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duckprintspress · 7 months

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Fandom 101: The Origin of the Citrus Scale

A guest post by Aeryn Jemariel Knox. (@jemariel)

Ah, the citrus scale. It’s like a cryptid roaming the edges of modern fandom communities. Long-tenured veterans speak of it with affectionate mockery while newcomers google curiously. A relic from a bygone fandom era, the citrus scale saw a brief resurgence in 2018 during the Tumblr porn ban, suggested as a way to avoid the new bot censors trawling for posts with the NSFW tag—though never, I think, in seriousness.

That may have been jocular and short-lived, but it does point to the reasons why the citrus scale was created in the first place. Certain fandom activities have always had to fly under the radar to one degree or another. Whether you’re trying to evade legal action or simply avoid deletion based on explicit content, a certain level of obfuscation is sometimes worthwhile.

It’s not hard to find the generally agreed-upon definitions of the citrus scale’s levels. According to Fanlore, KnowYourMeme, and others, this is more or less the “official” citrus scale:

Orange: Light stuff, kissing, nothing below the waist or under the clothes.

Lime: Groping, implied sex without details, fade-to-black, no intercourse or intimate contact.

Lemon: Sex, in full detailed glory. Woo-hoo! Regardless of the actual acts performed, if you can tell who had an orgasm (or, perhaps, had an orgasm denied), how, and where, it’s a lemon.

Grapefruit: We’ll get into this later.

But these tidy categories are clear thanks to the benefit of hindsight. In the Wild West of the early internet, it was not so easy to pin down exactly what you might be getting into based on which term was used.

At its origin, the citrus scale wasn’t a scale at all. It has its roots in hentai (and was always more popular in anime fandoms), stemming from a specific early hentai film by the title of Cream Lemon (1984). Hentai being what it is, this led to certain subculture communities referring to any story with explicit sexual content as a “Lemon.” And for a while, that was the extent of it. Then came fanfiction.net purging explicit content (2002), Livejournal suffering Strikethru (2007), and other events that pushed burgeoning fandom communities out of their growing hubs and back into smaller, isolated communities centered on a single fandom or pairing. In the relatively sparse early ’00’s internet, anybody could spin up an Angelfire website, pass the link around to their friends, and get a reasonable amount of traffic. Websites devoted to the works of a single author or small group were common.

I mention this to describe the landscape in which fandom lexicons grew and evolved in the early-mid 2000s. Each pocket community had its own rules, lingo, and expectations; venturing outside of your home pocket could lead to some pretty major miscommunications.

“Lemon” was established early and its definition has hardly shifted. It means that the labeled content (art, fic, mood board, etc.) includes sex. Intercourse, bumping uglies, etc. However, some yaoi fandom niches used it specifically to mean gay sex of the male variety. In some communities, “lime” developed as a corresponding term for feminine gay sex, while other communities brought it up with the usage that eventually “stuck,” “not quite a lemon.” Given that lemon and lime often go hand in hand when discussing actual flavors, the fact that we had some divergent term evolution is not surprising. But coming in from a different pocket of fandom and seeing “lime,” thinking you’ll be reading semi-softcore sexual tension and instead being confronted with graphic sapphic antics? Bit of a shock, I’m sure.

A more dramatic example is the rating level of “Grapefruit,” which occupies two completely different ends of the scale. In some circles, grapefruit was defined as “less intense than lime,” G or PG-rated stories that were more soft or cute than sexy. In other circles, it was used to mean the exact opposite. Kinkier than kink, smuttier than smut, grapefruit art and fic was where you went to have your eyebrows singed off. Some communities were even more specific, using grapefruit for stories featuring non-consensual sex. This was where darkfic lived – in modern day parlance, your “Dead Dove, Do Not Eat” works. To say that this usage difference caused some disagreements would be putting it mildly.

Nobody really worried about orange. Orange just existed, not bothering anybody.

When these terms were coined, the internet was not an assumed aspect of everybody’s daily life the way it is today. There was no Tumblr, no Facebook, no social media to speak of. There were no large repositories of internet lore and knowledge such as Urban Dictionary or KnowYourMeme. It was a playground. And what do you do on a playground? You make friends! The citrus scale, like so many fandom tropes and concepts, was defined by groups of friends that created them ad hoc to meet their own needs at the time. No one could have predicted that it would become so much a fandom history that it’d be enshrined, nor that I would be writing a blog post about it two decades later. From the common source of lemon, people extrapolated what the rest of the scale might look like, and there was no authority to tell them they were wrong. (Except other fans. That hasn’t changed.)

In conclusion, it’s best not to take the citrus scale too seriously. At best, it’s a cheeky way to avoid censors who try to bar a community from engaging with explicit works, but it’s also varied to a fault and open to interpretation. If you and your community have come up with a use for it that suits your needs, then congratulations: you’re part of a fandom tradition stretching back to the roots of the internet. Just don’t try and tell anybody else that they’re wrong. You might start a flame war.

References:

Prokopetz: Orange and Grapefruit

She’s Got Plans: What is the Citrus Scale in Fanfiction?

Unwinnable: Lemon and Lime

Past Fandom 101 Posts:

Everything About A/B/O Dynamics You Wanted to Know (but were Afraid to Ask)

How to Diversify Your To-Be-Read Pile

Recognizing AI Generated Images, Danmei Edition

#duck prints press #guest blogger #fandom 101 #citrus scale

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latent-thoughts · 4 months

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Ravished by a God - Chapter 37

ummary: When a God decides to chase you, what do you do?

You’re Tony Stark’s employee, living in the famed Stark Tower. One day, you get cornered by the notorious God of Mischief and have a very revealing experience about your own kinks. Hence begins your clandestine dance with Loki, who is all too keen to claim you as his and show you all the forbidden pleasures he has to offer.

However, your kinky dance with him is not the only concern you have. Something murky is brewing within SHIELD, and Tony Stark specifically wants you to find the root of it. What can a mere human do when caught between superheroes, gods and a deviant government? You’re about to find out.

[WARNING: This work contains NSFW explicit and taboo sexual themes like noncon/dubcon, BDSM, spanking, etc. It is strictly 18+. Reader discretion is advised. Consume your media wisely.]

Pairing: Loki/Reader

The next morning, you woke up to the sensations of intense sexual pleasure (and some soreness too). As you got your bearings, you realized that Loki had insinuated his head between your legs, and his mouth and tongue were working hard on you.

“Oh…” Immediately, your heart stuttered a beat and began to race. “I like this wake up call.”

[READ MORE]

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thedarkmistress16 · 8 months

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here's some long-awaited tony food for your thots

(im serious this is 100% PWP done in like, *check watch* 6-8 hrs or so in one sitting- it's all over the place, fam)

let me know immediately if any of you want me to community label this, if that makes you more comfortable. if you want another installment (it will have actual plot i promise) just let me know. None of the used images here are mine, they belong to their respective owners, I only own my garbage writing.

