This Was Also A Reason Because What A Fucking Line

this was also a reason because what a fucking line

if you're friends with me on steam and just saw me play five hours of bg3 no you didn't...

hit that heart and i will send some memes your way!

if her father were alive, the words this man was saying would have lead to him getting dragged to the center of town and punished publicly, but her father is not here and her father never would have imagined just how much the house of ashmore would burn. he never would have imagined that ella ashmore spent a split of a second thinking about it instead of downright turning it down. that split second fills ella with sheer tension. there's nothing wrong with the woman who work in these establishment but... that is not the life she has been raised for and she intends to live that life she was meant to again, no matter how long it takes-

... but it would be a way out. she would be free. no more torment. no more keeping filthy. no one more cruelty...

" you do know who i am, yes? " she answers quickly, her words not as harsh as they should be, her tongue answering while her head is still partially lost in thought. her own voice snaps her out of it and acts like a scolding more so to herself than him. ella moves quick to continue. " i know i smell and look extremely different, but i do need to make sure you are certain of who you are talking to. "

"You know," Ted's leaning against the outside of the tavern, bud & brew, dark eyes scanning the gangly and ghastly sight of @starlightwielded who had been just trying to pass through the buildings. He knew she was look for peace and not someone else's opinion, but he couldn't stop himself, "you could be so much more than whatever dirt you're left to be by your family." He gives a shrug, dragging his gaze away for a moment only to bring it back with a smirk placed on his lips, "I know your stepmother claims it to be crazy and she is.. quite convincing, but we don't care about all that at the wench hole. well... except needing a bath."

He was wasn't sure what the Ashmore girl would say to him, but he knew her well enough to know she had something at the ready. So did he. He never started a conversation he wasn't somehow prepared for and he knew offering this to the likes of her were bold. She was a walking project and she'd take work to fix up, but he was sure he could handle. He and his right hand women.

my goal today when i’m free is to put the writing thoughts in my brain into words

more importantly hi hello i love you all lots have the best monday treat yourselves!

and i cry

oh. oh...

perhaps ella should have prepared herself for the embrace, but it caught her so incredibly off guard, her arms tightening around her almost felt like a stab right to her heart. their conversation, her own feelings, everything for a moment is lost and fades as the warmth of justine’s touch overwhelms and comforts her. she barely can hear justine’s words as that warmth wraps around her and overwhelms in the best possible way.

she doesn’t know the last time she’s been held like this… or rather ella does not think she has ever been held like this…

her mind returns to her before justine continues to speak, but not before she has time to let the forgiveness sink in. the queen listens even as protests stir in her mind- she would have wanted them to. anyone else would have and she would hold no malice or hatred if they had, but lucy and justine were not like everyone else.

that’s something that ella already knew deep in her soul. even before they had saved her life.

protectiveness flairs in her at justine’s words, both at the steadfast loyalty in the statement and mention of the gods- they are alive but ella knows she is changed. no longer is she that happy, carefree, thing skipping around making up languages and dancing about the forrest floor with no worries. she fears that she is gone for good, that her stepmother severed her connection to her along with her feet of flesh. she feels something new, someone who knows too much and perhaps should not be alive, yet here she stands, feet made of strange starlight, crown on her head, mantle and the kingdom on her shoulders. none of that matters as much as who holds her tight- for now, at least.

the queen inhales. the queen exhales. she holds justine back with a fierce tightness, as though her grip could express everything that echoes inside of her head left unsaid. then she laughs softly.

“ careful. i fear my questions are heavy and there is oh so many of them. ” her tone light but relieved all the same. her eyes are shut but she’s smiling still.

ella dares to open her eyes a moment later, shoulders relaxing as she stares into justine’s. “it goes both ways though. if there’s anything that you want to know i promise you that i will tell you. and i promise you you are safe. i swear it. ” she would do anything and give everything to keep that promise.

but where to start?

“ how are you both back? what happened? ” it is a starting point, though ella is slightly scared for the answer.

The weight they all carry could have easily crushed them. It could have squashed the care they feel for each other, but Justine feels stronger for it. She must be stronger to help Lucy and Ella carry it. She refuses to let her tether to either of them snap. Lucy was already her world, but Ella has become another one entirely. She needs Ella as much as she needs Lucy. Without them in her orbit, she will float off into space—a dying star.

Her gaze softens as Ella apologizes. She feels no entitlement to an apology, but she listens without interruption. Ella needs to get this off of her chest. Justine sees it in the way she carries herself. This is a burden that must be released.

She takes a step forward, releasing Ella's hands only to wrap her arms around the queen's neck, cheek to cheek. She hugs her in silence for several moments.

"I forgive you. Of course I forgive you," she echoes Ella's words in a whisper.

She takes a step back, relinquishing her hold on Ella, but she keeps her gaze.

"Even if we found out before stepping foot there, Ella, do you think we would have turned back?" She smiles, but it doesn't reach her eyes.

"We would have come to get you, and no one, save for the gods, can say if we would have gotten away unscathed."

Justine feels as sure about this as she does about the fact that the sun will rise in the morning. She would re-do that wonderful, horrible day over and over again if it meant that Ella could finally escape her captivity. The only mercy she would ask of the gods would be to take she and Lucy at the same time, so neither had to suffer the other's demise.

"I am here, dear Ella." She places her hand on Ella's shoulder. "I am just as real as you." Her smile grows, creating tiny creases in the corners of her eyes. "And I have all the time in the world for any questions you have."