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witchthewriter · 2 years ago

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𝑼𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑨𝒑𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝑻𝒓𝒆𝒆 𝐶𝘩𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝐹𝑖𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑒𝑛

Personalised story for @leniabranch Pairing: Otto Hightower x Lenia Branch Word Count: 2k Warnings: Things get a lil heated towards the end (sexually speaking)

You stood there shocked, well for a better word, dumbfounded.

The Hand of the King, arguably the most important man in Westeros, was down on one knee for you.

You could see the tinge of his skin; sailing did not become him. But he still looked handsome with his windswept hair and unkept beard (he had tried to make himself look as presentable as possible, but he could barely stand in front of the mirror on the rocking boat).

A crowd was already gathering, murmurs that the Hand of the King was proposing on the docks ran quickly throughout the dockyards. It wasn't until Alicent coughed that you were pulled back into reality. Tears sprung to your eyes you didn't know how they got there but you knew they came from a place of joy. Throwing yourself down at him your hands found their way to his cheeks, and you planted a firm kiss on Otto’s lips.

“You have yet to answer, Lady Lenia,” Otto murmured with a small smile.

Your answer came out in a jumbled mess of yesses.

He kissed you back with just as much fervour, pulling away from your lips for only a second to say, “I wished to propose underneath the apple tree, but I couldn’t wait any longer.” And then his lips found yours once again.

The next few days went by in a blur. You first went to your parent’s to tell them the good news. However, your father had already known as Otto asked for his permission. During the Hand’s journey, he was waiting just as anxiously as you. Your mother on the other hand, did not know, and was over the moon with joy. Though she did slap your father’s arm for not telling her.

“It was a surprise!” was his response.

Otto had never been this proud, not since the birth of his children. So, he gladly welcomed the congratulatory remarks and compliments. Although as he recounted the story, he did like to leave out the part where he was still sea-sick during the proposal.

Alicent too was happy. Not just happy for her father and future stepmother but also because the attention was no longer on her. King Viserys was more than jovial. Keeping this secret was difficult for him. Happy secrets were his downfall. He was so happy in fact, that he said, “there shall be no expense spared for this wedding,” and then the Master of Coin nearly choked on his wine.

Elrie was over the moon to be involved in another wedding. Darrick too, was ecstatic for you, the only person who was not was little Lucieth, who was sick of weddings.

And when you asked why, he blurted “because I HATE dressing up!”

Weeks had passed and the wedding plans were in full motion. Your mother was busy fussing over your dress with Sanah, who wanted to make it by hand. While your mother wanted you to wear her own wedding gown. And then you had family traditions to consider; every Branch woman wore some sort of homage to the House. May it be a leaf, a stem, a … branch, stitched in the gown, a piece of jewellery or make up. It was your choice to make.

The invitations soon went out as well.

Otto was quite particular with how he wanted them written, but you had the creative control. Both your House sigils were drawn, appearing on the corners of the parchment. A representation of your Houses bond.

Soon Branches from all over Westeros would soon be swarming the Capitol, giving a new feeling to King’s Landing. Your mother's side of the family were invited as well and although not as openly as creative as House Branch, they were well known for their musical abilities.

It had only been a month since your proposal and Sanah was becoming insufferable. In the best way. Once she heard the news, she apologised for her future actions, “I am going to be intolerable at times, but I just want this to be perfect for you.”

This was one of the most stressful times in your life, but … in such a positive way. Used to the spotlight, you didn’t mind the attention, especially the talk of the future with Otto.

“And you’ll give him even more children, hopefully more sons!” Said a lady at court, whose name you didn’t care to remember. The last part stung, and you frowned (for the first time in a month).

“Any child is a blessing,” you replied, trying to keep the bite out of your voice. “Girls have just as much to offer as boys do.”

It was a curt response, and it made you up and leave the room.

You could feel your teeth grinding and you had to remind yourself to stop. Now being the Hand’s future wife, you worried that every word you spoke could hurt his position somehow. But a topic such as this; you knew where you stood on the matter.

The castle’s hallways had become well-known to you. The smoothed edges of the stone walls, cold to the touch, with it’s sudden openings of light and sunshine. On days like this, it filtered through the open gaps, some paned, some completely open. One had to be careful with the latter, there were rumours that many had … fallen from those openings.

Resting your back against the cool of the wall, you sighed and massaged your temple. It was safe to say that in this period of your life, you felt frazzled. It didn’t help that you were on your periods and the cramps were quite terrible. Hopefully, you wouldn’t have them during your wedding. Maybe that was another question for Sanah…

Lost in thought, you didn’t register the form that had stopped to stand next to you.

“Having second thoughts?” Ormund’s deep voice made you jump, and in turn brought on a wave of embarrassment with a tinge of anger.

“Don’t sneak up on people like that! It’s … it’s rude.” You said breathlessly.

Ormund chuckled and rested a hand on the hilt of his sword. “Well, I give my deepest apologies,” he said mockingly, bowing low. “I mustn’t upset the Hand’s wife.”

“Future, wife,” you corrected.

“Yes,” he said with faint sincerity, “future wife.”

-✶-

The interaction with Ormund left you somewhat confused, what was he trying to say? And why was there an establishment between wife and future wife? These words danced in your head until you came to your chamber doors and gleefully opened them.

Rising from the bed, Otto gave you a slight bow as you entered the room.

“Please excuse my boldness, but I needed to talk to you. Alone.”

His tone caused an eruption of butterflies in your stomach. A reddening of your cheeks as well.

“It’s, fine. I think we’re past the rules of formality.” And your mind instantly went to the nights spent with each other, naked, with body parts wrapped around one another. The thought made your blush deepen.

“Well, you’re right about that,” Otto’s tall frame seemed to tower over your own. You noted his neatly trimmed beard and brushed hair. But some part of you missed the adventure-met Otto.

He guided you over to your sitting area, hot tea waiting for you. The sun had begun to set, emitting rays of orange, pink and purple across the sky. A beautiful sight, but one that you gladly ignored. Your focus was utterly on Otto.

“I just wanted to have some time by ourselves,” he started, moving to take his hand in yours. “And to give you an opportunity to refuse the proposal.” His voice hardened at the end of the sentence, but when you looked into his eyes, all you saw was love.

“Why would I refuse?” You said aghast. “Have I shown any reason I wouldn’t want to marry?”

There was a long pause.

And questions flooded your head, swarming your stomach, making your body tingle with anxiety.

“No, you have not.”

His words gave you such relief that you let out a sigh. The breath that you had unknowingly held in was released and Otto actually saw the worries escape you.

“Then why? Why ask this?”

How could Otto explain this deep-rooted insecurity of not being enough. Being too old, too unliked, having a job that requires questionable morals. Having to lie to those he loves in favour of the King, or to keep important information from coming to light. To push for things that other people do not want nor agree with.

For Otto, it just goes deeper and deeper. More intricate that one could ever explain perfectly.

So, the only thing that he could come out with was, “I-I’m not enough. For you. You deserve better. Someone younger, at least.”

Your grip on his hand tightened, and you stared straight into his eyes, “I want to marry you Otto Hightower. I see the good, I see the bad; I see all of you. And I still want to marry you.”

The intensity in which you spoke felt foreign, as was the power that seemed to radiate from you. But in this moment it felt right. Unbeknownst to you, it wasn’t as if Otto didn’t see your devotion. He did. And he admired it greatly. It’s one of the reasons why he loves you so dearly. His late wife had the same devout nature.

Any doubts he had for this marriage were based on himself; his own self-reservations. Truly, they had nothing to do with you. Not even your status, which had been brought up by the small council, didn’t make him think any less of you. He had stopped the slanderous talk immediately. Everyone knew not to talk ill of Lenia Branch in the presence of Otto Hightower. And it helped greatly that the King thought your family was brilliant. Your position at court was favoured, as were you. Your future, no matter what, was bright.

“I truly cannot explain how I feel inside. Only know this: there is nothing that can make me stop loving you.”

You seemed to move without realising it, because in an instant you were in his lap, one hand tangled in his hair and the other moving down his chest. Your lips were connected in such deep passion that you knew they would be bruised in a few hours.

Otto’s hands wrapped around your body, pulling you closer to him. His mouth reciprocated the movements, biting your bottom lip, nipping at your tongue. Then he moved you, so your legs were either side of him. The position making it easier to rub your most sensitive parts against one another. Otto moaned, pushing you harder against himself, kissing down the nape of your neck and moving to your chest. He was about to unlace your bodice when a knock sounded at the door.

“J-just a moment!” You breathed out, doing your best to get off of Otto and fix yourself up. Standing there awkward for a moment, Otto motioned for you to sit down on your chair and take a sip of your now cold, tea.

“Enter,” you said after gulping. You realised Otto had brought over your favourite herbal blend.

“Oh, apologies,” said Darrick, whose eyes darted between you and Otto. You could see your brother conclude that you were alone with another man, but only having tea.

“How are you, Darrick?” Otto asked, in a completely neutral tone.

“Fine, thank you for asking,” Darrick bowed politely and then handed you a piece of rolled up parchment.

Departing quickly, you could see the tinge of red on his cheeks and you frowned. Although you realised that it wasn’t because of any indecency, but because of what he had brought you.

It was the finished wedding invitations, with your design and Otto’s words. Together in black ink with gold and silver accents made it look absolutely beautiful. You slid the paper over to Otto and he nodded his head in approval.

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boysplanetrecaps · 11 months ago

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Produce 48 Recaps: Entrances (episode 1)

Hello there, National Producer! (That’s you. You’re a National Producer.)

