battle with kronos and his army. 

and once it was all over? 

you rested your head on luke’s shoulder, sword discarded at your feet and armour half-removed, as argus, the hundred-eyed security guard of olympus, drove a school bus with a dozen or so demigods back to camp.

“why’d you turn down their offer?” luke whispered.

oh.

"why...why do you ask?"

"i don't know." luke paused. "just curious, i guess."

you closed your eyes and replayed that moment on olympus when you refused the gift of immortality. the look of shock written on the gods’ faces. and on luke’s.

“i don’t care about living forever,” you told him bluntly.

forever seemed too long, especially for someone who was prophesied to die at 18.

you tilted your head up to meet luke’s gaze, and his messy curls brushed against your forehead. evidence of the battle was clear on his face: caked-on dirt and blossoming bruises and dried blood. 

behind him, outside the bus window, the world was flying by. a child who had fallen off their bike being comforted by a friend. two people sharing an mp3 player and a pair of earbuds. an elderly couple walking their dog.

“you once told me that this was our life,” you continued, gesturing towards the weapons and battle-worn kids, some quiet, others crying, many injured. “what if it didn’t have to be?” 

luke furrowed his brow. “do you mean….are you talking about leaving?”

you shrugged. running from monsters for your entire childhood then being the child of the great prophecy was a lot.

a break might be nice.

there was so much about the world, the one you’d fought and bled to protect, that you wanted to experience. 

maybe something closer to a normal life.

“would you ever leave camp?” you wondered, not really answering luke's question. 

“no,” luke replied instantly. his fingers started fiddling with the beads on his necklace. “i can’t just walk away, not after everything.”

“yeah, i get that.” and you did; you really, truly, did. the guilt of wanting to leave camp curled in your stomach like a venomous snake. you took a shaky breath. “let’s talk about this later, yeah? i’m tired, and we have the rest of — ”

the rest of the summer slipped away in the blink of an eye. gone, before you even had a real chance to say goodbye.

you closed your eyes and held on to luke, as if gripping his arm would anchor you to something you weren't ready to let go of, but in some ways needed to move on from.

it was no use, though. 

by the end of august, you’d be gone too. 

now 

you learned early on that the curse of achilles doesn’t protect you from hangovers.

you wake up the morning after the celebration on olympus with a deep, throbbing pain lodged in your temple and an uncomfortable swirling in your gut. parties and late nights at bars are common on tour, which means migraines are, too, so you have a routine to make sure you’re not out of commission for too long.

except this time, the aspirin and blue gatorade and dry toast don’t work. the sting in your brain and uneasiness in your stomach doesn’t go away, even after a few days. you haven’t been able to sleep, either.

desperate for a cure, you consult lou ellen, head counsellor of the hecate cabin, who you’d unexpectedly grown close to in the past few weeks. she mixes something for you, while asking if there’s something that’s been weighing on you.

you couldn't keep it in anymore; you tell her about the summer solstice and luke.  

later, with nothing but your thoughts and percy’s snoring occupying your time post-curfew, you grab your phone and flip it open, deciding to finally reach out to luke, when you get a text from him.

luke is already on the beach when you arrive, looking out onto the water. 

“hey,” you greet as you sit next to him on the sand, but not too close. “i was actually about to text you —”

“did you tell anyone that we kissed?” he interrupts. you can’t quite read his expression as he waits for you to answer.

“no, i didn’t,” you lie. “would it matter if i did?”

“well, i mean, word travels fast around camp, and i don’t want van finding out. it’s not like it meant anything.”

the throbbing in your brain becomes a sharper sting, the uneasiness in your stomach a tidal wave of nausea.

“it didn’t?” you hate how fragile your voice sounds, compared to luke’s stoic demeanor.

luke shrugs. “i mean, we were both drunk and the thing with eros happened…we just got caught up in the heat of the moment.” 

“you’re saying there’s nothing between us, then? nothing?” the word tastes bitter in your mouth.

luke turns away before he answers. “no. nothing.”

“then what about last summer?” you demand. you force yourself to keep it together, your tone firmer than before. “i guess that didn’t mean anything, either.”

“y/n…” he sighs. “i don’t know what you want me to say. we’re barely even friends anymore. you come back here, after all this time, after so much shit happened, and expect us all to drop everything to fit you back into our lives. but, you don't. whatever you came here for, it's not here for you. there's nothing to go back to. we moved on. i moved on, and i can’t deal with you —" 

“got it,” you snap, already turning to walk away. “loud and fucking clear, luke.” 

it’s not like it meant anything. we’re barely even friends anymore.

you replay luke’s words as you crawl into bed, holding back tears so as to not disturb percy. finally, you swallow a generous amount of whatever concoction lou ellen had brewed up for you.

drifting off into your own sleep, you decide that you don’t love luke anymore. not as a friend, not as a.....

nope. 

according to luke, there's not even anything to go back to.

nothing.

nothing.

[a-aexotic]

Could you do soft Rafe being in love and having a secret relationship with someone opposite him like she’s so sweet and shy. She’s a kook but she’s friends with the pogues. Maybe some fluff and implied smut and he’s giving her aftercare? And also he’s just admiring her and being totally obsessed with her. Reader is blushing when he compliments her and tells her how much he is in love. How she understands him and is always there for him at his worst times.

I got carried away. Sorry 😭

ren's notes hi! ofc i can, omggg and don't worry ab it, the more descriptive, the better! i hope u enjoy! i love rafe's buzzcut sm

pairing. rafe cameron x fem!reader requested? yes no

warnings. fluff!, lowkey childhood enemies to lovers??, secret relationship, ooc rafe/sarah, a mention of a fight with ward, a few kisses and illusions to smut

summary. you've always lived next to the cameron's, what happens when you start getting closer to the older cameron?

➜ missing out on updates? ❪ navigation. masterlist. taglist. ❫

The Camerons have lived across the street from you for as long as you could remember. Morning brunches, summer yacht parties and Christmas's were always spent at the other's house. Ward was your father's best friend since they were children and they wanted you and Rafe to be the same.

But, time and time again, forcing your children to be friends proves to be not the best idea. Rafe started to dislike your presence more and more each time.

You weren't the problem. His father was. He would always compare you to him. "Why can't you be more like Y/N?" He'd heard this all his life so it was only natural that he'd start to dislike you despite the absolute angel you were.

You never held anything he said against him. You knew how complex his relationship with Ward was and you knew it wasn't his fault he didn't like you.

Rafe tried to hate you, he really did. But he just couldn't. You were the most caring person he'd ever. He'd only ever treated you with disrespect and unkindness but you still looked out for him.

Rafe was a softie at heart; so he started to like you more than a friend. And after you both shared a small kiss under the mistletoe on Christmas Eve at the L/N's, you started to date.

In secret, of course. Rafe didn't want to give his father the satisfaction of knowing he set you both up.

You and Rafe's relationship was only known by your best friend, Kie and his sisters and best friend, Wheezie, Sarah and Topper. Topper wasn't mean to find out, it just slipped from Sarah. They were all sworn to secrecy.

Rafe was delicate with you, always. He loved how caring you were and he always made sure to be just as caring with you as you were him.

You and Rafe sat at the beach, talking. This was how you two spent your nights; outside, in the back of his pickup truck watching the waves and the bright stars.

"I kind like how no one knows about us." You confessed with a small giggle as he nodded, putting his arm around you and pulling you close to him.

"Yeah, me too. It makes it more intimate." Rafe whispered as you both stared out to the ocean. "But sometimes, I want to make sure everyone knows you're mine."

"Me, too." You replied. It was mostly Rafe's wish to keep it private, it's best for both of you. He didn't want the island to have more to gossip about, he felt like it would be less of a strain on your relationship. He knew his father would make it difficult as well.

Rafe's relationship with his father was the one thing you and Rafe argue about. You think he should make more of effort to be nicer and he just wants to cut him off.

You considered yourself pretty close with Ward until Rafe's 18th birthday. You made it your mission to make sure everything was in place and perfect for Rafe. And it was perfect until Ward decided he needed to have a talk with Rafe.

This talk turned into a big fight almost immediately and Ward essentially had ruined Rafe's birthday and your hard work. You'd been with Rafe for about 2 months at that point, and you've known Rafe your entire life and you'd never seen him so distressed and angry.

He was in your room after the party and he was silent. He wasn't crying or screaming in anger - he was just silently laying in your bed. Your heart broke in two seeing Rafe so defeated. He was so strong (both mentally and physically), that's one of the reasons you admired him so much. But tonight, his will to fix his relationship with his father broke.

You had just taken a shower to give Rafe some space and you came back to see Rafe still hadn't moved from his spot. His father's words always had an effect on him, more than he wanted. He wanted to hate Ward but he truly couldn't - all he ever wanted was his validation.

You walked up to Rafe and embraced him tightly, quietly. You stayed like that for a couple minutes, Rafe basking in your presence. He moved his head upwards so he could look at you.

He couldn't help but break a small smile as he examined your gorgeous face. He was grateful that you were his - just his. That he had one person in this entire world who loved him for him, not for anything else.

"Thank you." Rafe whispered.

Your expression changed to a confused one. "For what?"

"Everything, baby." He paused. "The party, the cake, the effort you put in... and for loving me regardless of what everyone says about me."

You put your hand on his face, rubbing it slightly, comfortably. "None of it matters. I'm going to love no matter what they say because they don't know you like I do, okay?"

He hadn't heard anyone say that before. He's never been loved unconditionally since his mother and it felt so good to be loved again. He leaned up to kiss you.

It was a hard but passionate kiss. He pulled you in closer by the waist, then put his hands on your face to deepen the kiss. You pulled away from the kiss and you put your forehead on his, taking a few breathes.

You and Rafe locked eyes and he put his fingers in your hair, pulling you in for another kiss. He pulled away and looked deep in your eyes. "I wanna show you..." he paused. "How grateful I am, for you."

You nodded and he kissed you again, moving backwards into the bed so that you could get on the bed with him. He laid you down and you began to kiss again, this time with more fervor and desire than before.

That entire night Rafe was showing you how much he loved you. He loved being inside of you; he loved how close you were and that how it felt like there was no one else in the world but you two. He didn't do it for pleasure, that part was just a plus. The idea of combining with you in such a sensitive and soft way made Rafe love you even more, if that was even possible.

When you were done, Rafe wouldn't let you move. You were tired from not only the previous activities, but that entire day. Rafe got up to go get you water and after that, you both laid in comfortable silence.

You laid your head on his chest as you both drifted into a calm state of sleep.

"I love you." Rafe said for what seemed like the millionth time that night. You brought your hands to his, holding them.

"I love you, too."

[crepesuzette2023]

Hi, I would love recs for mclennon fics dripping in sexual tension, like six hours in August by stonedlennon. It doesn't need to have explicit sexual content. Thank you!

Thank you so, so much for this ask—this is a category of fiction I personally enjoy *a lot* (imagine Paul's "I slept with John..." pronunciation).

Here are some favorites that came to my mind. Some have sex on the page, others do not; I remember all of these as having excellent Tension™. I hope you find something you like here! Young J/P:

Streets of Your Town (@with-eyes-closed): Sensual. The upheaval in young Paul's mind as he falls in love with music and John, without putting a name to it. As of yet unfinished, but it's so good I rec it anyway, because it's...[read to find out, take a fan]

All I Know Since Yesterday (RedheadAmongWolves): Paul and John's first kiss at Paul's, after long, sweet hours of trembling fear/excitement. Paul POV.

The Way Things Sometimes Are (@paisanas): Young John is troubled and pining for Paul. Paul is mesmerizing through his eyes.

now and then (there's a fool such as I) (@stonedlennon): The Nerk Twins take the bus to Caversham and share a bed. You can smell the summer grass and the sweaty leathers...

(Ain't no cure for the) summertime blues (orphan_account): John and Paul alone on a hot summer day.

The Photograph (thinkpink20): John finds a Photograph Mike took of Paul and notices...things.

Hamburg:

ageless children, animal sweat (eyeball2eyeball): Read this story to spend time in John's throbbing, unhinged Hamburg mind. No sex on the page, and yet. It's *everywhere*. For such a short story, it takes up a lot of room in my brain. The Paul in this story is one of my favorite Pauls.

Sinful City (thinkpink20). Days and Nights in Hamburg. Paul needs John, and stops questioning things.

In Margaret Asher's music room:

Tell You Something (@louiselux). Lennon and McCartney write "I Want to Hold Your Hand." The tension rises.

In or near Paul's Geodesic Dome:

shotgunning (@pauls1967moustache): John and Paul languidly try something new...

Chrysalis (cloudy_blue): Tension in 1967. Hypnotic and stylish, I love it.

Stop all the Clocks (@javelinbk): After Brian's death, John and Paul retreat to Scotland. Grief and awakening ensue...slowly and sweetly.

Greece:

Way Up Top (@boshemians). Snapshots of J/P desire and spiraling doubts, contained in the Beatles' trip to Greece to buy an island.

Nineteen Sixty-Eight:

Outro (bakerstreetafternoon). From the Summary: 'Had it been this tension that had kept them together? Had it always?'

Bad Luck to Talk (7intheevening): Paul chats with JohnandYoko at a party and follows them home for a cup of tea. What hurts more exquisitly than pining? Unacknowledged pining.

John I'm Only Dancing (@skylikeaflame): Amidst the insanity of the Mad Day Out, desire erupts relentlessly.

The 70's as they should have been:

Down on the Farm (RosalindBeatrice): Incredibly hot and realistic (and funny in just right amounts!). John visits Paul in Nashville; Paul shows off Wings and the family, John stays the night. Dot dot dot.

I can only speak my mind (@paisanas): John's diaries are leaked to the press and printed; Paul reads them. What follows is the sexual awakening of James Paul McCartney as he reads of John's feelings for him. First rate pining, past and present.

I still miss someone/ I know that I miss you, but I don't know where I stand/ close the door lightly when you go (RosalindBeatrice): John and Paul meet in 1976. There is a spark. Few and far between meetings follow.

The Other Eighties (John lives and experiences sexual tension with Paul):

and when broken bodies are washed ashore (who am i to ask for more) (wardo wedidit): John divorces Yoko and visits Paul in Scotland. Soul searching and relationship mending.

The Birthday Party (@merseydreams): John and Paul meet at Ringo's Birthday Party. There is only one bed.

Tension through the Years:

Smoke Gets in Your Eyes (@savageandwise). John is turned on by Paul smoking. 1958—1969.

[crystallilytarot]

Choose a random item! Fanfiction trope with your partner

1- ship

It's written Capri on the ship, so maybe Italy is an important place for you or your partner, or maybe you or them are from an island, or you will go there together.

So, it feels like friends to lovers. But like a superhero movie :) You will have some difficulties in your life and your partner will help you or even save you, stand up for you. I feel after this, you will be friends first, so it's not a fast moving relationship. You go to the same school or you work together, or maybe you move to another place, and they will help you with your baggeges or show you the city. They can be someone that you already know, but you were never been more than friends until now. There will be some people who will try to sabotage your relationship, but don't listen to their lies! In the end you will be together and it will be a very loving, nurturing and romantic connection. Honestly, you are cute together.

