Once Upon A Time: the Dark Fairy Tales Challenge

[DeMont]

Once upon a time, there was Pandemonium...

And once upon a time, there was a Fairy Tales writing exercise...

Now this summer, get ready for the Dark Fairy Tales 2025 challenge!

Close the door and huddle down in front of the fire, and tell us your tales of princesses, witches, ogres, bold farm lads, magical mirrors, giant beanstalks and pussy in boots. Will the princess escape from the giant's clutches, or will she decide that bigger is better? Is the witch a GILF with a magic broomstick? When the big bad wolf huffs and puffs, what will he blow? Will the goose lay golden eggs, or... Actually, no, I can't think of a way to make this one sexy. But I'm sure someone here can.

Stories submitted and published: 1-25 September 2025
Anthology posted: 30 September 2025
And they lived happily ever after...

Rules & Guidelines​

1. Stay more or less on theme: dark, erotic, disturbing, traditional or modern - above all, try to capture the spirit of the fairy tale.
2. You can write in any category and any length, as long as you keep in mind Rule #1
3. Please include "Dark Fairy Tales 2025" in the Notes to Admin field. Please use this exact wording so Laurel can identify the entries. If you don't put this phrase in the Notes to Admin field, your story will not be included in the event. We recommend you copy and paste it!
4. Please use "Dark Fairy Tales" and "Dark Fairy Tales 2025" as story tags.
5. Specifically for classic fairy tales: remember the 18+ rule! Essentially: if you're retelling a classic fairy tale, remember the characters' age. If they're considered mature in the commonly accepted version (the tale ends with the hero and heroine marrying, for instance), that's pretty much safe. If the tale hinges on the characters being children (being abandoned in the forest by their parents, etc.), don't age them up, just try and think of something else. Err on the side of "Let's not bother Laurel with this".

@StillStunned,
DARN IT ALL...! Missed the closing date, it's still being written.
I'm working along an older style "Brothers Grimm" style theme.
I presume the "Challenge" will be back sometime in 2026? should be well finished by then.
Can you enter already published story or do entries have to be original as and when they are called for my friend?
Deepest respects,
D.

 

[StillStunned]

@StillStunned,
DARN IT ALL...! Missed the closing date, it's still being written.
I'm working along an older style "Brothers Grimm" style theme.
I presume the "Challenge" will be back sometime in 2026? should be well finished by then.
Can you enter already published story or do entries have to be original as and when they are called for my friend?
Deepest respects,
D.

Shame you didn't manage to get it finished on time! I don't think there's a way for the story to be added once the anthology has been published. But you can always include the "dark fairy tales 2025" tag, so your story is added to the tag page.

As matters stand I don't have any plans for running the same challenge next year.

 

[dirk2024]

As matters stand I don't have any plans for running the same challenge next year.

So, not the same challenge. A different challenge, perhaps?

 

[StillStunned]

So, not the same challenge. A different challenge, perhaps?

Perhaps. I've run three challenges now in a little over a year, and it can become quite a strain. I might wait a while before organising another.

 

[joy_of_cooking]

I'm also scheduled to be published tomorrow... In R/NC!

That is not the category I had in mind when I wrote the story and I'm honestly confused how that happened.

I guess I'll start another thread to avoid hijacking this one.

 

[dirk2024]

Perhaps. I've run three challenges now in a little over a year, and it can become quite a strain. I might wait a while before organising another.

Ah, well that certainly is understandable. I missed the others you ran, but the Dark Fairy was smooth.

 

[VallesMarineris]

And it's now set to go live on Monday. I was getting scared it got hung up with all the other pending stories.

My story seems to be in an in-between state. It's still in Pending, but says it's published:


I have not yet seen the notice that gets sent telling me it's been published.

But it's not the 30th yers, so I suspect it's not a problem. I'm just seeing the sausage being made.

 

[Dark_Kumiko]

My story seems to be in an in-between state. It's still in Pending, but says it's published:
View attachment 2567848

I have not yet seen the notice that gets sent telling me it's been published.

