โย with shortness of breath, you explained the infinite.... โ
โโ Every secret of a writerโs soul, every experience of his life, every quality of his mind, is written large in his works. โ
โ Virginia Woolf
โฟ a small preface
hello, and welcome.
i'm ellie (angelisse, if we're being formal).
i've been telling stories for as long as i can remember. before wattpad, there were handmade books made from sheets of paper, far too many staples, little drawings in the margins, and stories that somehow always found their way back to romance. years later, not much has changedโonly the paper did.
i joined tumblr in september of 2023, though i've been writing fanfiction since i was twelve. somewhere between late-night playlists, cups of coffee, and far too many fictional people, this little corner of the internet became home.
whether you've found me through one of my stories, a recommendation, or simply by chance...
i'm so happy you found your way here.
welcome to the love letters & complaints department.
est. september 2023.
โ where love letters are treasured, complaints are carefully considered, and therapy invoices are politely declined.
โ I wanted it to be you. I wanted it to be you so badly. โ
โ You've Got Mail
โฟ mailbox
the mailbox is always open for...
โก chapter reactions
โก theories & headcanons
โก requests
โก book, film & music recommendations
โก random conversations
โก strongly worded letters after emotional devastation
i can't promise reimbursement for therapy, but i can promise i'll read every message.
โ Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same. โ
โ Emily Brontรซ, Wuthering Heights
โฟ between the margins
โ twenty-three
๐ท she / her
๐ filo-canadian
๐ currently living in the philippines
โ october libra
๐ฃ raising my favorite little person
๐๏ธ gryffindor โข child of aphrodite
๐ romance novels, greek mythology & classic literature
๐ง believes every story deserves its own playlist
๐ท photography, reading, writing & collecting beautiful quotes i'll probably use in a fic someday
โโ Every book, every volume you see here, has a soul. The soul of the person who wrote it and of those who read it and lived and dreamed with it. โ
โ Carlos Ruiz Zafรณn, The Shadow of the Wind
โฟ before you turn the page...
life gets wonderfully busy sometimes.
between motherhood, work, and writing, updates aren't always as frequent as i'd likeโbut i always find my way back.
i'm usually awake at ridiculous hours because i'm in the philippines while most of my readers aren't, so if you receive a reply at three in the morning... no, you didn't.
above all, please be kind.
i've always wanted this blog to feel like an old neighborhood bookshop on a rainy afternoonโa place where stories are shared freely, coffee is always warm, and everyone is welcome to stay awhile.
โand if you are looking for the quiet room in the back, the archives are open over at @archivedepilogues.
โฟ table of contents
๐ love stories & everything in between
๐๏ธ the fine print
๐ mailbox
๐ท mutuals
๐ง currently playing
โโฟ beyond the shelves...
โ๐ the manuscripts
๐ the corkboard
๐ผ the mixtape
โฟ pressed flowers & page markers
a little advisory... ๐ค
i've recently renamed a few of my tags to match the blog's new theme! if you're looking for older posts, here's a little guide:
#ellie's works ๐ โ #on the shelves ๐
#el's writing โ๐ป โ #from the writing desk โ๐ป
#ellie's fic recs ๐ โ #staff picks ๐ท
#ellie's random shit ๐คช โ #between chapters โ
#fic feedbacks <333 โ #love letters ๐ค
#ellie's asks ๐ โ #the mailbox ๐
#anon asks ๐ โ #unsigned letters โ๏ธ
#update โผ๏ธ โ #housekeeping ๐๏ธ
#yappin' with ellie โจ๏ธ โ #between chapters โ
#my lovers!! ๐ฅฐ โ #kindred spirits ๐ผ
#reblogs! ๐ โ #borrowed pages ๐
#ellie speaks ๐ฃ๏ธ โ #margin notes ๐๏ธ
#mama talks! ๐ฃ โ #mama's corner ๐ฃ
#ellie's navigation ๐ โ #the front desk ๐
new tags...