Significant numbers maybe : 1, 5, 7, 8, 18, 85.

2-merry-go-round

Strangers to lovers definitely! It's a faded connection, you are literally meant to be together. I feel some fun times here, a trip, amusement park, garden, flowers, maybe a costume party. You will have fun that day, and you will have fun together too, it's like love at first sight. It can be a birthday or a celebration too. For some of you, you will spend the night together that day wink wink :) But after that you or them will feel regretful, I think maybe both of you, because you will think that the other person don't want anything else, but it's not the case at all! Another scenario is that you will be in separation for a while, but not because a breakup, these person live somewhere else. And they don't contact you right away after they go back home, so you will think it was just a fun night for them. You two will have a long distance relationship for a while, but one of you will move to the other person's place, and after that you will be inseparable. :) I see a lot of cuddling, pillow talk.

Important numbers maybe : 2, 4, 9, 10, 29, 94, 99.

3-cherry blossom candle

Spring may be important for you or some of you are from Japan or Japan is an important place for you.

Ngl it feels like a sugar daddy / sugar mommy and sugar baby relationship :) Even if it's not, they will be very supportive and caring towards you. It can be someone from your workplace, maybe your boss. I feel like your job doesn't pay well enough, but you will have a better opportunity and you will meet them there. Or you will have 2 people who wants to be with you, and you will have to choose. It probably will take some time for you to think about this and choose. I don't think that you will choose the money, there are emotions here. And it's not about the money, but this person will treat you right, and you deserve it! If you want to have children, you will have a family with this person, or pets, most likely dogs, but can be other types of pets too. I see a garden and a very comfortable, cozy home. You will take care of each other, both of you will nurture this relationship, but still, I feel like them will treat you like a queen/king. It's not just financial support, but emotional too. You will move to their house or it can be like you will left your past behind. It feels like after all the hardships you will have your rewards from the Universe!

Important numbers maybe : 1, 2, 6, 9, 10, 19, 21, 66.

[echobx]

figure you out part 1 - jj maybank x fem!reader

summary: y/n hasn't seen her friends in quite some time and decides that it's time to pay them a visit, but her best friend JJ Maybank isn't very fond of her

warnings: hurt/comfort, verbal fighting, JJ being a bit of an asshole

word count: 4.3k

author's note: it's very much more hurt than comfort ig. I know I fucked up the southern drawl thing that JJ got going on, but I'm not very knowledgeable in that so don't focus on it too much.

y/n hadn't been that attentive of her friends lately. She had a lot on her plate ever since switching schools, from Kildare High to KCD, and moving out of her family home and into the condo her boyfriend had provided for her after her parents had to move away for work. She hadn't minded it much. She had always been more on her own, had always known how to take care of herself. Growing up on the Southside hadn't been easy, but it had taught her a lot about life, especially to appreciate it when good opportunities were at hand.  So she said yes to the car Travis had gifted her on her 18th birthday. She had said yes to moving into the penthouse apartment with him, although he technically still lived with his parents to keep up the facade. His parents were old school, so she had said yes when he had proposed to her. "It's a good match. You will be taken care of, sweetie," her parents had told her. y/n knew it was the right choice, the smart choice. She would go to college, and then they would get married after. He would take over his parents' company, and she would play the trophy wife, raise the children and look pretty. It wasn't a bad future for someone who came from nothing. 

The only cons to the big plan were her friends. Well, if they would still call her, that was to be questioned. She had only seen them a few times at parties in the last eight months, but she had come to the conclusion that now, as the end of the school year was right around the corner, she should finally pay them a visit again. y/n missed her friends dearly. She missed hanging out, drinking beers and smoking. She missed surfing and falling asleep in the hammocks at the Château afterward.  Before y/n had switched schools, her friends had held a long discussion over the issue. The fear that she would forget them and never look back was great, especially after they had all experienced a similar situation when Kiara had had her "Kook year" like they used to call it. But it hadn't mattered what the Crew had to say, the decision had already been made. Her future was more important, getting off the island had been the only goal for her ever since her first day of High School. She had become valedictorian for this one reason and nothing else.  But the worst part had been that they had all been right about her, about the changes. 

When y/n looked in the mirror that evening, she could barely see her old self anymore. The washed out shirts and cut off jeans she had always worn had been replaced by pretty sundresses and blouses and other fancy Kook clothes. She looked like a Kook, she lived like a Kook, and anyone who didn't know her from childhood on might think she had always been like this.  She had tried to pick something that wasn't too on the nose. A white loose blouse and light blue jeans shorts. Her hair hung over her shoulders in fine beach waves, and for shoes she wore her usual gray low Chuck's.  The whole drive over to the Cut, she was plagued by fears. 'What if they hate me? What if they say I betrayed them?' were just two of the many questions that pondered her mind. 

She parked her car at the Chat. The old, wooden house still looked the same as it had the first time she had laid her eyes on it. It sat rather idyllic at the sound, and the afternoon sun was painting everything in a golden glow.  The HMS Pogue was towed to the pier and the Twinkie parked in her usual spot. y/n thought back to the many adventures she had gone on with her best friends, especially John B and JJ.  "Hey there, old girl," she mumbled and let her hands run over the metal of the little, orange bus.  "She's not that old, you know," John B laughed from behind her, and she snapped around just in time to be embraced in a hug.  "Where were you? Fucking missed you, sharky," he sighed while holding her in his arms.  "Missed you too, bird," y/n laughed, and they broke out of the hug.  "y/n!" Kiara screamed and slammed her surfboard into Pope, who walked next to her, just for her to run into y/n's arms. 

After a warm welcome from all of them, they were sitting on the porch, sharing beers and being happy about the reconnection.  "I know I should have come by sooner, but school is a lot and then my parents moved away. It was so much, and I promised myself to focus on my future. I'm so sorry, guys." y/n apologized for possibly the millionth time since she got there.  "We would never judge you for that," Pope assured her, and she gave him a thankful smile.  "We do judge you though for not texting once, and rather fucking some Kook than coming by to surf or something," JJ sneered as he walked onto the porch.  "Jay," y/n hushed as she looked at him. He was hurt, and he was actively fueling his pain over seeing her again into his rage.  "No, I get it. You're a Kook now. The car, the fancy clothes, living Northside. You've got it all, don't you," he hissed at her.  "It's not that simple," she tried to reason with him, but he didn't even attempt to calm down.  "It's very fucking simple, actually. You're a Kook now. No Kook is a friend of mine. You can go." JJ pointed towards the door, expecting her to get up and leave immediately, but she didn't. "JJ, that's enough," Sarah admonished him.  "She left us, so don't expect me to be so stupid to let her back in just because she is bored or whatever and decided to pay us a visit," JJ yelled, and it was the last thing y/n had needed to break. She had expected him to act this way, he had always been hot-headed, but this was worse than what she had prepared herself for.  She stood up and walked away. "I'm sorry. I should have asked before coming by," she mumbled before leaving towards her car.  "And there she runs again. You don't have to come back again, cheater," JJ called after her as she got in her car and drove away. 

"What the fuck is wrong with you," Kiara screamed at JJ and pushed him so that he stumbled backwards a few steps. "She wanted to come back, and you pushed her away because you can't fathom that life isn't just black and white. Get your head out of the gutter, JJ, she's not the same girl she was when we met her."  "And that's exactly the issue!" He spat out and turned towards John B. "Whatever that was, that's not the same girl we grew up with. She's not our friend anymore!" "Leave! I will not have you call her names and all that crap you are trying to pull right now. Go, and don't come back unless you apologize to her. She had a tough year, and you're just making it worse with your selfish bullshit. Because to me, she is still the girl who kept running into this very door frame because she has shit coordination skills. Maybe you can't see that, but it's true. People don't change that much, not at their core. Leave!" John B stared his best friend down until he angrily ripped the porch door open and left. 

Meanwhile, y/n cried the whole way home. She had wanted to spend the weekend reconnecting with her friends, and not just because her boyfriend and his family were out of town. No, she had wanted to do so for a long time, but she had never gotten the opportunity to. But now this was also ruined. Her best friend had ruined it. At least she had still thought of JJ as her best friend before he had screamed at her. 

JJ Maybank had been y/n's best friend since third grade. John B and JJ had saved her from a bully at recess, and since then the three had been inseparable. They had spent every free minute with each other. Had consoled one another after a heartbreak or after a fight.  JJ had been her first kiss because they had decided to not take any chances with someone who would turn out to be an asshole, at least that had been the reasoning she had used to convince JJ. What she had never known was that Jay had always had a crush on her, just a tiny one, but he was still sure that she was his first love.  He had of course never told her about that, or the fact that his heart broke a bit when she had called him crying after losing her virginity to some guy who had only pretended to like her. He had never mentioned that he had beaten the guy up the day after to teach him a lesson. He had never told her how much she meant to him, not even when it might have been the only thing that could've held her back from switching schools. 

But then again, y/n had never been that truthful either. She hadn't told him that she had always compared every single guy to him, and that none of them ever came close to how he made her feel. That he had always been her safe haven, the only one she trusted blindly, the only one who had never judged her.  Yet he had been the only one to do exactly that as soon as she had come back to her old life. And she hated him for it. They had promised each other to never hurt the other too deeply, but he had done exactly that.  She knew his mannerisms. Knew how he tended to push everyone away, the more damage the better, but she had never thought to be on the receiving end of his rage. The betrayal over the broken promise hurt just as much as the words he had thrown at her that night. 

y/n cried herself to sleep in the empty apartment that had never truly felt like home because nothing in it was like she had wanted it to be. It was white and clean and fancy. Stone and metal where she preferred wood and old shipped away tile because someone had once thrown a plate out of rage.  She missed her actual home, but no matter how much she would have worked, she couldn't afford to rent out the whole house on her small waiter salary. Besides, now that she was engaged and ready to leave for college, she didn’t need the job anymore. She had actually been advised to not keep on working. "It doesn't look good for the family," her boyfriend's parents had persuaded her and as the dutiful girl she was, she followed the orders of her future in-laws. 

On the other side of the island, JJ was driving around on his bike, trying to let go of his rage, but nothing seemed to work. Seeing her had caused him distress. Seeing her had brought back all the feelings that he had pushed down so far that he had forgotten they existed.  The first time he had seen her in the arms of the Kook, he had wanted to rip the guy's head off. He didn't deserve her, JJ was sure of that. But in JJ's eyes no one was truly worthy of her.  He had hoped that she was miserable with him, that once she came back she was crawling, begging for forgiveness, begging to be taken back. But that hadn't been the case. She had proudly presented her new Kook life as if it was the best thing to ever happen to her.  JJ had looked at her, and the y/n he had seen had looked nothing like the one he had fallen in love with years prior. He was ashamed of ever thinking that she might not turn into one of them.  His rage drove him back to his old home, a place that wasn't his home anymore, it hadn't been in a long time.  He had nowhere to go, John B had kicked him out with good reason and none of his friends would help him out, he was sure of that. So the young man drove on and on until he found himself at her old house. It stood empty, no one had wanted to rent it at the high price the owners were asking for. When JJ had heard about y/n's parents leaving, he had assumed her to go with them. And when she had stayed, he had thought she would be allowed to keep living in their house, but even that had not been the case.  Instead, she had moved in with her boyfriend, one of the most annoying Kooks he had ever met. JJ thought it was all a trick, gifting her a car, offering a place to live for free, helping her get into her dream college. The only thing he was sure she had achieved on her own was the scholarship, but now that he thought of it, it all seemed too perfect to not have been meddled with. 

JJ snuck into her old bedroom, the same color on the walls as it had the last time he was there. The old mattress lying on the bed frame he had helped fix many times. The closet they had hidden in the first night JJ had run from home, the closet she had kissed him in for the first time.  He laid down on the bed, like he had done so many times before, just that he was alone now. No one there to help him soothe the pain that he had been holding back ever since she had reappeared in his life. Or was it really a reappearance if you had always looked after her from afar? If you had made sure that nothing bad happened to her? He wasn't quite sure of it, but seeing her smile while talking about her new, pretty and fancy life had hurt him deeply. And pushing her away and hurting her had just done even more damage to himself than he had anticipated at the moment. John B was right, he needed to apologize. And it needed to be a damn good apology at that.

y/n decided to sleep in after that very emotionally turbulent night. Her mind hadn't stopped racing, though. She wanted to go back, to make things right, although it wasn't even her doing. She had tried to reconcile, had tried to get back together with the people she loved most, but he had denied her. 'No, if anything he has to apologize. I won't let him treat me like that, especially him,' she thought while making some breakfast. But her thoughts had occupied her so much that she had burnt her eggs to black goo, and she didn't even have any left to make new ones. So she decided to skip breakfast and go back to bed, turning on the TV in the bedroom. She tried to focus on the movie that was playing in front of her, but she really couldn't. 'Ten things I hate about you?' she thought. "I could give you millions of reasons why I hate him right now," she spoke up without noticing, but then she remembered that she didn't have to stay quiet. She was completely alone, no one to judge her thoughts.  y/n paused the movie and sat up. "I hate that you hurt me. I hate that you think you are better than me just because I had to make decisions that will impact the rest of my life. I hate that you never called, either. I hate that you blame me for everything. I hate you so much, JJ Maybank!" She screamed the last part so loud that she would have nearly overhead the knock on her front door.  It was already noon, and she was still dressed in her sleeping shirt. It was an old one she had once stolen from JJ, a weird coincidence really. 

"Who is there?" y/n asked before deciding whether she should open the door.  "It's me, JJ, please let me in," he begged, but she was reluctant.  "Are you gonna yell at me again?" she asked while unlocking the door.  "No. I came to apologize," he said, and she opened the door for him to walk in. Closing and locking it again as soon as he was inside.  "Better to be safe than sorry," she explained after he gave her a weird look because of her actions.  "Nice place," JJ mumbled while looking around. "That's marble, isn't it?" he asked as his long fingers ran over the kitchen island. His usual shirt and shorts combo was the same as the night before, and y/n immediately knew that John B had taken her side in the whole dilemma. He had kicked him out, and that was the only reason JJ was now standing in her home.  "Yes, it is," y/n answered while crossing her arms in front of her chest.  "Open room concept," he turned around and looked at everything. "I bet the bedroom is back there, just like the bathroom," JJ said while walking into the direction he had just pointed at.  "What are you doing?" y/n asked as she followed him around. She was well aware of the game he was playing. He was trying to find just enough clues to piece her life together; her life without him in it.  "A bathtub and a shower, that's what I call Kooky, cupcake," he noted and winked at her before turning away from the bathroom and towards the bedroom that was lying opposite of it. "That's a good movie." JJ nodded while looking at the TV screen. He jumped on the bed and tested the mattress, pressing himself into the sheets and sighing before getting back up. 

