is that TOM BLYTH arriving at the ball? no, cauldron bless, it’s APOLLO LUXFERO, LORD of DAWN, born to the realm as a HIGH FAE and sworn to it as its SEER. they have walked this realm for FOUR HUNDRED AND SEVENTY YEARS and they can be RESOURCEFUL but also ARROGANT. they carry with them the echo of A SMILE LIKE A BLADE BEING DRAWN, HAIR THAT CATCHES IN THE LIGHT LIKE IT WAS SPUN FROM THE SUN ITSELF, THE UNMISTAKABLE EASE OF A MAN WHO HAS BEEN PLAYING A ROLE FOR CENTURIES. i do hope someone asks them to dance before the night is through.
you were the golden child. the one they all looked to. the one expected to be commander. the one who was trained for it, shaped for it, molded into the blade that would one day lead the day court's armies. you were the second son, but never the spare. not in your parents' eyes or in your own. you were the son who would carry the legacy forward. your parents tried to draw a line between you and your older sibling, jamie. they kept separate, raised you differently, groomed you for different futures. but you never cared much for lines. they were your sibling, your ally, the one who challenged you in ways no one else could.
you taught them to fight. you taught them to hold a sword, to stand their ground, to never back down. you encouraged them when the rest of the world wanted to box them in. but you never let them win. that was the unspoken rule between the two of you. you taught them everything you knew, but you held back just enough to stay ahead. you never let them beat you, and when they did, you would find a way to win again. not because you wanted to keep them down. you loved them, and you were proud of them, but you needed to believe that you were still the one who was meant to lead. that you were still the best. that all the years of training and bleeding and sacrifice meant something.
when the announcement came, when jamie was named commander instead of you, you felt the ground shift beneath you. you had spent centuries earning that position. you bled for it, sacrificed for it, and shaped yourself into it. and it was handed away to your older sibling. it was your mother who suggested you leave. she saw the bitterness eating you alive, she knew you would never heal if you stayed. the dawn court was a fresh start. a place where your name meant something, where you could prove yourself all over again.
lizeth, the high lady of dawn, was someone you grew up with. a connection. a possibility. you courted her because it was expected. because you needed something to fill the void. but you never expected to fall in love. aurelia was never part of the plan. she was the high priestess of dawn, a woman who saw through every mask you wore. she was the only one who made you feel seen, and you loved her for it. you loved her with a ferocity that terrified you. and when your mating bond snapped into place between you, you thought you had found something real. but you were a coward.
when your political alliance became a reality, you didn't say no. you should have. should have told lizeth the truth, broken off the engagement, and chosen aurelia. but you were afraid. afraid of losing your fresh starts and afraid of losing the only thing that still made you feel like you were worth something. so you said yes. now you are engaged to one woman and mated to another. you wear a mask with lizeth every day. you charm her, flatter her, and try to win her over. not because you love her, but because you need to know she won't back out. you need the reassurance that she will go through with the marriage. that you haven't risked everything for nothing.
( tom blyth, 30, APOLLO VANDERBILT, cis man, he/him + seer ) Underneath the sparkling sky, did you see TOM BLYTH being tipped by the Cauldron? No, that’s just LORD APOLLO VANDERBILT, who is the SECOND IN COMMAND from THE DAY COURT. I heard that on most days they’re AMBITIOUS and DAUNTLESS but if you catch them on a dark night, they can be ARROGANT and OBSESSIVE. But if you really get to know them, you’ll know that they vibe with GOLD RUNNING IN YOUR BLOOD, A HUNGER FOR PERFECTION GNAWING AT THE EDGES OF YOUR SOUL, CARRYING FUTURES IN YOUR SKULL LIKE A SECOND SKELETON, THE KNOWING NEVER STOPS.
full name: apollo solaris vanderbilt
aliases: polly (rare), light, the golden blade
age: 30 / 300
species: high fae + seer
occupation: second in command of the day court + seer
alliances: the day court, himself
THE STORY SO FAR !
tw: death
you are the youngest son. this matters more than anyone tells you. your father was the high ruler of the day court, and your mother a high priestess. no one had a seer in their bloodline. then there was you.
