#well written and WONDERFULLY acted!!

[lilidawnonthemoon]

[commanderfreddy]

people are discoursing about the laios and shiro fight bc that was always going to happen but i do hope that wave crests quickly and we can all come to see it as what it is: literally one of the best written fights between two people who are both entirely justified in their actions and acting without any malice or cruelty of all time

[beejunos]

UNKNOWN TO ME AND YOU | Alastor x reader

Summary: As Alastor's shadow starts to act strangely, hidden feelings are brought to light.

This wonderful story was written from @lustylita's wonderful idea! The story is completely theirs; I just had the pleasure of putting it into words. Their original post can be found here.

Tags: Alastor x gn.reader, hidden feelings, angst

The last couple of weeks have been very strange to you. 

Well, stranger than the hotel usually was. 

Over the past few weeks, you have helped your best friend, Charlie, with her little passion project. The Hazbin Hotel - your only chance at redemption! 

While you couldn't say that you inherently believed in her dream, you would have been a poor friend if you hadn't tried to help her—emphasis on tried. Growing up within Hell's elite, where someone always handed you everything on gold platters, didn't foster any usable skills that could help run a severely understaffed hotel. The very thought of having to clean your own room had almost immobilised you.

Did you really need to vacuum the walls and the ceilings every week? How did the cleaning staff back at your parents' manor even do it? The manor was huge! 

Thankfully, you had not been forced to clean for long because shortly after Charlie had opened the hotel for business, an unwanted guest had come knocking at the door. Alastor and his somewhat reluctant companies, except for Niffty, who seemed to thrive in the chaos, quickly made themselves at home in the hotel. 

The same night they arrived, you and Vaggie had sat Charlie down in their room and begged the princess not to let the radio demon stay. After all, the tales of his deeds had even reached your family's manor in the Envy ring of Hell. But Charlie had been persistent, saying that maybe by staying in the hotel, she could change his ways. You loved your friend; you really did, but sometimes you wanted to shake some sense into her violently. 

There was nothing you could do about the radio demon and how he just took over many of the work duties you had at the hotel. Waltzing in as if he owned the hotel, he had taken one look at your work and deemed it unsatisfactory. 

"No, no, let me do it, doll!" he would say condescendingly, making rage lick up your spine, "We would want this to be done well for Charlie, now, wouldn't we?" 

You had lost count of all the times you fantasised about grabbing a chair and introducing it to his face. 

He made you feel incompetent, and worst of all, he was right. Most of the work you had done that he had redone was of better quality, more detailed, and better planned. If you had been a weaker demon, you would have given up, apologised to Charlie and gone home to your parents, but so, if the heavens would be your witnesses, you were going to crush that smug little bastard of a sinner! 

And so began your imaginary battle with Alastor about who could be the best executive producer. If you had asked Alastor, he would not have had any clues about what you were doing, only that it finally seemed like you were taking your job seriously. That said, he still did not like you. You were a spoiled little demon brat who had never worked a hard day in your life, and worst of all, you were sloppy with your work. 

But time kept ticking. The days passed, the hotel was filled with new residents, and somehow, you and Alastor were able to work together. Nevertheless, you only managed to do it by never being near each other, which worked wonderfully for you because the man could actually be quite okay when he was silent and on the other side of the room.  

You could have continued to live like this for as long as Alastor decided to live in the hotel. There was just this teeny tiny thing that perplexed you. 

Alastor's shadow liked to be around you. 

It had begun quite innocently with the shadow coming over to you one night when you were sitting in one of the armchairs by the fireplace with yesterday's newspaper in your lap since you had started to do the crossword puzzle on the back of the paper. You had been staring at the same clue for what felt like an hour, and you just couldn't figure it out. Out of nowhere, a shadowy finger had tapped on the clue to get your attention, and when you looked up, two empty holes for eyes had looked back at you with the biggest twisted grin full of teeth you had ever seen. 

"Fuck! Don't do that!" you whispered forcefully, not wanting to disturb the peace and quiet that finally had fallen over the hotel lobby. "What do you want?" 

Prepared to be bothered any second now by the radio demon, you got even more confused when the shadow started doing pantomimes. Why in the seven Hells was it swimming across the wall?

You looked on as the shadow began to swim back to you, tapped on the clue and started to swim again.

"Swimming? But it has nothing to do with activities! It is something about effort," you said as the shadow returned to you. Since it could not speak, the shadow just started to nod its head and tapped on the clue again. 

"Is it a word derived from the word swimming?" you asked hesitantly as the shadow continued to nod. 

You turned back to the clue before you—a word for no effort needed and swimming.

"Swimmingly?" you asked the shadow, who gave you an even bigger sinister smile and nodded again before it disappeared up the stairs. Again, you were left in the lobby with only the crackling fire as a company, looking over at the stairs after the strange entity that was Alastor's shadow.

The next couple of weeks just grew more and more strange with every day. Out of nowhere, Alastor's shadow started to just interact with you. It began as innocent waves to you behind Alastors back, and at first, you wouldn't wave back, but when you saw how sad the shadow got if you didn't return its greeting, you started to wave back to it. On a few occasions, Alastor had caught you in the act, which quickly prompted you to swat the air around you as if you were trying to get rid of a fly.

When the waves weren't enough for the shadow, it started to appear around you, helping you in various ways. Once, it even helped you find some important paper you needed for your job that you were convinced Alastor had hidden from you. 

It turned out that Alastor's shadow was much more pleasant company than its physical part, and you often welcomed the shadow's help with your crosswords during the evenings.

However, you were again thrown for a loop when the shadowed behaviour started to change. It began to interact with you even more, seeking you out during the day and staying for long periods at a time, just hanging around you or observing what you were doing. 

One day, it had even brought you a blueberry muffin from the bakery you liked across town. You had no idea how it had even done that. For all you knew, shadows were not physical things and could not interact with the physical world. However, you were promptly proven wrong when Alastor's shadow took your own shadow's hand and pulled you down the hallway to show you the roses that had started to bloom outside of the hotel. 

It was a paradox, a mystery that intrigued you. Alastor's shadow, a creature of darkness, was surprisingly sweet, charming, and, at times, downright romantic. How could such a lovely thing be attached to such a vile being?

It had been like any other day. Alastor's shadow had found you in your office early in the morning, going through all the paperwork that needed to get done that day. In its shadowy hand, it held one blueberry muffin and your favourite coffee mug with a sleepy bear on it, along with the text Bearly Awaken written underneath. 

The coffee had been divine because, somewhere, the shadow had learned to make a cup of coffee exactly how you wanted it.

You continued with your day in the presence of Alastor's shadow, walking together down the corridor, through the lobby, and out the front door as you chatted with the shadow. You had gotten quite good at interpreting its pantomimes and overexaggerated emotions and often found yourself laughing at any antics the shadow pulled. 

It followed you all day as you walked around the city, picking up the materials Charlie needed for her next exercise with the hotel residents. The shadow even helped you pick out the colours for the ribbons and paints. 

At one point, the shadow's long finger had brushed against yours. It had been a cold sensation, almost like being touched by mist, but that had not mattered to you as you blushed before looking away. Missing how the shadow practically folded in on itself when it saw your reaction. 

Was it possible to date a shadow and not the being it was attached to? 

The sun was setting when you and Alastor's shadow got back to the hotel. The lobby was almost empty except for Husk, who was polishing martini glasses by the bar. As soon as he saw the two of you enter the hotel, Husk leapt over the bar and rushed over to you. 

"I don't know where the fuck the two of you have been, but you need to leave now before he finds out that your back," Husk whispered to you as he gripped your arm to turn you around towards the door. 

"And you!" he said towards the shadow, "What the fuck do you think you're doing?"  

The shadow made a high-pitched whine as it stepped closer to you. You were about to ask Husk what he had meant when a loud voice boomed inside the hotel.

"Where are you?"

Husk's hand tightened around your arm as he started to pull you towards the door. You followed after him, paralysed by action, as a stone of fear got stuck in your throat. The shadow looked at you, then back at the stairs and then back at you again with anxious eyes. 

Loud steps could be heard from the hallway above the staircase, and Alastor's shadow began to be dragged towards the stairs as if by an invincible force. It desperately dug its claws into the ground, and the shadow let out a wailing scream as it looked at you with big, pleading eyes. 

Alastor was calling his shadow back to him. 

The shadow continued to fight the force of its master's call, leaving deep claw marks on the floor, and, as if a gunshot had been fired at the room, the force wholly let go of the shadow. The shadow rushed back to you, where it clung to your body like a second skin. 

"Get back here, you disgraceful thing!" Alastor could be heard shouting as a massive hand gripped the hallway doorframe and pulled itself forward. It was the hand of Alastor's most demonic form. 

Beside you, Husk had begun to shake as his claws dug into your skin.

"You need to run. Now!" he tried to push you towards the door, but it was too late. From around the corner, Alastor stepped from the dark into the light, but as he stepped forward, he shrank in size. Still, he looked terrifying. 

His eyes were a deep red with volume controllers as irises, hiding any emotions he may have had. His antlers had grown in size, sharp and imposing, making the sinner look almost regal as he sauntered down the stairs. 

"Thank you, Husker." he said, his voice dripping in venom, "I can take over now." 

Husk was about to protest loudly when he disappeared in a puff of red smoke, and you were left alone with the enraged sinner. 

"What do you think you are doing?" Alastor snarled as you started to shake where you were standing. A small whine could be heard beside your neck as the shadow clung closer to you.  

"I don't know..."

"I'm not talking to you!" Alastor's look silenced you but confused you for a second before you saw his eyes drop down to your neck, where the shadow hid. 

"Come back here and stop resisting," Alastor snarled again and stepped towards you. The shadow gave away a low whine as it clung closer to your body, and you realised it didn't want to return. In a fit of temporary insanity, you placed a protective hand over the arms of the shadow around you and stepped away from the sinner.

"No!"  

"What do you mean no? It's my shadow," asked Alastor as he looked back at you in confused rage.

"He doesn't want to be with you anymore," you snapped and turned your nose up. You stepped to the side to walk around the sinner, effectively walking away with his shadow, but as you walked past Alastor, his hand shot out, and he tried to grab your arm. But you were faster; with your other hand, you slept Alastors hand away from you and the shadow.

"Will you stop it! Don't you understand that we want nothing to do with you, so just leave us alone!" 

With determined steps, you started walking over to the staircase to get as far away from the deer demon as possible. However, you didn't get far until you felt the shadow clung even more to you as it let out a pitiful sob. Its head had fallen over your shoulder as it looked up at you with longing eyes—a gaze it shouldn't be giving you since you had just saved it from its cruel master.

"What's the matter?" you asked it as you tried to caress its cheek, and out of the corner of your eye, you saw something that you never thought you would see. 

Without a smile and ears hanging low against his head, Alastor looked at you with the same miserable longing that the shadow looked at you with. And that's when you remember something your mother used to say to you when you were a child, a long time ago. 

Our deepest desires, our most precious wishes and longings, hide in our shadows. Everything we want follows us within our shadows as the weights of our souls.  

You wanted to kick yourself for being so foolish, for not understanding until now. Maybe a small part of you had always known, but it had been easy to ignore in your imaginary rivalry with the sinner. But a shadow never lies. Even the ones who can think and act on their own. They will always mirror their owner's heart's wishes and act upon them when the host won't take charge of getting what they desire. 

"You're in love with me," you whispered. It was not a question but a statement—a statement that seemed to hang in the air for an eternity but not long enough. 

“How? What? When?” you asked, desperate for answers.

Alastor walked hesitantly towards you, looked you deep into your eyes and did something you never thought he would do. He kissed your cheek. 

Your breath hitched in your throat as his warm lips softly touched your cheek, and when he pulled away, you could still feel their presence against your skin. As if you were branded by their sweet touch. 

"Come now," was the last thing he said to his shadow as he walked around you and back up the stairs. Alastor's shadow made a melancholic chirping noise before it let go of you and followed its master.

You were left alone in the big hotel lobby. Wishing that it was your lips Alastor had kissed and not your cheek.

PART 2.

I really hope it lived up to the expectations, but I loved writing it! It got a lot more angsty than I first intended...

[blacktabbygames]

The Steam Winter Sale is upon us, and both Slay the Princess and Scarlet Hollow are on sale! We also have a bundle with both games that stacks a 15% discount on whatever sale is already going on. So you can pick both up at once for just under $30, or finish the bundle to still get that extra discount if you already own one.

While we're here I'd love to also take a moment to plug some other bundles we're in. We don't do a lot of bundles with other studios, and all of the titles we bundle with are personally vetted by us, your friendly neighborhood devs, as Good Video Games. All of these bundles are piecemeal, so if you already own one or more games in them, you can still get the extra discount on those other titles.

First up is the Cartoonists Turned Game Devs bundle, which has both Scarlet Hollow as well as Meredith Gran's deeply, deeply underrated Perfect Tides. Perfect Tides is one of my favorite narrative games of all time, so please do yourself a favor and pick it up if you haven't already!

Next up is the World-Ending Women bundle, which has both Slay the Princess and the fantastic El Paso, Elsewhere, a Max Payne-inspired supernatural shooter where you have to stop your vampire ex-girlfriend from ending the world. It's written by Xalavier Nelson Jr, who you might know from such wonderfully charming titles as Hypnospace Outlaw and An Airport for Aliens Currently Run By Dogs.

Last but not least is Horrors of the Heart, which has Scarlet Hollow and two other dating sims: the fully-voice acted and very funny Lovecraftian dating sim Sucker for Love, and normal cute dating sim Cooking Companions where nothing bad ever happens.

HAPPY shopping, and hope y'all play some fun games for the holidays :D

[galedekarios]

gale's reaction to the protag offering to sacrifice themselves by becoming a mindflayer

i wanted to share this scene because it's something that not everyone may have seen and because it's a truly wonderfully acted, animated and written scene, showing gale's empathy and selflessness. despite being scared, despite wanting to live, he makes the offer to reconsider using the orb so the protag needn't sacrifice their own life and soul.

you can get the scene by having the protag ask the emperor if by becoming an illithid, they would be able to control the netherstones and absorb orpheus's power.

gale will interrupt the conversation with:

Gale: This is not the kind of decision to make based solely on your own wisdom. We must discuss it - privately.

he will then have an exclamation mark over his head to initiate the full conversation.

here is the transcript as well:

[shuadotcom]

Main Dish | HJS (M)

☐ Summary: When lunch ends up being inedible, Joshua has to pick something else to eat.