#special orders ๐ - writing requests
โ the bookstore is currently under renovation. some books are still finding their way to the right shelves, but the old tags will continue to guide you in the meantime. thank you for your patienceโand if you can't find what you're looking for, please don't hesitate to ask the bookseller. ๐๐ค
โฟ currently on the shelves
โ๏ธ percy jackson and the olympians
๐ก๏ธ luke castellan
๐ฅ charlie bushnell
๐ฌ sebastian stan
๐ฆพ bucky barnes
๐ก๏ธ marvel
๐ธ hozier
๐ romance novels
๐๏ธ greek mythology
๐๏ธ romantic comedies
โ collecting songs that somehow become entire chapters
- it was shown the first 10-ish minutes of the first episode, ww are shown Thalia, alone, trying to get find Luke, she gets attacked, Percy shows up, intervenes to save her, him and Annabeth recruit her to the Di'Angelo's mission
- in my country (Brasil) the content ranting went up, from 12 years to 16 years
and FINALLY we got a teaser trailer, here it is:
and this shot of Percabeth during the dance:
oh this is going to be THE SEASON, the showrunners also mentioned how they developed a storyline, that will still see a lot of Annabeth during this season, even though she is kidnapped for the most of it, Thalia's role will be expanded upon specially hers and Percys "generational beef", how there's going to be an "easter egg" about nico and his future plot alongside with the possibility of us seeing a few beloved book cannon secondary characters ( i hope its silena, charlie and rachel, but my bet its going to be on will, and in my wildest dreams i see lee fletcher and michael yew)
so this was it and i am way to hyped, which may be a bad thing in case these script changes turn out to be really fucking stupid, but i am willing to give it a chance since the showrunners and writers battered the script for S2 after S1 critics
โย and if my wishes came true, it would've been you... โ
๐ฌ LOVELORN: BONUS FEATURES
โโ A collection of canon one-shots, extended cuts, deleted moments, alternate perspectives, and companion pieces from the world of Lovelorn โห๐คหยฐ
"I wish there was a way to know you're in the good old days before you've actually left them." โ Andy Bernard, The Office.
๐ฌ ๐๐ฑ๐ญ๐๐ง๐๐๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ญ ๐๐๐ โ โ started when we were younger, swear to god that i loved her. โ ft. marco leon
๐ฌ ๐๐ฑ๐ญ๐๐ง๐๐๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ญ ๐๐๐ โ โ youโre the only friend i need, sharing beds like little kids. โ ft. luke castellan
๐ฌ ๐๐ฑ๐ญ๐๐ง๐๐๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ญ ๐๐๐ โ โ jealousy, turning saints into the sea, swimming through sick lullabies, choking on your alibis. โ ft. luke castellan
๐ฌ ๐๐ฑ๐ญ๐๐ง๐๐๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ญ ๐๐๐ โ โ 'cause i've been aiming for heaven above, but an angel ain't what i need โ ft. marco leon
๐ฌ ๐๐ฑ๐ญ๐๐ง๐๐๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ญ ๐๐๐ โ โ these bad omens, i look right through them, that's what you do when you love somebody. โ ft. you
๐ฌ ๐๐ฑ๐ญ๐๐ง๐๐๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ญ ๐๐๐ โ โ somewhere in the haze, got a sense i'd been betrayed. โ ft. luke castellan
๐ฌ ๐๐ฑ๐ญ๐๐ง๐๐๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ญ ๐๐๐ โ โ she's got those lips, she's got those hips, the life of every fuckin' party. she's talented, she's good with kids, she even speaks kindly about me. โ ft. lacy matthews
๐ฌ ๐๐ฑ๐ญ๐๐ง๐๐๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ญ ๐๐๐ โ โ the world's not perfect, but it's not that bad. if we got each other, and that's all we have. โ ft. the kids
๐ฌ ๐๐ฑ๐ญ๐๐ง๐๐๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ญ ๐๐๐ โ โ i love you, it's ruining my life. โ ft. luke castellan
๐ฌ ๐๐ฑ๐ญ๐๐ง๐๐๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ญ ๐๐๐ โ โ i don't want the children of another man to have the eyes of the girl that i won't forget. โ ft. luke castellan
๐ผ additional reels are still being restored...
"Nothing has really happened until it has been remembered." โ Virginia Woolf.
๐ง commentary track !
โโ okay, so, i've wanted to write these snippets from before and in between lovelorn ever since i posted chapter three!
a lot of these scenes have been sitting in my google docs for months because they didn't really quite fit into the main story, but i also couldn't bring myself to throw them away. some are deleted moments, some are extended scenes, some happen between chapters, and a few are just little pieces of the story that i think deserve to exist.
think of these as the movie's bonus featuresโextra footage that adds a little more context, a little more heartbreak, and a lot more yearning. none of them are required reading, but if you want to spend a little more time with these characters, this is where you'll find them.
i hope you guys enjoy them as much as i've enjoyed finally getting them out of my head.
hope you guys are ready for extended cut #2 ๐ because if you guys remember from chapter two of lovelorn, there's a lil bit there about capture the flag and a certain cave ๐
extended cut #2 involves a little bit of decorating!
i mean, most of the demigods either lose a parent or yk are sent to camp for their own safety, so i did that, and it shows you guys that marco is just as traumatized as luke is, but he doesn't make it everybody's problem
okay so now that's posted, imma take a self care break because i have a big fat ass migraine and i need fucking lie down or else imma pass out forever and haunt y'all like-
anyway, more stuff when i wake up.... in like five or six hours, or maybe ten ๐คทโโ๏ธ
โย started when we were younger, swear to god that I loved her... โ
๐ง commentary track !
