Didyme's Ghost

A 24 year-old aspiring writer with a decade old obsession with the Volturi 

[simpfordemetri]

hey!! i just found your blog and i’m obsessed with how you write the volturi 💋✨😍 would you maybe write something for alec? maybe headcanons about how he acts when he actually falls in love for the first time after centuries of not caring about anyone

Alec Volturi falling in love for the first time

• Alec has spent over a thousand years feeling almost nothing but apathy, cold, calculated detachment. Emotions are for humans and newborns vampires. Then you appear, and for the first time in his immortal existence, something cracks inside his chest that he doesn’t know how to handle it.

• At first he doesn’t even recognize it as love. He thinks it’s curiosity. Or maybe irritation. Why does he keep watching you? Why does his gaze linger when you speak? He tells himself it’s observation. Nothing more.

• The first sign is protectiveness. Not the casual Volturi loyalty, but something fierce and personal. If anyone even looks at you too long, his gift flickers unconsciously, and it bothers him that he lets himself loose control.

• He becomes painfully aware of his childlike appearance for the first time in centuries. He wants you to see him as ancient, powerful, worthy , exactly like the Volturi see him — not the eternal boy with the angelic face. He starts carrying himself differently around you, shoulders straighter, voice lower.

• He gets jealous in silence. When you laugh at something Felix says or spend too long talking to Jane, his expression doesn’t change, but the temperature in the room drops and a faint haze of his gift appears. Later he will deny it completely.

• Touch is difficult for him at first. Centuries of distance make casual contact feel overwhelming. The first time you brush his hand, he freezes like he has been burned again. But he starts seeking it out, in obvious ways.

• He becomes strangely gentle. He will carry your things without being asked. Adjust your chair. Stand between you and any perceived danger without explanation.

• Internal conflict eats at him. Love is weakness. Aro could use it against him. Jane would see it as a distraction. But he can’t stop. For the first time, he has something that belongs only to him, and the possessiveness terrifies even him.

• He starts speaking more. Not a lot, but more than his usual few words. Quiet questions about your day, your thoughts, your favorite things from your human life. He listens like every word is precious information he is a toring away for eternity.

• When he finally admits it (to himself, not you) it hits him like a blow.

• His version of flirting is subtle and old-fashioned. He brings you rare books from the Volturi library. Leaves small gifts on your pillow, and honestly just wait for you to find them and then deny that he left it there.

• He gets anxious when you are away too long. Not pacing or obvious, just quieter than usual, eyes distant, fingers tapping restlessly. When you return, the relief in his eyes is impossible to miss.

• Physical closeness develops slowly. He lets you rest your head on his shoulder first. Then one night he pulls you into his lap without warning and simply holds you, face buried in your hair, breathing you in like he is afraid you will vanish.

• Jane notices immediately. She teases him mercilessly in private, but she is also protective and jealous, the idea of her twin being in love is both amusing and concerning to her. Alec warns her to stay out of it.

• He worries constantly about your mortality. The thought of watching you age and die makes him feel something dangerously close to panic. He push you to change and probably force it.

[aureliexo]

behave

Alec Volturi x Vampire/Hybrid Reader (Gifted with Pyrokinesis)

You are entirely committed to destroying Alec's peace and quiet, but it seems the stoic guard is the only one who can make you behave.

Chaos announces itself this time with smoke.

Not thick, suffocating smoke, no, you have taste. This is thinner, curling lazily along the high ceilings of one of the Volturi’s private library halls, carrying the faint scent of something definitely not meant to be on fire.

Alec knows before he even steps inside.

He finds you standing on top of a long wooden table, several ancient scrolls pushed safely aside (credit where credit is due), while a small, controlled flame dances in the air above your palm like a living thing you are teaching tricks to.

“You cannot possibly need this many dusty things,” you say to no one in particular. “I’m doing you all a favour, really. Streamlining.”

A nearby guard looks like he isn’t sure whether to intervene or accept his fate.

Alec doesn’t raise his voice.

He says your name. 

The flame flickers.

You turn immediately, a bright grin already forming. “Oh, there you are.”

Alec’s gaze shifts briefly to the faint scorch mark forming on the edge of the table. Then back to you.

“Behave.”

You look down at the fire in your hand, then back at him.

“I am behaving.”

The flame flares slightly, as if in protest.

Alec steps closer. “You are standing on a table.”

“Elevated perspective,” You say easily.

“You are holding fire in a library.”

“It’s controlled.”

“You said that last time.”

“And I was right,” You shoot back.

Alec stops at the edge of the table, looking up at you, not impressed, not angry. Unwavering.

The guard in the corner visibly relaxes now that Alec has arrived, though he does not dare leave.

You tilt your head down at Alec, studying him like you are deciding how much trouble you want to be in today.

“Are you going to make me get down?” you ask.

“Yes.”

You smile wider. “Or?”

Alec doesn’t blink. “Or I will come up there and remove you myself.”

That, predictably, delights you.

“I’d like to see that,” you say.

Alec moves. Fast enough that the air barely has time to notice.

One moment, he is below you. The next, he is standing on the table. Close. Very close.

The flame in your hand wavers, not from fear, but from the sudden shift in your focus.

“Oh,” you say softly, amused. “You did come up here.”

Alec doesn’t indulge your tone.

“Put it out,” he says.

You glance at the flame again, then back at him. “Make me.”

Alec exhales slowly through his nose. This again.

He reaches out, not to grab you, not to force anything, but to close his fingers loosely around your wrist.

Not restricting. 

Grounding.

Your fire reacts instantly, shrinking, flickering uncertainly. Not extinguished. 

Just… listening.

“You are testing limits that do not belong to you,” Alec says quietly.

You hold his gaze. “And you’re stopping me,” you repy, just as softly.

“Yes.”

The room feels smaller. The guard in the corner has gone completely still.

Your expression shifts, not losing its brightness, but softening at the edges where only Alec ever gets to see.

“You always do,” you murmur.

Alec doesn’t deny it.