☐ Pairing: Joshua x Afab!Reader

☐ Genres & AUs: Smut, fluff, established relationship!au, absolutely porn without plot

☐ Rating: 18+ (MINORS & AGELESS BLOGS DNI. YOU WILL BE BLOCKED)

☐ Warnings: Profanity, cunnilingus, fingering, dirty talk, pet names (baby, baby girl, sweetheart, honey, good girl), overstimulation, multiple orgasms, squirting

☐ Words: 3.2k

☐ Note: This fic is brought to you by my lack of cooking skills and my insatiable need for Joshua. It was also written for @kpopsblackcreatorsociety Bon Voyage Bingo event! The bingo square/prompt for this fic is camping.

Thank you @horanghater for being my beta ily 🥰

☐ Net Tag: @kflixnet

“Please don’t go off, please don’t go off, please do-”

BEEEEEEP BEEEEEP BEEEEEEP

“Goddamnit!” Working as fast as possible, you grab the pan from the hot stove top, removing it from the heat. The blare of the smoke detector rings out through the apartment and you have to act quickly to open all the nearby windows, waving away the smoke in the air with the dish towel. 

Once the smoke mostly clears and the alarms have subsided, you survey the scene in front of you. Grumbling in frustration you eye the now burnt tofu on the stovetop and let out a disappointed sigh. You had just wanted to cook something fun and new for your boyfriend. He’s been camping with his friends for the past week and you figure he would appreciate a home-cooked meal but, as usually happens with you in the kitchen, it turned out to be a disaster. 

You weren’t a cook by any means, but you knew how to get by with very basic skills. Boiling eggs, making stove-top ramen, and using the air fryer slash toaster oven you had begged for on your last birthday. 

All of the essentials of cooking. 

Tonight, the plan was originally to try a new pan-fried tofu recipe you saw on TikTok because it looked yummy. Instead of looking like the wonderfully golden-fried nuggets that they were supposed to resemble, all that sits in the pan in front of you now are uneven little pieces of charcoal. 

Great. Wonderful. Amazing.

Standing in the middle of the kitchen, gnawing at a hangnail in distress, you didn’t even take notice of your boyfriend watching you from the entrance of the room, admiring how cute you looked in your little lounge clothes and apron. His entrance had been drowned out by the blaring of the smoke alarms.

“Don’t chew on your nails, honey, it’s not good for you.”

Joshua’s voice is much louder than the music you are playing from your phone on the counter and you nearly leap into the air when you hear him.

“Jesus, Shua! You scared the shit out of me!” Clutching your chest, you reach over and pause the sound from your phone.

He chuckles as he approaches you, wrapping his arms around your waist and drawing you in for a hug. 

“Sorry, baby. I couldn’t help it.” He apologizes, but the smirk on his face shows he’s not really that sorry.

Joshua places a kiss and your waiting lips and your annoyance at being jump-scared fades. He smells like outside and a little bit like sweat, but underneath that, he still has his usual warm, homey scent that belongs only to him.

You let him take your breath away a little while longer, arms wrapping around his neck to bring him closer. He rests his head against yours when you pull away, his eyes tired but still sparkling down at you.

“How was your guys' camping trip?”

“Well, Mingyu found a spider in his tent and tore the whole thing down trying to get out, Soonyoung got sunburnt and fell into the lake, and Vernon forgot his allergy medicine and spent all week sneezing.”

“So the usual shenanigans?”

With a chuckle, Joshua nods, looking you up and down. “Basically, but I’m having a much better time now that I’m back here with you.” He leans down to kiss your forehead and you still let yourself get flustered by his sweet words, even after three years together. “And what’s going on in here?” He asks when he finally pulls away, eyes looking over your head at the charred remains of your lunch.

“Nothing, just me fucking up in the kitchen again.” Pouting, you cross your arms, wincing as Joshua steps up to the counter, inspecting what’s remaining of the tofu.

“Ah baby, they don’t look that bad…” He uses the chopsticks you left nearby to poke at a piece, raising it to his face and sniffing it.

“Shua, don’t-” Before you can stop him, he pops it into his mouth, chewing extra slowly. Your boyfriend, always so sweet to you and considerate of your feelings, looks like he’s in physical pain as he crunches the food, his nose wrinkling with each shift of his jaw. With a sigh you walk over and grab a sheet of paper towel, holding it up to his mouth. “Spit it out.”

“It doesn’t taste terrible…” he mumbles between chews, eyebrows furrowing as he does.

“Joshua, just spit it out!” At your insistence he does, expression apologetic.

Joshua watches you take the rest of the tofu and throw it away, shoulders slumping in defeat. He moves across the kitchen to stand behind you, wrapping you in his arms. 

“Don’t be upset, baby. It’s just some tofu.”

“But I fucked up lunch for you! I just wanted to make you a homemade meal since you’ve been eating over a campfire all week.” Joshua coos at you, pulling you tighter against him.

“Aw, sweetheart, you didn’t have to do all this in the first place. I think we both know that you would’ve been better off ordering something. There’s a reason I do most of the cooking, remember?” He laughs, his tone teasing.

Gasping, you spin in his hold, round eyes staring up at him as you pout for what feels like the twentieth time tonight. “Joshie, are you saying I can’t cook?!”

Faltering, Joshua’s eyes dart back and forth, strategically planning his next words. 

“I - I didn’t mean that you can’t cook, Y/n. I just -”

“I’m kidding, Shua. Of course, I know I can’t cook.” He’s clearly relieved, rolling his eyes at your giggles. 

Joshua leans down to pepper your face with kisses, holding you close, ignoring your feeble attempt to escape his grasp.

“I guess it’s a good thing then that I wasn’t even thinking about what I’d eat for lunch.” He places a final kiss on your cheek before pulling back to gaze at you.

“You weren’t?”

“Of course not. How could I even begin to think about lunch when all I could think about was tasting you again?” Joshua smirks at you, laughing when you scoff, your turn to roll your eyes at him.

“How did I know you wouldn’t even be a little bit subtle about wanting to have sex as soon as you got back?” 

“Because you know how addicted I am to you and how much I think about you.” You and Joshua are chest to chest, his hands tracing your body, fingertips pressing lightly into your curves.

Joshua’s voice has already lowered an octave, eyes flickering to your lips. You’re in no way surprised at how quickly Joshua turned the situation from silly and domestic to horny, but you’re not bothered in the slightest, more than happy to fuck your boyfriend again. A week has been far too long of a time to go without Joshua’s cock inside of you.

“Oh, so you were thinking of me on your trip? Thought you’d be too busy grilling meat and playing games with the boys.” 

“Baby, I’m always thinking about you, but especially when we’re not together.” Joshua ducks down, his nose brushing yours. 

“And what about me were you thinking about exactly?” You whisper, holding your breath as you await his next words.

“Well, I was thinking all about how sweet your cunt is and how I couldn’t wait to come home and devour you.”

Somehow you hadn’t registered that Joshua walked you back until the counter pressed into your lower back, trapping you between it and Joshua’s firm body.

“Hmm…then I guess lunch is served whenever you’re ready to eat,” Tilting your head up, your lips brush against Joshua’s. You shift your leg forward, knee brushing against the crotch of his sweatpants. A grunt slips out of him when you make contact with his half-hard cock and he surges forward, lips meeting yours in a feverish kiss. 

Joshua’s soft lips move against yours, his hands cupping your face to keep you close. Your hands trail up Joshua’s thick arms, tracing every ridge and dip of muscle. You’ve never been shy about how much you enjoy the new gym rat era he and a few of his friends have entered, making sure to be very obvious about the way you appreciate the new muscle he’s worked on gaining. He also doesn’t hide just how much he loves how the bulkier version of him turns you on, your boyfriend flexing for you so the muscles tense and loosen a few times under your fingertips.

Those same strong arms move to hold your waist, holding onto you as he swallows every pant and tiny whine that you let out. Joshua’s tongue wraps around yours and sucks, the kiss descending into lewd territory as Joshua grinds against your thigh still wedged between his legs.

The kiss feels like it goes on forever, which is in no way a complaint. Joshua’s hands wander all over your body, hands skating down to grab at your bare thighs and up to your ass, grabbing a handful to bring your hips impossibly closer. It’s almost embarrassing how wet you are, feeling your cotton panties clinging to you with each shuffle of the fabric. 

Joshua seems to read your mind as he finally moves a hand under your apron and into the waistband of your shorts and panties, his finger grazing your pussy making you jolt and buck into his hand.

“Would you look at that? You’re fucking drenched just from my kisses?” To illustrate his point, he pulls his fingers from your shorts, holding the wet digits up to showcase your juices to you both.

“Fuck, yeah, I need you so badly. I missed you so much.”

Joshua hums, popping his fingers into his mouth, eyes closing as he sucks them clean, savoring your flavor. The scene is enough to have you rubbing your thighs together, easily recalling just how good his tongue feels when it’s on you.

“Mmm, I missed you too, baby. And speaking of, I’m starving, so I think I’m ready to eat now.”

Joshua plants his hands on your hips and turns you around so his front is pressed against your back, walking with you out of the kitchen and around to the island, leaving kisses on the back of your neck as you go. When you reach the side of the island that you usually sit to eat at, Joshua’s nimble fingers untie your apron and lift it over your head, tossing it to the floor. Your shorts and panties come next as he slides the fabric down your legs, letting them pool at your feet.

Your boyfriend makes a sound of appreciation at the sight of your bare ass, big hands squeezing your cheeks before landing a firm smack on one of them. He helps you up onto the island, sitting you near the edge. Joshua pulls up a stool in front of you, spreading your legs wide, and letting out a low whistle.

“Look at all of this, so messy and sloppy all for me.” Joshua leans forward and places kisses on the inside of your thighs, inhaling your scent as he does, small moans rumbling in his throat.

A few whimpers slip out of you with each kiss over your hot skin, Joshua’s breath hitting your core only serving to make you wetter. Joshua loves eating you out, always talking about how good you taste and how much he loves the way you smell when you’re dripping for him.

He doesn’t leave you waiting for long this time (another thing Joshua loves is to tease you, but he seems to want you bad enough to spare you this time) as his tongue finally licks at your clit, the muscle flattening and adding much-needed pressure. 

A squeal of Joshua’s name tumbles out of you as he licks a fat stripe from your hole to your clit - once, twice, three times, each go making you twitch underneath him. Your legs almost snap shut, but his firm grip keeps them open.

“Nuh-uh, keep your legs open, baby girl. I haven’t even started eating my meal.”

Your eyes stay trained on him as his hands grab the back of your thighs, pushing them toward you. You lie on your back in a more comfortable position, hands trembling as they hold onto the front of your shirt in anticipation.

“I’ll never get tired of eating you out, you know that? Never get tired of how fucking sweet you taste on my tongue.” To further his point, Joshua’s thick tongue slips into your pussy, lapping at your gummy walls, letting his nose brush against your clit.

“F-fuck!” Your hands dart down, fingers threading through his brunette strands, tugging at the root as he tongue fucks you on the kitchen island. 

Every grunt and groan that Joshua lets out is deep, deep enough that the vibrations can be felt throughout your whole body. You can’t help but thrash underneath him, loud obscene slurping sounds fill the room as he works. Joshua’s hands keep your thighs pinned down, preventing you from nearly falling off the counter while his face presses closer to your cunt. 

He eats you out like a man starved, a week without your pussy proving to be much too long away for him. The tip of his tongue is still buried inside of you, flicking at your walls at an almost impossible speed. 

Fire begins to quickly pool in the pit of your stomach, nails digging into Joshua’s scalp which only spurs him on more.

“Shua, b-baby so good!”

“Mmph?” You can’t quite hear what he says but it sounds like it has a questioning tilt at the end.

“‘M gonna cum!”

That must’ve been what he was getting at because he picks up the pace and moves his hold on you to the sides of your thighs and makes you wrap your legs around his head. Joshua uses this new angle to force you to rock your hips against his face, leaning into you so far that when you glance down, all you see is the top of his hair which you’re still holding onto for dear life. 

Rolling your hips you go with his movement, desperately riding his face. Joshua lets you, his tongue drilling into you, bringing you closer and closer to the edge.

When you do cum, you stiffen almost painfully as heat spreads through your body, your thighs squeezing around him like a vice, holding him in place. Your boyfriend happily continues lapping at your sensitive core, murmurs of praise accompanying his coos of delight.

“So fucking tasty,” Joshua sighs as he pulls back, finally taking in air through his mouth. He glances at you, watching your chest heave as you catch your breath. Without a second thought, with your hole still clenching around nothing, Joshua shoves one of his thick fingers into you, drawing a gasp out of you. 

“Shua!?”

He has the audacity to blink up at you, faux innocence on his face along with your juices still shining on the bottom half of his face.

“What? I want seconds.” He shrugs, adding a second finger which has you cursing, senses on overdrive. Joshua’s plush lips are back on your clit, sucking the nub into his mouth, ignoring the way your nails dig into his hair again, tugging on his soft locks. 

“Ngh, Josh-Joshua! Please!”

“Please what, baby?” He mumbles, lips still suckling on your clit, your legs quivering as they rest on his shoulders. His fingers have no trouble finding that soft squishy spot inside of you that has your eyes crossing, the squelching sound of your wetness ringing in your ears.

“I’m - I just…” You trail off when your boyfriend curls his fingers, the overstimulation derailing your train of thought as you feel another orgasm hurdling toward you. Joshua smirks up at you, loving the way he can literally watch as your brain short-circuits for him - because of him.

His lips go back to your clit, suctioning around the bud. His fingers delve into you faster, your velvety walls hugging his digits, coating them in more of your sticky arousal. Sweat beads at your hairline and tears prick your eyes as Joshua throws you into another orgasm, electricity coursing through your veins and a choked, desperate cry of Joshua’s name tumbling from your lips. 

“Yeah, just like that, good girl.” He purrs against your overworked pussy, slowly dragging his fingers out of you. You whimper at the loss, only for the sound to be replaced by a loud wail, Joshua’s slick fingers rubbing rough, frantic circles against your clit. 

“Shit! Fuck, Shua I’m - fuuuck!”

“Come on baby girl, one more. Make a mess all over the fucking counter.” The pads of his fingers drag against your clit, body arching as you flail your hands, scrambling across the marble of the counter looking for something to ground you.

The sensation borders on painful, the sensitivity too much to handle as the pleasure builds and your muscles spasm. When you cum this time, it knocks the wind out of you, your eyes rolling back, your mouth open in a silent scream. Joshua leans down, eyes watching with glee as you squirt all over his hand and arm, getting your mixture of arousal on his shirt. He even cranes his head down, mouth open to drink up the remaining spurts of your release.

He rubs lazy circles over your puffy clit, letting you ride out the rest of your orgasm until your hoarse voice begs him to stop and he does, but not before wiping up as much of your wetness as he can on his fingers and popping them into his mouth once again.

