Question regarding Fate/Charm of the Devil Fae (Patreon)

Okay, here’s something I’ve been turning over in my head for a while now regarding Fate/Charm of the Devil Fae.

I really want to push the plot forward—but at the same time, I also want to slow-burn things and let the relationships marinate. There’s a lot we haven’t established yet: Kiritsugu’s situation, Rias and the DxD side of the cast, how this AU actually works on a broader scale, and more. Rushing past all of that would hollow the story out.

But here’s the flip side: this is also my smut story. It’s one of three Spiced projects, though Release that Witch… and Wizard?! hasn’t reached that territory yet. Charm of the Devil Fae has the opposite problem—we’re deep into the spice but still stuck in the pre-canon setup phase. (It’s less Highschool DxD and more College DxD at this point, but you get the idea.)

I know this story has a lot of fans—it keeps winning the polls for a reason—which is exactly why I want to hear from you. Your answer won’t lock me into anything, but it will help me gauge what interests you most as readers.

Option 1 — Stay the Course (Full Slow Burn)We continue at the current pace. No pressure to rush the plot. We establish relationships, flesh out the world, and let things develop chapter by chapter naturally. The smut and the story grow together in order.

Option 2 — Alternating Track (Plot Chapters + Smut In-Betweens)I alternate between plot-pushing chapters and smut-focused in-between chapters. One update moves the story forward — say, Chapter 4.1 and 4.2 — and the next update fills in what happened between the beats with a chapter like 4.11, covering the slower, spicier moments. Some plot chapters will still involve smut, but the structure keeps the story moving without skipping the good stuff. Public readers would still experience everything in sequential order, but you would get to the major story beats as fast as possible.

Let me know what you think — drop a vote, leave a comment, or just tell me I’m overthinking it. All of the above are valid.

I'll let this poll run for 24 hours; in the meantime, I'll do one chapter of Kenmachi first, then circle back to the schedule again after.

The poll is only for paid members because it affects them the most.