But it's not the 30th yers, so I suspect it's not a problem. I'm just seeing the sausage being made.

Mine too, I believe it will happen in 4 hours, or so.

Edit: It's up now! Woot! Cinderella wears a maid uniform, and her brother's can't take it anymore https://www.literotica.com/s/cinderella-and-her-stepbrothers.

 

[joy_of_cooking]

@VallesMarineris @Dark_Kumiko are you two in time zones where the date has already rolled over to 29 Sep?

I'm wondering if this published but pending state is what happened for the few hours when the local date matches the publication date but the update hasn't happened yet. All stories seem to go live at midnight utc-7 of their publication date.

 

[Dark_Kumiko]

Hi o/

I'm not sure if my work will be allowed to be included; either way, I'll be happy because I'm a newbie and just wanted to participate in some way (and the organizer is a cool fellow.) I'm in the Europe time zone if that helps.

Hm, maybe I'll try again for Halloween, just for the fun of it.

Have a nice day o/

 

[Jorunn]

@VallesMarineris @Dark_Kumiko are you two in time zones where the date has already rolled over to 29 Sep?

I'm wondering if this published but pending state is what happened for the few hours when the local date matches the publication date but the update hasn't happened yet. All stories seem to go live at midnight utc-7 of their publication date.

I believe the key word here is ‘today’ and yes, I believe the approval queue will show the stories when it updates overnight.

You can thank me, because I pulled my Dark Fairy Tales story and moved it to Halloween. Had I left it here, I may have actually joined you with a Published story.

 

[DeMont]

Shame you didn't manage to get it finished on time! I don't think there's a way for the story to be added once the anthology has been published. But you can always include the "dark fairy tales 2025" tag, so your story is added to the tag page.

As matters stand I don't have any plans for running the same challenge next year.

@StillStunned,
Mayhap, my dear colleague, you need a sidekick for next year, a Robin to your Batman, a Tonto to your Lone Ranger, a Hardy to your Laurel!!! Y'just never know what another year will bring right?
Deepest respects,
D.

 

[Agent0069]

Monday may not be the best day for going live, but then again, target audience is off, and I doubt my story would do well either way. In this case, I think, it's more interesting how the story came about, rather than what's in it.

I heard about the challenge, dusted off one of my drafts about a guy getting locked in a highly technological dress and unable to take it off. In a newer revision a guy had to wear a princesses' dress, except that the dress was also enchanted with magic properties, and honestly, it made even more sense than trying to imagine a non-existing technology anyway. A highly fetishistic story, except it would still go in "crossdressers" category, not "transgenders," mind you.

Except that the story was a drag and I realized I won't be able to finish it in time, but no worries - I got another cool idea, for a brand new story! A very simple premise, a few hilarious jokes here and there, and several hot sex scenes that won't take long to write. What could possibly go wrong with it, I thought.

Three days later I found myself pulling hair and shouting "Why the f-f-f-f-fuuuuuu~ do I have three chapters describing a foreign politics in a made up magic kingdom, what the f~ is wrong with me?!"

Few more days later I realized that even with all the slashes and edits I won't be able to finish it on time, especially with all the other stuff going on in my life. Having to finish large chunks of my actual work before going to vacation was one of the biggest issues.

So, I finished all the tasks, packed my bags and off to vacation I went, not a thought about the story I left unfinished.

Except that a 1.5h long flight to my dream vacation took over 5h with us nearly crashing a few times at the destination airport due to bad weather, stopping to refuel midway, and returning back. Upon disembarking I also learned that the next option to flight will be in 4 days only with all the planes fully booked, and while the airline would be paying for the food and accommodation, getting stuck in an expensive connecting city I couldn't care less about, before going to only half of the vacation would be idiotic. With a heavy sight I had to cancel everything, and book the next plane home, which, luckily, was in 2 hours. I even managed to cancel all the hotels, so it was only $900 prepaid and insured rental car that was lost.

The next day, sitting in front of my computer I thought: "You know what? I might as well finish the story, it's not like I have anything better to do now anyway."

