#so perfect for adventuring in a spooky dark world!!!

[wolfkitty42]

fellshard

sprites made by @itrosaic, berdly's sprite and noelle's outfit are their fellshard designs now because honestly they're better than what i made lmao

[amongemeraldclouds]

dark desires

Theodore Nott had been the perfect boyfriend, yet there’s a darkness within him that you longed to unravel, to explore. So this Halloween, you came up with a proposal: a spooky mask, a haunted house, and a night for dark desires. Be careful what you wish for.

dark!Theodore Nott x f!Reader

Warnings: 18+ mdni, characters are aged up, dom!Theo, consensual non-consent (cnc), roleplay, knife kink, mask kink, oral (m! and f!receiving), degradation, praise kink, daddy kink, fingering, mirror sex, piv, creampie

a/n: posting my first ever kinktober fic! thanks to my wifeyy @pizzaapeteer for proofreading, you're the best ♡

✿ Masterlist | ✿ Theodore Nott Masterlist | 4.4k words

Prologue

Theodore Nott is the ideal boyfriend. He celebrated your wins with you and encouraged you when you faced challenges. You received thoughtful gifts from him and your conversations always led you to new discoveries about the world. Being with him was an adventure just as much as it was home.

Yet the more you got to know him, the deeper your curiosity grew. Theo is a complicated person and it was clear there’s always more to him beneath his wild hair and ocean eyes. There was especially a darkness in him that drew you in. A shadow he hid from the world and you wanted to be that one person he could share it with. The one he confided in, explored it with. After all, it was the same darkness you saw in yourself. And so, you came up with a proposal.

One night of unrestrained exploration, a safe place for your dark desires.

“I want to know all of you. I’m not afraid of your dark,” you said, ending your proposal.

Theo hesitated, “you should be afraid.” Yet there was an unmistakable glint in his eye, a wilderness that rattled against the cage of his stoic restraint. Desperate and ready to be let out.

“That’s for me to decide,” you argued, searching his eyes. Asking him to trust you. “I want to know who you are when no one's watching. I want you to show me all the sinful acts you'd do to me knowing I'd take it all and enjoy every last touch,” you elaborated, sliding a finger down his chest.

Theo closed his eyes and sighed, his composure waning at your words. “Fuck, how did I get so lucky?” Seeming to gather himself, he hesitated. “But I don’t want to hurt you.”

“It's okay, I promise. I want to free us from the restraints of polite society. Just you and me, Theo, let’s carve our own world together.”

His eyes softened, you were already his entire world. “Do you trust me?” he asked, gently caressing your hair as you laid in the crook between his shoulders and neck. 

“Always.”

“That’s my girl,” Theo leaned in to plant a kiss on your forehead, sending tingles down your spine.

You basked in his praise and continued, “how would you feel about roleplaying a stranger in a mask? I promise we’ll discuss the details, set rules, and establish a safe word.”

He smirked, “I think we’re going to have so much fun.”

A faint glow led you deeper into the hallway. Around you, cobwebs were strewn across cracked tombstones, the names far too smeared to read. Your heart slammed against your ribcage as your hands shook. Another scream pierced the air from a distance. Your only companion was the weight that settled in your stomach the second you stepped into the haunted house.

Fog hissed in the corners. Wisps of smoke snaked from the ends of the room, creeping towards the centre. The cool air snatched your legs like the greedy outstretched arms of a zombie. A coffin laid in the corner with its lid missing, its sinister insides inviting you to settle in and rest your weary bones. You shook the thought away and walked as fast as you could, reminding yourself to breathe.

You were so close to the next room. So close to the end of all this horror.

And then you screamed. A figure growled beside you, where had he even come from? A mummy reached out, its skull tainted bronze with time. You ran through the rest of the hallway, laughing in relief when you reached an empty corner. A break from all the chaos. The next room was serial killer themed, adorned with blood-soaked bodies hanging limply from the ceiling. You took another moment to catch your breath and let another group of visitors pass you.

Closing your fist, you steeled yourself. Just as you lifted your leg to walk, a strong arm grabbed your waist and pulled you into the shadows. Your arms were pinned down your sides, trapped. The breath rushed from your lungs as you collided with a muscular body, your back pressed to him. His free hand tugged at your hair so that you were looking up at him. All you saw was hollowed out eyes and a gaping mouth. He was wearing a mask.

“Well well, who do we have here?” he said in a low tone, his gravelly voice followed by a malicious chuckle. 

Your chest heaved as you tried to take lungfuls of breaths only to come up empty. Panic swam through your mind, thoughts plunging deep into the ocean of your subconscious. Out of reach.

“Want to play with me, amore?” He continued, releasing your hair so he could caress the side of your face. A gesture far too intimate for a stranger to make. His other hand kept your hips firmly in place. You tried to squirm, to move out of his grasp, but he was much stronger than you were.

His words sent a chill down your spine. Something was wrong. Were scare actors allowed to grab you? You could have sworn you signed a waiver that mentioned it was prohibited.

“L-let me go,” you squeaked, trying to find your voice.

“Play with me and then I’ll let you go,” he said, dragging out the words slowly, “I promise we’ll have so much fun.”

You tried harder to escape, arms and hips thrashing against his solid grasp. You screamed for help, certain someone would come rushing. The masked man simply laughed, unfazed by your efforts.

“I do like it when my prey struggle. Scream all you want, no one’s coming for you. It all just blends in with the others,” he said arrogantly as he tightened his hold on you to cease your movements. You froze when you felt his erection against you. Heat bloomed in the pit of your stomach and you tried to tamp it down. He was big and you wondered just how well he would fit inside you. “Careful now cara,” he teased, “or you’ll have to take responsibility for your actions.”

You shook your head to say no, to shake off the twisted desires that had taken you captive. In a last ditch effort, you stomped your foot down his shoe. He hissed in pain, cursing in a language you didn’t understand. His hold on you momentarily waned but not long enough for you to break free, just long enough for him to get angry.

“You want to play hard to get?” he said, his voice growing cold. “Fine, I’ll be the bad guy,” he said as he pressed something cold and metallic on your neck. You instinctively moved your head away. Wrong move. It gave him more access to your throat. 

“You wouldn’t want to find out just how sharp this is now don’t you?” he asked, the playful tone back in his voice. He had you right where he wanted you. In the haze of adrenaline and terror, an ache grew in between your legs and you squeezed them together, trying to find relief. “I’ll be good,” you said, fear and lust rushing through your veins. 

“Show me,” he replied, commanding you as he kept his knife steady against your throat while his other hand released your waist. He wasted no time feeling you up under your dress, his hand caressing your soft thighs. Your knees felt weak from his touch, but you reminded yourself to stay still so your throat stays unharmed.

As he moved his fingers to your inner thigh, you moved your legs apart for him. You tried to convince yourself it was only to keep you safe. You definitely were not thinking about how good his fingers would feel on your soaking cunt. You took in a sharp inhale when you felt him tease you through your underwear. 