"Travis," he hissed. "He's a real charmer, isn't he," JJ mocked as he walked back over to her, looking into her eyes, but she didn't let him get to her. He didn't deserve to see her falter even a tiny bit.  "You know, I always thought you'd end up with someone who's less of an asshole, actually," he whispered before brushing a strand of hair out of her face.  "I always thought apologies didn't include mocking the recipient or someone who is close to the recipient," she hissed back at him, and he laughed.  "Fuck that, I'm not gonna pretend to like him. I should've at least broken his nose the first time he even looked at you." JJ moved past her and back into the living room.  "Two flat screens? You really are a Kook. Disappointing," he sighed, not even turning around to look at her. He was aware of the fact that he kept on hurting her, but that was part of his plan. Make her see what she actually needs instead of what everyone tells her to want.  His eyes fell on the balcony doors that were covered by big, heavy gray curtains. "Don't," y/n called out as he opened the curtains and then the doors.  "I bet he never even cared to ask, because if he did, he wouldn't have given you the fucking penthouse," he sneered before turning around while staying in between the opened folding doors. "You never told him, did you? How long has it been? Half a year since you got together, and he never even considered asking?"  "I don't like to make a fuss, you know that," she replied with her eyes closed. Even just looking out of the window at this height made her feel sick. "Can you close it again please," she begged and as soon as she heard the curtains close she opened her eyes again. 

"I don't like when you lie to me," JJ whispered after stepping closer again.  "You came to apologize," she reminded him.  "Answer me one question, and I will apologize and leave. You will never have to see me again if you don't want to, but you can't lie to me. You promised to never lie, remember?" He stared into her eyes and she in his. The bright blue that she loved so much, that reminded her of the sky, the sea. It reminded her of freedom and, most of all, of love.  "What do you want to know?" she asked, although she knew it was a bad idea to play his games. Even though they hadn't properly talked in so long, she still knew him best. Other than her, JJ hadn't changed a single bit since she had left. He leaned in closer before leaning to the side and whispering in her ear. "Has he ever made you cum?"  She gasped, not only because his words had shocked her, but because the warmth of his breath against her neck, the closeness of him to her, was completely overwhelming.  He moved away again to fully look at her, his pupils dilated and a smirk on his lips. 

"Why do you want to know that?" she pressed out while trying to not let her desire take control of her body and mind. y/n had always wondered what it would be like to have it all, to fully be his. She had always thought that JJ was the one. That he would be her first in everything, not just the first kiss, but y/n had been wrong. JJ had told her that there could never be anything between them, the rules made sure of that.  "I'm interested, that's all. He doesn't seem like the guy to know his way around a woman." He let his eyes wander over her. Well aware of the fact that the shirt she was wearing had once belonged to him. Maybe it was a sign, he wanted it to be one.  "We haven't-" y/n started to speak, but JJ just interrupted her.  "You're joking right? You have to be joking. Is something wrong with him? How can he wake up and fall asleep next to you every day and not want to fuck you?" He laughed hysterically because in his eyes it was impossible to not cherish her like she deserved it.  "He thinks I'm a virgin. I didn't tell him. And he doesn't sleep here every night," she tried to defend her boyfriend, but there was truly no reason for it other than to spite JJ.  "I see, he's not only boring as fuck but also the dumbest Kook in town," he laughed.  "We agreed to wait until-" She wanted to yell at him, but the words got stuck in her throat. No one knew that they were engaged, no one was supposed to know until the engagement party that was planned to happen a week after graduation.  "You're joking? Nuh-uh, you seriously have to be crazy to do that. You're gonna marry a guy who hasn't even seen you naked? Seen you in your most precious moment?" JJ shook his head in disbelief.  "His parents are very old school. It's a good match. A good and stable future," she argued with him.  "Good and stable can fuck off. You don't even love the guy!" JJ yelled and ran his hands through his hair as he paced the room. He couldn't believe that she was actually planning to destroy her life like that.  "You don't know who I love," y/n whispered. 

"You are so smart, so fucking beautiful and smart, and you want to throw all of that out of the window for the possibility to play housewife for some asshole that will only end up playing golf and fucking girls half his age?" JJ was disappointed in her. He had always thought that they would actually pursue the dreams they had pictured for their lives when they were kids. He had always wanted to run his own charter, or have his own garage, to do something he was good at. And from what it was looking like, he would get to have a similar enough life to what he had dreamed. It wouldn't be his own business, but at least he knew the guy that owned it, and if he did well enough he would maybe get to take over one day.  But y/n? y/n had always dreamed big, and he had never made fun of her for it because he knew she would be able to make it, to achieve anything she set her mind to. "You wanted to do law, remember? You told me you would one day be the youngest supreme court justice ever. That was the big dream, not some sad housewife who hates her life. Please, you can't really mean this, y/n." He was desperate because if she actually had decided to turn her back on the big dream, then there was no turning back. In his eyes, she would be lost if she didn't even consider not going with the plan Travis' parents had laid out for her.  "I know, Jay, but things change. I can't afford to study law." She was close to tears, but she didn't want to break down in front of him.  "I don't believe you. You can't throw it all away, not for someone who you don't even love." He was adamant about it. There was no way in hell or heaven that she was actually in love with the Kook.  "That doesn't matter," she muttered while looking at her feet. His fingers hooked under her chin as he tipped her head back up.  "It matters so much, darling. I won't let you make that mistake, not without giving you an outlook on what could be instead," he hushed before searching her eyes for just a short second. Then he leaned in and kissed her.

please don't copy and/or post my work onto other platforms! ~e©ho

pt.2

[deathbypufferfish]

It's finally done cooking, my sims gameplay ideas list! After scouring all types of sites, generators, lists, and my brain for ingredients, I've come up with a list stew that hopefully will spark some inspiration for your sims gameplays!

This non exhaustive list consists of ideas that are applicable to sims gameplay/things to do in-game. AKA things that can be played out in the sims or half pretended. If you're looking for less-gameplay story ideas, I recommend my story/conflict idea list. Most of the conflict and love ideas are on that list. Please feel free to send asks to add to the gumbo! Just note in your ask that it's for the gumbo and keep it applicable/feasible for gameplay. (To keep the post from getting too long I'll make a contributor list into a compressed image later on for those who send off-anon.)

If you are looking for more complex, in-game story ideas check out the Story Soup list here!

🍲 Gumbo below the cut! ⬇

Single Sim Gameplay:

Learn an instrument

Learn a new skill

Start a seashell collection (Island Living)

Have a sim get a bad haircut

Enroll an Adult/Elder sim in university

Use a skill you don’t usually play with

Become a mountain climber

Build a Servo

Take care of local strays

Use more likes/dislikes

Conflict:

Drop out of or fail university

Drop out or fail out of highschool

Talk badly about another sim in your house to other sims

Sim loses their job

Failed retail business

Family:

Foster a child

Parties for children

Have a baby shower

Have a slumber party

A grandparent/other family member moves in with your main household

Have a specific family holiday tradition besides the in-game ones

Family bike rides

Game night

Parent trains child in their sport

Family hikes at Granite Falls

Family volunteering

Bake sale (entrepreneur table)

Have a family photoshoot

Have teens study at the library

Have your teen go through a bad fashion phase

Host an exchange student

Make school picture day photos (Teen poses, children poses)

Have an arts & crafts day

Go fishing as a family

Have a specific weekly meal (spaghetti night, a fancy meal)

Make ice cream together (Cool Kitchen Stuff)

Wear matching pajamas for holidays

Have a bake off

Play with voidcritters (Kids Room Stuff)

Granola family (camping, hiking, low tech, simple living)

Play in a multi-generational household

Adopt

Family reunion

Unexpected baby

Have siblings share a room

Social/Activities:

Sports party night (e.g. watching the superbowl, world cup, etc)

Start a book club (with clubs)

Have a themed kids birthday party (Here’s a helpful website for ideas)

Have a potluck (buffet tables)

Garden party

Neighborhood party

Neighborhood holiday decorating contest

Host a haunted house in your home

Picnic

Barbeque party

Go to the arcade

Go regularly to restaurants (Dine Out Reloaded Mod to make restaurants tolerable)

Have an out of control party (maybe a teen party)

Go camping

Go to an Ice skating rink/roller skating rink

Spa day (at home or at a spa)

Make an army of snowpals

Movie night

Stargazing night/camp out in the backyard

Weekly bowling night

Museum trip

Karaoke night at home

Campfire night

Pool day

Weekly meetups with friends at a cafe

Try on wedding dresses with a bridal party

Have someone stay over (Growing Together)

Love:

Hook up with a service sim

Have a vacation romance

Have a “meet the parents” moment

Have an affair

Divorce

Marital fight

Rejected proposal

Throuple/Open Relationship (Open Love Life Mod)

Left at the altar

Use fear of commitment, jealous, or unflirty trait

Create a rocky marriage

Challenges:

Spend too much money on a vacation

Play with lot challenges

Use simple living (only cook with ingredients and do grocery orders)

Don’t clean up after sims (don’t drag plates, laundry, trash)

Use the Reduce and Recyle lot challenge for realism

Use the Filthy lot challenge to make cleaning harder

Lose a large sum of money

Randomize your sims’ traits as they age up

Household:

Have puppies and kittens

A serious house fire (either with cheating or with fireworks. There is also a mod for more intense fires here

Spring cleaning

Garage sale

Visit houses before you move into them

Create a storage room/attic (Eco Living boxes, Discover University chest, toy chest, treasure chest etc) Use this for old heir’s items if you are playing a legacy

Start a garden (herb, vegetables)

Renovate the house

Watch what your pets are doing

Adopt a stray animal

Teach your pets tricks

Upgrade objects

Have a home bar/rec room

Go on a vacation

Play with roommates (additionally have them be odd, difficult, or a romance option)

Have an always messy home

Hire a live-in butler

Hire a regular maid

Location:

Play in a sustainable community on one of the islands/isolated areas. (community farm, community space, homes)

Play in a tiny home (Tiny Living)

Play in a haunted house residential (Paranormal Stuff)

Become an Archaeologist. Live in Sulani and regularly visit Selvadorado for work

Career/Business:

Bookstore

Art gallery: sell your paintings or buy them off Plopsy/Buy Mode

Bakery

Play a career you don’t usually play

Winter sports store in Mt. Komorebi

Own a farmstand for your produce (Eco Lifestyle entrepreneur table) You can even build a small building for it on your property!

Pet supplies store 

Plant store

Tourist gift shop

Mattress/Bed   store

Florist shop (Flower Arranging Skill)

Juicery (Juice Fizzing Skill)

Yoga studio (host classes at a retail business or at a home studio)

Start a Bed and Breakfast/AirBnB with the roommate system

Become a celebrity in a path besides Actor/Actress (Author, Chef, Video Creator, Skier, etc.)

Food truck (Restaurant)

Fish stall (Entrepreneur table)

Make a living on Plopsy

Wool store (Cottage Living)

Natural health store (Herbalism)

Resources Used

ADAM DRIVER GIF DISCLAIMER: YES I KNOW IT'S A STEW

[mxheaven]

Ramon's Birthday!

A Ramon Focused Fic

(With bits of hideduo/fitpac, of course!)

Ramon doesn't have the custom of celebrating his birthdays, perhaps due to how lonely his first ones were. However, today is different. The bright lights and happy laughter bring him a type of childish joy he didn't allow himself to feel for a long, long time.

(Crossposted on AO3, Wattpad and Twitter. English is not my first language, but i hope you all enjoy!)

         Ramon remembers his first birthday. It didn't have anything special, as far as he could remember. His first month alive was much of a blur, to be honest. He slept more than he'd have liked to.

Spreen wasn't there. Ramon, at the time, had hopes he would be.

It was a simple day. Just like most of his birthdays.

Now, an entire year later, he's still unaccustomed to the bright lights, balloons, songs, people… it was a dream come true, yet he feared it could change to a nightmare.

He and his two siblings, Dapper and Leonarda, celebrated their birthday on the same day. Chayanne, their brother, was only a day older than the triplets, but decided not to celebrate as… “glamorously” as them, claiming that he didn't need it.

Leonarda asked her dad to build a very nice place for their one year birthday party, and he did not disappoint at all. It is a beautiful place with beautiful towers that no one has no idea how Foolish built in two days.

As a courtesy of Dapper's dad (to be honest, mainly Dapper), the place was guarded by intricate, dangerous and technological security assets. Dapper made sure that nothing would go wrong today.

The decoration, however, was the part that Ramon was the most proud of. He and his family spent so long decorating everything just like his siblings deserved - just like he deserved. 

It was full of balloons and pretty lights (which he expected to have, but never expected Fit to be the one to put all of them), beautiful tables with a place for everyone on the island, entertaining songs that Pac (and his rats) chose… Everything was so thought out and Ramon was so proud of his family for doing all of that so well.

He felt especially proud of this decoration, because Pac made sure he wouldn't forget any of the children that would commemorate their birthday today, meaning that the decoration resembled all of the little ones that had already passed, a little altar for each one of them.

Tilin's altar had a few pictures of her, her red bow, drawings, her signature flowers… Pac took the time to talk with all the parents of the eggs that had already passed so he could respect their memories properly.

Trumpet's altar was rainbow colored, it had his little hat, and a few pictures he managed to find with the federation's help. Unfortunately, Maximus had been gone for so long, Pac couldn't decorate it properly since he had no one to consult with his questions. Every part of this decoration was made with Bagi's help, since she spent the Dia de Los Muertos bonding with the little boy. One of the pictures in the altar was one of Trumpet and Leonarda.

Juannaflippa's altar had been the last one to be decorated, since neither Mariana nor Slimecicle had woken up for weeks. Her altar was green-themed, with plenty of pictures of her and her parents, and a few pictures of her and Tilin.

Bobby's altar was the first to be made. Pac gathered all his courage to consult both Cellbit and Roier, unfortunately not being able to ask Jaiden anything since she disappeared. For some strange reason, Cellbit was the one to answer more questions, whilst Roier kept a distance from the topic.

The boy's altar was blue-themed, there were a few drawings that Richarlyson made, his signature gun (don't ask Pac how he got it), a bunch of pictures of him with his parents, with Richarlyson… all of that.

In all of these, there were messages that people put, hoping that the happiness could reach the four that weren't there anymore.

Ramon got distracted looking at the altars. He would be lying if he said he didn't miss those four. They were always making a bit of a mess, that's for sure, but… he'd be happy if he had the opportunity to share a cake with them again.

Speaking of which, we shall not forget one of the most important parts. The cake- actually, the cakes, made by Chayanne himself, were individually created thinking of who it'd belong to. 

Leonarda's cake was purple and somehow even shiny! On the sides, there were some silly faces - made of frosting and fondant - that she requested, just like the multiple hats she's always wearing. The three pieces of chocolate on top of it were painted with food coloring, going from light shades of purple to- yellow? There was one, lonely, yellow piece… Ramon wonders why Leo requested such a specific thing.

Dapper's cake was, of course, black. It still seemed delicious, though, just like Leo's, since it was made by Chayanne. The cake looked amazing because it had some little ghosts - also made of fondant -, some decorations of things that Ramon couldn't quite recognize, everything that exhaled his brother's personality. Chayanne really outdid himself this time.

His cake, well… it wasn't any different. He almost cried seeing it? Well, sure. No one needs to know that though.

Ramon's cake was mainly white, but Chayanne managed to make amazing representations of Ramon's interests, such as the multiple create machines (machines that he info dumped about multiple times to Chayanne), his mustache on one of the sides, the meathead, his glasses…. And a little yellow Pac-Man.

