dancingontheblades

[dancingontheblades]

can we speedrun ISU accepting same-sex teams and then convince Kaori and Wakaba to return as ice dancers together next quad. for the good of the world.

[dancingontheblades]

ICE BRAVE Aichi, 14 June 2025 Stéphane Lambiel Timelapse/Spiegel im Spiegel 📸 Matsuo Kenjiro, Yoshida Kota

[dancingontheblades]

· · ─ ·✶· ─ · · · ─ ·✶· ─ · · · ─ ·✶· ─ · · · ─ ·✶· ─ · · · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·

APPASSIONATO

and his free skate costume!! very fun to draw. I like that he kind of fades into the background, very dramatic

drawing his costumes made me realise that they're both almost half mesh, which, like. iconic, but also, I bet it gave his grandad and Yakov heart attacks. then again, welcome to the madness exists

[dancingontheblades]

Describing how I experience my asexuality is wild because I feel like when I talk to anyone other than my wife about it, I get looked at like im saying the moon is landing is fake or the earth is flat.

The way I experience asexuality is like looking at a gallery of all different kinds of art. The feeling of having no sexual attraction, to me, is best described as looking at a beautiful painting of a landscape. You can see the flaws in it, the brush strokes, the colors, the perspective, and the technical ability needed to make such a thing, and you suddenly feel a divine sense of awe. But you dont want to fuck the landscape painting.

Thats how it feels for me to experience no sexual attraction. Because even though I dont have sexual attraction to anyone in particular (male, female, nonbinary, etc) i can still admit when someone is beautiful.

But being asexual, as many asexuals already know, doesn't mean you're always repulsed by the act of sex. I would consider myself a sensory seeking, sex positive asexual. Which to me means that while I don't experience sexual attraction to anyone, I can still desire the sensation of sex and the closeness I'd feel with a partner. I can still desire the sensory experience and pleasure of sex without feeling sexual attraction. But I also don't need to do it in order to be happy in my life or relationships. It's just a fun little added bonus if I have a partner willing. And just because I can have sex and sometimes want it doesn't make me any less asexual than any other ace.

[dancingontheblades]

** Permission to post it was granted by the artist Support the artist on their page too Please don’t remove credits & don’t repost/edit the art **

Artist : @mkt__love

Source

[dancingontheblades]

ICE BRAVE Aichi, 14 June 2025 Shoma Uno & Stéphane Lambiel See you again by by Wiz Khalifa feat. Charlie Puth & Finale 📸 Matsuo Kenjiro

[dancingontheblades]

[dancingontheblades]

寝る前のヴィクトルと勇利とマッカチン

[dancingontheblades]

From St. Petersburgh with Love (YOI continuation) - new chapter

Chapter 10: Things that happen when an adult couple lives together - excerpt

“Why do you always butt in on how I handle my athletes, Vitya?” Yakov asked sourly.

Viktor pouted. “I’m just pointing out ways to optimise training for all of us.”

“No, you’re trying to optimise training for yourself and your boyfriend.”

Huh? Is he still bitter over me taking time off to coach a student of my own? Or is this about something else? Viktor pulled a folded sheet of paper from his coat. “I’ve sketched my idea here. Have a look and tell me what you think, okay?”

Scowling, Yakov took the sheet from him. A long moment went by, filled with the scratching of blades on ice and Yakov’s eyes flitting across the sheet. Then he let out a long sigh. “It’s not that easy, Vitya. I must think this through. Let’s discuss this after Europeans.”

Viktor hated being left hanging in suspense. He hated not being taken seriously. It hurt that after twenty years, Yakov still had no trust in him. “No, Yakov,” he said. “No more power games. I don’t care if you think little of my coaching or doubt that I’ll be able to make a comeback. You accepted me back and I would love it if you gave me a chance. So, let’s get along.”

Still scowling, Yakov cast another glance at the paper sheet. “At least, you had the mind not to reschedule the times when I have the rink. If Georgi wants to skate late, he may have that.”

“Thank you, Yakov!” Viktor exclaimed and hugged his coach.

Yakov grunted. “Listen Vitya.” He jabbed his finger at Viktor. “The new schedule will come into effect after Europeans. I don’t care what you and your boyfriend do until then.”

“Okay. Now, let’s talk about sending me to Worlds.”

Twenty minutes later, Viktor left the rink. In the corridor, he stopped and checked his phone. He had one new message from Tasty Katsudon.

[Where are you?]