You couldn’t help the way your hips bucked, wanting to feel more pressure from his fingers. He chuckled and shame mingled with the heat of your desire. “I knew you wanted it,” he said with a smile in his voice. You kept quiet because there was no denying it now.

Encouraged by your eagerness, he ripped down your underwear, exposing your dripping wet cunt. He slid his fingers across your folds, covering them in your slick. He spread it out to feel every inch of your aching core. It may have been cold in the haunted house from his blade to all the fog and fear, but right now, your entire body was on fire. “Fuck, you’re so drenched for me, amore. I bet I could easily stick two fingers inside you.”

You whimpered at his words, stunned that someone could be so bold and direct. You were not sure you could leave now, even if you tried. You needed to know how his fingers felt. He didn’t leave you wondering for long. 

You found yourself moaning when your pussy suddenly felt full, his fingers working their way in. He curled his fingers, hitting your g spot. For the first time that evening, you screamed in pleasure. Your voice blended together with the other screams. Your knees gave out and you laid your head back on his shoulder, away from the knife. His body kept you upright as he continued curling his fingers then sliding them in and out, until he found a steady rhythm.

Sloppy, squelching sounds filled the air and it took you a moment to realize it was you. Satisfied you would stay and play with him, Theo lowered his knife so he could focus on your needy cunt.

You suddenly felt empty when you realized he moved his fingers towards your face. You opened your lips instinctively as he shoved his fingers into your mouth, your tongue lapping up your juices. He slid them in and out just as he had with your cunt, then shoved it down your throat, choking you in the process.

While you sucked on his fingers, you felt something hard rub against your clit and your eyes widened. It was the knife handle. “Be a good girl and take this for me,” he said as he moved it across your wet folds, gathering up your slick. “Grind against it, show me what you’ll do to my cock,” you closed your eyes while sucking his fingers and let your lust takeover. 

It felt new and exciting to have the knife handle against you. It didn’t take you long to find the exact spots that shot euphoria through your veins and you rubbed yourself against it again and again. Pleasure built up in the base of your stomach. “I’m going to plunge the handle into you now,” he warned, “move carefully, wouldn’t want to see your pretty legs cut up now, don’t you?”

You shook your head to say no, too lost in the ecstasy to find your words. Your walls clutched the knife as it entered you effortlessly, you were already so stimulated, you could almost taste your sweet release. “Look at you, dripping all over this knife. You're a slut aren't you?” You moaned your agreement around his fingers.

Your senses were heightened as you concentrated on keeping your legs steady. He moved the knife back out only to enter the handle back inside you as he once again found a steady rhythm. You shifted forward, bracing yourself for your release. Theo noticed the sudden shift and he removed the knife, exchanging it once again with his fingers. He moved faster this time, chasing your release.

“You're gonna come all over my fingers and thank me, understood?” He said and all you could do was nod. “Show me just how much of a slut you are. Look at you, getting yourself taken by a stranger in a haunted house and fucked with a knife. What a perfect cockwhore.”

His words unraveled you and you surrendered to the pleasure. Ecstasy erupted through you in waves. Your walls fluttered against his fingers as he coaxed your release, curling his fingers to prolong the climax.

You panted against him as you felt your juices drip down your legs. “What do good girls say?” He asked and he slipped out his hand. 

“T-thank you,” you managed, your voice hoarse from where he fucked your throat earlier. 

“Thank you what?” he asked, slapping your cunt. You shivered against his touch, unintentionally grinding on his boner. It earned you a grunt, sending a jolt through your body, a new shade of desire illuminated within you. You enjoyed how he responded to you. 

“Thank you daddy,” you replied, more steady this time.

“Good girl,” he said, praising you as he took a hold of your hand and pressed the knife into your back. Fear shot through you and you held your breath. “Step out of your underwear, bend over and pick it up like a good obedient slut.” You bent forward and followed his instructions, legs weak from your orgasm. “Put it in my pocket,” he commanded, “that’s it. This is mine now, a souvenir from an eager slut.”

“Come with me now, we’re just getting started,” he led you deeper into the darkness until a blinding light assaulted your eyes.

He had opened a secret backdoor. No doubt for scare actors to go around without being noticed, this was why they seemed to appear from nowhere. As your eyes adjusted, you got your first look at him. Not that there was much to see with his mask still on. All you noticed was the veins running through his muscled arm, black ink forming a pattern that disappeared up his shirt sleeve, but it was enough to stir your sinful thoughts.

“Don’t even think about screaming for help or running away,” he threatened as you moved side by side. Not that you were planning to anyway. To any onlooker, you just seemed like any other couple taking a stroll. The cool air brushed your sensitive bare cunt as you walked, sending gooseflesh rippiling through your skin.

“Where are you taking me?” 

“You’ll find out soon enough,” was all he said as he opened the door and you exited the haunted house. Of course, you should have known. There was a hotel just right across and it seemed he already had a room booked as he led you straight to the elevator. He blended right in with his mask, as others passed by dressed as fairies, pirates and other assortments of costumes. Ready to party the night away.

Theo had another party in mind. Your mind raced as elevator buttons lit up, taking you closer and closer to the last place you needed to be. But you wanted it. You remembered how big he was, the way he reacted to you, how good it felt when he called you a good girl. He also called you a slut and for him, you would be one. You were dizzy with delight. Besides, what other choice did you have? You thought about the sharpness of his blade and felt yourself clench. It shouldn’t have been exciting, oh but it was.

You stepped out the elevator and once again, a weight settled in the pit of your stomach in anticipation of all the things he would do to you. He still held your arm while he led you to the room, his grip gentler now that he knew you would stay. It was almost romantic.

He swiped the hotel card and gestured for you to enter. As you moved past him, all you could focus on was the king sized bed in the centre of the room. The sheets pure and pristine reflected the soft glow of the light, a blank slate for you to paint all your sins on. Behind you, the lock clicked into place and Theo secured the double lock. The sound was impossibly soft and innocent for something that reverberated deep in your bones. There was no turning back now.

“On your knees,” he commanded. Your breath shuddered and you hesitated. “I said,” Theo repeated impatiently, “on your knees” he gripped your hair for emphasis. The sudden force knocked you out of balance and before you knew it, soft carpet kissed your knees as you fell with a thud. He started unbuckling his jeans, an unmistakable bulge carved right in front of you.

Your mouth salivated as he freed himself. “Look at me,” he said, shifting your attention back to his face. “Open your mouth wide and put your tongue out. Good girl.” He spat in your mouth and used his thumb to spread it around your tongue.

“You’re going to take me real good,” he said as he guided his hungry cock into your mouth. Liquid heat pooled in your core again because he tasted good. His eyes fluttered shut when he felt just how warm and wet you were. You moved your tongue around him while he thrust himself into you.

“That's it. Look at me while I fuck your pretty mouth,” he encouraged you, pressing himself deeper until you felt him down your throat. He continued pistoning his hips, movements growing rougher by the second. Your eyes watered with the effort as you continued to suck and swallow. He swiped your tears away with his thumb and got impossibly harder. He liked watching you cry for him. Around you, obscene sloppy sounds filled the room.