Ramon looked at his parents. Pac and Fit were talking to each other on a corner, probably having some silly conversation, as they always do. Ramon smiled. He was so lost in thought, thinking about how proud he was of his family, that he didn't realize someone was approaching.

— Hey, Ramon! Happy Birthday, king. — Ramon got scared when he heard Tubbo talk, not expecting anyone to come talk to him so early.

What he didn't expect though, was Sunny appearing out of thin air and hugging him tightly. He wanted to answer Tubbo, but couldn't as Sunny restrained his hands while hugging him and basically shaking him. Eventually she let go, leaving Ramon dizzy.

— Happy birthday, my mustache boy!!!!!!!! — She spoke while she signed.

— “Thank you, Sunny” — He signed back a bit messily, forgetting how strong his sister was. 

— Where should we put the gifts? — Tubbo asks, holding three different gift boxes. Ramon couldn't deny how excited he was for Tubbo and Sunny’s gifts, since they had so many create stuff.

Ramon points to a little table that was slowly filling up with gifts.

Tubbo ruffles Ramon's hair before walking up to the table, placing the three boxes there.

Sunny gives him one last, tight hug before running up to her dad again.

Ramon giggles. He's so happy to have them both here.

He was so excited, too. Everyone he knew was going to be there, for the first time! Sure, maybe it's because it's finally the first one year birthday out of all the eggs, after all this time- after everything they went through, they're still alive. They survived.

This thought could rapidly become darker and sadder, were it not for Leonarda and Dapper showing up out of nowhere to bother Ramon and snap him out of these thoughts.

— “Stop thinking about create, Ramon, you're gonna end up overworking the gears of your brain.” — Ramon found himself looking at the hands of his brother, Dapper. Dapper was wearing, obviously, his signature top hat and  little black and blue suit, and alongside him was Leonarda, wearing a dark purple dress and red sneakers, with her red cap backwards, as always. On her cap, though, was a little crown sticker.

— “Así es, tus neuronas se freirán si te quedas ahí. Vamos a hacer algo divertido, ¡es nuestro cumpleaños!” — Leonarda signed. Dapper and Ramon didn't mind speaking in English with each other, but Leo keeps Spanish as her main language when talking to anyone, using the translation tool to speak with people who couldn't understand. Speaking of said tool, the translation apparatus translates her sentence to the following: “That's right, your neurons will fry if you stay there in the corner. Let’s do something fun, it’s our birthday!”

None of the three needed translations, since all of the triplets spoke English, but it helped – the surprisingly silent – foolish to understand their conversation better from a distance.

— “I will! I'm just… waiting for everyone to arrive before I go.” Ramon explained, and Dapper crossed his arms.

— “Casi todos ya están aquí, wey. Sólo faltan tio Cellbit, Roier y Richas, ellos se perdieron en el camino.” Leonarda answers her brother, who fidgets with his hand, anxiously. The translation device, although a bit late, reproduces Leonarda's phrase in English, “Almost everyone is already here, dude. Only uncle Cellbit, Roier and Richas are missing, they got lost.”

— “Okay… if you guys say. What should we do then?”

Dapper and Leo looked at eachother, then shrugged.

— “I don't know. What do you want to do?” 

Ramon seemed just as uncertain as his siblings. The three of them had the same thinking face, showing how connected they were on this, all triplets being confused.

— “We could…. I don't know… maybe-” — Ramon feels a shiver when someone touches both his shoulders, whispering “boo.”

Ramon screams due to the suddenness of it, and can quickly hear the loud laugh of Richarlyson, followed by Leo and Dapper.

— Opa, Ramon, feliz aniversário. — Richarlyson was one of the few children that talked while signing, most of them resorting to sign language basically most of the time. He liked being heard, that was for sure. — Scared ya?

Ramon felt his heart beat extremely, unusually fast. If anything, Richarlyson almost gave him a heart attack. He's also extremely embarrassed for screaming, as he called attention from everyone at the party.

— “Hi, Richas. Obrigado…” — He signs, pulling up his bandanna ever so slightly to hide his embarrassment.

Richarlyson seems way less noisy with the other two, waving and saying;

— Feliz Cumpleaños, Leo. Happy Birthday, Dapper. — Richarlyson congratulates them on the languages the two speak the most, and both smile, Leo more so than Dapper.

Behind Richarlyson were three figures;

Tiny Pepito waved to the three, wearing his little striped shirt with his big glasses and little red shoes. He was so cute and small. 

Roier had a grin, looking at Leonarda. He was the first to speak. 

— Eh, Leo. Ya estás muy vieja, pensé que ibas a morir antes. — Roier teases, and Ramon can see Foolish squinting his eyes on the corner to read the translations that said: “You're already so old, I thought you were going to die sooner.”

Leo hits Roier, who both laugh. They both take the death thing as a joke, clearly, so no one minds.

Behind Roier, was a slightly off putting figure to Ramon. Cellbit.

He hasn't talked to him in a while, after knowing what he did to Pac is…. It's a little bit scary. Ramon waves, and Cellbit's serious face softens into a smile.

He crouches down to Ramon's height, like he did that one time they were together at the boat race.

— Feliz Cumpleaños, Ramon. — He says, and Ramon can't help but smile. He doesn't understand how the man that hurt his father so much was so sweet to him and the other children. It just didn't seem like the same person.

— “Thanks, tio Cellbit.” — He signs, and Cellbit smiles.

— You still have to choose your paranormal room, you know. When we find a way back to the old spawn, we'll find some time for you to choose. — Ramon is very clearly happy with the suggestion. He and Dapper helped Cellbit decorate the ritual room, but he never had found the time to choose one of the paranormal elements that Cellbit talked about.

— “I promise I'll find some time!” — Cellbit smiles when Ramon agrees, getting up and walking over to Leo and Dapper, probably to congratulate them too. 

Little Pepito walks over to Ramon after talking with Leo, handing Ramon a little paper and a painted rock.

— Feliz cumple, Ramon! — Pepito says, he apparently tries to mimic Richarlyson by talking while simultaneously using sign language, but he, just like the many others eggs, seems to have a little bit of problems while talking. Nothing unintelligible, though. For his age, he speaks very well. Ramon remembers he barely talked when he was Pepito's age.

Oh, god. He's feeling old.

— “Muchas gracias, Pepito.” — Ramon thanks the little boy, who quickly got distracted by a butterfly and almost walked away, being grabbed by Richarlyson so he wouldn't get lost.

Ramon smiles seeing everyone, looking as his siblings get distracted with Cellbit's and Roier's presence. He takes the opportunity to leave discreetly, trying not to call much attention. He just wanted to be on his own for a little bit, deep in thought and quietly appreciating his happiness.

While trying to leave without being spotted, he bumps into something, almost falling before feeling like being caught.

— Oi, Ramon! — He hears Pac's voice, and smiles widely, hugging him without any hesitation. — Are you enjoying your birthday?

Ramon lets go slightly of the hug, shaking his head in agreement. When he's with Pac, he barely talks or signs, only communicating through movements and actions, because his Pai understands him so well they don't need words.

— That's so nice, I'm so happy to be here with you. — Ramon giggles, he gets so sillier when he's around Pac, it almost doesn't feel like himself. — Want to see something? Don't tell anyone, though.

Ramon gets a little bit confused, and agrees with a nod.

Pac, still holding the boy in his arms, discreetly walks over to the table with the cake. He looks everywhere around him, sometimes smiling and greeting somebody who came around, making small talk, seeming... suspiciously unsuspicious to Ramon. (Ramon is also slightly embarrassed to be seen this way, being held by Pac, but it doesn't matter right now.) Ramon then sees Pac reach for the table while still holding him, whispering a “Passa tudo”.

Pac, then, walks away from the table and goes to a corner with Ramon.

— It's our secret! — Ramon, confused with Pac's words, finally notices his dad holding a little plastic plate with sweets, mainly brigadeiros. Ramon's eyes shine, he really wanted one but apparently they had to wait for some reason.

Ramon quickly signs — “Obrigado, Pai!!” — before grabbing one brigadeiro and eating almost the entire thing in a bite.

Pac laughs, giving Ramon a kiss on the forehead, clearly happy to be with his neném.

— What are you two up to? — Ramon almost chokes on the brigadeiro when he hears his father's deep voice.

Pac turns to see his boyfriend, smiling happily. 

— It's a secret. A secret-y secret! Is that even a word? — Pac giggles when saying that, and Ramon shoves one other brigadeiro on his mouth.

— Hm, is it? — Fit asks, chuckling. He approaches Pac and Ramon, placing his hand on Pac's waist, to bring him closer. — Can't you guys let me in on this secret?

Ramon looks at Pac, who makes a thinking face. 

— Maybe… — Pac says, smiling. Ramon pinches him lightly, just to send him a sign, it didn't hurt or anything. — Do you think we should tell him, Ramon?

Ramon nods, and Pac smiles, looking back to Fit.

— We may or may not have taken a few sweets from the table… — Fit raises an eyebrow as Pac begins talking, being unable to contain a chuckle. — But no one noticed! You know, what the eye doesn't see, the heart doesn't feel- or however it goes in English.

— Fair. — Fit answered with a chuckle. — Are there still some for me, or did you guys forget?

Ramon immediately grabbed the last brigadeiro on the little plastic plate, handing it to his father.

— “Pai and I would never forget about you!” — Ramon signed, and Fit smiled, a genuinely happy smile.

— That's true! — Pac confirms, quickly nodding to show Fit how Ramon was right.

— Aw, you guys are too good to me. — He says, caressing Ramon's hair and taking a bite of the brigadeiro. — Leo and Dapper asked me to call you two, they want to open the gifts with Ramon already.

Ramon didn't like opening gifts in public, he was the more reserved one out of the triplets when it came to that. Fit, however, already seemed to notice how Ramon got hesitant, and said;

— It's alright, Ramon. You don't have to open your gifts now, they just want your company. You can send letters thanking the gifts later. — Ramon smiles and sighs, happy that his dad understood.

— We have to go, then! — Pac excitedly said. — Everyone has to sing happy birthday to you, to Leo and to Dapper!

Pac has clearly always been very excited for birthdays. Back to Fit's birthday, he taught Ramon about the Brazilian tradition of the first piece of cake, and was so excited to go to the party, although he unfortunately couldn't in that specific day due to having passed out (spending the entire night farming for a trident may not have been the most healthy idea). 

In any case, he was always so happy with birthday celebrations, and this was definitely showing now, as he carried the boy over to the table where his siblings waited, looking at the beautiful cakes Chayanne made.

Fit followed his family a little behind, smiling as he looked at Pac and Ramon having so much fun together. He felt complete with these two in his life.

Ramon tapped Pac's shoulder, wanting to be put down. Pac didn't take long to realize what the boy wanted, putting him on the floor.

— I'm going to call everyone, go stay with your siblings a little bit. — Ramon nodded as his Pai said that, seeing him walk away towards Fit. Ramon looked back at the cake table, seeing Dapper and Leonarda discussing something.

— “No, I'm pretty sure you give the first piece of cake before people start singing happy birthday, no?” — Dapper explains, and Leonarda shook her head, clearly disagreeing.

— “¡Pero no tiene ningún sentido!”

(But it doesn't make any sense!) — Leo argued.

— “How does it not?” — Dapper confusedly asks. As Ramon reaches his sight, both of the children turn towards him.

— “¿Cómo es la tradición del Pastel, Ramon?”

(How is the cake tradition, Ramon?) — Leonarda asked, assuming her brother would have a better understanding of said tradition considering he has a Brazilian father.

Ramon seemed slightly confused. He wasn't quite sure if he would be able to put it all into words. He thought for a bit, before signing back to his siblings.

— “Uh.. I'm not sure. But Pai said you sing happy birthday, then if you want you do a little speech on why you're giving the first piece of cake to this someone, and then you… just give it to them? I guess.” 

Leo and Dapper exchanged looks.

— “Can it be only one person?” — Dapper asked, and Ramon nodded. — “Oh… that's difficult… Can we make an agreement that we can't give it to each other, then?”

Leo shrugged, and Ramon seemed to agree. He wouldn't be able to choose between Dapper and someone else if he needed to… 

— Alright! — The three heard Pac's voice a little far away. Everyone was already gathered around the table. — Everyone sing happy birthday in your native language!!

— That'll sound a little bit like a mess. — Somebody in the back said. It was probably Tubbo.

— Mmm Yeah, probably, but it'll be nice. — Pac assured. Ramon giggled at his dad's answer.

And with Pac counting down from three, the guests began singing. You could hear any of the languages present on the island there, really. Some singing parabéns pra você, other joyeux anniversaire, even the mostly-asleep spanish speakers were there, singing. In the back, you could hear one voice in German, and a few in korean.  

As Tubbo mentioned, it was a little bit of a mess. It sounded nice, but you could barely pick out who was singing what. They were having fun, at least, but that's what mattered.

Leo is proudly standing in front of her cake, smiling widely. Dapper, although looking more collected, is smiling at his father. Ramon is standing there a little bit awkwardly, but he looks proud of himself nonetheless.

Chayanne was in the middle of everyone singing, as he didn't like this type of celebration to himself, but people were clearly singing it to him too.

The singing stopped, although everyone cheered. The triplets blew the candles, Ramon having to lower his bandanna to do so.

Somebody in the back yelled something in portuguese. Ramon assumed they were talking about the cake thing.

He poked Leo, as she wanted to start.

— “Ehem. Buenos dias.” — Leonarda talked while simultaneously signing with her hands. She didn't have trouble talking, she just didn't like it much. 

— “Ramon y Dapper están avergonzados, así que empezaré.” 

(Ramon and Dapper are shy, so I'll start.)

Leonarda began, and Foolish cheered her on the back, saying something along the lines of “Vamos!!! Mi niña!!!”

— “Como es mi cumpleaños, digo que los fundadores de Fobo cuentan como una sola persona. Todos ellos son muy especiales porque están construyendo mis riquezas. El primer pedazo de pastel es para ellos.”

(Since it's my birthday, I say that the founders of Fobo count as one person. They are all very special because they are building my wealth. The first piece of cake is for them.)

People seemed slightly confused, although Tubbo and Foolish cheered.

— Can she do that? — Somebody asked.

— Meh, who cares, it's her birthday. — Pac was the one to answer.

Leonarda cut one big piece of cake into three, and Tubbo and Foolish walked up there to grab the cake.

— “To Sunny too.” — Leonarda signed, and Sunny walked over, unable to contain her smile.

— I'm not building anyone's wealth, though. It's my own wealth! — Sunny said. She is one of the few eggs that talk more than sign. 

Leo rolled her eyes.

Everyone clapped as Dapper's turn began. Silent took over for about three seconds before he simply said, nonchalantly;

— “Pomme.” 

Although people were confused by the lack of speech, it didn't take long for people to cheer as Pomme walked up to the table, grabbing her piece of cake, clearly extremely moved by her brother's choice.

Ramon was getting anxious. He's not usually anxious but… he didn't want to, for lack of a better word, fuck this up. It was an important tradition to his pai, right? He can't fuck it up. Not right now.

He took a deep breath. Everyone was looking at him. That didn't usually happen. He's not often in the spotlight.

He cut a piece of cake.