[On my way home. I’ll bring news], Viktor texted back.

...

Read Chapter 10 of From St. Petersburg with Love here

This is another chapter that I'm posting with a huge delay and I apologise for this. I always had the feeling that something was amiss, but I couldn't put my finger on it because as the writer of this, I tend not to see the forest for the trees. So I had a long and constructive talk with my beta who has read enough of this work by now to have a comprehensive overview. As a result of our discussion, I've made some structural changes, trimmed meandering dialogues, and amped up an entire story arc. This especially concerns the unpublished chapters, but I've also made some minor (and not plot-altering!!!) changes in Chapters 1-9. I hope these changes will make reading them more enjoyable and compelling.

You will find a list of all changes in the end chapter notes.

[dancingontheblades]

Елизавета Туктамышева Elizaveta Tuktamysheva (RUS)

2021 World Team Trophy Short Program (80.35, SB)

[dancingontheblades]

D/s and Emotional Needs

This post is basically a transcript of a speech I give to newbies to the D/s scene all the time IRL. I figured it might be useful not only to people curious about kink IRL but also to smut writers here on the smut writing website.

For the purposes of this post, I am sending specific physical acts out of the room. Right now they don't matter, because you can meet an emotional need through any number of physical acts. So when I say that there are many ways to dom and many ways to sub, I am not referring to many kinds of physical acts. I mean that there are many emotional needs that doms and subs bring to scenes, and those can change the scene more than the choice of physical acts that will occur in that scene.

I say this to newbies to the scene because they tend to have a narrow view of the motivations and needs that bring people to D/s, biased by both the newbie's own preferences and the depictions of D/s they've seen in media. The same is true of people who write kink fic. Kink fic is very biased to a narrow subset of the wide range of emotional needs that people might bring to this kind of play.

It's really important to understand this in D/s IRL because a mismatch or miscommunication about these needs can lead to a bad scene. For example, let's take the approaches of sub-as-beloved-pet and sub-as-object. If a dom treats a sub as a beloved pet when what they really want is to be treated like an object, then a sub who went into a scene needing to be ignored, or at the very least the illusion of being ignored and disregarded, is suddenly in the spotlight of a lot of intense attention and affection. Again, I will note that both of these scenes could potentially involve the same physical acts, just approached differently. Let's say it's a service submission scene where the sub is naked and cleaning the room for the dom. Sub-as-beloved-pet would get frequent praise and lots of patiently repeated instructions, while sub-as-object would get one detailed instruction at the beginning and no reinforcement except a punishment if they get part of the instruction wrong.

I'm going to go through a bunch of different styles of dom and sub, with the emotional needs that underlie them. This list is not exhaustive. I'm sure there's more I haven't thought of or encountered, so feel free to reblog with additions. It may also be a bit dom-biased because I'm a dom, but I think that might be for the best, because the emotional needs of doms are generally less understood than those of subs.

Various consensual kinks discussed below. Kinkshamers in the notes will be blocked with extreme prejudice.

Dom-as-control: This may seem obvious or even trivial, but it shouldn't be dismissed: many doms are motivated by an emotional need to have some part of their life where they have total control over what is going to happen. Something that I love about this style of domination is that I always know exactly what will happen next (except if there's some emergency, safeword, or other issue to address.) There are no wild cards in a controlled D/s scene except for those I explicitly allow (like if I ask a sub to choose which whip I'll beat them with.) This is also a reason why I personally have a very hard time switching; I have difficulty with the uncertainty of not knowing what will happen next. It should be noted that this style of domination is fairly incompatible with the bratty style of submission, as the brat is constantly throwing wild cards into the scene.

Sub-as-blankspace: The other side of this coin is the sub who needs to not have to think anymore. They've spent all day deciding what to wear and what to eat and which toothpaste to buy and they just want to stop. This is a very common motivator. This sub needs specific and clear commands from a dom, without too many steps, or else needs to have a well-established protocol of kneeling and service that they can do by pure muscle memory. This sub does not want the dom to offer them a choice of whips they can be beaten with, because that forces them out of the blissful blankspace of not needing to choose.

Dom- or sub-as-service: The same emotional need can sometimes motivate domination or submission! Many people dom or sub out of a desire to please their partner. It's about taking on a defined role that you know will meet your partner's needs. It feels good to be needed, after all. This motivation for D/s is generally the best understood by the public, especially as a motivation for doms. It's generally more socially acceptable to want to control and torment people if you're doing it selflessly in order to please them. A big part of my motivation for making this speech to people, and for writing this post, is to point out that this is far from the only style of domination, and pleasing their subs is far from the only emotional need that doms might have.