The flame flickers once more. Then goes out. Just like that.

Silence settles back into the library, heavy and immediate.

Alec releases your wrist.

“Down,” he says.

You make a face, but step off the table anyway.

“That was harmless,” you mutter.

Alec steps down after you, adjusting nothing, as if he had never been out of place at all.

“That is not the standard,” he replies.

You glance sideways at him as you both start towards the exit.

“Your standards are very strict.”

“They are effective.”

You huff a quiet laugh. 

“You like me anyway,” you say.

Alec doesn’t look at you.

“Yes.”

Immediate. Certain.

That earns him a softer smile. 

You slip your hand into his without asking. 

He lets you.

You walk in silence for a moment before you speak again.

“If I set something on fire later,” you say casually, “you’ll come find me again, right?”

Alec’s grip tightens just slightly.

“I always do.”

You seem satisfied with that.

“Good,” you say.

Then, brighter, “I’ll try to make it interesting.”

Alec sighs.

“Behave.”

You grin.

“No promises.”

xoxo aurelie

© aureliexo

[simpfordemetri]

Hey! i really love your twilight content 😊 could you share some headcanons about alec volturi? anything you have is fine — his personality, how he acts around the other volturi members, what he does in his free time, modern world stuff, or even soft/angsty headcanons. i’m obsessed with him lately hehe

Alec Volturi Headcanons

• Alec is calm and soft-spoken. He rarely raises his voice — even when he is about to strip someone of all their senses. That quiet politeness makes him more unsettling than the loud ones.

• He is deeply pragmatic. Emotions are secondary, loyalty and efficiency come first. Jane is the only person who can make him visibly react.

• Dry, subtle sense of humor. He could make a quiet, almost polite observation about someone impending torture that sounds innocent until you realize how savage it is.

• Around the Volturi members his personality doesn’t change much, to be honest. He is still Alec.

• With Aro he shows a complete respect and obedience, but there is also a slight detachment. Alec knows Aro uses them as weapons and is fine with that role.

• When it comes to Jane it’s different. Slightly. They are a unit, communicate with glances and small gestures. If Jane gets too excited with her gift, Alec is the one who quietly reins her in or covers for her.

• With Felix abd Demetri he is just polite. Alec is not one for friends. They work well together on missions. Alec finds Felix brute strength useful and Demetri tracking impressive, but he keeps emotional distance.

• In his free time, when he doesn’t have any duty or mission, he reads a lot — mostly history and philosophy. Old books calm him.

• Likes sitting on high places (rooftops, towers) just watching the world. The silence and distance appeal to him.

• Occasionally plays chess with Jane or Caius. He is not competitive because he is terrifyingly good at strategy games.

• He hates modern stuff. You won’t catch Alec with a video game or phone or any of that.

• He is into classical music and refuses to listen to any modern one.

• Finds social media bizarre and distasteful. He once watched Felix scroll through it and just said “Why are they all screaming?” in the most deadpan voice.

• He still has memories of being human —the trauma, the fire… He is deeply traumatized and his emotional detachment comes from that.

• Secretly likes when people are brave. He won’t admit it, but someone who doesn’t beg or scream holds his interest longer.

• Has a very small protective streak toward certain humans who remind him of who he and Jane could have been if they hadn’t been burned as witches. He usually ends up ending them quickly and painlessly if he can.

• When Jane is in a rare soft mood, they sit together in silence for hours. It’s the closest he gets to feeling peace.

• He knows he and Jane were children when turned and that Aro exploited that. He doesn’t resent it exactly, but there is a quiet emptiness about it. Sometimes he wonders how it would have been to be a normal teenager.

• The idea of finding his mate terrify him, being so emotionally tied to someone feels dangerous after centuries of relying only on Jane.

[edtwilightlla]

I wanted to make a Volturi aesthetic video and I don't know what ended up making...

[aureliexo]

mission missing

Alec Volturi x Reader

Alec returns to the castle from his mission. You are waiting for him, ready to tell him how much you missed him.

The castle doors open without ceremony.

They always do.

No grand return, no announcement, just the quiet shift of guards stepping aside as Alec Volturi walks back in, untouched, composed, exactly as he had left.

Missions rarely change him.

That was the point.

He moves through the halls at a steady pace, already shedding the remnants of it. 

The tension, the purpose, the distant focus. 

It would settle back into stillness soon enough.

It always does

Until…

“ALEC.”

The shout cracks through the corridor like lightning.

He didn’t have time to react.

You collide into him at full force.

Not an attack. Not even close.

An impact of pure momentum and zero restraint. Arms wrapping tightly around him, nearly knocking him a step back as you cling to him like you have no intention of ever letting go again.

“You’re back,” you say, breathless, like you’ve been holding it for hours. “You’re actually back.”

Alec goes still for half a second.

Then, his arms come up automatically, steadying you before you could lose your balance.

“I said I would return,” he replies.

“Yeah, well,” you mutter into his shoulder, tightening your grip, “people say things all the time.”

Your voice isn’t loud.

That alone told him everything he needed to know.

Alec glances down at you.

You didn’t even try to pretend otherwise, face pressing against him, fingers curling into the fabric at his back, as if he might disappear again if you loosen your grip.

“You were gone for three days,” you add.

“It was two,” he corrects. 

“Felt like five.”

“That is not how time works.”

“Shut up.”

There’s a beat.

Your hold tightens again.

“I missed you,” you say, quieter now.

Simple.

Unfiltered.

No chaos. No teasing.

Just truth.

Something in Alec shifts.

Not visibly, but enough.

“I was not in danger,” he says.

“I know that.”

“Then there was no cause for concern.”

“I didn’t say I was concerned,” you scoff, pulling back just enough to look at him. “I said I missed you. Different thing.”

He studies your face.

There was faint signs of restlessness, like you’d been pacing, waiting, burning off energy with no-where to put it. 

But, your eyes were steady.

Focused on him.

“You did not remain occupied,” he observes.

