#Highest Hopes

[madlovenovelist]

Book Review – ‘Almayer Station’ (#1.5 Admiral) by Sean Danker

A space station inspection uncovers things that challenge your loyalty and beliefs… Genre: Science Fiction No. of pages: 256 Lieutenant Deilani already had trust issues. Now she has an appalling new assignment to inspect an independent mining station in territory that’s been recently annexed. The Demenis System might have become Evagardian space, but it’s populated by the Free Traders who got…

[shakooo]

1/2 JAKSHAHA HIIIIII GUYS IT'S ME AGAIN here is the comic that i promised....just the day before yesterday i was able to advance this, school is killng me now hahaha and i definitely have to focus on it like never before, but well, about the comic AAAAGH I WANTED TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT ISABELLA you know, her design is very interesting and fun to draw for me

apart from the fact that in the conceptual art she has a much more sophisticated outfit AND that was the one that gave me the inspiration to do this hehe

this is what i'm talking about >:), the whole family has their elegant version and k love the concEEEPt

there are still 3 pages left to color so wait for it ª

Here is the drawing without text....AND I LOVE HOW IT LOOKED

[cressidagrey]

Dust off your Highest Hopes - Part 1

Summary:

Eavesdroppers never hear anything good about themselves, goes the idiom. 

When Solana hears an admission from the High Lord of Day, she’s ill-prepared for it. She doesn’t believe in fairytales any longer, but maybe there was a happily ever after for Solana and Helion somewhere.

Warnings:

Mention of Rape, Mention of Domestic Violence. It's all in the past, it's none graphic, but Solana is still dealing with it.

Notes:

This was supposed to be a one shot. One day I will find a way to be less wordy.

(thanks to @tsunami-of-tears for the super pretty dividers!)

When Solana grew up, she believed in fairytales. 

Why shouldn’t she? 

She had been raised as a daughter after two boys…raised to be the perfect lady, the perfect wife…and expected to climb society‘s ranks and find herself a proper husband. 

And Solana had done that. 

She had excelled at it, in fact. 

Solana hadn’t just married any High Fae Male. She had married a High Lord’s son. Her mate. 

And for just one moment…her fairytale had become reality. She had believed that she had found her happily ever after. 

Not much later, she realised that she had been a lamb led to her slaughter. 

Just that…a lamb…a lamb led to its slaughter…it was killed quickly. She wasn’t. It was death by a thousand cuts. 

Solana may was Castor‘s mate, but she was not the female he loved. 

And the mating bond snapping and the arranged marriage that had followed, pleasing both their families but neither of them…well, for the rest of Castor‘s life, that marriage was at fault for everything. Solana was at fault for everything else.

Solana could divide her life into three parts: before her marriage, during her marriage and after her marriage... 

Before she had been a child. 

During…during it she had been a prisoner.  

Caged into her marriage…into her husband's whims. 

Castor had stripped her of everything she held dear, of every bit of dignity she had possessed…he had done unspeakable acts to her, things that she couldn’t and wouldn’t ever talk about to anybody. Solana had been a spectacle for the court to watch, something to gawk at, watching as the years passed and her womb refused to swell with a child. 

Some people had known what went on behind the closed doors of their marital chambers…others hadn’t. Nobody had put a stop to it…to what Castor had done to her in private and in public. 

Nobody. 

Not the servants. Though she didn’t give them the fault for that, because they couldn’t have done anything. They didn’t have the power. 

Not the High Lord or the Lady of the Court. They had known too. And they hadn’t cared. Castor was their son. Solana was just his wife. She was supposed to adapt. 

But how did one adapt to the daily torture he liked to dish out? Solana had tried. Solana had done her best. It had never been enough. 

Regardless of what she had done, Castor had never stopped his torture of hers. Not in their marriage bed… nor out of it. 

And then he had died.

And the After had started. 

After two centuries of living in the hell that was her mating bond and marriage…Her tormenter was dead. Slain. 

The one thing that bitch Amarantha had ever done well in her fucking life was to kill her husband, as far as Solana was concerned. 

Being Castor’s widow was…the third part of her life. And the best. 

She wore widow’s black and pearls for the better part of two decades. She shrouded herself in her grief so that nobody could ever doubt that she had loved him. (He owed her that. Even when hadn’t loved him anymore. Not at the end. Not after what he had done to her for centuries.) 

Castor’s death had pleasant consequences for Solana.  It left her as the only female in the High Lord’s immediate family. 

It left her under Helion Spell-Cleaver‘s personal protection. It made Helion the only male that held any power over her. As long as Solana didn’t remarry, she was part of his family. Any suitor who wanted Solana’s hand in marriage needed to get through him.

(Good Luck with that.) Helion had promised her that as long as he drew breath, nobody would lay a hand on her again. And he had kept that promise. 

In return, her unwavering loyalty laid firmly with him and his court. 

50 years of Under The Mountain…but somehow she had kept that Court running in his absences. She had done that. For him. 

And then Amarantha herself had died…bested by a human girl of all things. 

Another monster slain. 

They had spent 5 years rebuilding. Half a decade. Just a blink in the eyes of a fae.

It wasn’t enough. They weren’t done. They were so far from done. But they had a start. They had made a start. 

Solana had loved every second of it. 

Castor was dead. Her monster had been slain. And Solana…Solana finally had her freedom. 

She could deal with everything else. It didn’t matter what else happened. 

It didn’t matter if Helion admitted to a bastard-born son who ended up being his heir. 

She would deal with it all. Because she was free. 

Lucien turned out to be lovely and his mate Elain grew to be one of Solana’s favourite people.

It didn’t matter what Solana’s mother thought about her lack of interest in suitors… She was never going to put herself at another male's mercy ever again. Her mother’s opinion didn’t matter, because Helion turned down every request of her company without discussion.

She didn’t need to entertain anybody. 

Unless she wanted to. And unless she went to Helion and told him that this was the male she wanted…everybody else got turned away in no uncertain terms. 

It didn’t matter what anybody else in the Day Court thought of her. Thought of her taking on most of the duties of the Lady of the Court. It didn’t matter what kind of gossip they came up with now. She would do her duty to her High Lord. 

And if it made his life even just a little bit easier to have her be the one who selected what courses to serve at the meals…who picked out the porcelain and the cutlery and the drapes…who redecorated, who checked the accounts on every ledger and ran the palace with diligently and carefully…she would do so gladly. 

Until a time when she was no longer needed. (Elain was shaping up to be a worthy replacement soon enough, after all.) 

It had taken her centuries, but Solana had finally found a place where she could be…content. No more worries of what horrid thing the next day would bring. 

In a way…she could simply exist. 

Solana could simply open her eyes when she woke up alone in her four-poster bed…the white sheets pristine and clean…and she could pull on a silk dressing gown over a nightgown that was never ripped apart nowadays, never sprinkled with her own blood. 

