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luverofralts · 9 months

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Arkhelios Adventures

"Are you sure I look okay? I want her to like me. She usually just ignores me when she's over."

"Trust me, you look amazing. I'm a makeover genius."

Elaine hovered by her friend, admiring her efforts. Their exact relationship was complicated to figure out, so Juliet and Elaina just agreed to be friends. Was the daughter of a robot butler who had once dated Juliet's mom family? Not really. Elaina and her brother lived under the same roof as Juliet, so they felt like siblings at least. Their home situation could only be described as complicated at best.

Ironman and Nikolai had found their way back to each other after Ironman's run from the altar, though not immediately. Nikolai had had a few angry flings and Ironman had spent nearly a year "reprogramming" himself with both a therapist and Orianna's technical know-how. When their parents reunited, Elaina, Nick and the son Nikolai had had with a one night stand all moved back in at the Helios manor. Elaine, Launce, Benvolio and Oriana had welcomed them all back, as had the shy Juliet. Because she was created with undead, mutated genes, Juilet wasn't conventionally attractive and had definitely noticed the difference in how others treated her and her friends. Most people shuddered when she arrived on a lot, some even wondering if she'd somehow escaped Wanda's Zombie Relocation program. The world was a cruel place, especially when her own mother saw Juliet as a failed project or at best, the first draft in an experiment she couldn’t see to completion.

Because Oriana had tied her life force to Benvolio, they were living on borrowed time together and unable to produce a natural child. Oriana had refused to listen to the demons who had explained this and had tried several different methods of procreation, all of them failures. Her life force had dimmed to the point that she couldn't even get an embryo to form in a laboratory. Every cell in her body was dying slowly and there was nothing science could do to fix that.

And so she had settled for Juliet, the daughter made with cloned cells of zombified Benvolio. Juliet the prototype. Juliet the failure.

Elaine was still the mistress of the manor, and the Helios heir in control of the estate. She was kind to Juliet and the other children, especially with Launce by her side. She told everyone in the house that they were welcome to live at the manor even when she passed on the ownership to her heir, which was a relief. No one wanted to deal with the whims of Elaine's heir, especially now.

Lucy Helios was something of a legend in Arkhelios, in the same manner that her nephew was. She was infamous worldwide and larger than life whenever someone had the bad luck to encounter her. Juliet was terrified of her, but her kids seemed nice enough. It was Noelle who she was psyching herself up to greet that night.

Noelle was the queen bee of the lower grades at the Pleasantview Academy of Magic and getting on her good side was the only way someone like Juliet would find acceptance in the world. Noelle had the same domineering, confident personality of her mother, with none of the playfulness. She wasn't even that talented of a witch, but her stepmother had pulled enough strings to get Noelle admitted, and Noelle had done the rest. Juliet looked at a guy like Theo, who attended the school because of his immense raw talent and a girl like Noelle, whose powers seemed to be more oriented to social manipulation and wondered who was more powerful in the end. It would be Noelle who inherited Juliet's house one day, so it never hurt to try to be friendly.

"She's here! Get ready!"

Elaina's brother ran down the hall, calling out to the girls.

Well, ready or not, here she is.

Noelle glared at the car that had deposited her and her little brother on the driveway of her grandmother's house.

"I don't see why we couldn't have teleported here," she grumbled, holding her little brother's hand so that he wouldn't run out on the street. "Mom's so desperate to look good for this boring place, even though she never comes here."

It had been a turbulent few years for Noelle, with her mother's breaking up with Mikel's father and moving full time to Pleasantview to live with her new wife. Lucy hadn't told anyone yet, but Noelle could see clear as day that she was going to be getting a new sibling soon, which meant that she moved even further down the list of her mother's priorities.

"Come on, Mikel. The faster we get inside, the faster this will be over with and we can go home."

"Noelle! You're here! Hi!"

Noelle glanced at the house where three kids, all dressed in purple dresses waved like they were in some sort of cringe parade. Great.

"Hey. Where's Grandma? I think Mikel is hungry or something."

The trio of kids tried to hide their disappointment at her words but kept smiling.

"Mikel! Who's my favourite yellow eyed demon? Who's going to be a great lawyer some day unlike his degenerate parents?"