โโ hiii!! this is a lil cute thing about how marco and melody met!! basically, y'all know how, but why not give it a visual? anyway, here's a little snippet of the origins!
here you'll see how bright and happy our girl is before she meets a certain someone almost two years later ๐
p.s: this is not a chapter! rather, it's like an in-between take from the series! i am definitely adding lil scenes of melody and luke soon, so keep an eye out for those!! i hope y'all like this!!
word count: 4,399
Five years earlierโฆย
The winter wind blowing off the Long Island Sound didn't feel anything like the winters back in Oakcliff. Dallas cold was sharp and dry, and it usually smelled like exhaust fumes, wet pavement, and the sweet, heavy scent of tamales from the corner stand down the street. This cold smelled like pine needles, saltwater, and a weird, buzzing energy that he couldn't explain. Magic, the older kids called it.
โMarco Alejandro Miguel Leon shoved his hands deeper into his grease-stained pockets, his shoulders hiked up to his ears, and glared at the snow-covered paths of Camp Half-Blood from the open doors of Cabin Nine.
He didn't belong here.ย
He wasn't a warrior; he didn't know how to swing a sword or shoot a bow, and he definitely didn't want to learn how to fight. He had only been here a week, and he already hated it. He hated the biting cold, he hated the weird centaur guy and the pudgy drunk guy who ran the place, and he hated the woods, which everyone casually admitted were full of monsters that wanted to eat him.โ
Monsters. Just thinking the word made his stomach twist into painful knots.
Most of all, he hated how he got here.
โEvery time he closed his eyes, he was back in Oakcliff. He could smell the burning rubber and the thick, rotting stench of sulfur. He could hear the sickening crunch of metal as the massive, one-eyed freak of natureโa cyclops, the satyr had called it laterโripped the roof off his adoptive dadโs beloved '67 Chevy truck like it was a tin can.
โTwo weeks ago, his biggest problem had been failing his pre-algebra test and trying to figure out how to properly gap a spark plug. He and his dadโhis adoptive dad, Manuel Herreraโhad been driving down the highway in Manuelโs beat-up Chevy truck, listening to old rock music and talking about what they were going to have for dinner.ย
And then the truck just crumpled.ย
It was like they had hit a solid brick wall, but the wall was moving.
โThe thing that ripped the roof off their truck hadn't looked like the monsters in the comic books. It was a nine-foot-tall nightmare made of pure muscle and rage, with one massive eye taking up half its ugly face.
โMarco still had nightmares about the smell of burning rubber and gasoline. He still woke up in a cold sweat, hearing the awful sound of metal screeching as the monster peeled the truck open like a tin can. Manuel had been bleeding so badly, pinned behind the steering wheel, screaming at Marco to get out, to run.
The trauma was still raw, like an open wound. It dragged him back to another nightmare, the one that still jolted him awake in the middle of the night.ย
He had been asleep in the backseat of his momโs sedan. He woke up to the sound of shattering glass, blaring sirens, and the flashing red and blue lights painting the highway. His mother, Josephine Leon, didn't survive.
โTwo car wrecks. Two parents, gone. One by death, one by distance.
Manuel had survived. He was tough, built from years of hard labor and stubborn Texas grit.ย
But sitting in that sterile hospital room a few days later, covered in bandages and hooked up to machines, Manuel had looked at Marco with tears in his eyes. The older satyr named Ferdinandโwho had managed to get Marco out of the wreckage and hide him until the monster lost their scentโhad explained everything. About the Greek gods. About Marco's real father.
โYour mama, she told me this day might come,โ Manuel had croaked, gripping Marcoโs hand tightly. โShe said you were special, mijo. She said it wouldn't be safe forever.โ
โHis mom had been a brilliant mechanicโa woman who could fix anything. But she couldn't fix this.