There were no bruises on her body as she took a bath…No ripped-out hair or contusions…nothing. 

She no longer needed to shroud herself in widow’s black…she could pick a buttercup yellow dress that bared her shoulders to the sun, not worrying about whatever anybody would see if she didn’t bother with a glamour. 

She could pick long, hanging hearrings, without worrying about having them ripped out of her lobes…with fat pearls from the Summer Court. An indulging solstice gift from Helion himself. 

Solana was content.

Sometimes it startled her how much. How she had somehow carved out that little corner of peace for herself. 

Nia, her handmaiden, fussed with Solana’s curls that morning…pinning them up in her usual style and scattering a handful of pearl-headed pins throughout it to decorate the updo. It was pretty. Beautiful in fact. Solana thanked her with a smile, grabbing her usual lace-trimmed shawl to wrap around her shoulders before she made her way downstairs for breakfast. 

These days, Solana no longer lived in the marital quarters that had been the place of much of her plight and agony…and instead she had her rooms in the main wing, above Helion’s. 

He was her last line of defense, he had told her with a charming smile and she remembered how she had laughed at the pure ridiculousness of that statement. If somebody murdered their way through all the sentries they kept stationed…even a High Lord would have trouble stopping that invasion single-handedly, she imagined. 

Her new rooms did put her up high in the Sunray Palace…named for its many, many spiky towers and the fact that the sun rose right behind it, falling through the many painted glass windows. It had been built into the luscious mountains and hills of the Day Court, with every level seemingly worked right out of the stone.  The only beings that had rooms even higher than Solana were the Pegasi. 

(And they had wings, so Solana supposed it was just fair that they had gotten the uppermost tower and the luscious planes of grass that covered the top of that mountain.) 

Solana nodded a greeting to the few servants that she saw that morning, and then reached the door to the private dining room, where she was supposed to have dinner with Helion, Lucien and Elain. 

 Her hand was already on the doorknob as the voice from within made her hesitate for just a moment. 

“Are you aware that you are in love with her?” Lucien asked, his voice bone dry. 

What? That who was in love with whom? 

Solana’s mind was immediately sent spinning, mentally sorting through the different possibilities. 

If there was one thing that Solana was well versed in, then it would be the Day Court’s gossip.

She knew every bit of it. 

She knew who hated who, who loved who, and who would give her whatever she wanted if she just twirled a strand of hair around her finger. 

She knew who to ask for what. She knew what each noble family strived for, what they were ambitious about. 

She knew about marriage alliances, and who was related to what family and how. She knew who would gladly stab their siblings in the back if that meant that they got a bigger slice of cake in the end. 

Solana knew all of that. 

She had played this game for centuries at this point. 

Still…the last thing she had expected…the last thing she had expected to hear…that was Helion’s voice responding: “What?” 

His voice was hoarse, thick with something that she couldn’t place. 

Helion…Helion was in love with somebody? With whom? Her stomach lurched. 

The late Lady of Autumn had been before her time…Lucien and Solana were just a few years apart in age, not enough for her to have been old enough to be privy to any gossip of that particular affair…

 “Are you still stuck in denial?” Lucien continued, his voice lifting at the end. “Or are you in the *She’s my best friend and she’s the one thing that is keeping this court running and the servants adore her and we attend symphony performances together and we walk in the garden and my Pegasus loves her but it’s all totally platonic* phase?”

…what?

Solana’s heart jumped in her throat, thumping so harshly that it felt like it was going to shatter her ribcage from within. 

No. Lucien couldn’t…Lucien couldn’t mean her. Right? 

That was ridiculous.

She wasn’t the only Female on Helion’s small council after all! 

But Solana was the only one that Helion attended symphony performances together with…with who he walked through the garden…the only one that Meallan liked. Liked well enough to let her brush his silky black coat and braid little golden rings in his mane if it struck her fancy…

This was ridiculous. 

Helion didn’t love her. Helion didn’t…Helion had his myriad of different lovers and the less Solana knew about that, the better. That was the kind of gossip she didn’t want to touch with a ten-foot pole. 

(And even if she did…if she did look at the males and females Helion took to his bed…one thing was obvious: They were all extraordinary in one way or another. And Solana…she didn’t fit that bill. Not at all.)

“Be nice, Lucien,” came the sweet voice of Elain. “We talked about this.” She said it pointedly like Lucien would know exactly what she was talking about. 

“You talked about this,” Helion repeated flatly. 

“Of course, we did,” Elain responded, sounding amused. “I spent nearly a month thinking Solana was your mistress until Lucien told me otherwise.” 

Solana swallowed. Elain wasn’t the first person who had had that particular thought. Granted, that particular rumour had never gained legs because there was nothing to gossip about. 

There had never happened anything between Helion and her that could be constructed as…romantic. Or as him being interested in her. 

Why should he be? 

Solana was…Solana was used goods in a sense. And before Lucien had taken care of Helion’s lack of an heir… it had been more than clear that she hadn’t been blessed with a particularly fruitful fertility either. Solana he was pretty much useful for that purpose.

She hadn’t given Castor a child in 300 years. 

The one blessing of that marriage: no children had come out of it. 

She hardly thought that that would change even if she would ever marry again. 

Which wouldn’t happen, because alone the thought of what had happened in her marriage bed made a shiver work its way over her back. She couldn’t live through that again. Not even for Helion. 

“I would never do that to her,” Helion said quietly, her ears just so managing to pick up the words. “This whole Court has failed her once already. I have failed her once. I will not be part of a second time.”

He thought he had failed her? Why? 

He hadn’t failed her. He had been seemingly the one person who hadn’t failed her…throughout much of her marriage, he had been off in the Day Court’s military…He had never been there to see the day-to-day of what Castor had done to her. He hadn’t borne witness to much of it. 

And she hadn’t expected him to protect her either. She had been her husband’s property, her mate’s… Castor had been supposed to be the one taking care of her…and instead, he had seemingly gotten a sick sense of satisfaction out of hurting her. 

Solana had thought that that should have gone against every instinct of that Mating Bond…she had been wrong. 

A Mating Bond didn’t promise a happily ever after. 

Not for everybody. Some fae…Some fae met the love of their lives and they turned out to be happy…and some…like Solana…they had met…their undoing. 

“Is that why the servants are that protective?” Lucien asked at that moment, thoughtfully.  

“They couldn’t protect her against my brother. But they will protect her against any perceived threat on my part,” Helion answered, something akin to amusement in his voice. “They’ll choose her over me in a heartbeat. The Day Court needs Solana. I can be replaced. She can’t be.”

No. No, that wasn’t true. Any halfway intelligent fae could do what she did. She only tried to make herself useful. Nothing more. She wasn’t a High Lord, not even his right hand, not truly… She was just his…She was just…

She was just Solana. 

“You haven’t answered the question,” Lucien pointed out quietly at that moment and Solana froze in place. 