Noelle stared at her grandmother with disgust. Her grandmother barely tolerated half of her grandkids, but she'd been reading up about the hierarchies of demons lately and discovered that her grandson had potential because of his father. While Elaine had sneered at her daughter’s child with her boss initially, further research had indicated that Mikel would be respected by other demons despite being half-human and that was enough for Elaine. If her daughter insisted on bringing home demons, then Elaine would at least make sure that they were high quality demons.

"You're supporting a biological hierarchy that's just a construct of demon society, Elaine," Noelle sneered, looking bored after being in her grandmother's company for several minutes. "Theo is more powerful than Mikel will ever be and yet you aren't praising him for his genetic potential. You're racist."

Elaine shot her granddaughter a tired look.

"Noelle, honey, why don't you go play upstairs with the other children?" she sighed. "You can all talk about how horrible I am while I get your brother a snack. Ironman will bring something up for you guys too."

"Bitch. You only care about him and Saturnia, your precious favourites," Noelle muttered under her breath as she walked past her grandmother. “They're not the ones who will own all your stuff when you finally die."

"What?"

Elaine glared at her granddaughter, assuming correctly that all of the girl's murmuring was directed at her.

"Nothing, god. I'm going upstairs you stupid cow."

"Noelle, I think we should probably just go play cards or something. Elaine looked kinda mad."

Elaina fidgeted nervously as Noelle continued belting out a song on the karaoke machine. Elaine hadn't forbidden them from using the machine, but the kids assumed that she'd be angry all the same.

"I'm not done," Noelle insisted. "I'm having fun in this dump while I'm stuck here. I don't care what Elaine or my mom wants. I'm only stuck here because my mom wants 'alone time' with my dumb stepmom and school wouldn't keep us over the weekend. At least your parents want you guys around here."

Juliet beamed, finally having an in with the popular girl.

"My mom hates me," she said proudly. "She wishes that she could ship me off to school, but Dad won't let her. So we're the same, kinda."

Noelle blinked slowly, taking this information in. Her face didn't change at all, but her eyes stared at the girl, sizing her up.

"Hmm, you know what's more fun than karaoke?"

"Chess?"

"Darts?"

Noelle smiled, ignoring both girls' suggestions.

"Come on, we'll have some real fun tonight. Let's go hang out in the basement."

"I don't think we should be down here," Nick said worriedly, looking at their surroundings in fear.

No one was supposed to go in the basement. Elaine had forbidden it long ago. Only terrible, dangerous things happened down there. None of the kids could even imagine the horrors that dwelt there despite having vivid imaginations. The basement was a dark place with interdimensional portals leading to even darker places and only the demonic beings in their family were qualified to step foot there. Why did Noelle want to go there? No sane person should.

"Relax," Noelle laughed. "I know what I'm doing. It's the only place where I can call her. Her parents took away her phone for an…incident at school."

Those words were hardly reassuring to the group of children, but none of them spoke out against whatever Noelle had planned.

"Here, hold this," she said, shoving a candle from behind the stairs into Juliet's hands. "I left some here last time."

With a snap of her fingers, the candle wick burst into a brilliant flame and Juliet tried not to gasp in shock. Behind her, Elaina and Nick were already starting to tremble. What dark magic was about to erupt from the shadows of this horrible place?

Noelle bent down near the remains of a magic circle and removed one of her mother's lipstick tubes from her pocket, dragging it along the stone, reigniting the magic within it.

All of the kids held their breath, hoping against hope that they would survive this supernatural encounter. Would it be a blood thirsty vampire that appeared? Maybe a violent werewolf? Could it be the same monstrous demons who had come for Roman and Theo in the past?

Noelle cleared her throat and the other children braced themselves for the dark Latin incantations they would surely hear.

"Hey, Destiny! I'm bored and stuck in stupid Arkhelios. Come hang out with me and my lame…cousins? I don't know what they are, but I'm stuck with them."

All the children stared at the glowing circle in confusion. This wasn't what they'd been expecting. Where was the blood or the Latin chanting? Things never looked like this in the movies.

"Is she calling out to her destiny like a Ouija board or tarot cards?" Elaina whispered. "Is this a fortune telling spell? Can it tell the future?"

Beside her, Juliet shook her head, utterly baffled at how this night was turning out. She'd gone from wanting to impress Noelle to fearing for her life. Would her parents find her body? Would they be mad at her for dying before they did? Juliet prayed that her death would at least be quick.

