#alec is an amazing father

[rodolfoparras]

Whoever said soap ghost and König can’t be gay and it makes them uncomfortable to hc them as gay but then went on and said that soap and ghost have a father son relationship made my day y’all are so funny god bless

[volturissideslut]

hello! can i ask for a (movie)caius and sibling!reader (gn)? reader looks exactly like caius: blonde, an angry chihuahua, and menacing. they have the gift of illusions (not like zafrina bc i'm pretty sure she can only project images into another's mind). and, just like caius, reader is ruthless but they're quiet and doesn't like to talk most of the time. oh, and reader is just about the same age as jane and alec (in the movie) :>>>

feel free to ignore! have an amazing day:)

𝕮𝖆𝖎𝖚𝖘 𝖁𝖔𝖑𝖙𝖚𝖗𝖎

Caius had always been protective of you, even in his human life. I mean - you were his little sister. Of course he was protective.

And when he turned he was not going to leave you behind. How could he when you were practically begging him to take you with him?

And over the millenia he became more of a father figure to you

Especially because you were gifted

He would not let you be taken advantage of, even if it was by his own soul brother, Aro.

And so when you joined under the title of elite guard you were still more of a princess than anything. Just trained to be one of the most deadly princesses to exist. One of the most deadly guards to exist.

And so you remained by your brothers side, spitting image of him with a personality parallel to him.

The combined rage you both held was unmatched, unbeatable on the battlefield.

You two became quite the duo - becoming an even better trio when he met his wife Athenadora.

She also became somewhat of a sister slash mother figute to you, later taking on Alec and Jane too

Yet you always remained his favourite

His personal guard

It was his was of keeping you close by. Keeping you safe

And preventing you fron becoming Aro's errand girl

[ghoulie-67-baby]

Try and stop me Part 1 - Shadowhunters.

Summary: You were adopted by the Lightwood a few years back and Robert hates how you’re different you are from the others. An argument takes place and you’ve decided enough is enough.

Warnings: Mentions of cheating, bullying (idk what to call it), abuse (idk if you’d call it this?), shouting, angst, disowning a child.

Pairing: Lightwood family x Adopted!reader.

Word count: 1,376.

Note: Hopefully you’ll be able to tell from this that I ✨hate✨ Robert Lightwood.

We only gathered around the dinner table like this for family matters, especially at the institute. Isabelle sat beside me, talking animatedly about the training session she had just finished but I didn't hear much of it. The looks I'd been getting off our father had been unnerving, strange and inexplicable so I'd zoned out, overthinking it.

"It's nice to see everyone is actually here for once," Maryse took her seat, oddly family-orientated recently, at the head of the table beside Izzy and smiled at all of us. "We don't do this often enough." She was trying so hard to hold herself together for the past few weeks. Robert had been cheating on her and nobody knew. Maryse found out but hadn't told the others yet and I wasn't supposed to know but you hear things like arguments when you can't sleep at night. The whole family had noticed a difference in their dynamic but nobody commented, better to ignore these things and see if it all worked out in the end I guess.

We all dug in, always loving when Maryse came to see us and cooked her amazing meals. Izzy tried, bless her heart, but I'd rather eat mud than the food she conjured up and I know the others thought the exact same thing, it was fair to say she didn't have the same gift as Mom when it came to the kitchen. The conversation wasn't loud but it was a nice buzz in comparison to silence and I listened as Izzy and our mother spoke to each other. As soon as the table fell remotely quiet I was called on.

"Y/N, I noticed you've not been training as much as the others." Robert dabbed his lips with a napkin and I looked at him questioning look whilst swallowing my food. "You shouldn't be slacking off. Jace, Izzy and Alec are working so much harder than you."

"Can we not do this now?" Maryse seemed to almost beg him as she glared in his direction. My sibling's eyes zeroed in on me and Izzy tapped my leg under the table gently before looking pointedly at my fork. I placed it down from my trembling hands and sipped my water to clear my throat, I hated confrontation.

"I got a bit behind on the books is all so I'm giving myself a break from physical working to get some studying in, that's all but it won't be for long." I smiled unsurely "Just until I catch up."

"And why is it that you manage to fall behind when everyone else can stay ahead?" He raised an eyebrow. "You should be working just as hard and not being lazy and sitting around letting your studies get the better of you." My eyes flickered to our mother for a moment who looked apologetic and irritated.

"I've just been struggling a bit is all but it won't take me long to catch up, I promise." I bowed my head and shifted the food around my plate wishing I could just disappear into the tension-thick air.

"It's not good enough. You've had 4 years to catch up and it's getting beyond a joke. You need to be as good as the other three, what kind of a Shadowhunter will you be if you let this happen?" I pushed my chair out slightly with cold, shaking hands and bit back my tears of anger.

"Dad, don't you think you should cut her some slack?" Alec started, obviously uncomfortable.

"Don't involve yourself, Alexander." Now Jace looked furious. Nobody spoke to Alec like that when Jace was around not even Robert.

"I'm sorry that I've hit a bit of a slump but I'm working on it," I spoke through gritted teeth. "I know I'm not as good as them and I'm trying so just give me some time and space and hopefully I can get up to the standards you want." My voice was cold and harsh but I didn't care anymore. How dare he. I didn't need reminding that I wasn't a Lightwood or that I hadn't been with them as long as Jace. "Thank you for dinner Mom, I'm going to head off to bed." I stood from the table, not looking at anyone as I turned around.

"You aren't going anywhere Y/N!" Robert's voice thundered through the room and I stopped dead. "When will you finally sort yourself out? We won't baby you anymore! I expect better of you and if you don't sort this out then you won't be a Lightwood anymore, not that you've ever been much of one anyway." My breath hitched, and that stung more than anything ever had. My chest rose and fell as though I had run miles as I clenched my fists.

"Enough! That's too far!" Izzy stood up, arms braced on the table as her chair fell backwards.

"No, what's enough is Y/N taking advantage of the home and life we gave her despite who her parents were. We didn't have to take her in and I'm beginning to wish we hadn't!" This time Maryse yelled at him but I couldn't make out a word as my blood rushed through my ears, anger drowning out everything else. I was slightly aware of Isabelle's hand on my arm but my body wouldn't respond. I turned to face him slowly with a wicked grin on my face as my eyes met his.

"Finally." My voice was scarily calm. "You finally admitted it. After 4 years of thinking about it, you finally gathered up the courage to say it huh? Heaven forbid your wife has a kinder heart and takes in a child who needs her. By the angel, what a crime!" By this point, I was shouting. "I'm sorry that I'm not good enough for you and that I'm very clearly a disappointment but hey, guess you won't have to deal with that anymore if I'm not a Lightwood. I have tried my damn best for the past 4 years, harder than I have ever tried to do anything. All to get you to notice, to impress you, to make you proud so that I don't get overlooked by you anymore but no! Still not good enough!" My voice wobbled and I hated that tears of anger now stained my face. "I know I'm not as good as them and I didn't mind that but I still tried for you. Not for Mom, not for my siblings or the institute but for you because you just looked straight through me like I wasn't there. You always have and I'm sick of it! I'm sick of trying to make you happy and I'm sick of keeping it all to myself, I know more than you think I do and my mind is definitely stronger than you realise." My teeth bared in pure rage as I glared holes into him. "I've had enough. I'm done! I'm done trying to make you happy so you have your way."

I spun on my heel and stormed out of the room, pushing past the other Shadowhunters who seemed to have heard the commotion and making my way to the door. I grabbed a spare stele from one of the weapons racks, sliding it into my pocket and beelining for the doors. I ignored Clary's yells of concern as she followed after me and the voices of my siblings and Mom asking me to stay.

"Don't you dare walk away Y/N! If you walk out that door then you're done, You won't be welcome here anymore!" I stopped, my hands resting on the wooden doors. "I mean it! You leave and I don't want to see your face again!" I looked back at my Mom who was sobbing as Jace held her. I had never seen her so vulnerable, especially not in front of the whole institute.

"I love you, Mom, You guys know where to find me." I smiled at my Mom and siblings softly before looking at Robert. "As for you, try and stop me from coming home, I dare you." With that I threw open the doors and stormed out, leaving the shouting of Maryse behind as I held in my sobs.

[zeevbenoit]

ranking the shadowhunter series I have completed:

4) the eldest curses- this one irritated me ngl. red scrolls of magic is set before the second half of tmi but cassie forgets what happens in tmi. alec and magnus discuss magnus’s father in red scrolls but in tmi alec doesn’t find out about his father until cohf in edom. girl. the lost book of the white was better. did my man simon so dirty though.

3) the infernal devices- not for me. took me over two years to read. took forever to read each book and I really didn’t want to pick up the next one when I did finish. I will never reread this.

2) the mortal instruments- comfort series. the last three specifically are amazing. city of fallen angels is SO GOOD. highly underrated. I would read an entire book of simon just staring at a wall.

1) the dark artifices- my personal favorite. lady midnight is a comfort read. I just love all of the characters. blackstairs is my favorite ship. I personally love the moral ambiguity of julian. I’m a sucker for the childhood friends to lovers trope. the livvy/ty/kit trio is chef’s kiss. mark cracks me up. I love his character. I adore cristina and her friendship with emma. emma herself is my favorite fmc. I also love the friendship between clary and emma in this series. my two favorite fmcs together is great. a bonus is jem being happy in this series and getting what he always deserved.

I’ll update this when I finish the last hours. it’ll probably go in the middle.

[princeloww]

broadchurch fic recs !!

(Except I'm very picky and don't read Alec/Ellie fics)

Whumpuary Day 1: Secrets Revealed by AJWrites1998 (@bro-ken-spoon)

Summary: Ellie Miller was having the worst day of her life even before she got the text message. Takes place during season two, episode six.

Details Ellie's reaction to Alec getting his surgery (and telling her about it over text). Packed full of brilliant lines that are both clean and beautifully sensitive all at the same time. Spot-on characterisation, and quite a quick read. I personally really loved this one, and (as you'll probably notice) absolutely love this writer and their writing style.

All I Want For Christmas by AJWrites1998

Summary: The edges of his mouth turn down slightly, but he tries to play it off as thinking about whatever he’s managed to pull up on his computer. He sighs.

“Can’t,” he says, “Daisy’s visiting her mother for Christmas. She won’t be back till next week.”

Ah, so that’s what it was, then. He’s missing Daisy.

“Well, I guess if I can’t have Daisy, I’ll accept just you,” she says, then takes a sip of her own tea. She watches for his reaction over the top of the mug. He winces, but she didn’t exactly leave a lot of room to say no.

---

Daisy's out of town for Christmas. Alec has some feelings on the matter. Ellie's there to help out.

Alec Hardy sick fic!!!! This is a Christmas themed one, but it definitely doesn't need to be Christmas time for it to be enjoyed. Ellie and Alec are written incredibly well - their interactions are so brimming with familiarity that you get the sense that these two characters really know each other, yet in such a spectacularly Hardy-Miller way. Very slice-of-lifey and quite low stakes. Very fun to read, and full of really sweet moments (like Alec helping Ellie put Christmas presents together).