Do you miss giant scale Korean reality shows? Are you fainting away, wishing there was one to watch? Or are you, perhaps, a fan of AleXa, Alice/Elris, Bugaboo, Cherry Bullet, El7zup, Everglow, H1-Key, IVE, IZ*one, k-dramas, Kep1er, Le Sserafim, Lightsum, Purple Kiss, Queenz Eye, Rocket Punch, Secret Number, or any of the 48 franchises - AKB48, HKT48, or NMB48? Did you watch Sixteen or Produce 101 and want to know what happened later? Did you watch GirlsPlanet999 or Queendom Puzzle and want to know what happened before? Are you bored and enjoy snarky recaps of tv shows from five and a half years ago? If you answered yes to at least one of those questions, then stick around! And if you didn’t, stick around anyway because this is going to be great. But if you’re not a fan of (a) honest assessment of skills and performance (b) curse words ( c ) sarcasm (d) long, chatty, rabbit-hole digging, silly recaps that take longer to read than it would take to watch the show, maybe not.

You might be wondering, well, who are you, anyway? I’m an adult female human being living somewhere in North America. You can call me BPR-Unnie (or BPR-Noona, if that’s better for you. This link may help you decide!) I know a smattering of Korean and a bit about Korean culture, but I’m not Korean. I know a smattering of Japanese as well but I’m also not Japanese. My favorite kpop group is EXO and from that you would be correct to conclude I tend to have a bias toward excellent singing. But if I sneak in the fact that I have watched more than my fair share of Kai fancams, you’ll learn that I am not immune to stage presence and dancing. I like girl groups and boy groups equally and am basically just the multi-est of multi-stans, though “stanning” for me doesn’t tend to include watching variety content or buying things. For the most part, I just listen to music and watch performances.

If you’re wondering, what the heck is Produce 48? As Wikipedia says, it was “the third season of the South Korean reality competition series Produce 101. It was a large-scale project in which the public ‘produces’ a girl group by voting for members out of a pool of 96 contestants from South Korea and Japan…. The show was a collaboration between the MNET series Produce 101 and the J-pop idol group AKB48.” The winning 12 girls were announced as new project group IZ*One on August 31, 2018. (Other side note: IZ*one is pronounced “is-one” not “eye-zone”, per the Korean phonetics.)

It’s fun to go back and rewatch this show because around a third of these girls went on to do other things in the world of Kpop, and it’s fun to see them when they were so much younger. Also, shows like this are fun and weird just in general.

This recap will spoil some things, but not every single thing. I’m going to, as we go along, mention where various people end up -- I’m assuming that if you’re here, you either already know or don’t mind being spoilered on that kind thing. I will point out future members of Alice/Elris, Bugaboo, Cherry Bullet, Everglow, H1-Key, IVE, Le Sserafim, Kep1er, Lightsum, Purple Kiss, Queenz Eye, Rocket Punch and Secret Number. I’ll also point out future Queendom Puzzle visitors. But I’m not going to go out of my way to tell you exactly who makes the final lineup of IZ*one, exactly when people will be eliminated, and where every single person is going to end up (I’ll tell you after they get eliminated). That seems like the best compromise based on the poll. Plenty of people become famous after a show like this without making the final line up of the debut group -- like G-Idle’s Soyeon on Produce 101. So if you don’t know the name of every member of IZ*one, you can watch the show along with me and enjoy it, while still knowing who everyone is. And if you do want to be spoilered on who makes it into IZ*one, you can just look up the names of the members and keep that handy as you read. I hope that all makes sense!

I actually watched Produce 48 many years ago -- maybe 2019? It was after IZ*one had already debuted, so I was watching to get caught up. It was the first such show I ever watched and I wasn’t in the habit yet of taking notes to keep track of everyone, so for the most part I had no idea who anyone was the whole time. I mean, with 96 girls, many of whom meet certain beauty standards and thus can look quite similar to one another, and all of whom are in the habit of changing their hair/eye color/style constantly, it’s hard. So I have almost no memory of the show except for two things: (1) loving Huh Yunjin and (2) feeling sorry for the girl who the show made fun of for having intense eyes. I thought Yunjin was obviously the best on the whole damn show and was irritated that she was ever ranked anything other than first fucking place, and that other girl, I just wanted to give her all the hugs. We’ll meet her soon enough!

Finally, you may wonder, where am I watching the show? I watch it here: https://kshow123.tv/show/produce-48/episode-1.html I have to note that sites like this are really spammy and you’ll need a good adblocker and, to be on the safe side, working anti-virus software before you to click that link. Once you’re on the page, when you first click “play” on the video, it always opens a pop up ad that you have to close and then try again, when it will actually play. The pop-ups I’ve seen haven’t been offensive or gross in any way, and this site is less spammy than the one called kisstvshow, which bombards you with actual photos of actual peens like, immediately. Just close-up peens, glistening at you. No thank you. You can also find clips of the show on Youtube, but they’re kind of disorganized. There are some bits and pieces of episode 1 in this playlist. I’ll also provide links to individual auditions as we go.

Ok, let’s go!

We start off with some typical MNET self-congratulatory stuff -- all the buzz about this show before it even debuted! -- complete with a picture of THE SAKURA™, future visual queen of Le Sserafim. Then as a gentle piano rendition of our soon-to-be-favorite song Neko-ya plays, a voice over talks about what the 96 girls (and women) on this show think about their training journey, and we see the lovely profile of Huh Yunjin. Yay! My favorite!

We hear that it’s hard for them to be trainees and that sometimes they almost want to give up. But they keep pushing forward to try. 96 seeds working hard to sprout, and the national producers will shine on them like sunshine! Awww. Produce48 starts now!

An alarm rings, shocking us awake from our gentle piano daydream. We’re confronted with… this. Whatever this is.

It’s Lee Seung Gi, the host this time! His bed is vertical! It makes too much sense!

Ok, folks, for me personally, Lee Seung Gi being host is super important, because he’s sort of the reason I’m even here. He was one of the stars of the ridiculous, the sublime, the problematic, the perfect, My Girlfriend is a Gumiho.

This drama aired on a local Korean-language cable channel back in the day (I lived in a major city that showed foreign programming on cable), and I stumbled on it while changing channels and stood there staring at it wondering what in the actual fuck I was watching. Who needs subtitles or any knowledge of Korean when you have… this?

It’s the first piece of Korean culture I ever consumed, other than kimchi. This was even before Gangnam Style! It led to me watching more k-dramas, including, eventually, It's Okay, That's Love, starring Do Kyungsoo, also known as EXO’s D.O. I was curious about what he’d be like as a musical performer, and the rest is history. So, what I’m saying is, Lee Seung Gi set off a chain reaction that led to me eventually recapping his own performance as host of this show. The circle is complete.

Lee Seung-gi (born 1987) has been a singer, specifically a solo artist, as well as an actor, since 2004. He’s like Rain, but not as irritating. He hasn’t made much money from it because of his agency stealing from him. In fact, in April of 2023, a law was passed called “the Lee Seung-gi Incident Prevention Act” which requires entertainment companies to disclose their earnings settlement details to their celebrities at least once a year. Seems like a good thing to do. He’s still in demand, I’m sure, and quite loved, so he’ll land on his feet no matter what. Seung-gi, fighting!!

Ok, back to the show! Seung-gi explains how to vote, which we can skip -- the only info of note is that only Koreans could vote back then, quite different from the modern era -- and go to about 5:30 for an extremely bombastic set reveal.

5:49 The girls start to walk in

Note: All ages given are the (international) ages of the girls at the start of the series.

The first three to walk in are the Yuehua trainees.

Left to right: Yiren, Sihyeon, Yena

Kim Si Hyeon (김시현), age 18, in the pinky/purpley long sleeved shirt

She was also on Produce 101 (first season) as a “kaein” (individual/no-agency) trainee, where she did pretty well (made it to episode 8), but didn’t necessarily stand out. After this show, she debuted as part of Everglow, where she performs under her real name and is currently the leader, as well as a visual and “face of the group.”

Choi Ye Na (최예나), age 18, with her hair in a ponytail. We’ll be seeing a lot of her this episode!

Wang Yi Ren (왕이런), age 17, pink shirt with black edges, statement belt

She is actually Chinese, though she speaks Korean pretty fluently. You probably know her now as a member of Everglow, where she is lead dancer as well as a visual and also the “face of the group.” How many faces can a group have? Also, isn’t Mia the face of the group, as well as the body and the voice and the feet and the hands? Sigh. I really like Everglow. We just… all know the drill with line distribution and center time.

They come in and exclaim how pretty and shiny the set is and say “daebak” a lot. They sit down in a row along the top, and faintly, in the distance, Bon Bon Chocolate begins to form in a songwriter’s head.

Next in is Kim Min Ju (김민주) from Urban Works. She’s 17. She was a child actress before the show. The others are impressed that she’s here by herself and that she’s very pretty.

I love how in Korea having a small face is a compliment.

She goes to sit in the first place seat, then changes her mind and chooses 5th place instead so she doesn’t have to sit up so high.

Up next is YG Kplus, a modeling agency not to be confused with regular YG, the agency that is home to Blackpink and Treasure. The trainees are Ahn Ye Won (안예원), age 17, and Choi Yeon Soo (최연수), age 19. Yeon Soo has a celebrity chef for a father but doesn’t want to just be another nepo baby. She has the black skirt, while her label-mate Ye Won is in all red. They walk in to the strains of Blurred Lines (🤢) and the other girls exclaim jealously about how tall they are. Yewon is 172 cm and Yeonsoo is 170 cm, making them both about 5’6.

Next in is a group from CNC School, featuring some familiar faces!

Left to right: Kim Yubin, Kim Da Yeon, Lee YuJeong, Yoon Eun Bin, Hong Ye Ji

Kim Yu Bin (김유빈) is 16.

Kim Da Yeon (김다연) is 15 and you may know her (now) from GirlsPlanet999 and Kep1er. Aww, this is before she got her teeth done! She’s adorable. I am a Dayeon apologist and will hear no words against her.

Lee Yu Jeong (이유정) is 14 and you may know her (now) from Lightsum.

