#sh polycule

u know me, always happy to have ppl appreciate rapha

my first thought tho is kinda angsty which is the idea that maybe they want to do something for him on the anniversary of rosa's death. they all know it hits him hard and that he always keeps track of it, because, well. he likes to torture himself

anyway the polycule knows that he will spend the whole day sulking to repent for his sins or whatever SO they decide to make him a little something. they know it's a day for mourning and they want to respect that but they want to help him do that a little more healthily at least, so over the year they gather as much information on her as they can (not difficult. just bring up something vaguely related to old women or little girls and rapha is At It with the stories of his lil sis, eyes far away and fond smile in place) and prepare a memorial for her, y'know? and they make all of her favorite foods that she and rapha used to share or that rapha would make for her, and play her favorite songs and gather pictures which they get magnus to spell so they won't fade

and rapha is shocked in several ways because he didn't expect any of this, and when they said they had something for him he thought they'd try to get him to do something unrelated which he just- can't because he can't forget her. but instead they made something to celebrate her, not in the sad despairing way that rapha usually does, but in a happy way, and where he gets to be with all his friends and partners and just be comforted and talk about her All Day. and it feels really good, for the first time since he started keeping track of the anniversary

hhhhhhhh i love you more than anything

i like raphael in the middle but consider this: rapha at the bottom because the whole cuddle pile thing started because he as always was being a snob (probably over food because the rest of them were eating cheetos or something and he is like "all of you are terrible, taste-lacking heathens") but they all know REALLY he is a fucking softie so they start tackling him to make take him down a notch lmao

so maia is in the middle probably because she and simon are the most likely ones to have that brilliant idea, with like simon and meliorn under her and clary and izzy on top (also maia is the only one dating all of them so makes sense that she's at the middle. plus, maia squished in cuddles!). also no one has to worry about smothering rapha because he has superstrength and even if he didn't he doesn't really need to breathe

(fun fact: he wouldn't mind. he's hyposensitive to pressure and it feels Really Nice)

and maybe he's being smothered in cheek kisses from his partners too and everyone is giggling and they are extremely close to tipping over but it's sweet anyway

with that being said! maia being at the bottom of the cuddle pile also. because she is adorable and everyone loves her and they just all kind of orbit around her instinctively because she is the sun. brb crying

she's just showered in all this affection and again, Pressure Good and they are all very careful to make sure she can breathe and it's comfortable for her and there are probably like a million pillows under her also (did meliorn summon them? that's their sexy little secret ;). yeah they did) so she's also comfortable and stuff, you know? and again lots of kisses and she's giggling like crazy and maybe they even tickle her because they are in fact the worst. she has no complaints

or like not as much pile but a long cuddle wall or something and maia in the middle so everyone is kind of leaning on her chest in a way and they're also all over each other and she gets to hold them all at the same time? nice

also see: cuddle wall but maia is at the very end lying on someone else's chest and getting her hair played with carefully and lovingly until she dozes off and gets some forehead kisses and they take A Billion Pictures of her all cuddled up and cute

and yess watching a movie so they're all cuddled up in the couch in the weirdest least practical position ever. half of them are leaning on each other, at least one is lying on everyone else's lap at once, meliorn is Literally Under The Cover, they can't see the fucking movie but they refuse to get out. none of them are watching the movie anyway, they're just bantering with each other

ohhh and like. during sukkot they all help build simon's sukkah and he just straight up has a room where the floor is all made of pillows and blankets and shit and it's just The Cuddle Room. so they all get to just lie there at the same time, in different cuddling positions (either all together or like... separated groups/pairs but still Together you know?). and yeah some of them get nasty and rapha is like "hmm time to go back to the hotel methinks" and they're like "no! we're sorry, we'll behave" and raphael's chest blooms with warmth that you know, him being there is more important. and they do behave daiojsda

Also what other pet names do u think she uses? ❤️

u know im torn between "she uses very few pet names but she uses all of them to all her partners so it's always chaos when they're all together" and "she has a different pet name assigned to each of them cuz she's organized like that"

like i don't see maia being particularly creative with pet names the way magnus is, but a good old fashioned "honey" or "baby" never hurt anybody. and her partners aren't grouchy asses about it (and besides who could deny maia a pet name when she always says it so softly and lovingly) (if you think raphael is grouchy about pet names you're wrong. he's a certified Simp™ and doubly so for maia) so she can roam free. on related news i've just decided it's the first one. maia is organized but she can enjoy a little chaos and besides the pet names are just what slips when she's feeling Soft™

she also calls all her partners by nicknames and she always says them so lovingly they feel like petnames. very rarely does she ever use her full name. i don't know what her nickname would be for Clary tho, all the others are pretty obvious (rapha, si, mel, iz), first thing that comes to mind is "clay" but that's also a word so maybe something like "art girl" or something? but like "art girl (affectionate)" and it always makes clary smile