โYou gotta go with him. Ferdinand... He's a good man. He promised me heโd look after you. You have to go to this camp. I can't protect you from those things, Marco.โ
Marco had begged to stay. He had cried until he couldn't breathe, but Manuel made the heartbreaking decision to send him away. To keep him safe.ย
Ferdinand had been steady the whole way to New York. The satyr kept a calm, watchful eye on Marco, trying to make the kid smile with terrible roadside diner jokesโeven when they both knew a cyclops was hunting them across state lines.
At twelve years old, Marco felt like he was carrying a boulder on his back. He didn't want to be a demigod. He didn't want to be a son of Hephaestus. He just wanted to be back in the cramped, warm garage in Oakcliff, passing wrenches to Manuel and listening to old rock cassettes while they fixed up classic cars.
So here he was insteadโa thousand miles away from home, dumped into a summer camp for demigods in the middle of winter. The campers called it Camp Half-Blood, but apparently monsters didn't care what season it was.
The forge at Camp Half-Blood was the only place that made any sense to him. It smelled like hot metal, motor oil, and smoke. Hammers rang against anvils all day, and the heat from the coals made the whole place feel like a Texas summer. It wasn't home, but it was the closest thing to it.ย
It reminded him of weekends spent under classic cars with Manuel, passing wrenches and getting grease on his nose.ย
It reminded him of his mom, Josephine, standing over a welding table with sparks flying everywhere, telling him to keep his hands clear.
Hephaestus was his real fatherโthe god of fire and metal. Marco didn't really care about the god part, but he understood machines. If something was broken, you figured out what was wrong and fixed it. That made sense. Gods and monsters didn't.
โHe spent his time hiding in the forge, avoiding the older kids who carried deadly weapons and talked about fighting monsters like it was a normal Tuesday. Marco felt like a freakโa clumsy, oversized twelve-year-old who already stood a head taller than most kids his age, constantly bumping his elbows into workbenches, jumping at every loud noise, and having entirely missed the memo on how to be a demigod.
Except when he found himself watching her.
Marco shifted his weight, his dark honey eyes peeking over a half-finished bronze shield. He caught himself looking back out at the snow-covered path, searching for a flash of bright yellow.
โHe remembered his very first day at camp. He had been standing near the edge of the Hephaestus cabin, hugging his duffel bag to his chest, wanting to run back to New York City and hitchhike all the way back to Texas. The snow had been coming down hard, making the stone paths super slippery.
Then, from the direction of the big blue house on the hill, a girl came rushing down the path.
She looked about his ageโtwelveโbut walked like she owned the place. She was wearing a yellow sweater that was a size too big, and her hair was tied up in a messy ponytail. She was balancing a ridiculously tall stack of clipboards, glass bottles, and rolled-up bandages in her arms, walking way too fast for the ice.
โMarco had watched her heel hit a patch of black ice.
โIt was a total wipeout. The clipboards flew up into the air like frightened birds. The glass bottles went skittering across the frozen grass, and the girl landed flat on her back in a snowbank with a loud, surprised oof.
Marco froze. His heart jumped into his throat, and he was about to run over to see if she was hurt. But before he could even take a step, the girl just sat up in the snow.ย
She didn't cry, and she definitely didn't look embarrassed. She just threw her head back and let out a bright, giggly laugh, wiping a clump of snow off her nose before she started scrambling around to pick up her stuff.
A fifteen-year-old girl with sharp gray eyesโan Athena kid named Sofia, he learned laterโstopped dead in her tracks, looking horrified. โY/n! Gods, are you okay?!โ
โโIโm fine, Sof! Chill out; I just wanted to make snow angels on the way!โ she had yelled back, totally unbothered, her smile wide and bright.
Marco just stared. She was so pretty. And she was laughing. In a camp full of kids carrying literal swords and looking like they knew exactly what they were doing, she looked like sunshine.
Y/n.
โMarco learned her name later that night at dinner. She was a daughter of Apollo, and even though she was only twelve, she had been at camp for three whole years. She was the head counselor for her cabin, and she basically ran the camp's infirmary. Compared to Marco, she might as well have lived here her whole life.
โOver the last week, Marco found himself looking for her. Not in a weird way, just... She was the only thing here that didn't scare him. She was always patching up the little kids when they scraped their knees, calling them sweetie and handing out stickers.
โShe was just a nice, normal girl.
โHe hadn't spoken a single word to her since he arrived. He was just the new kid from Texas with grease under his fingernails and a duffel bag that still smelled like home. Why would she ever notice him?
โBesides, Marco thought as his cheeks grew warm, she was really, really pretty.
โHe wanted to talk to her, but what was he supposed to say? Hey, I'm Marco. A cyclops wrecked my dad's truck, and I'm really scared of everything here.ย
Yeah, right.