Boyfriend!Steve Rogers x Girlfriend!Experienced!Unfaithful!Reader x Jealous!Yandere!Tony Stark- Repression and Suppression

and here are some messy A03-esque tags for your reading pleasure (srsly read these before continuing or you void your reading warranty):

(Lime, Lemon, G-rape, Cheating, Physical Cheating, Unintentional Cheating, Affair, Noncon, Dubcon, Forced Orgasm, Overstimulation, Fingering, Oral, Vaginal, MxF, PWP, Love Triangle, Jealousy, Third Wheel Tony Stark, Sexual Deviant Tony Stark, Manipulation, Humiliation, Dirty Talk, Swearing, Teasing, Gaslighting, Sexual Coercion, Power Play? Beard Burn, The run of shame?, Lust used as a manipulation tool, Tony blatantly misunderstands words, The horny ruins lives, Reader’s never cheated in her life ong she just misses sex, Tony is all kinds of wrong here, OOC Tony Stark, His dialogue is probably OOC sorry about that, No descriptors besides gender have fun)

...

You don’t know how this happened.

…

Okay, you do know how this happened. You and Tony stumbled upon the same floor in an otherwise empty Tower and you both plopped on the same couch shooting the shit. No paperwork for you to do and no big baddie causing a commotion in New York for the Iron Man to stop. And you may have overshared a tad about the feelings you’ve been having at his prompting about your relationship status, but hey, that’s normal, even for sober people. Everyone needs to vent every once in a while. Or overshare, or both.

What you didn’t expect, however, was your totally innocent sex conversation with Tony to turn into dirty talk. Which, alright- fair, this was Tony you were talking to, so probably not your best moment.

“It’s not like he’ll find out.” Tony’s palm rests on your thigh. “And you said so yourself, he doesn’t give you what you need.”

But thankfully, that’s when your brain started working again, and you actively began to create some space between you, with his hand falling off your leg.

“No, Tony. You know who I’m with and you know he’ll be coming back.”

Tony follows you and- what the fuck? Was this couch always this small? The palm greets your thigh again, more insistent now if the pressure was any indication.

“Can you really wait that long?”

You stare at Tony, incredulous at the turn of events. He wouldn’t- would he?

You see him smile at you before diving in for a kiss.

Wide-eyed, your first reaction is to push him off, but he practically falls on top of you, keeping you pinned there as his tongue goes to work in prying your mouth open.

You struggle, and then, well, he knew how to kiss to get what he wanted, that was for sure. It was so different from what you were used to with him, all chaste and loving. Tony used the flat surface of the appendage to massage your tongue, and- holy fuck you really forgot what good kisses felt like. Tony feels so good- so warm and passionate, that his embrace sends you into a blanketed bliss.

And as you make out, that blanket grows more and more stuffy. You lose track of time, and- well, yourself. The next time you open your eyes, you’re greeted to a shirtless and more disheveled Tony Stark on top of you, kissing down your neck, and humping his bulge against you and- oh fuck your pants were gone.

Okay, this had officially gone too far. Yes, this was hot, and yes your body was awakened from the longest dry spell ever by his kisses, but you had to try and stop this. You had to get Tony to shut this shit down, and then blame your horny self later.

But first, Operation Turn off Tony.

“Wait!” Your hands fly to Tony’s chest, pushing with effort despite wanting to melt into a puddle. “I can’t- you know I can’t-”

Okay, your voice would’ve sounded commanding if Tony hadn’t run his hands under your shirt.

And if his arm wasn’t practically glued to the damn cushions you would've had more leeway to shake him off. And if he wasn’t so stron-

Wait- one arm?

…

…oh my god why is he pushing against you?

“Oh?” It comes out automatically and your body absolutely preens at the sensation before you come back down.

Oh fuck no- now two of his fingers are inside you and you’re not sure if you can even try to hold him off now.

Think of Steve think of Steve think of Steve think of Steve-!

“Tony, mmn-m, pl-”

“Why refuse this?” He pauses to let his fingers talk and the resulting squelching has you trying to seal your mouth in protest. “Why refuse me? When the sweet release you want is right in front of you?” His fingers fall away. “And when this-” he rolls his denim-covered penis over your pussy, eliciting a groan from both of you, “cock is ready and begging to be inside you?”

There is no hope to quell your blushing at this point either, you unhelpfully surmise to yourself. But even so, you don’t let up, forcing yourself to meet his eyes.

“He’ll, ah- find out, hah, Tony.” Fucking hell it was hard to form words now, “and he w-will-”

Tony, more envious than you’ve ever seen him, snarls in retaliation. “Don’t think about him! He’s not the one who’s going to be fucking you tonight.” He takes a moment to regain his composure before adding, “don’t worry, baby. I’ll make you feel so good you can’t stand it.”

“Ton- ah!”He hit a sensitive spot inside you, and your body jolted with the feeling. “P-please...ha...” You pant, trying to control yourself as his fingers retract. Trying to think of Steve instead, and all the other reasons why you shouldn’t be doing this. Why he shouldn’t be doing this to you and how he’s currently making you tingle in too many places.

In mock concern, he inquires, “what is it, baby? I’m right here...” You swear to the highest moon that Tony Stark’s teasing is the worst kind you’ve ever had to experience in your entire life; mainly because he does it in a way that pisses you off to no end.

“I- Tony, I n-need you to-” He shushes you, leaving you more baffled. He doesn’t even know your request yet and he’s already cutting you off. The playboy slides two fingers inside your wet canal and you cry out in surprise. They slip out within the next second, not allowing you to properly process the action. He languidly laps at his fingers and you actually whine at the sight, which is literally the worst reaction you could've had. Tony hums at the taste and his eyes, holding your own, gleam wickedly as you attempt to recover.

“Oh, you need me to fuck you baby? Say no more.”

You gasp, utterly scandalized. How the fuck did he interpret a nothing sentence into that? He’s already working on unzipping his jeans and you’re quick to remedy the situation, despite your breathlessness. “No, Tony, that’s not-” A hand swiftly comes down to palm your sensitive pussy and squeezes, attempting to shut you up with desire. You’re shameful when you realize his tactic worked, as you find it elicits a sexual groan from you strong enough to make your head tilt up towards the ceiling and your back arch off the couch. Tony tuts at your wanton display.

“Don’t deny it, honey. You’re absolutely dripping for cock.” He leans in close to your ear and latches his mouth onto your neck. The man nibbles and suckles enough to probably leave a mark before playfully biting your earlobe and whispering, “and I’m more than willing to provide that relief.” A small part of you finds it ironic he’d use the word willing when you haven’t vocally confirmed it in this case.

When he’s fully sheathed inside you, he sits still for a minute, groaning at the feel of you. Tony then starts circling his hips, not thrusting in the slightest, and at this point you’ve had enough of his games. If he wants to do this so badly then so be it. “No teasing…” you huff unpleasantly.

“Hmm? What was that?” His member is still nudging against the ridges of your vaginal walls, causing your lower body to spasm and tighten at random intervals.

“If you’re going to fuck me then actually fuck me.” You make your voice harsh to get your impatience across, keeping your gaze even. Tony simply winks and wastes no time setting a pace inside you, smirking pleasantly as your body shifts from his thrusts. He licks his lips at the sight of your breasts bouncing underneath your shirt and impatiently forces the fabric up to your neck to squeeze at one.

You close your eyes and furrow your brows, focusing your efforts on meeting Tony’s thrusts and tightening your pelvic muscles frequently to help his orgasm along. Judging by his strained moans, the fruits of your past lovers' labor seem to be working. He starts to shudder and you beam with pride.

Jackpot.