“I tried,” you say. “Jane got annoyed at me after, like, a day.” (Which was, honestly, impressive.)

“And the rest?”

You shrug. “Everything’s less interesting when you’re not here.”

Alec raises a brow slightly.

“That is unproductive.”

“It’s honest.”

Before he could respond, you step forward again, this time slower, and wrap your arms around him once more.

Not crashing into him.

Choosing it.

Your cheek rests against his chest, your grip firm but less desperate now.

Grounded.

Alec hesitates for only a moment this time.

Then, his hand settles against your back. 

Steady. Deliberate.

“You are very attached today,” he says.

“Mhm.”

“That could be considered a weakness.”

“Or,” you counter, voice muffled slightly, “a very good reason for you to come back.”

He pauses, then shifts his hand slightly against your back, a small, absent movement, almost a reassurance.

“I would return regardless,” he says.

“Yeah,” you reply softly. “But now you’ve got someone waiting.”

Silence stretches between you.

Not empty.

Heavy. 

But comfortable. 

You pull back just enough to look up at him again, your usual spark returning, but softer around the edges.

“You smell like outside,” you say suddenly.

Alec blinks once.

“That is accurate.”

“I like it.”

“That is irrelevant.”

“Nothing about me is irrelevant,” you shoot back automatically.

He pauses again. 

“That is also accurate,” he admits.

Your grin breaks through then; bright, chaotic, familiar.

“I missed you.”

“I was gone for two days.”

“Still counts.”

You couldn’t help yourself, “Did you at least think about me while you were gone?”

Alec looks at you.

Really looks.

“Yes,” he says.

No hesitation.

That caught you off guard.

“Oh.”

Your expression softens, genuine, a little surprised.

“Good,” you say, quieter now.

Then, just as quickly, the chaos slips back in.

“Because I definitely thought about you. A lot. Like, an unreasonable amount. It was borderline embarrassing.”

“I can believe that.”

“Rude.”

But you were smiling.

Still close.

Still not letting go completely.

Alec didn’t try to make you.

xoxo aurelie

© aureliexo

[aureliexo]

questions in the corridors

Alec Volturi x Vampire/Hybrid Reader (Gifted with Pyrokinesis)

Alec is on guard duty, but that doesn't stop you from trying to get to know him.

If there was one thing the Volturi valued above power, it was order.

And if there was one thing you seemed personally committed to destroying, it was Alec’s ability to have a quiet shift.

“You don’t talk much, do you?”

Alec did not break stride.

“No.”

You kept pace beside him anyway, hands clasped behind your back, walking half a step too close and entirely too loudly for a place built on silence.

“Is that, like, a rule? Or a personality trait?”

“A preference.”

“Boring.”

A flicker of amusement touches Alec’s expression, but only briefly. “You are not required to be here.”

“And yet,” you say brightly, “I am.”

He turns down another corridor. You follow immediately.

“I am on duty,” he adds.

“Yeah, I gathered that from the whole ‘intense brooding patrol walk’ thing you’ve got going on.”

“It is not,”

“It is,” you cut in, pointing at him. “Very dramatic. Ten out of ten. A little intimidating. I respect it.”

Alec stops walking.

You take two more steps before realising, then pivot back to face him, grinning like you’d just won something.

“You stopped,” you say. 

“Yes.”

“Because of me?”

“Yes.”

“Progress.”

Alec stares at you.

“You are a distraction.”

“Thank you,” you grin. 

“That was not a compliment.”

“It is in my world.”

He resumes walking.

You fall into step instantly.

“Okay, serious question,” you continue, undeterred. “What do you actually do on these patrols? Because from what I’ve seen, it’s a lot of walking and glaring.”

“We ensure order is maintained,” Alec responds. 

You nod thoughtfully. “So… walking and glaring.”

“And observing.”

“Oooh,” you say, impressed. “Multi-tasking.”

A guard at the end of the hall straightens as you both approach.

You wave.

The guard does not wave back.

“Your co-workers are weird,” you stage-whisper.

“They are not my co-workers.”

“They absolutely are.”

“They are subordinates.”

“That’s even worse.”

Alec ignores that.

You turn another corner, deeper into the quieter parts of the castle. Fewer torches. Fewer people.

You glance around, then lean in closer.

“Do you ever get bored?” you ask.

“No.”

“That’s a lie.”

“It is not.”

You study his face, searching. “You don’t look bored,” you admit. “You just look… permanently unimpressed.”

“That is accurate.”

You laugh.

A small spark flickers at your fingertips, absentmindedly, restless. It dances there as you talk, rising and falling with your energy.

Alec notices.

“Control,” he says without looking at you.

“I am controlling it.”

The flame pops slightly, growing an inch taller.

Alec stops again.

You groan. “Oh, come on, that was barely anything.”

“It is unnecessary.”

“It’s expressive.”

“It is fire.”

“Details.”

He turns to face you fully now, his presence settling over the space like a quiet weight.

He says your name. 

You still.

The flame dims.

“Focus,” he says.

You hold his gaze for a second, then sigh dramatically.

“Fine.”

The fire vanishes.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” you mutter, then brighten immediately. “Okay, next question, how old are you, actually? Because you’ve got this whole ‘ancient vampire teenager’ thing going on, and I need numbers.”

Alec blinks once.

“No.”

“No?”

“No.”

“Not even a range?”

“No.”

“Rude.”

He resumes walking.

You follow.

“Are you always this difficult?” you press.

“Yes.”

“I like that.”

“I am aware.”

You grin sideways at him. “You’re getting used to me.”

“I am tolerating you.”

“Same difference.”

“It is not.”

“It is to me.”

Silence grows.

Then…

“Do you like anything?” You ask suddenly.

Alec glances at you. “Explain.”

“Like, anything. Food, obviously not. Sunlight, also no. Hobbies? Interests? Secret passions? Do you, like, collect things? Read? Judge people recreationally?”

“I do not judge people recreationally.”

You give him a look. “You absolutely do.”

“That is not a hobby.”