He was too awkward. He always tripped over his own feet, and his hands were permanently stained with grease.
โMarco sighed, a puff of white breath rising in the cold air, and turned his attention back to the workbench.
โโMarco! Look!โ
A high-pitched voice dragged Marco out of his thoughts. He blinked, looking down at a smaller workbench a few feet away.
Seven-year-old Charlie Beckendorf was bouncing excitedly on his stool. His dark curls stuck out from under a pair of oversized welding goggles that practically swallowed his face, and his nose was smudged with black soot.
โMarco couldn't help but smile. Over the past week, Charlie had become his shadow. Marco liked the kid. He reminded him of himself when he first started hanging around Manuelโs garageโcurious, reckless, and obsessed with making things work.
โโWhatโve you got, Charlie?โ Marco asked, walking over and leaning his elbows on the wooden table.
โCharlie pointed proudly to a mess of copper tubing, tiny gears, and brass plating. โItโs a spider! I made the legs extra bendy so it could climb up the walls. I even put a little boiler in its tummy! But itโs making a funny hissing sound, and the legs won't kick.โ
โMarco squinted at the contraption. It was pretty genius for a seven-year-old, but the kid hadn't grasped the concept of steam pressure yet. The tiny brass boiler was resting over a Bunsen burner, and steam was leaking out of a loose valve on the side.
โโThe legs aren't kicking because the steam is escaping, buddy,โ Marco explained gently, pointing to the hiss. โBut thatโs a good thing. If the steam gets trapped in there, the boiler gets too hot. You need an exhaust pipe so it doesn't build up.โ
โCharlie frowned, his bottom lip sticking out in a stubborn pout. โNo, I just want it to go super fast! If I trap the air inside, itโll push the gears harder! Watch!โ
โBefore Marco could even process what the kid was doing, Charlie grabbed a heavy wrench. He clamped it over the pressure valve and cranked it hard to the right, sealing it completely shut.
โThe hissing stopped instantly.
โFor a split second, the forge was quiet.
Then Marcoโs eyes locked onto the tiny glass pressure gauge on the side of the spider. The little red needle shot all the way to the right, trembling violently against the glass. The copper tubing began to squealโa high-pitched, terrifying whine of metal stretching past its breaking point.
Marco's blood ran cold. The sharp smell of overheated metal and burning oil yanked him straight back to the highway. One second he was in the forge. The next, he was staring at the crumpled remains of Manuel's truck.
โIt was a bomb.
โโยกMierda, no!โ
โMarco didn't think. He just lunged.
โHe threw his entire body across the workbench, grabbing the thick collar of Charlieโs leather apron. He violently yanked the seven-year-old off the stool, throwing them both to the hard stone floor. Marco twisted in mid-air, wrapping his arms around Charlieโs head, curling his own body over the kid like a human shield. He hooked his right arm over the edge of the heavy wooden table to anchor them down.
The boiler exploded. Superheated steam and shattered brass blasted across the forge, the force of it knocking the air from Marco's lungs as the blast echoed off the stone walls.
โA piece of jagged, boiling-hot shrapnel tore through the sleeve of Marcoโs denim jacket like it was paper. It sank deep into the muscle of his right forearm. At the exact same time, a geyser of scalding steam sprayed directly across his wrist.
Marco screamed, the explosion throwing him right back onto the highway. For one horrible second, all he could smell was burning metal and gasoline, and he couldn't tell if he was in the forge or trapped inside the wreck of Manuel's truck again. He couldn't hold it back. White-hot pain tore through his arm, stealing the air from his lungs. He squeezed his eyes shut as a choked, desperate sob tore from his throat.
โโยกAh, duele! ยกDuele mucho!โ Marco gasped, Spanish tumbling out of his mouth in a blind panic.
โCharlie,โ Marco gasped, his voice sounding high and terrified as โhe rolled off Charlie, clutching his right arm to his chest. The denim was shredded, soaked in bright red blood. The jagged piece of metal was sticking out of his skin, and the flesh around it was already blistering an angry, sickening white and red. โAre you okay?โ
โCharlie scrambled up, his tiny face pale and terrified under his goggles. โMarco! You're bleeding!โ he cried, his voice cracking. โI'm sorry! I didn't mean it! I'm sorry!โ
The forge dissolved into chaos around him. Voices blurred together as older campers shouted orders, and someone dumped a bucket of sand over the smoking remains of the workbench.