A-a-a-and, this is how it came to be. Magic, Prince, and a Circus Girl: a tale of two friends, mind control, and blowjobs!

 

[joy_of_cooking]

Mine is up:

The King, The Cane, and The Throne​

A young man learns the facts of life from the wrong girl.
by joy_of_cooking in Reluctance/NonConsent 09/29/2025

 

[SaintValyssa]

Woohoo!

My romance novella The Witch and the Dragon finally posted!

A beautiful witch gets taken captive by a dragon. How will she ever find her true love?

 

[StillStunned]

Hey everyone, sorry if I'm not very engaged just now, as we reach the end of the challenge. Work is taking up all my time and most of my attention.

But I'm very pleased that all your stories are being published despite the delays, and incredibly grateful to everyone who's participated. Thank you!

 

[VallesMarineris]

I believe the key word here is ‘today’ and yes, I believe the approval queue will show the stories when it updates overnight.

You can thank me, because I pulled my Dark Fairy Tales story and moved it to Halloween. Had I left it here, I may have actually joined you with a Published story.

The time zones are confusing, so I haven't paid much attention to them. I submitted the story on 9/23 in PDT (California). My screen capture was from today, but I'm in the China/Hong Kong/Taiwan time zone right now. Plus, Lit seems to use GMT and seems to publish early morning London time.

My issue was that my story said it was published but it was still in Pending and I hadn't got a notice of publication. I checked just now and it was published six hours ago. Two ratings so far, both 5 stars!

@StillStunned, is there a central list of the Dark Fairy Tale stories we can go to? Some challenges seem to do that, but not all.

 

[StillStunned]

@StillStunned, is there a central list of the Dark Fairy Tale stories we can go to? Some challenges seem to do that, but not all.

Lit will publish an anthology of all the stories tomorrow.

 

[HippyJeanSalon]

Mine is also live: "What Could Have Been or Still Be"

Red Riding Hood and the Wolf meet up after 20 years. And yes, I took a lot of liberties from the original Brothers Grimm version.

Mine's not really that dark a story (though someone does get hit in the head with a shovel).

 

[crookedletter]

Mine's live too - By Fire, By Water, By Earth.

Murderous witches, foolish men going after them. And, you know, hi-jinks ensue.

 

[StillStunned]

The anthology has been published!

Dark Fairy Tales 2025 - The Stories

I count 46 stories and a poem - absolutely amazing! Thank you, everyone who took part in this challenge, and everyone who offered their thoughts as well!

 

[Husky_Embrace]

The anthology has been published!

Dark Fairy Tales 2025 - The Stories

I count 46 stories and a poem - absolutely amazing! Thank you, everyone who took part in this challenge, and everyone who offered their thoughts as well!

The poem link leads to a 404. It might still need to be published (apparently that happens at a certain time of day, while it might already be approved?). Hopefully it'll be fixed soon. I couldn't find it via search on title, author, or perusing the poem category.

 

[StillStunned]

It's on the author's page, and the link works: The Lucky Plate Club

@Laurel The problem seems to be that the link on the anthology page has the "s" for "story" instead of the "p" for "poem".

 

[ElectricBlue]

The time zones are confusing, so I haven't paid much attention to them. I submitted the story on 9/23 in PDT (California). My screen capture was from today, but I'm in the China/Hong Kong/Taiwan time zone right now. Plus, Lit seems to use GMT and seems to publish early morning London time.

Lit publishes midnight in some US time zone, not sure which one. Depending on daylight saving, it's around 2.00 or 3.00pm in Oz (which doesn't really help, as we have multiple time zones and we're usually always tomorrow for the US or it's very early morning for the UK and Europe). Kiwis are ahead of us by a couple of hours.

 

[Yogma]

The anthology has been published!

Dark Fairy Tales 2025 - The Stories

I count 46 stories and a poem - absolutely amazing! Thank you, everyone who took part in this challenge, and everyone who offered their thoughts as well!

@StillStunned Thank you very much for organising the challenge, it was as enjoyable as it was occasionally frustrating