“It is if you enjoy it.”

Alec exhales softly.

“Do you intend to continue this?” he asks.

“Oh, definitely.”

“For how long?”

You beam.

“Until you tell me something real about you.”

There’s a pause.

“You have not stopped talking,” he points out.

“And yet, you haven’t made me leave.”

That was true.

Alec slows slightly, not enough to be obvious, but enough that you don’t have to match his pace as carefully.

“I am working,” he says.

“Yeah,” you reply, softer now. “I know.”

For once, your voice didn’t fill the entire corridor.

It stays close. Contained.

“Does it bother you?” you ask, “Me being here.”

Alec looks ahead.

“No.”

You blink, surprised.

“Really?”

“Yes.”

A small smile tugs at the corners of your mouth.

“Cool,” you say quietly.

The silence that follows isn’t forced this time.

It stretches between you, not empty, just different, comfortable.

You walk like that for a while.

Then, inevitably…

“What’s your favourite colour?” 

You break it.

Alec closes his eyes briefly.

And keeps walking.

xoxo aurelie

© aureliexo

[volturiprincess]

what are your favorite photos of the Volturi? specifically bts stuff! I think that photo of Demetri in your {vanish into you} is my favorite hehe I just love the coloring and his hair 🤭

I love bts pics of the Volturi, but i gotta agree the one picture you are talking about is *muah* chefs kiss🤌🏻. (I remember how i said in the past that scene where that picture comes from makes me think of a victorian man seeing a women's ankle, that small exposure of chest! they knew what they were doing making him look like that)

But here are some of my favorite pics!

Not all of these pictures are mine, these are mostly ones i have pinned in pinterest or ones I think of when i think Volturi

[emmaslilblog]

I Tried So Hard // Girolamo Riario

ONE-SHOT

ABOUT: When your friend Leonardo Da Vinci finally captures and chains the Monster of Italy, you - the former secret courtier of Count Girolamo Riario - are tasked with providing relief, certainty, and love in a time of overwhelming apprehension. Inspired by the "I Tried So Hard" Riario edit on YT. [ riario x fem!reader. big big angst, hurt/comfort ]

TW: Mentions of/allusions to suicide, violence, & murder, biggg religious angst

WORD COUNT: 2.8k

A/N: I simply cannot get enough of this man. He's a badass pious freaky passionate mf and I just HAD to get the essence of this video and song in writing. No joke I am sooo in love with Blakey, especially when he's playing Riario. The thought of him melts my heart. Hope you enjoy :)

DISCLAIMER: The gif is not mine!

~~~

A man with stringed hair awakens you late at night. In the darkness, you immediately recognize him as your closest confidante, Leonardo Da Vinci. Where you lay sleeping, he grabs your shoulder and shakes you until you rise, grumbling and wiping your eyes with tingling fingers.

"Good Lord, Leo," you remark, your voice an uncharacteristic drawl. "What's the hour? What's happened now? Is it the Turks?"

"No," Leo answers quickly. "I - please be quiet, we needn't wake the whole of Florence - I've got the killer."

You straighten, jaw dropping, eyes peeling wide. For a moment, you stare at him in disbelief. Even in the light of a single golden candle aflame in the corner, his brown eyes twinkle as they always have. You tilt your head to the side, a strange smirk crawling to your lips.

"Pulling my leg?" you ask, heart rate quickening. You pray the answer is yes, but at the same time, you want badly for this horror to be over.

Leo shakes his head, staring at you with his usual unflinching directness. "Not in the slightest. You really think I'd joke about something like this? After all the bodies piled up in the Vatican? If I'd known how disastrously you underestimate me, Y/n, I -"

"You really have him?" you ask, reaching for his sleeve with a trembling hand.

Leo steadies you with a single palm pressed firmly to your shoulder. He nods. "Indeed. I have him chained in the upper section of my workshop." You move to rise from your bed, but Leo holds you down. "Y/n... you should know that he... he's someone you would not have believed capable of these crimes. But he isn't himself. He is ill, poisoned of the mind. I am doing all I can to heal him."

Frightened by his sincerity, you nod. "Take me to him."

But nothing could have prepared you to look upon the Monster of Italy in the flesh.

It is him. The man for whom your heart has longed. The man for whom your soul has ached, for as long as you can recall.

Girolamo Riario sits against a pillar near the stone wall of Leo's workshop, his sleeping figure slumped in a white stream of moonlight through the window above. He is covered in dirt and blood you doubt is his own, muscular frame draped in a dark gray tunic, ripping at the seams. His black hair is ruffled, wild to shield his sharp facial features. He is vulnerable, defenseless, and his arms are bound by dark metal chains. A stream of what looks like blood trails below his closed eyes.

At the sight of him, your knees buckle. You drop to the floor, hands covering your parted lips, eyelids fluttering as your mind attempts and fails to grasp the reality of what you're seeing. Girolamo twitches after your movement, but does not wake. Your eyes blur with tears. It cannot be him.

"Leo," you plead in a whisper, "tell me... tell me it's not..."

Leo places a warm hand on your upper back. He says nothing.

Reaching for the man you always believed to be your soulmate, you dissolve in silent tears on the floor of Leonardo's workshop.

~~~

At Leonardo's insistence, Girolamo begins to remember things he wishes - oh, he prays to God Almighty - never took place. He remembers things he wishes more than anything to forget.

Leonardo's antidote has taken hold, for the temporary. But a shadow still lurks in the back of Girolamo's mind. A temptation, a quiet poking. A whisper from the darkness. A laugh, a chuckle. He turns away from it, back to the light where Leonardo tells him of all the people that very shadow has killed. Girolamo begins to feel as if all the world has crumbled around him. The very thought of God has been manipulated into a vessel of evil.

"My heart," he says to his old nemesis, "must be so black." A single tear slips down Girolamo's blood-streaked cheek. "My soul so riven with cruelty. I..." A lump catches in his throat, but he speaks anyway. "I cannot be saved."