โโHoly Hera,โ someone swore, looking at Marcoโs arm. โMason!โ
A burly sixteen-year-old Hephaestus counselor came barreling over, his face draining of color when he saw Marco's arm. โGods, don't move the shrapnel! We have to get him to the infirmary right now. Come on, kid. Up on your feet.โ
His knees threatened to buckle beneath him. Strong hands caught him before he could fall, half-carrying him out of the forge. The freezing winter air slapped his sweaty face, but it did nothing against the fire raging through his arm. He couldn't catch his breath. Every panicked gasp hitched in his chest as tears carved clean tracks through the soot on his cheeks. He tried to move his fingers. Nothing.
โIโm broken, his brain screamed. My hand is broken. I won't be able to hold a wrench. My dadโฆ Manuel is gonna be so disappointed. I can't fix the cars.
โIf he couldn't fix things, what good was he?ย
โโMi brazoโฆ no siento mi brazo,โ Marco cried out, stumbling over the snow as Mason half-carried him. โPlease, I need my hand!โ
โโKeep breathing, kid. We're almost there,โ Mason grunted, kicking open the heavy wooden doors of the Big House.
They practically collapsed into the infirmary. The sharp scent of crushed mint drifted through the room, chased by something warmer: cinnamon and bright citrus. Marco didn't know whose scent it was yet, but somehow, it made the tight, painful knot in his chest loosenโjust a little.
The infirmary was barely holding itself together.
โThere were no adults. There were no older kids. Standing in the middle of the room was Dawn, an eight-year-old Apollo girl, openly sobbing over a roll of bandages because she had no idea what to do. Next to her, seven-year-old Lee clutched a bottle of nectar with both hands, looking like he was about to pass out from panic.
โWe got a boiler explosion!โ The Hephaestus counselor yelled, dumping Marco onto a cot in the corner. โDeep laceration and severe steam burns!โ
โThe two Apollo kids could only stare. Dawn wailed louder, dropping the bandages. Lee dropped the nectar bottle, covering his eyes.
Marco squeezed his eyes shut as pain made dark spots dance across his vision. This was it. He was going to bleed outโor worse, they were going to have to chop his arm off because a bunch of little kids didn't know how to do surgery.ย
The panic he'd been trying so hard to bury ever since Dallas swallowed him whole came crashing back all at once.
โยกAyรบdame, por favor!โ Marco sobbed, his left hand gripping the edge of the cot so hard his knuckles turned white. โยกMi papรก me va a matar! ยกNo puedo estar roto!โ
โโDawn, Lee, go to the back room and count the ambrosia squares.โ
โThe voice was calm. It wasn't loud, but it cut through the screaming, the crying, and Marcoโs panic like a sharp knife.
โMarco forced his tear-filled eyes open.
โStepping out from behind a canvas divider was Y/n.
โShe wore a bright yellow sweater, and her sleeves pushed up to her elbows. She didn't look scared. She didn't look overwhelmed. She certainly didn't look like she was only twelve years old.
She looked like a general walking onto a battlefield.
Dawn and Lee instantly stopped crying. They nodded frantically before scurrying to the back room, eager to escape the blood.
โY/n walked over to the cot, her dark eyes scanning the shredded, bloody mess of Marcoโs arm. She didn't flinch.
โโIโll take it from here,โ Y/n told the Hephaestus counselor. โGo back to the forge and make sure no one else blows themselves up today, please.โ
Mason didn't argue. He gave one quick nod before hurrying back toward the cabin.
โY/n pulled a small rolling stool over and sat down right in front of Marco. Even hunched over on the cot, he still towered over her, all long limbs and awkward elbows, feeling like he took up far too much space. She was so close he could smell the faint scent of cinnamon and bright citrus clinging to her yellow sweater. She pulled a pair of latex gloves from her pocket and snapped them onto her hands.
โMarco was shaking violently, his teeth chattering. โP-please,โ he stammered, his voice cracking. โIโm Marco. Marco Alejandro Miguel Leon. Iโฆ My dad and me, we fix classic cars. Mustangsโฆ I need my hand. Please don't cut it off, ma'am. I can't be broken.โ
She looked up from his arm, meeting his frightened eyes. For a heartbeat, she simply looked at him.
Then, a soft, bubbly laugh escaped her. It wasn't meanโit was the exact same bright, giggly laugh he had heard when she fell in the snow. Her gaze was so incredibly soft, so grounding, that Marco actually stopped hyperventilating.