A Hard Day's Night by AJWrites1998

Summary: “Well, she was right, even if you are feeling poorly now. We’ll get you some toast later on, when you’re feeling up to it again.” She feels the need to reinforce this, otherwise she fears he’ll take away the wrong lesson. Unfortunately, at the mention of food, he pales again. “No. No need. I’m never eating anything ever again.” he says, his face lined with pain. ------------ Alec Hardy doesn't usually eat anything at all. It's just his luck that the one time he does, it's gone bad. It's up to Ellie Miller to look after him.

Oh my god, I think this is my favourite Broadchurch fic ever. I think it deserves so much attention - it's amazingly written and honestly quite beautiful. It's witty, clever, and perfectly captures strong, familiar and platonic intimacy. This is another Alec sick fic where Ellie takes care of him. Their dynamic is really well written, and extremely accurate. The author clearly has a great understanding of the characters, and it really translates in this - and all of their - piece(s). Without giving too much away, I've got to say the hair scene is absolutely amazing. If you enjoy thinking of them in a queer platonic kind of way, this might be good for that? It's very intimate, in a way that is refreshingly platonic.

Over the Sea to Skye by lestatslestits (@lestatslestits)

Summary: five times Alec Hardy sang to his daughter while she was sick, and one time she sang to him instead.

Oops, it's another sick fic. I only read this one recently, but it is absolutely beautiful. The father-daughter relationship between Daisy and Alec is so compelling and sensitive, and every character is incredibly well written and characterised. I really, really recommend this one.

On this part, I'm going to go ahead and recommend lestatslestits' entire selection of Broadchurch fics. I've only read this one, because I genuinely literally just discovered it while writing this post, but I'm entirely confident that they are all amazing. I'm going to devour them as soon as I have a chance, and then probably devour their TOTA fics too. Amazing writer, please go check them out.

Mail Slot by capn_schmazz (whose tumblr I don't know)

Summary: Ellie thought about Alec in those first weeks of knowing him. Seeing if her memories were different now with this new information. They weren't. Not really. She wouldn't have ever guessed it if he hadn't trusted her enough to tell her, so she stopped thinking about those weeks and took a sip of tea in the present.

I am INSANE about this fic. It's absolutely perfect, yet subtle and meaningful and really impactful. Has suicide themes, as Alec tells Ellie about a past suicide attempt. It's really focused on the relationship between Ellie and Alec, as they have a late night/early morning conversation about first a case and then the past. Also one of my absolute favourites. The dynamic is so well done, and the characters are so well portrayed, that I had a tiny little David Tennant and Olivia Colman in my head as I read it. Genuinely, in my opinion, brilliant piece of writing.

I really really recommend all of these fics!! Please go check them out.

[lurafita]

Random thought about Malec and combat.

My headcanon is that Magnus doesn't like mundane fighting or battle oriented magic. He knows it, he mastered it, he might even be the best at it. But he learned it because it was necessary. As an orphan on the streets, with his father in Edom, in mundane wars, in shadow world wars. In order to protect others and himself, he had to master it. But it was never his passion. Not like when he uses his magic to create. Inventing the portal, making new wards, learning to heal, mixing new potions, or even just your every day party tricks. When he is using his magic like this, his blood sings and his energy sparks and it's like the world around him is truly alive.

- And Alec gets that. He listens when Magnus is playing around with a magical theory, and encourages Magnus' bouts of research and experiments,etc.

Alec doesn't like senseless violence, but not all violence is senseless. It is the shadowhunters' angel given duty to protect the world from demons, and fighting is in his blood. Perfecting his aim is exhilarating, learning a new move is amazing, sparring with his siblings is poetry in motion. Fighting against downworlders had only sounded correct because growing up, every adult had always emphazised their demonic connection. But killing a real demon had always felt so much more right than pursuing a downworlder ever had. Fighting a demon, fighting the truly evil, the real threats, is as scary as it is invogorating. Energizing. Thrilling. It's not like he doesn't enjoy peaceful days, but the fight (and even the bloodshed) is a part of him.

- And Magnus gets that. He guides Alec through old fighting styles he has learned in the past, makes him a training area with targets for his bow, etc.

They are different, but they don't begrudge each others' differences.

[cleopatraphouse]

what your favorite Parahumans ship says about you

(Obviously based on / inspired by @doubleca5t’s video series)

Taylor/Emma: You had a really hard time coming out as a lesbian.

Taylor/Sophia [ShadowSkitter]: Your favorite fanfic trope is enemies to lovers.

Taylor/Madison: You like redemption arcs, but you’re kinda lazy about it.

Taylor/Lisa [Smugbug]: “Be gay, do crimes” is not just a meme to you, it is your personal motto, it is your way of life. 

Taylor/Rachel [Wolfspider]: You are queer and neurodivergent. 

Taylor/Brian [Skrue]: Considering how uncommon this ship is you might honestly be Wildbow. 

Taylor/Alec [Jitterbug]: Your addiction to edgy boys who have trouble talking about their feelings is terminal. You have seven days left to live. 

Alec/Brian: You’re doing your best in a series with barely any viable M/M ships in the main cast. 

Alec/Brian/Lisa/Rachel/Taylor [Polysiders]: You’re super into the found family trope. You’re also super horny. 

Aisha/Taylor [Forgetabug]: “Hoe don’t do it” is your favorite meme and ideal relationship dynamic.

Aisha/Brian [Laborncest]: You have an incest kink. And low standards.

Aisha/Alec: Doing crimes is more important to you than being gay.

Amy/Victoria [Guts & Glory]: You have an amazing ability to ignore the parts of canon you don’t like. And you have an incest kink.

Amy/Taylor [Pillbug]: You are a firm believer in the inherent eroticism of being lonely together.

Taylor/Victoria [Punch Buggy]: Your appreciation for strong female protagonists is only outweighed by your appreciation for exploring trauma.

Amy/Taylor/Victoria: You think most friendship drama could be solved with a threesome. And you have an incest kink.

Amy/Lisa: You just wanted good things for Amy. And really, you’re allowed to want that.

Lisa/Victoria: You’re just here for the hatesex.

Dean/Victoria: You had a pretty easy time of it in high school. 

Uber/Leet: One of the hottest things you can imagine is a dude saying “no homo” just as he gets balls deep in his boyfriend’s ass.

Lily/Sabah [Needlepoint]: You are a firm believer in the inherent eroticism of protecting someone.

Taylor/Dennis [Clockroach]: You like Worm, but you don’t get why it has to be so dark and morally ambiguous all the time.

Danny/Jack Slash [Jack Daniels]: You are desperate, DESPERATE for father figures. 

Assault/Battery: You think any joke can only be improved by slapstick.

Contessa/Number Man [Countessa]: You also ship Chell and Wheatley. 

Colin/Dragon: You’re a robofucker, obviously, but more than that you’re a transhumanist.

Ashley/Victoria [Starsong]: Your favorite fanfiction trope is useless lesbians.

Sveta/Victoria: You’re a firm believer in the inherent eroticism of shared trauma.

Erin/Rain: You have at least a passing interest in trad aesthetics, and a strong interest in FLR. 

Sveta/Weld: You like your monsters tragic and your relationships tragic-er. 

Rain/(any of the Heartbroken girls): You’re into femdom.

Jack Slash/Number Man: You toil in the yaoi mines all day and all night and have done so for at least twenty years.

[the-dawn-star]

Few stupid and less stupid headcanons of the Twilight universe. 

A/N: These are my own opinions and I realized that I had a lot less to say about the Twilight universe than I had with TVDU. @sarahelizabeth_talks on TikTok is amazing and I pretty much agree with her every Twilight take. The stupid ones are more like they don’t have any canon content behind them so they are just what I think of. 

-S 

+400ish words. 

The less stupid ones…

Jane and Alec view Aro as their dad and on the other hand Aro is super protective of them (especially with Jane). More than once over the centuries the twins have called Aro their father as an accident and Aro respectfully ignores it because he knows that if the twins had realized it they would have been mortified with shame. 

All of the higher Volturi guards have movie nights where they talk shit and talk about any drama that’s happening with the lower guards. They also get jealous when Aro is trying to make a vampire join the coven because of their powers. 

Carlisle and Aro were dating when Carlisle was a part of the coven. (Fight with the wall.) (I feel like I want to write a gothic, dark academia, religious undertones fic about them!!) 

Carlisle was born in the 1700s so he is quite religious and he goes to church with Esme on major holidays. It makes him feel more human and helps him to remember how he doesn’t want to hurt people. 

Rosalie and Emmett get married again every once in a while, that’s a fact. But I think Rosalie’s dresses are never pure, stark white. She likes to be a bit out of the box with stuff like this. 

Jessica will be a successful woman who takes no shit from anyone. She and Angela will stay as really good friends their whole life. (Justice for the human characters!!)

The stupid ones…

After a few years of happy family life, Bella will break up with Edward and they try to co parent Rigatoni (Renesmee) but both of them are really bad at it. (After that Bella will start to drink human blood and Edward will be disgusted by it.)

Renaissance (Renesmee) will be weirded out when she realizes that her parents were so okay with the whole imprinting thing. For a while she doesn’t speak to anyone of the coven + Jacob. 

If you read the similar post about the TVDU, in that one I said that all vampires are some sort of queer and I would like to say the same shit with this universe too but fuck Twilight vampires are so heteronormative. 

All of the Cullens have so many unpaid speeding tickets and that's one reason why they have to move around. They also owe millions to the tax department. 

Caius is a fashion nerd. The man loves expensive and luxurious clothing. 

Jacob in his wolf form once slipped while running next to a river. He fell into the water being drenched. Later, all of the pack members laughed at him and he is still a bit embarrassed about it but it’s all in good fun. 