That is until he yanks himself out of you completely, struggling to hold himself over your body.

“Mngh, hah- baby,” he laughs in between ragged breaths, “let’s not spoil the fun too early, now…”

Tony then switches to playfully dragging his cock along the splayed seam of your lips, right over your spasming hole, and you wouldn’t have been able to hold in that unholy moan if you tried.

He flips you over without a word, leaving you disoriented with an “oof,” as he re-positions you to make your ass hang lewdly in the air. Tony swats one asscheek and your hands scramble to find purchase before he tries something else, which you seldom find in the firm material. Another mocking sound escapes his throat at your reaction and you turn your head to glare at him.

“Could have given a girl a warning, y’know?”

“Well, sweetcheeks, I can’t very well tackle this raging problem unless I approach it from all possible angles~” His eyes rove over your new position admiringly. “And this view is definitely worth the effort.”

He winks at you, smirking all the while. You refuse to react, deadpanning, before giving up. “Fuck you, Stark.”

He says some other comment you don’t care about- on the lines of having patience- when something wet wiggles across your folds-

Your eyes widen. Was this a better advantage point for him to-

His tongue thrusts itself inside your walls and you lose all sense of thought, wanting to collapse into the couch already. Tony’s firm and swift in his movements, pressing the angle of his chin into your mound harshly and rubbing your sensitive areas consistently. The stiff hairs of his beard rub themselves across your clit as he leans forward and you lose all sense of yourself, screaming into the cushioned void and spasming around his mouth.

Your hips lull into a gentle rocking, you realize, when the sensations have dulled. You can still feel Tony between your legs, but licking you much more softly now. Your satisfied mews fall out of your mouth like a gentle stream, and you let yourself bask in the well-overdue afterglow.

Tony slowly parts from your pussy with a smacking sound, and you feel saliva trailing down your thighs as you whine. You hear him say the word “ready” and you hum questionably, not in the mood for words. He leans forward to kiss up your back and make a path for your ear, reiterating himself.

“You ready for me, honey?”

“Mm, you’re not-?”

“-finished? How kind of you to offer, baby. After all, I haven’t finished fucking you into forgetting him yet.”

Your brain almost fits the pieces together, already turning towards him to voice the question when you feel him line up his cock at your entrance. You don’t even bother doing anything other than bracing yourself as Tony thrusts into you, and you realize too late that you’re still too sensitive.

He’s more insistent as he fucks into you, just as his mouth, but he’s humping into all the right places despite your body singing to the point of pain.

“Ahn! O-oh!” At this point, you literally didn’t care that your face was practically being suffocated by the cushions that Tony Stark- your not-boyfriend- was pushing you into and fondling your breasts. You were about to get an orgasm on a dick you haven’t been treated to in months on top of a great orgasm, and it was quickly feeling like it was going to be one of the best ones you’ve ever had.

“Oh, fuck- yes, oh- Tony- fuck-! me!” You manage to scream out over your lack of breath, feeling his thrusts grow frantic. The determined mumbling he’s spouting over your ear becomes noise as your second orgasm crashes over you. Your ears are fuzzy but you can make out Tony proclaiming your name in ecstasy before he plops down on your back, causing your legs to fully give out.

You pant there, lying in sweat and regret, wanting to move just yet but knowing you have a lot of cleanup to do.

Tony shifts first, stroking your hair as he whispers once more, “So, was that a thorough fucking for you baby?”

Despite yourself, you laugh. Whether it was from the now spiraling guilt slowly ebbing away at your brain or that it was from the sudden feeling of loss in how to handle your new infidelity status, you didn’t know. You chalked it up to exhaustion.

Tony mumbles again, but you’re coherent enough to understand his words and nod, calmly lying there as he gets up.

You waited until the bare ass of Tony left your line of sight before you shot up like a lightning bolt, gathering your clothes and racing toward the elevator in one fluid motion.

You impatiently return to your room to inspect Tony’s damages in front of the floor-to-ceiling mirror, trying to ignore the aftersex glow you still had. Your hands trail over your naked body, taking note of the reddened marks with each twist and turn. Yep, that was definitely a hickey.

They halt on your thighs when you feel a searing pain there and your eyes grow wide, mouth hanging open with a hiss.

Oh fuck. You had beard burn. How the hell were you going to explain that to Steve? Covering them up was one thing- but the itching pain you were going to feel?

The cum inside you suddenly shifts downward and you instinctively clench to hold it in, cringing at yourself. Another man’s mess splattered on the carpet of your and your boyfriend’s room is not what you needed right now.

Biting the inside of your lip, you hurry to the connecting bathroom and wash yourself of the sexual encounter the best you can.

#moi writing #tony stark lemon #tony stark x reader #yandere tony stark #tony stark smut #yeh the citrus scale lives rent free in my brain #tony stark x reader smut #side note:#i had 3 gifs/image inspos on standby and i decided on the funny one because thats literally the plot in my brain #it's 2 hrs later and im still cackling at the ruins lives tag #i like to have fun here

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plantanarchy · 4 months

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My variegated lemon tree is blooming in my greenhouse and I hand-pollinated some flowers today. Citrus trees are one of my least favorite plants to care for but somehow this one hasn't annoyed me too much yet.

#it does have the start of a scale infestation but shockingly no spider mites #it needs a good prune too the poor thing is going to struggle if it gets lemons #i hate citrus because they acquire every pest and are sneaky about stabbing you #you go to pull of a yellow leaf and it gets ya #my plants

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alch3mic · 1 year

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#some citrus scale skeletons #mostly just wanted to design outfits #but #ya know #alch!art #sans #undertale #undertale au

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not-poignant · 5 months

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I've just realised I'm now old enough that when I hear 'Citrus Scale' I no longer think of the Lemon/Lime/Orange categorisations that indicated how much smut was in a fic

I think of literal citrus scale that means I need to chop some branches off my lemon tree lsajfsa

#i don't have a lemon tree but still #this is what i think of #i am both old enough to know what the citrus scale is in fandom #and also think of plants first when i hear the words

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sourfacedlemon · 1 month

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"We Saw You from across the Bar and Really Dig Your Vibe" 🔒

Gifted to me for the Smut 4 Smut 2024 exchange!

Multiple illustrations of Achk Med-Beq, Lunae Minx and Anakin Skywalker for SourFacedLemon, made during Smut4Smut2024

Rating: Explicit

Chapters: 1/1

Fandom: Star Wars Prequel Trilogy

Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply

Relationship: Achk Med-Beq/Lunae Minx/Anakin Skywalker

Characters: Achk Med-Beq, Lunae Minx, Anakin Skywalker

Additional Tags: Digital Art, Fanart, Threesome - F/M/M, Service Top Anakin Skywalker, Explicit Sexual Content, Padawan Braids (Star Wars), Missing Scene From Star Wars: Attack of the Clones, Smut 4 Smut Exchange 2024, Smut

Collections: Smut 4 Smut 2024

#star wars #episode ii: attack of the clones #not safe for whales #citrus scale: lemon #anakin skywalker #achk med-beq #lunae minx #sw art rec #by lemon #smut 4 smut 2024 #sw fanart

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whumpshaped · 7 months

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what would bite look like?

oh look i can still write! sorry that this is the one i come back to ambac with

masterlist bingo card

tw vampire whumper, mind control, very suggestive themes, dubcon drugging, dubcon bloodsucking from the inner thigh, dubcon kisses, conditioning, manipulation

Beck wasn't surprised when Helle pushed him onto the bed, nor when they climbed on top of him, nuzzling against his neck. They had been quite affectionate lately, and he didn't mind one bit — sometimes he wished they'd be... even more affectionate.