“Fucking hell, Shua!” You huff out when you’ve finally sucked enough air back into your lungs.

“What? I told you I was starving.” His cocky grin earns him a half-hearted kick to his shoulder using the minuscule amount of energy you have remaining. He catches your leg, placing a soft kiss on your ankle before he straightens up and sits back to admire your ruined state.

“Are you going to help me up or leave me here for the rest of the day?” 

“I should eat all of my meals in the kitchen, but I suppose I can help you down.” Joshua laughs at your half-hearted threat to kick him again and offers his hands to you. He helps you sit upright and slowly slides you off of the island. 

When you’re back on shaky feet, you move to pick your bottoms up, but he stops you by pulling you against him.

“Wh-”

“Oh, you don’t need those. I’m gonna order some lunch for us, but I need dessert before it gets here.” He presses his hips forward, his rock-hard dick pressing against your ass. Joshua once again envelops you in his warm embrace, lips skirting against the shell of your ear. “That okay with you, baby?”

Between the orgasms he pushed out of you only minutes ago and the dip in his voice, wetness collects between your legs again, pussy clenching at the thought of Joshua fucking you for real.

“That’s more than okay with me,” you rasp, clearing your throat. “I’m feeling pretty empty myself and am dying to be stuffed.”

[subbmissivesuccubus]

Shinichiro X Fem Reader

That is another fan request I had written for a patreon member! I've never watched Tokyo Revengers but I hope I did the character justice. Enjoyy

Summary: Shinichiro was terrible with women and the people around him knew it to. So, naturally, they hired him a stripper

“I know your nervous, but you can relax a bit. I’ll take very good care of you~”

Shinichiro gulped, his heart somehow pounding even louder as you- the stripper that was hired by his friends as they were tired of seeing him get rejected by so many women- leaned closer to him, gripping onto his thigh tighter. He flinched at the contact, trying to remember the last time he got so close to a woman as stunning as you.

Fuck. Was he going to survive this?

He was nervous. So so so so nervous. He once again considered calling his gang and asking them to cancel the plan they made for him but he once again stopped himself. He must have looked really pathetic to his men if they resorted to…well…this. He knew he wasn’t the best with girls, but he wasn’t that bad, right?

…moving on.

Turns out his friends knew him better than he expected as you were exactly his type and he didn’t know what to do with himself when he looked at you. Your beautiful body, your gorgeous skin and hair, those mesmerising eyes… Maybe he was trying too hard to not look down at your chest.

With the way you were leaning against him, your bra clad tits were swinging in front of him, your voluptuous and sinful body making him go red in the face even if he was fixing his eyes against your face. You had walked into the shop confidently, the only people in there for the day being the two of you and had requested him to set up the lights and music as you got ready. Ten minutes later, you walked back into the room wearing a sinfully sexy piece of lingerie in his favourite colour. The bra and panties were hugging your curves wonderfully, a tad bit tight so it pressed against your flesh and made your breasts and butt pop out all the more.

He gasped as you suddenly crawled onto his lap, his mind barely processing the mood music and lights that all enhanced your act. His hands instinctively went to your waist and that alone got his cock to jump in his pants. Shinichiro swore he almost had a heart attack as you straddled him, your legs on either side of him.

“Is this your first time?” you asked him, a cheeky smile on your face.

“Y-Yeah…” he responded, his face flushing now in embarrassment, “Sorry…”

“Don’t be sorry.” You said sweetly, bringing your hand up to caress his cheek, “In my line of business, half of my customers are virgins. Nothing to be embarrassed about. Just try to relax and enjoy.”

With a teasing grin, you grabbed his hands before gently pulling them forward and placing his palms on your butt.

Shinichiro’s cock immediately hardened.

You giggled as you felt his erection against you, placing your hands on his shoulders before you started to move your hips. The man gasped as he felt the sensation of your clothes cunt pushing against his cock, the sensation feeling heavenly even through his pants. If this was enough to get his balls throbbing- he could only imagine how much better your…your…

His fingers tightened on your ass as his body tensed from his imagination getting the better of him. He swore as his fingers sunk into your ample flesh, his brain finally processing that he was grabbing and groping a beautiful woman’s butt. You had a smile on your face, your giggles like music to his ears. It must be a huge ego boost to turn him into the blubbering mess he is. He threw his head back as you ground against him more incessantly, your body moving in time with the music playing in the background. But he quickly snapped his head back down, reminding himself that he shouldn’t miss a single thing. His dreams were finally coming true!

The panties were pressed wonderfully against your pussy, the lace so snug between you lower lips that his mouth watered with need, wanting nothing more but to slide the fabric aside and see you bare but he held himself back. He needed to enjoy himself to the fullest.

The lighting that was set up gradually started to change colours, shifting from red to pink to orange- all of which you looked absolutely divine in. He grasped your butt tighter, heart pounding as you continued to grind against him and he was able to feel your muscles move underneath his touch. It was an amazing feeling to grasp and hold somebody else without murderous intent.

“Fuck yeah~” he moaned, his cock completely hard and straining against his pants, “You got such a nice fucking ass.”

“You like it?” you asked like that was a question that needed answering, “You can be rougher~ Go on, give me a spank~”

Gritting his teeth to prevent himself from panting like a dog and completely acting like a fool, he took your advice and lifted his palm up. Taking a deep breath, he swung it down and gave you a sharp spank. His hand collided with your perky butt, the crack quite soft as he was holding himself back, not wanting to hurt you with his strength accidentally.

But apparently, that was what you wanted.

“Mmmph- harder~” you moaned out, tossing your head back as you started to pop your hip, twerking against him, “Spank me harder! I can take it.”

“A-Are you- ah- sure?”

“Positive~”

So he did it again, this time with considerably more force and the squeal you let out from the contact almost made him cum in his pants. Without realising it himself, he started spanking you in time with the beat, the song being considerably slow, so each time he smacked your beautiful behind and copped a feel, it also helped you along with moving with the music.

You eventually surged forward a bit, teasingly shaking your breasts right in front of his face as your hips moved side to side, clothed pussy still griding on him. His nose pressed against your soft chest, his warm breath fanning against you as his eyes trailed to your deep cleavage and the oily glean shining off of you. You gradually pushed forward even more and he happily pushed his face in between your tits. He could feel your groan through your breasts, the man in heaven as his face was squished between your soft, beautiful globes. He shook his head from side to side, having always wanted to motorboat a beautiful babe after seeing it happen so many times in pornography- and he was happy to conclude that it felt as amazing as it looked.

But just as quickly as he received the pleasure, it was taken away from him in a flash. He gasped, mouth open and wanting as you suddenly got up from his lap. He saw the way your eyes trailed down to his crotch, licking your lips as you gazed at his obvious erection. But without saying anything and your body still swaying in time with the music, you rolled your hips and turned away from him, giving him a view of your back.

Shinichiro took deep breaths, trying to get a hold of himself as he watched you dance, his eyes homed in on you and he needed to remind himself to blink. His breath got caught in his throat as he watched your arms go towards your back, giving him a teasing look over your shoulder as you swiftly unbuckled your bra. Mouth-watering, he watched as you slowly and sensually started pulling the bra off of you, straps sliding down the soft skin of your arms before it dropped to the ground.

You still faced away from him, your bare back glistening under the changing lights. It drove him crazy to know that your bare breasts were out but you were teasing him, not allowing him to look at you just yet.

“Want more?” you asked, a tilt in your tone.

“Please.” He begged and he couldn’t help but chuckle. There were a lot of people out there who’d never imagine him to be someone to beg.

“Well, since you asked so nicely~”

You slid your hands over your body, gliding it over your waist and hips before you paused at the waistband of your panties. He watched with bated breath as you slipped your thumb into your underwear, still shaking your hips in time with the music which had turned a little bit slower. Shinichiro bit his lower lip as you slowly, slowly started pulling it down. He gripped the armrest of his sofa tightly, fingers digging into the fabric as peeks of your ass was revealed to him. You were being a tease, occasionally pulling it back up before pushing it down again, delaying the reward of your beautiful ass.

But finally, finally, you pushed your panties off, your butt having a slight jiggle once you slid it down. Shinichiro put his closed fist against his mouth, biting down on his skin to prevent himself from making noises that were unsightly for a man of his reputation. You bent down to push the panties down your leg but to torture him even more, you slipped a hand between your legs to cup your pussy, covering yourself up so he couldn’t see your cunt as you bent over in front of him. But, he did see your pretty asshole wink at him before you stood up and he needed a few seconds to process what you were saying to him after seeing a brief glimpse into heaven.

“For you~” you said, still facing away from him as you tossed your panties onto his lap, Shinichiro blinking a few times before he picked up the soft fabric and swiftly pocketed it, his brain working slower from overload. You were naked. Completely naked. There was a sexy naked woman in the middle of his shop. Your tits were out. Your pussy was out. Your sweet, spankable ass that was a light shade of red due to his spanking was staring right at him and he was afraid to blink lest he missed something.

“I always love seeing that expression~” you said, bringing your hands to the part where your thighs meet your butt, cupping your cheeks from below before you started jumping it up and down, your flesh jiggled lewdly, your butt large enough to hide your privates but he knew he was only minutes away from seeing all of you.

…Hopefully.

“Slack jawed and so, so horny for me. It’s the best!” You continued, shaking your legs so your ass cheeks clapped together, Shinichiro groaning from the sight and sound.

“Fuck me-“ he gasped, finally, remembering how words worked, “you’re driving me crazy!”

“Good~” you responded, smacking your own ass with one sharp hit, “Ready to see more?”

“Please-“ Shinichiro begged, “I need it- I need you.”

“Wonderful.”

Finally, your hips rolling with the sound of the music, you turned around to face him and Shinichiro had to remember how to breathe. Your tits were perfect- the perfect size and shape with pretty nipples that had already hardened. He knew your breasts were amazing from the brief motorboating he did but this- this was beyond imagination. His mouth watered as he stared at your nipples, wanting nothing more but to take them in between his lips and suckle. He wondered if he could get you to lactate…

His eyes slowly but surely wandered down more, his heart pounding so loud in his chest and his cock so hard it was starting to hurt him. Oh. Oh yes.

A pussy.

The first ever pussy he’d seen in real life.

And she was perfect.

He leaned forward to get a better look, his mouth open and panting as he stared at your cunt. So cute and pretty with puffy pussy lips- oh- he could see your wetness from here and he was glad he got you turned on just from his presence. His hands reached up instinctively and grasped your hips, grateful that you allowed him to touch you as he pulled you closer…and closer…

Oh, he was eye to eye with your cunt, so close that he could feel your body heat fan his face. He took in every nook and cranny of your beautiful cunt before he leaned forward, ready to give her a sweet kiss-

When you suddenly fisted locks of his hair before pulling it harshly, making his head snap back (he may or may not have moaned from the pain). “Fuck- you-“ he cursed, practically foaming at the mouth as you once again teased him, feeling his patience crumble. He was so close! So close to feeling that sweet kitty against his lips and you- “Well, since I showed you mine, I think it’s only fair that you show me yours, no?” you asked, tugging on his hair tighter, “Isn’t your poor cock hurting?” “…Fuck. Get him out then.” Shinichiro demanded, feeling a bit more confident as his horny brain took over. He spread his legs wider, lifting his shirt up a bit to show off his erection while also giving you a peek at his toned body.

“Somebody’s feeling it, hmm?” you asked, letting go of his hair so you could sit on his lap again, keeping a bit of distance so your hands could comfortably slide between your bodies to reach his cock, “But I like it. Here, have a treat for being such a good, patient boy for me~”

Shinichiro groaned in happiness as you pushed your chest against his face again but this time, he was waiting with a wide, open mouth. He moaned against you as he felt your nipple against his tongue, taking in as much boob as he could, gently pressing his lips against your soft skin. He closed his eyes and enjoyed himself as he got to suckle on your breast, sucking you in like he was trying to eat you. His other hand came up and grabbed your other tit, eyes rolling to the back of his head at how soft and wonderful you felt against his palm. He’d always dreamed of this moment but he could never fathom just how incredible tits felt.

You bit down a moan as the man mouthed at your breast like a horny beast, slobbering over you like you were his last meal. He had little technique but his enthusiasm made up for it, the harsh suckles he was giving your nipples, making your back arc. While you were a stripper by profession, his friend paid you a lot, lot more to take Shinichiro’s virginity which was why you were allowing him to touch you in ways your regular clients wouldn’t be able to.

Speaking of which, your hands finally undid the straps of his sweatpants and you grabbed it, along with the waistband of his underwear and pulled down. His hard, aching cock sprung out in full force and you couldn’t help but gasp. How is this man, which a cock so big and looks so handsome, a virgin? How were women not begging to be fucked by him on the daily? His dick stood at attention, his angry red tip leaking out so much precum it was dripping down his thick shaft. His balls were big and full, throbbing with need, ready to unload.

You tried to pull away a bit but Shinichiro followed your body, refusing to separate his mouth from your breast. You allowed him to suckle a bit more before you once again grabbed him by the hair, pulling him away from you. The man was a mess, his face red and his pink, a string of saliva breaking between the two of you.

“Why’d you stop me?” he growled, a hungry look in his eyes, “I want more!”

“I’m sure you do,” you said, trailing a finger from your other hand across his jaw and gasping as you felt his whole-body shiver underneath you, “But wouldn’t you want to play with…something else?”

Hand still in his hair, you used the grip to move his head down, making him look at his own lap. The man’s eyes widened before clouding over in desire and you swore, you could pin-point the moment he was lost to his lust. His dick was out and throbbing and right against it, so tantalisingly close- was your pussy. Seeing her while you were standing up was nothing in comparison to your flower being spread wide open for him to gaze at every nook and cranny. You pushed your knees apart wider so he could get a better look at the beautiful colour of your cunt, your pulsing hole just begging to be filled, your slick, wet walls and of course, your adorable clit at the top.

 His hands trembled as he slid them down your body, over your waist, your hips, landing on your thighs before one of them moved to your cunt. He took a deep breath in, eyes widening as his fingers gently touched your pussy before greedily sliding between your lower lips. The moan you let out was heavenly, Shinichiro using two fingers to spread your lips apart even more to give him a better view. Oh. You were so perfect.

He couldn’t help but slip a finger inside of you and he gasped at how easy it was, his digit pushing in with no resistance thanks to how much your hole was leaking for him. His other hand joined him at your cunt, his thumb gently pressing against your clit. You twitched underneath him, feeling so hot at how eagerly he was toying with you, studying your pussy like he was preparing for an exam. He pushed up the hood of your clit gently, his mouth watering as your sensitive bud peeked out even more.