Yoon Eun Bin (윤은빈) is 14.

Hong Ye Ji (홍예지) is 16.

Yena thinks that the CNC girls look like babies. I think she looks like a baby! And this old lady I tutored today told me that *I* look like a baby. So I guess everyone is a baby.

Next is MMO, home to the sexy Kang Daniel, everyone’s fave from Produce101 Season 2 (often called “Broduce101”). The mere mention of his name sends Yena into a tizzy. I mean, low key same (though I’m more of an Ong Seungwoo fan [though not enough to watch his Pepsi commercial omg what was that?!?]). Anyway, out comes MMO’s Won Seo Yeon (원서연), age 18, a cute girl with a nice low voice and a pretty blue outfit. She seems worried about living up to her sunbae’s success.

Next comes pretty, big eyed Ko Yu Jin (고유진), age 17. She’s from Blockberry Creative, and the Orbits out there are now resisting the urge to smash their device screen at the mere mention of that agency! [Side note: Sensitive is a great song even if Loosemble is a terrible group name. Check out the song, forgive the name.] She’s in a cute striped shirt and interviews that her role models are Taeyon and HyunA, and you know, same.

The girls in the retro polka dot dresses are from How Entertainment.

Yu Min Young (유민영) is 18, in the mint green. Kim Min Seo (김민서) is 15, in the yellow and is a Jeon Somi fan, as are we all. Wang Ke (왕크어) is 17, Chinese, and in the red.

The next group, in white tops and black booty shorts, is from MND17 Agency.

Left to right, they are:

Park Chan Ju (박찬주), unknown age. She has the tightest shirt.

Park Min Ji (박민지), age 19, was also on Produce 101 and now (2023) is in Secret Number. She has the floofiest shirt and says she likes ChungHa, which, I mean, don’t we all, but also it’s kind of funny since she was on Produce101 with her so they probably kind of know each other.

Lee Chae Jeong (이채정), age 18, who now (2023) is in a group called Alice (formerly known as Elris).

Another girl comes out in a big yellow shirt with purple… shorts? A skirt? Unclear. She is from an agency called A -team and is named Kim Cho Yeon (김초연), age 16. After this show she was in Bugaboo, a group that has since disbanded but certainly has its adherents. She also likes Chung-Ha, so much so that she also wants to be in fourth place just like her. Also, MNET hates her. HATES HER SOOOOO MUCH.

Next out is someone from MNH Entertainment, the horrible agency that utterly mismanaged poor beautiful Chung-Ha for years. (Sihyeon, who must be practicing for later, says in Japanese that she loves Chung-Ha.)

The MNH trainee is little Lee Ha Eun (이하은), who, at 13, is the youngest on the show. She’s adorable, the way a little kid is adorable, and in a meeting with Chung-Ha herself, we see that little Haeun obviously almost worships Chung-Ha. Chug-Ha tells her to be herself and people will love her. Will this prove accurate? You’ll have to keep watching to find out! As Haeun seats herself amongst all her pretty unnies, she interviews, “This place is very pressuring.” I can’t imagine being in 8th grade and on a show like this. I don’t know how I made it to and from school every day when I was in 8th grade. I don’t know how I continued to like, breathe oxygen and use it in a redox reaction in my body without screwing that up and exploding.

Side note to my loves in middle school who may be reading this: First of all, how dare you, this is for grownups, and secondly, go ahead and read anyway. Matt Groening, creator of the Simpsons, famously said “Middle school is the deepest pit in hell” and yeah, it is. So, please know that I love you. You can do this. It’s going to be rough, can’t lie, but it does keep getting a bit better. Please don’t let these years matter all that much to you. Don’t let it scar you. You’ll get through this by just trying to have as much fun as you can and not caring about crushes and whether or not they have a crush on you, or whether other kids are being nice or mean or whatever dumb middle school shit they’re pulling on you. It doesn’t matter. Just enjoy life and be as happy as possible. Once you get older, you get to decide on the kind of adult you want to be, and if you want to surround yourself with Squishmallows and watch kpop videos with all your free time, you can. Or whatever makes you happy. Hold on. You got this. Now, back to the recap.

Yena chats a lot with her friend Sihyeon, and the editors keep showing them. Yena’s charismatic and it’s fun to get her perspective. They’re sitting in those big chairs that are kind of far apart, so she has to lean way over to do it. They are talking about how they’re excited to collaborate with the Japanese girls, and that they’re excited. Yiren grins widely as she says she want to make friends with the Japanese girls. I’ve already seen more charm and cuteness out of Yiren than I have in any given Everglow video. She’s really engaging in real life -- wish we got to see a bit more of that during her performances.

Kim Dayeon is sharing what she knows about Japanese language with her teammates, but her pronunciation is a little sus.

Stone Music is up next. The four girls come out nervously, and the other girls in the audience think they look familiar.

Left to right, they are:

Jang Gyu Ri (장규리), age 20, in pink.

Jo Yu Ri (조유리), age 16, in yellow.

Lee Si An (이시안), age 19, in purple.

Bae Eun Yeong (배은영), age 21, in mint green.

All four had already appeared on a different MNET reality competition show called Idol School, which had aired the year before this show aired. What’s interesting is that Gyuri actually *won* that show and debuted as a member of its winning group, fromis_9. A lot of famous folk were on Idol School, including a personal favorite of mine, Natty (who has since debuted in the absolutely phenomenal group Kiss of Life). I’m starting to think I should go back and watch Idol School! Anyway, that’s for another day.

Next out is Cube -- everyone is very excited since Cube is a larger agency. Han Cho Won (한초원), a tall mature looking 15-year-old in a hoodie and red pants, comes out to the strains of (then) Cube artist HyunA’s “Lip and Hip.” She squints at the audience, trying to decide where to sit, and while she does that, I’ll tell you that now (2023), Chowon is in a group called Lightsum. The other girls think she’s cool and swaggy, but to me she just looks a little confused. Maybe she has bad distance vision.

Next out is FNC, home of N.Flying and AOA. (If you watched Queendom Puzzle, you might remember Chanmi/DoHwa, who used to be in AOA.) We meet Cho Ah Yeong (조아영), age 16, wearing black, and Park Hae Yoon (박해윤), age 22, wearing white. HaeYoon has since debuted as a member of Cherry Bullet. Everyone seems to be very intimidated that they’re from FNC, but me, an intellectual in the year 2023, is thinking, yeah, but no. As far as I’m concerned, FNC stands for “FuckiNg over Cherry bullet” and if you’re like, but BPR-Unnie, that doesn’t really work as an acronym, I respond, EXACTLY. Nothing about FNC works.

People are excited to meet the Starship trainees, and MNET definitely wants all of us to be excited too. And I mean. Yeah. Here they come:

Left to right: Yujin, Kahyeon, Wonyoung

An Yu Jin (안유진), age 14, in the sleeveless shirt. She had previously been in music videos and commercials.

Jang Won Young (장원영), age 13, the tallest one, in the pants

Cho Ka Hyeon (조가현), age 14, in the collared shirt and skirt

Nothing against Kahyeon, who is a lovely and talented girl, but it’s hard not to focus on the one-two punch of Yujin and Wonyoung, future stars of IVE. It’s entirely possible you’re reading this recap just because you’re fans of one or other of them. I’ll say that I’m more of a Yujin girl than a Wonyoung girl, but I like them both. True to form, they’re boisterous, showing off their smattering of Japanese knowledge, and flirting with the camera. They take turns sitting in the number one seat briefly, and then choose other seats.

The trainees are talking about how pretty everyone is, much prettier than in Season 1, and I disagree with that part, but yeah of course they’re all pretty. Yoon Eun Bin laments that she’s “the only ugly one.” Aww, baby! And of course, we keep checking in with Yena, our unofficial narrator of this episode, as she jokes non-stop with her friend Sihyeon. It kind of reminds me of how in Broduce 101 we hung out with Kang Daniel and Yoon Ji-sung for most of episode 1.

Out next is Pledis:

Who could these tall, beautiful girls be?

Huh Yun Jin (허윤진), 16, with her hair up in a ponytail, is about 5’8. Her family name 허 is sometimes transliterated “Huh” and sometimes “Heo”. Korean vowels are hard, ya’ll.

Lee Ga Eun (이가은), 23, with her shorter hair down to just her shoulders, is about 5’7. Her name is also sometimes transliterated as Kaeun.

The others girls recognize Gaeun as a former member of After School, an idol group known for their sexy concepts. (In the performance I linked to, Gaeun is the one with her hair in two braided pigtails -- she starts off on the pole on the far left. We actually see a brief clip of that performance on this episode at about 20:58.) The girls are abuzz to see Gaeun back in the idol sphere after a few years’ hiatus. That hiatus was just due to Pledis’s mismanagement. Shock! Horror! Who would have thought that PLEDIS of all companies would screw over a talented idol group? Surely, neither of THESE girls will get screwed over on this very show?

Anyway, back to 2018. You’re going to have to accept that fact that I love both of these girls a lot, but I doubt that will be a problem, because I think you’re going to love them too. Most people do -- more about that much later! Yunjin is one of the reasons that I’m rewatching this show -- I loved her the whole time I watched it the first time, as I said earlier, and I was so incredibly happy when she debuted in Le Sserafim.

The two Pledis girls sit down and we have a brief “coming up!” montage. When we come back, we can see that more girls have come in unobserved by us, the viewers, which is fine. Finally, strains of Heavy Rotation by AKB48 begin playing (“I want youuuuuuu… I need youuuuuuu…”), and the Korean girls are excited to meet the AKB girls!

First, we learn a little bit about the franchise -- it’s like, what if a female NCT, or a TripleS, but with literally 600 members, and they’re all wearing outfits that make them look like they are members of the Piñata Marine Corps. Also, most of them can’t really sing and their choreography is mostly step-touch wiggle-wiggle.

