* stand / tall )

leonid soletsky. 42. king of ukraine.

[milcnv]

"that's a pity, but i think your wife is a very lucky woman." her hand stroked the soft fabric of his suit jacket as they swayed on the dancefloor, her attention solely on her husband, how wonderful that word was to say even just in her head. "i'd be more disappointed if you didn't charm me, just because i'm carrying your heir doesn't mean i don't need to be woo'd." she chuckled at his siblings antics, "i'm just thankful that mimi hasn't snatched the microphone yet, i'm sure her speech will rival karyna's." though she knew that no matter what, a speech given by dominique was going to be much more theatrical, absolutely no one could rival her in that department. "no, not dizzy, thankfully. i do have some heartburn though. i think we should tell people soon, at least our families the doctor says i am not at risk of losing it anymore. we're just lucky i'm not showing."

[leonsoletsky]

❝ BELIEVE ME, i am the lucky one. i get her for a wife and a cute little girl for a bonus. ❞ leonid had grown quite close to ekaterina since the beginning of his relationship with milena. would even go as far as saying she'd been the reason they were getting married now. ❝ you don't have to ask, i'm incapable of not flirting with you. and, just between us two, you carrying my heir is kind of an aggravator of that. ❞ it just felt too good to be true and even better when he remembered it was indeed reality. ❝ great. by the time both of their speeches are done and petro grabs the microphone, most of the guests will have gone home already. ❞ even leon didn't think he had it in him to stay there for four more hours. ❝ maybe we can tell them tonight, take the opportunity and make this day an even happier memory for everyone. ❞

[innasoletskaya]

" karyna would have gotten a drug test and made a big deal if i sedated her. " and it would have been funny to blackmail her, by threatening to tell people she was sharting at their brothers wedding! " if i rip up petro's speech, it's enough for him to not go through it. karyna definitely has hers memorized. "

[leonsoletsky]

❝ AND YOU'RE SURE she'll ignore every word if i ask her to limit the speech to a maximum of ten minutes ? ❞ even he was, leon just needed the confirmation. maybe she wouldn't say no to a pregnant woman's wish; it would be milena's first influential input in the soletsky court. the real soletsky court. ❝ petro is the easy one. just ask someone to flirt with him, he'll be distracted all night and forget where he is or what he's supposed to do. ❞

[innasoletskaya]

" then i brought laxatives for nothing. "

[leonsoletsky]

❝ THE INTENTION WAS good, you should've just swapped them for sedatives instead. we could cover up her sleeping over the table with the excuse of exhaustion from helping me out. and petro... they'd just think he's drunk. or fatherhood is more than he can handle. either would be correct. ❞

[leonsoletsky]

❝ I THINK WE shouldn't do toasts. lenya and i are not drinking and toasting with water is just ridiculous. i appreciate how much thought you put into it, though, you'll have the chance to read them in seven months or so. ❞ / @karynasoletskaya + @petrosoletsky + @innasoletskaya

[milcnv]

“you're married? oh no! how disappointing, i was hoping you'd whisk me away from all of these watchful eyes.” milena let herself be swept up in the music of their first dance, pausing only to watch katya tugging at kostya's pant leg, probably in an attempt to have him put her on his shoulders. she turned back to leon, an easy smile falling over her lips as she pressed a little closer, "oh my, are you trying to charm me? you know i'll already be in your bed tonight, don't you?"

[leonsoletsky]

❝ I'M A LOYAL MAN, so that's not going to happen. ❞ but he wished for nothing more. had the pregnancy been public yet he'd suggest she'd claim to be nauseous so they could leave earlier. sadly, it wasn't the case. ❝ aren't i the luckiest man in the world. although you should've told me sooner, i wouldn't have put as much effort into the charming. i'm already exhausted, the family you married into is... a lot. apparently karyna's speech has multiple pages and petro has a speech. ❞ and he was only partially joking when claiming it worried him to know that. ❝ you're not getting dizzy, right ? we can stop if you are. but i haven't told my family about the baby yet so they'll definitely claim we're stopping because i'm bad at this and it is your job now to defend me. ❞