He took another deep breath, and made an effort to say:

— I… Uh, since this is a very important Brazilian tradition… — He tried signing while talking, but talking more loudly took a lot out of him and it honestly made him sign a bit slower, to match his voice. — the first piece of cake goes to my pai Pac.

With the cheering that came with that, everybody could hear Pac, almost crying, extremely happy, running towards Ramon. Instead of immediately grabbing the plate with the cake that Ramon was going to grab, Pac jumped over the table to hug Ramon.

— Eu também te amo muito, meu nenê!!! — The Brazilian exclaimed, tearing up. Ramon tried to get out of his pai's arms, almost suffocating, but giving up as he decided to simply hug back.

The songs that were playing before this began again, everyone walking over to the table to grab sweets and cake. Ramon, however, didn't let go of his dad for a while, both extremely happy.

Fit is looking at his boyfriend and his son from a slight distance, smiling more than he ever did. Fit already knew Ramon was giving the cake to Pac, since the boy and him had already been talking about it for weeks.

He takes a happy, relieved breath. He can live like this for the rest of his life.

He hears something, a metallic footstep. Fit quickly looks back, seeing Richarlyson stand beside him, arms crossed.

— I haven't seen my dad happy like this in a while, tio. — Fit looks curiously to the boy, who seems to have some stuff to say. Richarlyson, however, keeps quiet for a while. — You know… he had been very sad these past months.

— I… yeah, I could notice. — Fit answered, waiting for the boy to elaborate further.

— You and Ramon made him happy. — He chuckles, tilting his head slightly to the side. — Thanks for that.

Fit smiled gently.

— You took part in that, you know? — Richarlyson looked at Fit, now curious to what he had to say. — You make your dad and… and well, everyone around you really happy. 

Richarlyson laughs a little, seeming embarrassed. Fit has come to notice how shy this boy actually is, even though he's so loud, outgoing and interactive with everyone.

— If you say so. I'd just like to thank you and Ramon for that, I like seeing my dad happy. — Fit places his hand on Richas’ hair, who fidgets with his hands, a bit embarrassed, but happy.

— Thank you to you too. Now go enjoy the party, Pepito's been yelling for you for a while now.  — Richarlyson looks around, confused. He seemed to be really distracted, considering how he didn't hear his brother yelling for him.

— Obrigado, Tio! Falou! — The translator didn't quite catch what Richas said, but Fit assumed it was a goodbye. He waved to the boy, seeing him grab Pepito, who had begun crying due to not having found Richarlyson.

━━━━━━━━━ ➴ ━━━━━━━━━

It was around 11pm when the party ended. At least for Pac, Fit and Ramon, since they were always the ones to leave early. Pac is carrying a sleeping Ramon in his arms, the poor boy having slept on a chair due to getting tired quickly. He has his head against Pac's shoulder, and snores softly as he sleeps.

— I can carry him, Pac, it's okay. — Fit said as they walked. He couldn't help but stare at Pac, the moonlit night making the yellow on Pac's eyes shine, absorbing every single drop of Fit's attention.

— Oh, it’s okay. I really want to carry him, I don't know if i'll be able to see him again tomorrow. — Pac answered, adjusting his arms so Ramon could stay comfortable.

They spent a few seconds in a comfortable silence, and suddenly, both spoke at the same time.

— Thanks-

— Obrigado-

They went silent again, looking at each other, before they eventually broke into soft laughter.

— You can speak, please. — Fit said, his tone oh-so loving. 

— It's just… — Pac began, before he eventually decided to switch languages, wanting to say it in the best way possible. — Obrigado. Obrigado por estar comigo, e por-... por poder me dar essa vida com você e com o Ramon. 

They stopped in front of Fit's house. Fit smiled so clearly reading what appeared on the translation device. 

“Thank you. Thank you for being with me, and for- for giving me this life with you and Ramon.”

Fit smiled. Such a genuine, loving smile. He couldn't have asked for anything better. Even after all the pain, even after everything he went through, he wouldn't change a thing. He would suffer it all again for these two.

Fit took a step closer, touching Pac's cheek.

— I love you, Pac. 

Pac smiled, and Fit could see his expression soften into what seemed like overwhelming, genuine happiness.

— Eu te amo também. 

Fit leaned closer to Pac's face, the hand on Pac's cheek moving to the back of his head, lightly pulling him closer. Pac closed his eyes, just wanting to feel Fit's presence for a few seconds. Fit did the same.

They didn't kiss. It still didn't feel like the time. But to both of them, what happened today was enough.

They spent at least twenty seconds just appreciating each other's presence, their foreheads touching. Some could say they'd spend more time there, had Ramon not shifted ever so slightly on Pac's arms, reminding them that they had to go. They separated, seeming to smile more than they did before, if that was even possible.

— See you Monday? — Fit asks, and Pac tries to nod, although stops mid way.

— If the rats manage to wake me up, yes. I can't promise, though… — Pac answered honestly, seeming a bit embarrassed. Fit chuckled.

— Fair. Hope they will, though. I already miss you, even if you're still here. 

Pac chuckled, seeming even more embarrassed than before. He slowly and carefully hands Ramon to Fit, trying to not wake up his son.

— Oh, I almost forgot! — Pac reached for his pocket when saying that, and Fit, now with Ramon in his arms, seemed confused. Pac takes out from his pocket a blue bandanna with a yellow Pac-Man on it. — Give it to Ramon for me. I didn't have the time to give him this.

Fit felt more in love with this man with every second that passed.

— Sure will do. Boa noite, Pac.

— Boa noite, Fit.

That night, Ramon slept hugging a different bandanna, for a different reason.

[ravensinthedaylight]

Blow out the Candles - Blackhill x Daughter!Reader

Hii! Could you write about teen who is nats kid, nat and maria have been together for some time and now maria wants to like adopt nats kid.

I hope you understand what I mean 😅 have a nice day ❣️

Also a post made:

I need a fic where Nat and Maria are together and teen reader is nats daughter and for her bday Maria wants to adopt her

Readers Age: 11 Years Old

Requests: Open

Summary: Maria, your mama’s girlfriend, doesn’t come to your birthday party due to work, the day after you hear a conversation between her and your mama that you don’t fully understand. Two days later you receive an envelope as your birthday present. And you couldn’t be happier.

@tynix I hope this is ok!

You first met Maria Hill before the fall of SHIELD when you were around seven.

She was a nice woman, she was stern and strict, but she was nice.

She was your Mama's commander. And she was surprisingly great with kids, something that the majority of the SHIELD agents and officials couldn't wrap their heads around. Tony Stark's jaw dropped to the ground when he had seen her interacting with you and four of Clint Barton's children, Kate, Lila, Cooper and Nathaniel.

You never understood the 'Hardass Hill' nickname she was given.

When SHIELD fell and after your Mama had avoided prosecution for the files she had leaked life changed, but not for the worst, well not really.

It was hard to get used to. Instead of your mom having her own apartment she took Tony up on his offer to move to the tower. That was the best part.

You were introduced to so many new people, all of your mama's team mates became your uncles, even. You loved it at Avengers tower.

The original six Avengers weren't the only occupants of the tower, of course. There was Helen Cho, Nick Fury, Pepper Potts and most importantly Maria Hill.

You didn't know what it was about Maria that made you like her so much, you supposed it was just because she was so damn cool.

You would even argue that she was just as cool as your Mama. Which you would never say to her face, of course.

A few times a week while you were watching TV in the common room Maria would come in and sit down on the couch with you along with a bowl of pop corn. She would place it in between the two of you. Now looking back it was clearly an act to win you over, and it worked.

It was an unspoken tradition by this time. You supposed that you were both friends. That made you happy. You liked being friends with Maria.

After two or three months of that, your mama started to join in, she would sit in between the two of you with the popcorn on her lap. This made the two of you sit closer to her.

When you were all in the middle of the movie 'Up' you noticed they were both holding hands. You looked up at your Mama, and then over to Maria, and go gave them both the traditional Romanoff smirk. It seemed your Mama like Maria even more than you did.

It didn't take long for Maria and Natasha to finally tell you they were dating, and you couldn't have been happier.

Today was the day you turned eleven, and you wanted to spend the day with both your Mama and your Masha, but there was one problem.

Maria wasn't there.

You woke up bright an early, which sent Natasha's plans to make you breakfast in bed out the window.

"Mama?” You spoke softly as Natasha placed your blueberry pancakes in front of you on the kitchen island.

"Detka?" She replied as she took a seat beside you, placing her hand soothingly on your back as she did so.

"Where's Masha?"

"Masha feels bad she couldn't be here this morning, malysh. She had some really important work to do for Fury"

You nodded. "Will she be back for my party?"

Natasha spooned nutella onto your pancakes. "| don't know, but what I do know is that she'll definitely try"

You accepted that. "You're staying here, though. No working today? Since it's my birthday"

She leaned in and placed a kiss on your crown. "Not even if the battle of New York was to repeat itself this very second would I ever think of leaving you today"

You wrapped her arms around her neck and she pulled you onto her lap, you may be eleven but you would never be too old for moments like these.

 ︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

Somehow your Mama had been convinced to allow Tony to plan your party (which was a surprise up until yesterday when Tony had excitedly let it slip)

It was a fun party (how could it not be Tony Stark had thrown it, he never spared expense on anything) an everyone had a great time, including yourself.

But there was just one thing missing, one thing Tony had failed to get but something he couldn't buy.

Masha.

You had kept telling yourself that she would show up, despite knowing that there was a possibility she wouldn't.

And it hurt a bit. But you were a big girl. You were 11.

You slept in your mama's bed with her that night. It had been early morning when she dragged you upstairs from the party when your eyes started to droop, you got dressed and hopped straight into her bed.

It wasn't unusual for the two of you to sleep in the same bed.

It was around six am when Maria arrived back to the apartment. She seemed exhausted, also.

But she tried not to wake you and your Mama as she got herself into sleep clothes.

But you were awake anyway. Some sort of hurt in your chest.

Maria got into bed on the other side of you, your back was to her, your hand was holding Natasha's.

She placed a firm kiss on the back of your head, afterwards going to pull your 'sleeping' form closer to her in what would have been a cuddle, but that was the last thing you wanted from her right now, she hadn't even wished you a happy birthday yesterday, hadn't asked Mama to pass on a messege and/or hadn't even left a card or anything.

You slowly slid away to escape her reach and wrapped yourself around your Mama, who pulled you closer to her, not understanding what was going on and wrapped her arms tightly around you.

You didn't see Maria's face, but for some reason you felt guilty and hoped that hadn't hurt her feelings too bad, you just wanted to prove a point

 ︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

The next morning when you woke up they were both gone, but the blanket had been pulled tightly over you.

You slowly got up, shivering as your feet touched the cold floor.

You walked quietly into the kitchen, with the thin blanket Natasha kept at the end of her bed around you.

"I really just don't understand why they keep fighting us on this! All they have to do is sign some stupid papers."

"I know but it's not simple, she's your daughter, Nat."

"I know but Y/N never wants to go to back Russia again. You know what happened to us there."

That perked your interest, they didn't seem to notice you at the door, so you hid behind it and listened.

"It's not that simple, she was born and... raised... in that country and she's still a minor. They still have a bit of control"

"Raised." Nat scoffed.

"Either way, very soon we'll get the turnout we want and her guardianship will be granted, and then we can have our own little family"

You put the pieces together in your mind because of that one sentence. Maria's words hitting far too close to home. You seemed to be misunderstanding.

"I think we could get a better trainer, too. She needs to know these things if-"

You stood at the door, eyes filling with tears and shaking slightly.

It was then Natasha noticed you.

"How's my eleven-year-old doi-"

"You're sending me back?!"

Natasha looked at Maria wide eyed and then back to you.

"What?"

"You're getting rid of me! You're sending me back to Russia! You're sending me back there! You don't want me anymore!" You cried.

Natasha almost jumped off her chair and raced in front of you.

"Y/N no no no no no!"

"You don't want me! Now that I'm older! They want me back there!!!!" You were breathing faster now, not really thinking clearly.

"Y/N stop it, we're having a miscommunication!"

Maria was making her way over to the two of you.

"No! You said you wanted to start your own little family! I heard you!" You cried, stepping back from the two women who were kneeling down to you, Natasha had her arms out. "You don't need me anymore! You don't want me anymore!"

“Sweetheart come here! Let me hug you, we all need to calm down!"

"No! You said that the guardianship would be granted! And you nodded! You're giving me back to Russia!"

"Bambina that's not what I meant." Maria said softly, "And even if it was, that's not how it works."

Natasha went to move closer to you. "Baby-"

“Now that you have your new life you don't want anything that reminds you of your old one, of there! That means you don't want me." You were spiralling now, your chest was closing in, it felt harder and harder to breath.

Natasha gasped, as if the very thought appalled her, but you didn't buy it, you weren't in the right state of mind.

"Y/N, you're the reason I got through all that! If it wasn't for you-"

"You're lying!"

"No, sweet pea, l'm not." Natasha put two hands on your shoulders, causing you to sob.

"Please don't send me back there Mama!"

Natasha's heart broke. "I don't wanna go back, they were bad."

It was Masha who picked you up and placed you on her lap.

The three of you sat on the floor of the kitchen at 10AM, and there was already a child who was hyperventilating uncontrollably and two adults who were both shook after the events.

Maria rubbed your back. Turning so you couldn't see the tears on Natasha's cheeks.

"I'm sorry I scared you" Maria murmured. "I could've worded that better."

You hiccuped and nodded. "t's ok, just don't send me back."

Maria gave you a squeeze. "Never."

 ︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

You were still startled an hour later. Natasha sat you on her lap while she sat in on the couch, you both watched Harry Potter.

You were both quiet.

"You're the best part of my life." Natasha told you. "Even the thought of not seeing you everyday, not having you with me, not having you safe and protected, it makes me sick, physically sick."

You nodded. "Я люблю вас."

Natasha smiled. "я тоже тебя люблю."

 ︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

Two days later you sat at the kitchen island eating your cheerios, what happened a few days ago still fresh in your mind, neither Nat or Maria spoke about it, which you were thankful for.

Maria entered the kitchen with files in her had, a usual thing considering what she did for a living.

She sat across from you, pulling out the box of cornflakes.

"I'm sorry I was so busy, bubs."

You nodded. "It's ok. I get it."

"It's not ok. I didn't get you a card or even a present."

"That doesn't matter, Masha." You insisted.

Maria smiled at you knowingly and waved the envelope she entered with. "So I guess you don't want this?"

You went to say something but quickly shut your mouth, making Maria have to suppress a laugh.

You didn't want to make it too obvious. But boy you wanted that envelope.

"I wouldn't mind. You already got it which I'm thankful for."

Maria snorted. "Here."

You tried not to be too quick in grabbing the envelope, but you were almost positive you failed.

You ripped it open and pulled out the letter inside.

Although your eyes darted to Maria once they scanned the document.

"What does this mean?" You didn't know wether to believe this or not, it seemed to be too good to be true.

*It means that me, you and your mama will be a real, legal, little family. Just the three of us. But only if you want this."

You stared at Maria for a good thirty seconds, although you could feel her getting more and more nervous the more you stayed quiet.

"Is this what you were talking bout with Mama the other morning?"

Masha nodded. "it is, Bubba."