Dom-as-whumper: I'm using this terminology because of the website I'm on. I'm not into whumpfic, but I recognize in people who have a visceral need to see their blorbos whimpering and bleeding the same need I have to tear apart a cute kitten with my bare hands, or to crush a sub beneath my booted foot. It's the cuteness aggression approach to domination: sometimes your sub is so cute your hands itch with the urge to destroy them. This is where domination and sadism bleed into each other; this style of domination does not work well for the sub who wants to submit without being hurt or humiliated.

Sub-as-object: Subs who like to be treated as furniture, robots, or objects are often motivated by a need to enjoy a sexual or kink situation while being free of attention and scrutiny. Obviously, some baseline level of attention is needed for BDSM safety; the dom needs to be able to notice if the sub is injured or upset. But beyond that baseline, it can feel very freeing for a sub to be turned on, blissed out in subspace, crying, drooling, whatever, without anyone closely watching or listening to them, so long as they fulfill whatever their purpose as an object is.

Sub- or dom-as-flex: Both doms and subs can be motivated by a need to feel competent. I definitely feel awesomely powerful and competent when I do a style of domination that requires specialized skill, such as hypnosis. Submission can also provide a feeling of competence: look how long I was able to stay kneeling on the hard floor! Look how perfectly I cleaned the room, exactly as Mistress told me to do it!

Dom-as-troll (or mad scientist): The sibling to this kind of dom is the writer who thinks "wouldn't it be fucked up if....?" and then writes a freaky nasty little horror story about it. A great thing about D/s is that you can have a thought like "wouldn't it be fucked up if I tied up my sub and then ate their favorite snack right in front of them?" and then you can just do it (provided you know your sub likes to be tied up and tormented.) Then you can find out how your sub would react to your terrible ideas and laugh evilly at the results. The emotional need being served here is the goblin part of your brain that wants to break things just to see how they shatter. All you need to do is find someone who wants to be broken.

Sub-as-brat: Brats are often discussed as a single type of sub, but in my experience, there are two rather different emotional needs that drive brats. Some people are brats because they need the assurance that they can act out all they want, and it won't derail the action; the dom is strong or skilled enough to subdue them no matter what nasty tricks their goblin brain gets up to. Other people are brats out of a need to live in a predictable and fair moral universe. Those brats want a very clear system of rules and punishments for those rules. Then they test the rules, and they get meted out exactly the punishment they were promised. Within the world of this scene, the world is fair, and the same misbehavior will always face the same consequences, something that rarely happens in the real world. These types of brats are rather different, because the first kind of brat doesn't care as much if the consequences of their misbehavior are inconsistent, while the second kind cares a lot.

Sub-as-beloved-pet: Or beloved child, if they're an ageplayer. I find that subs that like to be a beloved puppy are driven by an emotional need to be loved, treasured, and supported unconditionally, even if they make mistakes, even if they behave messily or clumsily, even if they look silly, because that's how a good pet owner should treat a pet. There might be discipline involved, but the discipline is very supportive and patient.

Dom-as-nurturer: Some doms are motivated by a need to be in a nurturing role that their non-D/s life may not allow them to fulfill. For example, a man who wants to express affection and tenderness to his partner but has a hard time doing so because of the way he was raised may be able to unlock that ability if his partner plays a sweet puppy and he's playing the puppy's doting owner. Basically, the D/s scene creates a little world and a set of roles in which it's expected and normal for the dom to be nurturing, even if that's not true for the dom outside of that scene.

Dom-as-enfant-terrible: The other side of the coin is a dom who needs to be in a role where they can be unreasonable, demanding, and selfish, a role that their non-D/s life may not allow them to fulfill. For example, a mother who spends all day thinking about her family's needs may relish the opportunity to center her own desires without worrying if she's being "too much." She can be impatient and fussy and demand the sub do things over and over until she's satisfied, all of which she can't do when she's working as a teacher or other caring role.

Dom-as-artist: I think this is a hugely under-appreciated motivator for doms. Many have a need to be creative and imaginative that they fulfill through domination. I've been to workshops and demos at kink conventions where I've been awed by another dom's fiendish creativity. I once watched a hypno dom with a sub who got off on being afraid, and he hypnotized her and crafted an extremely elaborate horror scene in the room, filling it with menacing shadows and phantasms. This is where I'm contractually obligated to link A Dom DM because this is where domination overlaps a lot with game running and game design.

