Loved the story!

I love your portrayal of Marcus, pre-grief, in all your stories. (I've never understood why they switched his and Caius' ages in the movies)

I like to see Aro a little unsure of himself regarding Sulpicia's "arrival". And it's funny to see him push away her well-meaning advice. He doesn't like being the inexperienced half of *any* conversation. Still, their sibling banter is cute. There's no point, though, in her lying to Marcus - I'm sure he's well aware of the bond that she has with her brother. I've always wondered whether Marcus saw that bond weakening in the days before Aro killed her- or whether Aro was clever enough to not be in the same room with both of them in those days, so that he *wouldn't* see that.

I love it. But I love most of your stories, so you are probably not really surprised...

I love this, of course :)

“The immortal even met himself, a phantasmagoria pasted together by a lonely soul, in the wind-whipped black of the unconscious. He was not as handsome as she had imagined.”

You see Aro as never having known Didyme, right? And vice-versa? Which makes sense, due to the potentially gargantuan age gap between them. But anyway – this quote is just precious. It’s the sweeeeeeeetest idea that Didyme’s lonliness drives her to imagine this wonderful, mysterious, handsome older brother :3 And I relate. Because obviously I’m always trying to get a handsome!Aro to turn up in my dreams. As opposed to, you know, he’s vaguely in a crowd of hymn-singing Nicelanders and dancing skeletons (my biggest fear) over there, behind Winnie the Pooh…and Jane asking to borrow my friend’s hair straighteners…I HAVE THE BEST DREAMS…

“Such a good girl, Aro had crooned, addressing his doubting, demanding associates, not her.”

Firstly – Aro dialogue 3 *hugs all the pillows*
Secondly – the doubting associates; does that refer to the Volturi as a whole? Or Marcus and Caius? Are they irritated because Aro didn’t tell them what he was setting out to do? Or just irritated by Didyme?

THIS FEELS LIKE IT COULD BE A WHOLE NEW ONESHOT.
A DAZZLING FANFIC I NEVER KNEW.
BUT WHEN I’M SCROLLING WAY DOWN HERE.
IT’S CRYSTAL CLEAR.
THAT NOW I’M IN A WHOLE NEW ONESHOT WITH YOOOUUUU.

“It took squirming, a sort of desperate, determined cuddling, but eventually, they aligned.”

*collapses because descriptions I have no words just gargh* This whole scene just makes me so happy. And sad. Because they’re just so perfect together, it is painful. And yes the creep-factor is humungous. But they’re perfection. So.

“Moments later, he tugged her to her feet, his mood darkening from noon to nightfall in no time at all. They came home in silence.” – I feel like I’m missing some subtle meaning behind these words. Why does his mood darken/they head home in silence? Or am I reading too much into things, and is this just meant to be taken at face-value?

“The cloying taste of betrayal coated her throat with a sickly slick.” – Didyme’s whole take on Aro/Sulpicia from this point on is very interesting to me. In my head!canon, it’s always the complete opposite. As in, Didyme’s the one running off with Marcus without a second glance, leaving Aro with all the resentment and feelings of ‘betrayal’. But I like your dynamic very much too – much more tragic for Didyme, considering Aro scoops her up and into the vampire world, no permission asked, cuddle her into a close relationship, then dash off with Sulpicia. Flighty!Aro *disapproving scowl* Bad!Aro. For once, I’m on Didyme’s side.

“The giggles lodged in her throat, choking her like fishbones.” – More descriptions of perfection.

“She thought about her own red freckles, memories of the evening's hunt, and the grass-green stains on her feet. Indecorous, she could imagine her brother crooning.” – Oh my GOSH, my poor baby :3 my poor sweet baby. I don’t know why this line gets to me so much, but ugh. I just. I think /everyone/ has had that moment where they look/hear about someone else and then compare themselves and it’s just this horrible sinking feeling of /I’M NOT GOOD ENOUGH/ and Didyme let me love you come here all the hugs yes good :3

Athenodora, you get points for subtlety and tact. Pat on the back, from me. ‘Tis good. Keep it up.

Poor Marcus. He has no idea :(

Normal!Marcus and Carlisle would have got on so well together, I think. They share a lot of similarities – I can just picture them studying books together and discussing the nature of true love and being generally cute. Mutual sophisticated dorks. Now I’m wondering about Sulpicia/Aro/Carlisle/Didyme/Marcus love pentagons…hmmm…

"He nearly drained you," her stubborn shadow said calmly. "And then bit you everywhere to compensate. Your heartbeat came so close to stopping—" – Firstly, Athenodora as a stubborn shadow made me laugh out loud. Secondly, I’m going to be annoying and read too much into things again and ask – why is Athenodora telling her all this, suddenly? Doesn’t Aro want it kept quiet? Or does Athena have a motive behind this?

“Her brother preferred her blood to that of the woman he would wed. After all, he had only tasted, not devoured, her. She tucked the victory into cupped hands, glowing and ugly…” – I feel like a psychopath, because disturbing as this line is, I still just can’t help but feel so, so bad for her. She’s desperate and messed-up and scary and sweet and hopeful and yes. PerfectDidymeisperfect. Part of me wishes we could see her confront Aro about this. /That/ would be an interesting conversation.