Bless their hearts.

There is, obviously, talent amongst them, as we will see. It’s just that talent is not really a *requirement* for being in the group. Girls in the AKB48 franchise are expected to be cute and cheery on stage, to approximate some form of “singing” like noises, and to learn and do choreography so easy even I could probably do it, and I’m about as coordinated as a newborn deer. Plenty of them are capable of more, and I take my hat off to those who pushed themselves to come on this show and face this challenge. They’re in for a lot, and I respect them.

I also want to say that the biggest issue I have with the AKB48 franchise is that their fanbase is almost exclusively men in their 40s who think that 19 or 20 is over the hill. It’s like, soft-core kitty-corn and I know you know what I mean. I guess a similar allegation could be made about Produce101 in general. I don’t want to linger on this for too long because these girls just want to be entertainers and to bring some fun and excitement into their lives, and it’s not their fault that middle-aged men ruin everything. But I have to acknowledge it. I could post some really disturbing pictures here of AKB48 girls in outfits that read *really, really young* but also are obviously meant to be sexy, but I really don’t want to, in part because it might make the FBI knock on my door. Similarly, I don’t want to link to it here but I’m amazed there wasn’t a public outcry about the video for Heavy Rotation. They’re all in lingerie and rolling around together and kissing each other and bathing in a bathtub together while feeding each other cherries and whipped cream. Like, it’s not subtle. Meanwhile the song itself sounds like something from a Kidz Bop album. The juxtaposition between the cutesy childish tone and the obviously sexy, almost pornographic images is really… disturbing, there’s just no other word for it. Add in the fact that Japan might be the only developed country that’s worse than the USA in terms of how it treats and cares for women, and you’ve got a pressure cooker of ick. Poor girls. I hope they’re all safe and well -- in 2018, in 2023, and beyond.

And here they come, all 19 of the AKB48 girls, in red and black plaid outfits. This specific group is from Tokyo. (Each of the -48 groups is based in a different city.) We’ll meet these girls a bit later when they perform in smaller groups.

We see that one of them, 24-year-old Miyazaki Miho, can even write in Korean a little! Good for her. Takahashi Juri -- 20-year-old future member of Rocket Punch and visitor to Queendom Puzzle -- interviews in Japanese, “I think that the popular idol singers in Korea are really the best artists in the world.” Goto Moe, 17, says that Kpop idols are true musicians. Muto Tomu, a 23 year old palindrome, says she wants to learn from the Korean idols. She and Juri want to be the best in the world. Yes! I love the ambition.

But where will they sit?

Juri, in an outfit that would make Nina Garcia weep if she had tear ducts, is tempted by the number one seat. As she should be. We love Juri in this household. But the girls’ competitiveness gives way to their friendliness, and soon all the girls, Korean and Japanese alike, are giggling and waving and making heart signs to each other. AND THAT IS WHAT I’M HERE TO WATCH, by the way. I love this shit. Friendship is the best ship.

Juri introduces herself to MND17’s ChaeJeong in careful Korean, and ChaeJeong responds in equally careful Japanese. Everyone is using the few words they know, combined with sign language and body language, to try to bridge the communication gap. They exchange hellos and names and try to figure out who’s older. The Japanese girls think the Korean system of adding a year to your age is kind of odd, but that’s how culture do.

Next out are the girls from NMB48 - the Osaka team -- in blue outfits. Then the two SKE48 girls, from Nagoya come out, in different blue outfits. One of these two is Matsui Jurina, who is only 21 but somehow looks a bit older to me.

Asai Yuka on the left, Jurina on the right.

A lot of the girls recognize Jurina; per Wikipedia, “She is recognized as SKE48's absolute "ace", having placed in the top 10 in many of AKB48's annual general elections and winning the 2018 election.” Apparently she was in AKB48 for a while, and then chose to go back to SKE48, either for altruistic reasons (to support the smaller subunit’s success) or for her own reasons (to go back to her home city, perhaps).

You’ll be hearing more about “elections”, so let me talk about that. In the -48 system, fans who have bought a copy of a 48 album are given the right to vote for the member they like best -- the general election. In other words, it’s a popularity contest, and only fans willing to spend money are allowed to vote. (There’s a story about a fan who spent $300,000 on CDs to vote for his favorite girl!) If Jurina has won so many elections, she is/was undoubtedly quite loved by her fan base. I approve of the fact that this woman, who looks like a woman and not a little kid, is/was so loved.

Side note here, and it’s a real, real, real side note, so I'm putting it in a different color so you can skip past it if you want, but the story of the man who spent $300,000 to vote for his favorite member of AKB48 reminds me a bit of the story of Grant Amato. Let me explain. Grant Amato was in his late 20s when his life hit the skids for various reasons and he began spending a ton of time in a cam girl chat room. He began “tipping” her absurd amounts of money, convinced that this was creating a genuine bond between himself and her. He began stealing from anyone who left their credit cards in his vicinity, especially his parents, from whom he stole $200,000 or more. The family tried to put him in rehab, and told him he couldn’t talk to his “girlfriend” any more -- so he killed them, in part to remove the obstacle, and in part to get their money. Looking into this story more, I learned more about the psychology of tipping cam girls, and it seems really similar to the parasocial relationship between -48 girls and their fans. No other men in the girls’ lives; the illusion of sexy, available youth; the man feeling like a protector or guardian of the girl he's never met and never will meet…. This extremely NSFW guide to cam-girling has a lot of nuggets of wisdom, especially this: “A man wants to feel attention from an attractive women on him, and this is made even more satisfying when it’s to the exclusion of those around him. He is showing off his power by buying your happiness.” I know that Grant Amato is an extreme example when it comes to him literally murdering three family members, but other people -- nearly always men -- spend that much money on cam girls and on AKB girls and on other stand-ins for real love. I don’t have some big point to make here. Just that it doesn’t seem particularly healthy to me.

Pigtailed Sato Minami, age 14 and a member of Tokyo based AKB48, interviews that everyone in Japan knows Jurina. 17-year old Nakano Ikumi says she joined AKB48 because she idolizes her, and 14-year old Asai Yuka, the other SKE48 member in Produce48, says that they all admire her.

They aren’t sure where to sit, as now only lower-ranked chairs are available, which is so silly since it doesn’t actually matter at all what chair you sit on today, but that’s the show for you. Jurina, befuddled, says “ehhhh?” which is sort of like “what” and sort of like “otoke?” It’s so characteristically Japanese that some of the Korean girls think it’s cute. Plus, they’re all eager to make friends.

Jurina smiles with cute, puppy eyes, and then for a moment, a bit of avarice flashes over her face, and the xenophobic MNET editors make sure to zoom in on her, while letting one of the other girls give her a defining caption:

Bombastic opera music plays -- will she take the seat? She has been ranked number one enough times in her other life that it seems kind of fitting. But no. She ends up sitting down in a normal chair, interviewing that she didn’t have the courage. I don’t remember who sat in the number one seat and am starting to think it might just be whoever walks in last at this point.

I feel like I could write a whole sociological paper about the difference between girl seasons of this show and boy seasons of this show and their approach to the Number One Chair. Girls eye it but don’t like to sit on it because it marks them as greedy and makes them unpopular. Boys fight over it, either physically with arm wrestling or via skill displays, like rutting caribou. It’s really interesting.

Interlude! They’re all hungry. Juri shows off more of her Korean skills. The other girls at least know how to say the names of food and are building friendship off of a shared love of eating. Hey, that’s how you make friends with a cat or dog so it works for me. Food!

Here’s the RBW girls, who you might recognize:

Na Go Eun (나고은), in the “Respect” shirt, age 18. She is now a main vocalist of PurpleKiss.

Park Ji Eun (박지은), in the red striped shirt, age 20. She debuted in PurpleKiss but left due to an anxiety condition. Aww! Poor sweetie. Hope she’s doing ok these days.

The girls are excited for Banana Culture, partly because they’re hungry and want to eat bananas, and partly because it’s home to EXID, a group I’ve always liked too.

Out come the two Banana Culture girls, who sit down immediately:

Kim Da Hye (김다혜), on the left with black accents, who I think is 16 (but reports vary).

Kim Na Young(김나영), 15, on the right with red accents, who you may now recognize as a member of Lightsum.

Next is Woolim, and the other trainees are impressed. They should be! Check out these four:

I know this screen shot is terrible, but I’m doing my best, folks.

Left to right, that’s:

Kim So Hee (김소희), 14, who is now in Rocket Punch.

Kim Chae Won (김채원), 17, who is now in Le Sserafim.

Kwon Eun Bi (권은비), 22, who is now a soloist.

Kim Su Yun (김수윤),17, who is now also in Rocket Punch, and who you may also recognize from going on Queendom puzzle. She’s 5’7, if you’re wondering.

I’m so excited to see Sohee and Suyun meet Juri! And for Chaewon and THE SAKURA™ and Yunjin to all meet each other! This is going to be so cute.

And here’s WM Entertainment:

Left to right, that’s:

Cho Yeong In (조영인), age 16.

Lee Chae Yeon (이채연), age 18. Before this she was on Sixteen, the show that created Twice, and after this she will, among other things, make a brief appearance on Queendom Puzzle. She’s also the older sister of Itzy’s Chaeryeong, and they have a strong family resemblance. Everyone is pretty impressed by her, and I’m sure she’s glad about that.

Lee Seung Hyeon (이승현), age 17. Ok, if you watched Queendom Puzzle, I dare you to try to recognize Seung Hyeon. Do you know who she is? Picture her with chin length hair. Hold your finger up to the screen and really try. Ok, give up?

That’s Riina from H1-Key! I would have never guessed. I wonder if Chaeyeon recognized her on Queendom Puzzle? I wonder if she voted her up or down? Chaeyeon does seem to sort of do her own thing. Love how the show never mentioned that they knew each other.