Leonardo falls to his rear before Girolamo. Cocks his sly, intelligent head to the side. "You saved me," he responds. "And I know someone who may be able to save you in return... should my devices fail."

Girolamo's eyes, a gray-stricken green, widen. His head falls back against the pillar, warm skull meeting cold stone. He shakes his head, tears blurring his vision. "No," he whispers. "You cannot. I will... I will ruin her."

A faux smile, an expression of pity and rebellion, overtakes Leonardo's face. "She is the only other person in Florence who knows the truth. And she is not ruined. Not yet."

Girolamo scoffs, looking up to the window, glass glowing and fogging in a distant hum of daylight. He swallows hard, thoughts drifting to you. Such a beauty, such a delicate wonder he has known only in the form of Y/n. God granted him a love to absolve him of his sins, and instead of take the opportunity, he has thrown you away. And for what? The flimsy excuse that he was protecting you? Such a small, unfeeling lie rips away at the most tender part of his heart - what is left of it, a single blackened organ beating a death march in the prison of his chest. He has given you up, and yet you remain. An angel as pure as starlight to rival the unforgivable devilry of his sins.

"While you rested," Leonardo continues, "I brought her here. To see you. I feared she might not surpass the shock of your identity."

Riario turns to look at him once more, eyes glistening with a fresh wave of grief.

"She fell to the floor and wept," Leonardo explains. His face is stony and calm, but not without his own fair share of emotion. "Mumbling Giro, Giro, over and over again. Words on the edge of her breath I have not the strength to repeat. She started to pray when she saw you here, raised her hands up to God and pleaded that you be spared, if at any cost." He pauses, takes a shaky breath. "You must know I have never seen her pray, not in all my life."

Girolamo swallows and says, "The Holy Father threw her from the Vatican's services because she refused to pray." Against the heavy weight in his heart, he smiles. "I despised her lack of faith, but I admired her dedication to truth."

Leonardo nods. "She is truly a force," he agrees. "When I tried to pry her from the floor an hour later, she slapped me away. Said God had not yet answered her prayer."

Girolamo straightens against the pillar. He listens earnestly for every sign of you he can process.

The artista shakes his head, finally smiling. "She finally stood up after the sun rose, this very morning. I asked her if God had answered, and she walked out of the room. Not a moment later, Riario, and you awoke with lucid words in your mouth. Even now, I'm tempted to believe it was a miracle."

"Miracle," Girolamo repeats, exhaling sharply. He looks down at the flesh of his forearms, at the deep scars just visible beyond the edges of the metal cuffs. He had felt so hopeless then, so directionless. As if all the world had gone dark.

But in this room, you collapsed on the floor and prayed for perhaps the first true time in your life. And it had been for Girolamo's saving.

He feels unworthy... but his heart has broken free of the darkness.

"I must see her again," Girolamo finally says to his old nemesis. "I am in no position to ask for favors, but..."