"So... when you said that you and Mama could have your own little family. You meant the three of us. Not just you and Mama."

"Exactly, sweetheart."

"So you don't wanna send me back?"

"Never in a million years."

You smiled. "Can I call you Mumma now, Masha?"

Maria grinned wildly. "Of course you can, my birthday girl.

Taglist: Comment to be added

@wackymcstupid @battleg03 @griffin-girl-r @natashasnoodle @blackwidow-3 @simp-erformarvelwomen @shin-conan-kun @youre-a-total--poser

[hepbaestus]

✨My fics - a masterlist✨

Here's where all my fics go in order of publishing with a little detail about each fic, the blurb and accompanying credited fanart.

Hep's Hideduo Stardew Valley AU Masterlist

Hideduo Kiss Week Event Masterlist

Hep's Familial Souls AU Masterlist

don't just count your years make them count (nenê feliz aniversário!!!) - 09/03/23

4.5k words|family fluff|no TW's apply|tumblr link|

A parent struggling to find a gift for his son, only to be saved by his son's chosen sister. The eldest children's birthday party happens and Pac didn't think that Ramón could get any cuter. How wrong he was. A story of how family helps one another and can look like something that you never thought you could have.

Accompanying fan art by Shen ❤️

What a Monster he'd become - 12/03/24

1.1k words|angst with a hopeful ending|TW's do apply|tumblr link|

TW: cannibalism

Vacuus Island, an abandoned Federation Island. Fit's left in the ravine by Madagio with the rotting corpses of the workers that had worked here previously. Fit doesn't have a fun time down there, resorting to things that he hoped Pac wouldn't hold against him when. If he returned.

to be loved is to be changed - 25/03/24

2.1k words|family fluff|no TW's apply|tumblr link|

Based off a prompt by Pen

As you love, you change too. Ramón goes through that process of changing because of the love he's received since Pac became his Pai, so much so that his physical appearance is altered by it. This is Fit and Pac's reactions to that.

Accompanying fan art by Mooney 🩶 and mini-comic by Shen ❤️

love is the longing for the half of ourselves that we have lost - 30/03/24

2.6k words|angst with a happy ending|TW's apply|tumblr link|

TW: mild blood

Fit goes missing after having completed Madagio's mission, and with the children all put into a medicated sleep, Pac has no one. It isn't until he realises that Fit's been gone for too long that he begins to truly panic and sets out on a search for the Dread Bow. On the search for the underground cabins, he sees a burst of light and thinks it's Fit. It isn't him. It would never be Fit. Until it is.

count your age by friends, not years. count your life by smiles, not tears - 03/04/24

2.4k words|sad with happy ending|TW's apply|tumblr link|

TW: Blood and injury

It's Ramón's first birthday and his dad isn't there but Pac is.

You can't recover memories of a missing event - 21/04/24

0.4k words|hurt/no comfort|no TW's apply|tumblr link|

Based off this series of posts

Without realising, Pac's missed a lot of events in his boyfriend and kid's lives. Their first birthdays, his second date with Fit, seeing Fit's face as he realises that Richarlyson called him dad. This is him having that realisation.

I was performing my ritual of sipping tea, shooting flirtatious glances and planning murder - 21/05/24

2.3k words|purgatory angst with sad ending|TW's apply|tumblr link|

TW: Blood and Violence,Body Horror,Character Death

Fit had not been able to think of anything else other than Pac's betrayal two days prior. This is his revenge. Exactly what he thinks Pac deserves.

Waking Up - 25/05/24

0.9k words|it was all a dream au|TW's apply|tumblr link|

TW: Mentioned character death, off-hand mention of starvation

It was a normal day on the island, Fit was with his family.

Until he wasn't. Until it wasn't.

Fireflies (The day is over. It's time for rest. Sleep well, my dear. You did your best). - 02/07/24

1.7k words|family fluff stargazing|no TW's apply|tumblr link

Rosa's first night in the family and it doesn't quite go to plan at first but with the stars in the sky and family surrounding her, all will be well.

What was I made for? - 08/07/24

2.8k words| sad ending| TW's apply|tumblr link

TW: Experimentation on children

He could never escape the sterile quartz that the Federation used in every building. It would haunt his nightmares, both waking and not. A deeper look into Ramón's first and last day on Quesadilla Island, from his perspective.

[weareallgonnaliveforawhile]

How does Elq fit into Guapoduos dynamic when Pepito gets introduced?

Elq is...not having a good time the first time he meets Pepito just like canon Quackity. He knows that Cellbit is gone, most likely dead, he just got back from being tortured and he's being greeted by this...weirdly peppy egg.

Normally, Elq would be repulsed if not vaguely distressed if a very happy tried to speak to him. But this is not exactly a normal situation. Elq instantly comes to the conclusion that wherever he is (He's not sure if it's hell, or a weird version of heaven or still a torture chamber), they threw this egg in here with him, most likely to kill it in front of him.

So this spurs Elq to immediately be very protective of Pepito. Pepito is very excited to meet Elq cause he'd been told a lot about him by Roier (who thought that Elq was dead like Cellbit). It takes awhile for Pepito to convince him that 'Hey, you're not dead and this isn't a torture chamber designed to kill the both of us' and it involves a lot of random items to do this (Including but not limited to: A chain saw, a stack of wood, 3 strings, a iron axe.).

Elq still throws the birthday party for Pepito but partly because he's having a mental breakdown and he needs to focus on an action or person before he starts crying (Luckily, throwing a birthday party allows you to focus on an action AND person!).

Once El isn't having a mental breakdown and is subtly convinced that he's alive and not in a torture chamber, he goes to find Roier. They have a 'tearful' (Both of them almost cry then deny that they did) reunion as both were convinced that the other was dead. Once they're done being emotional and pretending they weren't emotional, Elq is very...jarred by Roier's treatment of Pepito. It confuses him greatly. Roier was kind, in Elq's memory, the kindest between the three of them back when there WERE three of them. And now he's so...harsh. It makes sense but Elq kinda has to mentally say a loud 'FUCK' when he realizes that he'll have to be the nicer parent in the relationship if he didn't want to give the kid daddy issues like Spreen did to Ramon.

He doesn't call Roier on his treatment of Pepito since he thinks that it's probably fine to treat a kid like that (See; Elq's weird idea of how to treat children) and as long as it doesn't become actual ab-se, Elq is fine with it. He's a bit...gentler with Pepito which everyone can see is a constant and painful thing for him.

Nothing huge by other peoples standards, but he'll always put Pepito on his shoulders instead of letting him walk, he'll make sure Pepito always has armor even if it means Elq is literally giving him the armor off his back, and he'll talk.

He'll talk about Cellbit, what kind of person he was is, how he likeds puzzles, and how he'd love Pepito. He'll talk about Roier, how the island changed him overtime into the man that Pepito knows. He'll talk about Bobby like he's Pepito's brother, how he would've been aghast at the idea of having two brothers.

It has been awhile since Elq has had to be kind but he fears what will happen if he isn't.

[elfboyeros]

Elfboyeros Masterlist

Every Original Work I have ever written is housed here, please enjoy!

Updated: September 19th, 2024

Content Key: Smut 💋 Angst🩸 Fluff🧸 Informational🗄️Mature Themes and LanuageⓂ️ Multiple Parts 📚 Slow Burn 🐌 Short (Less then 1,000 words) 🍰 Long post 🪜 Complete Series 🏁 Pictures 📷 Suggestive or Trigger Content (Warnings are also on the posts!)⚠️

Bridgehid

Bridgehid Secrets Ao3 and Wattpad | Bridgehidien Forest Ao3 and Wattpad | Brier's Three Ao3 and Wattpad

Bridgehid Secrets {Side A}🩸Ⓜ️📚🐌🏁

On their sixteenth birthday, orphan, Rowan King, is finally but in the care of their foster parents, Indigo, and Calvin Bookstone-Corals. While deciding to enroll at Bridgehid College for Magic and Alchemy Rowan, they discover that they there lost memories of childhood maybe connect to the hallowed institution.

Welcome Home | Returning | Class Morganite | Semester One | The Bridgehidien Ball | Rainy Days | Blackout | Family Dinner | Sneaking Around | The Gladiolus Festival | Healing Pools | Echoes | Down Tower | Until the Marigolds Bloom

Bridgehidien Forest {Side B} 🩸Ⓜ️📚🐌🧸

Now enjoying summer break with their friends, Rowan meets Estelle Venus a young girl their age that seems to be holding something against them. However, Rowan had no idea who Estelle is or what they done to her if they had done anything at all.

Summer June |

Brier's Three {Side C} 🩸Ⓜ️📚🐌🧸

On Marquis Island, there is something afoot causing many of Bridgehid College's healthiest students fall drained of any ability to perform magic or alchemy. The Bookstone-Corals children, Aurora, Alexandria, and Finnegan, take it upon themselves to figure out what is going on.

Raining Academics | Photogenic

Indigo and Calvin: Faithed EncountersⓂ️| Never🧸 | Cold Comfort 🩸🧸| Bloody Knuckles 🍰🧸| Black Satin, Purple Lipstick, & 8-o-Clock Dinner 💋🧸 | Their Northern Lights 🩸🍰| White Chocolate & Nutmeg🧸| Almost Caught 🍰Ⓜ️🧸 | Early Morning 🍰🧸| A Husband's Concern 🩸🍰 | Christmas Morning 🎄🧸🍰 | Hair and Statues 🧸🍰 | Sweet Spring 🍰🧸 | Keen Eye Ⓜ️🩸🧸🍰 | Bits of Patience 💋🧸 | Silence 🩸| Poisoned Coffee 🍰🧸

Others: Office Talk 🍰🩸 | Pride 🩸| Ceirse, Miel, and Trickster Ⓜ️🧸 | Gloves 🩸🧸🍰 | Embrasser les mains 🧸🍰

Information

Character Sheets📷🗄️| | Bridgehid Memes by @jj-pines 📷| Character Moodboards 📷

Hallows

Hallows Academy: Read on Wattpad and AO3

Hallow Academy Ⓜ️⚠️🩸📚🧸🐌

After a violent incident at a summer party, Amora Seawright is sent to Hallows Academy, a known school for troubled teens, by her mother. In a series of strange events, Amora acquires psychic abilities to commune with the deceased and unearth a rabbit hole incidents that she never wanted to become a part of.

| Orientation | Favorite Subjects ⚠️ | The Dead Man | A Scholar's Rotunda | Overcast Coastline |

| Before Senior Year⚠️🩸Ⓜ️|

Information

| Character Aesthetics📷 | Character Designs 📷 | Character Sheets 📷🗄️|

A03 | Wattpad

Purus Sanguis

Masterlist

The first pure vampire in the past two centuries, Calypso Con Vester. has been the center of Gustave Batezatu's fantasies even before she was born. Familiar with his methods of trying to kidnap her since she was little, his attempts and tricks have accelerated as of recent causing concern from many in Calypso's inner circle.

Main Series

The Cat, The Mouse, And The Hydrangeas |

The Ballerina, The Vampire, and Their Calypso ⚠️🩸🧸

Information

Character Sheets 🗄️📷 | Character Moodboards 📷

The Necromancer's Wife

Read Collection on AO3

A Collection of oneshots about an old necromancer and his rich painter Wife

Written Works

Neat Whisky 🧸Ⓜ️ | Party Games 🧸Ⓜ️ | Proposal 🧸Ⓜ️

Information

| Character Sheets 📷🗄️ |

[captain-kraken]

OC Deep Dive Tag

Thank you @the-inkwell-variable for tagging me over here!

Since I'm focusing on BB1, I'll answer these for young Einjal Daju (as he is at the start).

What common/uncommon fear do they have?

Einjal is claustrophobic and sometimes that extends to feeling very trapped in the life he's expected to live.

-

Do they have any pet peeves?

He biggest annoyance is when people act like they're better than him. He also hates being told what to do, and is likely to do the opposite if he gets pushed too hard.

-

What are 3 items you can find in their bedroom?

Seashells, a "cool stick", sand on everything.

-

What do they notice first in a person?

Their hairstyle. Einjal believes it says a lot about a person and his judgement is usually correct.

-

On a scale from 1-10, how high is their pain tolerance?

5. He's injured himself a few times but he definitely doesn't enjoy it lol

-

Do they go into fight or flight mode when under pressure?

Fight. He's very quick to snap back when provoked and he doesn't handle pressure well.

-

Do they come from a big family/are they a family person?

As a young child, his immediate family were his parents (Viklin and Avra) and his older brother, Geibri. However, by the age of 17, he's completely alone and expected to rule an island.

When he has children of his own, he's very close to them, and tries his best to be the kind of father he always wanted to be.

-

What animal represents them best?

Probably an octopus. Not just because his best friend is one lol. They're a lot smarter than people give them credit for, which definitely applies to Einjal too.

-

What is a smell they dislike?

He hates the smell of fire flowers, as they remind him of his brother's funeral.

-

Have they broken any bones?

Despite injuring himself a lot, he's only ever broken a bone once. And that was just by falling down the stairs at home, rather than on one of his adventures lol

-

How would a stranger likely describe them?

Loud, annoying, idiot.

-

Are they a night owl, or morning bird?

Morning bird. He loves the daylight and is always up early to make the most of the day.

-

What’s a flavor they hate and a flavor they love?

He loves peaches, they're his favourite fruit and he'd eat them all the time if he could. They aren't native to Bahavi though, so he can only get them when they've recently been imported from Kazete.

He hates very sweet things, like most Elohian desserts. This disappoints Lavis greatly lol

-

Do they have any hobbies?

Einjal enjoys swimming, adventuring, socialising, dancing. He has a lot of hobbies and just likes having fun any way he can.

-

Boom, surprise birthday party! How do they react to surprise?

He'd LOVE it. He enjoys having positive attention on him and after so long of feeling alone, he would love to have people there that love him and want to celebrate him.

-

Do they like to wear jewellery?

Einjal wears a lot of jewellery, as it's the Jasho style. He has lots of rings and necklaces, and both arms are full of bangles and jewelled bracelets.

He also has a few piercings - septum, bridge of his nose, snakebites, and ear gauges (Bahavian tradition).

-

Do they have neat or messy handwriting?

His writing is messy, which infuriates Lavis when they exchange letters as he has to decipher them lol

-

What are the two emotions they feel the most?

Longing and stress.

-

Do they have a favourite fabric?

Like most seabloods, he likes wearing loose cotton or silk.

-

What kind of accent do they have?

He has an upper-class Bahavian accent.

No pressure tag for @writernopal @bardicbeetle @bardic-tales & open tag!

Blank questions under cut:

What common/uncommon fear do they have?

Do they have any pet peeves?

What are 3 items you can find in their bedroom?

What do they notice first in a person?

On a scale from 1-10, how high is their pain tolerance?

Do they go into fight or flight mode when under pressure?

Do they come from a big family/are they a family person?

What animal represents them best?

What is a smell they dislike?

Have they broken any bones?

How would a stranger likely describe them?

Are they a night owl, or morning bird?

What’s a flavor they hate and a flavor they love?

Do they have any hobbies?

Boom, surprise birthday party! How do they react to surprise?

Do they like to wear jewellery?