“You're taking me so well.” Theo complimented in between grunts, his other hand still gripping your hair to keep you in place. “So perfect for me,” he praised you, words punctuated with his frantic thrusts. “You look so beautiful with my cock shoved down your throat. Just like that.”

You hummed in delight, eager to please him. Your tears and his thumb had long smeared your makeup yet he still called you beautiful. “Be a good girl and swallow daddy’s cum,” he said, signaling his near release. You braced yourself until you felt his warm salty taste in your mouth.

“That's right, principessa, you better not spill. Take it all, right down your throat.” You complied, enjoying the way he thrust slowly as if scooping the rest of his cum from your mouth down your throat.

Satisfied, he removed himself, “breathe amore, you did so well for me. Get up now it's time to give you a reward, you've earned it.” You stood on shaky legs, your knees blushing red from the carpet. Theo held you up and led you towards the bed.

“Just lie there, let me taste your eager cunt,” he said, lifting your dress up and over your head. Your thighs glistened from your arousal and Theo chuckled. “Fuck, only a slut gets wet from sucking cock. What a pretty little cockwhore for daddy.” You whimpered at his words and felt yourself clench in response. The mattress felt soft and supportive beneath your tense body, ready to cradle your fall.

“Tell me you want my tongue all over your pretty pussy,” Theo commanded.

“I-” you looked away, suddenly shy until he reached forward to grab your chin, making you face him. You looked at the black and white mask and bit your bottom lip. One final resistance before giving voice to your desire. “I want to feel you eat me, daddy.”

“Now, see how easy that was.” He released your chin as he moved back to position himself between your legs. He moved the mask up just enough to use his mouth before snaking his arm around your legs, keeping them spread out for him.

You sucked in a breath the second you felt his tongue on your aching cunt. He was so eager, lapping up your juices and kissing your clit all the way down to your folds. The way his tongue moved spelled pure need as he tensed it enough to penetrate you. A blinding haze swept through you, your core still sensitive from the echoes of your earlier orgasm.

Sinful moans escaped your mouth, joining the chorus of Theo’s kisses on your slippery cunt. Sheets gripped between your fingers, lust took over your body and you found yourself grinding against him and his mask, enjoying the delicious friction.

“That’s right, show me how much of a slut you are,” Theo encouraged, swirling his tongue around your clit. It didn’t take long until your stomach clenched again, you could almost taste your next release. Your breaths grew shorter and you could see the stars–

“On no, not yet, amore,” Theo chuckled, releasing you and sliding his mask back on. “Fuck, my mask smells like your cunt. I get to bring another souvenir with me,” he groaned in appreciation. “The next time you cum will be around my cock.”

You closed your legs, trying to find pressure to ease the need growing hot and desperate. “Please,” you whispered, begging for more.

“What’s that?”

“P-please,” you said, louder this time. “Let me cum on your cock, daddy.”

“Good girl, you’re a quick learner aren’t you? Come here,” he said, guiding you up. “Get on all fours and crawl to me,” he teased and he moved towards the edge of the bed. You followed him, lost in his spell. Your eyes widened when you spotted a floor to ceiling mirror in the corner where he stood. You had been too wrapped up in watching him to notice it earlier.

“Look at yourself, that pretty face and that perfect body,” he groaned. “Everything about you so fuckable.” You watched yourself in the mirror and noticed your smeared mascara, your hair crumpled right where he took you earlier, eyes and lips puffy from where he fucked your mouth. You were nothing like the prim and proper girl you often were and it felt liberating to not have to be perfect. Instead, you were on all fours, ready to be used like a whore by the man in the mask.

You felt him press himself against you in bed. When did he get there? You admired his naked body in the mirror, sweat glistening while they dripped down and traced his muscled figure. But his mask, only the mask, stayed on. The one he said smelled just like your cunt.

“Now you’re going to show me just how much you want to cum,” he said, positioning himself near your entrance. “I’m going to fill you up real good, but you’ll have to move yourself back. Fuck yourself on my cock, amore.” You clenched around him, rewarding his efforts with a pornographic moan.

Your soaked cunt welcomed him effortlessly and soon you slid yourself back just as he commanded, moving until his cock kissed your cervix. The slapping motion of skin on skin filled the air with lewd noises along with the smell of sex. Theo joined in with his grunts as he grabbed onto your hips, encouraging you to keep going.

You gripped the sheets, trying to find purchase. Pleasure swelled within you again from the way your nipples rubbed against the bedsheets, creating a delicious friction, to the heat that reignited deep in your core. Your entire body was on fire.

“That’s it, need to feel you cum on my cock,” Theo encouraged, reaching down to grab your breast, pinching and rolling your nipple between his fingers. It was enough to send you over the edge, seeing stars again as your walls fluttered around his hard length. Theo took over, rutting his hips into you to prolong your orgasm until you returned to him.

“Thank you daddy,” you rasped when you finally found your voice in between your labored breaths. “It’s my pleasure, principessa, but I’m not yet done with you,” he said darkly, continuing his pace. “Look at yourself in the mirror,” he said, grabbing your hair once again to guide your head.

“Look at that cockwhore getting fucked. Watch your tits sway like the filthy slut that you are,” you moaned at his words, heat building deep inside you again. It was overstimulating, the way his balls tapped into you as he rocked his full length inside you. Watching yourself get used and seeing the wild look in your eyes, a mix of delight and desperation.

His deep, guttural voice echoed through you, pulling at your strings. Your arms gave out, weighed down by the intensity of it all, and before you could move, Theo took this opportunity to pin you down, his toned body covering yours.

You felt helpless and succumbed to him, no longer bound by fear. His mask hovered near your face as he continued his relentless pace inside you. “You like being used, huh?” He asked, looking at your connected figures in the mirror. “Yes,” you cried out, “I need to feel your cum inside me, daddy.”

“Fuck, that’s a good slut, you’re taking me so well” he grunted, slapping your ass just before he increased his pace. It was brutal and you were screaming again, drunk from the cocktail of pain and pleasure. Italian expletives rained from his lips as he chased his high. You watched the way his muscles flexed from the effort.

The familiar heat raged within you, walls tightening around Theo’s hard cock. Echoes of your bliss reached a crescendo and you found yourself spasming against him again. “Take it all, amore,” Theo’s filthy moans joined yours as your release triggered his, you felt his liquid heat coating your insides as he rode you through your orgasm.   

He collapsed into you, bringing you to his arms. “That’s my girl,” he praised, “I’m so proud of you. You did so well.” You smiled and leaned into him, removing his mask to see him smiling back at you. He pressed a gentle kiss on your lips as if he hasn’t just fucked you raw. You laughed at the whiplash.

Your laughter washed over him, it really had been okay for him to unapologetically tap into his darkness in a way that feels euphoric and safe. It was liberating. His thumb traced your jaw, eyes searching yours. “Are you okay? Did I hurt you?”