Sub-as-aesthetic-object: The flip side of this coin is that many subs enjoy being an aesthetic object or canvas for a dom's art. Very often these are subs chasing a need to feel beautiful, or at least enjoyable to look at. Subs who want to be aesthetic objects may enjoy wearing special outfits during scenes, or being posed in sexy or appealing positions. Subs in this kind of scene may enjoy letting go of worrying about whether they look good to the dom, because the dom is shaping them to their own preferred aesthetic, whether that's via poses, makeup, shibari, or something else.

Sub-as-sexual-creature: A lot of subs enjoy being called sluts, offered up for free use, or otherwise being hypersexualized. Why is that? Well, our society has a lot of shame and repression around sex, and it can feel much easier to relax and enjoy sex if it's couched in the fantasy that you have no choice because you've been reduced to a purely sexual creature. The sub has an emotional need to give up responsibility for choosing to have sex and be sexual, because that responsibility is a heavy weight to carry.

Dom- or sub-as-taboo-breaker: This is a huge motivator for both doms and subs. We all live in a society, and sometimes we feel a need to break the rules of that society. Both domination and submission provide opportunities to do so. It's taboo to piss yourself as an adult, but a watersports scene creates a space where it is acceptable or even desirable for a sub to break that taboo. As a dom, I personally get a huge taboo-breaking thrill from slapping a sub across the face. There's something about the sheer disrespect of it, and the memory of being scolded for doing it as a child, that fills me with impish glee.

Dom-as-hunter/sub-as-prey: For the hunter to catch the prey, there must first be a chase, or at the very least an ambush. This need not be a literal chase (we sent physical acts out of the room, remember?) but it is a dynamic to hunter/prey-flavored BDSM: the hunter has to earn it. This fulfills an emotional need for both dom and sub: a dom who struggles with feelings of unworthiness can feel like they've earned their partner's submission, and a sub can feel that the dom cares enough to put in the effort to catch them. Hunter/prey also allows dom and sub to explore some pretty dark emotions within the safety of consensual kink, such as fear, obsession, and consumption.

Dom-as-shadow: I mean shadow here in the sense of shadow work. Many doms take inspiration from people who bullied them in school (and many subs enjoy re-enacting scenes of childhood bullying in a safe and consensual context.) There is a real emotional need served by claiming the power of those bullies for yourself. Those childhood cruelties can be utterly transformed by the change of context. For example, the catty whispers and sneers of straight girls who bullied me for being queer comes out very different when I perform those same catty sneers as a genderfucky adult.

Sub-as-lesser-being: While some subs like to be beloved pets, and others like to be disregarded objects, some like to be pond scum. There can be a real freedom that comes from occupying a role of being disgusting and horrible. Nothing good or useful can be expected of you, and nothing you do will ever earn praise, and so you're free from worrying about or pursuing any of those things. Sub-as-lesser-being is also a space to explore difficult emotions like shame and humiliation in a safe context.

[dancingontheblades]

** Permission to post it was granted by the artist Do not repost/edit the art without permission Please, support the artist on their pages too **

Artist : @garryxibxmary

Source

[dancingontheblades]

** Permission to post from their pages was granted by the artist Do not repost/edit the art without permission Please, rate and/or bookmark their works on Pixiv too **

Date with boyfriend

Artist :   流ｳﾗﾗ (pixiv / twitter)

Source

[dancingontheblades]

The harsh reality of being an ice dance fan is coming to the realization that all the ladies in this sport are gorgeous and 95% of the men are just there

[dancingontheblades]

Shoma Uno's Interview, after Ice Brave 2025 First Day (14 June 2025)

Full Transcript in Japanese by World Figure Skating: https://worldfigureskating-web.jp/news/13417/2/

Nikkan Premium (paid): https://www.nikkansports.com/premium/sports/figure/news/202506140001795.html

— What are your thoughts after finishing the first day?

Honestly, I'm surprised to be surrounded by even more people now than when I won the World Championships twice (laughs). But setting that aside (laughs), we created this ice show from scratch, and it wouldn't have reached this level of quality through my efforts alone. I received so much support from so many people. And it wasn't just business-related support—people went above and beyond, doing more than what was required.

There are only seven of us performing this show, and it's that very fact—being just seven—that made it both possible and extremely difficult. But everyone stuck with it until the end, and because of that, we were able to have an incredible opening day.