and yes she has a tendency to be like at a group dinner and be like "babe, can you pass me the salt?" *five different people all reach for the salt at once* "si WHY would you think i meant you you're further from the salt than i am" "vampire speed?" and she laughs

besides most of them highkey have acts of service as their main love language which always makes her all bubbly inside because she feels so cared for and it's what she deserves

then it immediately leads to bickering over who she did actually mean and maia just. doesn't even remember anymore so she can't even settle it, but even if she could she wouldn't cuz it's fun and she feels right at home with them 🥺

aaaaa amazing!!!! tbh i can't imagine rapha taking cooking classes fr or at the VERY least he'd complain the whole time. he's like "taki's is a family restaurant this pretentiousness is going to ruin the essence of the food" and maia is like "you are the most dramatic man i've ever met" and rapha's like "i'm still right"

she tries to convince him with her reasoning - they never ran a whole restaurant before and it might be good to know a bit of the tricks from the pros even if taki's is and will always be a family restaurant. but what really convinces rapha is the "come on, for me?" and that little pout she makes as she looks up at him

(for a vampire, rapha is very, very weak)

anyway they go and rapha is lowkey in despair like "they are treating this like a science. they are sucking all the joy out of the food. this is terrible" and maia has to keep elbowing him to shut up, which really just means rapha keeps complaining, but with a teasing smile on this time

anyway cooking classes turn out to suck ass because the teacher is some pompous french guy who wouldnt know good food if it hit him in the face, considered spices to "taint" the food and constantly belittled non-white cuisine saying that our techniques are "wrong" and that our cuisine is "unpolished" (this is a direct nod to YOU, erick jacquin. fuck your ethnocentric white supremacist ass)

rapha and maia are both seething after like 10 minutes of this bullcrap and they only stay with the explicit purpose of Making Him Mad. they go extra hard on the chile and force him to eat a dish so spicy rapha would have cried. rapha uses superspeed to get rid of his chair right as he was going to sit on it at least once. maia seriously considers setting him on fire. they both still pass the class because they KNOW what theyre doing, thank you very much

anyway the next time they decide to take cooking classes they go to a little class with a wonderful black cuban teacher who Gets It and actually gives them a few tips on restaurant-running specifically since the most difficult parts are the ones unrelated to cooking susnsid. and they end up actually having a lot of fun together and learning a lot of things they didn't know. the environment is one where people are encouraged to share their knowledge and culture and there are people from all kinds of ethnic backgrounds and yeah, they have fun. they even end up making a few good friends, even if the relationships are limited due to the fact that theyre mundane

rapha begrudgingly admits that okay, maybe cooking classes aren't so bad if the people in it actually care about food. and maia agrees that okay, no more pretentiousness

(really, she was just nervous about Taki's, because this is all new to her and she wanted to be As Prepared As Possible. and the french guy was considered the best, so, why not go to the best? rapha hugs her and kisses her forehead for her troubles and says "i'm sorry it didn't work out the way you wanted, cariño" and maia feels a little better)

(besides, she knows they're gonna rock this as long as they're doing it together. if they survived that cooking class, they can do anything)

and they come back with so many ideas and immediately go to the kitchen and spend all afternoon there trying out stuff like crazy scientists, which then inevitably everyone (luke, alaric, magnus, simon, mel) is invited to try and give their opinions on. most of what they've done is incredible and they're all delighted. magnus lowkey entertains the idea of using a spell to get rid of the fullness so they can eat more and there are STILL leftovers. they take them to an elderly home because of course they do

izzy: it's just a crush, guys

clary: izzy's work crusher 

meliorn: i do believe that, in that case, she would be called the "crushee"

maia: izzy's work crochet

izzy, laughing: stop, we get it

all of them: no

maybe aline was kind of a childhood crush or something, or just meaningful to her because she was out as a lesbian, or maybe she just thinks aline is really pretty and goes hmmm girll,,,,, and it's just a crush really, it's not like she's In Love With Her or even wants to pursue it, but she enjoys the feeling because sometimes just that feeling of infatuation is nice, you know? (as long as u dont put the person on a pedestal and respects them as a person and stuff)

and ugh at some point meliorn ends up seeing her looking at aline and they immediately have that wicked smile that brings izzy's own wicked smile out immediately and she's like "what?" and they're like "you're attracted to her" and she laughs and playfully swats at them like "stop!" and meliorn teases her for it A Lot

and then on like, polycule game night someone mentions aline and meliorn is like "ah yes. izzy's infatuation" and she's like "meliorn!" and they smile as they drink something like "i can't lie" and she goes "no one ASKED" and clary "doesn't notice anything" fray is like hang on you have a crush on aline??? and maia is like who tf is aline

and it's just a mess with everyone teasing her and being like "it all makes sense now!!" and they start asking questions and eventually izzy is just... gushing. about how nice she is, how pretty she looks, how fierce she is, that sort of thing. and she has that grin on and her eyes shine and she is just so cute with her little crush and everyone falls in love with her a little further