Do they have neat or messy handwriting?

What are the two emotions they feel the most?

Do they have a favourite fabric?

What kind of accent do they have?

[guess-that-ship]

S6 Round 1

Happy Birthday

cw: sexual slavery, torture

Black is a man who values strength, who has downed many foes much stronger than himself. Eventually, he pledged his service to Red, someone he couldn't defeat.

Red was the ruler of a nation, but she was once a sex slave. Everytime she thought of taking revenge on her former owner and abuser, she would remember the one time he was kind to her.

On Red's birthday, Black brought Red's former abuser, immobilized, to her as a gift. He revealed that the happy memory was an implant, there to protect the owner from retribution. He told her she could torture him for as long as she liked, before wishing her a happy birthday.

My favorite shade of blue

cw: Spoilers, abuse, murder

Two characters, A and C are best friends as children and teenagers but in a very toxic and homerotic way. A loves C, but C simply loves control. C makes A feel special by promising they will run away to the fae together and giving her most of her attention. C pretends to be A once to trick A's boyfriend into sleeping with C, as they look similar. C prevents A from leaving the island where they live multiple times and grows increasingly more dangerous towards her. At their graduation party, C takes A to the forest and shows her that she has planned their murder suicide. A is aghast and fights back, accidentally killing C. A goes back to the party and everyone mistakes her for C. So then A proceeds to take over C's identity and pretend A has vanished.

[sisteroutsiders]

An Unseen Photo Album Preserves Life of Audre Lorde

A photograph given by Lorde to Wiesen-Cook while at university together. 

Intimate family moments photographs circa 1968 by Cook.

Audre Lorde and her long-time partner Francis Clayton at the beach with Cook and Coss.

Birthday celebrations in Manhattan, 1977.

A photograph from the Gay March on Washington with Lorde in 1979 when she was a speaker and a poster by Ann Cammett from the 1990 "I Am Your Sister" conference in Boston with Jean Weisinger's photograph.

Lorde’s son, Jonathan celebrates graduation day at Vassar College in 1986.

In 1985, Lorde was honored with the dedication of the Audre Lorde Women’s Poetry Center at Hunter College, where one of Lorde’s students continues to lead the program today.

Book party at Hunter College in the spring 1991.

A pilgrimage to the Pele, visiting a volcano in Hawaii with friends, there for the 1991 Eclipse. 

Lorde’s lover Gloria I. Joseph said Lorde would make these small collages with images and text for her friends.

Lorde at a ceremony where Governor Cuomo named her poet laureate of New York State in 1991. A title she held until her passing at 58 the next year.

The final page of the album shows a puppet street performance, Holocaust memorials in Berlin on Cook and Coss's last visit with Lorde, and images celebrating Lorde's legacy after death in 1992.

Curator Victoria Munro writes:

“Powerful and Dangerous: The Images and Words of Audre Lorde” exhibition at the Alice Austen House is a celebration of the radical work of Black, lesbian feminist, writer, activist and poet, Audre Lorde. The exhibition was a collaborative process made with some of Lorde’s closest friends, colleagues, and sister comrades. I was so fortunate to have their guidance in the creation of this exhibition. Two of Lorde’s long-time friends, Blanche Cook and Clare Coss, guided my initial explorations into the personal realm of her writing practice. They welcomed me into their home to view their archive of personal photographs and ephemera which spanned decades of personal celebrations and professional intersections.

Cook, Coss, and I discussed Lorde’s time spent on Staten Island (1972 to 1987) raising her two children, Elizabeth and Jonathan, with her partner Francis Clayton. Cook and Coss illuminated the many wonderful afternoons spent on St. Pauls Avenue and the powerful writing and teaching that Lorde produced during these years. Some of these works included her most celebrated:  From a Land Where Other People Live (1973), The Black Unicorn (1978), The Cancer Journals (1980), and Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches (1984). She also created a new publishing house with activist Barbara Smith called Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press.

The most revelatory object they shared with me was a large album of personal photographs they had created to celebrate Audre’s life when she passed in 1992. Up until this point, the only people that had viewed this album were Lorde’s children. I was so moved by Cook and Coss’s generosity when they allowed me to include this personal memento in the exhibition. The album was frail, and it felt urgent to protect and archive the documents so they could be shared with our audience and future generations.

To make this possible, I decided to create a self-published book that stayed true to the album’s arrangement, placement, and personal notes, and could be touched and shared. The entire album was carefully scanned by our archivist and brought back together digitally to make this a reality.

There are so many connections that these unique images make between lesbian artists, activists, and photographers. These images are essential to understanding the forces of creative collaborations and the lesbian community during that period.

This book represents an intimate portrait of Lorde celebrating her contagious energy, love of people, flirty fun lesbian play, and prolific writing practice.

Cook and Coss wrote this statement to accompany the album:

“Soon after Audre Lorde departed this earth, we found comfort and consolation in the creation of an album of our chosen family, featuring some of the happiest shared moments of our lives together. These snapshots illuminate high-spirited flirty fun gatherings: birthdays, holidays at Audre and Frances’ Staten Island home; romps in the Hamptons; Lesbian and Gay demonstrations in NYC and DC; Audre’s alternative cancer treatment in Berlin; our amazing Hawaii eclipse trip; Audre honored as NY State poet; the last sad loving goodbye days on St. Croix.

This is the first time we have shared this album with the exception of our god-children Elizabeth Lorde-Rollins MD and Jonathan Ashley Rollins. We thank curator Victoria Munro for her care and appreciation of our photo memories to be included in the Alice Austen House tribute to Audre Lorde.”

Source: "Powerful and Dangerous: The Words and Images of Audre Lorde," an exhibition at Alice Austen House. Shared by Plea for the Fifth. Explore the full exhibition online.

[totowlff]

chapter twenty-six — quan estem separats

➝ distance is painful for elisabeth. however, worse than that is the uncertainty about the future.

➝ word count: 5,1k

➝ warnings: slightly smutty talk

➝ author notes: finally, a new chapter for you! I hope you are as excited as I am for the sequel to the story of toto and elisabeth. always remembering that my askbox is open for feedback and requests (btw, I apologize if you sent something and I didn't respond; it means it's on the list to be written).

JUNE, 2016

The gentle breeze made her hair flutter. Sitting on the porch floor, leaning against one of the white pillars, she watched the horizon, deep in thought. The sun was shining brightly, illuminating the lawn stretched across the backyard of the mansion and the trees that covered the hills in front of the white houses scattered along the coast, right up to where the sands dipped and bathed in the deep blue of the Mediterranean.

This was Ibiza. Most of the world knew it for electronic music festivals and parties during the summer. It was one of the most popular destinations in Europe, especially for young people looking for sun, drink, and fun on the lush beaches and nightclubs that dotted the island.

For Elisabeth, though, Ibiza was simply home. 

Her affection for the island was her birthright. Her maternal grandmother, Elena, was a Spanish woman, and she loved it there. She often spent time in Ibiza with her husband, the Impressionist painter Robert Knaus. After the death of Elisabeth's grandfather in 1975, Elena decided to take up permanent residence in Ibiza with her two youngest children, Renate and Tilman, while her eldest daughter, Marlene, was building her modeling career on the mainland.

Shortly after the family moved to the island, Marlene went to visit her mother and siblings, to see how they were faring during those first few months without Robert. It was at that time that the family met Niki, who was a friend of Marlene’s — at least that’s what Marlene said. Of course, her mother did not believe a man who had traveled all the way from Vienna to Ibiza just to see her daughter was merely a friend, but she didn’t question it.

During those days under the Spanish sun, not only did Niki fall even more in love with Marlene, but he also fell in love with the island itself. Life in Ibiza moved at a different pace — everything was slower, more relaxed, warmer, tender. It was a harsh contrast to his normal schedule, driven by long bouts of travel, focusing on results, and the danger of his sport. It was as if Niki had been introduced to a whole new world, where he had found something new. It was normally something he avoided at all costs, for fear of it affecting his racing performance.

Happiness.

He and Marlene got married a few months later, in a registry office in Vienna, practically in the dead of night. A few months after that, they purchased a mansion on the island. It was built in the Balearic style and had a stunning view of the main city, with its white houses dotting the coast. Niki took refuge there after his accident at the Nürburgring. He had his children spend the first few years of each of their lives here as well, away from the spotlight and the media pressure that came with having a famous father.

Out of all of Niki’s children, Elisabeth had spent the least amount of time on the island, due to the fact that Lukas and Mathias were of school age at the time she was born, and their father insisted that they be educated in Vienna. However, this did not stop the youngest Lauda sibling from developing a special fondness for Ibiza, and making her own memories there.

Her childhood had been filled with walks on the beach, playing with Tasso and Luna on the front lawn, and riding lessons with Uncle Tilly on the pony he'd gifted her for her fifth birthday. There were escapades with her father, diving in the Mediterranean when they should’ve been at the market in Santa Eulària, running errands for Marlene. Elisabeth’s happiest memories all took place on that little piece of land, until a particular man stepped into her life and turned everything upside down.

Thinking of Toto gave Elisabeth a strange feeling in her chest, a feeling that she wasn’t used to any more after they’d been dating for nearly two years. It was the feeling of something she was lacking, like someone had stolen a piece of her.

After photos of him surfaced in Austrian tabloids with a “mystery woman”, the two of them agreed that they needed to lay low until the press lost interest in Toto, because he’d been targeted by the paparazzi more often these days. The only solution they could think of was to travel separately and to avoid appearing in public unless they were in the company of another person. 

It would even have worked… But, then they were spotted walking into Toto’s penthouse late in the evening after arriving back in Vienna after the Canadian Grand Prix. It was dumb luck that Elisabeth’s face was obscured in the pictures, covered by the hood of the team jacket she’d stolen when the chill of the Viennese nighttime caught her by surprise. It was dumb luck that shit hadn’t hit the proverbial fan.

Bradley emailed them both the next morning, requesting they consider a response of some kind. They both agreed that the best thing to do would be for them to remain apart for a while, just until the press’ fervor died down. They could do anything they wanted once things calmed down. Since the season was underway, it was agreed that Toto would stay in Oxfordshire, close to the factory, and that Elisabeth would stay in her apartment in Vienna. She was glad she hadn’t sold it yet, like she was considering for a while.

She hadn’t expected their period of separation to be so difficult, though. The first few days were easy. Her flat hadn’t been inhabited in a while, and things needed to be organized. Work took up a lot of her time as well. But after a few days, she became keenly aware of Toto’s absence, and started feeling lonely… almost empty inside. Elisabeth realized, while she was away from him, how important he’d become to her. He was an essential part of her life now. 

It wasn't like they didn't communicate via text and phone calls. Truthfully, they spent far too much time on the phone with each other, giving each other the most mundane updates about things that were going on. They even saw each other at the Azerbaijan GP in Baku, but they limited their contact to conversations in the garage, so other people would be around and nothing would look too suspicious. Being so close to him and so far away from him at the same time felt like torture to Elisabeth. Worst of all, there was no end to it in sight.

Niki seemed to notice Elisabeth's restlessness and suggested that his daughter come with him and Marlene to Ibiza for a chance to relax before July’s packed race schedule. It sounded wonderful, and Elisabeth would have jumped at the chance… If it weren't for the fact that her parents had invited her brothers as well.

The prospect of seeing Mathias again after everything that happened at Lenny’s birthday party gave Elisabeth pause. Since she and Toto had been kicked out of his apartment, she hadn't been in contact with her brother or sister-in-law. Even the news of the birth of her new nephew, Ellison, arrived through third parties, as Mathias did not make a point of even reading the WhatsApp messages she’d sent asking about the children. The idea of sharing a house with Mathias, even for a few days, seemed like it would be impossible.

After some jostling around a few dates and snide comments from her brother, it was agreed that Elisabeth would spend a few days on the island in June, and Mathias would come in July. That way, they could avoid any friction or fights, considering that their last argument had ended with her slapping her brother in the face.

Elisabeth’s first few days in Ibiza were filled with re-discovery. It had been almost two years since she had visited because of the frenetic routine of travel and meetings that her life had become. Visiting the places that were part of her childhood were special to her, and felt even more special when she imagined what it would be like to have Toto, Ben and Rosi there with her, exploring the island with her. It would be fun, she thought, to show them Ibiza through her eyes, telling them stories about spending time there during her youth. 

The sound of something buzzing pulled her out of her thoughts. Elisabeth glanced to the table next to her and realized that her phone was ringing. She picked it up and looked at the screen, smiling when she realized who was calling her.

— Hi, honey — she said softly.

— Hola, guapa — Toto greeted, in slurred Spanish, which made Elisabeth laugh — Como estás?

— You know that they don’t really speak Spanish here in Ibiza, right?

— But isn't it part of Spain?

— Yes, but they speak Catalan here, dear, not Spanish.

— Then correct me, Professor Lauda.

— You should have said “Hola bonica, com estàs?”.

He repeated the phrase carefully, pulling out some vowels in an exaggerated way, making her laugh again.

— We’ll work on it, dear.

— What matters is that you understood my question, and I'm waiting for your answer.

— I'm fine, Toto — Elisabeth replied — I would be better if you were here, of course. What about you?

— I'm fine too, baby. Lots of meetings, trying to solve some problems that popped up here that would have been fixed in five minutes if you were here.

Elisabeth smiled.

— Are things that chaotic in my absence?

— You know, trouble seems to respect you, Liesl. It's actually very funny — Toto laughed.

— Sounds like I'm going to have to fly straight over there to help you, Toto.

— Nothing would make me happier than that, baby. I miss you here.

— At the factory?

— No — he replied, in a low voice — Well, yes, that too, but I miss you here with me. I miss you being close to me. I miss having you by my side at meetings, supporting me. I miss having you at home, laughing while sipping your coffee in the kitchen. I miss you in bed, lying on my chest, your fingertips caressing my skin.

— I miss you too, dear — Elisabeth murmured.

— I miss your kisses. I miss the way you like to nibble on my neck and ears. I miss the way you sigh and moan. I miss your body. I miss you the way you twitch all over while I make you come in every way possible — Toto continued, his voice gaining a mischievous edge to it. It caused Elisabeth to press her legs together involuntarily as a wave of heat rose through her body.

— Toto — she sighed, feeling her cheeks heat up.

— Do you miss that too, Liesl? Do you miss me making you come?

She pursed her lips the memory of the last time they'd had sex coming to the forefront of memories. The way he'd taken all the time in the world to bring her to orgasm more times than she could keep track of had etched itself in her mind, and she missed it so much.

— Yes, dear.

— What do you miss? Tell me baby. I want to hear you say it.

Elisabeth took a deep breath, trying to ignore the tingling feeling low in her belly — an impossible feat, considering that Toto Wolff was muttering obscenities on the other end of the line. She quickly looked around to make sure that nobody was nearby, and brought the phone closer to her face.

— I miss your eyes locked on me, watching me. I miss you telling me that I’m your pretty little girl. I miss your hands squeezing my breasts, your kisses between them as you move inside me. I miss you pinning my arms above my head to gain leverage. I miss the way you leave me completely at your mercy. I miss the weight of your body on top of mine after you come inside me, the way you breathe, and the way your sweat mixes with mine — Elisabeth said. She could feel her heart start to pound as the memories of those moments were making her more and more excited. 