Also, this kind of demanding ice show is really hard to get through physically, but the applause and cheers from the audience kept us going. Of course, we’re doing this to entertain everyone, but their applause and cheers made it enjoyable for us, too. I feel like we created a true win-win show.

— Was there a particularly memorable number or program?

After finishing, I was reflecting, and I’d say Ice Brave had no real "rest" moments. We put a lot of time and effort into every part of it. While I’m the main skater, the other six aren’t just supporting cast or ensemble. I think of them as equal teammates. So there’s no single highlight—I can proudly say, “All of it.”

— You had an ice dance scene with Marin Honda as well.

Doing it made me realize how different ice dance is from singles. I could only apply about 10–20% of the skills I developed in singles—it was really tough. It wasn’t just a collaboration piece; since this was my first time producing an ice show, I wanted to try new challenges and create something that stood on its own as a complete program.

I’m confident I can grow even more, but I also feel proud of how hard I worked. The applause felt like praise for all the practice I’ve done up until now (smiles). With singles, it was always about how much time you put into a program and what result you got. Of course, there were nerves back then too, but you rarely get moments where you hear that kind of cheering and applause. It felt amazing to skate today.

— How did it feel to open the show in your hometown, Aichi?

Even as I was exiting the rink, I felt so grateful that so many people came to watch. We held long rehearsals to deliver something truly special to the audience. Since this was my first time doing so many things, there were lots of mistakes, lots of trial and error. But thanks to a lot of help, we managed to create something wonderful.

For me to be able to say it was “wonderful” means I gave everything I could right now. Doing this show at Morikoro Park, a familiar place… ah, I’m no good (laughs). I’m too exhausted to speak fluently right now, sorry (laughs).

— Were there any programs you felt you were able to brush up since your competitive days?

The concept of the show was centered around my competitive programs. It’s about me in the present revisiting those past pieces. We even had a land-based dancer do some choreography, which pushed me into areas I hadn’t explored before. Since I’ve spent every day honing my skating skills, I decided to take on the things I’d been neglecting.

Ice Brave was created as the first step into that journey. I don’t know if I’m really answering your question, but every piece has its own memories—like “this was super hard, so let’s have Stéphane (Lambiel) do it” (laughs), or Boléro, which I finally felt came together after a year, so I saved it for the end. See You Again is super old, but it’s a good program.

Looking back at all the different styles I’ve done, I’ve discovered what I’m good at and what I struggle with. I also gained experience in how to teach programs I’m not even skating in myself, which was a valuable learning experience.

— Do you ever feel nostalgic for your competitive career?

Not at all (laughs). Honestly, when I was competing in singles, it always felt like I was being chased every day—that intensity was great in its own way. It’s not that I miss or don’t miss being active, but rather, skating alone felt lonely. I skated Loco (Balada para un Loco) solo, but I really enjoy working together with others, building something in the same direction. After today’s opening night, I felt like I now find more fulfillment and joy in that shared experience.

— How did Stéphane Lambiel’s skating look to you?

Stéphane is 40 now, right? And he’s incredibly energetic! The quality of his performance at 40 is amazing. I mean, he’s doing the programs I used to do as a competitive skater (laughs). That’s seriously impressive.

Before he joined us, we were all working hard, but once he did, everything lit up. It became a space full of laughter—and also, rehearsals stopped progressing (laughs). Half-joking, half-serious (laughs). But that’s how fun the space became.

Even though he jokes around, he picks things up quickly and puts in real effort. You can really see his determination to make the show great, even if it means pushing himself. He’s more than just a coach—he’s more like a close friend, and that’s how I’ve always seen him.

— When did you start practicing ice dance?

Around October of last year, I changed skates and started from there. Not every day, but I practiced when I could. From the beginning, I knew I wanted to include one ice dance piece in the show, so I made that request early on.

— Why did you choose Loco (Balada para un Loco) as a solo, and Legends as a duet with Lambiel?

For Loco, well… half the reason is that I liked the piece back when I was competing. I knew I wouldn’t be able to recreate the same quality right now, but I thought maybe I could bring out a different version that’s unique to who I am today.

Since Ice Brave is a show that traces my journey, I wanted to include programs that viewers have emotional connections to. Some were ones that left strong impressions; others were programs I struggled with, and that’s why I chose Loco.