The question? 

That question? 

She couldn’t help but brace for an impact. She wasn’t sure what kind…She wasn’t even sure what answer would hurt less. 

“Of course, I am in love with Solana,” Helion said. He said something else, but the blood was rushing in her ears and she couldn’t…she couldn’t listen to more. 

Couldn’t stay here…couldn’t…

Not when seemingly every bit of safe, constant ground under her feet had just been ripped away, her breathing coming in sharp gaps as she turned and ran.

She needed…she needed…

She didn’t know what she needed. 

Solana didn’t know what she was doing as she somehow managed to open one of the doors leading outside into one of the gardens…crossing the patio and leaning both of her hands onto the grey stone railing, her fingernails painfully biting into the stone, as she tried…tried. 

Her breathing came in short, painful gasps, her knees buckling as she fought with her own…

She wasn’t sure what she was fighting with. 

Solana didn’t know what to think, her mind swirling nearly painfully with a barrage of thoughts. 

He was in love with her. Helion fancied himself in love with her.

She couldn’t understand why. She couldn’t for the life of her understood what he wanted with her. For every other male who wanted to court her…she was nothing but an…ego boost. Or a choice made out of arrogance or out of a desire to climb the ranks. 

A desire to enforce their own influence onto the Day Court. 

But Helion…none of that…none of that could possibly be the reason. 

He was the High Lord. His word was law. 

He could have anybody in his bed if he wanted to. And he took advantage of that and she had never faulted him for that either. 

Solana had never…

Why? Why her? Why did he…

And if he did…if he truly did…then why had he never said anything to her? Why had he kept it a secret…a secret he admitted to before Elain and Lucien but not to her? 

What was…

The loud neighing that was suddenly in front of her, startled her out of her thoughts and she couldn’t help but flinch as Meallan kicked the grass just feet in front of her, staring at her with dark eyes. 

Half wild, half-tamed…still as much a creature of myth as actually in front of her. (Though right now he was demanding her attention and she knew that he was not going to stop destroying the landscaping until she gave in.) 

She lifted her hands from the stone and stumbled her way down the stone steps to the middle of one of their many, many gardens.  Meallan came trotting forward, lowering his proud head so that she could scratch him behind his ears with shaking hands. 

“Good Morning to you,” Solana whispered, her voice shaking just as much as her hands. 

Meallan gently snuffled over her hand in response and then stomped one of his front hooves down onto the grass, making a massive dent, the size of a dinner plate. She gave him a pointed look, but he was utterly unapologetic, stomping once more before he started to lay down. 

The only way she could actually get on that bloody massive pegasus if she didn’t have a High Lord throwing her up there. 

“You want to fly?” she asked him, surprised. He didn’t often come to her. It was much more likely he showed up on the balcony of Helion’s study and demanded his High Lord’s attention. 

To Solana he only came when Helion wasn’t available for one reason or another. 

It always had been like that. 

If any Pegasus came to visit Solana, it was his mate, Clodagh. That sweet-natured mare that wasn’t so sweet-natured if anybody ever tried to ride her. 

Clodagh came to visit Solana in the gardens and Solana offered her apples and brushed her perfectly white mane and tail and generally spoiled her rotten. In return, Clodagh followed along with her like a dog that turned out to be just a little bit too big. 

Meallan turned his head towards his wings and then stared at her with dark eyes, waiting. 

He was wearing neither a saddle nor a bridle, though Solana had long since thought that the bridle was absolutely useless anyway. Meallan did what Meallan wanted. Anything else was simply a suggestion to him anyway.

“Don’t let me fall,” she warned him, her voice weak as she carefully clambered up between these massive black-feathered wings, making sure that her dress covered her. She patted his neck before she wound that beautiful mane around her hands. 

Meallan huffed in response like even that warning was preposterous from her, before he clambered up, shaking himself and then launched into the sky with one flap of these majestic wings. 

All Solana needed to do, was to cling onto his back. 

She had half expected him to fly the looping circles around the Day Court’s capital of Odeira like he usually did, but nothing of that sort happened. Instead, he turned towards the east side of the Palace, towards the highest tower…towards the Pegasi Stables. 

That was unexpected. 

Solana didn’t try to change his mind, letting him take the course and then land easily just inside that wide gaping door that the Pegasi used to let themselves in and out at all hours of the day. 

Helion allowed them to roam free in Odeira, and while they mostly kept to the green plains of the Sunrise Palace, sometimes some of them went off flying on their own and then came back later. 

Meallan stopped and she slid off his back, only for him to grip the fabric of her dress between his teeth…surprisingly gentle and then pull her with him. 

“I am coming! I am coming!” she said with a laugh, letting him lead her to the pen that housed him and Clodagh. 

It was right there in the back and everybody knew better than to try and walk into, unless it was Helion or Solana herself. 

Only a moment later, she suddenly smelled the scent of blood, a gasp leaving her mouth as Meallan pushed her forward with his massive head…right in front of…

Clodagh. 

Clodagh that was standing up, gently nuzzling a pitch-black newborn foal that was greedily nursing from their mother. So fresh, that it was still wet, long legs still shaking. 

It had surprised them all when last year Clodagh had suddenly started to round with a foal and had started to bite at every poor long-suffering stablehand. The only ones allowed to feed her and Meallan were Solana and Helion. Meallan himself had spent months stomping and standing his ground if anybody even looked at his mate wrong. 

After 3000 years…they had decided to have another baby. 

And now it had arrived. 

“Oh sweetheart, you had your baby?” she breathed and Clodagh whinnied softly like she was in agreement. “It’s so beautiful,” Solana said softly, not daring to approach. 

Meallan’s massive head pushed her forward again and she stumbled right next to Clodagh’s head, which turned to nuzzle Solana for a moment. She immediately reached out to rub the mare’s forehead and press a kiss between her ears. “You did such a good job!” she praised her. “You did so well,” Solana cooed, just as the foal seemingly had enough milk and the long legs gave in so it could lay back down again. 

She couldn’t help but stare at it in wonder, even as it mustered her in interest and she crouched down, shooting a hesitant look to Clodagh and Meallan, who seemed content to watch her. “I am Solana,” she introduced herself to the foal softly. “When you are old enough, I’ll bring you all the apples you want…and I’ll probably sneak you some sugar lumps,” she promised the foal, feeling the tears prickling in her eyes as she held out a hand…

Solana held her breath for just a moment, and then Clodagh’s baby pushed his or her head against her hand, nuzzling her softly. So soft. So sweet.

She gently traced her fingertips over the white mark on their forehead, a near-perfect sun…the emblem of the Day Court. 

Somehow that was the thing that sent her over the edge.

She wasn’t sure why. Wasn’t sure why that was the thing that was suddenly making her start crying. 

She didn’t cry. Not anymore. 