He could barely process your hand on his cock, little gasps escaping his lips, his mind overstimulated as his body twitched from the pleasure. You stroked him perfectly, the touch of a hand that wasn’t his own feeling incredible. You licked your lips as you jerked him off, paying special attention to the head where he seemed to be especially sensitive.

“Wanna become a man?” you asked hungrily, moving in closer to him. You pressed your chest against his, spreading your legs even wider as your faces almost touched, your nose gently rubbing against his, “Wanna fuck my pussy?”

“Y-Your- oh God-“ Shinichiro gasped, mind getting pushed into overstimulation. It was all so much he didn’t know how to handle it. Your body- your voice- to touch you- to lick you- to- to feel your pussy press against his cock! He could feel your wetness against his sensitive member- your warmth- the tip of his cock pressing against your entrance- he couldn’t take it anymore!”

“Fuck!!” With a loud cry, tossing his head back against the sofa, Shinichiro experienced the most powerful orgasm he’d ever had in his life. His balls clenched as he basically came untouched, his tip spurting out ropes of cum that all splashed against your opening. His toes curled and his eyes rolled to the back of his head, the pleasure hitting him like a truck.

“Oh my.” you said once he started to calm down, giggling at the sticky sensation of his seed staining your bottom half.

“S-Sorry- oh fuck-“ Shinichiro cursed, still cumming, little spurts leaving his tip, “I didn’t mean to…”

“Don’t be sorry.” You consoled before he got down on himself, giving him a sweet kiss to the cheek, “It’s perfectly fine. Would you like to stop or continue?”

“Continue!” he said quickly, his dick still hard even though he just came. There was no way in hell he was stopping here.

“That’s my boy~”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Want a chance for me to write your prompt or just read many other stories i've written? Consider checking out my Patreon! (Link in bio)

[kaledya]

HIIIII @marquisev first of all I'm so sorry for the late return!

And how are you? I hope you are well! And I heard that school is back in session and if you are still studying I wish you a good school year!

The Prince and the Spy

This episode was simply amazing I loved the way Serenity and Constantine's relationship was written Even I don't think I could write them that accurately Your description of the scenes and the writing of the dialogues are excellent. Also the description in the episode was very nice. And  Serenity's interpretation of the overlord meeting from her perspective, where she expressed her opinions about Alastor and how she found it strange that his act had changed so much, was also very well written.And I was really glad that we got a little glimpse of Hürrem.In one word it was great

—----------

Assistant and detective

YIPPE MORE HÜRREM AAAA!!!!

Hurrem's dialogues are really fun to read.I've already warmed up to his personality.Hürrem has self-confidence and wants to achieve the glory that lies before her.Even though she is a little nervous on this path, she is someone who does not let herself be crushed and chooses her words well in a conversation.

I really liked the writing of the dialogues.And my god, you really write and describe Constantine wonderfully, every move and every speech is written wonderfully, it's just perfect!!He has an extremely calm demeanor, speaks with care and never tries to crush Hürrem, he shows her kindness and respect.

The part where Hurrem wanders around hell looking for the meeting point was nice, and her little dialogue with Gio already gives a nice preview of their dynamic!

-

It's really fun to read about Gio and Hurrem's relationship, they have a really great dynamic.I really liked the jokes in between, it makes the reader warm up to the characters quickly.its like A spin-off series like Helluva Boss , although the main series is more story-oriented, here we get to know Hell much better thanks to the characters.Seriously great write up

And I think that the duties of the two are well explained in the chapter and Hurrem's situation as Goetia is also well touched upon.You captured that serious and playful vibe perfectly.And I really liked Gio's inner thoughts too.In general, the way you wrote him is great. The Judy and Nick vibe between Hurrem is very nice!!

*It's so cute how Hürrem makes parrot sounds when 

she gets angry!

—--

Popcorn

My eyes are blessed, Maid Verdelet is so beautiful

And congratulations on 200 kudos!!! Honestly you deserve so much more!!

And I don't know exactly what kudos is too, but I think it's something like ‘ like’, which means "thanks for writing this fanfic.”

-

And yes, the introduction of Baxter! It was really fun to watch that little animatic. I'm really curious about the impact Baxter will have on the story.

I think the interactions between Baxter and Lolica would be really interesting and I think they could be friends. Lolicia could be one of the people Baxter talks to the most at the hotel.

LOLICIA'S NEW OUTFIT OMG IT'S SO BEAUTIFUL!!!YOU SERIOUSLY DESIGN GREAT CLOTHES.LOLICIA'S NEW HAIR STYLE IS GREAT TOO SERIOUSLY READY FOR BATTLE!

—---

Before battle

The scene at the beginning of the episode where Alator was hallucinating was really nice. I think it added a great air of mystery to the episode, and as always, it was great to read Alastor's inner thoughts.I find the details you put in your dream really clever. It's nice to see such small details for both the future of the story and Alastor's own story.

I really like the way you portray Charlie, her interactions with Alastor are so beautiful to read.And I liked that she talked about the hotel's condition, so we can learn what the hotel is currently like.

The detail of Alastor not liking Precious really made me laugh.

Alastor's interpretation of Charlie's movements was really nice, and the dialogue that Charlie talked about caught my attention.

‘’I can understand that! she laughed heartily. I made mistakes for a long time and a lot of people don't want to see me again either’’

Charlie??

YAAY the part where Alastor remembered Serenity's memory was so cute!!

Alastor's advice to Charlie was also great!

The part where Alastor discusses his strategy with himself and thinks about his enemies and allies was really good.

I can't wait to see Charlie's reaction to him after this little massacre he's about to commit.

—--------

IS IT AN EPISODE FROM LOLICAN'S MEMORY??? WHAT IS HAPPENING???There were too many details, too many descriptions in that memory section?? That part was really well written.Who and what is coming for her!???

There are so many questions, I can't wait for this scene to be illuminated in the future!

First of all, it was great to read Alastor and Lolicia's conversation and planning as always. You really write their relationship wonderfully. 

And is Vittorio okay?? Please don't let anything happen to the little guy, there's no need to cause emotional damage to Lolica like this….

And yipppe they're finally heading towards the forest I'm already so excited for the chaos those two will cause.

—--

I'M SERIOUSLY GLAD YOU LIKE THE DRAWINGS!!❤️❤️

—-

Chapter 77 Fairy Ointment

It was really nice to get to know Lysander in this episode, I liked the parts about his childhood or the little fairy ointment story. And again, it was great to learn about Lysander's personality traits, his likes and dislikes, and to see his perspective on hell.The episode had a slightly mysterious and really nice atmosphere, the descriptions were good as always, I can picture all the scenes.

—---

Chapter 78 nettle breeze

The action scenes in the episode are very clever, even though Lys is the weak than the two in the book he know How to use forest for himself, and I think it's very nice that poison and mushrooms come to the fore in the war.I really think the war scenes are  well described, it's really fun to read.The internal dialogues between Lolicia and Alastor as they interpret the events are also really nice.And despite Alastor killing sinners, they’re resurrected again and again.And the mushroom effect on them reminds me of Last of Us

 I Imagine the sinners turning into more mushroom zombies every time they die.It was a really good episode, action-wise.

–

Pt2

OMG WHAT IS HAPPENING???????First of all, I am amazed by the general culture you have with each episode. I did not know that nettle had such an important place in Scandinavian mythology.And everything is so detailed, from the type of tree Leiv died on to the meaning of the braids he knitted for fishing. Just wow I seriously learn new things in every episode thanks to you.

And DRAMA AND PAIN I NEVER THOUGHT THAT LEIV AND LOLICA WERE HUSBAND AND WIFE WHAT????

And the scene where Lolicia finally recognizes Leiv and reveals her identity was so beautiful and the way s Leiv shed tears was SO BEAUTIFUL

I really liked the dialogues Lolicia used there 'You called yourself my guardian  but you died before me’

And for God's sake how did Leiv make enemies that they impaled him on a tree with a sword????

Also in the previous episodes Lolica was being chased by someone, what's going on?And why did they both go to hell, what did they do?

Overall, I really liked the emotional atmosphere of the episode. I think you did a great job of introducing the connection between Leiv and Lolicia.Seriously lolicia's confrontation with Leiv was so sweet

Yeeey finally Alastor's shadow brought news!!

WAIT WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT'S BROKEN, NO!!!???

And the water rising in the last scene AAAA I'M SO EXCITED

—--------

Popcorn: I think Leiv's design is simply amazing and very creative, he really has a great design.And it was really cool to read the details about the design!

—-------

chapter 81 The bear,Gold &heir saga 

YAAAY YOUNG  LEIV AND LOLICA 

This episode's atmosphere was very nice, it reminded me of old folklore animations.The animations and storytelling are made by the studio that made Wolfwalkers.

I really warmed up to Leiv as a character. Even though he made the people under him work like slaves, his interactions with Lolicia were really fun to read. It was sweet to see Leiv get embarrassed or excited in front of her. 

AND this episode left me with a lot of questions about Lolica having the Snow White passive 

And ‘'and the girl with the amber eyes and golden halo’’

Facts like the color of Lolicia's hair, the fact that animals don't attack her, and the fact that she came all the way from New Orleans without a boat make the event really interesting.

So was Lolica an Saint l before and then she fell? Or was she in New Orleans when she died or was she never human?What's going on right now?

The song between Lolicia and Leiv was really beautifully written lyrically, I really liked the song

And it makes a lot more sense why Leiv referred to Lolicia as an angel.

Seriously, I have so many questions in my mind and thanks to your writing style , I look at every detail again and everything can be related to the story.

The episode was great for both getting to know Leiv better and learning more about Lolicia!!

—--

Popcorn

DAMN LEIV IS HANDSOME Seriously your design talent is amazing Leiv's design is really beautiful And it was so much fun reading the information you wrote about him.

I think you have really great drawing skills. 

THE SKETCH YOU MADE IS SO GOOD!!! IT WAS GREAT TO SEE THE HUMAN LOLICIA AND LEIV'S JUMPS ON HIS WIFE'S LAP AND SEEKS CONsolation IS SO CUTE TOO

—--

Chapter 83 The calving of glaciers

THIS EPISODE WAS SO AWESOME

I love everything about this episode so much

First of all, I've said this a few times, but I love the way you write Charlie,  she stands her ground and also worries about her friends and tries to protect those around her.But she also knows that she can show her power to take control of the situation if she wants to.

Charlie talking to Husk about Angel was really nice, I really liked the dialogue between them.And I love The way you write Husk, as the depressed old but wise bartender, even though he's had too much to drink, sometimes he gives the best advice.

The scene where Charlie notices the water on the ground and tries to call Vaggie but her voice doesn't come out was really nice.

And Constantine's warning to Charlie was really very logical, as a reader I said, okay, something must be going very wrong.

And I think the warning system is really creative and logical!

I really liked the confrontation between Charlie and Alastor. Charlie not giving in or retreating despite Alastor's objections really suited her character.

In general, I liked the episode very much. The descriptions are good, it is a preparation for the other episodes, the general atmosphere of tension and mystery is very good.

—--

Episode 84 The Calving of Glaciers

HOW CAN YOU INCREASE THE QUALITY SO MUCH IN EVERY EP?

I don't know where to begin praising this episode.

Lolicia's reactions to the events were SO good Fitzroy's betrayal was really effective in the story, and Lolicia being cornered for Vittorio  really increased the tension in the story.

I really loved the dialogue between Fitzroy and Lolica, there was great tension and I really wondered what Lolicia's next move would be.

VITTORIO DID NOT DESERVE THIS. HE WAS ONLY PROTECTING HIS FRIEND. DISHONORABLE FITZROY I HOPE LOLICA BEAT HIS ASS

Also, the scene where Fitzroy throws Vittorio's severed arm in front of Lolicia is very impressive.Also Fitzroy's purpose in entering the Maze actually made sense and Lolicia remembered Serenity's words where it was really nice.

LOLICIA'S DEVIL FORM????? A VERY HIGH-QUALITY ACTION IS COMING, BABY!!!!

-

I really liked how Charlie was so worried about Lolicia and it makes perfect sense that Alastor was trying to hold her back 'believe me my Dear , as someone who has experienced it, I advise you not to do this’

IT'S SO COOL THAT LOLICAN'S SONG IS A VERSION OF GET IN THE WATER AND I LOVED THE LYRICS YOU WROTE

Every stage Lolicia goes to her demon form is so cool, you described it perfectly

NOOO LOLICIA HAS TRAPPED THEM IN A BUBBLE OF SILENCE CHARLIE DO SOMETHING GIRL!!…Your friend  losing her control a bit…But of course, as a reader, I wouldn't say no to cool scenes and I'm very excited right now.

I really liked Charlie asking if Alastor was manipulating Lolicia. The fact that She made a move with the information she had and questioned Alastor was really nice.

And I really love how you added Precious to Charlie's scenes, it's a nice reminder that she's there too.

It was nice that Alastor laughed and rejected the question 'who am I to manipulate her’

And Constantine gives another warning message 

things are getting worse.’

YAAAAAAY DRAMA AND ACTION

And Alastor says he's seen Lolicia like this before YIPPE FLASHBACK IS COMING!!

—-

Chapter 85

YEEEY FLASHBACK I think Alastor made the mistake of his life by going after Lolicia, but we'll see.

I can understand Alastor's questions, why is Lolicia so powerful if she's not doing the things the Overlords do to gain power?

AWWW Alastor remembers him trying to comfort Serenity because of her fear of the dark.

The scene where Lolicia appears from the darkness is so cool!

+I liked her dress

The indifference and ego that Alastor showed before he was defeated by Lolica was really funny I mean, with all this arrogance, it's a great chance not to lose to anyone today, you know what they say, radio demon, arrogance and pride are the things that blind a person the most.

Did he grab her chin? Alastor seriously where is the gentlemanliness in war? Tch tch tch

Okay, I loved Lolicia's cold and professional attitude in this war, it was very cool.It was also very good that she said 'you are too weak' to him specially when she had all the cards.

The poetic words that Lolicia said were really beautiful, I thought they were all very meaningful.

The last 3 warnings Lolicia gave to Alastor were really cool. In general, I really liked Lolicia's attitude in the episode. It was very fun to read.

She acts very noble and mysterious and You are very good at describing the environment and characters.

Then, the part where Alastor walks around injured and questions his actions and mistakes is really good.Then, in the part where Zestial comes to Alastor and gives a speech,It's always nice to read Alastor and Zestial's dialogues.And at the end of the episode it was nice to finally have an alastor who had suffered losses and probably learned from his mistakes.Because if he hides that ego, he won't be able to stay there for a long time.