His thoughts were a confusing, tangled mess most of the time, and he didn't want to be alone for long enough to make sense of them.

What was surprising however was when Helle pulled away without biting, sliding down his body until they could untie the drawstring of his sweatpants. That... was definitely more affectionate than usual. A tad bit too far, even to Beck's enthralled mind, and he grabbed onto Helle's wrist with an alarmed look.

"Master...?"

Helle stopped and gave him a reassuring smile. "Nothing to worry about, dear. I shall have nothing but your blood, as usual."

A new wave of magic crashed into him, making him release his hold and even stealing his breath for a brief moment. Of course there was nothing to worry about. He never had anything to worry about when Helle was around. "Yes, Master," he mumbled, unbothered by the sensation of his pants being pulled off and tossed aside.

"Good boy," they purred before hooking a hand under his knee and gently guiding him to slide his leg up, until his inner thigh was completely exposed. Ah. Of course. That made sense.

But rationalising it didn't stop his heart from racing when Helle lay down on their stomach and pressed their lips against the sensitive skin. Beck had never had a single person be so close to him, especially not in this way — but there was no resisting the amount of magic that was already in his system. He wasn't afraid or uncomfortable. It was... something else.

"M-Master–"

"Mhm?" They gently kissed his thigh before looking up at him, clearly pleased with what they were seeing. "What is it, darling?"

What was it? He couldn't think when Helle was looking at him like that. It made him squirm, which only prompted them to slide an arm under his leg and pin him down by the hip, locking him in place as they kissed him again. He couldn't think. He couldn't get a word out.

"I'm afraid I am not a mindreader yet," they murmured. "You will have to use your clever little words. You can do that for me, yes?"

"N-no, I–" He cut himself off with a gasp when Helle sucked a hickey into the soft flesh, gripping the sheets like he thought he would fall otherwise. With how dizzy he felt, it wasn't an outrageous fear. "I can't– I c-can't–"

"What a sensitive body you have... I am not the first one touching you, am I?"

Beck swallowed, his face flushing even more. He turned his head in an attempt to hide just how mortified he was, but the pillow couldn't keep out the sound of Helle's low chuckle.

"Oh, that is precious. But you have nothing to fear — it is merely another feeding."

It was not merely another feeding. No other feeding had ever included the vampire's hot breath against his thigh, fangs scraping the surface of it and making him shiver. He mustered up the courage to glance down at them again, to urge them to just get those fangs inside him so the venom would take all these unnecessary doubts away, but the sight was too much to bear.

Thankfully, he didn't need to beg for it. Helle gave him one last dirty grin before they bit down, and all his remaining thoughts turned to dust.

Beck threw his head back against the pillow with a sharp gasp, and suddenly he was very grateful that the vampire was holding him in place. His exhale turned into a high-pitched, broken whimper, but he couldn't find it in himself to care. The venom flowing into his body was pure bliss in liquid form, and everything else only added to the experience.

He didn't realise he was crying until the tears became distracting enough to notice, and even then, he didn't exactly know why. It was all so overwhelming, he couldn't keep himself from sobbing. Helle pulled back and licked the wounds closed, leaving him panting and incoherent, staring up at the ceiling without a single thing in his head.

"Aw, did I make you cry?" they cooed. "I had no idea you would hate it so much." Beck shook his head frantically, because no, no, he didn't hate it. He didn't hate it at all. "Hm? What was that?"

"I– p-please–"

"Please what, dear?"

"P-please more."

taglist: @whumpsday @the-scrapegoat @hidden-dreamland @dismemberment-on-a-tuesday-night @delicateprincepaper @whumppmuhw @florissimps @nicolepascaline @oliversrarebooks @thecyrulik @pirefyrelight @there-will-always-be-blood @pigeonwhumps @echo-goes-mmm @whumpycries @morning-star-whump @d-cs @watermelons-dont-grow-on-trees @tauntedoctopuses @blueyellow8green @typewrittenfangs @whumpsoda @steh-lar-uh-nuhs @auroragehenna @whumpedydump

#whump #whump writing #at my beck and call #helle #beckett #citrus scale #vampire whumper #mind control #very suggestive themes #dubcon kisses #conditioning #manipulation #dubcon drugging

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theficlistpodcast · 2 months

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If you don't remember the citrus scale, you might not be old enough to watch this panel 😂

On this Easter Sunday, learn about the real Alpha and Omega in our absolutely unhinged primer on spicy fanfic and fandom's path to the Omegaverse! Click here to watch it on YouTube!

#omegaverse #alpha/beta/omega dynamics #smut #smut fic #fanfiction #fanfic #fic #fandom #fandom history #fandom culture #ao3 #archive of our own #citrus scale #the fic list #tiktok #another queue bites the dust

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sndwave · 4 months

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I don't mind per se the usage of "spicy" as a semi-sanitized way of referring to sexual content in books but i do dislike how it has no real differentiation between "just barely past pg-13 fade-to-black" and "they fuck nasty in every single chapter in ways you never even heard of"

#...do i dare introduce the concept of the citrus scale to the booktok sphere.#even just the lime/lemon let alone anything more regional

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puppercupboard · 1 year

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Summoning

Ship: Secondo/Dew Rating: Questionably NSFW Contains: Very Lite D/S themes, Non-explicit dirty talk, Cardinal Secondo(Referred to by Brama), Demon Dewdrop Summery: Dew is a mouthy brat even before becoming a ghoul. Unfortunately for him, he's also entirely unprepared for a human who knows what to do with that.

There was only one thing for certain about any summoning, no matter how experienced one was with doing them - they sucked. No matter how smooth they went - and they rarely did - they were taxing in a way that few other things were. They left one aching and sore on all levels, from the physical to the spiritual. Brama has known this since he was given that designation - a Cardinal’s name as reward for his first successful summoning.

His older brother had put up more of a fuss than their father had about his volunteering for it - just more proof for him that Nihil didn’t care much for his second in line, not when his older brother was so clearly the favorite for taking over the papacy. And with his baby brother being the darling of the flock, Brama felt he need to step up his game. He’d not been talked out of it.

He had done a few of them in the years since then - just never for himself.

He was well familiar with the ritual leading up to the summoning at this point. The methodical bathing was handled himself, though overseen by a senior member of the church to ensure it was done properly. The apotropaic mark is paint across the span of his chest in cooled ash suspended in oil. The taste of flesh and wine lingers on his tongue even as he lays back in the sigil - as much a means of providing him strength as it was an offering to the demon that would soon be using him as a doorway.

The candles light one at a time, the last being left unlit for a brief moment while the woman guiding the event asks him if he’s ready. He nods, and bites back a playful remark as the last candle sparks to life. Instead, he closes his eyes and focuses on breathing, slow and steady.

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The drop hits him like a wave slamming into him at the waist, bending him in half and and dragging him under.

The water wraps around him fast enough that for a brief moment, he thinks that the demon already has him. Then he realizes that he’s not sinking, the water was just rising far faster than he’d anticipated. He feels weightless, surrounded on all sides by water that was just a bit too warm to be comfortable.