Solan had shed so many tears in her life that she didn’t think she had any left. And now, there she was, collapsing into the ground right next to the foal and clinging to the straw as she cried her eyes out. 

Clodagh whinnied, sounding worried but Solana didn’t even have it in herself to reassure her… the white mare leant her head down, and nuzzled her hair, nearly maternal…nearly…

Solana couldn’t remember her own mother ever doing anything like that. And she just cried harder. 

Cried because she didn’t know what she was supposed to do. Didn’t know what she was supposed to even think. What she was supposed to feel?

It was churning deep in her gut. 

What was she supposed to feel? 

Castor had taken a lot from her. Including her ability to love. 

She didn’t love anybody anymore. 

Her brother? Would sell her for a handful of silver coins if that meant that he could climb the ranks.

Her mother? Would do the same, or throw her at another male if that made her look good.

She couldn’t love anymore. Castor had burned that out of her. He had twisted and strangled her with her love for him until nothing was left anymore.

Nothing good at least.

Helion deserved better than that. Helion deserved better than her. 

[certifiedfeedee]

Happy 2024 everyone! Hope this year is better than the last in many ways but I’m most excited to try and get back into gaining when the time finally comes 🤗

[raeofgayshine]

Thinking again about the fact that when Eddie and Dustin finally convince Steve to play DnD with the party, all of them, but especially Eddie, quickly become exasperated with Steve who has extremely high charisma, and decides that he can fix almost any situation by flirting with whoever they were in conflict with. Especially the fucking monsters, this man is bound and determined to himself a monster boyfriend and until it happens, he will make every single person they come across fall in love with him. So naturally, this happens a lot:

Steve: I’m going to flirt with them

Eddie, exasperated: Steve, you can’t date this monster, he’s trying to kill you-

Steve: Hot.

Steve: I’ll flirt with them harder then

[ricky-mortis]

Have some Ted doodles- as a treat.

[of-lemons-and-beansprouts]

hi. i had to put him somewhere bc he might die in wip hell. you know how it is.

[tiistirtipii]

Only Friends + Textposts part 10/?

[ato-dato]

HELP! I don't know what comic idea to work on!!! Please!!! This is a life or death situation!!!! Help!!!

[dandp]

Something so objectively funny about the new go-to donation incentive being eyebrow slits

[madlovenovelist]

Book Review – ‘Admiral’ (#1 Admiral) by Sean Danker

Secrets, a ghost spaceship, and you’re running out of air… time to fight for your life. Genre: Science Fiction No. of pages: 309 “I was on a dead ship on an unknown planet with three trainees freshly graduated into the Imperial Service. I tried to look on the bright side.” He is the last to wake. The label on his sleeper pad identifies him as an admiral of the Evagardian Empire—a surprise as…

[astrobei]

hi i love your fics and I was wondering if you had any byler fic recs

thanks

hello there! in all honesty, i have not had the time to read a lot of byler fic as of late, but it’s been a while since i posted some recs so i’ll drop a few that i’ve enjoyed recently! as always, i do endorse every fic in my bookmarks to the highest possible degree, so always feel free to look through those for new reading as well <3

say it with your hands by pseudologia (@hellfiremike) — will is a new employee at the movie theater mike works at, and mike starts thirsting over will’s hands to a degree that’s downright detrimental to his employment status

GOD. this fic. i gushed in their dms immediately after finishing it because this might be my favorite modern will characterization of all time, and this is coming from someone who has a million and one takes on modern era will byers. this fic just checked all of my boxes — from the summertime romance to mike’s painfully in-character teenage angsting to will being a frequenter of star wars reddit threads and an enjoyer of sufjan stevens. and the TENSION. oh god the tension. i’ve read all their fics probably three times over each, and i also highly recommend like i am home again, a college au set during a halloween party which made me stare at my phone refreshing ao3 hourly until it updated, and can this be a real thing (can it?) wherein mike and will reunite in a gay bar. enough said

landslide by chamb3rs — the party’s senior year of high school

i don’t often reach for chaptered fics since i usually have such limited reading time, but i’m sooo so so happy i stumbled across this one. there have just been very few fics that have touched me like this one did. i blew through this in one sitting a few weekends ago and subsequently experienced the full range of human emotions (and then some) all in the span of a few hours. everything about this was perfect — the will pov, the weird liminality of transitional periods, the party and byhop family dynamics, down to my favorite portrayal of theeeee jennifer hayes in any fic ever. on top of all of that, this fic perfectly captures the heartbreaking euphoria of being in love with your best friend, and all the ups and downs that come with it. i crawled out of the ao3 tab covered in blood and my chest was hurting and i was shaking and i had damn near chewed my own arm off — and then i sent the link to my friend 10 minutes later and watched her experience the same exact thing like a train wreck in slow-mo HAHAHA

what a time to be alive by passerine_in_jade (@newlesbianprideflag) — will disappears and haunts mike from the upside down

i’m forever a total sucker for a good haunting metaphor, so it’s absolutely not a surprise that this fic is appearing on this list. the premise for this was so so so cool and interesting, and it’s another chaptered fic i’m glad i had a little extra time to read. the way the author had me rooting for mike and will the whole time even though half of the pairing was offscreen for a large majority of the fic is a highly commendable feat. mike’s unyielding loyalty to will and will’s constant faith in him felt so true to their canon selves, and there were so many moments that were so quiet and intimate and tender that i really felt like i was intruding on something. good good stuff

that’s what you get for falling in love by harriet_vane — will gets his first boyfriend in college, and mike, ever the ally, has very normal feelings about it

i want to preface this by saying that this fic is rated m, mostly just for mentions/allusions to sex, and one largely non-explicit portion of a scene in the last chapter. if that’s not your cup of tea, it’s easy to tell when it’s coming up and to skip past it without detracting from the plot, but i think it would be a greater detriment to not rec this fic at all, because it has quickly made the list of my favorite byler fics of all time. something about this take on jealous mike especially resonated with me — his inner monologue is simultaneously hilarious and depressing, and his obliviousness regarding his feelings for will feels so true to life without being overdone or cartoonish. you can tell just how much they really care for each other, and the conflict in this actually made me start crying because it felt so visceral and so fundamentally them. you can tell this author really understands their characters, and the love put into this fic is soooo palpable. it’s the kind of fic where you want to bonk their heads together to knock some sense into them, but you are helpless to do anything but hold on as you’re swung along for the ride.