Bella was really grossed out when in New Moon Edward states that he is like 109 and for a moment Bella was ready to break up with him.

~~~

Feel like you want to support me via Kofi? No preasure tho!

[bad-fucking-omens]

The Witch Twin (Alec V. x OC) Preface, Introduction, & Chapter 1

Summary: When I thought about my future, I was sure that I had the rest of my life vaguely planned out.

Then, my older sister moved up from Arizona to stay with us — and turned my entire life upside down.

I had no idea just how bad it had gotten until I was standing in a castle in Italy, convinced that I was about to die.

Length: 3.7K words (Complete fic 71.8K words)

Fic warnings: Graphic depictions of violence, death, explicit smut (M/F), referenced/implied past child abuse, emotional manipulation by sibling

Chapter warnings: None

Read on AO3 or read below

PREFACE

You are the kindest thing

that ever happened to me,

even if that is not how our tale is told.

When everyone else told me I was

destined to be a forgotten nymph

that nurtured flowers and turn meadows gold,

you saw that the ichor that resides in me

demanded its own throne.

You showed me

how a love like ours can turn

even the darkest, coldest realm

into the happiest of homes.

-  Nikita Gill

INTRODUCTION

When I thought about my future, I was sure that I had the rest of my life vaguely planned out.

I would graduate from Forks High School in three years, then go to college in Seattle, or maybe Tacoma or Spokane — far enough away from Forks that I could truly start my own life but close enough to visit Charlie every weekend so he wouldn’t be lonely. I would finish my degree — which would probably be something in the sciences or maybe the arts — then I would start my career in my chosen field.

I would eventually find someone that I would want to spend the rest of my life with, someone I loved and who loved me just as much. We would probably get married at some point and maybe even have a kid or two down the road. I would come back to Forks every so often to visit my father with my family. It was always so easy to envision myself and my father and my family sitting in the living room, laughing and eating and watching some sports game on the TV. I thought that it was inevitable that I would always spend my holidays exactly like that — happy and surrounded by the people that I loved the most.

Then, my older sister moved up from Arizona to stay with us — and turned my entire life upside down.

I had no idea just how bad it had gotten until I was standing in a castle in Italy, convinced that I was about to die.

1. CONFESSIONS

Bella was waiting for me and Charlie at the front door when we finally made it home from the hospital. I was holding our father’s hand, trying to give him some sort of comfort as he tried to cope with the sudden loss of one of his closest friends, Harry Clearwater.

Bella wrapped her arms around his waist as soon as he was close enough. Dad pulled his hand away from mine to hug her tightly. I glanced down at the ground, swallowing down my emotions once again. 

‘Charlie had a rough day,’ I reminded myself. ‘He didn’t mean to snub me by pulling his hand away.’

“I’m sorry about Harry, Dad,” Bella murmured.

“I’m really going to miss him,” he said.

“How’s Sue doing?”

Charlie sighed deeply and said, “She seems dazed, like she hasn’t grasped it yet. Sam’s staying with her. . . . Those poor kids. Leah’s just a year older than you, and Seth is only fourteen. . . .”

He kept his arm around Bella as he started towards the door again. I followed behind them silently.

“Um, Dad?” Bella began nervously. “You’ll never guess who’s here.”

Charlie and I both looked at Bella, then glanced around the street. Just as I spotted the shiny, black Mercedes parked a little down the street, a soft, high-pitched voice floated out of my house and raised the hair on the back of my neck.

“Hi, Charlie, Eve. I’m sorry I came at such a bad time.”

“Alice Cullen?” Charlie said. I glared at the pixie-like girl, my hands curling into fists as Charlie asked in amazement, “Alice, is that you?”

“It’s me. I was in the neighborhood.”

“Is Carlisle–”

“No, I’m alone.”

I clenched my jaw. My nails were digging into the palms of my hands so hard that I wondered if they would draw blood.

“She can stay here, can’t she?” Bella pleaded, looking up at Charlie and drawing my glare towards her. “I already asked her to.”

“Of course. We’d love to have you, Alice,” Charlie answered.

I scoffed and brushed past all three of them to finally head into the house. I could hear Alice say from outside, “Thank you, Charlie. I know it’s horrid timing.”

“No, it’s fine, really,” Charlie assured her as I began to climb the stairs and they moved inside. “I’m going to be really busy doing what I can for Harry’s family. It will be nice for the girls to have some company.”

Tears gathered in my eyes as I walked into my room and closed the door behind me.

What the hell was Bella thinking? Or Alice, or Charlie for that matter? They had to know that Alice Cullen was only going to stay for one night, maybe two, and then she would leave again. There was absolutely no doubt in my mind that once she did leave, Bella was going to be destroyed and Charlie and I would be left to pick up her broken pieces yet again. My sister and father might still have soft spots for Alice, but I didn’t trust any of the Cullens anymore, not after how they had treated Bella.

I still didn’t understand how they could treat her so horribly. How could they all just disappear one day and not even return her calls or emails? How could Edward leave my sister out in the woods after breaking up with her? How could he leave without making sure that she at least made it back to the house safely?

How could any of them claim to have ever loved or cared about her at all?

After taking a quick shower the next morning, I walked downstairs to find Alice sitting with Charlie in the kitchen while he attempted to make breakfast. I leaned back against the counter beside him, watching warily as he poked the bacon frying in the pan.

Alice asked quietly, “How bad was it?”

I shot her a nasty look as Charlie sighed and said, “Real bad.”

“Tell me about it. I want to know exactly what happened when we left.”

I looked down at my sock-clad feet as I crossed my arms securely over my chest. I tried to control my breathing as I blinked back tears.

Charlie hesitated before he spoke. “I’ve never felt so hopeless. I didn’t know what to do — neither of us did. That first week. . . . I thought I was going to have to hospitalize her. She wouldn’t eat or drink, she wouldn’t move. Dr. Gerandy was throwing around words like ‘catatonic,’ but I didn’t let him up to see her. I was afraid it would scare her.”

“She snapped out of it, though?” Alice asked.

“I was going to have Renée come to take her to Florida. I just didn’t want to be the one . . . if she had to go to a hospital or something,” Charlie explained. “I hoped being with her mother would help. But when she heard her mother was on her way and we started packing her clothes, she woke up with a vengeance. I’ve never seen Bella throw a fit like that. She was never one for tantrums, but boy did she fly into a fury. . . . She threw her clothes everywhere and screamed that we couldn’t make her leave . . . and then she finally started crying. I thought that would be the turning point. I didn’t argue when she insisted on staying here . . . and she did seem to get better at first. . . .”

“But?” Alice prompted when he trailed off.

He sighed. “She went back to school and work, she ate and slept and did her homework. She answered when someone asked her a direct question. . . . But she was . . . empty. Her eyes were blank. There were lots of little things — she wouldn’t listen to music anymore. I found a bunch of CDs broken in the trash. She didn’t read, she wouldn’t be in the same room when the TV was on, not that she watched it so much before. I finally figured it out . . . she was avoiding everything that might remind her of . . . him.”

I dug my fingernails into my arms at the mere mention of Edward. My hatred for him had soaked into every cell of my body after the way he had destroyed my sister. Somehow, I just knew that he knew how depressed Bella would get if he left her. He just didn’t care.

“We could hardly talk,” Charlie continued. “Eve and I were so worried about saying something that would upset her — the littlest things would make her flinch — and she never volunteered anything. She would just answer if I asked her something. . . . She was alone all the time, even with us here. She didn’t call her friends back, and after a while, they stopped calling. It was night of the living dead around here. I still hear her screaming in her sleep. . . .”

My chest tightened as Bella’s tortured screams echoed through my mind. Tears pricked my eyes and I blinked them back once again. Bella’s nightmares had been the singular most horrid thing about the Cullens leaving. It was as if their disappearance from Forks had traumatized her more than anything else ever could.

“I’m so sorry, Charlie,” Alice said.

I bit back the acidic comment I wanted to spit at her as my father replied, “It’s not your fault. You were always a good friend to her.”

I scoffed, quietly enough that Charlie couldn’t hear me.

Alice’s eyes flickered towards me for a moment before she looked back at Charlie. She said, “She seems better now, though.”

“Yeah,” he agreed. “Ever since she started hanging out with Jacob Black, I’ve noticed a real improvement. She has some color in her cheeks when she comes home, some light in her eyes. She’s happier. . . . He’s Eve’s age, so he’s a year younger than her, and I know Bella used to think of him as a friend, but I think maybe it’s something more now, or headed that direction, anyway. Right, Eve?”

I gave him a small smile and said placatingly, “Yeah, maybe.”

But the moment he looked away, my smile disappeared. It was a wistful dream. It was true that there seemed to be something between them, but the one thing I had learned during this whole nightmare was that Edward would always hold Bella’s heart in his hands, no matter how much he hurt her. I hated him for it.

“Jake’s old for his years,” Charlie said, almost defensively. “He’s taken care of his father physically the way Bella took care of her mother emotionally. It matured him. He’s a good-looking kid, too — takes after his mom’s side. He’s good for Bella, you know.”

“Then it’s good she has him.”

Charlie sighed and I could almost see the way his façade crumbled at Alice’s words.

“Okay, so I guess that’s overstating things. I don’t know — even with Jacob, now and then I see something in her eyes, and I wonder if I’ve ever grasped how much pain she’s really in. It’s not normal, Alice, and it . . . it frightens me. Not normal at all. Not like someone . . . left her, but like someone died.”

My heart throbbed painfully in my chest when I heard Charlie’s voice crack. He had never been a very emotional man, so hearing the strain in his voice hurt me. Gently and wordlessly, I nudged him away from the stove and took over cooking breakfast myself. Charlie said nothing, but the way his hand lingered on mine for a few moments conveyed his appreciation better than his words could have.

“I don’t know if she’s going to get over it. . . . I’m not sure if it’s in her nature to heal from something like this. She’s always been such a constant little thing. She doesn’t get past things, changer her mind,” he said.

“She’s one of a kind,” Alice agreed. I threw a glare at her over my shoulder, even though I wasn’t quite sure why her comment bothered me so much.

“And Alice,” Charlie hesitated, then said, “Now, you know how fond I am of you, and I can tell that she’s happy to see you, but . . . I’m a little worried about what your visit will do to her.”

“So am I, Charlie, so am I,” she sighed. “I wouldn’t have come if I’d had any idea. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize, honey. Who knows? maybe it will be good for her.”

“I hope you’re right.”

I shook my head, choosing to remain silent. Of course Alice’s visit wouldn’t be good for Bella. Alice would eventually leave and shatter the few delicate parts of Bella that had somehow managed to heal.

“Alice, I have to ask you something.”

I glanced at Charlie as I began to plate his breakfast. Alice said, “Go ahead.”

“He’s not coming back to visit, too, is he?”

Charlie sounded about as furious as I felt. I knew our rage had to be on nearly the same level. I didn’t think either of us would hesitate to rip Edward a new one if he dared to show his face around here again.

“He doesn’t even know I’m here. The last time I spoke with him, he was in South America.”

I scoffed openly this time and Charlie snorted. I placed his plate in front of him as he commented bitterly, “That’s something, at least. Well I hope he’s enjoying himself.”

Alice tensed and replied steelily, “I wouldn’t make assumptions.”

I had been reading a book upstairs when I heard the shouting. I quickly set my book aside and rushed downstairs. I followed the noise to the living room, where I found Bella, Alice, and Jacob Black. My wide eyes glanced between them, watching as Jacob shouted profanities at Alice, who was ignoring him, a strange look of horror and determination etched onto her face. Bella looked horrified, even more so than when she had the nightmares that made her wake up screaming.