He turns to look over his shoulder, ensuring that he wasn’t going to be snuck up on, before turning forward again - just in time to see the rapidly approaching form of the demon that had answered his call. For a moment, he thinks the demon plans to slam into him full force, putting him on the physical defensive before he’s even had time to speak a word.

Thankfully, that doesn’t happen.

Instead, the demon’s slows slightly over the last few yards, enough to twist and swim around him in a circle - tight enough that he could reach out and touch the gorgeous fins. They covered the full length of the demon - short, if one didn’t count the added length of his tail - every one of them a pale, dusty pink that passed through pastel blues on it’s way to a purple the color of the night sky. He doesn’t get the chance before the demon’s face is back in front of him, all soft angles and features that were delicate but sharp - large eyes solid black, save for a ring of silver that could only be the iris with the way they surround his pupils. Hair paler than moonlight floats around the both of them as the demon gets settled.

Gorgeous.

“I want to offer you a position among my ghouls,” Brama’s voice echoes through the water, bubbles rolling up from his mouth with every word. A little off script from his usual offer to serve the church, but after seeing the demon that has answered his call, he can’t help but feel a little selfish.

The laugh that the offer gets makes him set his teeth in response. Cruel, but clearly made to echo through the water in a way that his own voice was not. “I’m not in the business of serving humans, what makes you think you’d be any different.”

The statement doesn’t phase Brama - he doesn’t know any manner of demon that would answer a summoning and wasn't willing to serve humans, however complex the standards that one might have to meet to earn that service. He’s sure he’s up to the task, even if he’s not quite as sure he’ll have the time to prove it. Water ghouls were a time sensitive process, after all - the apotropaic mark paint on him protect him from actual possession. It did nothing to protect him from drowning, whether that be the demon’s doing itself or just because he’d spent too much time talking.

“I could make it more than worth your while.” Brama’s tone doesn’t waver, even as the demon shifts and begins to swim around him again, wider circles - no longer close enough for Brama to touch.

A shame, maybe he should have taken the chance when he’d had it.

“Drowning you could be worthwhile too.” The threat is clear in the tone that the demon uses. Clearly, he wasn’t one to appreciate vague promises.

“You’d get nothing out of drowning me but the pleasure of doing it once.” The bubbles stop, a sign that the timer has started ticking down.

“Once might be all you’re worth.”

The demon has a mouth on him, that’s for certain. But he almost seemed to be all bluster - fluffing up like a betta fish flaring at anyone who passes the tank. “If you thought that, then why haven’t you drowned me already?”

The demon whips around to get in Brama’s face, white hair just as puffed up by the motion as the large fins that he flared wide. He seems quite a bit bigger that way, and those teeth he bare at him were certainly sharp. Brama doesn’t flinch, though. If he flinches, the pretty demon might slip through his grasp - or worse, make good on that threat to drown him.

His hand lifts as quick as the water allows, and he grasps the demon’s face - gentle but firm, keeping his fingers out of the way of those teeth. He can feel the tiny scales that cover the demon’s face, iridescent in the light streaming down from above them, hitting every tone in his fins and then some.

“You don’t want to drown me.”

The confidence with which he says it might be undue, but he's not going to waver when he can see that he's thrown the demon off. Perhaps entirely off, if the way that his flared fins fall still and his eyes start flicking back and forth - probably trying to figure out which eye of Brama's he should be looking at.

He settles on the white one.

"No, what you want is proof that I'm not going to roll over because you got a little mouthy."

If he fucked this up now, he might actually drown whether the demon intend to do it himself or not. That was a threat looming over his head that he's not unaware of, but if he showed weakness now, it would be a sure end to the negotiations. The demon would slip from his grasp and he'd have his first unsuccessful summoning. He can't have either of those things happen.

"Nothing to say to that?" The question is rhetorical, and he doesn't give the water demon time to answer. Not that he's sure that he could get his thoughts together that quick regardless. "Good, as pretty as you are, you're even prettier when you're minding that tongue of yours."

The demon looks like he’s not quite sure how he got here. Silver irises are like thin rings of light swimming in darkness, mouth slightly agape. He looks good like that. Brama imagines that he would look just as good on his back, hair fanned over the sheets and moaning.

He leans in a bit closer, the demon’s eyes tracking him the whole way. He’s close enough that he could have kissed the demon’s cheek with ease. He’s also close enough that the demon could have put those teeth to use with great effect.

The demon doesn’t even try. He’s got his undivided attention, and he was living for every moment. He could feel the water rushing past his gills at this distance - an odd sensation but one he would gladly get used to if it meant more time around the demon in his grasp. He had potential, and that attitude meant that he’d be unlikely to show just *anyone* what a diamond in the rough he was.

“Why don’t you behave yourself for me. Come be one of my ghouls, and let me show you how well I can handle a pretty thing like you. ” Brama’s free hand wanders down the length of the demon, starting just under his pecs and moving along his slender waist to the Demon’s hip. No sense in not touching him, if he was going to be playing up the seduction to secure himself this demon. Even if he didn’t he didn’t, and the demon decided to run off, he’d have at least gotten to feel the lean frame of the demon under his hand.

“I know you can be be a good boy, Dewdrop. Come with me."

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The cardinal’s body arches off the shape burned into the wood beneath him. Brama’s eyes fly open and he twists, turning himself onto his side as he coughed up water - the taste of sulphur and salt linger in his mouth well after he’s stopped. No meat or wine in the mess he’s made, only water. A few hacking coughs later, and he looks across the room where the offered body had been laid out.

The candles around the both of them had been extinguished, and while Brama had been coughing up water, the new ghoul was instead sitting in a puddle of it, mist settling around the small, silver haired form that was looking back at him.

He smiles, self-satisfied, and he wonders if the taste of salt water will linger in his mouth with this ghoul as the taste of charred meat had lingered with the last one.

#pupper writes #'questionably nsfw' don't look at me you're lucky i didn't give into instinct and use the citrus scale #i would have post this some other way but like hell im going to figure out posting to AO3 so i can be witnessed further #secondo #secondo emeritus #secondo ghost #dewdrop ghoul #dewdrop ghost #dewii #secondo/dewdrop #secondew #the band ghost #drops this and runs

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the-knaves-world · 2 years

Text

His Name...

Lilia Vanrouge x gn!reader

Slightly(?) Spicy but mostly fluff!

The idea for this one came from @hanafubukki so credit to them! Hope you guys enjoy!

Little side note: I think bc lilia is a fae, he would give his partner some Irish nicknames. Like A chuisle! That means My Pulse, essentially, the thing keeping them going!

Happy reading!

Lilia was a mysterious person to begin with. However, now, he is about 10 times more mysterious than he was before. As you walk in the door you notice 3 things. One is that the table is covered in bags that look expensive, the type of expensive that you would never pay for a few bags. The second thing is the group of people that sure as all hell did not live in your dorm. The third and final thing you noticed was that there were fabrics and mannequins with fine fabrics thrown over them. “What in the bee balms is goin on here?”

Four separate heads shot up to look at you, one in excitement, two looking puzzled and the last one with a small grin. Grim raced over and started pawing at your knees. “Gyah, look henchman!” Grim holds up a slip of fabric covered in what looks like star-shaped glitter. The fabric was a beautiful navy blue. “This is beautiful but uh…what is all this stuff for?”