finally, i try not to just rec fics written by my friends, but my recent reading list would be incomplete without these two wonderful additions:

the way you love me by strangeswift (@strangeswift) — byler exes (absolutely heartwrenching edition)

i’ve been hearing abby talk about her ideas for this fic for the better part of a year as she worked on it, and she actually edited and posted the first two chapters while i was visiting her! and by god is this world a better place with her byler exes concept in it, because if you want angst, you’ll never have to look further than her ao3 page. something about the way she writes will in this fic just makes my heart shrivel up and die in my chest — his quiet resignation, the bitterness (always love a good bitter will byers moment) and the Longing that never quite went away. mike’s characterization is also top notch, and you can really feel the chemistry between them during every interaction. at the time of me posting this list, chapter 4 is not yet up, but trust me when i tell you guys it’s going to soooooo be worth it. :-)

the end is here by bookinit (@bookinit02) — a speculative byler-centric season 5

if you’ve been following my blog for any amount of time, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that haven’s canon rewrite series is hands-down my favorite series across any pairing and fandom. her creativity with her season 5 concepts never fails to astound me — from the scripts she’s been working on as an alternative to the episodes she rewrote for s1-4, to her ideas for possible plot lines, and just incredible writing all around. i’ve had the privilege of reading through her scripts before she posts them to her blog (definitely go check them out) but special privilege bias aside, it takes soooo much skill to create such a visually powerful story in a medium that allows for such little narration, and the corresponding chapters just totally pushes it over the edge. pre-s5 required reading for every byler, and 100000% my new canon if the show doesn’t pan out

this definitely is not an exhaustive list because i have a million and one fics on my to-read, and one day i will get around to reading them all, but i hope there is something on this list that strikes your fancy!!

[umem1ya]

"I adore you // love you too baby" YOU COOKED SO GOOD ACTUALLY, love the characterization details in ur works!!

HEY ANON LOL DO YOU WANT ME TO CRY??? DO YOU WANT TO SEE ME CRYING MY EYES OUT?!?!

but hm hi. 🤚 hello thank you for speaking about that hello hiiii 🤚 can I talk for a second about it pls 🤚

about endo never truly learning the idea of being lowkey about anything. about him being intense in every aspect of his life, about loving and being infatuated so deeply by everything he even dares to care about.

about how being in a secret relationship would hold him back so much. and he'd be pissed about it but he would understand it so well because he doesn't want to give up on fighting and also he doesn't want to give up on you. so it's whatever, he will try it. for the sake of having fun without hurting what you have, he will try it.

I wrote that part specifically by the idea of his s/o being aware of who the relationship is with. you gotta know that he adores the ground you walk, that he's obsessed with being around you, just like he's with other things, and that just means he loves you. its kinda fucked up. but when he says those stuff you can only hear "I love you" and honestly, takes a while to get used to it, but what else can you ask?

it's about the idea of helping him through it too, you know? constant reminder that when the infatuation is gone, there's still love. when the fights aren't fun or when shit happens, things get messy, there's still your love. :)

[cressidagrey]

Dust off your Highest Hopes - Part 3 (The End)

Summary:

Eavesdroppers never hear anything good about themselves, goes the idiom. 

When Solana hears an admission from the High Lord of Day, she’s ill-prepared for it. She doesn’t believe in fairytales any longer, but maybe there was a happily ever after for Solana and Helion somewhere.

Warnings:

Mention of Rape, Mention of Domestic Violence. It's all in the past, it's non graphic, but Solana is still dealing with it.

Notes:

This was supposed to be a one shot. One day I will find a way to be less wordy.

(thanks to @tsunami-of-tears for the super pretty dividers!)

Solana would have preferred nearly everything over having this discussion right now. But Helion was there, kneeling in the straw next to her…one massive broad hand touching her gently. So gently, always so gently. 

He was intimately aware of the strength in his broad muscles and he had never even hurt her accidentally…had never laid a finger on her in anger, even if she probably had deserved it more than once. He was trying to calm her down, trying to make it better for her and she…

“I am sorry,” she managed to bring out before she sobbed again. 

Solana wished she wasn’t as broken as she was. She wished she could give him everything, give herself to him…she wished she could…she could love him, but she couldn’t. 

“Gods, Solana, you don’t need to apologise,” Helion whispered. “Tell me what happened.”His warm, massive hand drew circles over her back. “We’ll make it right. It’s us. We can make everything right.”

But could they make this right?

She tried to find the words, but they stuck in the back of her throat, her breathing coming in short gasps. She couldn’t find the words, she didn’t know how to make him understand. She didn’t want to hurt him. That was the last thing she wanted to do. But somehow it felt like she was a prisoner and regardless of what direction she turned, she would stay stuck and she would hurt him even when she didn’t want to hurt him. 

Helion made a soft noise, calming her like she was a spooking Pegasus. In any other situation, it may would have amused her. 

In this one…In this one, it only made her sob more. 

“It’s alright,” he soothed her. “Take your time. What’s wrong, sunshine?” He coaxed her, the pet name falling from his lips. 

She adored that stupid pet name. 

And so finally…finally she pressed her face tighter against Clodagh’s mane and whispered the words that she didn’t want to say. 

She couldn’t stomach to lie to him. She just couldn’t. 

“I heard you,” she forced out. “I eavesdropped, I shouldn’t have. I am so sorry,” the rest of her words poured out of her, even when she didn’t want to. 

She could feel Helion’s hand freeze on her back and she expected him to withdraw, but he didn’t. 

He inhaled, his breath shaky. ”Oh, sunshine,” Helion said, his voice soft. “I didn’t want you to hear that like that.”

So he had meant her. She had known it before, but to have his outright agreement to her face…another sob forced its way out of her throat. 

“Is that why you are crying?” Helion asked her, his voice weak. “Because you don’t…Because you think I would force you to…”

What?

“I will never force you to do anything, Solana,” Helion told her fiercely. “I will never expect anything of you. If you say you aren’t interested, then we’ll forget today ever happened. I will never mention it again if that’s what it takes.”

That hadn’t even crossed her mind. 

She had never even thought that Helion would force himself on her.

It was just…

��I…” she tried to find the words and she failed again. 

“Take your time. It’s alright,” Helion encouraged her softly. “Whatever you need, Sunshine,” he promised her. 

And then finally, she managed to look at him, managed to bring these words over her lips. 

“You deserve better than me,” Solana whispered. Because that was the crux of the matter, wasn’t it?

He deserved somebody who could love him. Somebody that could be with him in every way and not…not her. Not her, who knew that she was traumatised on a good day…that had near nightly nightmares that left her in cold sweat and vomiting…not her, that… who was terrified to even share the same bed as him. 

“What?” 

“I can’t…I can’t love anymore. I don’t know if I ever could. He took that from me and I can’t…” Her heart was fluttering in her chest as she admitted that. 

“Solana, you’re one of the smartest people I have ever met, but this is the most idiotic thing you have ever said,” Helion snapped. “I am supposed to believe that you can’t love anymore?” he asked her sharply, golden eyes mustering her. “Then what do you call what you feel for Elain? Or for Lucien? For this Court?!” Helion challenged her.  “What about Cyane? Gil? Xavi and Rupert? What about Zia?” Her friends…their friends. “Wouldn’t you do everything for them?” Of course, she would. That wasn’t even a question. 