“…she continued, dreading the stillness at the conversation's borders.” – Ohgoshohgoshohgosh. Again, so relatable – there’s nothing worse than a falting conversation with someone you love. UuuggghhhwhyArowhy.

“She almost sobbed, remembering fluttering, fraternal kisses on her cheeks, and the paltry obligation behind them.” – I CANNOT TAKE THESE FEELS ARO YOU TERRIBLE PERSON OH GOSH.

Aro/Didyme banter – hilarious, in the most horribly bittersweet way. “Didyme attempted a more logical approach, any gambit to force her sibling into confession.” – A confession of…him having made the wrong decision about Sulpicia? (Didymeletmecuddleyouforever). Or something else?

“She stood there, still as a doll, until sunrise, then lied sweetly and well about her whereabouts, when Marcus asked.” – Guh. Wow. Just. Wow. My poor feels. Feels everywhere. All the feels. Ok. I’ve turned into a hopeless shipper. Yes, they’re creepy as hell, and if anything overtly sexual ever went down between them, I’d run screaming – but this dancing-around-the-issue, unrequited-Didyme-devotion just gets to me. Aro, I could STRANGLE you – and your new wife, too! Didyme, let me love you forever. Marcus will love you too. You will have all the love. All of it. 3

Once again, thank you, thank you, thank you so much for filling this prompt. I love it :)

Hello!

First of all, I read this about a week ago, but I didn't have time to write a decent review. But I'm back again now to give you my incubated thoughts :)

I love the way you write. You make the reader work hard and really think about the characters, which is a pretty amazing feat. And you do it in a way that flows well, with clear imagery- often related to colour/volume/movement- it's so whimsical and delightful to read :) Also, on a subtler note, the language here seems comparatively more down-to-earth than in your other stories... was that a subconscious reflection of the main character's thought processes?

Speaking of characters, they are so well-constructed and multifaceted I just... I could write an essay on any one of them!

Case in point: Didyme 3333 Her character development is from someone relatively uninhibited and simple to... someone thoroughly dislikable (and 100% evil). I'm finding it hard to reconcile the two poles in her personality. You've presented her as both highly possessive/cunning (to the point of cruelty) and also quite blatant/transparent. I'm really surprised people can stand to be around her. Does having the gift of happiness mean you can be whatever you like without fear of being disliked and rejected? Yes it does.

But how, how, how can she be so cruel to Marcus? How you treat your inferiors gives a lot away about your personality... and she's just so crude and horrible, ugh. Maybe it's the way I read it, but it sounds like she doesn't love him. She *wants* to love him, and she certainly admires him. But she doesn't actually love him, so she hides it underneath the purple prose of lover's banter. Marcus has such a pure, pastoral love- and later on, grief- for Didyme, it's heartbreaking that he is so deceived. The Volturi treat him like a toy to be played around with. He has no backbone whatsoever.

That being said, Marcus seems a little *too* good-natured and understanding. I get how his passivity is a good counter-balance to Didyme's IN-YOUR-FACENESS, but it really breaks my heart how dysfunctional their relationship is. And he must be aware of that. Marcus must be as relieved for the advent of Sulpicia as Didyme is angry and jealous :(

The way you present Aro/Didyme is compelling, and there's much more meat in their relationship than in any other story I've yet encountered.

I don't like Aro's vested interests in finding a mate. But Aro has ulterior motives for everything, I guess, that's why he's such a great character. It certainly adds another layer of creepiness to murdering Didyme; somewhere in his cold heart, there's a tiny kernel of sexual jealousy... and although the act of murder itself is ugly, no matter the motivation, murder for power and progression is just so much easier to swallow.

Still, I love how you've retained their teasing, light-hearted dialogue. It's reminiscent of siblings since time immemorial. The way you've captured that is so clever. I'm guessing you've got a brother or sister :)

*Favourite line: '"I imagine you have goals besides breaking hearts," Aro said.'

Ironic, because I'm sure this story broke the heart of just about everyone reading it.

You've conveyed all of this (and more) in under three thousand words. I really hope you'll continue to hang out in the world of the Volturi. Thank you for writing this ;_;

*sighs* I try SO hard not to compare my work to yours. Because if I do, I would have to dig a hole in the ground and DIE in it.
*chuckles* Marvelous as always, my dear. I can't put it down once I begin reading, and I can completely FEEL what the character feels.
This is simply wonderful.

-Lots of love
Artonis

Thank you, Ky, for those several sips of your finest vintage!
Your pieces are richer than Belgian chocolate, more soothing/invigorating than a perfumed bath. Languid luxury.
Best of all, they can be read over and over, each time deepening in meaning and marinating my brain in unforgettably vivid imagery.
The taboos of humans are abandoned when our characters "cross-over" allowing us to indulge such subjects as incest with detachment, objectivity. Fiction - such a useful tool!

"mood darkening from noon to nightfall"

-C

Brilliant, as ever. :)

Your writing... it is almost painful for me to read, sometimes. It is so inexplicably brilliant, so rich. I really try not to debase myself after reading it, but to keep going with my own fiction, despite strong self-doubt.

You have a marvelous, marvelous talent. :)