You shook your head, “nothing I couldn’t handle. I promise.”

“You’ll tell me if I hurt you, right?” he pressed.

Your eyes softened at his concern. “Yes, you made me feel good, Theo. You exceeded all my expectations. I love getting to know this side of you.”

You were already the best part of him, the sun that held all the light in Theo’s universe. He had no idea until tonight that his darkness could find a home in you too. It's the kind of dark that made the stars shine brighter. How had he gotten so lucky with you?

He planted a kiss on your forehead, bringing you closer to him. “I love sharing this with you. Now let me draw a bath and call room service for dinner. I’ll take good care of you, principessa.”

You called out to him as you watched him get up, “hey, Theo?”

“Yeah?” He turned back.

“Happy Halloween,” you said, grinning.

“Happy Halloween, amore.”

✿ Masterlist | ✿ Theodore Nott Masterlist

a/n: I very rarely write smut, but when I do, the next one always seems darker than the previous one. Happy kinktober!

[jazzthatonewriterchick]

Siren Song 🧜🏽‍♀️🧜🏾‍♀️🧜🏿‍♀️ (Zoro x Sanji x Black!Mermaid!Reader 18+ One Shot)

🌊 🐚🌊 🐚🌊 🐚🌊 🐚🌊 🐚🌊 🐚🌊 

Pairing: Zoro Roronoa x Sanji Vinsmoke x Black!Fem!Reader (Strangers to Lovers)

Synopsis: In which the siren song that you sing in hopes of finding someone to free you from your curse attracts more than one mate when two of the most notorious and wanted pirates come to search your cave after a shipwreck.

Warnings: Smutty Smut; 18+ (MINORS GTFO); Post Time Skip; Strangers to Lovers; Mermaid!Reader; Black-coded!Reader; Interspecies Sex (kinda); Hypnotism; Seduction/Coercion; Dubcon (but enthusiastic consent is later given); Dom!Zoro & Sanji; sub!Reader; Threesome; Mutual Oral (Giving & Receiving; Sloppy Cunnilingus + Analingus; Anal Play/Fingering; Double Deepthroat; Facefucking; Cock Drunk; Reader Cums 2x; Unprotected Vaginal & Anal Sex; Double Penetration; Creampie; Analpie; Happy Ending

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters mentioned in this fic (except for Snowbeard). However, as this is my writing, I do not give permission for my work to be reposted on any other sites that are not from my own accounts. Thank you!

Writer’s Note: I had meant to post this in October for spooky season, but that month just wasn’t making time for me lmaoo. Work has been whooping my whole ass. So I decided to post it now for MerMay! I hope y’all like it! -Jazz

*Note: "Ma chéri" means "my darling" in French!

🌊 🐚🌊 🐚🌊 🐚🌊 🐚🌊 🐚🌊 🐚🌊 

Another lonesome night among the ocean waves. ‘What a fucking curse indeed,’ you think to yourself, solemnly sighing.

You sit on a flat-surfaced rock, perfect for perching, connected to a series of rocks that lead up to a jagged, rocky mountainside where your cave lies. The soft waves, darkened by night and crystalized by the full, bright moon suspended in the sky, crash against the sandy shore leading into the deep, dark, cavernous cave you call your home.

What you wouldn’t give to have a real house with a real, fluffy bed and kitchen. For the past year, you’ve been eating nothing but fish, seaweed, and crabs, which are all good when cooked over a fire, but damn, you wouldn’t mind a bowl of steaming ramen or sashimi. Not to mention a hot shower.

All of which are not available when you’re a mermaid.

Or a mer-person. Whatever you’d like to call it. Either way, you have a fin instead of legs. It’s a quite beautiful fin–a gorgeous shade of turquoise with shimmering scales that look like diamonds in the sun and moonlight. You also have gills on the side of your ribcage, scales that run up and down your arms, and a seashell bra that you made yourself to hold your breasts up.

Otherwise, you’d just be topless. It has been your only attire for a year now.

You don’t even know what your legs look like anymore. Are they the same as they were a year ago? Could you even walk anymore? You’ve been swimming for so long that you’re not sure you’ll even know how to move your legs once this curse breaks…if it ever breaks.

You’ve been trying for so, so long. The only way to do so is to attract a mate from among the sea with your siren song and lure them to you where you’d proceed to persuade them to give you ultimate pleasure.

Or, bluntly speaking, in order to break the curse, you have to sing a song to attract a man and have him fuck you until you cum.

Then, and only then, will the curse be broken and you’d have your legs back. At least that was what the creepy sea witch told you when you went rummaging around in her shit. God, you wish you could turn back time and redo that entire night. That was the night your entire life changed for the worse.

A year ago, you weren’t a half-human half-fish. A year ago, you were a beautiful, strong, curious human woman who sailed across the Grand Blue in search of adventure. You had no family or friends, so why not just explore the world?

You had been sailing for only a couple months when you stumbled across a strange seaside cave. You had parked your boat near the mountainside before grabbing your sword and exploring the many trinkets and curious creatures of the deep inside the cave.

When you first stumbled across the treasure chest sitting on a lone rock there, you knew you shouldn’t have touched it. But temptation and curiosity got the best of you. So you took your sword and cracked it open by wiggling the blade’s tip around in the padlock.

The chest cracked open instantly, revealing various, glittering stones that could have definitely bought you a bigger boat and a sack of food. You snatched it up and prepared to leave with it…only for your legs to give out on you completely.

With a squeak, you tripped and fell onto the sandy ground, the chest falling with you and spilling all of its goodies. “Da fuck?” you whispered, confused. You looked back at your legs and feet, wondering what’s gotten into them, only to find that they have been replaced with a slippery, flopping tail fin. You screamed, your horror echoing throughout the cave.

“Be quiet, bitch!” a raspy voice ordered. Immediately, your lips stuck together like they were made of glue and no matter how hard you tried to move them apart, nothing worked. You still screamed but your voice was muffled. Quickly, you grabbed your sword from the sand and turned to look behind you at the owner of the disembodied voice.

A woman stood there, dressed in black rags that hung down to her cracked feet and blackened toenails. Her fingers were boney, long, and ringed, her skin an ashen gray color. Hair like seaweed hung in her face where you caught the glitter of many piercings and two coal-black eyes that pierced down at you from where you helplessly lay on the sand.

“Stupid girl,” she snarled, walking right by you with her skirts in her hands. “You should’ve known better than to have come here snooping about. Don’t you know that this is the sea witch’s turf?”

She kneeled down before you, stinking of dead fish and something rotten. You covered your nose at the stench, making her cackle. “Not impressed by me?” she asked, grinning at you with blackened teeth. “Well, I’m not impressed by you either. You’re just another stupid human coming to steal my shit.”

She began to pick up each of her stones, muttering to herself about how dumb mortals are and how they’re only driven by greed. You began to wiggle around, trying to make it to the cave’s exit, but your tail only provided you some movement. Other than that, you were completely stagnant.