It’s time for the Fukuoka-based HKT48 girls to enter, and their black logo prompts Million Market’s Son Eun Chae (손은채), 18, future member of Bugaboo, to comment to her label mate Cho Sa Rang (조사랑), 14, that black is her favorite color. Sarang replies, “Our faces must look black by now,” cracking Eunchae up. Aw, I like them.

The other Japanese girls are excited, because they know that soon they will be seeing…. THE SAKURA™. Her name means cherry blossom, and she wants cherry blossoms to blossom in your cherry. I mean heart. Whatever.

It’s always so odd to me the way that certain girls are picked out as stunningly beautiful, when to me they’re all pretty. It feels so random. Why is THE SAKURA™specifically the most beautiful? It’s like in Red Velvet. I think Seulgi and Wendy are every bit as pretty as Irene, maybe prettier. But what do I know? Also, I probably ranted about this exact same thing in one of my BP recaps. Anyway, Jo Yuri tells her labelmate Sian, “I made eye contact with Sakura and I almost fainted.” Ok, Jo Yuri is growing on me.

Everyone thinks everyone else is pretty, and cool, and cute, and intimidating. We check in again with Sarang and Eunchae, who seem to be having a fun time.

Who will be last to walk in? YG’s logo pops up on screen, shocking everyone, including our polka dotted friends from HOW Entertainment, one of whom is in the process of administering eye drops to another one when the logo pops up. YG? WUT? But no -- these are *former* YG trainees. Now, they’re here as “kaein yeonshipsaeng” -- individual trainees. Trainer-less trainees. Just… -ees. They walk out to strains of “I am the Best” by 2NE1, a song whose video I still watch whenever I need a pick-me-up.

Park Jinny (박진희), 20, with dark hair, now a member of Secret Number.

Park Seo Young (박서영), 19, with light hair.

We cut back to an interview that must have taken place some time before taping began, when Seoyeong had brown hair. We find out that Seoyeoung was in the famous “Future 2NE1” video and both of them traineed with Blackpink. They’re here to make you wonder why YG let them go.

There are only two chairs left -- the #1 seat and the #96 seat. The now-blonde Seoyeong plunks down on the number one seat and everyone applauds. When I watched it the first time, I thought even at the time that there wasn’t much chance of her making it after that. You just can’t sit in that seat and make it in to the final lineup. I’m with Yunjin, who says, “If that was the only seat left, I’d sit on the floor.” Yep.

35:10 Somi and Daniel

Two figures emerge and the girls go nuts as they recognize everyone’s favorites, Jeon Somi (ranked #1 on PD101 Season 1) and Kang Daniel (ranked #1 on PD101 Season 2). I’m happy to see them, though I’ll note that they’re both capable of looking a lot better than they do here. I’ll blame their hair -- they were both born to be honey blondes, even if it wasn’t in their DNA.

Must be kind of weird for Chaeyeong to see Somi again after they both competed on Sixteen together. But there are always all those ties amongst idols and trainees.

Somi and Daniel talk about how only viewer votes will matter here. They don’t know that this is a lie, of course. Vote rigging was absolutely a thing on all four seasons of PD101. But we’ll talk about that later.

The reality sets in for the trainees -- they’re really on PD101! Or PD48, whatever you want to call it. S&D talk about how only the top producers will work with them, how they’ll debut in Korea and Japan at the same time -- this will be big. They talk about the specific producers, who have worked with some top groups, but the names of the producers don’t ring bells for me and likely won’t for you, either: Han Sung Soo, who writes kpop hits, and Akimoto Yasushi, the creepy old dude who created AKB48 and writes their most misogynistic lyrics. Great. I am just going to call him “Gross Guy” from now on.

The girls find out that 12 of them will debut in the final lineup, which is great news, because now it’s a 1 in 8 chance of getting in. (Well, it’s a 100% chance for those whose agencies paid enough money!) Why couldn’t Kep1er and ZB1 have had 12 members? Then Park Hanbin would have been in ZB1 and I’m not sure who else would have been in Kep1er but I know it would have been great. Maybe Fu Yaning, who I will always love and hear no words against.

Anyway.

Say goodbye to Somi and Daniel because we don't see them again after this. It's time for the judges to come out! And that's what we'll pick up with next time, when we recap the first ten auditions!

#produce 48 #IZ*one #Jeon Somi #Kang Daniel #Lee Chaeyeong #Le Sserafim #IVE #BPR recaps P48 #Sakura #akb48 #rocket punch

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steddie-fanfic-recs · 1 year ago

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hi! i love your blog!

i’m obsessed with steddie fics on here and they are all such good recs. do you have any established relationship recommendations?

it would mean so much 😊

Hey you! Thank you so much for your kind words. <3 (I'm also obsessed with Steddie fics in case it wasn't obvious, hahaa... 😅) Hm.. I gotta admit that I don't read a lot of established relationship fics (I'm a slut for slow burn fics, sue me) but I really enjoyed these: Press Those Honeyed Lips To Mine (And Call It A Lullaby) by StarlightDreamer16 (Rockstar Eddie) waiting for that feeling by manycoloureddays (Future fic) with no cross to bear (these words just come out) by hitlikehammers (Post s4) in a crowded room, you're still all i see by steddieas_shegoes (Rockstar Eddie) How Do I Get You Alone? by sugarlessgum (Secret relationship, Dustin POV) Feel Alright (I turn back time) by zephren (Modern setting, Youtuber AU) light my way by lesbianrobin (Wayne POV) Steve Harrington Tears the Munson Doctrine to Shreds by Peachesandpears (Post s4) Two Pair by cheshiredog (Tommy POV) Boyfriend Brag by alittleoff (Pre-s3, secret relationship) You Haven’t Even Asked But The Answer Is Yes by Sharpbutsoft (BuckysButt) (Future fic) steddie interviews by sam_writes_fics (Series, Rockstar Eddie, Actor Steve, Modern Setting) Easy, Easy, Easy by judasofsuburbia (Future fic, Rockstar Eddie. Not completed but still worth reading. My personal fave when it comes to established Steddie tbh) Anytime You Need by StrangerSteddie (Series, Wayne POV) The Tale of Elris and Soren by rainbow_nerds (Post-s4, secret relationship)

keep me on a rope by MacksDramaticShenanigans (Future fic, Tommy POV) Very Legitimate and Heterosexual Reasons by infraredphaeton (Post-s3, Robin POV) Tell Me About It, Stud by LexiRoseWrites (Omegaverse, Studding) always ten feet below (and just out of reach) by stellarpoint (pettifogger) (Post s4) Living the Unknown Dream by purpleweekend (Future fic, Amnesia) Something of You, Something of Me by UsaKo0903 (Future fic) 💖 Thank you for the ask. I hope you find something you'll enjoy from my recs. 🙈🙉

#asks #fuck tumblr formatting #pain in my ass

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acourtofthought · 2 years ago

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The whole 4 book buildup is such a reach, I feel like some Elriel with a big following made the claim and they all went along with it, because, no one else agrees. Even friends of mine who are casual readers and don't care who ends up with who are genuinely confused when I tell them about the fandom drama.

Book 1: 0 points. Azriel wasn't even introduced

Book 2: 0 points. Elain and Lucien were mated in ACOMAF. At this time, SJM goes on record to explain why she mated them and we can expect to see tension and growth, TOGETHER. Clearly, Elriel isn't anywhere on her radar or mind, especially if she's openly talking about Elucien. My favorite game is sharing this interview with Elriels and watching them spiral.And, let's not even get into Mor and Azriel. If only SJM had made them endgame; we wouldn't be in this mess. But as far as Azriel is concerned, Elain who? He's all about Mor.

Book3: 0 points. The series ended here, as planned, Elain is by Lucien's side. There is enough clues indicating they will find a way to one another. There was so much buildup between them? From Elain needing sunshine, to taking a step towards him, to smiling at him after the war. Asking him if he is ok. Besides all that, she is still, as far as we know in love with Grayson. Her heart is broken. It made sense why SJM didn't push Lucien on Elain there and left it open ended to a future if the series ended. BUT, it didn't and this is the time she's interviewed and teased future books, this is also the time she includes Elucien in headcanon vacations and when she said Elriel had a sibling bond. The Twitter meltdown was epic to watch.

Book 4: 0 points, Azriel is looking at Mor with so much heat that is makes Feyre uncomfortable and in the same book, he looks at Elain with pity, sighs with relief that he didn't have to get her or Nesta a gift. Yeah, real romantic. I do think this js when Elain started developing her crush, or interest in Azriel, but as we don't have her POV, we can't for sure say why she likes Az, if it was purely physical, if it was to prove she could get over Grayson, if it was to prove to herself the bond with Lucien doesn't have a strong grasp on her. We don't know yet. That's what elriels don't get. Without Elains POV. It's all assumptions. But who's POV we do have? Oh that's right Azriel

Book 5: 0 points, because NOTHING ultimately happened, Azriels POV, per canon, showed us he never thought about a future with Elain, he refuses to answer a question about Mor. Azriel and Elain aren't a couple, the aren't in love, Azriel says she hardly knows him. There is no real foundation for anything when it comes to endgame couples from SJM. She never even let these two off the dock. Elries love to say nesta know his secrets, did they even watch SJMs interview? She said Nesta can relate to Azriel, because she knows what's it's like to hold in pain and not be ready, that's the secrets imo she comments about in Azriel. And if Feyre knows about Mor, it's safe to assume nesta does too as Mor is the one by the fire.like I don't think it's a secret Az is in love with Mor to anyone, yes, cassian noted a change, but he still isn't over her.