On the other end of the line, Toto sounded like he was out of breath.

— Did I go too far, dear?

— I'm seriously considering taking a flight to Ibiza right now.

— My father would say that you're crazy to show up for no reason.

— But… I have a good reason.

— You do?

— Yes. To hear you whisper in Spanish that you want me inside you.

She laughed, rolled her eyes. 

— It's Catalan, honey.

— Could you tell me the difference? — he asked, his tone teasing and malicious.

— No puc esperar per sentir-te dins meu, amor meu — Elisabeth spoke, pronouncing the words carefully. However, before she even heard Toto's answer, the sound of someone clearing their throat made her whip her head around, her eyes going wide.

Leaning against the doorway behind her, arms crossed, Lukas was staring at his sister with a raised eyebrow. Considering the way his expression was now twisting into an impish, gleeful smile, he had definitely heard what Elisabeth had just said. “Fuck”, she thought, not realizing that Toto was muttering something on the other end of the line. It was probably some equally dirty phrase in one of the five languages he could speak.

— I'll have to hang up, I'll talk to you later — she said quickly, her tone cold and businesslike. She didn’t wait for a response before she pressed the “end call” button on her screen.

Lukas walked over to Elisabeth slowly, sitting down beside her on the porch. Then, after a few seconds of silence, he looked at his sister.

— I really didn't expect you to have such a foul mouth, Elschen.

Elisabeth felt her cheeks burn, her mind searching for some good excuse as to why she was saying those things that didn't require her to mention Toto's name.

— It's not what you're thinking, Lukas — she said softly. She was a little nervous. Mathias' reaction to her relationship had been bad enough that she had prevented anyone else from finding out at all costs.

Lukas chuckled.

— Do you read minds now, Elisabeth? — he asked, the corner of his lips curled into a mischievous smile.

— No, I just know you well enough to know that you must be thinking the worst of me right now.

— Not the worst, Elschen. I was just thinking about who could possibly be on the other end of the line.

Elisabeth took out her cell phone and looked at the screen, making sure the call had ended.

— It was nobody — she muttered — Nobody important, I mean.

— He seemed important to you, considering you told him you wanted him inside you.

She clenched her jaw, casting her eyes to the ground. Her brother sighed.

— I thought you trusted me — he muttered.

Something tightened inside Elisabeth's chest. Despite Lukas being seven years older than her, and having the same rebellious tendencies as their father and Mathias, it hadn’t prevented the two of them from cultivating a deep affection for each other. It was reflected in the fact that whenever somebody asked who their best friends were, they’d each give each other’s names without hesitation. They each had the same personality and the same blue eyes, and they shared a lot of life with each other. Whenever either of them had a problem, they would turn to the other for advice, to vent, or to get comfort or encouragement as needed. Lukas was the first person Elisabeth told about her first boyfriend, and Lukas sought out Elisabeth to ask about how best to surprise the girl he liked when he was in university. Even after 30 years, that bond was still strong, even if the conversations weren't as frequent as either of them would have liked because of their maddening routines, with Lukas helping Mathias in his racing career, and her helping father manage the family business and his interests at Mercedes. Elisabeth wanted to keep their relationship close, above all else, even if it meant not telling him how happy and fulfilled she was with the man of her dreams.

She didn't want to lose another brother.

— And I do, Lukas — Elisabeth murmured.

— It doesn't seem like it, Elschen.

— I know, but I trust you — she said, looking at him for the first time since he sat down next to her.

— So tell me, who's the guy?

Elisabeth raised an eyebrow.

— How do you know it's a guy?

— You've only told me about guys before now.

— I could be bisexual.

— I think you would have told me that, Elschen — he countered, giving her a wink.

Elisabeth smiled a little, looking at the horizon. As much as she tried, she could never hide her feelings from her brother. Lukas could read her like no one else.

— Is it Toto? — he asked, after a few seconds of silence.

— What makes you think it would be him?

— You didn’t answer my question.

— You didn’t answer mine.

— I asked first.

— But your answer is important to mine — Elisabeth said, looking at her brother. Lukas smiled wanly at her. 

— Well, if you're so keen to know, I assumed it was him because I was with him and dad when you and Mathias were arguing in his office during Lenny’s party. As soon as we heard Mathias raise his voice, I noticed that Toto's posture changed completely. He looked worried and angry at the same time. As the two of you got louder and louder, he looked more and more irritated. His jaw got really tight, and he was gripping his glass of juice so tightly that I thought he was going to break it.

Elisabeth looked at her hands. She still didn’t say anything. She fiddled nervously with the ring Toto had given her after the Amira Air deal, the diamonds glittering in the Ibiza sun.

— Lenny started crying a few minutes later, because he got scared by the shouting. Claire asked mom to stay with him while she went to see what was going on. While all of that was happening, we heard something that sounded like a slap, and Toto dropped his glass on the table and marched straight into the office.

— I understand…

— But, I think the most obvious giveaway was when mom asked me to help her with Lenny. He was inconsolable. I tried talking to him a bit, trying to cheer him up, you know, so I took him over to the pile of his birthday presents and asked him which one he wanted to play with, and he asked for Onkel Toto’s red car book.

Elisabeth swallowed hard.

— I even asked him to repeat who the gift was from, because I didn’t think I heard him right. But, he said that Onkel Toto had given a book with a red car and that’s what he wanted.

— Did mom hear? — Elisabeth asked in a low voice.

— Did she… Hear Lenny?

— Yeah.

— No, she didn't.

She sighed, twirling the platinum circle on her right ring finger.

— So, Elschen, is it him?

— Yes.

Silence stretched for a few seconds between them as they looked at each other.

— If I said I was surprised, I'd be lying — Lukas muttered, causing Elisabeth to look at him, one eyebrow raised.

— What do you mean by that?

— When dad introduced me to Toto, during the New Year's party at his house, we talked for a while. I remember thinking that he seemed a lot like you, and that I would get along with him for that reason.

— Are we really that much alike?

— You both are focused, stubborn, and intelligent. You both have a similar sense of humor and a way of dominating an environment just by being in it — he replied, looking at the horizon — You make quite the striking pair.

— Thanks, I think — Elisabeth said, a shy smile on her lips.

— Is this a recent development?

— Not really.

— How long?

— Almost two years.

Lukas looked at his sister with wide eyes.

— Almost two years?

— Yes.

— And nobody knows?

— Very few people know.

— Who?

— His kids, his mother and sister, Bradley Lord at Mercedes… You. Mathias…

Lukas looked outraged at the mention of their brother.

— You told Mathias before you told me? I thought I was your best friend!

— I didn't tell him.

— But…

— He caught us in a… Compromising position in Toto's office last year in Spa.

Her brother was quiet for a few seconds.

— How compromising?

— Compromising enough that there was no hiding what we were actually doing.

His blue eyes widened. The impish smile returned to his face.

— Were you fucking in the motorhome?! — he asked. He was louder than Elisabeth would have liked to have been, so she slapped him on the arm.

— Lukas! — she exclaimed.

— What?

— Don't say that out loud — she scolded under her breath.

— Well, were you?

Elisabeth nodded, pressing her mouth into a thin line. Lukas laughed.

— I honestly didn't expect you to be that kind of girl, Elschen.

— Neither did Mathias, I guess — she muttered.

— Well… The thing about Mathias is that he’s completely oblivious to anything that’s not racing, Elisabeth. A few days ago he told me that Freddie Hunt asked him about you, and he didn’t understand why he would have.

— I guess you didn't tell him that Freddie and I…

— Nope.

— I’m glad. His reaction would be worse than it was when he caught me with Toto.

— What did he do when he walked in on you?

— Well, after practically dragging me by my hair to another room, he started lecturing me about how wrong it was, how I was crazy to have an affair with him, that I should be ashamed of myself for it. Oddly enough, it wasn't the worst thing he said that day.

— What else did he say?

— He threatened to tell dad about our relationship.

Lukas' jaw clenched.

— He did… What?

— Yes. He said that someone had to take dad’s side and that someone was him.

— And what did you do?

— I reminded him of when we helped him get back into karting and didn’t tell mom and dad, and that we gave him the money to do it. He couldn’t argue with that.

— So... Did he tell dad?

— I had to threaten him with his sponsors to keep him quiet.

Lukas chuckled.

— Oh, that makes sense…

— What makes sense?

— At the end of last season, he asked me to look for new sponsors and asked me to not tell you about it. I asked him why, and he said you were too busy with Mercedes things to handle it with the attention he thought it needed.

— That son of a bitch — Elisabeth muttered — Did you help him?

— I looked some things up, but you know, I don't understand finances like you do. I would have asked for your help whether he wanted me to or not.

She sighed. Things couldn’t go on like this - Elisabeth needed to find a solution to the situation she had gotten herself into with Toto.

— So, dad doesn't know? — Lukas asked after a few seconds of silence.

— No — she muttered.

— When are you going to tell him?

Elisabeth was about to respond when a female voice interrupted her.

— Tell what to whom?

Elisabeth turned her head and realized Marlene was standing behind them. Dressed in a crisp cotton summer dress, with her hair tied back in her iconic bun, she was standing in the doorway of the house, her face frozen in a serious expression. “Fuck”, Elisabeth thought.

— Nothing, mom — Lukas replied quickly when Elisabeth didn’t, realizing that his sister was completely frozen. However, the eldest son's words only served to make their mother even more suspicious.

— Nothing at all, Elisabeth? — Marlene looked at her. When her daughter didn’t answer she slowly approached where they were sitting — Lukas, could you give us a moment?

Elisabeth's brother looked at her with pity in his eyes, as if he knew that a difficult situation was about to get worse. Giving her shoulder an affectionate squeeze, as if to say “good luck”, Lukas got up and walked back into the house. Marlene sat down in the spot recently vacated by her son.

— Elschen, you know you can trust me, don't you?

— Yes, mom — she murmured.

— So are you going to tell me?

— Tell you what?

— What are you hiding from me.

Elisabeth sighed.

— I’m… Dating someone.

Marlene smiled.

— That’s nice, dear. Is it someone I know, by chance?

— Yes.

Her mother gazed thoughtfully at the horizon.

— Would this person be a coworker of your father's?

— Yes.

Marlene looked at her daughter seriously.

— It's Toto, isn't it?

Elisabeth's eyes met her mother's.

— Yes.

Elisabeth fixed her gaze on the distance.

— Look, mom, I know it's not right, but I tried to avoid it, I swear I tried to avoid it — Elisabeth started talking quickly, trying to justify herself — I wanted to keep him away as much as I wanted to be with him, but he said he wanted me and I couldn't resist...

— Elschen…

— I know he's friends with dad, I know he's older, I know he has two kids, I know all of that, but I couldn't help but fall in love with him...

— Dear…

— And I'm willing to fight for what I feel for him. I love him, I want to be with him. And I'll fight for it because I'm tired...

— Elisabeth…

— I'm tired of pretending I don't love Toto. I'm tired of not being able to hold his hand, not being able to walk with him on the street, not even being able to take a boat ride without being afraid of getting caught with him...

— Elisabeth Renate Lauda, would you be quiet and listen to me? — Marlene snapped, her voice sharp. 

Elisabeth stopped mid-sentence, looking at her mother, her eyes filled with tears.

— A long time before you were born, I had come to Ibiza to help my mother and siblings settle here after your grandfather died. Then, one afternoon, I got a call from your father saying that he was leaving Vienna right then, and he was on his way here. I asked him why, and he said he would tell me when he got to the airport.

Elisabeth swallowed hard.

— He came in a Cessna 421 from Vienna to Ibiza. He got here at midnight. When he got off the plane, I walked over to greet him, and he kissed me — Marlene smiled — So I asked him why he'd come and he just said he missed me. My heart melted right away.

— I can imagine — Elisabeth muttered.

— I took him to your grandmother's house and introduced him as a friend I'd met at a party at Curd's house. She didn't question me, but I could tell that she was suspicious of both of us. The next day, I took him to see the island. After all, I grew up here. Of course, we didn't just walk around, we also hugged, kissed, even had sex once or twice on a deserted beach near Caló de s'Illa…

— Mother!

— What?

— I don't need details!

Marlene raised an eyebrow.

— You’re acting like you don't have sex, Elisabeth.

— That doesn't mean I need… Or want, for that matter, to know about your sex life with dad.

Her mother rolled her eyes.

— The point is, that night after dinner, your dad and I went out to sit on the porch, and we ended up kissing. Your grandma saw us. I will never forget the way she looked at me as she said that she knew the moment I arrived on the island that I was in love with someone.

Elisabeth immediately understood what she meant.

— Elschen, mothers know. They always know. I knew that Christmas Eve when you left the table to take a call. You, always disciplined, always toeing the line, breaking a rule? It needed to be someone very important. Someone you would drop everything for. Someone you love.

— Mom…

— Of course, I didn't immediately assume it was Toto. You know a lot of people, it could’ve been any one of them. But, you were very interested in going to the Prize Giving Gala in Qatar, and that made me realize who you were in love with. Hopelessly in love, judging by the photos I saw.

Elisabeth fixed her gaze on the trees, which were swaying slightly in the breeze.

— I will admit, I had reservations about him. I knew that he was a polite man who respected you deeply, but I wasn’t sure if he liked you as much as you liked him. But watching him run into that office after hearing you yell at your brother convinced me that he really does love you.

Elisabeth was silent, her throat tight.

— I just can't understand why you didn't say anything before, Elschen.

— I was afraid of your reaction. I was afraid you'd get mad.

— Why would I be mad, Elisabeth?

— Mathias did.

— And since when do you care about what your big-headed brother thinks?

— And there's the whole dad thing — Elisabeth replied, her fingers fiddling with the ring on her right hand — Toto is his friend, his only friend. And… I just fell in love with him. Falling in love with your dad’s only friend sort of feels off-limits.

— Do you remember how I met your father, Elschen?

— At Curd Jürgens' party —  she said.

— I was Curd's girlfriend at the time. When I met your father, I fell in love with him, even though I shouldn't have. When I realized it, I was on the edge of the cliff, with him by my side. Attraction is the path to the precipice that is love. And the moment you jump with someone, it's because the two of you trust each other enough to know you're going to fly. Your dad and I jumped. And you and your brothers are the results of this leap we've taken.

Elisabeth looked at her mother with tears in her eyes.

— I would never be mad at you for following your heart, my love —  Marlene said, putting an arm around her daughter’s shoulders — You are my daughter. My daughter, as well as your father’s. In the end, you are here because you father and I followed our hearts.

A tear rolled down her cheek as she leaned her head on her mother's shoulder. Elisabeth realized how exhausted she was from fighting the whole world to keep her relationship with Toto hidden. It was all too much — too much effort, too many lies, too many secrets, too much time. What they had was too beautiful to remain hidden within the walls of their Oxfordshire home.

— Mom — she sobbed.

— Yes, darling?

— Does dad know?

— If he does, he’s never said anything to me. I’ve never said anything to him, not least because I wasn't sure of anything, despite you two being very… Obvious, at least in my opinion.

— Do you think he'll be mad at me?

Marlene sighed.

— You won't know until you tell him, Elschen.