Once the witch got her treasure chest together, she stared down at you as if she just realized you were there and were nothing more than a pestering fly. “Ah,” she cackled. “You’re probably wondering about the tail, hm?”

‘You think, bitch?’ you wanted to scream at her. Instead, you just glared daggers up at her and pointed your sword at her. She barely flinched.

“Oh, please,” she scoffed. “You can’t do anything to me, little girl. I could make that sword a snake or a fucking balloon animal if I wanted to.” She smirked down at you deviously. “But I think turning your legs into a useless tail suffices. That’s what you get for entering my domain.”

You began to scream at her through your closed lips, trying to talk. She rolled her black eyes at you and sighed, snapping her fingers. Your lips loosened and you could finally speak: “What the fuck did you do?!” you angrily hollered. “Give me back my legs now! How am I supposed to move around with this?” You pointed at the tail.

“Beats me,” the witch passively answered. “You should’ve thought about that before you came here. Now you’ll have no choice but to lay in the bed you made and embrace your curse.”

You froze at the last word, your stomach flipping. “Wait…did you say that I’m…cursed?” You practically whispered the last word. The witch just stared at you, her lips curled into a wicked smirk.

You began to beg, desperate to have your body back. “Please, miss,” you pleaded, tears springing into your eyes. “You have to turn me back. I’m sorry for coming into your home and trying to steal your shit, I swear! I-I was just exploring and–“

“Save it.” The witch put up a hand, silencing you. “There is nothing you can do to sway me now. This curse is to teach you to beware of places you shouldn’t go near.”

You stared down in horror at your tail, wondering how the fuck you got here. “What am I supposed to do now?” you sobbed. “You can’t just leave me like this! There has to be something I can do if you can’t!”

The witch’s smirk faded, her eyes steely. Finally, she sighed. “There is one thing,” she said and you listened intently, desperate to do anything to free yourself from this curse. “You must sing a song,” she explained, “but not just any song. This tune is designed to lure males across the waters to you, wherever you are.”

She then closed her eyes and began to sing the words in a cracked, broken voice:

“Where the river meets the sea, and the Grand Blue stretches,

I call to the night and hope my sweet voice beckons

The love of a man, strong, sweet, and true

In hopes that my yearning will meet and embrace you.

My loneliness calls and my need is taking toll

On my body, my mind, my heart, and my soul.

I wish for a love that will free me from my chains,

And help me find the light in the darkness again.”

“What happens after I’ve lured a man to me?” you carefully asked once her song ended.

You felt as if you just had gotten high and were hallucinating when the witch answered you: “When they come to you, they must take your body as it is and give you ultimate pleasure until you both reach the point of no return. Then, and only then, will the curse be broken and your legs will be given back to you.”

You blinked up at her, wondering if she was serious. “So you’re telling me that if I sing a song and I get a guy to fuck me, I’ll get my legs back?” you raged. “Are you fuckin’ for real right now?”

The witch smiled at you, ever the bitch. “You asked and I answered,” she said. “So if you want your legs back, I suggest you start warming up those vocal cords. Good luck, bitch.”

Then, in a cloud of smoke and the sound of a menacing cackle, she was gone along with her treasure chest, leaving you wiggling and squirming around in the dark with your new limb.

After crying out for the witch for over an hour, you finally took your sword, sheathed it, and dragged yourself to the mouth of the cave before plummeting into the ocean. You were shocked at how well you could breathe underwater as well as swim. Your tail adapted immediately which made it easier to explore the ocean floor. It didn’t take long for you to find the cave you now call your new home.

Since that fateful night, you’ve sat on the same rock and sang the same song. No ships yet. And certainly, no dick that could help lift this stupid curse.

But you won’t give up yet. So just like every dark night, you close your eyes and sing the siren song that the witch taught you all that time ago:

“Where the river meets the sea, and the Grand Blue stretches,

I call to the night and hope my sweet voice beckons

The love of a man, strong, sweet, and true

In hopes that my yearning will meet and embrace you.

My loneliness calls and my need is taking toll

On my body, my mind, my heart, and my soul.

I wish for a love that will free me from my chains,

And help me find the light in the darkness again.”

You stare out in the distance for the sight of a ship penetrating the fog among the ocean. Something. A sign of life. Nothing comes. No one is coming for you. After all this time, you’d think you’d understand that.

The tears that drip down your cheeks are fast and fat, plopping into the water that your fin dips in. You sob into your hands, anguish and anger overtaking you. You should’ve known to have never gone into that cave.

Now your entire life is destined to this: singing a stupid song in hopes that a man will come to you and cum in you. Maybe you had died that night in the witch’s cave and are in some watery version of Hell.

After drying your eyes, you slide down the rock and swim through the calm waters back to your cave filled with items from the human world that you’ve collected over time. They are all that reminded you of the life that is now foreign to you. You then drag yourself to a small bed of seaweed and close your eyes, letting the waves and quiet night lull you to sleep.

When you awaken, it isn’t that long later. Actually, you only have a fifteen-minute nap when you are suddenly awakened by voices. You shoot up from your seaweed bed and squint through the darkness of the furthest reaches of the cave. The parts you haven’t explored in the year you’ve been here. You have no idea what is back there, but nothing has bothered you in the time you’ve occupied this space…until now.

The voices grow from harsh whispers in the dark to loud, clear words that echo along the walls. You quickly reach for your sword and hide behind a nearby rock, listening intently on their conversation:

“Move quicker, Mosshead! Nami and Robin are waiting for me back on the ship and I refuse to make them wait any longer!” This voice is deep, undeniably male, and tinged with a slight accent. Maybe French?

The other voice belonging to another male says something under his breath that sounds like Japanese. “You already made ‘em dinner, you simp. They’re not worried about what you do. Now be quiet before I make you.” This voice is much deeper than the other one and raspy.

Though different, both voices are undeniably and incredibly attractive. Sexy, even. They make something stir in your tummy that you thought was long gone.

“Are you sure even this is the right cave?” the French-accented man asks. “Knowing your sense of direction, we could be walking right into the belly of the beast or something.”

“My sense of direction is just fine!” the deep-voiced man growls. The French man just chuckles. “And yes, it is the right cave. This is the exact place that ship got wrecked a couple months ago. You know, the one Snowbeard’s crew was on?”

Snowbeard. You haven’t heard that name in ages, not since he crashed into your cave anyway. You had just been chilling on a rock when his pirate chip ventured on you, blocking out the sun. The next thing you knew, you were fighting off his big, hulking self, his crew, and the nets they tried to use to capture you.

“Take her alive, boys!” the old, white-bearded pirate ordered, grinning greedily at you. “She’ll be worth more if I get her while she’s breathin’!”

You had fortunately escaped thanks to your quick swimming, but didn’t count on them following you. When you dove under the water near your cave, Snowbeard made a miscalculation and crashed into the side of your cave. No one died though––the captain and his crew had managed to retreat on inflatable boats as the old pirate screamed and proclaimed his revenge on you.