[innasoletskaya]

" there's a possibility karyna will try to project her voice as loud as possible even with the disappearance of the microphones. we could slip her a laxative right now and within the hour, she will be occupied. "

[leonsoletsky]

❝ I'D RATHER NOT. if someone hears her having diarrhea in the bathroom, they'll think it's the food we're serving. ❞

[innasoletskaya]

aug 2025

" karyna's speech is an hour and a half long. i had my assistant steal it. we have an hour to deal with it. what do you want me to do. " ( @leonsoletsky )

[leonsoletsky]

❝ BETWEEN HER SPEAKING for hours and petro speaking at all, the best solution would be making sure the microphones disappear for good before the speeches. ❞

[leonsoletsky]

AUGUST 4, 2025

❝ I'M SORRY, DARLING, you're gorgeous and all but i'm married so if you could stop hitting on me, that would be highly appreciated. i'm actually looking for my wife, we're supposed to be doing this whole bride and groom's first dance thing but she had to do an outfit change first. ❞ despite the joke, his left arm circled around her waist while his right hand found hers and he started swaying both of their bodies to the music, planting a kiss on her lips in the process. ❝ you look breathtaking. ❞ / @milcnv

[leonsoletsky]

levente​.

Avoiding the truth had been worth a shot. Levente would have most likely lost all respect for Leon had he simply changed his mind after a bit of pleading. “And how close are you to ‘Roman’?” Levente asked with a bitter laugh. Was his cousin friends with the man who had almost killed his child? “You’re right. This is very much a personal request. Partly for Milena’s sake, mostly for the child’s.” His connected hands massaged each other before he cleared his throat and fixed his posture. “Leon, I will trust you with a piece of extremely sensitive information, and I expect you to treat is as such.” As unnerving as telling the truth was, it was also impossibly humiliating. A blunder, Fanni would call it. The whole situation involving him, Milena and Katya. “The child, Ekaterina, she is mine. I am the father.”

     - ‘ HE’S A FRIEND. ’ one he’d once thought would become family but it hadn’t worked out with inna. he frowned; for the child’s sake ? he would’ve asked what reason did levente to worry so much about the girl but his cousin didn’t look done talking so he waited for what was to come. and then he wished it didn’t. and spent the next many seconds trying to digest the anvil of an information that had just fallen on his head. massaging his temples, leon could only mutter ‘ god fucking dammit, levente. ’ under his breath. those were the kind of migraines he expected to be caused by petro but even his brother hadn’t been that stupid. ‘ you do realise this admission only makes you look worse and strengthen roman’s case, don’t you ? you allowed your mistress to use your child as a prop on a power grab, be used as a pawn to deceive and manipulate an entire country into submission to her own all so she could play monarch and what for ? ’ many possible reasons came to leon’s mind, all of them disgusting as one could be. did he want his own child in the belarusian throne ? was it to protect his own image ? make sure his wife didn’t find out of his bastard ? fuck, had romanova killed her husband to make this plan happen ? how much of it did the rest of the russians know ? ‘ i’ll keep your secret only because i want nothing to do with it but, i have to ask: do you even care for this child ? she’s being used as a pawn and you’re condoning it. helping even. ’

[leonsoletsky]

levente​.

“We ll, I do not think you should do it. I wish you would not do it.” Levente cleared his throat and tried to make himself comfortable in his seat to no avail. “While Hungary will stay neutral in this, we don’t want Milena in trouble. This is a farce. The duke has no chance at winning, Leon. Everyone knows that. I don’t understand why you would support him.”

     - ‘ AND DO you have a proper reason to give me or do you simply expect me to act on your wishes ? not wanting romanova in trouble isn’t one i’ll take and run with. if it were to be considered valid, i’d tell you i feel the same way about roman and we’d have an impasse. ’ the only difference being leon was taking action while levente chose not to while clearly feeling strongly about it. it felt very hypocritical. ‘ with all due respect, levi, it seems whatever proximity you have with the dowager has blinded you to what she’s doing in belarus and her family’s influence on it. if roman truly has no chance at winning, you shouldn’t be so worried. ’

[leonsoletsky]

levente.