“What’s going on?” I asked worriedly.

“Alice?” Bella said weakly. “What happened?”

“I don’t know!” Alice exclaimed. “What is he thinking?”

She pulled a cellphone from her handbag. My jaw dropped as I watched her dial a number so quickly that her fingers blurred together. How in the hell was it even possible for her to move that fast?

“Rose, I need to talk to Carlisle now. . . . Fine, as soon as he’s back. No, I’ll be on a plane. Look, have you heard anything from Edward?”

As Rosalie Cullen answered Alice’s question, the tiny girl’s face grew more and more appalled by the second. The phone shook in her hand. I looked at Bella, hoping that she would notice my confusion and explain what was happening, but her eyes were locked onto Alice.

“Why? Why would you do that, Rosalie?” A silent moment passed, then Alice spoke again, “Well, you’re wrong on both counts, though, Rosalie, so that would be a problem, don’t you think? Yes, that’s right. She’s absolutely fine . . . I was wrong. . . . It’s a long story. . . . But you’re wrong about that part, too, that’s why I’m calling. . . . Yes, that’s exactly what I saw. . . . It’s a bit late for that, Rose. Save your remorse for someone who believes it.”

She snapped the phone shut and turned back towards Bella.

Bella said, “Alice, Alice, Carlisle is back, though. He called just before–”

“How long ago?”

“Half a minute before you showed up.”

“What did he say?”

“I didn’t talk to him.”

Alice and Bella turned expectantly towards Jacob, and I mirrored them. He flinched, but he didn’t move away from Bella’s side. My mind was whirling, trying to understand what was happening — or what had happened. Nothing about this made sense.

“He asked for Charlie, and I told him Charlie wasn’t here,” Jacob muttered.

“Is that everything?” Alice demanded coldly.

“Then he hung up on me.”

Bella said in a soft voice, “You told him Charlie was at the funeral.”

Alice’s head snapped towards my sister. “What were his exact words?”

“He said, ‘He’s not here,’ and when Carlisle asked where Charlie was, Jacob said, ‘At the funeral.’”

Alice moaned in pain and fell to her knees. I took a step back in shock, glancing between her and Bella and Jacob in confusion.

“Tell me, Alice,” Bella whispered.

“That wasn’t Carlisle on the phone.”

“Are you calling me a liar?” Jacob snarled. Alice ignored him, her unblinking gaze locked on Bella’s face as she explained, “It was Edward. He thinks you’re dead.”

Bella sighed as she relaxed. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Why would Edward think that Bella was dead? Why was Alice so clearly distraught? Why was Bella suddenly so calm about this?

“Rosalie told him I killed myself, didn’t she?”

“Yes. In her defense, she did believe it. They rely on my sight far too much for something that works so imperfectly. But for her to track him down to tell him this! Didn’t she realize — or care?”

“And when Edward called here, he thought Jacob meant my funeral.”

“You’re not upset,” Alice whispered.

“Well, it’s rotten timing, but it will all get straightened out,” Bella replied. “The next time he calls, someone will tell him what really. . . .”

She trailed off, her brown eyes widening slightly as she took in the genuine horror on Alice’s face.

“Bella, Edward won’t call again,” Alice said slowly. “He believed her.”

“I don’t understand,” Bella said, her voice so quiet that I could only barely make out the words.

“He’s going to Italy.”

For a single moment, everything seemed to be frozen. No one moved or spoke. Then, Bella shrieked, “NO! No! No, no, no! He can’t! He can’t do that!”

“He made up his mind as soon as your friend confirmed that it was too late to save you.”

“But he — he left! He didn’t want me anymore! What difference does it make now? He knew I would die sometime!”

Alice said quietly, “I don’t think he ever planned to outlive you by long.”

“How dare he!” Bella screamed, jumping to her feet. Jacob stood up beside her, attempting to put himself between her and Alice. “Oh, get out of the way, Jacob!” She elbowed her way around him and begged Alice, “What do we do? Can’t we call him? Can Carlisle?”

She shook her head. “That was the first thing I tried. He left his phone in a trash can in Rio — someone answered it.”

“You said before we had to hurry. Hurry how? Let’s do it, whatever it is!”

“Bella, I-I don’t think I can ask you to. . . .”

“Ask me!”

Alice put her hands on Bella’s shoulders, her voice deadly serious as she spoke. “We may already be too late. I saw him going to the Volturi — and asking to die. It all depends on what they choose. I can’t see that until they make a decision. But if they say no, and they might — Aro is fond of Carlisle, and wouldn’t want to offend him — Edward has a backup plan. They’re very protective of their city. If Edward does something to upset the peace, he thinks they’ll act to stop him. And he’s right. They will.”

Bella just stared at Alice for a moment. Her jaw was clenched, her expression seemingly frustrated.

“So, if they agree to grant his favor, we’re too late. If they say no, and he comes up with a plan to offend them quickly enough, we’re too late. If he gives into his more theatrical tendencies — we might have time. . . . Let’s go!”

“Listen, Bella!” Alice exclaimed. “Whether we are on time or not, we will be in the heart of the Volturi city. I will be considered his accomplice if he is successful. You will be a human who not only knows too much, but also smells too good. There’s a very good chance that they will eliminate us all — though in your case, it won’t be punishment so much as dinnertime.”

“This is what’s keeping us here?” Bella asked. “I’ll go alone if you’re afraid.”

“I’m only afraid of getting you killed.”

“I almost get myself killed on a daily basis! Tell me what I need to do!”

“You write a note to Charlie. I’ll call the airlines.”

“STOP!” I yelled. All three of them turned towards me, their eyes wide as if they had forgotten that I was even in the room with them. “What the fuck is going on? What are you talking about? Bella, you can’t just go to Italy!”

“There’s no time–”

I cut Alice off, “I’m not letting you take my sister all the way to Italy, where you said that she is probably going to die unless you tell me what is really going on!”

“The Cullens are vampires,” Bella said. My eyes widened and I opened my mouth to speak, but Bella rambled on before I could say a single word. “I’ve known about them and what they are since Edward and I got close last year. . . . The Volturi are like their government, or royalty, or something in between, I’m not really sure. They have laws that all vampires are supposed to follow, like not letting humans know that vampires exist. . . . Edward thinks I’m dead because Alice saw me jump off the cliff — oh, yeah, some vampires have special powers, so that’s how Alice can see the future. Edward is going to ask the Volturi to kill him. . . . I need to go. I need to save him, Eve.”

“Bella–”

“Eve, I can’t lose him!” she insisted, tears in her eyes. Her lip trembled and her voice broke as she begged, “Please, please, just this once put yourself in my shoes and help me.”

I flinched at her words and my heart stung sharply in my chest. These past few months, my whole life had revolved around helping my sister. But, like always, I pushed aside my own feelings and swallowed my thoughts in order to help my family.

“Fine,” I sighed. “But, I’m going with you. I’m not letting you do this by yourself.”

“No,” Alice insisted, shaking her head. “It’s too risky.”

I glared at her. “Either I’m coming with you, or I’ll call Charlie home from work right now.”

“Please, Alice,” Bella mumbled, taking my hand in hers. “Just let her come with. We need to go.”

Alice stared at me for a long moment, a blank expression on her face, before she sighed.

“Hurry.”

[im-out-of-it]

season 1, episode 3 discussion list

1. “there is some truth to the idea that human beings should have a modicum of common sense.” ALEC GO OFF KING

2. seriously like what nerve does clary have to be mad at Alec and Izzy????? SIMON SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN THERE

3. it’s a shame Alec isn’t already in charge of the institute for real. because he would have shipped clary’s ass off the second she got there.

4. “so this doesn’t matter to you?” no Alec, it doesn’t concern her. she doesn’t care that the cup can control demons and can cause chaos for downworlders and not just shadowhunters. all she cares about is her mom and Simon and pissing everyone off. she’s good at that lmao

5. “I need you to put your trust in me”- clary being a dumbass for 729189129828 hours in this show. why should they trust her? she came out of nowhere, creates more problems for them, and now has the most hated enemy as a father- which isn’t her fault but I’m sorry, clary hasn’t done a single thing to show she should be trusted

6. GIVE ME STRENGTH TO GET THROUGH CLACE SCENES

7. “downworlders are slaves to their impulses, we’re not”- ok so Alec does say some shit about them but fact is, he changes and adapts 🥰 I don’t need any pro book fans trying to argue on my posts (magnus gif because why not?) (also Magnus is not in this episode at all) (and this is my fav magnus outfit)

8. “We’ve all got our things, don’t we?” Izzy calling Alec out after Alec calls Izzy out. I LOVE IT 😭

9. it amazes me how much Alec does everything to help jace even if it means breaking the rules and it’s always never enough smh

10. Raphael is also a mood. so is Camille. FUCK THEY ARE BOTH HOT OK?????? my bi ass is going crazy (I also love the way he says this line)

11. “are you so desperate to get laid, you’ll risk killing us?” Jace denies but isn’t it the truth???? maybe it’s not just about getting laid but he’s done so much reckless shit already since meeting clary. so in a way, alec has a point (but I’m biased)

12. “it’s bad enough not to have a vote, but worse to be treated as inferiors. they act as if seelies aren’t half- angel too.”- meliorn with the truth!!!!! literally they all act as if the seelies are evil and terrible just because they’re half demon

13. HIS FACIAL EXPRESSIONS KILL ME BECAUSE SAME ALEC

14. fucking hell, that whole motorcycle scene is so cringe and we are supposed to believe they have chemistry?

15. “Alec would die for me. he’ll be here.” but would you die for alec, jace? because the answer is no. you only care about Alec as long as he does what you want him to do.

17. from episode 1 BUT IZZY IS SO FINE 🔥

18. “so let’s distract them. so let’s distract them.” I love my fav pair Lightwood siblings fighting together ✨

19. Alec saving the day ONCE AGAIN

20. side note- camille is also sooooo fine 🥰🔥

21. “I’m older than you jace, I’m not in your shadow.” - Alec. literally jace has never once thought of how Alec feels in any of this and it shows. Alec is tired of living in a shadow and I’m guessing, tired of wanting someone around who doesn’t give a shit about them

thank you for coming to our shadowhunter show meetings and whatever name I created but forget about. 21 is our number today, maybe we’ll get a different one at the next discussion. I found out I can include many gifs so i went overboard. sue me 🥲

[courtneyfictionfan]

Most people find this “Road To Avonlea” scene heartbreaking. And I agree that it is. I also find this to be a very memorable scene for me personally because it showcases what a amazing Father Alec was. By all rights Felix should’ve been scolded but he wasn’t..

[rodolfoparras]

You post and your online anon children gather lol.

I come with amazing news (at the same time bittersweet). I stopped doing public around 6th grade and I have been homeschooled since then because I was always getting sick plus I was dealing with a bunch of mental problems. I'm currently doing an online private school that lets you set your own pace luckily because I, 18 year old, was supposed to graduate last year but I been sick so I slacked behind accidentally.

But now (might wanna get the tissues), I'm going to graduate mid October of this year and I currently have Texas A&M along with UMHB (University of Mary-Hardin Baylor) and a few other popular colleges reaching out for me to join them for college next year. I haven't been to public school since 6th grade, always been sick or my mental health in the gutter, but now I'm doing something that me, my family and my friends thought was impossible.

I'm giving you an update since I see you as an online father figure and the anons as my siblings (along with Gnome and their anons since I'm 🦆 there too). I might not be on as much because my life is doing a huge 180, I go from a sick, depressed and suicidal little kid to an almost 19 year old where everything is practically perfect and I'll be honest, you, Gnome, Emby and your mutuals have been a huge part of it since I love reading the other anons talk and I love hearing from y'all. Thank you, Alec, for being my first ever Tumblr blog and thank you for changing my life. Sorry for the long ass rant but I wanted to open so everyone reading this knows that anything is literally possible, you just have to open your doors.

I love y'all,

-🦆