Deuce spoke up with a slightly nervous look on his face. “The headmaster informed us about an upcoming masquerade ball here at Nightraven college.” Ace snickers and elbows Deuce lightly in the ribs. “Yeah, and juicy here wanted to…” Ace was smack upside the head unceremoniously by Jack. “Alright you two, knock it off now.”

Laughing, you smile at Jack and greet him. “Hey Jack! How was magift practice?” Jack smirks and boasts, “I whopped all those upperclassmen that wanted to play dirty!” Which led to the add in of Vil and Leona to the conversation. “The pup is doin pretty good, needs some work when it comes to dealing with certains types of trash talk though.” Leona is ever-so-graceful as he smirks at Jack from the corner of his eye.

“There are some types of trash talk that even you don’t tolerate dorm leader.” Jack and Leona share a look before going back to leona complaining to Vil about having to get all dressed up for the masquerade ball this year. “I don’t understand the point of this. We aren’t exactly the dancing type. Let alone ballroom dancing. All this is, is a pain in the ass.”

“Leona, you are a dorm leader as well as the second born prince of your kingdom, have some decorum. At least gripe about having to do things like this with some class.” Vil rolls his eyes and looks over to you. “Potato, we were told you were learning to sew and that formalwear is what professor Trein has you working on now. Is that correct?”

“Yeah, he had me start this past month.” Now you knew where this was going. “What do y’all need help with?” Vil smiles and strides over to you. “The theme this year needs reds, blacks and golds. I would appreciate the help with these potatoes and their costumes. I already had to contend with my dorm and I even helped Leona with his. Some help with the remaining dorms would be very much rewarded.”

As Grim heard ‘rewarded’ he hopped to attention and readily agreed to help out. You just have the feeling that you would be doing the majority of the work. “Yeah, no promises on the outfits being supermodel level though.”

Vil laughs and pats your head gently, “I wouldn’t expect that from someone who just started. Just try your best and I’m sure you’ll do wonderfully.” That was reassuring coming from Vil himself. “So when is the deadline anyway?” You feel like you’re gonna regret asking that before agreeing to the request. Vil smirks and states, “One month.” Yeah, nope, no way is THAT happening.

Raising a brow at Vil and the others, you snark “And how exactly are you all going to be helping?” Vil and Trey step forward slightly. “We will be helping procure the fabrics, which is done, and Trey will be helping with the sewing. The outfits taken care of so far are as follows.” Vil and trey go on to explain that trey has finished most of Heartslabyul and the only one left is Caters. The whole of Pomefiore and Savannaclaw are done as well. Ignihyde and Diasomnia is already taken care of, naturally.

“Ocatvinelle is mostly done so we don’t really have to worry about them. Jamil has taken care of Scarabia and is finishing his costume up now.” “So Cater, Jamil, you, Grim and myself are all that’s left?” Vil shakes his head.

“You have already been taken care of.” Tilting your head in slight confusion at Vils’ statement and repeating his words over again in your head, you still don’t understand what he means. “What’dya mean?” Vil walks away and calls over his shoulder, “You got a box with the note to wear it to the masquerade this coming month. No, i don’t know who it came from. Secret admirer much?”

Shaking off Vils’ words for the time being, you plan out how to get these outfits done in time. Trey will do up his and Caters costumes. You will take on Jamil and Grims. You probably will be doing one for yourself too. ‘I don’t trust that box, but a secret admirer? Never had one of those, thought that only happened in movies.’ You walk towards the window where the sun was setting, ‘Time to start and hopefully get everything done quickly.’

~Three weeks later~

Working yourself to the bone to help decorate, finishing the costumes, being voluntold to help with cooking and baking for the benefactors that will be at the party and the staff and students who will be entertaining said benefactors, worrying about the box and helping with tutoring Ace and Deuce. Everything was just way too much. ‘On the upside, Grims costume, Jamils’ costume and all the masks were done and dusted. Now that most preparations for the masquerade were done, the box can be opened.’

‘I wonder, what is my little bat doing?’ As you scan the room, you notice the box. Almost like it was mocking you, the silky red ribbon waves in the wind blowing in from the open bedroom window. You walk towards it and slowly pull the ribbon out of its carefully constructed bow and swear that if any of the students or your friends are pranking you, you are going to murder them in their sleep.

The ribbon slips off the box and reveals a pattern on the back of it. A small ivy vine pattern is painted with great care, the gold paint contrasting to the red of the ribbon. Such care for a ribbon that many would pull off without a second thought. “Whoever did this was thorough and put so much care into this.” The first person that came to mind was Lilia, he put care into just about everything with you. Except for cooking, you were onto his crocodile tears.

Opening the box revealed a beautiful garment with a small glittery sheen. The gloves a beautiful black with silver lining around the fingertips. “Oh my godzilla, this looks like it costs me my apartment rent, for a lifetime.” Picking it up and draping it across your front and watch as it shimmers in the ramshackle lighting. “Beautiful.” As you’re marveling at the beautiful formalwear, you hear a crash from the living room. “Gosh dammit. These guys.”

Putting the outfit away, you rush out to deal with your dorky friends. “It’s gonna be a long day.”

~Masquerade Night~

Walking up the stairs to Nightraven college had never been more stressful. Well except for the first night that you popped out that black coffin. That isn’t the point right now. The masquerade was starting, Grim had ended up stuffing his face with his reward tuna so he was sleeping back at ramshackle, and the worst thing, Lilia hadn’t really made all that much effort to see you these past few days.

Anytime you had asked one of the dia trio, they shook their heads and chuckled, telling you that there was something that Lilia was planning and it would take a lot of his energy. Hard to believe considering the fact that this grown ass man was a fae that has lived for probably 1000+ years. ‘I just hope he isn’t in some type of magic trouble. Maybe Mals’ grandma called for him? Maybe he has to deal with something concerning the other Diasomnia boys?’

Walking into the ballroom for the first time, other than to decorate, was awe-inspiring. The crystal chandeliers were swinging back and forth in a beautiful rhythm of the crystal components twinkling like bell chimes. The decorations that you and everyone, even Leona, chipped in to get set up. The music was flooding the room, the violin an enchanting melody that made one question if one was even still awake, it sounded so magical.

Everything was like a scene out of a movie. That should be a given since Vil had been helping out. Vil and the others really pull through when you need them. “Even if they’re reckless at times, they’re still my boys.” You murmur fondly under your breath. You can never tell them that though, you’ll never be allowed to take it back or live it down.

Striding as confidently as you can in your gifted attire, you approach the tweels and Azul. “Shrimpy!” Floyd calls out, a few heads turn and the people around you greet you while the benefactors stare a little too long for your and the octotrios liking. Floyd wraps his lanky arm around your shoulder and pulls you so that your back is in front of his chest. “Uh..Floyd?”

Looking up you see Floyd with a sour expression. “First that bat and now these old guys?” Jade shakes his head and smiles that uncomfortable smile. “Floyd, they seem to have quite the luck. Let’s not push ours.” Jade pats his hand on your shoulder and leans in to whisper. “Floyd is just upset that people here seem to have no manners when they see something or someone that they like. Mores the pity, I agree with him for once.”