“Stupid bitch!” he angrily shouted, shaking his fists at the blue sky above. “I’ll get her. If it’s the last thing I do, I’ll find that mermaid and take her myself, whether she’s alive or dead.”

That scared you half to death to say the least. Since then, you’ve been wary to come out in daylight and Snowbeard’s things have been left to sink to the bottom of the sea or rust in your cave.

“Sooo why are we in here again?” the French man asks. The sound of footsteps draws nearer, coaxing you farther behind the rock. “To look for some loot and take it back to the ship,” the deep-voiced man replies. “Well, for me, at least. You seem to be more interested in that stupid ass song you heard.”

“And that you heard too!” the French man yelps. "Don’t deny it! You wouldn’t be here with me if you didn’t.” You nearly stop breathing. Song? They heard your song? Could they possibly be here for…you?

The deep-voiced man clucks his tongue against the roof of his mouth and you picture him rolling his eyes. “Whatever. I’m more concerned about all that coin that was rumored to be somewhere in here from the shipwreck.”

You can hear him getting closer, the thud of boots unmistakeable. You clutched your sword tighter, angling it in a way that you’ll be able to thrust and stab if they come near you.

Your eyes flit to the cave wall, seeing their shadows flit in the moonlight. They’re getting closer. They’ll find you.

The French man hums indifferently to himself. “Didn’t that song sound…I don’t know…sad to you?” He asks. "And that voice…”

He pauses, sighing wistfully to himself. “It was so, so beautiful, yet so broken. It was filled with such yearning and need and oh, shit!” His adoring rambling is cut short when he happens upon your rock and gets nothing but a sword in his face.

You can now see that his face matches his attractive voice: a square jaw, plump lips, and a green eye that matches his cropped hair and the pants he wears on those thick thighs; pectorals that push against his cotton shirt where you can see a peek of his chiseled abs and tan skin; big, beefy arms and hands that clench at his sides where his swords are.

His partner is just as alluring. He is taller, skinnier, and shorter than the big, buff swordsman…and also more classier dressed. He wears a suit with slacks that cover his long legs and has blond hair that hangs slightly in front of his face, covering one of his grayish-blue eyes. He is just as handsome with a goatee and a cigarette hanging from between his kissable lips. One of his twirly eyebrows raises in surprise at the sight of you.

Meanwhile, the swordsman chooses violence immediately. “What the fuck?” he bellows, immediately reaching for his sword strapped to his hip, but the blonde French man stops him. “Wait, wait!” he shouts. “Don’t touch her!”

The green-haired swordsman glares at him confusedly. “And what? Let her get us with that big ass sword?”

You continue to clutch the sword out, prepared to fight if necessary despite your tail. “Get back,” you growl. “Both of you stay away from me!” You switch between both of them, baring your teeth as if that will make them beware you even more than the sword in their faces.

The blonde pushes the swordsman’s hand down and backs him away from you. “Okay, okay,” he soothingly says. “We’re staying away, not touching you or being threatening in any type of way. We’re sorry we startled you, miss. I-Is this your cave?” He looks around your home, admiring the trinkets.

“Yes,” you snap. “And you two need to leave now if you know what’s good for you.” The swordsman rolls his emerald eye at you. “Relax, lady,” he growls. “We’re just here to check out this cave for shipwreck stuff. We have no interest in you or your…is that a fucking tail?”

You realize they are both now gawking straight at your tail, their eyes trailing over its scales and the fin that flaps about. You squeak in fear, hiding it behind the rock.

“Why…you’re a mermaid!” the blonde gasps, his eyes turning into literal hearts. “What a beauty you have! But, of course, such a beautiful creature deserves one.” He gives you a dashing smile, putting on the charm. “What is your name, may I ask?”

You weigh your options for a moment, deciding whether or not to tell them your name or anything about you. But they don’t seem too threatening, even the swordsman despite his scowl. “Y/N,” you answer.

The blonde bows to you, comically so. “Lovely to meet you, Y/N. I’m Sanji Vinsmoke and this green-headed bitch behind me is–“

“Zoro,” the swordsman rasps. “Roronoa.”

Your ears perk in recognition at the sounds of their names. “From the Strawhats? Monkey D. Luffy’s crew?”

The duo share glances, Sanji looking happier than Zoro that you know who they are. “I know you. You’re part of the most notorious pirate crew in the world. I’ve heard of what you’ve done for others. You…help people.”

You say this last part to yourself as your head travels farther from your body, recounting all of the stories you’ve heard about the Strawhats. For the past several years, you’ve heard of their doings, helping others from across the sea. You’ve always been so impressed in them, admiring their work and their adventures. Now that you’re here meeting two members, you realize just what can be done to help you…hopefully.

“Well, we’ve traveled a bit and have helped a few enslaved villages,” Sanji chuckles, fixing his tie. He peers down at you, his brows knitted in concern. “Are you in need of some sort of assistance, sweet lady? How can we help?”

Zoro elbows him hard, glaring at him and his pain. “Are you nuts?” he growls. “We barely even know her!” Sanji recovers quickly and elbows Zoro back. “Exactly! So maybe this way, we can get to know her!”

Zoro grimaces at the blonde. “Why? So you can get your dick wet? You can’t even do that on the ship with Nami and Robin.”

Sanji’s face suddenly goes redder than a tomato and you nearly see steam coming out of his ears. “Why, you fucking–”

“The song,” you interrupt them. The duo stop their arguing and stare at you cluelessly. “You heard my song.” The realization clears the fog over their faces. Zoro blinks at you, his face in a permanent scowl. “Wait…that was you? You sang that?”

You slowly nod at him, your heart thundering in your chest. So both of them did hear it! That can only mean…

“I told you it was real, you bloke!” Sanji guffaws, slapping his knee. “You thought I was crazy, but–”

“You heard me,” you interrupt him. You’re breathless, feeling winded as the realization hits you: your help is here. Finally. “You came. Then that means…you’re here for me.” You stare up at your two attractive saviors. They can help you. They have the power to do so. Sanji and Zoro give you similarly confused scowls as if you just spoke gibberish.

“Please,” you beg. You put the sword down and reveal yourself to them from behind the rock. You show them your seashell bra, gills, and tail, watching awe register across their faces. “I need your help. I’ve been stuck with this fucking tail for a year now by this stupid witch and now I-”

“Wait, wait, slow down, darling,” Sanji says. “You need to slow down a bit so we can understand you.” His soothing voice coaxes you to stop and take a breath. “Okay,” you sigh, gathering your thoughts. “I’m sorry. It’s just been so long since I’ve spoken to anyone or told anyone about this.” Zoro quirks an interested eyebrow. “About what?” he probes.

And so, you tell them everything from the very beginning of that fateful, dreadful night. You watch them intently as you give them every detail, right down to the witch’s nasty ass toenails. Confusion, awe, and a twinge of fear register across their handsome faces until you finally finish.