So my point is, when you look at the BIG picture of things and also take into account the context, Elriel really had nothing more than a few cute moments, all the theories I see from them constantly change, or use text taken out of context, like they see notorious for that shit. Like, oh let's pick a random word and make it a parallel and use a bunch of words to sound convincing, not to mention the lies they spread. 😂

Eluciens and Gwynriels don't argue and say they are in love, or make some far fetched off page theories, we aren't stupid. We are aware there is no romance between them right now, it's the pontential, given SJM patterns and her interviews, she's buildt a romance on a lot less. Besides, eluciens have what elriels wish they did, a mating bond. ☺️ and gwnriels have strong evidence of one, but we aren't naive enough to think Azriel is in a good place to jump into a ship, which is why a friends to lovers works for them.

That's what I think E/riels miss, the big picture. Yes, there are definitely times where you can point to the text and say, "this was a cute E/riel moment!" but when you pull back and look at everything surrounding that moment, it ruins it's authenticity and everything combined doesn't look good for an E/riel endgame.

And no, Gwynriel isn't in love yet but that's a good thing. Because Az isn't fully over Mor and no one wants him falling for Gwyn while he's still conflicted over Mor. But any moments Gwynriel share, even as friends, isn't ruined by the bigger picture in the way E/riels were. Gwynriel moments still stand up as being positive, healthy, and fun interactions versus E/riels which are surrounding by negativity, hiding who they are from one another, and a mismatch in interests and personality's.

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silksworn · 3 months ago

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❛ those who took up arms against me will be thrown down, & humbled, & destroyed. ❜ | from elrys 1

❛ ⸻ 🕸️ ₊ ⊹ @belmorvejes | 𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐄 & 𝐁𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐃

𝐀 𝐒𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐄, 𝐒𝐋𝐘 thing, curled thing, pleased at the edges, thins Iraestra's mouth. She considers the map beneath her fingers. Her index and middle digits make a meandering path from Dragonstone all the way to Asshai, the travel of months and years taking mere moments. An undertaking done together, she would remind him without words.

"As is the only correct answer to such foolishness," she agrees easily enough. "A lesson may never be learned if the instructor is soft in the education." She is too practiced at deception to let her spine straighten or turn too quickly to face him. No guilt will be admitted, verbally or otherwise, for no crime has yet to be enacted. Merely wonderings, merely thoughts. The whispers have yet to become louder than even murmurs. Let this conversation similarly linger in the theoretical for as long as it may. Her thoughts are her own; he does not use the Gift as he might if their shared blood flowed thicker. Still, that does not mean he is not as shrewd as he is clever and cruel. "Thankfully, it would seem our Golden neighbors have taken it quite to heart for the moment. They enjoy cowering so.

“…Unless, of course, there is new reason to worry?” At last she rises to greet him, eyes downturned momentarily in respect before she looks upon him fully. “Emperor-cousin, it has been too long. If there is need of my sisters or myself, we will readily answer any call.”

#belmorvejes #okay hear me out emperor-cousin may sound silly but i was trying to think of something that was like…respectful and she is showing respect #but also familiar + familial + not her *really* being that subservient #maybe its still stupid idk ahsksjs.BUT ANYWAY #if formatting is weird i finished this response on mobile #elrys: are you trying to betray me #irae: noooooooo why would you think that?? as always I’m one of your biggest shooters duhhhhh

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human-antithesis · 1 year ago

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Máni, bróðir Sólar ok Mundilfara

Máni, bróðir Sólar ok Mundilfara sonr reis með myrkum ǫrmum yfir Þingvelli. Úr fjarskanum rennr Ǫxará stríðri Áta jǫrðu yfir efri brún dalsins niðr í láglendit. Allt er þetta nærri Lǫgbergi, þeim æðsta stað réttlætis ok mælsku sem nokkurn tíma prýddi þessa þriðju biðkvǫn án brjálaðs handar tjólgs. Kringum Almannagjá, dalar éls aska búðir uppljó-maðar elris garmi. En þetta vondslot er þǫglara þó blikr af mannaróm heyrisk í fjarska. Þorgeir hylr sitt Heimdallar hjǫrr undir feldi, mælir til ends heima undir ok landvætta þeirra er byggja þann hólmlegg ofan. Einsamall Draupnis dǫggvar hlunnr losar sitt bensævar rann ok ferðask um, leitar svars við spurn þeirri hvert hǫlda grund þessa leið. Fyrr vas hitt, es harra Hliðskjálfar gatk sjalfan, skipt er á gumna giftu, geðskótan vel blóta. Ǫll hefr ætt til hylli Óðins skipat ljóðum, algilda mank, aldar iðju várra niðja, en trauðr, þvít vel Viðris vald hugnaðisk skal-di, legg ek á frumver Friggjar fjón. Verðum flest at forðask fornhaldin skǫp norna; Láta allir ýtar Óðins orð fyr róða. Var Helgi magri á réttri braut at halda bæði Þórr ok munka dróttinn?

[ENGLISH - Máni, brother of Sól and Mundilfara]

Máni, brother of Sól and son of Mundilfara, rises with dark arms over Þingvellir. From a distance Ǫxará bursts her vivid streams over the upper valley's edge into the lowlands. All this is near Lǫgberg, the highest place for justice and conciliation that ever was on this ground of no raging royal hand. Around the Almannagjá, the booths of chieftains are lighted by small fires. But this night is more silent and talks are barely audible from afar. Þorgeirr covers his head with a cloak, speaks to dark worlds beneath and landvættir that populate the earth above. In solitude he frees from his body and starts to travel, searching for an answer to the question to where this soil shall be led. It was different in former days, when I could worthily sacrifice to the mind-swift, there is change in the fortunes of men, Lord of Hliðskálf himself. The whole race of men to win Óðinn's grace has wrought poems. I recall the exquisite works of my forebears, but with sorrow, for well did Viðrir's power please the poet, do I conceive hate for the first husband of Frigg. We must renounce many an anciently held decree of norns; All mankind casts Óðinn's clan to the winds. Was Helgi magri right in believing both in Þorr and munka dróttinn?

#Árstíðir lífsins #Arstidir Lifsins #International #Iceland #Germany #Pagan Black Metal #Black Metal #Bandcamp

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angelrider13 · 2 years ago

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On a side note - in 'A Sea of Lotus Flowers'? The youngest Jiang generation - JC's adopted kids - probably don't initially react - *well* to WWX. The man's open and gregarious with his affections, and he's probably regard JC's kids as his niblings by default and - default to how he interacts with JL. Good natured teasing and over-the-top-ness, a certain possessiveness - and the Jianglings 1) Don't react as anticipated 2) Don't really like this *presumption* from a stranger.

@hamelin-born

WWX has a long way to go to get into his niblings’ good graces.

But that’s the thing. To WWX, these are his precious niblings on the same level as JL. But to them, WWX is a stranger. They don’t know him. And they don’t really know of him either. They know how his reputation has been blown out of proportion and warped and twisted to suit the narrative the cultivation world wanted to tell. They know it’s not all true. They know it’s not all false. It doesn’t change that they don’t know him.

And yet he barges into their lives with familiar touches and teasing pet names and...it’s uncomfortable? They don’t know this man. He doesn’t know them. Why is he touching them?

See, these children chose their family. They chose Jiang Cheng. They didn’t choose Wei Wuxian.

And WWX comes along like everything has already decided. JC had hesitated. He had worried and deliberated, but in the end, he made an offer. He let the children decide. Let them choose for themselves. WWX is deciding for them. He’s acting like their decision included him when it did not.

And it might take WWX a bit before he realizes that.

#a sea of lotus flowers verse #ask #elri answers #hamelin-born #listen wwx means well #but that doesn't mean he's right #or that the kids appreciate it.

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sanstropfremir · 2 years ago

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i sent in a ask a long time ago where we ranted about how groups with produce members dont always guarantee a built in fanbase. while i still believe that having any produce members as opposed to none can give a group at least some sort of boost or exposure it seems like after gp999 the influence produce shows have has decreased even more than i thought. i never watched myteenagegirl and i dont keep up with their winning group classy. i picked out a few contestants id look out for but nothing more. imagine my surprise learning AcidAngels from Asia had girls on that show. not to mention limelight debuted and id never heard any of those girls names before. (their mini album is cute though). I thought gp999 contestant popularity was bad after ily1 debut and i literally heard nothing else about any of other contestants from the show. now theres truly too many groups out there. CSR, Alice and FiftyFifty debut this year and i bet youve never even heard of them. like the competition is insannnnee.

yea it seems like we've hit the saturation point. both of produce and produce style shows, and also of the sheer number of groups debuting. personally i think it's kind of nice to see when trainees that were on these shows finally pop up in debuting groups bc i like to see people succeed, but at this point it's naive to think that you can recapture any kind of the hype that came from a survival show bc there's just too much happening on the scene right now.

#fans only have so much attention span and there's a lot happening all the time #i found out a couple months ago that one of the guys in nine.i was on wild idol and i was like oh good for him!#but also that show had ZERO clout attached to it bc they literally did not tell you the trainees names lksdjfsldjfsd #kpop questions #csr's debut song is cute and i like the fiftyfifty album #however alice is not a new debut lol its just a rebrand. they used to be called elris and they debuted five years ago #text #answers

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ninjaotta · 4 years ago

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Nice fan art!!

:o!!!!! thank u so much!!!!

#oh my heart is full of fuzzies #elri #elri talks #ask #asks #anon #anonymous #answered #my art

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lovemyromance · 7 months ago

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Thanks for trying to answer these questions!

I'm sorry if you've felt bullied by Elriels in the fandom, but not sure why you believe the answer is then to go purposefully on posts that are tagged anti Elucien and leave rude comments, knowing Elriels will not agree with you? What is the point? I already know Eluciens won't agree, so I don't typically go commenting on their posts.

As for your answers, honestly exactly what I expected to hear.

Here's why I asked:

1. Yes, we can agree it was Azriel's blade. I didn't ask because I think it's romantic, I asked because I wanted you to acknowledge who owns that blade. Because ...