"Ugh, Arkhelios? It's so dry there and it smells like demons. Can't you meet me in Crystal Cove? My mom's out drinking with their stupid brother again and Dad is going to find out if I keep breaking the house sigils to leave."

The children's fear slowly turned to awe as they realized that they weren't actually about to die or have their fatal fortunes read.

"So walk down the road and teleport from there," Noelle groaned. "It's not hard, you're not bound to it like a demon. Your parents are too lame to notice anyway and if they do, blame Davis."

A groan came from the the circle and then a grudging sigh.

"Fine. But you're buying lunch this week."

After almost three minutes had passed, the circle began to shimmer and a teenage girl with long black hair appeared before their eyes. Noelle looked happy to see this girl, while the other children just stared, their eyes as big as saucers.

"Hey guys, this is my friend Destiny," Noelle informed the shocked children. "She's in an older class, but she goes to my school. She's really powerful, so don't piss her off."

"Noelle!"

Noelle shrugged, ignoring her friend's outburst as if she were the older girl.

"Well you are. They don't need a novel about you, they only need to know that you're cool. Much cooler than them." Her eyes gleamed with teenage rebellion. "Let's steal Grandma's wine and hang out at the pool! She's such an alcoholic that she won't notice some bottles missing."

Juliet stared at the girl she had hoped to impress in astonishment. She'd always known that Lucy was an unpredictable loose cannon, and apparently some of that attitude had transferred to her daughter. Did Noelle frequently steal from her grandmother or was this just an idea to impress her older friend?

Destiny snapped her fingers and in an instant, a bottle of red wine appeared in her hands.

"Piece of cake," she boasted. "Easier than my mom's wine rack and they keep that thing well stocked."

"I…I don't think I'm thirsty," Juliet stammered. Beside her, Nick and Elaina nodded solemnly. Their parents would kill them if they caught the kids drinking with a teenager who came from a magic circle in their creepy basement.

"Babies," Noelle muttered, taking a swig from the bottle and passing it back to her friend.

"Lay off them, they're just kids," Destiny laughed. "Their parents actually care where they are, unlike yours."

"Right, just like Death himself wouldn’t ground you if he knew where you were?” Noelle teased. “You’re like a demi-god, aren’t you? Go have fun.”

“Not really and you know that,” Destiny replied, ignoring the quizzical looks from the other children. “I’m much closer to your powers than I am my parents’. Don’t start with the demi-god thing or I’ll have lines of people lining up at the school asking me to sign things and heal people. There’s no way I’m going through that again.”

“So what’s it like having gods for parents?” Elaina asked, looking at the night sky.

The group had retired outside to drink and stargaze, which had seemed less nerve wracking than anything else Noelle had suggested so the other children had quickly agreed to it. Noelle seemed to be smiling and relaxed, which put Juliet at ease. Noelle was probably settled in for the night and didn’t have more plans that would get them in trouble.

“Kinda fun some days,” Destiny replied, staring at the stars intently. “Less fun other days. A lot of people have an idea of who you’re supposed to be and don’t want to let you be yourself.”

Juliet nodded beside her, feeling a new sense of camaraderie with the teen.

“I get that completely. Lots of people have plans about what I should be too.”

“Me too.”

Noelle’s whispered reply had been barely audible, but Juliet had heard it all the same. Her heart twinged at the tone of it and the hidden sorrow the girl surely felt spilled out in those words. Underneath the callous attitude, it was beginning to look like Noelle had a vulnerable side, one that had been wounded long past healing. Maybe it was because of the alcohol or just the company, but deep down, Juliet could see the girl Noelle wanted to be. Call it supernatural intuition or just being a good judge of character, but Juliet could see the hidden Noelle screaming to be seen and helped. Clearly Lucy’s parenting left a lot to be desired, and no one knew who Noelle’s other parent could be.

“There’s two moons out tonight!” Elaina gasped, pointing at the sky. “Is that even possible?”

“Anything is possible,” Destiny laughed. “Don’t you believe in other universes? Other planes of existence besides our own? Who’s to say that that’s not a natural phenomenon of the barriers between the demonic void and here? Maybe it’s the afterlife accepting lost wayward souls. You never know.”

“Do you know?” Elaina demanded. “What is it?”

“A sign that I have to go back home now. Dad is probably pissed off that I left.”

“What? Your dad uses a second moon to get your attention? Why not just call?”