In general, I really liked everything in this episode, the character dialogues, Lolicia's writing, Alastor's writing, the events, everything.

10/10

and I have gifts for you!!! and first of all I think you are a very good designer I really think your outfit designs and character designs are great please don't stop drawing you have a really great talent!

fanfic: https://archiveofourown.org/works/55936840/chapters/142045639

[chaesparklez]

victory (pt.1) | taerae x reader

wc: 2.7k

reader: femme afab

warnings: 18+ SMUT MINORS DNI

teasing, lap dancing, oral m!receiving, sloppy oral sex, tension, slightly bratty reader, subby taerae

synopsis: game rules

- whichever player makes the opponent cum in the shortest amount of time wins. the opponent only has to cum once for the player to win.

- the game is timed. the timer starts upon first contact with the opponent's center.

- acts of foreplay like kissing or heavy petting excluding the genitals do not count.

a thrilling game of control and domination. whose victory will it be?

a/n: i am so so happy to have written this story! the idea and writing process for this piece flowed out so naturally and i had so much fun writing it. as a kkultarae i feel like a taerae fic was long overdue. enjoy the story and stay seated for pt 2 :)

cross-posted on wattpad and ao3. available through user @/chaesparkle

“let's play a game."

taerae looks up from his computer, slipping his headphones off one ear.

"what was that, jagi?" he replies.

you smile mischievously and take a couple steps towards him where he sits at his gaming desk. you ruffle his hair and rest your hand on the nape of his neck.

"i said, let's play a game. a really fun one." you smile, massaging his neck with your hand.

he looks up into your eyes, his gaze a mix of curiosity and amusement.

"what game is it?" he asks.

you grin deviously.

~~

you and taerae had been dating for a year and a half now. initially shy, he had opened up wonderfully with you, appreciating how you were always ready to lead him and teach him something new. whether it was explaining some cool academic concept, a technique on how to fold a fitted sheet... or how to eat pussy.

with his lack of experience, you guys started off pretty slow so he could learn the basics. but once he got going... well.

the thing about taerae was that he was incredibly hardworking. he knew what he lacked in and worked tirelessly till he perfected it. and he did so with this quiet confidence that you'd always found insanely sexy. not overly cocky, never too critical of himself, just aware of his good points and always ready to improve.

you can imagine how that translated into the bedroom. over the course of the past year you had basically given him a 101 on how to drive a woman crazy, and needless to say you couldn't keep your hands off eachother once he had grown comfortable exploring.

and today, you decided you wanted to give a surprise test to spice things up a bit.

"let's see who can make the other cum the fastest."

his eyebrows raise in surprise, caught a little off guard at the unexpected proposal. but shock is taken over by amusement, then competitiveness as his eyes glint with determination.

"what are the stakes?" he asks.

"winner doesn't have to do the dishes for a week."

he laughs and ruffles his hair. "can't pass up that," he takes his headset off and swivels around in his chair to face you fully.

'okay, any rules?' he asks.

you purse your lips in thought for a second, deciding how you wanted to do this. "hmmm."

you set out the following rules:

- whichever player makes the opponent cum in the shortest amount of time wins. the opponent only has to cum once for the player to win.

- the game is timed. the timer starts upon first contact with the opponent's center.

- acts of foreplay like kissing or heavy petting excluding the genitals do not count.

taerae loved this organisation. he smirks and nods his head, loving the prospect of both winning a competition and getting to see you crumble before him.

"sounds good to me. get ready to have the fastest orgasm you've ever had." he grins.

"unfortunately that'll be you." you smile.

"guess we'll just have to see about that. who should go first?'

"i will. come to the sitting room in 10 minutes." you reply, already having decided what you'd do with a smirk.

"okay then," he replies, gazing at you with darkened eyes. 'i’m anticipating it.’

you smile and plant a kiss on his neck. "may the best player win." you whisper.

"oh, he will." he breathes.

~~

"honey, you can come out now!" you call.

taerae enters the sitting room to find the lights dimmed and a chair placed in the middle of the room. you are nowhere to be seen.

"jagi, where are you?" he calls back, mildly puzzled.

"you'll see plenty of me in a second," you chirp with a grin from the adjoining room. 'sit in the chair and wait in the meanwhile.'

he takes his place and laughs quietly to himself, anticipating to see what you've prepared. you had a habit of surprising him but he was sure he wouldn't fall for it this time being determined to win the game.

well, he was sure in for a ride.

all of a sudden, he hears music filling the room. the speakers were playing a song from all corners of the space. he looks around bemused.

"jagi?" he calls out.

showtime.

"yes?" you reply innocently, stepping into the doorway.

taerae's eyes widen with shock for a second, then he bites his lip with a smile, throwing his head back with a chuckle knowing that he's already in danger of losing by how his cock is twitching in his pants just at the sight of you.

you stand before him dressed in a baby tee and plaid micro mini skirt, white thigh high socks and platform heels. the only accessories you wore were a kitty headband and a white garter with a bow around your thigh. much of you was on show not leaving a lot to the imagination; although taerae's imagination right now was running wild. you smile, knowing this outfit would drive him crazy.

you knew that your gamer boyfriend was secretly into the stereotypical sexy female twitch streamer getup despite him insisting he was different. after all, he was still a man. and you were going to play this to your advantage to win the game. you were going to give him an agonizing lap dance.

you strut slowly towards him and circle around his chair while caressing his shoulder. he places his hand on top of yours as you brush it across his hoodie, to which you remove your hand immediately.

"no touching yet." you whisper, waggling a finger at him mischievously.

taerae bites his lip and covers his face with his hands, knowing that having to sit still while you give him a lap dance barely clothed might actually make him cum in his pants if he doesn't control himself. his cock was already throbbing like crazy.

all he could think about right now was how fucking sexy you looked in that outfit. like a present wrapped up for him with that bow around your thigh. he wanted nothing more than to fuck you in this getup, removing your garter with his teeth. bending you over and sliding your panties aside before thrusting his throbbing erection into your core, watching you teeter in those stilettos...

but here he stayed sat on the chair as you tortured him with your wily charms. he sits on his hands purely because he wasn't sure he could refrain from touching you if he didn't.

now slowly, more deliberately, you strut to the back of his chair and run your hand along his chest where you can momentarily feel his heart pounding, tracing your fingertips up along his neck then pulling his head back with a tug to his hair. you exhale warm breath onto his exposed neck before gently kissing him below the lobe then nibbling on his ear.

"fuck." taerae breathes, fighting not to let out a moan.

he was struggling to keep his resolve as you knew exactly how to make him crumble- by targeting his erogenous zone. the tingling sensation of your breath on his neck and your gentle nibbles on his earlobe drives him insane, exhaling shakily with his eyes closed. he swallows nervously and purses his lips together.

you release him with a smile, continuing to circle round with your hand tracing his other shoulder, down to his chest, then his thigh, till you stand before him. you place your leg between his thighs, stiletto resting on the polished oak of the chair. then grazing his inner thigh with your foot. he clenches his teeth in desperation, using all the power in him to not forfeit the game and fuck you right in this chair.

you draw your hand up your thigh beginning at the knee, brushing past the lacy garter. taerae's gaze follows your touch; your panties were visible as your skirt hiked up past your thighs. he stared with longing at your parted thighs, wanting nothing more than to grab them and bury his head between them..

you lift his chin with a finger forcing him to look away from your leg and at your face.

"look at me, baby." you whisper.

he nods in submission, prompting a tingle to spread through your center at the yearning look in his eyes. you step back and begin to dance for him, letting the music wash over you as you sway your hips, flip your hair and draw out every movement so his eyes linger on the arch of your back and your tantalising ass peeking out from under that micro mini skirt. taerae watches you intently, entranced and still struggling to ignore the aching bulge in his pants.

"you're determined to win this, huh?" he rasps.

"of course." you reply, cocking your head to the side and grinning.

running a hand through your hair, you amble slowly towards your tortured lover. then straddle him in the chair, legs either side of him with your chest in his face. he swallows nervously at your proximity, gazing up at you with longing.

“you can touch me if you want,” you whisper.

he runs his fingers up the side of your exposed waist, making you shiver gently. you begin to move your hips, grinding against his clothed cock and feeling it graze your center. you bite your lip to stifle a moan, the both of you engaging in a torturous battle of restraint; you weren’t sure who’d lose.

you continue to undulate against him and lean down to plant kisses on his neck. you suck and nibble at the smooth skin, peppering his neck with splotchy red love bites. he lets out a shaky breath and you feel his cock twitch. gingerly, he palms your breast, long fingers running across your nipple and squeezing gently. you let out a soft moan against his neck and retract, gazing into his eyes as your chests rise and fall against eachother. you feel yourself start to lose focus and remember suddenly to maintain your resolve, breaking the moment of catharsis by planting a kiss on his full lips and leaving his lap.

knowing your ass looked great in this skirt, you decided to tease him further by facing away and bending over slightly, tracing your fingertips down the back of your thighs, shaking it a little with a giggle. you can practically hear him stop breathing trying to control himself.

placing your hands on the arms of the chair, you flick your hair while swaying your ass side to side before sitting in his lap, this time pushing your clouded thoughts aside determined to win the game. you hook your arm around his neck and begin to grind again, slower but more firmly this time. rolling your hips and feeling his erection poking your ass as you move against it. you brush your other hand across your chest as you lose yourself in the movements.

"jagi... please.." he rasps in your ear.

pretending not to hear his plea, you give yourself a sly smile and rise from his lap.

then you sink down to your knees in front of him looking up at him with pseudo innocence.

"please what, baby? are you asking for something?" you ask, batting your lashes.

"touch me. let me touch you. please... so hard." he groans, clenching his jaw and throwing his head back in agitation.

"someone looks bothered. let's see if we can get rid of some of that tension." you reply wily.

you rub his thighs with your hands, deliberately avoiding his cock to avoid breaking the rules. he exhales shakily. you smile, finally deciding to reward him for holding out this long.

"you've done so well, baby. let me make you feel good." you whisper.

you pull down his pants enough so his erection springs out, tip leaking a bead of precum. even though you were trying to assert dominance right now, the sight of him this hard made you suddenly aware of the wetness building between your thighs.

you reach under the chair for the stopwatch you had placed there and hold it facing towards him.

"let's start." you say, and press the 'go' button.

taking a moment to push your hair back, you take his cock into your hand and spit on it before stroking it gently. you gaze up into his eyes and slowly lick along the dorsal vein at a painstaking pace. his cock twitches in your hand as if it calls out for more. starting at the shaft, you plant sloppy kisses all the way up his length till you reach his angry pink tip, then deepthroat him. taerae lets out a deep moan, the feeling of his cock all the way down your warm throat sending tingles down his spine.

you swirl your tongue around his tip to lick up the leaking precum before slowly sucking him off, your mouth travelling halfway down before coming up again. he looks down at you with a dark gaze, pupils focused on you intently.

you begin to suck him off more intensely, starting off slow then progressively getting faster, sloppily spitting all over his cock making a warm sticky mess all over the both of you. you watch as the saliva runs down his length; it momentarily remains a string suspended in air between your lips and his cock, and as you jerk him off it makes a delectable sound.

he tucks a strand of hair behind your ear. "doing so well, baby. you look so hot right now drooling all over my dick."

you smile in satisfaction and carry on. you pick up the pace, head bobbing up and down rapidly as you suck him off with your ass jiggling in time with your movements. you deepthroat him again and stay there for a couple seconds, moaning so the vibrations from your throat send him into a new plane of ecstasy. your eyes water slightly from the pressure but you continue at a slowly increasing speed, feeling him get closer to climax as his groans of pleasure grow louder.

then your final weapon. you enclose your lips around his tip while your hand remains wrapped around his length, and suck.

"f-fuck. oh my god. fuck." he breathes, stuttering from the sheer stimulation. your lips targeting the most sensitive part of his cock while you jerk him off sloppily drives him insane. he screws his eyes shut and moans.

"i'm close," he pants. you maintain the pace and carry on sucking and licking the smooth head of his cock, making eye contact with him once again.

and he shatters.

with a deep grunt, he cums, hot fluid spurting all over your tongue. you slow down the movements of your hand and suck his tip clean of every last drop of cum, then swallow, releasing his cock from your mouth with a pop. you move the hair out of your eyes, slightly out of breath and panting.

he looks down at the scene before him: his cock covered in a mix of spit and precum, your chin covered in saliva, cheeks red and lipstick smudged. he holds your chin and wipes a smear of pink away with his thumb.

"have to give this one to you, baby. you never fail to surprise me." he laughs wearily as you gaze at eachother.

taerae's face is flushed and his pupils waver from side to side as you kneel before him a mess. hair tangled, makeup smudged...

you hold up the stopwatch.

"five minutes twelve seconds. think you can beat it?"

he takes a moment to regard you, then smiles, leaning forward in his chair with a knowing expression.

what you didn't know was that taerae was just as competitive as you- if not more. and while you had gone above and beyond his expectations right now, he still had something in store for you that would have you folding immediately.

planning, organising, calculating like a true 'T' on how to give you the fastest orgasm of your life. you didn't stand a chance. he smirks at you with an air of utmost confidence, caressing your cheek.

"i think you'll be surprised at what i have in store for you, jagi," he breathes in a deep voice.

and you find yourself a little thrown off by his sudden resolve, thinking you hadn't crumbled him to dust as finely as you thought you had. but overwhelmingly what you felt right now was... lust.

his dimples appearing as he flashes that sly smirk, eyes filled with competitiveness and that quiet confidence that made you very aware of how your core was soaking wet and throbbing.

noticing your expression, taerae chuckles again and leans forward so your faces are only inches apart.

"let's see what you have to say to my plan." he whispers in your ear.

*and the game continues…*

[dangermousie]

Woo-hoo for a long term married couple with a happening sex life!

Long before we found out the truth, I decided that seeing that he does all the chores (he even hangs her clothes for her!!!) a little murder would have been acceptable. You know why he's a dream man? Not the looks or the trauma or whatever - it's because my dream man is one who does literally all the housework and I have to do none but can come home to a beautifully cleaned and decorated house and wonderfully homecooked meals. If he occasionally hears voices, has a false name and has been accused of murder, well everyone has flaws.

But also, I love how well-written it is, because we are halfway into ep 1 only and we get this seemingly throwaway moment of him putting their daughter to bed:

And even when I first watched this drama in full expectation of him being a killer, I went "but he's gently stroking his sleeping child's hair and there is nobody to see, not even the sleeping kid herself, so this is not for show. He may be a murderer but he cannot be without any kind of feeling."

This kind of constant care can perhaps be faked (since she's awake and noticing and there are also teachers and passerby) but in the privacy of his own home with nobody to see?