2. And you didn't answer this one about whether you'd hypothetically expect Gwyn to give back TT but - If it's Azriel's blade, wouldn't you expect Elain to give it back to him? It was not a gift. It's not hers.

And you said in your own words: the TT scene was not romantic. So why is Elain giving truth-teller back proof of that there isn't a romance between Elriel? If the scene he gave it to her in wasn't romantic, then how is her giving it back in any way related to their romantic future?

(And you're right actually. I also didn't see Azriel giving her the blade as inherently romantic 🤷🏻‍♀️ Just made a post on that actually like two days ago. I saw it as significant - more of a turning point for both of them)

3. You made a point that "Mor begged Azriel not to fight and that's the only reason why he gave Elain truthteller". You again, did not answer my question on whether Mor begged Azriel to stay and not fight (like Rhys and Cassian told him no) or did she beg him to give truthteller to Elain?

Simply trying to show you that you were mixing up two different things. Azriel might've stayed behind because Mor begged, sure, but that has nothing to do with why he gave Elain TT. Not to mention, Cassian offered Elain a dagger first. She did not take it. And still, Azriel gave her truthteller. It's significant because Elain accepted it and Azriel let someone else even touch it.

4. You implied Azriel only thinks of Elain in a sexual manner when you brought up the "He hadn't thought past his sex fantasies he pleasures himself to". What does that make him? Someone who uses a woman only for sex. Is that not a fuckboy? Did you specifically say that word, no, but don't tell me that's not what you meant now. If you meant to say "he's a deeply traumatized male" why did you only backtrack and bring up his trauma when I then asked you why you would want Gwyn with a fuckboy like that? Or in your words "a stalker" like that?

5. Sure, definitely let's have Azriel heal. Now if he "heals" and is still into Elain - then what?

6. If you ONLY read Azriel's bonus chapter and read his thoughts and looked at the sentence of "he hadn't thought past the thoughts he pleasured himself to" then sure, it would make sense that you'd think Azriel was only showing lust, not romance with a side of lust. But if you read the BC in the context of the series, you see that is the only instance of Elriel that is even sexual. Every other interaction of theirs shows clear romance. Him even getting her a necklace (yes, it's Elain's necklace) is romantic. There are endless romantic Elriel scenes and the BC is one of many. It is the only one actually, where we see clear sexual attraction. And that's the only one y'all seem to be using to claim "Azriel only has sexual thoughts for Elain, not romance".

And also you keep bringing up, again, Azriel picturing Gwyn's smile. A thing of secret lovely beauty - which btw, was used for Elain first.

How is that a romantic interaction though? Because he says beauty? Okay. Nesta also calls Gwyn beautiful? Gwnesta endgame next? That scene is just Azriel picturing Gwyn getting some joy from receiving the gift. How is that peak romance?

7. How were Cassian's feelings apparent to you in his bonus chapter but not Azriel's? Cassian & Nesta had barely interacted that much when their BC came out in ACOMAF. Elriel did have many interactions before their BC, where Azriel did show sexual attraction for Elain.

Nessian BC: Took place before that much Nessian interaction, Cassian has a lot of sexual thoughts about Nesta and thinks she's beautiful - neither of which we had really seen in ACOMAF because they just met.

Elriel BC: Took place after Elriel had already had romantic moments, and was mainly focused on their physical feelings - something we had not seen from them yet.

Genuinely, I don't understand how people can say Cassian's BC was "romantic" when his inner monologue 90% of the time is all about Nesta's massive boobs and her thin frame.

8. A thing of secret lovely beauty is about the necklace Azriel got for Elain. Her necklace. Those words are used to describe a gift for her first. The gift itself is a representation of her.

9. So you read SJM writing the exact same phrase twice in one chapter - and you simply thought that was to sew a seed of romance between Azriel and Gwyn by comparing her to Elain's necklace?

Not - idk - a key advancement of the overall plot of the story? ACOTAR is romantasy - it isn't just romance. There is a greater plot happening and a repeated phrase like that is a key indicator of an advancement of the plot. Remember "Through love all is possible"? Or "Stay with the HL?"

10. My point wasn't so much as emphasizing the Sarah thing, lol, I actually find it pretty funny when people throw around Sarah or Miss Janet and idlk why. I was more so trying to say you can't say something is "OBVIOUSLY" happening unless you read things in context. Which, most pieces of Elucien debate are not in context.

And again - if you're trying to stand up for all Eluciens or whatever, I don't think commenting on hella Elriel posts will change anything to be frank🤷🏻‍♀️ people are rude on all sides of this fandom.

Debating with people who come on your posts is obviously fine, but not sure what the end goal for you is if you just go after Elriel posts purposefully tagged as anti Elucien and pro Elriel.

Most people tag things as anti Elucien or anti Gwynriel or anti Elriel because they DON'T want a debate from antis. If something is tagged Elucien and isn't, then full send - that is asking for a debate. That's why we have these tags and in this insanely toxic fandom, it's really the only thing of order /line in the sand.

It's especially telling how eluciens wanted lucien to take papa archeron's place and bring back the ships and 'gallantly' rescuing Elain and co. Honestly if that happened I would have gladly shipped Elucien. You know to whom that romantically coded rescue trope went to? Azriel. Not to mention the truth teller scene :)

Honestly Sarah cannot make this anymore obvious. She really could've written Elucien a lot differently but instead wrote this devoid of chemistry, painfully awkward relationship that is barely hanging by a bond given by a corrupted cauldron.

Anyways I'm usually a lurker by nature but I could not stop myself from posting this cause it surprised me how Eluciens don't see this glaring omission of Lucien in these pivotal moments as warning signs ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

#elriel #elain archeron #acotar #azriel #pro elain #antielucien #antigwynriel

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witchthewriter · 1 year ago

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𝑼𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑨𝒑𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝑻𝒓𝒆𝒆 𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑆𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑒𝑛

Personalised story for @leniabranch. Pairing: Otto Hightower x Lenia Branch Word Count: 3k Warnings: don’t read if you’re under 18!

The sun was nearly in bed by the time you finished your dance. The faces of the guests were compelled. Their attention nowhere else but the two of you.

Your performance was answered with a standing ovation. The lords and ladies who had sent their children to learn from you clapped in amazement. Now they understood why your family was asked to stay in court.

Your talent was unprecedented.

It brought even the most stoic to emotion.

And your family, always your biggest supporters, couldn’t stop their whistles and cheers.

Otto spun you once more, then ever so slowly turned you to face him. Your eyes meeting. Seeing one another in a different light. Husband. Wife.

Spouses.

Married until the end of your days. This was the man you were supposed to be with, and by the gods above, you were granted your wish. How did a meeting underneath an apple tree come to this?

In your bones you could feel how soft this moment was, as the eyes of your guests gazed upon you with admiration and some with envy.

But there was one thing that no one could deny – the two of you were in love.

-✶-

The feast was extraordinary.

Platters upon platters of food were brought to each table, and there wasn’t an empty cup to be found. Lamb, pig, pigeon, fish, roasted vegetables, freshly baked bread, soup, and even dessert was served all at once. You thought it would be a fun surprise for the children to eat sweets before their dinner.

On the wedding table, you sat on a long bench in the middle with your husband. Sanah was next to you and your parents after her. Alicent was on Otto’s other side, with Viserys, and Rhaenyra. You could feel the tension, but for the sake of royal appearances, Rhaenyra had agreed. She liked your family anyway, both sides brought a light to King’s Landing that was not there before.

Everyone remained sitting for the food, a hushed filled silence roaming over the room. Comments and remarks were exchanged, most about the wedding. Some about Alicent and Rhaenyra, but mostly it was about the match between a young Branch and the Hand of the King.

You didn’t mind the chatter. It was harmless. Mostly it gave the young ladies hope that they could acquire a better standing in life. But that wasn’t your aim with Otto. It never was. All you ever wanted was his love. Not his money nor power. Those meant nothing if you couldn’t share it with those you cared for. And maybe it was in your genes; you were creative, rather than ambitious and cunning.

And maybe that’s why some guests were envious. Their goals would never be met because of themselves.

It didn’t take long for the young ones to start wriggling from their mother’s grips. Children as young as three were itching to be on the dance floor. And as soon as they got to the empty space, they made everyone laugh. Their innocent antics gave everyone entertainment.

Then the older children started to dance; twirling each other around, getting jealous when the older boys danced too long with one girl.

You could see Elrie waited patiently for someone to ask her to dance. Your heart was crumbling when girl after girl was picked. But like the chivalrous man he was, Ormund got up from his seat, his cloak trailing after him.

You saw the glint in Sanah’s eyes. They truly were the perfect match.

As Ormund bowed to Elrie, and offered his hand, she hesitated. And then without needing a nudge, she grinned and placed her own in his. Even at a young age she was figuring out how to be graceful. But she wore her emotions too readily.

Truth be told, it was odd to see a six foot man dancing amongst a crowd of children, but it showed the type of family that the Branches and their daughters had created.

It wasn’t long before King Viserys became contentedly tipsy.

He merrily talked the ear off of anyone and everyone (most were happy to be in his royal highness’ presence). Although you did worry if the King and your father started speaking to one another, the other would try to outtalk the other.

Maybe it was the drink, but Darick had mustered up the courage to ask Princess Rhaenyra to dance … in front of Viserys … and everyone in attendance.

Out of grace, or because she genuinely wanted to, Rhaenyra accepted. The pair joined the children on the dance floor, Rhaenyra’s skirts floating around her as Darick moved her about, gently spinning and twirling the white-haired Targaryen. They do look like a good match, you thought. Although it would never be approved. Darick wasn’t apart of a major House.

Albeit your thoughts, it was a lovely sight; and you could tell that Darick was growing into a man. He hadn’t brought his sketchbook with him, like he had at Sanah’s wedding. It said a lot. Darick was much more confident than he was.