Sugar bee that sounds absolutely wonderful!!!! Oh my god reading this made me so happy I’m so proud of you for pushing through and graduating doesn’t matter if you’re a wee bit late the fact that you reached the finish line is amazing not only are you graduating but you have wonderful opportunities awaiting you!! I’m so proud of you little love!! I can understand how it feels when all puzzle pieces are fitting in place and just know I’m here cheering for you you deserve it little angel!!

And please sugar bee😭😭 I am so honored to be seeen as a parental figure my one and only goal is to give yall comfort and security wether it be through my fics or through my other posts and it makes me happy I’ve managed to do so!! And do not worry about not being online you get your life together you deserve everything good and more little love!! Giving you the biggest warmest hug MWAH MWAH MWAH congrats little angel may nothing but good things follow you from now on 🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻

[zephswritingthings]

The Princess and the Innkeeper

Based on @writing-prompt-s prompt, the original or which seems to have vanished

You are the local village inn keeper, and one night the Princess of the kingdom comes in and asks for a job at the inn.

Now it wasn’t that no one recognized the girl for what she was, but this was a small inn, in a small village, on the very edges of the kingdom. When the princess walks in wearing a dress that was clearly meant to hide her but is just as clearly worth more than every building in the village combined it only makes sense to say yes. So I did. I showed her how to peel potatoes and found her clothes that were more comfortable and worth less and pretended not to notice that she’d clearly never so much as dressed herself before. It was the smallest of the things I pretended not to notice about her.

I grew up the daughter of an innkeeper in a small inn of a small village on the edge of the kingdom. It was a busier life than you might think. We fed and housed anyone going and coming from the boarder. Soldiers and knights, caravans and merchants, even most delegations stopped here. The princess had also been here twice before she showed up at my door in the middle of a storm asking for a job. She called herself by a new name and I let her think I didn’t recognize her.

————

The first time I met the princess we were so young it would make sense if neither of us remembered it. My father had made sure my brother and I were scrubbed completely clean and made us work in our fancy clothes, the ones we only wore when we went to visit mama’s family in the city. I was maybe six summers old but big enough to help. My jobs were small but many, any number of small household chores fell under my purview. Plus the overseeing of our youngest guests. You’d be amazed how many people brought their small children to the boarder with them when they got assigned there. On that day though there were no small children in the inn. No children at all in fact. The village children were kept well away from the king, his soldiers, and the guards. Even most of our regular guests didn’t come for dinner. Just Old Alec who used to be an adventurer, but he lives at the inn so I didn’t think he counted.

The king was the first person through the inn doors. Even at six I thought that odd. That he was so sure of himself he didn’t even send a guard in first. I saw Old Alec roll his eyes into his tankard. Then the inn filled suddenly, as though the king had been the stopper to a flood. In my very best clothes I ran between legs serving tankards and pints of ale, soups and stews and racks of our finest meats. My brother, three years my elder, moved between the tables with more grace, nodding and smiling as he took orders and delivered same as me.

Then, at the end of the tidal wave of soldiers and knights, I saw her. A girl maybe half my size, though she looked to have as many summers, small and pale and flanked by three female knights. Notable simply because there were no male knights or guards for her, just those three. As the night wore on I noted that only the other women among the other knights and guards approached the table. Though they didn’t turn away my brother or father when they came to check on them.

The princess ate with poise, dropping not a single drip onto her beautiful golden gown. Despite her poise and the money and time that had clearly gone into her outfit and hair, I remember thinking she looked tired. I found out why later that night.

The king and his people, not just knights and soldiers but also clerks, servants of all stripes, and at least half a dozen minor nobles, took up every single room in the inn. Including my father’s, my brother’s, and mine. My brother opted to sleep in the barn since the night was warm, my father dozed behind the bar in case anyone needed something in the night. I had chosen the kitchen. There was a spot beside the fire place that stayed warm and my bedding made a lovely little nest.

A noise woke me, in the hours of the night where it’s either incredibly early or incredibly late. I found myself instantly annoyed, even with only six summers, because I’d have to be up in only a few hours. Then I heard the noise again. A quiet and immediately cut off whimper. I lifted my head from my nest and found myself staring. The princess, in a nightgown that just barely brushed the tops of her feet, embroidered in silvers and golds that must have cost a fortune just to put a few swirls and drops along the hem of something no one was ever supposed to see, was barefoot, staring around the room with wide eyes. She hadn’t seen me yet, so I took a moment to watch. Her eyes had the tight wideness of a prey animal looking for somewhere to hide.

“Princess.” The word was more of a hiss, and it came from outside. I blinked, quickly sorting through the voices I’d learned. One of the servants I thought, but couldn’t place which one. The princess jumped and put a hand over her mouth. Her eyes scanning the room again, this time falling on my pile of bedding in the corner. Then on me. The voice came again from outside, more irritated this time but still quiet. I knew the sound of someone who was going to be furious when they found her. As her eyes locked on mine I acted, entirely on instinct, same as I would for any of the girls in the village. I lifted the blanket. She flew across the room, faster than I’d thought that she would be, nearly knocking the air out of me as she launched herself into my chest. I was once again struck by how small she was, barely a slip of a girl. I could feel every rib as I wrapped my arm around her. She was trembling.

There was a creak by the back door and I tucked her behind me and under my bedding. Then I lay atop her, trying not to crush her while pretending to sleep. I pulled the blankets back over me just as the door swung open. I heard footsteps padding around for several minutes before they approached. Then the blanket was whipped back. I sat up, blinking blearily up at the servant.

“Pa?” I blinked several times, trying to appear sleep addled, looking towards the window first, then at them. “It’s not light yet, oh, you’re not my pa. I can fetch him if you need?”

The servant appeared first baffled, then their brows pinched together as I began to stand.

“No need, no need.” They shook their head rapidly. “Sorry to disturb you lass. I was searching, well it’s not here, my apologies.”

“Very good ma’am.” I nodded and settled back into my bedding, my back pressing into the bundle that the the princess curled under. I could feel her warmth against my back. “May I have my blanket back?”

“Yes of course.” The servant nodded, handing it back and heading towards the door, muttering to herself. “I could have sworn, but surely not…”

Only once the door was closed and I could no longer hear steps did I get up, stepping on the stool to peer out the window. The little garden behind the inn was empty, the goat asleep in a way he wouldn’t have been if someone were near. I padded back to my bedding.

“They’re gone.” I said quietly. The princess poked her head up out of my blankets. The two simple braids her golden hair was tamed into were barely mussed despite her hiding space. I wondered idly if it was a magic she held. To always look beautiful. “Why are you hiding?”

“I’m running away.” Her chin jutted out when she said it and I had to hide a smile. The whole thing struck me as incredibly funny. Here I’d been scrubbed raw and worked in my nicest clothes just because her dad existed in our space, everything they’d requested we’d found, bartered, and bargained for to provide for them. Yet she was going to run away, in bare feet no less.

“Why?” I managed to croak it out without letting laughter tumble after it.

“I don’t get to do anything but sit and sew and learn my manners and people are Looking at me all the time and I’m hungry and I want to eat sweets.” She crossed her arms and slumped back into pillows.

“Sewings useful though.” I held up the hem of my own nightgown, patched together by the seamstress when I tore it last in exchange for a bucket of goats milk.

“Not the way I have to do it.” Her frown deepened.

“Well, I can’t do nothing bout most of that.” I stood up and dusted off my nightgown, another peek out the window confirmed my guess that the sun was creeping close. The grey of predawn hung over the yard. I skipped back and held a hand down to her. “But I do have an idea about sweets.”

Her frown didn’t lessen but she unpretzeled herself and took my hand. I pulled her up entirely too easily. I wrapped her in my cloak and put my best, warmest boots on her. I tucked my own feet back into my good shoes, even though they were a little too small, and pulled her out the back door. The goat looked up immediately and I tossed him a carrot, he caught it and watched us go without sounding the alarm. He was used to my wanders, most folk in town were. The path to the bakery was short as long as I cut through the seamstress’ yard but it was easy enough to climb the fence and pull the princess up behind me.

The baker didn’t even look surprised when I knocked on her door. She just sighed and let us in.

“I suppose your new friend is the reason the guards are crawling the streets looking all kinds of stressed before the sun is even up then?” Her hands went to her hips and my eyes hit the ground.

“She wanted sweets, you’re the best at sweets.”

“The guards?” The princess squeaked behind me.

“Well let me look at you then.” The baker moved me aside and crouched to look the princess in the face. “You’re such a little thing.”

“My deepest apologies mistress. This was a foolish idea.” The princess’ voice was suddenly very formal and her back straightened as I turned to look at her. “I didn’t want anyone to trouble themselves.”

“My dear you are the only royal child, of course your father’s people will trouble themselves if you’re missing.” The baker said, not unkindly, and ruffled the princess’ hair. “That doesn’t mean I can’t send the two of you back with some sticky buns though.”

I grinned even as the princess turned thoughtful. We ate the sticky buns on the walk back through the yards, I gave her most of mine before we even hit the fence and we washed our hands in the goat’s trough. Sneaking back in was easy enough, the cook was so busy preparing breakfast she didn’t even look over when she heard my voice, just barked out orders. I said father had told me to put my best clothes on again and she sighed back waved me off. I dragged the princess up the servants stair and let her into her room with the master key.

The servant from last night was nowhere to be found, a different and younger servant paced the room. She turned and let out a sigh of relief when she saw the barefooted princess. Then she pointed under the bed with a wink, waved me away, and then opened and closed the door loud enough to draw attention.

Laughter reverberated down through the whole inn when the princess was found sleeping soundly under her bed. The king offered formal apologies for worrying the town with the guards search when they clearly couldn’t even look through a room properly. Despite the laughter and the apology I noted that when they left one of the knights always had a hand on the princess.

————-

Years passed and the memories grew worn around the edges as more and more were made. I learned, alongside my brother, to shoot a bow and wield a spear, being a boarder town we all learned young. The whispers along the road were that war was coming. They were whispers that brought shadows to Old Alec’s eyes and sorrow to others, or something like it.

I had ten summers under my belt the first time the army came through looking for promising young recruits. The whispers of war had grown ever louder. Now there were talks of treaties and allies and knights and soldiers both rode for the boarders. Many of our young men joined them, many of them older brothers of my friends. The army was back not three moons later, then four moons after that.

I had twelve summers under my belt when my brother left against my father’s express wishes. He, with fifteen summers under his, was far from the youngest boy to go, all the young men and many of the older men had gone before him. Old Alec had been gone since before the army came the first time. A canary that in hindsight I should have paid more attention to.