As Jade pulls away, you see Azul looking a bit peeved. “Azul, what’s wrong?” You gently pull away from Floyds embrace and cradle Azuls hands in your own. “Is everything ok?” Usually Azul hated people borderline babying him, but you weren’t being rude or condescending, you actually cared and were genuinely asking because you worried about his feelings. “I am fine prefect, just some people here that have been quite the handful. Moreso than the other students here at Nightraven. Now that is a feat that i didn’t think possible.” Azul sighed and squeezed your hands in return to let you know that he really was ok. Don’t worry so much.

“I am gonna go check on everyone else, can’t have them destroying what we all worked so hard for. Plus, I have never been to a masquerade before. Dream come true for me actually. Makes me think of vampires and being whisked away into moonlit gardens while the music plays.” You giggle to yourself “Sorry, I rambled a bit too much.” You excuse yourself as you mentally yell ‘Lay off of the old vampire movies and horror movies.’ You couldn’t help it though, they reminded you of Lilia. He loves those old movies, always laughs at them while tucking your face into his collarbone. He would stroke your hair and hum lightly to you. He always knew how to make you feel better.

‘Why hasn’t he found me yet? Is he even here?’ These thoughts nag at you until you are caught in between Heartslabyul and Scarabia having a small argument in hushed voices. You only catch bits and pieces. “There is no way…” Jamil whispers to Riddle, who looks a bit miffed. “He looks…” Deuce trails off when Ace elbows him in the ribs. “Yeah well it is, of course he would be…” Aces voice is lost in the sea of chatter that is currently bursting out of the crowds of people around you.

Looking around to see what caused the commotion, you spot Crowley talking to a man with long black hair and pale skin. This man was dressed in all black, gold and silver were accents to the ensemble. Looked something like a military uniform. Scanning the room once more you notice two things. One, Silver is with Crowley and the uniformed man. Two, Malleus is looking upon the situation with great glee. He seems to be having a grand old time.

You look around the room and take note of where everyone is, just in case. Walking over to Malleus and dipping into a slight bow you smile up at him. “Your royal highness, how lovely it is to see you dressed up so nicely tonight.” You cringe slightly, shake your head, hug him and jokingly say, “Finally got invited, Tsunotaro?” Malleus looked unamused at the joke but then cracked a small smile.

“Well child of man, you look stunning tonight. Pray tell, who gifted that to you?” Acting offended, placing your hand on your chest, you gasp. “How dare you imply that I am poor. That I lack the funds to even buy even tortilla chips and cheese sauce.” Letting out a small laugh you go on to say. “I haven’t the slightest clue, to be honest with you. It was left at ramshackle and addressed to me. Had such a pretty ribbon and everything. I didn’t wanna waste the fabric that was given to me, I am actually making new blankets and pillow cases with it.” Malleus smirked again and went on to nod his head in the direction of Crowley and the uniformed man again.

“That is unexpected, isn’t it?” Looking over at Mal in confusion about his sudden topic change, you do take a closer look at the man. The pointed ears that peaked out from behind his hair, the chains hanging from his ears and his sash across his chest. The man in question was a fae. He was also exceptionally beautiful, as all fae seemed to be. ‘I’m doomed if I ever meet Mals’ grandmother. I’ll probably pass away from those damn fae genes.’

Thinking about fae genes got the ball rolling. “Malleus, have you seen Lilia tonight?” Malleus looks even more amused and states “Why yes I have. It just so happens that we live together. My child of man, he is here, you needn’t worry so.” Malleus pats your cheek lightly. “Maybe going out onto the balcony will help, you look a little flushed.”

Malleus offers his arm to you and you take it gratefully. Maybe Mal was right, it was hot as balls in here. Maybe the night air would help. Stepping out onto the balcony was a welcome change. The night air was cool to the little skin that you had exposed. Malleus perked up a bit and excused himself, citing that he heard Sebek looking for him. That was easy enough to believe, knowing Sebek, everyone in that ballroom knew that Malleus was nowhere to be seen.

You hear the glass doors open and close quietly. You turn your head a little to see the man from earlier. Getting a better look at him now that you were in closer quarters and the lights that Crowley had installed by request of everyone who had seen the balcony.

This man had long feathery lashes, a face sculpted by the fates themselves, eyes so deeply crimson that you felt like you would drown in them and lips that were only slightly tinged baby pink. He was ethereally beautiful. Suddenly, that ache in your chest started again. ‘He isn’t here. Lilia should be here with me right now, not some fae that I didn't know the first thing about.’

Some of that mental anguish must have shown on your face because the fae man called out. “Is everything alright?” He stepped a bit closer, enough to reach out and catch you should you stumble but still far enough away to not get hit with a blast of pepper spray should he say or do something wrong.

All I could think about was Lilia..why wasn't he here? Why did he stop coming to find you everyday? Was he bored? Or was he just extremely busy?

Shaking off that train of thought, you looked up and smiled lightly at the man. "Sorry for spacing out there! Come out to get away from the noise and Crowley? Or did you just see Prince Malleus come from back here and decide to investigate?"

Laughing at the absurdity of the current situation, you give him the name of your favorite gemstone, can't give a fae your name and all that. The man smirked and shook his head, you can't lie to fae either.

"At least you are taking proper precautions. Thank you for listening when you were no doubt told to give a fake name. At least you are being polite about it."

"Should've known that you would know that's not my name. But thank you for not pushing for it or thinking me rude for not telling you."

He steps a bit closer to the railing and sets his gloved hands down on it and turns his head slightly to look at you.

"Little one, you have no idea who I am, do you?" You look a little startled. "Not to be rude sir, but should I know who you are?" He looks amused.

"You know, my son always said I was scary when he was a kid. I intimidated him and others around me. So I usually appear rather short, helps me blend with other people better." He looks a bit bemused at the words he had just spoken.

"I know you are a fae but I was under the impression that shape-shifting was very energy consuming. Even the Fairest queen had a bit of an energy drain when she transformed herself into a crone."

You look up to him and tilt your head very lightly.

"Is that just for humans then, the energy drain, I mean?"

"We fae are birthed from magic and should we die, we return to that magic. We use it from birth, we do not have as many magical limitations as humans do, my dear."

Turning to you with a small smile, he continues.

"Some have greater affinity for certain types of magic, while others may even be able compete with lower level fae magic. It all depends on the person."

The music swells inside the ballroom and you look through the glass doors to find the most recent dance coming to an end.

"He's still not.." You whisper, so quietly the wind almost steals it before it can reach his ears.

"This may be a bit forward but may I have this dance?" Lilia is sure you'll say yes. You looked so excited to dance when he talked to you about it this past month.

"I'm sorry sir, I'm waiting for my partner. I thought he would have been here by now."

You could've sworn that you saw his shoulders shake a bit. Was this jerk laughing at you? And they say humans are the mean ones.

Once you're done mentally pouting you hear him call out.

"Well, until he comes to sweep you off of your feet, please allow me to keep his precious gem company." He bows and then, once back at his full height, he offers his arm.

You feel your cheeks warm at his words. 'Quite the charmer, this one.' Deciding that it can't hurt to dance for a little while, you take his arm and ask.

"May I have a name to call you? I rather not dance with a complete stranger."

He turns his head and gazes at you with, if it were anyone else, what you would call fondness.