โโThat is a very big name for a guy who fixes Mustangs,โ Y/n teased, her smile wide and sunny. โNice to meet you, Marco Alejandro Miguel Leon. Iโm Y/n. Iโm the head healer here. And Iโm going to tell you a secret, okay?โ
โMarco swallowed the lump in his throat and gave a tiny, jerky nod.
โY/n reached out, gently laying her gloved hand over his uninjured left knee. โYou aren't going to lose your hand. You aren't broken. Iโm going to pull this nasty piece of metal out, and youโre going to be fixing Mustangs until youโre an old, wrinkly man. Do you trust me?โ
Marco stared at her for a long moment. He'd known her for all of two minutes, but he would have trusted her with his life.
โโ...Okay.โ
โโOkay,โ Y/n repeated softly, turning her attention back to his arm. โIโm going to clean the burn first and then pull the shrapnel out. Itโs going to hurt really bad for about two seconds. But I know a trick to make it better. Just keep looking at me, yeah?โ
โMarco braced himself. He gripped the metal rail of the cot, ready to scream.
โBut then, she started to sing.
She didn't sing loudly. She simply hummedโsoft and low, like she was trying not to disturb the room. The melody hit Marco like a punch to the chest.
โBlackbird singing in the dead of nightโฆ
Marco's breath caught.
He knew that song. It was the exact song Manuel used to play on the beat-up boombox in the Dallas garage. It was the song they listened to while changing oil filters and sanding down rusted fenders.
โTake these broken wings and learn to flyโฆ
โY/nโs voice wasn't just pretty. There was actual, literal magic in it.
The warm, golden resonance of Apollo's blessing poured from her voice and settled over him like sunlight. The panic clawing at his chest melted away. The knot that had lived in his stomach ever since the cyclops attack finally loosened. His shoulders sagged. He could breathe again.
โAll your lifeโฆ
โY/n reached down. With a swift, incredibly precise motion, she pulled the jagged piece of brass from his arm. Marco flinched, bracing for agony. It never came. There was only a dull pressure, then relief.
โYou were only waiting for this moment to ariseโฆ
โShe didn't stop humming. Her free hand reached into her pocket, pulling out a tiny, golden square that looked like a piece of lemon cake. โEat this,โ she murmured, pressing it gently to his lips.
โMarco opened his mouth without thinking. The second the pastry hit his tongue, it melted. He didn't taste cakeโฆ he tasted home. The rich, cinnamon-laced warmth of Manuel's thick Mexican champurrado. Then the savory spices of his mom's kitchenโthe perfect picadillo simmering on the stove, followed by a steaming bowl of harira that always seemed to appear whenever someone was sick.
As she pressed a nectar-soaked washcloth over the deep cut, the burning in his arm vanished completely. In its place came a deep, comforting warmth that settled all the way into his bones.
Marco just stared at her.
He forgot about the blood. He forgot about Charlie, the forge, and the snow piling up outside. All he could do was watch the way her eyelashes fluttered whenever she blinked. The way she bit the inside of her cheek when she was concentrating. The way her nose scrunched ever so slightly as she reached for a jar of salve.
She was only twelve, just like him.
But somehow, she carried herself like she'd been doing this forever.
Y/n spread a thick, cooling salve over the angry burns on his wrist, chasing away the last of the pain before wrapping his forearm in clean white gauze. Every movement was slow and careful, like she was afraid of hurting him.
Nobody had been that gentle with him since his mom died.
Manuel loved him. Marco never doubted that. But Manuel was a mechanic through and throughโhe showed love with shoulder claps, greasy hair ruffles, and teaching him how to rebuild an engine.
This was different.
This was what being taken care of felt like.
Y/n tied the bandage into a neat knot before peeling off her bloodstained gloves and tossing them into a nearby bin.
The humming faded, leaving the infirmary quiet again.
But it wasn't an empty silence.
It felt... safe.
โThere,โ Y/n said, leaning back on her stool with a bright smile. โAll done! The nectar will heal the cut from the inside out. The burn's going to take a few days, so no forge fires until I say so. On the bright side, you'll have a pretty cool scar to show off.โ
Marco slowly lifted his arm. He wiggled his fingers. They all moved perfectly. No stiffness. No numbness. Just a dull, tired ache.
He looked back at her. His chest felt so full it almost hurt. He was just a traumatized, grease-stained kid from Texas who didn't know the first thing about being a demigod. But somehow, looking at her made him feel like maybe everything was going to be okay.
โThank you,โ Marco whispered, his voice thick with emotion he didn't know what to do with.
โYouโre welcome, Mr. Mechanic,โ Y/n teased gently.