the twins were born first: jamie and vivian. then talia. then you came as the spare, the one who would have to earn his place. you trained obsessively because you had no birthright to fall back on. you became the golden blade of the day court because you refused to be overlooked.
the sight came to you young. not a vision of death or a prophecy, just a slow and creeping awareness that you knew things you shouldn't. you knew when someone was lying, when a storm was coming, the outcome of a sparring match before the first blow was struck. it was subtle at first. then it grew louder, sharper, something you could no longer ignore.
sword at dawn, strategy at noon. history, languages, politics. and in the quiet hours between, you learned to wrestle with the sight. you were ten when you first beat your father's old instructor. twelve when they stopped finding instructors willing to face you. fifteen when the general admitted, grudgingly, that you were already better than your father had been at twice your age. your sight showed you every move before it was made, you simply chose the one where your blade landed first.
you are three hundred years old now. second in command of the day court's army. the cousin who could have been king in some other universe. the nephew who reminds everyone of what they lost. the anomaly that should not exist. the only seer in eleven generations. the son of a healer who became the sharpest blade in the court. you are an only child. you have always been alone. you have always been the only one who sees what is coming. you will carve a future where your mother never has to mend you. you have already begun.
TL;DR: son of the high ruler, only seer in the family. perfected the blade and made that his entire personality. supported talia's rise to high lady, but was passed over for commander in favor of jamie. now serve's as second in command. buried in resentment, love, and a deep ache for how things used to be. feels isolated but masks it with arrogance and an obsession for perfection.
ESTABLISHED CONNECTIONS !
talia & vivian & jamie vanderbilt: sisters
divya vesperia: the pair seem to always be clashing and simply can't be found in a room alone together, for their conversations will only end in petty arguments.
dorian eldrich: on-and-off again fling. apollo has never wanted to put a label on their relationship, and instead has led her on for years leaving her with the hopes that they may one day be a couple. there are some conflicting feelings on apollo's end, though he may never admit them out loud.
past flings: apollo gets around..... perhaps a little too much. i guess that goes to show that all of that bravado can really get you places.
The summer night glowed; in the field, fireflies were glinting. And for those who understood such things, the stars were sending messages: [...] always you will mourn something you left behind, even though you can't say what it was, and eventually you will return to seek it.
What will I do, sky? Lake, what? Bluebird, iris, ultramarine, how can there be more when this is done? But it will never end—that's the answer. There is always us.
Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone, This is How You Lose the Time War
Hi! I'm currently procrastinating studying for my big math exam that i have tomorrow by scrolling through this hellsite and thinking about writing something! And since you're often posting about other people's WIP, here's mine:
It's called Cartridge manor, but my main problem is that I'm writing it in my native language, because although I'm fluent with english, the writing process wouldn't be that smooth. (Okay this is turning into a bigger vent OOPS)
Anyways it's a pretty simple story when a London-based girl is kinda forced to move to and old Irish manor where it just seems like the time has stopped. She makes some friends and immediately finds a hidden access to an attic, befriends a suspicious cat and climbs out of a window to eat pancakes. But under this all, her neverending search for a long-lost mother continues, while she tries to uncover the old magic of Catridge and balance totally-not-falling-in-love with new friendships.
Well, I'm kinda stuck on it right now tho. Sorry for this message that was totally supposed to be much shorter and enjoy your day!
hiii I'm sorry for getting back to this SO late.
But first of all, this particular WIP is already SO right just by having a suspicious cat. As a dog person, I think all cats are suspicious, but majestically and rightfully so. (To be fair there are times when dogs are suspicious too, but then u find out they just spread chewed toilet paper everywhere not being all magical and stuff) And then you add pancakes??? Good stuff.
I relate with smoothness of writing it in your native language. Just that one factor alone made me revise one of my WIPs like a million times. One good thing I found about writing it in English is it having a wider reach, especially since I'm not sure a local audience will appreciate it the way I want it to be appreciated, but also there are so many jokes and concepts that get lost in translation when I just stick with English so... all I'm saying is I get it, it's hard. I hope you figure out that part! (I certainly haven't lmao).
The part where time also seemed to stop in the mansion (like how???) is also interesting, and what do you mean long-lost mother???
This WIP sounds ~magical~, iykwim. Thank you so much for sharing it with me!