(So much of his narrative is very much Pinocchio trying to be a real boy by practicing/acting the way he knows real people act, but he doesn't know he's been a real boy all along.)

PS I didn't catch it back way when but when the reporter off-hand mentions the serial murders case that his father was responsible for, he mentions that the murderer's wife was also found in that hill despite people thinking she ran away before. I didn't notice it back then so I spent the drama wondering where the mom went and assuming the dad killed her but I wasn't sure. Now I am sure and freaking YIKES.

[frayed-at-the-seams]

My top ten bl dramas (with kissing scenes but no sex scenes)

Not in any particular order.

Sometimes I want a romance but I don’t need the sex scenes. Sometimes I just like the kissing and the plot. So here are my top ten.

- 2G ether. Season 1&2.

A adorable fake dating story with entertaining side couples and a well written plot. It is an easy watch with a comedic story line. Any problems in season 1 and any questions left unanswered are covered in season 2. The main couple have great chemistry and the side couples seem to match it well.

It is one of my favourites because it is such a chill drama to watch and rewatch. It is one I tend to go for when I’m tired or needing serotonin.

Available with English subtitles on YouTube.

- Minato Shouji coin laundry. Season 1.

A romantic comedy with a strangers to lovers trope. The plot revolves around a 17 yr old in love with a 27 yr old man. That put me off at first but the age gap is really well covered. The whole plot revolves around the age gap and how it affects them. It is both light hearted while dealing with the honest dynamic of their relationship. Both characters go through a wholesome journey of development, with Shin growing more mature and Akira learning to let himself be loved.

There is hints of a side couple but those characters go through development rather than have their relationship end romantically, which I really enjoyed.

The dialogue is very well written and the actors have really good chemistry together. Despite the age gap, it became one of my favourites in a very short amount of time. It is all so well done and they handled the dynamic wonderfully.

Though I did not like season 2 cause the writing was terrible. Still acted well but bad plot writing.

Available on Bilibili or dramacool.

- We Best Love, N1 for you & Fighting Mr second.

Ignoring the two different titles, this is season 1 and 2 of the same drama.

It is a enemies to lover dynamic in season 1 with a enemies to lovers dynamic once again in season 2.

While the plot is overly dramatic at times and cliche, it is very well acted and the actors really work with their lines and make the cliche parts fit so well. They have amazing chemistry (especially in season 2) and I love their dynamics. The side couples don’t get much screen time but they fit very well with the plot and the dynamics of the main characters.

When it comes to pure chemistry, this couple is one of my all time favourites. They speak so much with their actions. It’s a drama that will entertain throughout. I didn’t get bored at all.

Available on Bilibili and Dramacool.

- Semantic Error.

Another Enemies to lovers trope between two opposing characters. Opposites attract between a digital media student and a computing student. The plot is well paced and the actors spark off each other very well. The character development is explored well and the filming style adds such a tension and uniqueness to the scenes. One of the reasons why it is a favourite is how the filming style works with the characters and highlights their personalities. Everything just flows.

There are no side couples in this drama however the side characters are well portrayed and fully dimensional. I enjoyed how each character’s dynamics worked with those around them.

Available on Viki or Bilibili.

- Sotus The series.

A real slow burn between a new student and his head hazer. Although the hazing put me off at first the show went to explain all viewpoints really well. It explained why the Hazers continued the tradition of hazing as well as the students who were experiencing it. The relationship is a real slow burn but it’s done so well and scenes had me laughing and crying.

It includes other lgbt side characters and a straight side couple who are cute and go through their own personal growth.

An old bl (2016) but a good one. It was one of my first ones and I will never get over it.

Available on KissKH, Bilibili and YouTube.

- Takara’s Treasure.

A more recently released drama, this show was so wholesome and cute. It dealt with a character’s journey as he joins a university in Tokyo after living in a small town his whole life. His slow burn relationship with his senior is very cute and green flag.

I sort of wish that there were more kiss scenes but I did enjoy the ones we go.

Available on KissKH and Bilibili.

- Love for Love’s sake.

Another more recent drama. This one had me sobbing and giggling. For what seemed to be an intriguing plot about a boy seemingly playing out a video game where the goal is to make another boy happy turned into a really deep portrayal of depression and the loneliness of being lgbt. The romance and the relationships as they develop in this drama was all well paced and wholesome. The main character is iconic and he fights for what he wants which is great to watch. The drama itself was very well filmed. The cinematography didn’t distract too much from the plot but also made itself known and memorable. The pace was good though it could have done with maybe another episode towards the end, but with the time they had the pacing was pretty good.

This drama leads itself towards theory and not all the questions are answered but that is a good thing as an ending is provided but there is still enough to make one curious.

Available on Viki and KissKH.

- Why R U? (Korean version).

While I enjoyed the original Thai version, the Korean version out paced it for me. While the Thai one had many side couples and confusing plot lines the Korean one keeps it just to two main couples. It deletes the cheating element of the second couple and made it more wholesome rather than dramatic. The first couple actually starts as enemies to lovers and their dynamic is very funny. They fight all the time and swear at each other before slowly starting to admire and appreciate each other before falling for each other. The show was well paced and very lighthearted. The cinematography wasn’t bad but could have been more fun.

Though it’s from the same books as the Thai one, it feel almost like a completely different drama. This one had me laughing much more.

Available on KissKH and Bilibili.

- Stay With Me.

This is a Chinese drama based off a pervious BL drama called Addicted Heroin. Compared to the previous adaptation, the toxicity is taken out. Stay with me is mostly found family vibes between two step brothers, who don’t know that they’re stepbrothers for a long time, and how their relationship develops from friends to family. Whether this be family in a romantic sense between them or not, the show leaves that up to the viewer.

For a Chinese bl we do get kisses on the cheeks! Although I would like them to kiss properly. The show focuses on them growing as people and not just their relationship, which I enjoyed.

However, the show does end on a sob inducing cliffhanger and there has been no news about a season 2 yet. So watch at your peril. The show itself was well paced and very well acted.

Available on Viki and KissKH.

- Unintentional Love story.

This drama is of a young man who was wrongly fired from his job finding a reclusive ceramicist. He is told that if he can get the famous artist to sign with his old company, then he will get his job back. What follows is a slow burn romance with misunderstandings and great character development. Since the characters are all adults in their late twenties to early thirties, the show has a different feel compared to a lot of other shows where the characters are teenagers or young adults. These characters are running businesses and having to deal with issues such as money problems and loans. It’s nice to see such realistic things playing a big part in a character’s motivation. Yet they still have moments fuelled by their feelings and impulses. But they grow and learn and that’s what makes this drama really wholesome and lovely to watch.

The side couple in this is left unresolved but with a hopeful note. However there is a history between them that is not fully explained. There has been a movie based on their backstory that has come out recently, yet I do not know if it resolves their relationship in the show.

One of the things I love in this show is the costumes. As the sunshine character takes on more depth and grows as a person, his clothing colour palette gets darker. While for the grumpy character who learns to open himself up again, his palette gets lighter and by the end of the show their outfits have swapped colours. That is a detail which I loved when watching.

Available on Viki or Bilibili.

Here you go. These are my top ten dramas with no sex scenes. While some of them may have making out scenes that fade to black, they are not explicit and the drama plots focus more on the storylines or the character growth.

So for anyone who doesn’t like watching sex scenes, I recommend the dramas above.

Hope you enjoy.

Feel free to ask about anymore in the comments.

[silverskye13]

I have a question about the "short" story (and seriously, don't sell yourself that short (ha), that was incredible and amazing):

what level of canon is this? Is it still the same sort of "filler episode in anime" canon, or more, or less?

Regardless, absolutely stunning and I loved every single second of reading it in my bones. It's so wonderfully done, from Tango's realisation that HK is more complicated than evil or not evil, to Wels' begrudging help (if only because HK is suffering more than he would wish on anybody), to the universe section (and just you wait universe, that spark of never was and never should be is going to become a shining, glorious star and you will love it all the same as your precious hermits), to the simple act of cleaning the armour, setting right what was wronged. So absolutely gorgeous and breathtakingly written and every time I read your writing I fall a little more in love with the way you tell stories!!!!

[wiggles my hand back and forth]

Canonicity is hard to answer, I still think "anime filler episode" fits best. It's not going to be brought up in RnS, but it's affected by RnS events. If I tried to put it in the main fic, it would destroy the canon timeline, but it clearly happened after one thing and before another. For me, these shorts are mostly character exploration [which is why I compare them to anime filler because that's what filler episodes are generally used for, aside from padding time.] It's helping me clarify thoughts and motivations, so when I breach similar things in the main plot, I have a better idea of What, How, Why. So to me, they're canon.

Helsknight having a very real, and very new, fear of being overly cruel in the face of violence when he started the story as a character who thought knights were allowed to be both knightly and, you know, mean, and still be knights -- I think that's something he'll have to wrestle with. And Helsknight worrying about being measured based on his own choices and perceived shortcomings divorced from Wels is something I think he'll have to reckon with. And the fact that the Hermits don't know about shaky helsmet respawn, don't have context for how Wide a world hels is, also needs reckoned with in RnS.

I don't think it'll necessarily be handled the same way in RnS. The specific circumstances of the short isn't going to happen in context. But things that bring up similar points will happen, and it's nice taking a second to start hashing them out for myself in a lower stakes place first.

Hopefully! That makes sense!

As to the rest of that! Thank you!! For the kind words!! Honestly this "short" [hah] was a lot of fun to fiddle with. A lot of fights and philosophy, and also? RnS Helsknight and Tango fun dynamic? I wish they got to interact in the main story more. There is so much shenanigan potential there. Both of them need someone who'll pump the breaks on whatever crazy things they're gonna do next, and while Helsknight isn't necessarily an enabler, Tango sure as heck is.

[Also! Glad the Universe bit was well received. I like the idea as this Thing That Exists and it's not quite sentient enough to have intent but not quite elemental enough to be blameless in what it does. I always picture it as like if a hurricane could observe and feel, but still couldn't necessarily control where it went. A force of nature that is along for the ride, and sometimes shifts its weight to throw things off the rails.]

[emilybeemartin]

Ok ok ok ok listen. Because I have anxiety I feel it's my duty to say that this show won't be for everyone. I came to it over quarantine because my husband suggested we read Bernard Cornwell's series together, and I agreed because I liked Hornblower and knew this was the army equivalent and, let's face it, I wanted to see scruffy mid-thirties Sean Bean in uniform.

THE PREMISE:

Richard Sharpe is a lowborn rank-and-file soldier in the 95th Rifles during the Napoleonic Wars who is raised to an officer after saving Sir Arthur Wellesley's life (this all happens differently in the books, but the basic event is the same). Throughout the series, he rises in the ranks thanks to his bravery and heroism/recklessness, but he's always caught between two worlds--trying to be a leader of common men while never being accepted by the rest of the highborn officers.

Let's start with the bad:

CONS:

Look, this is a 90s drama glorifying the British army. So like, there are gonna be issues. Women are mostly romantic side pieces to be wooed and rescued, and there are plenty of subplots, verbiage, and stereotypes that didn't age well. Production values are low for the first few and so you've got battle scenes with like fifteen guys and a horse, which honestly I find endearing. But no episode is more cringey than Sharpe's Gold. Due to legal issues, the script had to be rewritten with none of the original material, and it turned into this bizarro semi-supernatural horror involving Aztec gold (in Spain, yes). It's completely different from all the other episodes, and even Sean Bean didn't like it (he called it a "mish mash," which is true). It's such a weird piece of work that we almost stopped watching the show, but we continued, and we were relieved to find that the rest of the series is markedly better. History Hack podcast does a great dive into why this episode was so whack.

PROS:

I MEAN COME ON

Sean really understood this character--absolute chaos on the battlefield and shy and awkward pretty much everywhere else. He's amazing in battle scenes and he's EPIC at acting wounded. But the scenes I replay over and over are when he's socially out of his depth and gets flustered and sputtery and so Sheffield the captions can't handle it.

Supporting cast:

You'll find a lot of your classic British TV favorites making appearances throughout this series, and the camaraderie among the riflemen is always fun. Obviously this is a dude fest, as stated above, but some of the women are also written and acted really, really well--- Assumpta Serna as Teresa is that winning combination of a love interest/action heroine who doesn't devolve into a damsel in distress, and even passes the Bechdel test on a few occasions. And Diana Perez as Ramona is so badass and enjoyable.

Locations: Aside from a few interior sets, these films are mostly shot outside on location, with practical effects and stunts. There's some gorgeous scenery of the Crimean peninsula standing in for Spain and Portugal, and it's just really fun watching these guys run around rocky escarpments and fields with flares and stage explosives going off around them.

Music: I saw someone tag the opening theme as "electric guitar jumpscare" and they're not wrong. It's wonderfully anachronistic and totally 90s and you'll never get used to it. But far better are the soldiers' songs John Tams threads throughout, as well as his and Muldowney's thematic scores, and you will always, always finish an episode with him singing "Over the Hills and Far Away" stuck in your head.

Filming Lore: There was a LOT that happened during filming. Everything from Paul McGann having to drop out as the lead to misadventures in filming in Crimea just after the collapse of the Soviet Union. History Hack podcast has an awesome series of "filming of" episodes with input from cast, crew, and historians, and Jason Salkey (Rifleman Harris) has a book called "From Crimea With Love" that details the batshit filming adventures. I haven't read it but he references it every six minutes throughout the podcasts.

So: you've been warned, you've been primed. Start with Sharpe's Rifles; it's on Youtube. Watch it and Eagle, maybe jump to Battle or Siege if you're not sure, and then make up your mind.

If this all sounds enjoyable to you, but you wish there were more tall ships, more Paul McGann, more heroic brooding, and even MORE true love cosplaying as masculine camaraderie, you're in luck! Because you should also watch Hornblower!

And then draw fan art of it all! Please,,, I am so lon el y

[cwsupermanandloisfanpage]

Tyler Hoechlin is without a doubt the best Superman/Cark Kent since Christopher Reeve everything about Tyler’s Superman is done so wonderfully and written and acted so well to me Tyler is the modern version of Superman that’s needed. 

[oh-dameron]

Wei Wuxian dies. Lan Wangji mourns. Years pass. Trouble returns to the jianghu.

Wei Wuxian wakes up covered in blood, in a familiar array. It's Nie Huaisang's fault.

Lan Wangji finds him. They save the day. They marry and live happily. That's the end of the story, until:

Wei Wuxian dies in a night hunting accident. It was a trivial matter, easily dealt with until it very abruptly wasn't. Certainly no great battle worthy of song or fitting to end the Yiling Patriarch's second life.