The artista smiles. "You need not ask."

~~~

Your hands sweat as you wring them together. Dressed in your best looks, you believe yourself still not enough. Still not adequate. Still not prepared and ready.

Leo leads you up the creaking wooden steps, up to the room where your lover sits chained to a stone pillar like a common thief. You think of him and your eyes are already wetted with tears - blinking furiously, you push away your grief and sorrow. You must face him with dignity, courage, and grace.

After all, he may have left you alone, but he kept his promise. He did it to protect you. And should you have been at his side in Rome earlier this month, you'd have surely been strung up on the walls of the Vatican with your innards hanging out for every pious man to see. Girolamo may have broken you, but he saved you nevertheless from a much worse fate.

You owe it to him now at least to listen. To listen and to care. If you cannot forgive, then you must at least understand.

Before you cross the threshold, Leo turns back and looks deep into your eyes. He knows. He asks you a silent question.

You nod. Then you take a breath and step inside the workshop.

When he sees you, his dry lips part. His eyes, a beautiful green speckled with stormy gray, go wide. His chest ceases all movement - he is holding his breath. Speechless, breathless, in shock. In awe.

You purse your lips, blinking away the tears as they return stronger.

"Y/n," Girolamo whispers. You had forgotten the tender passion of his voice, had only been able to recall it in the wild fantasy of your dreams. Now, you realize your dreams are nothing against the truth of his tone. "I feared you had... you had forgotten me."

Forgotten him? You haven't lived a single day free from the mere thought of him. The sacred memory of his deepest love. His gentle touch, his warm flesh, his heart beating like lightning whenever you were near. The way he spoke to you, the way he caressed you in the moonlight, the way he would kiss and worship every inch of you like you were made of crystal. His smile, his soft laugh, his breath on yours like a fresh breeze from the sea. The way his eyes would sparkle when he looked at you, like you were Donatello's masterpiece.

When you speak, you are unable to shake the crackle from your voice. "One does not simply forget that which changes the course of their entire life," you tell him.

Girolamo bites his lip, face scrunching as he tries to shield his hurt from you. "I tried," he confesses in a broken plead. "I tried so hard... Y/n... I only wanted to keep you from harm's reach. That was my... dearest... intent."

Your heart breaks all over again. He truly means it.

You step forward. He straightens against the pillar. Your eyes scan his form, every visible part of the man you love. He awaits your word, your decision. The loving care you came to bestow upon him. The affirmation of your affections. Unshed tears sparkle in his eyes, just as you remember.

Finally, you speak. "Lock the door," you say to Leo, though your gaze never leaves the man chained before you.

"Y/n," Leonardo argues, "we don't yet know if the antidote took its full effect. I cannot let you -"

"If you wish to keep him chained like a dog," you snap, "then you must chain me as well. He is of clear mind... at least for now." You turn to Leo, staring deep into his brown orbs. "Please. Grant me this one peace. Grant him this one mercy."

Leo hesitates. Then, with a single stiff nod, he steps beyond the threshold, doorknob in hand. He disappears a moment later, the door clicking behind him.

Once he is gone, you realize truly that you are alone with Girolamo.

You say nothing - at least not yet. You cannot manage words while your heart longs so relentlessly to offer care to your lover. Keeping your eyes away from him, you retrieve the keys from the table by the locked door. You approach Girolamo once more, and this time allow your gaze to meet his.

"You need not free me," he says in a near-whisper. "I know very well what I have done. What I am capable of."

You hesitate for a moment, then shake your head and drop to a kneel next to Girolamo. Your fingers work at his cuffs, where the key finds its place. A click, and the cuffs slide off his wrists.

"They may call you a monster," you tell him softly, taking the cuffs and placing them to the side, "but I see no real reason to fear you."

He gazes at you, stares deep into your eyes and into your soul. Lays his head back against the pillar as he watches you hold back yet another wave of tears. In quiet restraint, you reach for one of his hands. When your fingers graze his skin, he flinches for a fraction of a moment, as if frightened his touch will hurt you. But you do not fear him - your heart burns brighter in his proximity. You take his hand in yours, flipping his arm to trace the lines of his open palm.

You had not seen his scars.

"Girolamo," you breathe, heart rate rising, "what happened to you?"

He glances down at the inside of his wrist, green-gray orbs glistening with a waterfall of emotion. You wish you had not asked, but you need to know. You need to know the truth.

"I thought," he tells you under his breath, "I might have been able to save the world. From myself. That if I..." He holds back a sob. "If I removed myself from existence, that God might forgive me. I hoped you would hate me for leaving... enough that you would be exempt from the pain of losing me."

His words are the purest, most honest of any he has ever spoken. You can feel it in your bones, and it breaks you. It cuts you deeply, rips you apart in an anguish you have not the strength to name.

You lean down and press your lips to his scar, once a fatal wound, now a thick red line across the inside of his wrist. It still tastes of blood. Of despair.

"I could have helped you," you say to him, meeting his eyes as you raise yourself up again. "If you had only let me."

Girolamo raises his free hand to your face, and met with the warmth you have missed for years, you lean into his touch. Your eyes flutter shut, like the wings of a bird that has flown for far too long. Girolamo pulls you closer, and your forehead presses to his. You can feel the desperation, feel the heat, smell the sea breeze on his breath. After all this time, he is still yours.

"I needed to keep you safe," he says. His thumb brushes over your bottom lip, a comfort you know will only last for so long.

"I would have found absolution for you," you tell him. "I would have traveled to the ends of the earth to help you find your salvation. To keep you from turning your back on life. I would have done anything to keep you with me." Your words catch in your throat. "Why did you keep this from me, Giro? Of all truths?"

He caresses your face just the way he used to. You open your eyes to find him searching you for every fragment of love he can get. "I did not want you to hurt," he answers simply, words broken by emotion.

You raise your hands to his face and press your lips to his, a desperate search to quell the longing within both of you. He responds instantly, wrapping his unchained arms around you, pulling you deeper into his safe embrace. He tastes of salt and pine - you dive into him, finding comfort in his presence now. His fingers twist in your hair, tugging gently on strands of you, remembering things long forgotten in the shadow of the past. Memories of wild embraces in the dark of night, sinful screams wrapped in the soft silk of Giro's bed, clutching each other with a vicious passion no one on earth has known. He has worshipped you as an angel sent from God, and you have revered in him, sought him as a permanent state of peace in the chaos of your life. In him, you have found hope and meaning. The pursuit of an impossible dream, an impossible happiness. The wide-eyed wonder of what it means to be truly loved.

As you pull away, lips yearning for more, you speak softly to him. "I hurt no longer," you say, "because I have you at my side."

His eyes are rivers, but he smiles against the sorrow.

If you only have this one chance, you will do your best to keep this love intact. It is your greatest wish.

~~~

Masterlist

[agirllovespancakes]

Volturi home

Because I studied landscape architecture for a while I was curious how many floors the Volturi home could be, considering it’s built underneath the current Volterra city and was started being built in the Etruscan era. Unfortunately I did not have access anymore to arcgis so everything is based on free access maps, articles and pictures of the city. That I went there last may helped too.

The map

There would be three entrances and because of the sewers, the first floor would start at least 3 or 4 metres deep. The soil is mostly clay but the hill is made out of sand and calcarenites. Structures in clay tend to fall apart, so I kind of believe the volturi structure would almost only exist in the sand section. Which is btw still around 75 metres thick... lots of possibilities. I added the necropolis as well because that is where the Etruscans buried their dead. There are also tunnels and tombs there, so why wouldn't the kings have built a tunnel there? If you want to know how Etruscan structures look like underground: I found a website that has pictures. This is where our beloved volturi vampires live.. maybe they structured it a bit more over the centuries. Adding libraries and training grounds with a bit of fantasy. Here is a website that shows how the acropolis looked like if you are interested.

The entrances:

And then I was also looking for good spots for the entries of their home. The palazzo is a tourist spot, a town hall and has no basement, not quite ideal! Here are my suggestions:

Not the main entry but a way for the Volturi lower guards to leave the main area and guard the city easily. A restaurant showcased an archeological site underneath their floor. It’s supposed to be an old path and entry to a house from the Etruscan era. What if several houses are owned by the volturi that have such entries? Guards could easily leave the underground area to guard the city. Most houses had basement floors that were clearly unused. Of course there can’t be too many or they would have a risk with so many entries.

There is an archaeological site on the hill where the remains lie of the acropolis. Many parts were closed off because, according to the information there, you could fall down several metres deep. It’s deep and they cannot explore it because of the vulnerability of the rocks. What if one of these are an official entry for guard duties? They simply need to jump or climb and open it. At night there are no humans around and there aren’t street lamps around either. (Ignore my shoes lol)

Just outside of the walls I found a war monument. It’s a bit of a quiet spot with a beautiful view, you can see a lot of the area there. There is a sewer underneath those tiles and it seems to go pretty deep. I was thinking this could be a modern entry for an older tunnel they had built. And this would be the official known entry for other covens to visit the Volturi. Just like in the books, they would have to walk through a sewer, or climb down a tunnel inside the sewer. Bonus: it’s big enough for Felix to enter :)

Other important notes:

In the books and the movies the throne room is built in the tower. That is impossible if you would use Volterra as how it’s really built. Instead, the throne room would be ancient and deep underground. Etruscan writings on the walls and definitely Etruscan structures. In that case; Bella, Edward and Alice would be led into a secluded area where no light or air would ever come. Aka, Bella wouldn’t be able to breathe there and die before she would even get close to arriving there. Cough, cough, dusty kings.