In my thirteenth summer the king once again sent word that he was coming. This time the whole royal family was on their way. We were a stop on their tour of the kingdoms and those surrounding. An embassy was gathering, the messenger who’d run ahead explained between heaving breaths and gulps of water from our well, a last chance to stop the brewing war. I had seen the troops that came back from the boarder. I resisted telling the messenger I was fairly sure war was already here.

They arrived with fanfare this time. The whole royal family along for the ride. The queen stepped out of the carriage on the arm of the king, all grace and stoicism. Then the three princes clambered out, pink in the cheeks, small swords strapped to their sides, hale and joking with one another, each with hair ranging from gold to bronze. The princess followed the three, a fond smile on her face, and my breath caught in my throat. Pale where her brothers were flushed, hair pure spun gold and piled in intricate braids atop her head, and graceful in a gown that must have weighed almost as much as it cost. Not one of them was dressed in travelling clothes.

Once again the inn was full of the king, his family, his knights, and their servants. This time the army who accompanied them camped outside of the village, there was simply no room for them in the inn. Having outgrown the nook by the cooking fire I slept in the loft above their horses. Which was how I heard the king and several of his knights ride out in the early grey light of their second day at the inn. It’s how I heard the king say that before he continued to the embassy he needed to check the situation at the pass, that the queen and children were to stay here with the lady knights, the young bloods, and the squires to wait for his return.

Once they were gone I dropped down into the stables and went through the back door to help the cook finish preparing breakfast for what remained of the royal procession. King or no King there were a lot of them and they still needed to eat. The princes bemoaned the delay, the youngest of them even stomped like a child of many less summers until the queen fixed him with a look that sent shivers up my spine. My father tried to entice the boys with some games of sport since the practise courts stood largely empty these days. Most of the knights and squires went with them. The queen retired back to her room, looking far more sallow than she had the night before. In a corner of the main hall flanked by three lady knights, the princess pulled out some embroidery and settled by the warmth of the fire.

The first three days waiting for the king had passed in much this same manner. It was the evening of the fourth when the princess sat at the bar and spoke to me so passionately about her hopes for lasting peace. Her eyes glittered with unshed tears as she expounded on the costs of war. I nodded along and didn’t tell her that I knew the costs of war already. Perhaps it was the way her hands danced or the sharp curve of her cheek as she spoke with an energy that didn’t match the slip of a girl I remembered that stilled my tongue. Perhaps it was that I didn’t want to know if she truly didn’t notice that every boy above eleven summers and man below forty, and many above it, was missing from the village. It was only when she spoke of the embassy itself that her hands stilled, that the skin around her eyes tightened. In the silence that followed we could both picture what would happen should the embassy fail. I perhaps with more accuracy than she.

“If things do go wrong at the embassy, what will happen to you?” I don’t know if it was the memory of the slip of a child or that her warm brown eyes still shimmered with unshed tears that loosened my tongue. I flushed immediately as the words landed between us. Glad that the room was so empty that her shadow of knights was at a table rather than within arms reach as they usually were. “I only meant, your brothers spend so much time at the practise courts but you’ve never joined them.”

“The fighting arts are not for princesses to learn, ours is the path of peace.” Her shoulders drew back, then she smiled and inclined her head towards the knights at the table behind her. “In any case I have my own very knights. Besides which the embassy will not fail, the cost of war would be too great on all sides.”

“Sometimes peace requires a sharp shot.” I could have cursed my suddenly loosened tongue but I nodded towards my bow that hung by the door to the kitchen instead. I did manage to avoid saying that, in my experience, those in power rarely weighed the costs of war accurately. They weren’t the ones who paid after all. I directed a smile towards the knights and filled a pitcher with more ale for their table. “Though I’m certain your knights have that covered.”

“We were personally selected by the king.” The eldest of the three knights inclined her head in thanks as I placed the jug on their table.

“Then we surely have no better in the kingdom.” I bowed slightly as they grinned at each other. Clearly my comment had stumbled on a joke of theirs. I retuned to my chores. The princes, squires, and the rest of the knights would be back soon, and hungry no doubt.

After all the rush had passed, once I was taking my turn dozing behind the bar, having told father he needed a proper rest more than I, a noise awoke me. Not the sound of someone coming down the stairs searching for something, but the quiet padding of someone trying to sneak. I opened my eyes to see the princess, soft leather slippers on her feet, in a nightgown just as fancy as the one she’d had as a child if not more so, trying to take my bow off the wall.

“You’ll set off my alarm if you do that.” I said the words quietly, but they carried. She froze, fingers on the wood. “Besides, if you try to string it improper you’ll break it.”

“I didn’t, that is, I just…” She gently let go of my bow, jaw working as she tried to find the right words. While I waited I stood and dusted myself off. I hadn’t changed out of my usual outfit of breeches and loose linen shirt. I shook out a new apron and donned it as she took a step towards me. “I have always been told a princess values peace too highly to learn the fighting arts, but I cannot get your words out of my head.”

“I wasn’t the one making speeches.” I smiled, trying to buffer the way the words had dropped like stones from my mouth.

“Practised words, based on study and book learning.” She waved her hands again as she spoke, brow furrowing as she searched again for the things she wanted to say. I wondered, not for the first time, if her inability to look anything less than beautiful was some kind of magic. “I have read a lot of books, listened to a lot of tutors and knights and scholars, but you, when you speak it hold weight.”

“Princess,” I started and then spread my hands, “I don’t know what that means.”

“You have experience in things I’ve only heard of.” She gestured out, passed the walls of the village towards the boarder. “I haven’t been out of the capital, I’ve barely been out of the castle, since I was a child. My mother-”

There was a moment of silence while she chewed on her lip, staring at the floor, and I examined her. “She’s sick isn’t she?”

“She’s been sick for a long time.” The admission fell from her lips in less than a whisper. The princess’ gaze moved from the floor to some place over my shoulder, a point in the distance I couldn’t see. “I, there were three pregnancies before my brother was born. Two more before the twins. I wasn’t sure they’d survive until their naming day, I wasn’t sure mother would. There have been pregnancies since, I don’t know how many, mother rarely leaves her rooms at the castle.”

“You don’t need to tell me this.” I whispered. This felt like secrets, felt like something I wasn’t supposed to know.

“Who else can I tell?” She finally looked at me, met my light eyes with her dark ones. “My brothers are too young, and even if they were older I cannot be the one to burden them, the staff know and cannot speak of it, and father will not hear talk of it. Mother is always simply getting over a chill, on the precipice of health.”

“Why did you come down here?” I asked, near desperate to hear no more secrets, no more things that I could be killed to learn, or killed because I knew.

“You said that sometimes peace requires a sharp shot.” She seemed to grow, pulling herself up from the desperate state she’d gotten into. “I cannot rely on my knights for everything, Chosen though they may be by my Father the King.”

“You want to learn to shoot?” The laughter was back, though it felt more like hysteria this time around.

“I want to be able to do something.”

“Okay.” I unhooked my bow from the wall and headed for the back door. “Sun wont be up for hours, gives us plenty of time as long as your knights are deep sleepers.”

“They should be.” There was a tone in the princess’ voice that made me glance back but I didn’t say anything. I didn’t want to know.

I led her to my target out just past the garden, oiled my bow, strung it, and showed her how to draw it. Then had her do the same, watched and corrected until she had the motions correct before I gave her an arrow. By the time the grey of predawn made it hard to see the target she could hit it three times out of five. No where near a bullseye, but not terrible. With practise she might even get good.

“Princess.” This was no whisper. It was the calm command of someone who was used to being listened to.

We both turned to see the eldest of her lady knights standing in the garden. For a moment the princess’ chin stiffened. Then the moment passed and she handed me my bow. It was only as she followed her knight into the castle that I realized her shoulders had relaxed when it was just the two of us. A thing I noticed only as I watched them stiffen, as though there was a weight on them she couldn’t quite carry.

I rejoined cook for the breakfast preparation. A good thing too as the sounds of her father and his knights thundering into the village reached my ears. The day was a flurry of activity. The next, and last, time I saw the princess’ face was looking out the carriage window as they rode for the boarder. It was a sight I’ll never forget, though I’m certain the princess did not see me. Tears streamed down her face. The rest of her body held in a terrible sort of stillness, stiller than I’d ever seen anyone. It was the moment that convinced me there was a magic in the princess. Tears streaming down her face, eyes ringed red, as still as death, she was still the most beautiful sight I’d ever seen.

When the news that the embassy had failed reached us, only days later, all I could think about was the princess. She dominated my thoughts for the better part of a fortnight. I took my first real breath of air only when the news reached us that the king, princess, and princes, had made it back to the kingdom to prepare for war. The queen having been slain during the embassy. I never found out if that was before or after the peace talks had failed.

After that the army came again. They took any man able to walk and carry a weapon, and many of the women. Only the mothers of young children or those with a business to run were left behind. I took over the inn in my father’s absence. An easier shift than I’d thought it would be. I’d already been doing the bookkeeping for years, ever since my father’s eyesight had started to go. That hadn’t stopped the army from taking him. As they left I remembered the princess, her dancing hands and wet eyes, talking about the costs of war.

————-

The war lasted longer than even the oldest of our elders thought it would. Ir lasted long enough that the army came through again twice more, gathering the boys who had gained enough summers to qualify. Everyone worked in those long hard years, bringing in harvests, mending clothes, cooking meals, or minding the smallest babies as they grew into children. I led hunting parties out into the woods with girls half my age. Nearly everyone moved into the inn by the second year, the fighting close enough on the boarder that some days we could hear it in the village. Those nights were the loudest at the inn. Every woman who could sing or play filled the place with music. Everyone who could brought something in for the stew and everyone was fed.

We started a watch along our walls during the nights. It was a better wall than most villages had but at fifteen summers it barely reached my bust. Ever so slowly those too hurt to continue fighting trickled back through our town, staying overnight often in the few empty rooms we had at the inn, none of them ours. None of us knew if that was a good sign or ill.

Then the war ended. None of us in our village heard why or how or even what it had been for. But we fed and watered the messenger who had been sent to spread word along the boarder. Swapped his exhausted horse for one of our sturdy mountain ponies. A tad slower but our tales of horses with broken legs on the trails to the pass persuaded him.

Slowly, our men and woman came back. Some of them in boxes, some of them afoot, none of them the same as they’d left. The village filled up again, the inn emptied as people went back to their homes. Old Alec was the last to come home. Old Alec with new scars and two pine boxes that made my breath catch in my throat. He helped me bury them out back, behind my target. I cried and he held my hand and told me they were heroes, that the reason half the people who came back survived was because they saved them. That in the last days of war my brother and father had organized the retreat that saved our friends and put themselves at the back, stood between our neighbours and those who still attacked.