“This is not a social call, sorry.” He wished it was! “I need to talk to you about your decision to go against Milena and the Romanovs.” ( @lconid​ )

     - ‘ GO ON. ’ it didn’t really matter whether leon had any interest in speaking of it with levente, he’d been cornered. ‘ i’m listening. ’

[leonsoletsky]

karyna.

“ he wants you to feel sorry for him. ” she fights the urge to roll her eyes. “ and what did you say to that? are you here to talk to me about it and help him? ”

     - ‘ AND I want him to stop. ’ it was a fair wish. ‘ i told him there was nothing i could do and that should be something he sorts out with you. i don’t care what decision you make, she’s your child and you know what’s best for her. i simply do not want to be caught in the crossfire that is your relationship with him. ’

[leonsoletsky]

levente​.

“The king is reasonable, I have been avoiding the crown princess though. For the sake of my sanity.” He was sure Valentina Bourbon-Anjou had an opinion on Olimpia’s new match. “I think the first time she thinks that she may have made a mistake, she will not be able to talk herself out of the idea and it will take place in her head. Then it’s just a matter of time before she has found a way to call it off.” Olimpia didn’t have the same ability to control herself like Levente or Fanni did. Olimpia was the most important person in Olimpia’s own life and it showed. “Not all but a good amount of them. My team thinks that the Malaga Malaga thing and the bull thing are important. Apparently I should visit a small town too just to show how interested I am in the Spanish culture.”

     - ‘ I BARELY see her around. ’ but leon didn’t have to be near the spanish royals anywhere near as much as levente, who was married to one of them. even so, he didn’t think avoiding the crown princess could be that hard of a job. ‘ i suppose there’s not much to be done then. ’ he would be worrying starting something so strongly only to call it off out of the blue a few months later could be damaging to the family and their country’s image but, seeing the amount of times it had been done by many other royals, leon understood why that wasn’t levente. ‘ those are all very traditional events, aren’t they ? i’ll try to attend a couple and, if i’m lucky, not a soul will call to question how i chose to spend my birthday like last year. ’

[thesoldiersminute]

Charlie Hunnam as Ray in The Gentlemen (2019)

[leonsoletsky]

oksana​.

“ i heard you’re a roman yurivič symphatizer. ” | @lconid​

     - ‘ THAT’S A funny way to admit you’ve been asking around about me. ’

[leonsoletsky]

roman.

“I’m talking with Poland. Thinking about contacting the Baltics — my connections are lacking though, and this is not something I can bring up to just anyone.” He knew he would have allies if he searched carefully enough but the countdown had already started and he could feel the pressure to act weighing on him. “I don’t want to start a war with them, it would not… go well.” And as much as he despised the Russians, he couldn’t find it in himself to justify the use of soldiers. “But I’m hoping they can be pressured out of Belarus. With deals, with economic plays, with personal attacks…” His fingers drummed against the arm of his chair while he massaged his temple with the fingers of his other hand. “The wild rumours about Giselle are coming from their machinery. They are trying to get me to take a step back or to disappear completely.”

     - IT WAS already more than two countries helping him, which leon already found surprising knowing who was on the other side and how fearful most were to go against them. ‘ you need to find something way too damaging, whether it is economic or personal. romanova doesn’t seem like she’d step down easily and you still run the risk of them starting the war with you if whatever you do isn’t strong enough. ’ it was such a huge risk, roman’s leap of faith could be his doom. the next words, though, had leon’s eyebrows shooting up. ‘ so that’s what the whole thing with the duchess of murmansk was about. ’ should’ve shot it down when he had the chance. ‘ what do you need of me right now ? ’ 

[leonsoletsky]

karyna.

“ he involved you? how? why? what could have possessed him to make such an inane decision? ” 

     - ‘ SOMETHING ABOUT you going home without letting him know and then not answering his calls, he wants to talk to his daughter, he doesn’t want to lie to his daughter, if i could talk to you about it or help him any other way. that sort of thing. ’