Same goes for the queens. There is no tower big enough to have a room. You could have them live in one of the houses but I would say the kings keep them in a secluded room somewhere deep underground… poor women.

As for Heidi’s tour: I have found abandoned buildings in the Volterra area. It is technically possible for a tunnel to be built leading towards the city. Several archeologists in articles have explained that the Etruscans were constantly building tunnels of which most are not yet found. Realistically, I would say they have a space built underground just outside the city, leading a tunnel towards that. The humans get eaten there and their bodies are disposed of or destroyed at the abandoned building. No accid needed! In the modern times I would think Heidi has them killed in the abandoned building, has guards put their blood in pretty jars and bottles and then delivers those to every guard and the kings. With so much surveillance and technology nowadays she maybe even just orders blood or they own blood banks..

Additional

There is so much information available about the Etruscans and their structures. I bought books and I haven't read everything yet. Most of the knowledge is gone so there is so much we don't know. Several articles have stated that there are structures beneath the city of Volterra we will never find or get access to! It is super interesting. I haven't even talked about the amfi theatre… If someone wants to add their thoughts or knowledge, please do!

Used sources

My own pictures from my visit there.

Books I bought there:

Volterra miniguide history, monuments and art

Guidorama The Etruscans

Guidorama Volterra

Websites:

VIEWERS - Geoportale MASE - Geoportale

Access to the section for consulting the available cartography.

Topografische kaart Volterra, hoogte, reliëf

Gemiddelde hoogte: 228 m • Volterra, Pisa, Toscane, 56048, Italië • Visualisatie en delen van gratis topografische kaarten.

Volterra, Pisa, Italia on the Elevation Map. Topographic Map of Volterra, Pisa, Italia.

Topographic Map of Volterra, Pisa, Italia. Elevation, latitude and longitude of Volterra, Pisa, Italia on the world topo map.

Volterra’s Amphitheater: the “Archaeological Discovery of the Century”

the discovery of a Roman amphitheater in Volterra is getting seriously exciting. here’s the latest news

The etruscan Acropolis | Volterra, Toscana

The excavation works in the Acropolis have brought back to light an area dedicated to religious activities: starting from the 6th century BC

The Etruscan necropolis | Volterra, Toscana

Outside the fortification are the Necropolises of the Main Gate, Badia, Ulimeto and Ripaie, which have been under excavation since the 18th

[bambieyedoll]

⋆·˚ ༘ * ALEC VOLTURI HEADCANONS 𐚁̸.ᐟ

𐙚 alec proposes to you

alec had centuries of silence before you.

centuries of numb routine, of duty and shadows, of watching others fall in love while never truly understanding it.

and then you came along, and suddenly, forever didn’t seem so long.

he doesn’t believe he deserves you at first.

you’re warm in a way he’s never been. you smile like the sun has personally greeted you.

the volturi castle is cold, unfeeling marble—except when you’re there.

your laughter echoes in the halls like sunlight, and even jane, in her sharp-edged way, softens when you’re around.

when he finally accepts that he wants forever with you, it scares him—because he’s never wanted anything before.

he spends months watching you quietly—memorizing the way your hands brush over old books, the way you stop to smell flowers even though they hold no scent for you in the castle air, the way you lean against him like he’s a safe place.

the moment he realizes he wants to marry you is small: you’re brushing his hair out of his eyes after a long day, whispering, “you always look so serious, love.” and he thinks, i want to be hers in every way the world will allow.

alec doesn’t want a grand gesture—he wants intimacy.

he wants to give you a memory that only the two of you will ever hold. so he waits until you’re walking together at dusk, far from the volturi’s looming halls, where the sky blushes and the world feels softer.

alec isn’t extravagant.

he is quiet devotion wrapped in eternal stillness, but when it comes to proposing to you, his centuries-old heart can’t help but beat just a little faster—figuratively, of course.

he plans everything with precision.

he practices the words alone in the library—quietly, almost like a prayer. “would you—no. you’re already mine. that’s not… quite it.”

alec carves out a private space just for you in the gardens—far from the guards, from the politics, from aro’s looming presence.

a hidden courtyard where the moonlight pools in silver across the stone, where roses still bloom under your touch. that’s where he’ll do it.

he hides the ring in a worn leather book he noticed you reading once—pride and prejudice, because you laughed when you called him your “mr. darcy with a cloak.”

the ring isn’t overly extravagant—it’s elegant, timeless.

it has a piece of onyx in the center, smooth and dark like his eyes, surrounded by delicate silver vines, like the ones that crawl along the stone walls where you first kissed.

he doesn’t kneel. alec doesn’t need to.

when he holds the ring between his pale fingers and says, “i don’t remember what life was like before you, but i know i never truly lived until you touched me.” it’s more reverent than any tradition.

his voice doesn’t waver, but his crimson eyes are wide—like he’s still stunned that someone like you could love someone like him.

you start crying before he even asks.

he looks startled at first—worried he’s done something wrong—but then you’re nodding through the tears and pulling him down into your arms.

when you say yes, alec just exhales a tiny soundless breath, as though your answer has uncoiled some tightly wound part of him.

alec kisses your hand after he slips the ring on. not once—three times.

the base of your finger. your knuckle. and finally, the inside of your wrist, where your pulse beats warm against his lips.

he presses his forehead to yours. “you have given eternity meaning,” he whispers. “and i will spend every moment of it loving you better than the last.”

alec just holds you there like he’s trying to memorize the shape of this moment.

jane watches from a balcony above with the smallest smirk. “about time,” she mutters, before walking away.

that night, you lie in bed together, wrapped in soft sheets and one another.

his head rests against your chest, listening to the rhythm of your heartbeat like it’s a lullaby meant only for him.

he doesn’t stop touching you—fingers brushing your wrist, arm around your waist, knuckles grazing your jaw. he needs the reassurance that this isn’t a dream.

he doesn’t need sleep, but he lets his eyes close because it feels like a dream anyway.

when you start to drift off, he pulls you closer, whispering sweet things against your skin.