Destiny just laughed and started gathering her things.

“I never said that he did. Just keep an open mind about things and maybe one day you’ll know what it means. Anyway, it’s been fun. Noelle, I was serious about buying lunch this week.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll get some money from my mom,” Noelle replied. “See you then.”

As the mysterious girl faded from view, Juliet looked up at the sky and the mysterious moons. Was it really an overlap of dimensions or just something Destiny had made up? One day when her parents eventually died, would she be able to see them cross into the afterlife in the sky above her? Would they be able to tell her that they were okay and not to worry about never seeing them again? It was a pleasant thought at least which she hoped was true.

“Noelle! Why am I missing two wine bottles? I’m calling your mother about this!”

Noelle laughed as her grandmother continued shouting at her from the window.

“Go ahead!” she called out. “She doesn't care! Mom lets me do whatever I want.”

#sims 2 #arkhelios #arkhelios adventures #Mikel Helios #Juliet fontana #Nick Helios #Elaina Helios #destiny lane #elaine helios #noelle helios #sim: noelle helios

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luverofralts · 11 months

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Arkhelios Adventures

To Elaine's relief, the official Arkhelios state event was a success. In the past few hours, teens had danced and played ice breaker games and inhaled all the food that had been provided. Not a single person had died, cheated on a partner or given birth. It was almost too good to be true. Maybe Wanda's constant bragging about improving the state of the country really was true.

Crowds of teens swarmed the dance floor chatting excitedly about whatever was relevant to them. Elaine had no idea what was cool these days and didn't really care to find out. Her grandkids all loved their phones and sarcasm, she knew at least that much.

She could recognize some of her grandson's friends, especially the brown haired freckled boy that Abe had warned her about. Adam…she was certain that was his name. It reminded her of Roman's uncle Adam, who was shamelessly lecherous with his younger wife in public. That was not the type of partner she wanted for her grandson.

"That song you performed was really pretty. It was really good."

Theo cursed himself for his awkwardness, but it couldn't be helped. His conversation with his grandmother weighed heavily on his mind, making him flustered even when talking to his friend Medora.

Why was his grandmother convinced that he needed condoms? He was only thirteen, when had everyone else in his family started sleeping with people? Was it expected of him now? Would all the visitors to Arkhelios be expecting him to be open to sex? He hadn't even had his first kiss. Would Adam be expecting it? No, he wasn't interested in Theo that way, but he might be expecting it from someone else. Would Theo have to watch Adam slink off for privacy with someone at the party? Could he even handle the thought? Jealousy burned Theo's mind, small flames searing into his thoughts. He wanted to be the one to slink off with Adam. He wanted to kiss him and hold him and whatever else you did with the boy you liked.

"Theo? You just kinda blanked out on me. Are you okay?"

When Theo's attention returned to his surroundings, he saw Medora giving him a worried look.

"Sorry, I was just thinking about something," he apologized. "I got distracted. Your song really was good though."

Medora smiled.

"Thanks, it's one I perform a lot at the castle when we have events. It's Grandpa’s favourite."

"Well, you looked and sounded good," Theo repeated, lost for words. There were only so many things he could think to say to fill conversation. His mind was still adrift, thinking about the condom box and expectations.

Medora blushed at his words, assuming that Theo's lack of focus had something to do with telling her that she had looked good on stage.

"Did you want to hang out somewhere private?" she asked, looking around her for a place to go. "Doesn't this place have a hot tub? Do you think your grandmother would mind if we hung out there for a bit? Just you and me, right? Would that be something you'd want to do?"

Her voice wavered, uncertain if she was misreading the situation or if Theo really was trying to compliment her for a specific reason. When he shrugged and nodded in response, Medora had her answer.

"Oh my god, Theo's finally making a move on someone."

Cain Rivales watched in amazement as Theo and Medora slipped away from the crowd, heading for the second level of the house.

"Who? Did he finally break and tell Adam that he wants to have his cute little witch babies?" Despina Darktide giggled. Adam was her cousin and the source of much eye rolling when he and Theo hung around, staring at each other and pining.

"No, it's the princess," Cain replied. He didn't often think about his distant mother Alex, but in times like this, he could see why she enjoyed the rush of a scandalous situation. "Theo's sneaking off with a princess! Adam is going to be crushed. He can't compete with a princess."