"You may call me Kieran, only when we're alone though. Nicknames in public are most appreciated."

'I just met this guy, fondness doesn't happen this fast. At last, I don't think it does.'

He opens the doors and escorts you into the ballroom and over to the part of the floor that holds the people in ball gowns and suits. All way too expensive looking, beautiful, but expensive. You've never felt so out of place, at Nightraven that was saying something.

"So kie, if that nickname is acceptable?" At his nod you continue. "What do you do, if you Don’t mind me asking, what you're wearing looks more like a military uniform."

He pulls you till you are a hairs breadth away from him, one hand on your hip and another holding your hand securely with his.

"One, I haven't said it yet but I do adore the bat mask you are wearing, the black brings out the gold lace on its wings."

You feel that familiar heat that Lilia always seems to ignite. 'Lilia…no way, he wouldn't. Would he?'

Kieran seems to know where your head is at.

"He still isn't here? Tsk tsk, what an irresponsible man, to leave his little Dove all on their lonesome. You never know when the bats will flock." He chuckles.

His hand on your hip splays across the small of your back, such a familiar touch. "Lilia.." You've never heard yourself sound so breathless before.

"Yes my little Dove? Sorry for not telling you sooner. However It was enjoyable to talk to you without our normal banter. You seem a bit more reserved, but that is normal. I'm happy that you listened when we told you about fae customs."

As Lilia leads you in a waltz, you have the common sense to ask.

"So the name you gave me?" He smiles with the most gentle look that you have ever seen in his eyes.

He leans in and whispers so very softly. "That is my true name. So no telling anyone. But please…scream it for me later tonight my love."

You catch your breath and shudder against him. "Lilia…don't tease me in public please." You look around and follow up with "Other people here have extremely good senses. I don't want them to…"

As you trail off his hand at your back clutches you tighter. "Mine, and everyone with half of a brain cell knows that fact."

'I'm not going to survive the night with Lilia. This man' you whine at him. Lilia can only press small kisses at your temples in an attempt to soothe you.

"What happened to my humans adventurous streak, hmm?" He continues with a smug "I seem to recall you sitting on my leg in Diasomnias’ common room and quite…enjoying yourself. I even had to send Sebek and a few others away because I couldn't bear to rip away your enjoyment."

"You look so darling with your face scrunched up in euphoria, panting against me as you get so close to your breaking point. Watching you hit your high is one of the most thrilling and satisfying things I have witnessed in all my thousands of years of life, my dove.”

Still leading you across the ballroom floor in a swift, graceful display, Lilia spins you and pulls you even tighter against him than before. “I thought you said you hated formal affairs Lilia?” He smirks at you and huffs, “Just because I do not like it does not mean that I am not good at it. Nor does it mean that I cannot do it at all.”

As he plants a longing kiss to your lips, the song ends, signaling the end of this dance between two worlds. Lilia places his arm around your waist and guides you off of the ballroom floor, right over into a group of Diasomnia students, Malleus, Silver and Sebek included.

Before anyone can say anything, there is a murmur of awe among the Diasomnia students. Whispers of a war hero from Briar Valley. Whispers of how there is no way that he could possibly be with a human. ‘Ok, I’ll admit, that hurt.’

“It is inadvisable to talk or whisper about people. Especially when those people are right in front of you. Now then, does anyone have anything they want to say to the general? Or are all of my fellow dorm members cowards?”

The silence that follows is deafening against the noisy atmosphere of the party. Lilia pulls you closer to his side and rubs circles into your side. “Come now my dove, we still have some things to talk about. Silver, Sebek, take care of Malleus. Understood?” There was a tone you haven’t heard before. It was..kind of exciting.

“Understood Lilia.” Silver and Sebek stand at attention and bow slightly to Lilia. “Let’s go little dove.”

Walking outside and settling against the balcony railing was a rush of much needed cold air. The autumn night air is cold and crisp, the smell of apple cider and pumpkin pie wafting from the table of food near the balcony doors. This was peaceful after all the noise and looks.

“You looked stunning under the crystal lights. A vision to my eyes, one I wish to see more often.”

“Kieran, this is what you really look like? What you sound like?” The thought that he had kept even more from you than this nipped at the back of your mind. ‘I understand that fae are secretive by nature because they are higher magical beings but this was an important thing to me.’

Kieran sighs and wraps his arm around your waist. “I am in history books here dove, not exactly easy to blend in to watch over my son and crown prince if everyone is always on guard or watching me. I will not tell anyone, that I do not trust, my real name. You got to know that, you get to see me this way before our peers.”

Kieran leans down to hold your face between his large hands. Kieran pulls back and steps away from you. You feel a small ache in your chest, you didn’t want him to go anywhere, just talk to you. As he looks into your eyes, he gets down on one knee.

“Lilia, what..” The bat fae brings one gloved hand to his heart and utters “My name is Kieran. I was once a guard for the royal family of Briar Valley. I trained soldiers for hundreds of years, I adopted and raised a human son, Silver.”

Kieran goes on to explain a few things, like the fact that he took Sebek in because of his friendship with Sebeks’ grandfather. Malleus has been with him since he was freshly hatched and that, yes Malleus’ parents were in fact, dead.

“I wanted to get to know you as a person, I also had to make sure my charges were in no form of danger while here. This was to help my three charges grow as people, I was not expecting to find love after so many years. I especially was not expecting to find love with a lovely human from another world entirely.”

Kieran takes your hand in his and holds it like he was scared you would run from him now that you have seen his true form. ‘He does look and sound kind of intimidating. I thought Silver was kidding or exaggerating when he said that his father was scary to a lot of people back then.’

“My dove, are you angry with me, now that you know my reasons?”

You drop down to Kierans knelt form. “I wasn’t mad at you, I was hurt, sure, but I also understand why you didn’t show me. You’ve dropped hints about having another form plenty of times. I’m just glad that I get to truly see you now. Though..just one thing.”

“What is it, little dove?” “I love your name, truly I do. However, may I still call you Lilia?”

Kieran sighs in relief. “Thank goodness, you have no idea how worried I was. You may call me whatever you please. Hearing you call me Lilia has given me quite the attachment to the name. Though, that ‘kie’ nickname is also a welcome name.”

Your beloved Lilia pulls you into his arms, cradling you against his broad chest. Rubbing your face against the base of his neck, you mumble “I could so get used to this lil.” Lilia hums in contentment, “I am so glad you do not find me scary. I shall have to show you this form more often.”

“Sounds heavenly Lilia.” After a few moments you mutter, “Love the knee-length hair hunny.” You feel Lilias’ chest shake with his quiet laughter. “Do you want to play with it, little dove? You are most welcome to.”

“Shall we go back inside my dear?” Thinking on it for a minute you decide that, yeah it is getting way too cold for your liking. However, there was something you always wanted to do. You both stand up and Lilia pulls you into his arms again.

“Hey Lilia?” Lilia hums in answer, a silent ‘yes?’. You pull his face to yours and wait for a few seconds to see if he would pull away, when he doesn’t, you seal his lips with yours and pour all the love you feel for him into that single kiss under the moon and stars, fireflies all around.

A true loves kiss indeed!

#lilia x reader #lilia fluff #lilia vanrouge x reader #lime #bring back my citrus scale pls i am begging

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