“What about your mother and your brother?” Helion continued and she snorted, her crying shortly interrupted by that.  

“I don’t love them,” she told him weakly. Half the time she hated her mother for what she had done to her…what she had put her through…and her brother…the less was said about that, the better. 

Helion snorted. “Sure, that’s why you tried to get between me and your mother, even while your ankle was broken,” he pointed out with a raised eyebrow. “That’s why you begged me not to do anything permanent to her, even when it was her fault that your ankle was broken in the first place.”

It hadn’t been her mother’s fault. Well, not really…it had been her own fault. Khion had grabbed her and she had overreacted…and well, that ankle had been the victim of her trying to get away. 

Khion had believed that her mother’s agreement to marriage between the two of them had been the only one that had mattered….he had made that calculation without Helion. 

(She was still relieved that Helion hadn’t actually slit Khion’s throat for it…the political ramifications of that would have been a nightmare. Or her mother’s throat for that matter. Though the screaming could have been heard echoing through the whole of the Sunray Palace. It took an awfully long time for Helion to lose his temper, but once he did…once he did, it was like a volcano erupted.)

“That’s not…” she started, but Helion just fixed her with a glare 

“What about Meallan and Clodagh?” he shot back. “You want to tell me, you don’t love them either? What about their baby? Don’t tell me you don’t love the Baby Pegasus,” something like teasing entered his voice at these words. “You’ll break their heart.” 

Said Baby Pegasus took that moment to put his little black head onto her lap, demanding head scratches, just like like his father did. 

“It’s so adorable,” Solana said weakly, as she scratched under his forelock.

It was so damn adorable.

“I know…I know that Castor hurt you,” Helion said quietly, as he reached out to pet the Baby Pegasus with her, his hand covering her own. “And I am so fucking sorry that I didn’t put a stop to it years before. I don’t know every detail and I know that he took so much from you. But don’t you dare believe that he made you worse in any way, Solana.” 

She swallowed. 

“He was the monster. Not you. You were only his victim,” Helion promised her earnestly. “And I don’t ever want to hear you say anything like this again, Sunshine.”

It was her that pounced on him in response, that tucked herself against his chest and his arms came around her body as she cried against his chest. 

“I don’t know if I can be what you need,” she admitted weakly. 

Somehow that was easier when she didn’t need to look into his face. Helion didn’t hesitate to rub her back…press a kiss against her hair that she knew must look like an absolute bird’s nest. 

“You have been everything I needed, everything this court needed for decades, Solana,” Helion promised her. “Everything else…we can figure out everything else. I promise.” He pressed another kiss against her hair. "I love you," he whispered. "And you don't need to say it back. Not right now. Just know that...There is nobody I would rather trust as my wife and Lady.”

She froze at these words, leaning slightly back to look at him and he mustered her, a hand coming up to cup her cheek. 

 “Are you seriously proposing right now?” she whispered, her voice shaking. He couldn’t be serious. Right?!

But the grin that took over his face told her a different story.  “I did make you cry,” he said as he wiped her tears from her cheeks. “I think that means that I owe you an apology gift…I suppose I could find more pearls somewhere, though why should I if there is a ring waiting for you with your name on it?”

“So yes,” Helion agreed. “I do not wish for you to be my Mistress. I want you to be my wife and the lady of this court. The title that goes with all the work you have already been doing for years, with all the respect that goes along with it.” She swallowed at these words. 

She had never demanded a title for the work she did. That had never even crossed her mind. She wasn’t Helion’s second in command either. She was just…She was just Solana. 

“So marry me,” Helion said, golden eyes sparkling. 

“Helion,” she said weakly, her mind coming up empty with reasons why she should turn him down. 

“Marry me,” he repeated. “Marry me, and I’ll show you that you can love. That you haven’t lost that ability.”

A heady offer. 

“Turn me down because you are not interested. Turn me down because you don’t feel for me like this. But don’t turn me down because you think you aren’t good enough. That you can’t love me like you think I deserve,” he continued.  “Marry me and make me the luckiest male alive, Solana.”

She swallowed. 

She wanted to give in. She wanted to do nothing more than to give in to him at that moment. 

So what was stopping her? 

Could Solana be selfish enough to saddle him with a wife who maybe could never love him like he deserved? 

She could try. She could try and learn and hope and pray and...She could become who he saw her as. 

“I’ll need time,” Solana warned him hesitantly. “I…I need…I don’t know what…how much I can take," she begged him to understand, expecting him to pull back, but he didn't. 

“We’ll take it at your pace,” Helion responded immediately, a smile blooming on his face. “I can be patient for the things I really care about.” He could be. She didn’t doubt that for one minute. 

Solana nodded.  “Alright,” she agreed. 

Helion stared at her, hesitantly. 

“Alright?” he repeated carefully. 

“Yes,” she agreed, a smile stretching over her face. “I’ll marry you. I’ll be your wife. I’ll be the Lady of this Court.”

Not an I love you. Not yet. Not when she was still unsure. 

But she trusted him and she adored him and she wanted to be his wife. Wanted to be the Lady of his Court. That counted for something, right? 

She was crushed against his chest in response, and her hands curled themselves in the shirt he wore, breathing in that scent of lemongrass and sandalwood that always clung to him. 

Meallan’s massive head came down to snort warm air against them, and she couldn’t help but laugh wetly at him, wiping away happy tears as she lifted a hand to pet him. 

“Finally got what you wanted, didn’t you?” Helion asked him with a laugh as she leaned her head against his shoulder and watched him pet Meallan as well. “Though you were the one who managed to surprise us all with your baby.”

Meallan whinnied, the sound happy and proud as he ducked his head to lick at his child, much to their amusement. 

“Is it a boy or a girl?” Helion wondered. 

“I have no clue,” she admitted weakly. “Meallan came to get me and then I had a crying fit…I didn’t check.”

A crying fit that was now leaving her utterly exhausted, as she curled up in that straw next to him and leaned her head against his shoulder. 

A quick check later, they had their answer:  “We’ll need to figure out a name for you, sweet girl,” Helion said with a grin, patting her neck.

“Well…” Solana drew out hesitantly. 

“You already had a name?” Helion asked her, turning towards her, and she shrugged. 

“Well, Clodagh picked,” she said quickly, making Helion laugh. Clodagh had picked. After Solana had read name after name to the mare. 

“Of course, she did. What did she pick?” he asked her. 

“Niamh,” Solana answered with a smile. “It means freedom.”

“Niamh,” Helion repeated thoughtfully. “It’s perfect,” he agreed and she hummed her agreement, leaning against his side and watching as Niamh gained her feet on wobbly long legs, to drink some more milk. 

And Solana…Solana was suddenly exhausted, her eyes drooping, even as Helion pressed another kiss to the crown of her head. 

“You should rest,” he told her softly, but she shook her head. 