In your line of vision, a hand you knew well was outstretched before you, and with glee you grabbed your father’s massive hand.

Kormiel led you onto the floor, twirling you with one arm, he swept you close and rested his chin on your head. For a few sways you clung to your father like a child. The warmth, the protection of him. You knew it well.

How many times had you ran to your father, waiting to jump into his arms? On your best days and your worst, he was always there. The best father a child could wish for.

“I love you Lenia and wish you nothing but happiness for the rest of your days,” he mumbled in your ear.

And that’s when you realised that you were no longer a Branch.

You couldn’t help the stray tear that ran down your cheek.

-✶-

The hall was a mass of people, all smiling and giddy.

Otto had ordered the best wine (yes, because it was his second and last wedding. But also he wanted to show off to his older brother – not that he’d ever admit it.) And everyone was immensely grateful. For they were drunk off the best tasting liquor in the Seven Kingdoms.

Onatah couldn’t stop looking at you with such happiness. She was as happy as her own wedding day, even happier. You were her firstborn, and to think, married to the Hand of the King. What an honour you had brought to your family.

And your father was surrounded by men, all you could hear was his giant laugh.

You felt a hand on your arm and looked to see Sanah smiling completely happy and utterly joyful. But something was amiss with her, you could tell. And she hadn’t been drinking as much as she usually would. Finding Ormund’s gaze, you gave him a knowing look and he bowed his head.

They wouldn’t announce it today. Nor tomorrow, you thought to yourself. Because you knew Sanah and Ormund wanted Otto and yourself to be the news. Not them, or the baby that was growing in your sister’s stomach.

-✶-

Revelry, it was utter and complete revelry.

Who would have thought after a few flagons of wine the Hightowers could be … fun? (Well, not by Manfri standards, but they did become a lot more loose). Instead of the cold stares or unnerving glances, they were now smiling. In truth, their smiles did look a bit odd… maybe that’s why they didn’t. Or maybe they hadn’t smiled in so long that their faces weren’t used to those muscles being used. Either way, the Hightowers were enjoying themselves.

Shoes had been kicked off, and bare feet spun on the cold stone floor as the band played merry tunes.

The night had come upon you but it was of no consequence; golden light surrounded everyone. In the hall it looked as if a rainbow had been personified. Candles upon candles had been brought in and lit, even the Manfri’s had contributed to it. With them, they brought geometric shaped glass that had many colours, and when the candle was lit inside, an array of colour bounced off the walls.

The downside was that everyone was drenched in sweat. But that was of no matter, all one had to do was drink more wine and the dampness was forgotten.

Otto had never been this happy, not since the day his children were born. And his offspring were in attendance as well. Not just Alicent, but Gwayne. The relationship between Otto and his son was strained, even more so than with Alicent. Gwayne was a serious fellow, who decided to keep guard this night instead of revel with the party goers. You did not take offense, and Otto only nodded that it was good he was doing his duty.

However, as you located the young Queen, she was smiling. With a shine in her eyes, Alicent was clapping along with the music, watching the revellers as they danced and danced.

You now had a new role. Not as wife, but as mother. Albeit step-mother, you knew what kind of motherly figure you wanted to be. Someone kind, caring; a person who others could come to if they needed.

Hopefully you would be a person Alicent could fully trust.

-✶-

As the music slowed, Otto made his way down the short stairs and onto the dance floor.

“May I?” He asks your father. So much is behind that question. It isn’t just, ‘may I dance with your daughter,’ no.

It’s, ‘May I take her,’ ‘May she be mine?’, ‘May Lenia change from a Branch to a Hightower.’ There’s so much. And you can see it, as does Otto and your father.

You slid your hand into his, your own way of saying, ‘Yes, I am now yours.’

Your heart still raced. After all this time.

After years of pining and yearning. It wasn’t a fantasy that was all in your head. Otto had felt the same way since the beginning.

Today something new grew inside you – a light, a warm hope. You didn’t think it possible, but somehow you felt stronger than you did before. Maybe it was because you knew Otto would take care of you no matter what.

As your father passed you over to Otto, he kissed the side of your head and went to find Onatah. Who, for once in her life, was not being clung to by a child.

Even though years had passed, their love remained as strong as ever. True love that lasted the ages.

You hoped for that.

Otto frowned down at you, wondering where your mind was. But as soon as he tracked where your eyes lingered, he understood.

“It is said that true love never fades,” his gravelly voice made you smile. A logical and stoic man, you didn’t think he was one for poetry.

“I believe it,” you said and glanced back at your husband, whose eyes held so much within them. Love, devotion, happiness and … hunger.

You knew what he was thinking about. The bedding ceremony. Although you knew there would be none – Otto wouldn’t allow it. He was the only person allowed to see you in that way.

Plus he knew the tradition was started by lust-filled kings and horny lords. It was no true tradition. Even Good Queen Alysanne did not make her daughter Daella present in the bedding ceremony. Therefore, Otto would not do it to you.

It was difficult knowing that in only a few hours you two would be alone. And as husband and wife, you could do anything you pleased. The thoughts made his cock twitch, and Otto knew he’d have to think about something different otherwise he would ruin the wedding with his stiff cock.

So, Otto looked to his family and instantly all sexual desire ceased. He could think normally again. All the while, your head was rested on his chest, and you swayed back and forth. Letting the music guide you; taking in the moment with your new husband.

-✶-

This night, you were never left alone. Everywhere you turned there was someone waiting for you. It was the obvious usual congratulations; hands grabbing your own, or touching your face in awe.

You had countless compliments on your beauty as well as your dance. It moved many, and intrigued the rest. Who had taught you to move in such a way? How long have you been dancing for? Otto looked like he absolutely adored it. The comments flooded you but it was hard to focus. All you could do was watch as the same happened to Otto, but you knew whatever was said had an underlying sense of politics.

This would be your life now. Maybe not so much attention, but eyes would be upon you. As a wife to the Hand of the King, you would now have a lot of sway with others at court.

Influence.

Not only did you hold an honourable teaching position as a dancer, but now you have so much more … authority.

Would this change how your family see you? You were hoping not. You couldn’t bear if your family felt odd around you. It would crush you.

-✶-

When children started to fall asleep in their parents’ arms, and drunken couples stumbled their way to somewhere (sort of) private, you realised that it was time to leave. The candles were still burning, but the night grew late. The sun would rise again in only a few hours.

Lucieth, Elrie and the other young children had been taken to bed by the servants. Letting the adults revel in their allotted time. A reprieve to some, but others followed suit and wanted to rest.

The time had come for you to leave. And although you didn’t have to travel far, everyone stood at the hall’s doors, making a tunnel exit for the two of you. Arms stretched in an oval, touching the person’s who was on the opposite side, you weren’t expecting such a send-off.

With whoops and shouts of glee, you held your new husband’s hand and walked underneath the arms of your loved ones. You could feel the love being sent your way; tears in your mother’s eyes, and Sanah at the end of the line, waiting for you.

Sanah’s lips were nearly pressed against your year as she told you about the babe in her belly. No one else would know what she whispered, but you. As you had suspected, she hadn’t wanted to take the attention away from your day. It was yours.

Kormiel and Onatah were the last people in the line, and when Otto stood in front of your father, his face changed to fake concern.

“Now, you better look after my daughter, Otto Hightower.”

“I wouldn’t treat her any other way,” the Hand’s reply made your father smile. Your mother was still teary-eyed, even though your aunts were clustered behind her.

“It’s okay mama,” you hugged her tightly, kissing her cheek as you let go. But that only made her crying worsen.

“I’m fine, I’m fine, really-“

With a kiss on both your and Otto’s cheeks, Sanah, Ormund and both your families waved you off.

-✶-

The walk to Otto’s, and now your, chamber was exhilarating. It felt as if there were eyes upon you, but there was no one to be seen. Non other than the guards. They could’ve been stone for all you knew – they didn’t move an inch.

Otto had looped an arm through your own, his other hand fumbling with something in his pocket. You didn’t notice however, only let the wine do what it intended, and made you feel like you were walking on air.

The steps to his room felt like they went on forever, but the promise of … more kept you wide awake.

Reaching his chamber doors, he halted in front of them and let go of your arm. Otto took the box from his pocket and cleared his throat.

“Lenia. My wife-“ he paused and gave you a humble smile. For a moment you thought he had lost his thoughts, because all he did was stare into your eyes.

But with a quirk of your eyebrow, he was brought back to this moment.

“I got you something, a token. Something to remember our wedding day.”

Your heart beat quickened, but only in excitement and anticipation.

With awfully slow movement, he opened the green velvet box to reveal a golden oval pendant with an emerald stone in the middle. It wasn’t like the necklaces that the ladies at court wore. Instead, it was a unique piece that you knew Otto had put a lot of thought into.

“May I?” He asked, as he removed the pendant from the box. You nodded.

The gold chain felt cold around your neck, but hung perfectly, right underneath your neck. You flipped it over and inscribed were the words, “Forever,” along with the date.

With a smile, you flung your arms around your husband and gave him a deep kiss.

Pulling away you said, “you do know that anniversaries are going to be so much difficult for you now.”

“How so?” He replied with a mirrored smile.

“You’re going to have to be even more impressive every time.”

He chuckled, low and deep. A writhing feeling erupted in your groin, and you knew what was to come next.

Almost reading your mind, he opened the doors and led you into the room.

You were taken aback. It was completely transformed into a romantic setting.

The fire was dully roaring, candles were lit, giving the room a warm glow. The bathing chamber was like this also. With a hot bath awaiting. Rose petals littered the ground, with wine and two chalices placed on a table near the hearth.

You began to feel hot … and bothered. You wanted your dress off, and to be mounted.

Otto looked at you with lust filled eyes and a sly grin formed on his lips.

“On the bed, my wife.”

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