As for Legends, I’m not sure—it just had a good reputation (wry smile). I’ve heard people say they liked it, but I can’t view myself objectively, so I don’t know how “great” it really is. But I’ve received positive feedback from others, including fellow skaters, so I figured, “Well, let’s include it.”

We were also considering skating Gravity together, but… ah, you can tell I’m struggling to talk about things I don’t feel strongly about (laughs). Through a process of elimination, and because it’s a good and popular program, we decided, “This works, right?” Something like that. Sorry (laughs).

— Any interest in returning to competition through ice dance?

When we decided to do ice dance, I didn’t want it to be seen as just a collaboration piece, so getting questions like this actually makes us happy.

What I’ve realized through trying ice dance is that everyone’s level is really high—it’s an incredible discipline. I don’t mean this in a disrespectful way, but I hope we can continue to build something that’s truly great as a pair in this show, to the point where we could be seen as real ice dancers.

— Who leads during ice dance? Do you call out to each other?

Not really. Especially during spins. Seriously, it’s harder than it looks. Just doing one rotation is a challenge. I hope people can understand just how difficult it is. It’s really tough. Everything easily goes off alignment.

— Who taught you ice dance?

(Kenji) Miyamoto-sensei used to do ice dance, so he taught us. We also learned bits and pieces from various people when we could. Kazuki Kushida had dabbled in ice dance too, so we asked him some things as well. That’s how it went.

[dancingontheblades]

From St. Petersburgh with Love (YOI continuation) - new chapter

Chapter 10: Things that happen when an adult couple lives together - excerpt

“Why do you always butt in on how I handle my athletes, Vitya?” Yakov asked sourly.

Viktor pouted. “I’m just pointing out ways to optimise training for all of us.”

“No, you’re trying to optimise training for yourself and your boyfriend.”

Huh? Is he still bitter over me taking time off to coach a student of my own? Or is this about something else? Viktor pulled a folded sheet of paper from his coat. “I’ve sketched my idea here. Have a look and tell me what you think, okay?”

Scowling, Yakov took the sheet from him. A long moment went by, filled with the scratching of blades on ice and Yakov’s eyes flitting across the sheet. Then he let out a long sigh. “It’s not that easy, Vitya. I must think this through. Let’s discuss this after Europeans.”

Viktor hated being left hanging in suspense. He hated not being taken seriously. It hurt that after twenty years, Yakov still had no trust in him. “No, Yakov,” he said. “No more power games. I don’t care if you think little of my coaching or doubt that I’ll be able to make a comeback. You accepted me back and I would love it if you gave me a chance. So, let’s get along.”

Still scowling, Yakov cast another glance at the paper sheet. “At least, you had the mind not to reschedule the times when I have the rink. If Georgi wants to skate late, he may have that.”

“Thank you, Yakov!” Viktor exclaimed and hugged his coach.

Yakov grunted. “Listen Vitya.” He jabbed his finger at Viktor. “The new schedule will come into effect after Europeans. I don’t care what you and your boyfriend do until then.”

“Okay. Now, let’s talk about sending me to Worlds.”

Twenty minutes later, Viktor left the rink. In the corridor, he stopped and checked his phone. He had one new message from Tasty Katsudon.

[Where are you?]

[On my way home. I’ll bring news], Viktor texted back.

...

Read Chapter 10 of From St. Petersburg with Love here

This is another chapter that I'm posting with a huge delay and I apologise for this. I always had the feeling that something was amiss, but I couldn't put my finger on it because as the writer of this, I tend not to see the forest for the trees. So I had a long and constructive talk with my beta who has read enough of this work by now to have a comprehensive overview. As a result of our discussion, I've made some structural changes, trimmed meandering dialogues, and amped up an entire story arc. This especially concerns the unpublished chapters, but I've also made some minor (and not plot-altering!!!) changes in Chapters 1-9. I hope these changes will make reading them more enjoyable and compelling.

You will find a list of all changes in the end chapter notes.

[dancingontheblades]

Grammar PSA

the expression you're looking for is reining in. it is NOT reigning in. it comes from horseback riding.

you REIN IN your horse when you pull on the rein to tell him to slow down.

similarly, you GIVE HIM FREE REIN when you loosen your grip on the reins and let him run as fast as he likes.

that's where the metaphor comes from. you can rein in your evil vizier when he proposes a little too much child murder, or you can give him free rein when you need your enemies obliterated and only underhanded treachery will do. but unless he actually pulls off that nefarious coup he's plotting, the only one reigning here is you.