Lan Wangji mourns. The grief is different this time; he's not wracked with might-have-beens and should-haves. Instead, one moment he held the whole world in his arms, the next it was torn away from him. It's shattering, how unfamiliar this pain feels when he once would have called himself accustomed to loss.

Years pass. Trouble returns to the jianghu.

The Unclean Realm is under seige, and Nie Huaisang genuinely does not know what to do. He's a strategist, certainly, but even in his youth he was never a warrior. He's been outmanouvered today, and it's long years since he could fling himself into his elder brothers' arms and wail for help.

Zewu-jun has not stirred from his mountain in a long, long time. No; instead Huaisang is left with the exceedingly cold comfort offered by Hanguanjun. The Second Jade of Lan might be frozen in the bloom of youth, but time and grief have left a flawless diamond shell around the hollow of a man. The light that lit him from the inside died with Wei Wuxian. He's where the chaos is, as ever, but if he has any ideas about how to remedy their situation he's been characteristically close-lipped about them. Huaisang is resigned to the notion that Lan Wangji might be in Qinghe more for the possibility of finding his own end than any pressing desire to help.

Well. If Hanguanjun is determined to sacrifice himself then Huaisang is determined that it's going to be in the service of saving as many Nie lives as possible. There are innocents here: disciples too young to have earned spiritual weapons, children too young to even be called disciples, healers and teachers, servants and cooks, the elderly and, and. And noncombatants, like Huaisang himself, whom nobody could rightly call innocent. There's nothing to be done to save him. That would take a miricle.

His grandchildren are here, beautiful and clever and strong. The eldest isn't a child any more, grown from a wonderfully curious toddler into a endlessly curious adult seemingly overnight, but grown or not Huaisang will see all of them out of this mess. If nothing else, Huaisang will knock them out himself, tie them to Hangaunjun and boot them out the back door while he distracts their enemies. Preferably not by sallying forth and dying pathetically. As soon as he comes up with a better idea he'll demote that one to plan B.

His study is as he left it: painting supplies and books sadly gathering dust in the corner, set aside yet again for duty and drudgrery. There is new correspondence to see to; perhaps it will bring good news. Probably not.

The door to one of the cabinets is ajar. It's an ancient, tacky thing that he keeps largely because Da-ge favoured it, and it has a tendancy to swing open unless the latch is set just so. He certainly didn't leave it that way: he hasn't survived this long in the jianghu by being careless, merely acting the part, and he always wanto to know when the contents of this particular cache are disturbed. Locks are an obvious indicator that the contents are interesting or valuable in some way, and if someone circumvented the lock to the room already, well. What could be interesting about a cupboard full of boring administrative papers in a room full of nothing else?

He nudges the door the rest of the way open, peers inside, and his heart immediately lodges in his throat. In amongst Da-ge's journals from the Sunshot campaign, the bundles of correspondence from Jin Guanyao, heavily-encoded notes on his plans for revenge written in the form of truly atrocious juvenile poetry, something is missing. A manifesto, a copy he made from the notes of a long-dead demonic cultivator, who in turn made his own copy from the notes of the Yiling Patriarch himself, seized by the Jin sect after the first seige of the Burial Mounds.

Almost nobody knows about that book and what it contains. Almost nobody has access to his study. Almost. Nie Huaisang drops his fan and sprints across the Unclean Realm to the inner family quarters. Disciples flutter as he passes, unaccustomed to seeing their elderly zongzhu stir himself beyond a saunter. An empyrean figure in white joins his wake like the trail of a comet, ghosting silently after his gasping dash.

Huaisang pauses before the door and sends a silent plea to the heavens, to his ancestors, to Da-ge and anyone who is listening that he's wrong or not too late. He pushes into the room and his knees give out, strong hands arresting his fall before he can hit the ground sobbing. There's blood, in lines and characters, the tang of resentful energy in the air, and the body laid out in the centre of it all isn't his grandchild any more.

Wei Wuxian wakes up covered in blood, in a familiar array. It's Nie Huaisang's fault.

Lan Wangji finds him.

[writing-havoc]

ok, my request is: nikolai lantsov x reader where they are married for convenience but are friends and support each other. they secretly love each other and that's why they kiss when they don't have to and sleep together, really adoring each other, and that's where spicy comes in, although it's completely optional if you don't feel comfortable doing it. oh, and i imagine that after zoya becomes queen, nikolai and reader finally declare themselves to each other, assuring that they love each other with or without a crown. like, angst/comfort and fluff at the end? if you can't include spicy it's ok! you write wonderfully well ♡♡♡

An Exhausted Smile

♡ Summary: You consider your position as the Ravkan King's spouse. It doesn't feel as fulfilling as you'd like it to be, and he surprises you by feeling the same.

♡ Pairing: Nikolai Lantsov x Reader

♡ Fandom: King of Scars, Grishaverse

♡ Warning(s): 18+, says cock once, mentions nausea

♡ WC: 5.5k

Hi hi! Tysm for this request!

I didn't know what gender you wanted reader to be. However after writing the whole thing I feel it's obvious that you may have wanted a fem reader, but this is what I came up with!

It doesn't get completely smutty, but it does reach a point that I'd consider adult. So I hope it's still to your liking <3

Please ignore any spelling and grammar mistakes, the beginning of this before the bedroom scene was written with a massive headache so I do apologize if it seems a bit rough around the edges there.

∘₊✧──────────────────✧₊∘

The ballroom is filled to the brim with people. Each one varying in their level of importance and showcasing as such by either vastly overdressing or being a bit more modest, but still wanting to put on their best for their King.

And you, by proxy.

Your clothes match your husband's in their own right. He wore the standard garb that fits a King, white base and gold accents, matching gold aiguillette wrapped around his shoulder. While you lacked the fancy rope, Genya compensated with a few select ribbons and even jewelry where she felt it needed.

The rings on Nikolais gloved fingers made your decorated wrist feel less alone.

"Just have to get through this and then we can retreat back to our room." He whispers, working on his smile in a silver vase.

The way he says "our" still makes your heart flutter, even close to a year after your marriage was sanctioned.

You give him a glare, despite him being unable to see it. "You act like this is only going to last an hour or two. You know just as well as I do that this is going to be an all night endeavor." A sigh nearly deflates your entire being. "Especially with the representatives from Kerch. They always get everyone riled up."

He chuckles. "You speak of them as if they're just regulars at the tavern and not government officials."

You pick off a piece of hair that managed to dislodge itself from your scalp and wrap around your fingers. Genya's going to be mad when she sees you.

She hadn't done much with your hair aside from the occasional color correction, but she did make a point to get any kinks out and help it move in one solid direction in contrast to your usual bedhead.

You feel a little bad for messing it up, smiling when you imagine her reaction.

It's not as if you weren't royalty before your engagement. You were simply second born. So it's not like anybody particularly cared so long as you appeared to be put together and well behaved. Your hair was allowed to be a bit messy if you were extra respectful and made an effort to engage when spoken to. You were allowed to have your clothes a little rumpled so long as you came in late, apologized profusely, and fixed them while doing so.

Exceptions were allowed to be made. But now...

Nikolai is in front of you, boots oddly quiet on the tiled floor. His fingers card through your hair, fixing it and moving strands that wandered one way or another.

You weren't meant to accomplish much in your life. Until Nikolai offered his hand in marriage.

"Keep doing that and you'll go bald."

You swat at his hands, no real anger behind it, an uncontrollable grin pulling at the corners of your mouth. He smiles too, and it's a pretty little thing. Teeth poking out and lips shiny with a gloss you know Genya made clear and taste like berries.

You know because he kisses you now, hands pulling you close.

And it hurts.

It makes your heart ache in all the wrong ways.

But you can't help but lean into it, hand pulling at his neck to make him come just that little shuffle closer.

A throat clears from behind him, which he promptly ignores and chases after you when you go to pull away, a chuckle spilling from both of your throats.

"As lovely as it is to see you both happy," Genya marches forward, inserting herself between you both, "you are messing with everything I have spent the last several hours crafting. Hands off until after your guests leave."

She quickly begins fixing your hair, drawing color from swatches she keeps around her wrist and fixing your cheekbones, smiling when you wet your lips and taste the gloss.

It takes everything in your power to not let your eyes nervously flicker around the room, instead letting them settle on Nikolai, who looks just moments away from gently pushing Genya to the side.

"If Ravka and it's neighboring countries have a problem with a King who openly loves his partner, then that's their business."

A plethora of feelings cascade over your mind and heart, seeping into your essence.

It feels... complicated.

And you feel like one of those annoying novel protagonists for saying so, but really you can't find a word in any of the languages you know that could give someone, anyone, some sort of insight into your internal dilemma.

Nikolai is your best friend. Has been since you were eleven.

But you have also loved him since you were fourteen, the feelings slowly moving through your veins like a poison, obvious to you from the very beginning and only becoming stronger as the days pass.

And as far as you can tell, Nikolai does not feel the same.

You remember the day he proposed you get married, and the exhausted and pained expression he wore when he presented you with a ring, smile completely and utterly fake.

You know all of his smiles by heart. And you know on that day, in that moment, he was grieving.

No matter how many times he kisses you behind closed doors, you cannot be rid of the fact that this marriage is for convenience and convenience only.

Love is not shared between you two. Not in the way you want, anyway.

But you take what you can get. Every fruit flavored kiss. Every hand perfectly slotting into your own. Every night filled with hushed sighs and names whispered behind the shell of your ear because he knows you hate the feeling of hot breath no matter who is speaking into it.

You take it, and you put a cold rag over your sad, swollen eyes when you feel like you can't.

Once Genya is done fixing you up, she moves onto Nikolai, who now looks more concerned than anything.

You flick invisible dust off your shoulders, giving yourself a moment to compose yourself when you turn to the silver vase Nikolai was using earlier.

Everything is warped on the surface. Parts of you look bigger than they should when you turn one way or another. You don't know how he could make himself look as good as he does while using it.

"I know you aren't over there poking around at everything again."

"I'm not." You say. "Just admiring your work."

She hums. "As you should."

Nikolai is still looking at you as you turn around, a silent question flickering across his face.

You give him your answer by walking up to him, looping your arm through his and offering a small smile.

He's not convinced. But the doors are opening, and you both have to step through with smiles on your faces and hands outstretched, taking on Ravka's problems and hoping there's enough favors in the world for what's coming.

There's music playing in the corner, people are mingling but still trying to stay in tightly knit groups, and a few refuse to stray farther than a few feet from the table which held a constantly refilling onslaught of finger foods.

For the next few hours you're approached by various people, most of whom you remember from your wedding.

But there's a few who make snide comments, with very thinly veiled insults.

It bothers you a lot more than it should, having thought most of them during your darker hours.

"Will you remain after the war?" Someone from the Kerch council asks.

You chuckle, feeling nauseous. "Of course I will. The war being over doesn't null our marriage."

They just smile and say 'Of course' before walking off, whispering lowly to each other.

After the third time, everything feels a little too much.

"Excuse me." You don't wait for whoever approaches you to nod or protest.

Navigating out of the ballroom feels a little too much like an act of survival. You think a few people try and talk to you, but you're not sure, exiting out a side door and standing in the middle of the hall.

What the is going on with you?

You wipe your clammy and shaking hands on your clothes, dusting off invisible dirt and grime from your hips and chest.

It feels like you're going to buzz out of your skin. You tighten your ears, making a rumble in your eardrums to drown out the music and idle chatter from inside.

The guards that stand outside the ballroom doors give you the side eye. No matter how long you've been conventionally married to a King, you will never get used to having eyes and ears on you at all times. It feels like you can't even breathe without them judging or assuming something is going to happen.

You get it. You really do. After the bloodbath that was Nikolai's birthday, security had been upped. It'd be a political nightmare for something such as that to happen twice. It'd prove that Ravka was as weak as everyone thinks it is. That it lacks the means to protect itself, that it's an open buffet for everyone to take a piece of.

But did they have to have such probing glances? Legs so ready to spring and hands itching to take hold in the face of the slightest danger?

Sometimes your body doesn't feel like your own.

And maybe it's not.

Not when your marriage is founded on a lie.

You exist as an arm piece. Your presense only has one use: to provide the illusion that should Nikolai perish, the country will remain strong.

"Are you alright, my love?"

Nikolai puts a hand on your back, leaning forward to look you in the eye.

Guilt immediately eats at your gut.

"Ill be fine in a few minutes." You manage, relaxing your ears. The rumbling seizes and your head teeters backwards as you whisper, "Just too much pretending."

He doesn't say anything for a moment, eyes roaming over your face with what looks like disappointment flashing over his features. "Do you need to head to bed for the night?"

You chuckle. "Good luck explaining that one to Zoya. The ministers and ambassadors and whatever other important persons there are, are expecting both of us tonight. We cannot disappoint."

'I cannot disappoint.' Is something you keep to yourself.

"You forget that I'm the King, not Zoya." The way he rubs at your back with his gentle fingers makes your heart stutter. "If my partner is feeling ill and wishes to retreat to their room, then they shall do so."

You only sigh, not having anything to say to that.

The bed did sound particularly comforting about now.

For a long moment the world becomes dark as you imagined yourself out of these formal clothes, dressed in your worn out shirt and wide flowy pants that didn't feel like they were castrating your legs. You imagined crawling into your plush bed, tightly packed wool sewn into soft silk.

It was a mistake.

"Nikolai?" You hum, eyes opening to stare at him with heavy lids.

"Yes?"

"One more hour. Then I'll head to bed."

It was a compromise, one he didn't usually entertain. He would much prefer you laying down when you got like this than have you force yourself to stay until the party ends.

But you lean into him a little, wrapping your own arm around his waist, and he becomes a bit more pliable.

"One hour," He agrees. "But I get to check in on you every quarter to ask if you're alright."

You chuckle. "I wouldn't except anything less, Sobachka."

You do not miss the way his eyes go just a bit thinner, a black well forming in each of his multicolored irises.

Just because you feel poorly for your situation doesn't mean you have to make him feel miserable as well.

Especially since you know he's really trying.

Guilt continues to eat at your gut throughout the night, because even if being just an arm piece is your role, Nikolai hasn't done anything to make you feel that way.

He has only ever treated you with the utmost respect and affection. Triumvirate meetings always include you should you wish to go, and your opinion is never overshadowed by him, always taken into consideration even if playfully mocked by the others. He knows every little ick you have made known to him and ones you have not, and has done his best to purge those things from your daily routine.

If what he's craving for that night doesn't suit your tastes or contains a texture you find reprehensible, he makes sure the palace chefs make something that you're craving too.

'It's only fair' he says.