what can i say except yes. he absolutely does. he even has a few songs that are about the polycule in general and just that feeling of found family and stuff and it's nice

and can i just say............ simon is at Peak Writing Talent when he's pining. like all his best most heartfelt songs are written when he's in pining mode and i just picture him playing those songs at Taki's you know

cuz like why not have simon have a show there? they could do with some live music, they want the place to feel like home after all. and simon deserves the attention and space to show his talent you know cuz he really is a great singer and composer. maia knows this, raphael knows this, everyone knows this

so they have a special night at taki's and simon will be singing his originals and Man Is He Pining For Simon And Meliorn. him and maia are already together and stuff but him and raphael have basically just gotten reacquainted and he's getting to meet meliorn for real now, and he's in love. with them and with their love cuz like, raphaeliorn is a power couple and also goals

and of course raphael is in the kitchen while simon is playing but he can still hear it and he has that soft smile on his face the whole time, sometimes having to blink to concentrate back on what he's doing (listen i know kitchens are messy and noisy but what if i didnt care about that. also im thinking maybe this is some special kinda night where everyone is just sitting together and they juat keep the food coming by the tons, no specific orders? so that would be easier to make without the usual screaming mess idk)

and simon sings a You're My Best Friend style song for clary and some stuff clearly inspired by clizzy, some stuff about loving his girlfriend's girlfriends and how much they appreciate her that's cute. then he gets to some songs about maia that just have raphael holding back a grin because maia deserves to be appreciated and the way he sings and writes about her is so beautiful. maia is also smiling the whole time he sings for her, so concentrated on him no one dares make a drink order, cuz look, no one's ever written a song for her before

and just ugh not to be on my maiaphael bullshit but raphael just being so happy that simon has such beautiful things to say about maia and how he makes her so happy? and relating a lot to the songs about her and the soft way simon sings about how caring and fierce she is, how she's gonna change the world like she already changed his, and raphael's dead little heart is so full of love and joy and he doesn't even realize why yet

and then he gets to the songs he wrote for meliorn and raphael and they are. so beautiful. and like simon doesn't say they're about them of course but he's an open book and even if raphael is on his "not realizing people appreciate me" bullshit he still feels touched by the vibes, the way simon sings about trust and companionship and flowers, and how nothing is as meaningful as the truth

and the songs are just so beautiful and some are about raphael, some about meliorn, some about their relationship in general and simon makes such beautiful homages and captures their relationship so perfectly it takes raphael's breath away, and not for the first time he realizes that he feels so seen with simon

and then simon gets to a song that's sung entirely in spanish because this one is really just for them both. (yes the rest of the polycule minus clary understands spanish, but still, this song is for raphael only) and raphael feels like he's gonna burst because it just sounds so soothing and beautiful. Raphael's Song™ is all about sunlight and the calm after the storm, about rebuildings and reconnecting and second chances. it's about love and family and soft mornings and the little details that matter the most. it's about support and growth. and it's wonderful

even when simon's spanish gets awkward at times because he's not used to writing in that language, it just leaves raphael breathless and makes it even more endearing to him. and meliorn and maia are just listening to it with knowing smiles because anyone who knows and loves raphael knows who that song is about. and maia of course knows about simon's crush on raphael and meliorn and she knows that raphael doesn't see himself like that at all and how happy and emotional he must be feeling, and she's so happy to see him being appreciated, too

first of all we all know that jordan, like most abusers, was possessive and controlling, so just having an open relationship is like... i dont think monog people understand that it is a completely different take on what love means and looks like. open relationships mean necessarily reframing the way we look at romantic love because when it stops being exclusive, it also means its not above other kinds of relationships. and anything can follow its natural course without having to worry about the limits that we put on how you should love. and no one considers themself more important than the others. not her other partners, not her friends, not her pack. she is so free! its the complete opposite of possessiveness and control. no one interferes in how she builds relationships with other people. that in itself is already such a breath of fresh air, such a beautiful, dramatic change

and then there's the fact that she builds so many beautiful relationships?? so meaningful?? so caring??????? raphael is her absolute rock, this reliable presence that supports her always and is by her side, who shares goals and dreams, who makes her laugh and who cares about everything she has to say. and who's also got that roasting side that she absolutely loves to bring out. simon is so earnest and sincere at all times, and she knows she can trust him. he clearly and openly adores her and they have so many common interests! he also always listens when she's upset and makes genuine effort to change. also, he's adorable

meliorn makes her laugh all damn day and also makes her heart flutter with the casual but still intense displays of affection and old school flirting/straight up courting. they make her feel so cherished and even spoiled and that's not something she ever had before

izzy is her wonderful science gf with a WICKED side that always brings her into adventure. they can make up crazy plans and get into rabbit holes of knowledge and idea and with her she gets to indulge in every one of her projects. clary is protective and fierce and a riot no matter what happens. and they all ADORE her