“if there is a soul in me, it belongs to you.”

aro insists on a grand celebration and alec barely tolerates it.

you make it worth enduring—especially when you hold his hand the whole time and whisper that he’s yours in front of everyone.

alec isn’t much for wedding planning, but he lets you do whatever you want.

if you want roses down the hall? he’ll find them. want a mortal ceremony? fine. want to elope in the middle of the woods under moonlight? even better.

he doesn’t care who knows. let the whole castle see.

he’ll stand by your side at every formal event with his fingers twined through yours.

if anyone looks twice, alec meets their gaze with that quiet intensity that says, she’s mine. and i would tear the world apart for her.

alone, he carves your initials into the wall behind your shared room—subtle, secret, but eternal. “now the castle knows you belong here. with me.”

[volturigroupie]

For all the Alec Volturi fanfic writers out there ~

While having him use Italian words of endearment is cute and awesome, have you considered using 'Early Medieval English'?

A list of possibilities; with their loose translation

Mīn lēof - my beloved, my dear

Mīn mægden - my girl/maiden

Mīn līf - my life

Mīn swēte - you can guess this one

Mīn dēore - this one too

Mīn lufu - my love

Mīn hēorte - my heart

Mīn hēartlufu - my heart's love

Mīn trēowa - my true one

Mīn trēowalufu - my true/faithful love

Mīn hordwynn - my delightful treasure

Mīn midgesīþ - my companion (generally not romantic)

For a child perhaps (?) Mīn lȳtle wynn - my little joy

Bonus phrases! Iċ lufie þē - "I love you" Þū eart mīn līf - "You are my life"

As far as I know, the only gendered term here is 'mægden'.

P.S. If you do use this, please use ī not i when writing 'my' because...

Sources; (1), (2), (3)

[alecvolturiswifeforever]

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨♡୧⋆ ˚｡⋆

alec volturi masterlist

🧸 - trigger warning! read at your own risk.

💌 - smut/implied smut

adorable

anxiety 🧸

always and forever

always been you

baker

bite

clumsy little human

confession

confide

coven crest

cuddles

driven mad

favourites

fear 🧸

first kiss

first meetings (i) (ii) 🧸

gentle loving 💌

hard day

human mishaps

hurt

insomnia 💌

kitchen counter 💌

moments before bedtime

night visits

night terrors

patience 💌

protection

softly

sunlight in a dark room (i) (ii)

sweet moments

tease 💌

the chase

vulnerable bliss

🏹headcanons🏹

dating headcanons 💌

🏹blurbs🏹

aftercare

thinking the castle is haunted

having anxiety when he has to leave for a mission

valentines day

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨♡୧⋆ ˚｡⋆

[welikeimagines-andfandoms]

Dating Volturi guards headcanons

Jane

- Jane likes watching movies with you, even horror, but as soon as it’s something to do with witch burning she refuses

- Jane didn’t have much of a childhood and lived where people feared her so you always try to do more fun and wholesome things with her

- Winning her prizes in a claw machine. She pretends it’s silly but really she treasures it so much!

- Takes her a while to let her guard down but you become the one person she tells everything to

- She’s surprisingly good at braids and it’s one sweet thing she loves doing for you

- Difficult for her at first to accept she has a mate but you go slow together

Demetri

- Demetri loves camp versions of vampires, Dio is his favourite

- Always tries to find fun things for you to do together at night that isn’t just clubs and dinners. Markets, outdoor movies, camping etc.

- Lavish gifts, from perfume to jewellery and clothes

- Lots of whispered praise and hand kisses

- He gets really turned on when you start learning Italian if you don’t already know it

- Making vampire jokes and he actually loves them, makes him laugh a lot

- Staying up late together exchanging stories

Felix

- Love the headcanon that Felix was a gladiator and honestly he would role play that in the bedroom. You’re his prize for his victories

- So many piggybacks and shoulder rides everywhere!

- He is your guard dog. From grocery shopping, to concerts, no one is hurting you

- Puts his coat around you all the time

- Loves when you steal his clothes

- Absolutely hates historical inaccuracies in movies and will let you know. Takes you twice as long to get through movies sometimes because he goes on rants

Alec

- Loves taking you to different museum expos and telling you about his life at that time

- Alec is usually pretty quiet but once he’s comfortable with you he loves to tell you stories

- Always has to act tough but honestly loves being praised and taken care of by his partner (both sexually and not)

- Don’t ask me why but I can see Alec secretly loving old cinema, from westerns to blonde bombshells

- Keeping an eye out for old movie screenings to go to together

- Finds himself always reaching for you

- Will fight anyone in the castle who thinks you don’t belong

[fuckmeyer]

love the idea that the Volturi collect newspapers from all over the world so they can watch out for rogue vamps. bc they're not out there doing that shit. really, some poor intern/human-wannabe-vamp is just running around sifting through the daily papers like an editorial assistant working the slush pile at a trad publishing company. underpaid, overworked, crying on lunch breaks, chugging cold burnt coffee, desperately trying & failing to unionize, etc.

[slightlysadfilter]

Tuscan police when a third of global disappearances is linked to tourists in Volterra:

[alecvolturi]

Alec reads The Hobbit (the first paragraph) to you when you’re feeling unwell. This is inspired by this imagine by @kiiwiigii .

[kiiwiigii]

Random Alec Headcanon:

When things start getting really spicy, Alec tends to switch to speaking Italian without realizing it half the time.