Silence swells around you three for a moment, intensified by the cave. “So you’ve been cursed as a mermaid all this time and you sing that song in hopes that someone will come to free you?” Sanji asks.

You frantically nod, though you leave out one important part: that you have to be fucked in order to be freed. And since there are two males who were lured after your song, that means you’ll have to fuck both…which is fine with you. To be honest, they’re attractive enough that you’d probably enjoy it and you’re so horny that you’d fuck anyone at this point…well, maybe you’re reaching with that. You still have standards, curse or not.

“How do we know you’re not lying?” Zoro asks, giving you an accusatory squint with one eye. Sanji gives him a criticizing glare.

“Why would I lie about this, swordsman?” you scoff. “I’m miserable here! I can’t get back home and I’ve lost my entire life because of this!” You point at your tail that swishes around in irritation and impatience, almost like a cat’s tail.

Zoro purses his lips at you. “Which you got from your own choice, might I add.” You flush with anger. Why is he making this so hard for you? “Why should we help you?” he continues, squinting at you. “We don’t even know you.”

“And yet I could’ve killed you from entering my domain,” you shoot back. The swordsman opens his mouth to argue further, but nothing comes out. You’ve stumped him. Sanji sniggers, earning an elbow in the stomach.

“Listen,” you sigh. “I know this is strange, but I wouldn’t be asking you of this if I didn’t need this. And after we’re through, we can part ways like this night never happened.”

The pirates give each other a look, silently conversing with one another before turning back to you. “Well, how exactly do we free you?” Sanji asks.

Oh, right. You didn’t get to that part. “Um…well…” You nervously bite your lip, trying your best to make this sound as normal and less nasty as possible. “You’d have to…make love to me. Something about accepting my body as it is now to free me.”

As you suspected, both men stare at you like you’re unhinged. “I know this sounds insane and you have every reason to refuse, but I’m so desperate right now!” you practically sob. “I’ve been stuck in this body for so long that I’ve forgotten what it’s like to be human.”

You press your hands together in a prayer, fat tears sticking to your lashes. “Please, help me. Please!” Sanji kneels before you, putting a hand on your shoulder. “Shhh, darling,” he hushes you. “I’ll help you.”

Zoro is just as shocked as you are. “Are you serious?” He asks. The love chef looks over his shoulder at the swordsman, sticking his nose up at him. “Well, you’re not exactly making a move. Now leave so we can have some privacy.” He then turns his attention back to you, his eyes filled with lust and charm.

You once again nervously gnaw on your bottom lip, unaware that the act is getting to Sanji and Zoro. “W-Well…it’d have to be both of you since I lured both of you with my song.”

Sonja’s eyes widen and his cigarette falls out of his mouth. “Wait…him too?! Forreal?! He doesn’t even know what to do with a woman!”

Zoro glares at the love chef. “Oh, and you do?” he barks. “Most women run away from your pervin’ ass!”

“But…are you two up for it?” you ask, looking between both of the sexy strangers. The question seems to stump the two who stare at each other, coming to a decision. Finally, Zoro sighs and lowers his swords. “Only if he don’t get in my way,” he grumbles. “And only if you do whatever I say.”

Your heart leaps with joy though you also feel apprehensive. Having sex with strangers is by far the riskiest thing you’ve done in your chaotic life…but if it means getting rid of your curse then so be it. You’ll do anything to be human again!

The men are just as nervous as you are. Zoro clears his throat as he kneels, a blush on his tan cheeks. “So how do we start this?”

Sanji gives you a wobbly smile, an awkward chuckle leaving his lips. “Pardon my nerves,” he sheepishly says. “I’m afraid I can’t make love to a woman if I don’t really know her first.”

You understand and you have a solution. One of the perks of being a mermaid means you have ‘special powers’. “I can help,” you seductively whisper, your tone change shaking the pirates. “Just look at me.”

They do as you say and stare into your eyes. You lock your eyes with them, only needing a few seconds to peer into their minds and deep inside their souls. You take all of their anxiety, all of their stress, and all of their apprehension. You leave nothing but pleasure, calmness, and an undying need for you. The same need you have for them.

Instantly, the pirates are put at immediate ease, both of them sighing, their muscles loosening and their bodies relaxing. Sanji’s eyes flutter closed, his long lashes fanning his cheeks. “Fuck, that feels…nice,” he sighs. “I feel so calm.”

Zoro nods, his thick muscles and shoulders practically melting. “Mmm,” he hums in agreement. “And so…so…fuck, what did you do to us?” He scowls at you, though it is empty. All you can see is lust and need in his pretty, green eyes. All for you. Just the way you want.

“I just used some hypnotism to relax you and make it so your inhibitions won’t be so constrained,” you explain. To put it bluntly, you made them pitifully horny for you.

While Sanji looks surprised, Zoro is livid. “Hypnotism?!” he bellows. “You hypnotized us?! We didn’t…fuck…w-we didn’t ask you to…goddammit!”

He begins breathing heavily, his cheeks flushed and his bottom lip caught between his teeth. Your powers are working overtime on him. Sanji too! The man looks like he can’t wait to get his hands on you, whimpering quietly to himself.

You put a hand on Zoro’s arm, the slightest touch making him jump. You can feel his muscles pulsing under your fingertips, a testament to how needy he is. “Don’t fight it,” you gently tell him. “It will only make it worse.”

Your eyes flicker down to his lap, seeing a hard bulge already making its appearance. Sanji is just as worse off, his cock pressing against his pants. You lick your lips at the lewd sight of both of their dicks straining and throbbing for you. Soon, you’ll have them all to yourself.

You lean in towards Zoro, your eyes falling onto his plump lips. “Please,” you whisper in the small space between your lips. “Help me.”

Suddenly, Zoro stops fighting and gives in to his inhibitions. His green eye darkens, exciting you. “You want our help?” he mutters. “You’re gonna have to beg a little bit better than that.”

Sanji moves behind you, pressing himself against you so you feel the outline of his cock against your backside. “Listen to him, ma chéri,” he teasingly whispers to you. “And since there’s two of us, you’ll have to listen to me too.”

His arms, less bulky than Zoro’s but sill sinewy with muscle, wrap around you. You quietly gasp, your body coming to life. His touch feels so good. So warm. You need more.

“Please,” you whimper. “Please save me. Free me. Just fuck me.” Zoro inhales, taken by your plea, while Sanji laughs in your ear. “So vulgar,” he tsks. “You should’ve said ‘make love’, darling.” His lips begin to lightly peck your neck and shoulders, his kisses warm and soft.

Zoro presses his calloused palm against your cheek, shivering at the way you press your face into his ouch. “Not for a needy thing like her. She needs something more.”

His thumb moves against your boom lip, playing with it. “Don’t you?” he questions. You desperately nod. “Then we’ll give it to you, but we’ll have to do everything we say, understand?” Again, you nod, pressing a kiss to his thumb.