————-

The ebb and flow of time carried me along. There were books to balance, people to feed, rooms to clean and rent out, staff to hire. Cook came back, the boy who cleaned our stables didn’t, nor did the woman who’d helped with the cleaning. Old Alec sat in his usual place by the fire, I kept his tankard full and refused his coin. He began fixing and building things around the inn and refusing mine.

Before I knew it I had twenty long summers under my belt and nearly everyone in town simply thought of me as The Innkeeper. It wasn’t that my father and brother were forgotten, but time had moved on without them. That winter blew in early and hard, before many of the crops were brought in. It was the bitterest winter anyone could remember. Even the wolves in the woods began to thin. I opened the inn doors wide. Anyone who needed a room could have one, pay what they could or even if they couldn’t. Many who remembered the war met my eyes, they remembering the same long nights I did, they understood. Donations of food came in drips and drops. Farmers herded their sheep and cattle into the tall walls Old Alec had helped build around my inn, into the stables that once housed warhorses. Their children giggled and ran underfoot, warm for the first time in weeks.

As the worst winter storm we’d ever weathered blew in I was certain that my whole village was packed into the inn, multiple families to a room, tumbles of children piled into beds together. The night had been long but the last few had been sent, or carried, to their rooms. My staff had been sent to their beds. I was just about to settle onto the pallet behind the bar when I heard the knock on the door. It was soft enough I nearly wrote it off as wind. Would have written it off except it came again, barely louder than before.

I pulled my cloak around my shoulders, even opening the door would let in air frigid enough to freeze. As I pulled it open I froze, sure as if the wind had settled into my bones in an instant. Standing on my doorstep was a young woman, no more summers under her belt than I had certainly, a bare slip of a woman, thin enough her cheekbones jutted. Dirty golden hair was tied back in a plait that was fraying at the edges. She wore a cloak that was not nearly warm enough for the weather, over a dress that was almost certainly meant to look like a townie dress. It was just as clearly not, despite the places where it was patched with cheaper, stiffer cloth. There was a bow on her back and a quiver hanging on her hip with a half a dozen arrows left in it. Her boots were clearly just as expensive, but solid sturdy things, despite the layer of frozen road grime. Warm brown eyes over a sharp smile.

“My name is Marigold, I’m looking for a job.” Her voice was barely louder than the wind that blew over the wall into my yard. I blinked and then pulled her through the door and latched it shut. She squeaked and I had to bite back a laugh.

“It’s much too cold to have that conversation in a doorway.” I said with a small smile and drew her to a chair by the fire. I coaxed the flames back up, an easy task considering I’d only just banked it. “Let me take your cloak, I’ve hooks here for it to dry and there’s stew out back I can warm for you.”

“I’m looking for a job, not-”

“This isn’t charity.” I cut her off, if she was going to pretend not to be a princess I’d treat her as such. “This is my inn and it’s the worst winter we’ve seen in memory. You’ll hand me your cloak, which I’ll hang by the fire, I’ll get stew for you and tea for us both because you’ve been on the road and a meal is called for. Then we can discuss if I’ve positions available.”

“I…” She trailed off, jaw working for a moment in an expression I’d seen in my memories so many times. Then she took her cloak off and handed it to me, sinking into the chair beside the fire.

I moved slow as I hung her cloak, giving her time if there were words she wanted to say. Then, when no words seemed to be forthcoming, I moved to the kitchen, the pot of stew had hardly cooled yet and it was easy to warm on the same fire I set kettle took to boil. I gathered a tray, mugs, the pot of tea I filled just as the kettle began to whistle, and a bowl of stew for my new guest. By the time I sank into the chair across from her I already knew my answer but I waited until after she’d finished eating.

“So, Marigold, you’re looking for a job?” I raised my eyebrows slightly.

“I am, I came from the capital.” Her voice didn’t stumble. “My position there no longer worked for me. I wished for something new and have been travelling ever since, looking for a new job.”

“It’s a long way to travel, just for a job.” I couldn’t stop the smile from playing on my lips. “Especially in winter.”

She glanced down at her empty bowl for a moment before putting it on the table. Her jaw was going again. “I had actually been planning to cross the boarder. Until I found this village.”

“The crossing are all well closed this time of year, blocked by the snow and ice. Will be likely for many moons.” I didn’t try to call her eyes back to mine, as much as I wanted to. “Lucky for you I’ve been needing an extra set of hands around the inn. The job comes with a bed and meals if you need them, and some pay of course, though I can’t afford much at the moment. In the spring we can discuss if you want to stay or continue across the boarder.”

“A bed and meals would be plenty.” Marigold’s eyes still hadn’t risen from the bowl.

“You’ll need the pay for other things, clothes for instance, supplies to see you safely over the boarder if you chose to go come spring.” I said the words gently, though not unkindly. “For now though I have some old things you might fit, if you’ve nothing other than what you’re wearing.”

“I’m not sure…”

“I might be a fair bit bigger than you are now but I wasn’t always.” I stood and stretched, my back popping in a way it always did when I’d gone too long without laying down. “I’ve a few dresses and breeches from my youth you can try in the morning. For the moment though a nightgown and a bed I think.”

Marigold reached out suddenly, catching my wrist. Brown eyes half wild as they met mine. “Are you sure?”

“I really could use the extra hands.” The words fell softly as I turned my wrist so I could clasp hers in turn. I knew, bone deep, that was not what she was asking. In the years since I last saw her fear had etched itself into the lines of her face, fresh blisters and callouses covered her once lily soft palms, and she was still the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen.

There was only one room left and it was the room at the back of the inn I’d inherited from my father. It was small, barely fitting the bed and chest of drawers I kept there. A mirror was perched on the chest and beside it lay a sketch of my father and brother and I. Marigold stopped in the doorway. Her eyes had landed on the sketch.

“Oh, I couldn’t-”

“Nonsense.” I pulled her into the room, gesturing her towards the bed while I opened the drawer I’d started putting my too small clothes into when I found I couldn’t bear part with them. I pulled out a nightgown for her as I continued. “The rest of the rooms are full of the farm and town folk, and I spend most nights on my pallet in the main room anyway. In case I’m needed.”

“I, you do not, its…” Her eyes were fixed on the nightgown I’d pressed into her hands, a bit of rose rising on her sharp cheeks.

“It’s the hardest winter yet, nothing good comes of being stingy with what I can afford to give.” My hands fidgeted as I refused to let them reach out to her. Scared and small though she was I didn’t want to add to it. “Get some rest, we can talk about your job in the morning.”

The next day I left Cook in charge of the rest of the staff and had Marigold follow me as I assessed which jobs she had any skill at. Each task I assigned her she did with great determination and very little skill. I slowed down and showed her each step, teaching her the skills I’d had to learn as a small child. Forcing myself not to laugh as her hands, so much longer than mine had been at the time, made the same mistakes.

Each adult we encountered flicked their eyes from her face to my eyes I as I explained that she was Marigold, a traveller who’d come seeking work. None of them said the words that stood so obvious in their throats.

————-

The days wore on, as they are wont to do. The harsh and bitter winter slowly lost its grip and faded into the wet and warm of spring. Marigold got better at the tasks I assigned to her, began to help with the bookkeeping, finding little jobs in the kitchen to make Cook’s job easier, started helping the youngsters that roamed through town learn their letters and numbers. Marigold stayed in my room, I stayed on my pallet. The dress Marigold came in vanished and she took to wearing breeches and loose shirts. Eventually our days settled into a routine. All the little things that needed to be done to keep the inn running smoothly filling our days. Most afternoon the children of the village would gather around the fire for Marigold’s lessons. Bookkeeping was done one evening a week, The other evenings we spent talking, practising bow and spear, or reading from my small collections of books.

Somewhere in the steady beat of routine I stopped retiring to my pallet, staying instead beside Marigold in my bed. The inn slowly cleared out as farmers took their livestock back to their farms and the villagers trickled back into their own homes. Travellers started reappearing as the passes opened once more to the most foolhardy.

As the last of the snows melted away Marigold took a pair of sheers to her braid, flushed and frustrated with the time it took to comb and tame. I found her surrounded by hair in the garden. Holding back a laugh I pulled a smaller pair from my apron, brushed the hair from her thin shoulders and tided it into something manageable. When I was done her waves hung just below her ears and her grin was wider than I’d ever seen it.

Summer came again, as it always does, warming the fields which in turn pulled children away from their lessons with Marigold and back to the work of weeding and harvesting. The inn got busier too, the relaxing evenings we’d had in the winter gave way to rollicking evenings at the tavern as caravans, travellers, and the steady stream of soldiers that summer always brought once again appeared. Music and life filled the tavern. The occasional band of adventurers that always had Old Alec shaking his head a little fondly and a little sadly. Their evenings filled up with washing tankards, wiping down tables, and restocking the bar from their cellar as travellers slowly staggered up to their rooms.

One such night, unremarkable in any other way, Marigold, who the town had taken to calling Mari, or occasionally Goldy, was particularly quiet. Her face had gone quiet and somber and thoughtful in a way I had seen a handful of times. We were standing shoulder to shoulder as I wiped down the tankards and she replaced them on their shelf. I waited her out. I had gotten much better at silence, even around her.

“I, uhm, that is to say,” she started slowly, eyes flicking to me without turning her head. “…you should know… that is…”

“It’s okay princess.” I said it quietly, turned towards her as she spun to face me, eyes wide as a startled deer. Nervous silence greeted my words as she started to tremble. I put the tankard I was wiping down and held my hands out to her. “It’ll be okay.”

Marigold, to my great surprise, stepped between my outstretched hands to tuck herself under my chin. Her words were whispered into my collarbone. “They’ll come for me eventually.”

“Let them come.” I wrapped my arms around her, holding her trembling form against me, letting her hear my steady breath and racing heart. After a few moments she pulled back, just far enough to see the soft smile I had only for her, and her breath caught. One of my hands moved from her back to cup her cheek.

“Are you sure?” Marigold’s whisper was for my ears alone.

“As anything.” I pressed our forheads together, She pressed our lips together. The remaining tankards went uncleaned until morning.

————-

It took them three more summers to come to our little village in their search for the missing princess. Long enough for the village to become used to Marigold running the inn with me. Long enough for her hands to grow as calloused as mine were. Long enough for us to marry one spring when the garden was blooming and the rising warmth got to my head. Long enough that when they asked around no one would have thought to point to the inn for any reason other than I saw every face that passed through this village.

By the time the lady knights arrived to ask if the princess came through our village the scroll they had of her may have bared a passing resemblance to the innkeeper’s wife, but princess’ don’t have callouses hands, they don’t wield a spear and bow, they don’t have their hair chopped short, and they certainly don’t marry innkeepers.

[canonically47]

review pls

EVERYONE SHUT THE FUCK UP YUL HAD HIS ASS HANDED TO HIM AND WE GOT JAJAMES IN THE FINALE. ONC DO NOT FUCK THIS UP FOR ME.

DCAS ep 19 - review

spoilers !!!! (but you knew that.)