“I have a full diary today,” she protested weakly. Maybe if she drank some black tea…or she went and saw a healer for a pepper-up potion…maybe…

“Elain can pick out the new porcelain on her own,” Helion said drily. 

“Already replacing me?” she quipped and he snorted. 

“Sure, Solana,” he agreed. “If that makes you take a break, always. Everything else you were planning on doing today was correspondence, was it not? They can wait a day longer for your answer,” he promised her. “But you need to rest, sunshine,” he said as he gained his feet and before she could as much as protest, he had pulled her into his arms and winnowed, straight in front of her rooms. 

She glared at him, but he just ignored that as he opened the door to chivy her inside. 

“What am I even supposed to do?” Solana complained, swallowing back a yawn. 

“Take a nap. Rest. Read some. Pick out a dress to wear for Dinner,” Helion said easily.  

“High Lord!” Zia suddenly gasped and Solana looked up to find her handmaiden at the door of the bathing chamber, a towel falling to the floor that she had probably been stocking up. 

“Zia,” Solana said calmly, just as Helion leaned down, pressing a kiss to her forehead, his thumb gently smoothing over her cheek. 

“Rest. I’ll see you this evening,” he whispered, so quietly that only she could hear it. 

It made her shiver, as she watched him leave, closing the door behind him. 

“A bath, please,” she said weakly, as suddenly, the reality of her situation set in. 

She had said yes. She had agreed to marry Helion. She had agreed to be his wife. She had agreed to be the Lady of this Court. 

Somehow the latter was the one thing that worried her the least.  

Zia stared at her, still frozen in place. 

“Did he hurt you?” she asked Solana then, her voice flat. Zia had seen the evidence of nearly everything that Castor had done to her. Zia had snuck her Pain Relief Potions and had smeared Healing Salve over the worst injuries. 

“No, Zia,” Solana answered truthfully. 

Zia didn’t seem like she believed that, but still went and filled the bathtub and then helped Solana undress, mustering every inch of skin she bared, fully expecting new bruises to appear. 

“Helion would never do anything of that sort,” Solana said quietly. She was sure about it. She didn’t think Helion had it in him to ever raise his hand against her. He wouldn’t do anything of that sort. Not like Castor had done. 

No. 

With Helion…she was terrified of something else. Terrified of the fledgling feelings that she had, much different than the immediate, blinding besotted adoration she had felt for Castor thanks to the Mating Bond. 

With Helion…with Helion, her love for him had grown out of simple affection for him, his character and his personality. 

She knew him. 

None of his bed partners had ever taken any harm from his affections. 

So…maybe she wouldn’t either? Maybe it would be fine? 

He was willing to give her time. Willing to wait. 

That was more than she ever had before. 

She thought about it as Zia helped her into the bathtub and started washing her hair. 

“If he did…” Zia started quietly. “If he did, we would make sure he didn’t do it again.”

Solana had a sudden strike of affection for her handmaiden. 

“It warms my heart that you are thinking about committing treason for me, Zia, but I swear to you, Helion has not laid a single finger on me,” Solana said, with some affection. “We had a difficult conversation,” Solana admitted quietly, as she washed away the tear tracks on her cheek.  “These are just happy tears.”

“Happy tears,” Zia repeated as she started combing out Solana’s thick dark brown hair and she nodded.  Happy Tears. 

Very happy tears. “Has the new dress I had commissioned arrived yet?” Solana asked, mentally going through her wardrobe, trying to think of something suitable to wear to tonight’s dinner. She didn’t want to wear something she had already worn numerous times before…and she definitely was not going to wear anything blue, which was the colour of the house she had been born into. 

Yellow and Gold would be the obvious choice, of course, the colour of the house of Karim, of Helion’s family. 

But she would prefer something that was…new…without…

“The pink one with the gold embroidery around the waist?” Zia asked her and she nodded. “Yes, it has.”

The pink one would suit her well…it was sleeveless, made out of layers upon layers of gauzy fabrics in a rosy pink. Her waist would be cinched in by gold embroidery, which would also be picked up on the straps…maybe some dangly earrings... 

“I’ll wear it for dinner,” Solana decided as Zia started to wash out her hair. 

“Dinner,” Zia repeated. Granted it was a Friday, which would make today one of the more formal dinners in the Sunray Palace…not taken in private but in the dining hall, with staff and members of nobility that had places on the council. Still, that dress would still be considered over-dressed even for that. 

But…

“The High Lord has an announcement to make,” Solana said carefully and Zia’s motions stopped for a moment before she continued. 

“An announcement,” Zia repeated and Solana couldn’t help but laugh. 

“Will you repeat everything I say?” she asked her with some amusement and Zia wrapped her hair up in a towel, before meeting Solana’s gaze. 

“That kind of announcement?” Zia finally asked with a smile taking over her features and Solana’s blush was all the confirmation Zia needed. “Happy tears?” Zia confirmed once more and Solana nodded. 

“We aren’t finished with primping then,” her friend said with a grin. “I think the pink dress will do very well…There are some dahlias blooming, maybe some in your hair…”

She should have known that it would mean that Zia wouldn’t let her leave before every inch of her body was gleaming. Granted, she got to dose off, while Zia primped and plucked and massaged warm oil into her skin…until she smelled like roses and orange blossoms, and her hair was artfully arranged, fat dahlias tucked in around the twist that kept her hair up. 

Solana wasn’t even sure from where Zia got the gold shoes that matched her dress, as she tightened the laces of the bodice. Kohl lined Solana’s eyes, and gold shimmer dusted her skin. 

All in all, there had been balls she had attended into which she hadn’t put this much work. 

A knock at her door, just as they were finished pinning up her hair. 

“Come in!” she called, unsurprised when it was Helion.

“You can leave us, Zia,” Solana said quickly and her handmaiden shot her a wink before she left the room. 

“Did she stop thinking I would ravish you?” Helion asked with a bemused grin. “And left us along in a room, even though we are unmarried… Scandalous.”

“We’ll be scandalising this whole court anyway,” Solana said pointedly. “I do not think that us staying alone in a room will be any more shocking than what we will be doing soon.”

Even though it was her bedroom. And that Helion saying the word ravish was making the palms of her hand sweat. 

She stood and Helion held out a hand for her, which she took, linking their hands. “As always, you are correct,” he told her, drinking her in.  Even just that…just that simple touch of his hands in her was lighting something underneath her skin that she didn’t…that she couldn’t quite place. 

“You look beautiful,” he told her quietly, earnestly and she smiled at him, nearly not noticing the ring that he slid on her finger with ease. 

He lifted up her hand for her to look at the diamond that twinkled from her hand, surrounded by setting that made it look like a perfect, glittering mid-day sun. 

“A perfect fit,” Helion said, consideringly. “I did expect nothing else though,” he teased her, and she laughed, an unbelieving sound that escaped her throat at the feeling of this ring on her hand. 