"Alexei, hi! How have you been? Practicing your magic? Maybe you could help me with my homework later?"

Malika gave the demon hybrid what she hoped was an enticing gesture and a wide smile. His name had been whispered through the halls of their school as someone worth pursuing. His one mother was the demon sovereign herself and his other mother was one of the few descendants from the last legitimate coven leader of Pleasantview. If he had the support necessary, he could remove Ewan Maricourt as coven leader one day. She wasn't entirely sure why or how that worked, but how could she refuse the chance to ally herself with him?

Malika thought of her half-brother Roman in times like these. Somehow, despite being a complete failure as well as a teenage father who was obsessed with one man, he had found a way to make a respectable marriage for himself and powerful connections. Malika may not be demonic like he was, but surely she had to have some of his luck too.

"Hey, Mallory, right?"

Malika kept smiling, hoping that this was just one bump in an otherwise flawless conversation.

"Malika. It's Malika. I've heard a lot about you. Maybe we could study together sometime?"

She tried not to sound desperate, but it felt like she was failing.

Just sound normal, Malika. All the other people do this, you can too.

"You go to Princess Zarah Academy, right? I can't help you study in that case, my mom is transferring me to the Pleasantview Magical Academy this week."

"What? Why?"

Alexei shrugged with indifference.

"My moms' divorce was just finalized and I'm suddenly told that I'm needed with the witches. Something about being a backup plan for something? I don't know. I can barely do formal magic. I think my mom's just being petty because she got cheated on. It's been a mess."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Malika replied, truly meaning the words. Her father had died, not divorced, but the aftermath in her family felt as devastating as his expression suggested. "Did you want to get some punch and talk about it? My family's messed up too."

"So the hot tub is up here, right? Do I need to get a towel?"

Medora looked around the spare bedroom for signs of a towel. She'd found an extra bathing suit that was probably one of Theo's sisters' but still fit her. It was a little awkward trying to flirt in a mermaid swimsuit, but Theo still looked interested. He'd been a gentleman and waited outside while she changed and hadn't even suggested that they go skinny dipping like some boys would have. But he still hadn't changed for the hot tub himself and was scrolling anxiously on his phone instead of acknowledging her.

Well fine. If he wasn't going to make the first move, then she would have to. Before she could regret her actions, Medora reached out and grabbed Theo by the shoulders, kissing him passionately on the mouth.

Theo's eyes widened with surprise, but he didn't pull away from her. He leaned into the kiss and sloppily tried to kiss her back, learning the movement as he went. Kissing was nicer than he expected and Medora's lips were soft. Probably a lot softer than Adam's. No hint of the small stubble that ran along his jaw either. He was tired of hoping that Adam would make a move and Medora was beautiful, funny and a great friend. Maybe he should date her instead. Maybe it would finally show Adam that he was done waiting. Maybe-

"Theo? The alarm for the spare bedroom was triggered and your friend saw you come up here. Are you feeling alright?"

Ironman barged through the doorway only witness the Bellamy heir locked in a passionate kiss with a mermaid dressed young girl. Theo tried to scramble away from the girl, but the damage was done. His parents were going to murder him if his grandmother didn't first.

"It-it's not what it looks like," he stammered, as Medora blushed furiously and grabbed a blanket off the nearby bed to cover herself, suddenly feeling underdressed. "It was an accident and…and Grandma basically said I could do what I want, she even gave me condoms, so it's okay."

"Wait, you thought we were going to sleep together?" Medora squeaked, looking horrified by the suggestion. "We're not even dating! I'm fifteen, Theo. What the hell?"

"No, of course not! Grandma just said- I mean I thought that's what you wanted, you wanted to use the hot tub and you can't get pregnant in a hot tub, I heard that somewhere so it made sense that-"

"Stop talking," Ironman sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, hoping to sort this situation out before Elaine investigated the tripped alarm herself. She had been wise to set up silent alarms to prevent this exact scenario with hormonal teens, but she would be livid that her trap had caught her grandson. "Just stop talking, Theo. It's only going to make things worse."

#sims 2 #arkhelios #arkhelios adventures #Ironman Helios #theo bellamy #sim: theo bellamy #medora toyonaga #sim: Medora Toyonaga #sim: malika Vybirlbh #malika vybirlbh #sim: cain rivales #destiny lane #eliana traver #adam darktide #sim: Despina Darktide

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