tom saying jake sees the best in people was so fucking funny i'm sorry like we both know He Does Not. even the line was like 'despite his anxieties he..' baby ur literally saying 'despite not seeing the best in people he really does see the best in people' you are so fucking stupid

side note tom is actually an idiot, unironically. not haha himbo idiot just an actual fucking idiot. how is he 30. how is he a fan favorite. HOW IS TOMJAKE A FAN FAVORITE SHIP nonono im not talking about this rn im NOT (claws at my enclosure)

ugh i forgot tomjake is like. a thing. and not a very bad made-up fanon ship. and they're giving them a spin-off. for a sec i allowed myself to exist in a world where ONC made good writing decisions. what a world it was

james being jake's biggest hater was amazing. almost unleashed my inner jake hater. there is still time though, trust

kinda sad to see huntess not hang out with anyone but each other. i was waiting on tess interacting with gabellie or something

on the bright side, GRETT HAVING A MOMENT WITH GABELLIE??? HELLOOOOOOOOO?????? CAN YALL HEAR ME???????????????

gabgrellie save me.... save me gabgrellie............

speaking of ellie she looked so off the entire episode. why did her eyes move like that. am i crazy. she looked so ugly

oh my fucking god they fucking burnt yul's face. that's crazy. grett the woman that you are <333 i might actually draw the prick because he looks cool now

i am also sooooooo glad they're not giving him a half-assed redemption arc. they know he sucks ass. at least we have that

krystal saying "that's the good shit" was the most embarrassing thing ever in fact her entire part before dinner was embarrassing. why did she keep. doing that and saying that. girl why are you interrupting the moment you want to get on camera are you an idiot

also she fell victim to the inconsistency bc tell me why she was bitching and moaning the entire season about 'those that really matter' and being all lpvey dovey about her friends but then derek is like 'trevor :)' and she goes 'why arent u professional' girl.

and derek. man. we all know youre lying genuinely fuck you. 'he matters to me' GIRLLL WHEEENNNNNNNNNNN HAVE YOU SHOWN THAT 😭😭😭

FIORE AND ALEC!!! ALEC SCOWLING THEN LOOKING AT FIORE AND INSTANTLY SMILING!!! HIM PROTECTING HER FROM YUL!!! HIM COVERING HER EYES WHEN YUL GOT BURNED!!! TH!!! THE!!!!!!! THE FATHER-DAUGHTER DUO EVERRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 😭😭😭

now allow me to be even more not normal

JAJAMES CRUMBS 🗣🗣🗣‼️‼️‼️🔥🔥🔥 JAMES IS HELPING JAKE IN THE FINALE EVERYONE SHUT THE FUCK UP HERE IS HOW JAJAKEDEN NATION CAN STILL WIN- [gets shot] [gets shot] [gets shot] [gets s

please god PLEASE LET THEM BECOME FRIENDS because if they do i will actually write DSVC fic about jajakeden getting together. i made a promise to myself to never write DSVC fic but if they become friends. i will be so. fucking. annoying.

JAJAMES PLEASE BECOME FRIENDS PLEASEEEEEEE PLEASE 😭😭😭

sooooo glad fiore not only did not pick riya but also GAVE HER THE DISADVANTAGE. JAKE FANS HERE IS HOW WE CAN STILL WIN

why did they bring emily back just to make her a bitch.

JAJAMES PLEEEEEAAAAAASEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE 😭😭😭😭😭

there are many things wrong with this ep (like derek existing, and also his lines, and also yul existing,,, and the stuff ive pointed out) but its ONC. i'll throw them a bone ig. i'm okay with what we got, it obviously wasn't a masterpiece and it felt fanservice-y in parts (yk that one post or ask or whatever that says season 1 & 2 DSVC was a show a fandom was built off, but season 3 is a show built off the fandom? yea some scenes reminded me of that. coigh cough krystal mildly breaking the fourth wall.) but i'm glad connor only got like 2 seconds of screentime, fiore and alec got along, and the jajames crumbs oh my.. <3

overall, an 8/10 and if my memory isn't failing me this is probably the best rating since ep 13?? but yea it was a good episode i'm fine with it. im surprised they didnt ruin.everything. bc yk its ONC. so yea!!! yay yippee yay!

i am so glad there are only 2 episodes left . istg if i watch the spin offs or new seasons i need yall to shoot me. and remember how i was talking some time ago about rewatching the entire show after DCAS came out fully? yea no. not doing that. when episode 21 comes out i will be cheering because i will finally put DSVC behind me. i fucking hate this show WE ARE ALMOST FREE!!!!!!!!! CHEERING

[fictionalsillies]

💚 Old records and little talks 🧡 ( a BeaSarah fanfic ) 

Gosh , I’ve been meaning to write something like this for a while now -

The thing is … I’ve been getting a little tired of needing to draw something every single day ( I’ve actually been considering to open a sideblog where I write stuff , maybe someday I’ll make it ) , so I decided to try creating something different this time around ! :D 

I might start making fanfics from time to time to avoid getting too overwhelmed by art and stuff 👍

I’m not that great of a writer , but hopefully this turned out okay ! 

Disclaimers : 

this gets a bit sad with some hurt-to-comfort vibes , I just really want to give Bea a hug after all she has been through :,I ❤️

I included a few elements from the Night In The Woods universe and attempted to be as close to Bea’s in-game personality as much as I could , though she might be a little ooc here … hopefully it’s not too bothersome ;C;

Bea and my s/i are already dating by the time this little story takes place : this is meant as a little insight to their relationship ! 

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

< Hey , uh … thanks for helping us with dinner again tonight . You didn’t have to . > 

Sarah smiled in response , glancing at Bea while placing the two remaining dishes in their cupboard . 

< It’s no problem , Bea , really ! I had a nice time buying groceries together and setting everything up . Besides , I know you had a tough week , so honestly it’s the least I could do . > 

The usually emotionless expression of the crocodile girl softened , something that rarely happened , and she turned around to check on her dad : he was still sleeping , passed out on the couch with the latest Smelters game playing on the old tv .

< … so . Wanna head to my room ? We could hang there for a bit if you want . I know it’s not … really all that exciting , but - > 

She immediately stopped talking the moment she felt Sarah’s hand caressing her cheek , her green eyes staring into hers … 

< Hun , you know anything that includes spending time with you sounds amazing to me . Hanging out in your room would be wonderful . > 

After a moment of stunned silence , Bea couldn’t help but chuckle , gently holding the bunny girl’s hand while leading her across the living room .

< You really haven’t changed at all since high-school , Sar … you’ve always been so corny . > 

< Hehe , yeah … is that a good thing ? > 

< It is . > 

After they entered her bedroom , Sarah watched as Bea released a long sigh , almost like she had been waiting to finally get a chance to have some time for herself ; she then put on one of her mom’s old records , before landing on the bed . 

She couldn’t help but notice just how … drained her girlfriend looked : having to look after both her father and the Ol’Pickaxe was no easy task , and as much as she kept her feelings hidden behind a mask whenever she interacted with other people Sarah was one of the very few people who knew what lied beneath it . 

After sitting at the edge of the bed , the bunny girl took a deep breath …

< Are you okay ? > 

Bea’s eyes slowly opened , meeting hers for a brief moment before looking at the ceiling . 

< … I dunno . I’m just … tired , I guess . 

I’m worried about work , about dad getting older each passing day , about never being able to do anything with my life as long as I stay in this … hole of a town . 

I mean - seriously , what even is left of it at this point ? I’ve burned down my dreams to survive , all I got are reminders of everything I could’ve done if things went differently , and that sucks … it really , really sucks . > 

The concern on Sarah’s face became more evident after that confession , and the crocodile girl quickly turned around to face the opposite direction , avoiding to meet her gaze . 

They remained silent for a few minutes , the song on the recorder quietly playing in the background before Bea spoke again , her voice slightly more shaky than it was before …

< I shouldn’t have said any of that … just … forget it , please . 

Been feeling shitty all day , but that’s not a good reason to take it out on you . > 

She sounded so guilty and frail … 

Sarah didn’t hesitate : she moved closer , wrapping her arms around her waist , careful about not holding the crocodile girl too tightly in case she preferred not to be hugged while in such a vulnerable state . 

 < Bea , you have every right to talk to me about these things it you want to . It’s no good to keep it all bottled up inside all the time , I’ll listen for as long as you need me to . 

I just … I wish I could do more than that to help you . You’re the most important person in the world to me , and - > 

She was so focused on what she was saying that she didn’t even notice that Bea had turned around to look at her , and the moment she suddenly leaned forward to kiss her Sarah’s eyes widened with surprise , before she gladly accepted her lips on hers . 

It didn’t last long , but it was enough to make Bea’s fears fade away for a few precious moments , and when she slowly pulled away there was a grateful smile on her face … one that never failed to give the bunny girl butterflies .

< You do more than enough , love … trust me on that . 

I can’t help but wonder how I ended up with someone like you sometimes … I guess what I should say is … I’m glad you’re still here with me , despite everything . > 

Sarah stared at her lovingly , placing a gentle little kiss on the tip of her nose .

< I’ll always be here , Bea , no matter what happens . > 

The two then held each other closely , quietly enjoying that comforting intimacy accompanied by the music of the old records , still playing from the corner of the room … 

And Bea’s troubled thoughts were finally at peace for that night .

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[cairavende]

Worm Arc 7 thoughts (I probably should have done this as two posts but I didn't):

WOLFSPIDER WOLFSPIDER WOLFSPIDER WOLFSPIDER!!!!!!!!!!!!

Seriously, look at how my wonderful daughter takes the steps to communicate with Rachel in the way that works for Rachel.

And then look at how Rachel reaches back to do the same thing!!! AHHHHH!!!!!!

Taylor needs to take a longer rest and should not be sparing Brian the morning after the gala attack, but she quickly loses the opportunity to take a rest so whatever I guess.

Alec backstory! His father is fucking horrible oh my god. Kill him with fire.

WOLFSPIDER!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh my god the fucking suit made of bugs I was screaming. And then having it keep shape while crouching to make it seem like you turned into bugs? Having the bugs all make noise while you talked to make it sound super weird?! I'm in fucking love, look at how amazing my little girl is!

Taylor stabbed a Nazi. And later she stabbed another Nazi! I'm so proud.

The E88 list. Oh my god Coil, way to not think things through. (I mean, he probably thought it through and was ok with the outcome, but given that he wants the Undersiders on his team it doesn't seem like the best action to take.)

And the fucking drugged 12 year old Coil keeps in his bunker to run probability numbers for him? I wasn't expecting him to be good but god damn he turned really fucking evil really quickly.

Grue kneecapped a Nazi and I'm so proud of him. Remember, every time you kneecap a Nazi an angel gets its wings.

Lots of interesting powers on E88 (Night, Hookwolf). Too bad they chose to be Nazis instead of something cool. I hope Hookwolf get's melted down to slag. (Stormtiger's power, costume, and name feels directly out of 80's comics and I'm here for it.)

Did I mention the wolfspider moments? Taylor got her lunch! And then Rachel gave Taylor the good fetch toy so she could play fetch the the doggos. And the worked together to save the one dogs life! WOLFSPIDER!

Shit got awkward with Brian.

I hope Sophia gets hit by a bus that crashes into another bus. In a volcano.

If Angelica doesn't recover I'm burning down at least 5 Nazis. I think that's fair.

I'm sad that babies are fighting even though I get why Taylor is doing what she is. Being a villain is hard.

And we end with an Endbringer showing up which kinda makes everything else seem small fries.

Interlude thoughts - I like getting to see Miss Militia's backstory. I wish she wasn't "Guns and America the hero" because I actually think her personality and the way her powers work beyond the making guns part is pretty neat. Also she remembers what getting her powers was like which is super cool. Everyone gets a god piece I guess. I'm sure I'll learn more eventually.

More interlude thoughts - I love Dragon I wish they didn't run a prison so I could love them more. I love that she basically got through Poley the Polearm Man's "heavy security" in like negative 5 seconds. Anything to make him look bad. I will never like him, I refuse.