Her old ring…it had felt like a shackle, so thick and heavy that it strangled her. This one was strangely light to wear…a beautiful ornament, nothing more or less. 

“Do you like it?” Helion asked her, nearly bashful and she smiled. 

“It’s beautiful,”  Solana promised him, reaching up with one hand to cup his cheek. He leaned into her touch.

“I brought you more jewellery…if you wanted to wear it,” he told her quietly, pressing his lips against the palm of her hand. She nodded her agreement with a smile, trusting his taste in jewellery. Whenever there was a formal occasion she had to attend on his arm, he went down into the vault and picked something for her to wear. 

It had surprised her the first time. Nowadays, she was used to it. 

Though, he had never picked something like this for her…something like the dangly earrings with suns that she slipped through her lobes…like that heavy necklace nestled in velvet. 

“Will you put it on me?” she asked him and he inclined her head, as she turned her back towards him.

The necklace came to rest against her chest, a fat diamond resting in the hollow of her throat…yellow gold spikes falling down to rest against her clavicles. 

It was beautiful. 

Though she couldn’t help the shiver as Helion’s fingers brushed against the back of her neck and then the quiet snick as the necklace closed and he pulled his hands back. She didn’t want him to pull back. She didn’t…

His thumb brushed down her biceps over her elbow…she couldn’t help the shiver that worked down her body. 

“Helion,” she whispered, craning her head, to look at him. 

“May I?” he asked her quietly and she swallowed. 

“Yes.”

His mouth lowered to her.

Solana had thought she knew how it would feel. What to expect. 

But this…this was completely different. This was…This was everything. This was weak knees and fireworks, shivers and goosebumps and everything else. This was just the softest brush of lips against hers. Nothing more. Nothing less. 

Just that. Soft and sweet and gentle and innocent and…

He pulled back from her and she couldn’t help but stare at Helion in wonder. 

One corner of his mouth ticked up in a smile. 

“Alright?” he asked quietly. 

She managed a nod. “Yes,”  she responded weakly. 

“Think you can live with being kissed like that every day?” Helion teased at her and Solana swallowed. Every day? Just this? 

“I…I think I can,” she agreed, making him smile. 

“Let’s go see Lucien and Elain before dinner,” Helion said easily and she grasped his arm as they left her room.

By the time, Elain had pounced on her in a fierce hug, her knees were at least no longer wobbling. “Congratulations!”  she gushed. “I am so glad it’s you!” Elain said brightly, catching her hand in both of hers. A second later, she did a double take. “Helion didn’t waste any time, did he?” she asked with a laugh as she spied the ring.  

“Why should I?” Helion gave back drily and Elain laughed as she let go of Solana, only to hand her off to Lucien. 

He hugged her too, less outwardly jubilant, but no less earnest. 

“I wish you two every happiness,” he said quietly, earnestly and she swallowed. To have him say that…even when he had every reason not to, with the history between his mother and Helion…it meant a lot to her. 

“Thank you, Lucien,” she said softly and he inclined his head.  

“There isn’t enough love in this world,” he told her seriously, and she couldn’t help but smile at that. 

“Ready to scandalise this whole court?” Helion asked her and her smile brightened into a grin.  

“Always,”  she promised him, taking his arm when he offered it to her. 

It wasn’t the first time she entered the Dining Hall on his arm…it wasn’t the first time he pulled out her chair for her and made sure that she was settled before sitting down on his own throne-like chair. 

It wasn’t even the first time he remained standing, waiting until the crowd quieted. 

And Solana surveyed the crowd, her eyes catching on her mother and her brother on one of the tables down the back of the room. 

Her eyes took in friends and acquaintances and foes…took in everybody that had seen the spectacle she had been once and had done nothing to help her. 

All of them would have something to say about their news. Some would be happy that Solana was chosen, others would be upset that it wasn’t their daughter who had snared the High Lord. She imagined others would be furious…

But as she leaned back into her chair, straight backed, her face betraying nothing…something inside her calmed. 

It didn’t matter what anybody thought. 

The only ones whose opinion really mattered already knew. 

She could feel Helion’s gaze on hers and she turned her head towards him, meeting his eye. A minute quirk of a brow, Are you sure?, and a brilliant smile of hers in response, Yes. 

He turned towards their Court. 

Their Court. 

“Two bits of news tonight,” Helion said, his voice effortlessly carrying through the cavernous space. “After 3000 years, Meallan and his mate, Clodagh, have gifted us with another foal. A filly named Niamh.”

Applause and cheers rang out, with Solana clapping politely as well. 

“Secondly,” Helion paused for a moment, dramatic as ever and Solana bit back her amusement. “Secondly. I have decided that it is time for me to take a wife.”

The hall was quiet enough that one could have heard a pin drop. Solana silently picked out the males who were already planning on offering up their granddaughter daughter or sister to Helion on a silver platter. The ones that would think that marrying off a female in their lives would give them access to the very top of the Day Court.  

“Has he gone insane?” she heard Rupert, Helion’s second in command, hiss, from somewhere to her right. 

“I have asked for Lady Solana’s hand in marriage and she made me the happiest male in this court when she accepted,” Helion’s voice rang out, even and true, for one moment freezing every single member of the court. Maybe she should have looked back down the hall and seen what her mother and brother would think about this, but Solana could not care less at that moment. The only thing she cared about was Helion, who held out his hand for her to take. 

She took it. 

“My future wife and the Lady of the Day Court!”

The reaction was immediate.

Cheering broke out from the servants' table, so loud that it drowned out anything else.

Solana felt the weight of hundreds of pairs of eyes upon her, judging, questioning, and speculating.

The nobles were shocked. She had expected no less, so there were more smiles and applause than what she had counted on.

Some smiled, some smiles even earnest and believable. Some smiles were polite, clapping…hiding their distaste, offering their congratulations through gritted teeth. Others scowled openly, offended by the unexpected turn of events. Solana could practically hear the cogs turning in their minds, calculating the implications of this marriage on their own positions within the court.

But amid the chaos…Solana’s focus remained unwaveringly on Helion. On his hand in hers…warm and stead, a grounding presence amid the chaos around them.

As long as they were together…they could withstand anything. 

Solana had found her Happily Ever After, after all. 

[lifeof-pink]

love how in orv you have these voyeuristic gods that livestream people dying for profit and then you read the webtoon and they literally look like they’re about to start playing hopes and dreams and his theme at max volume

honestly my favorite thing ever, their appearances are so misleading, i think id fucking die in the apocalypse not because someone would kill me but because as soon as i saw one of these guys leading the scenario the higher functions in my brain would shut off and id try to pet them because LOOK AT THEM ?

if embodiment of surveillance state and late stage capitalism then why friend shaped????????

[chirpsythismorning]

I rest easy knowing that the planted milkvan roof pap photos will be referenced on the straight-baiting Wikipedia page soon enough.