At night, in the dark of your shared bedroom, he'll talk and talk about the things he loves most and rope you into them, dumping any information he has right into your lap for you to pick apart and inspect, and he'll watch as the cogs turn in your brain and find the right questions.

There's never a rush to get the conversation over with. It doesn't feel like just a nicety, because he's still your best friend at the end of it all and he still cares.

He has only ever done his absolute best to make you feel adored.

But it doesn't feel like enough.

Even as he does his last and final check in, not missing the other three by even a minute, you see the way his shoulders are squared and his attention is half elsewhere.

He is a King. He is a performer. And you're part of the act.

"You ready for bed?" He asks, voice low with a flute of undrunken champagne in his jeweled fingers.

You take a look around, and sigh deeply. "Yeah."

His face morphs into a wide smile, immediately finding a server and handing them the beverage to deal with as he ushers you out of the room and towards your shared chambers, flashing that changed expression to the people he was just talking to and giving them some sort of excuse about your health.

The buzzing has lessened, now that you're promised a nice rest. Nikolai nudges you along, but walks at your own pace as you undo ribbons and clasps and buttons.

There's an urge somewhere, to scream. It creates a feeling of anxiety that attacks your backside, feeling as if someone is behind you.

But Nikolai continues to rub your back when he feels you begin to stiffen, sees your hair stand on end, and the feeling dissipates, albeit slowly.

As he opens the door for you, he begins giving some long winded instructions towards the guards that stand outside the doors, everything you were feeling before is replaced with longing and grief.

It's taken you a year, but you're finally realizing that this is your life now.

You won't ever be going back to your home except as a guest. You love your husband. And everything feels too hot and tight.

You shed your outer layers, tossing them over the chair at his desk and undoing your shoes. All that weight feels like a blessing to be shed so easily.

The cool air sends goosebumps trailing up your arms, and Nikolai is there to rub them away.

"I've told the guards to not bother you unless the word comes directly from me." He presses a long, lingering kiss to your temple. "Ill be back in a few hours, hopefully with some leftover snacks from the tab-"

He doesnt get another word in before you turn and capture his lips in yours. Surprise holds his mouth still, but it doesnt last long before he's pressing back into you.

For saints sake (you almost cringe when you remember they're real, according to your husband), if this is your life now, why can't you be a little selfish with it?

You swear you have this oh moment once every few months, but it sinks in a little deeper every time.

It hurts, you think, as you part for only a moment, lips coming back together.

But it feels worth it for now. Right here. Where you can kiss him and kiss him and use the married excuse.

His hands cradle each side of your head, his body pushing into yours. You can hardly feel anything through that damned coat but you'd be hard pressed not to try, fingers feeling the silhouette of his ribs and the way they flow to his hips.

You want that coat off, and pop just one button before you're rudely interrupted by Nikolai walking backwards, taking you with him.

He sits on the plush bed you fantasized about crawling into, and you climb on top, feeling powerful in the way you're able to look down at him.

His mouth opens to speak, but you kiss the space between his brows, trailing down his imperfect nose and finally catching the corner of his still open lips as you undo even more buttons.

Your shoulders feel like they're on fire, a sort of fog clouding anything besides the link between your mind and core desires.

But you'll still take this slow, loving on him and edging him towards the side of staying rather than gaining his senses and walking out that door.

The door that closes behind you.

That, is enough for you to take a squallors power to the fog that covers your brain.

He has a party to go to, you think, turning around and looking at the door, watching a shadow retreat off to the side. He has people to entertain and people to ask favors of.

"Are you alright?" Nikolai asks for what seems to be the hundredth time today.

You feel a little embarrassed, about wanting to ravage him and nearly succeeding with the door wide open for the guards to hear, to see.

And now that you really think about it, the feeling gets so much worse.

"Um- yeah." You decide after much deliberation. "Just wasn't aware the door was still... open."

You move to get off of him, but he hooks his arm around your back and flips you over. You meet the bed with a little 'oof', and in the span of only a few seconds he's got you pinned down.

No real weight is applied to you, but you have no where to shimmy off to should you desire.

One of his legs are between your own, much to your dismay, a hand pressed into the bed beside your head, and a hand gripping anything he can grab of your hip.

His vest is wide open, a loose white shirt the only thing between you and the warmth you crave.

"Are you sure you're alright?"

It almost feels like he's trying to seduce you into honesty.

You release a shaky breath, silently fighting with yourself if this is the moment you want to potentially ruin.

"I love you."

It's really a shame that the seduction works, and that you're just too damn tired of pretending anymore.

His hand tightens around your hip then, the tips of his fingers beginning to dig into your skin. It makes you take a deep breath, almost unable to pass the lump in your throat that was left after your confession.

A horrible parting gift of sorts.

A reward for your idiocity.

But then he leans down, hand coming away from your hip as he slowly sinks down.

His fingers trail up the side of your torso, hips pushing into yours as the rest of him trails behind, stomach meeting stomach and chest touching chest, and if they could you think your ribs would slot together just perfectly with his until your hearts could meet.

He presses a kiss to the corner of your open mouth, hand finding yours and lacing your fingers together.

"Promise?" He asks, heavy eyes and blond lashes fluttering as they look into your own.

Moments like these almost convince you that he loves you too. That he lays awake at night thinking about where to go from here. That he doesn't on some level completely regret getting on one knee and asking for your hand.

"I promise."

He smiles, so genuine and soft.

You feel your heartbeat spread throughout your body, blood pumping harshly through your veins, and you know he feels it too when he has to shut his eyes and compose himself.

You want to move, want to feel him.

So of course that's when he decides to parrot back at you the words that constantly play on loop in your head.

"I love you too."

You look at him then, really really look at him, and watch has his eyes fall open, pupils blown and red waves flowing over his cheeks and nose.

It's a sight to behold.

You want to believe the words that spill out of his mouth, and there isn't anything about him that gives him away as a liar.

But you just can't believe him.

And he sees that.

Because just as well as you can read him, he can read you too.

"I love you." He says, leaning down and kissing just beneath your eyes.

The gloss makes his lips soft, a stark contrast to their usually chapped texture. But he's also just plain gentle, kissing you and whispering small 'I love you's between each one as he moves to your jaw and then to your lips.

"Nikolai." You whisper. Nothing comes to mind anymore.

"I love you." He says again. "And ill do anything to make you believe it."

The lump in your throat returns. "Nikolai."

"I'll whisper it in the morning when you wake up. I'll yell it at you from across the courtyard. I'll scream it from the top of my lungs everytime we—fuck." A moan spills out of him like thick candy, your own gasp surprising you despite it being your fault that your hips came up to press into his.

He takes a moment to think, to wrangle in the words he wants to say before they escape him. "I'll declare it before all of Ravka all over again. I'll eat the little things you hate because I love you more than I hate anything."

It can't be real.

He leans down, his nose brushing against yours till your foreheads meet. You can feel his lips barely brush your own. "What do I need to do to make you believe me?"

"Stay?" You say without thinking. "For starters? Just for a while."

He kisses you, the taste of blueberries welcomed by your tongue.

"With the way you were talking to me, I won't even make it half a bell."

That makes you chuckle, which is completely replaced with a low moan as his cock presses into you. It makes your fingers twitch shut around his gloved hand, the rings digging into your bones.

The pants he's wearing are too tight for your liking. You can't really feel him. Just a vague idea.

And right now, vague ideas are not going to cut it.

He seems to have the same idea as he leans back, climbing off the bed. His coat slips off his body, and his fingers tease under his shirt, well within your line of sight from where you sit up, missing the warmth and friction he was graciously giving you.

"You'll have to wait until I get all this off, darling." He sheds the shirt and moves to his hands, slowly plucking off the rings. The gloves come off after, and you nearly whimper at the sight of his blackened fingers. "It could take a while."

You shuffle to the edge of the bed, not giving him the opportunity to back away as your legs hook behind his own and bring him back to you.

He stills as he watches you reach forward, the tips of your fingers feeling the edge of his pants and barely touch the skin of his lower torso, veins teasing your eyes. You feel like you're floating, the littlest sparks popping around your neck and exploding below your naval.

"We can't have that, can we?" You croon, finding the clasp of his belt and undoing it. "You still have a party to get back to."

He groans the moment his belt slackens, pants falling soon after you unzip the little zipper that held everything together.

You almost wish he would have worn his first army outfit for tonight.

"That I do." He gets out, the sound of various metals falling to the floor. "We should make this quick."

You should be worried about the rings, you think. Either you or him will step on them later and hurt your feet.

But as he leans down again, pressing his lips to your neck and starts sucking that little patch of skin he's mapped out so well, you can't bother to think about it.

You have a King on top of you. You'd be a fool to think about anything else.

-----

The moment Nikolai relinquished his throne in front of the four present nations, your heart sunk.

He didn't look at you for a while, focusing his attention on Zoya, and you were almost thankful for it as you did everything in your power to keep your expression even, forcing a smile on your lips as Zoya began to take charge, addressing those around her for her place as Queen.

You wanted to smack Nikolai for not giving you some sort of warning, but it seems Zoya didn't know either as she gave him the occasional glare when the crowd seemed too focused on gossiping with eachother.

But more importantly you wanted answers.

After that night where you told him you loved him, pouring every bit of meaning into those little words, things were looking up for your relationship.

Little by little you allowed yourself to believe him. He did everything he proposed to you and then some. You unwrapped more of him than you could have ever accessed before and you found yourself allowing him to do the same.

But if he loves you like he says he does, has loved you for just as long as you have, why the hell did he look so damn sad when he proposed to you?

Would he still love you now? Now that he's not King and there truly is no more use for you?

Because despite everything that he's done within the last few weeks, fighting for his country on the front lines and somehow still finding some way to tell you he loves you, staying up into the dead hours of night writing letters and just thinking while holding your hand, you still have your doubts.

He came to you out of obligation. You werent his first choice but he came to you anyway when it seemed the other options were no longer there.

Now that he wasn't King, would he still try?

The Darkling came out from the shadows, challenging the authority of The Apparat.

Nikolai stood beside you, shoulder just slightly between you and the little spat.

Now that he was just Nikolai, would he still find worth in your presence?

He can have anybody now. He doesn't have to worry about the political nightmare it might cause for him to take on a partner with a less than desirable upbringing. He could go for the seamstress at that little hat shop he likes to eye or a baker from the heart of Novyi Zem.

The Apparat is surrounded by Royal Guards and Sun Soldiers nearly leap from where they stand in pursuit of the Darkling. Zoya talks with Nina and the young prince of Fjerda, and Nikolai stays put, a giddy almost childish smile barely contained on his face as he stares at you.

You look at him, begging him to explain as Zoya is roped into conversation with various Ravkan officials, but it seems he's just absolutely overcome with joy.

It makes you smile too, despite the dread and confusion building up in your gut.

"Would you care to explain what just happened?"

He chuckles. "I, just set us free."

"What?"

It's so... surreal.

He looks nervous now, looking around as Ravkan officials slowly peel themselves away from Zoya, the masses still chanting their approval for a Grisha Queen. The seats around the hall are completely empty, and the longer he waits to explain to you what he means the more you feel like you're going to burst out if your skin.

Finally, the last of them leave, and Zoya turns her angry gaze at Nikolai once more.

Wind whirls around the hall, windows shutting. "I," she points a finger at Nikolai, "am going to choke you."

"You'll have to wait in line for that." He takes your hand and squeezes it.

She looks at him then, and scoffs. "We will discuss this after you're done here."

"Depending on how this goes that would be either my greatest pleasure or worst nightmare."

She's already out the door, probably not having even heard a word Nikolai said.

Once the door is shut he turns back to you, a steady breath exiting his lungs.

"Nikolai Lantsov you had better tell me what in saints name you were talking about before I have Zoya throw you so far into the sky you'll touch the stars."

He's still smiling, and giving you that look he always does right before he says the sappiest things.

"It became clear to me a long while ago that no matter what I did I would not be accepted as the Ravkan ruler everyone wants." He takes both of your hands in his now, giving them another squeeze. "And, not so strangely at all, the more I thought about it the lighter I felt. The crown has to go to someone, and as lovely as you are, it brings me great sorrow that those around here wouldnt have found solace in you being crowned ruler either."

And it's true. You were a topic of conversation for no more than two minutes before everyone moved on. You didn't want the crown, and Nikolai was right that the age of the Lantsov's had to come to an end.

"So, I gave the crown to Zoya, because it wasn't all that improbable that they'd accept her after her little display on the battlefield." He chuckles, and you follow along, heart beating hard and fast. "But I would be deemed a liar if I said I didn't have some doubt about it, since it might have meant losing you."

Your blood runs cold. "What?" You want to ask how he could think that, but you were just thinking the same not minutes before. "Nikolai-"

"I am no longer a King. Meaning any marriage I had before means nothing to the people... but it means everything to me." He gets down on one knee, smiling up at you. "I was hesitant asking for your hand in marriage last year because I didn't want to trap you in an arrangement that you found no joy in. But these last few weeks with you where you said you loved me and I've had the joy of showing you I felt the same, have made me feel so grateful that I eventually did."

You could swear your heart was about to explode. You half want to look around the room for a heartrender, convinced someone else is doing this to you.

But it feels so genuine, and it hits you like a pile of rocks why he looked to utterly exhausted that day he proposed.

His lips greet your knuckles, his lashes shiny with what you can only assume are tears. "I will continue to love you, for as long as I shall live, if you will let me and wish for the same."

And suddenly you can't see, because you're squeezing your eyes shut, relief nearly sending your entire system into shock.

You fall to your knees, dirtying your expensive clothes you have absolutely no care for, and grip him into a hug.

"You- You utter buffoon." You sob, tightening your grip on him just as his arms come and wrap around your waist. "Of course I want the same."

That's all he needs to squeeze you against him. You can feel his eyebrows squish together against your neck as he tightens his hold.

If he could completely envelope you into himself, merging your bodies together, you think he would.

If he could hold you so tight that your hearts could kiss, you know he would.

It's a long time before you eventually pull apart, and humor is not lost from him when he does.

"What are you going to do now?" You ask.

He sighs, helping you wipe your tears. "Well considering youre my spouse, I feel like there's an obvious answer here."

You scoff, taking his hand away from your face. "Animal."

He laughs, catching your hand and lacing your fingers together.

"How would you feel about becoming a privateer?"

You look around the room, pretending to think about it.

How would you feel about a life on the seas with your husband? Sailing in nearly any direction you please with goofy hats and guns strapped at your side? Walking the decks with a crew you'd trust with your life and fish and brandy for dinner?

What is there not to love? "I think that'd be pretty fun."

There's hardly anything you can do to make him wait to get back to the palace before stripping your clothes off, the word "captain" coming out of your mouth and sending you both into a fit of giggles.

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