She reached into the pocket of her sweater and pulled out a crinkled, half-used sheet of stickers. Peeling off a bright yellow smiley face, she leaned forward and pressed it onto the fresh white bandage, smoothing the edges down with her thumb.
โYou did really good today, Marco,โ Y/n said softly. โYou saved that little boy. You were really brave.โ
Marco looked down at the tiny yellow sticker. His face felt hot, and his heart was beating so hard he was sure she could hear it.
He was twelve years old, and he didn't know much about anything. He didn't know how to fight monsters, and he didn't know how to survive Camp Half-Blood. But as he sat there looking at the girl who had hummed the fear right out of his chest, Marco Leon knew one thing for absolutely certain.
He had the biggest, most embarrassing crush on her.
He didn't say anything. He just ducked his head, tryingโand completely failingโto hide the warmth creeping across his face. But right then and there, he made a silent promise to himself. He was going to learn how to fight. He was going to get stronger. And he was going to make sure that the girl who fixed everyone else never had to feel broken herself.
โย and if my wishes came true, it would've been you... โ
๐ฌ LOVELORN: BONUS FEATURES
โโ A collection of canon one-shots, extended cuts, deleted moments, alternate perspectives, and companion pieces from the world of Lovelorn โห๐คหยฐ
"I wish there was a way to know you're in the good old days before you've actually left them." โ Andy Bernard, The Office.
๐ฌ ๐๐ฑ๐ญ๐๐ง๐๐๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ญ ๐๐๐ โ โ started when we were younger, swear to god that i loved her. โ ft. marco leon
๐ฌ ๐๐ฑ๐ญ๐๐ง๐๐๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ญ ๐๐๐ โ โ youโre the only friend i need, sharing beds like little kids. โ ft. luke castellan
๐ฌ ๐๐ฑ๐ญ๐๐ง๐๐๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ญ ๐๐๐ โ โ jealousy, turning saints into the sea, swimming through sick lullabies, choking on your alibis. โ ft. luke castellan
๐ฌ ๐๐ฑ๐ญ๐๐ง๐๐๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ญ ๐๐๐ โ โ 'cause i've been aiming for heaven above, but an angel ain't what i need โ ft. marco leon
๐ฌ ๐๐ฑ๐ญ๐๐ง๐๐๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ญ ๐๐๐ โ โ these bad omens, i look right through them, that's what you do when you love somebody. โ ft. you
๐ฌ ๐๐ฑ๐ญ๐๐ง๐๐๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ญ ๐๐๐ โ โ somewhere in the haze, got a sense i'd been betrayed. โ ft. luke castellan
๐ฌ ๐๐ฑ๐ญ๐๐ง๐๐๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ญ ๐๐๐ โ โ she's got those lips, she's got those hips, the life of every fuckin' party. she's talented, she's good with kids, she even speaks kindly about me. โ ft. lacy matthews
๐ฌ ๐๐ฑ๐ญ๐๐ง๐๐๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ญ ๐๐๐ โ โ the world's not perfect, but it's not that bad. if we got each other, and that's all we have. โ ft. the kids
๐ฌ ๐๐ฑ๐ญ๐๐ง๐๐๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ญ ๐๐๐ โ โ i love you, it's ruining my life. โ ft. luke castellan
๐ฌ ๐๐ฑ๐ญ๐๐ง๐๐๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ญ ๐๐๐ โ โ i don't want the children of another man to have the eyes of the girl that i won't forget. โ ft. luke castellan
๐ผ additional reels are still being restored...
"Nothing has really happened until it has been remembered." โ Virginia Woolf.
๐ง commentary track !
โโ okay, so, i've wanted to write these snippets from before and in between lovelorn ever since i posted chapter three!
a lot of these scenes have been sitting in my google docs for months because they didn't really quite fit into the main story, but i also couldn't bring myself to throw them away. some are deleted moments, some are extended scenes, some happen between chapters, and a few are just little pieces of the story that i think deserve to exist.
think of these as the movie's bonus featuresโextra footage that adds a little more context, a little more heartbreak, and a lot more yearning. none of them are required reading, but if you want to spend a little more time with these characters, this is where you'll find them.
i hope you guys enjoy them as much as i've enjoyed finally getting them out of my head.
i have just discovered lately that all my frizz are waves/curls, and i've just started loving them after years of straightening them!!
anyway, my hair is apparently a mix 2a, 2b, 2c, and 3a ๐ญ idk how to properly keep them intact for more than a day ๐ญ the humidity makes it puff up even more, especially during mornings when i get my kid up and ready for school literally every day ๐ฅฒ