“And tell us exactly how to please you,” Sanji adds. “I’m afraid I’ve never had the pleasure of making love to a mermaid before, and I’m sure Mosshead hasn’t either.” If looks could kill, Sanji would be dead right now from the way Zoro stares at him. “Can we start by kissing?” you nervously ask.

The pirate duo are happy to oblige. “Come here,” Sanji whispers, turning your face to meet him. But before he can lay one on you, Zoro beats him to the punch and moves his head in front of Sanji’s to lay his lips on yours. “Hey!” Sanji growls.

Zoro ignores him, kissing you passionately, the kiss growing more heated and rougher with every second. You both moan into the kiss, diving deeper and deeper into each other’s lips and the feelings it invokes. His kiss is rough and needy; nasty with the way he swirls his tongue with yours; playful with the way he nibbles on your bottom lip and allows you to do the same to his.

You wrap one arm around his neck, bringing him closer to you. His big hands begin to slide down your body, feeling your scales and gills against your fingertips. Sanji does the same, kissing down your scaly back. They don’t shy away or cringe from your imperfections and differences. They treat you like you’re the sexiest, most precious thing in the world to them.

“Turn around, darling,” Sanji whispers. “I want to taste you too.” You tear yourself away from Zoro, but keep one of your arms locked around his head. You do the same to Sanji, letting him put his head through the hole of your other arm to reach you.

He presses his lips to yours, moaning as soon as your mouths touch. His kiss is less rough and urgent than Zoro’s, but it is just as passionate. He takes his time getting to know your mouth, his tongue asking for permission to slip into your mouth by gently caressing your bottom lip. You part your lips, allowing him entrance, and busy yourself with the sloppy kiss while Zoro kisses your neck.

Their hands on you feel so good yet so agonizing, fire licking across your body. You need more. Anticipation flares inside of you, quickly boiling. You pull away from a panting Sanji, a string of saliva connecting to your bottom lips. “Take off your clothes,” you demand, your voice breathless and needy. “I need you both naked.”

The two men smirk at you, loving how eager you are. “Such a needy lady,” Sanji chuckles, pressing a kiss to your jawline. “You should probably join us though, darling. After all, we can’t be the only ones indecent.”

“How the fuck do you take this off?” Zoro growls, his thick fingers impatiently trying to get your seashell bra off. While Sanji barks that he’ll break it if he isn’t careful, you giggle and show Zoro how to take off your bra.

You let it fall, revealing your perfect breasts and hardened nipples to them. You relish the way they stare at you, eyes widen with lust and awe. “Fuck,” Zoro sighs, bringing his hands up to grasp your titties and give them a squeeze. “You’re fuckin’ perfect.”

“That’s something we can agree on,” Sanji murmurs, unconsciously rutting himself against your backside. “Apologies, darling, but I need to get these fucking pants off.” You smile at him, seductively so. “What’s stopping you?” You purr.

The two men hurry to strip themselves of their clothes, tossing off their shirts and pants, even their shoes and socks. You admire their bodies as they take off each article of clothing, your eyes hungrily drinking in their muscles and sun-tanned skin. When they are finally just in their undies, they wait for you to give them the green light on what to do next though their shafts throb with need.

“Stand up for me,” you softly demand. They scramble to do so, trying to beat each other to the punch. You coax them to lean against the rock behind them before you loop your fingers through the waistband of their briefs. They watch you, cheeks flushed, hearts thumping, their bottom lips caught between their teeth.

You only have to peel the waistbands of their undies down a few inches before both of their cocks are popping out from below. Your eyes widen in delight at their opposing sizes and lengths, already imagining how they’d feel in either of your holes. While Zoro is girthy, thick, and tanner with a beautiful pink head, Sanji is longer and skinnier but curves upward, protruding from a nest of blonde curls.

“Shit,” you moan, hungry for them, your pupils dilating at the impressive appendages. “You both are so pretty.”

Sanji blushes at the compliment while Zoro clucks his tongue indifferently. “A cock can’t be pretty,” he argues. All of that fight dissipates though when you wrap a hand around his shaft, slowly stroking it upward.

“But your cock is pretty, baby,” you protest. “So hard and beautiful…Both of yours are. Let me show you.” And so you begin to stroke both of them at the same time, getting used to how they feel in your hands, your thumbs caressing their heads every time you stroke up.

The pirates softly moan and purr encouragingly at the feeling of your slender, soft, warm hands pumping their cocks, their bodies melting against the rock. “Fuck,” Zoro moans, tossing his head back, exposing his thick neck and Adam’s Apple to you. “Put another spell on me, why don’t ya?”

You giggle, giving his shaft a tantalizing lick that makes him shiver. “Don’t tempt me, pretty boy,” you purr, the nickname damn near making the swordsman combust. His moans are deep and soft, bubbling up from his chest.

Sanji’s moans are louder and sluttier, his voice echoing throughout the cave and bouncing against the walls. “God, darling!” He groans. “Y-Your hand is so…s-so…fuck!”

Zoro laughs at his partner despite his body shivering and trembling at your touch. “Damn, Sanji, it’s only her hand,” he cackles. “Can’t handle it, huh?” The love chef glares at him, sweat glistening on his forehead. “F-Fuck you,” he stammers.

“Uh-uh, baby,” you gently critique. “You should be fucking me.” Keeping your eyes locked with his, you wrap your juicy, soft lips around his throbbing, long cock, finally taking him into your mouth.

Sanji’s eyes grow wide at the sight, barely able to handle it. “Oh, fuck yes,” he groans, his hand moving to your head. “God, ma chéri, you’re so good to me. How is it you’re this good?”

You have no clue being that it’s been a year since you sucked dick. But the act comes so naturally to you. You bob your head up and down his length, gathering spit to help you suck on his cock better. Saliva drips down your chin as you gag all over his cock, pumping him in and out of your mouth.

Sanji watches you from behind the slits of his eyes, his hips struggling to keep still. Noticing, you pop off of his cock for a moment with a gasp, inhaling. “It’s okay,” you whisper. “Fuck my mouth, baby. Take what you need.”

Those words are enough for Sanji to finally break. Once you slide back onto his cock, he grips your hair with enough strength to keep you there but not enough to make you feel trapped. He then begins rolling his slender hips into your mouth, his balls touching your chin as you gag and slobber on his dick. “O-Oh, my God,” he moans. "Ma chéri, your mouth is so perfect.”

Zoro watches his partner fuck you, in awe at how good you take that long dick down your greedy throat. His own cock pulses and throbs in your hand, his hips unconsciously fucking your palm, imagining it to be your pretty face. He finally can’t take the waiting anymore and wraps a hand around his cock. “Ain’t I here too?” He huffs. “C’mon, babe, I need your mouth too.”

You smile despite Sanji’s cock in your mouth, gently tapping the love chef’s hip. He gets the message and slides out of your mouth, his cock now shining and dripping in your spit. “I thought you’d never ask,” you breathlessly reply and envelope him into your mouth finally.

Zoro’s cock is thicker so it stretches your mouth out in a way Sanji’s didn’t. You can feel it as it plunges down your throat, insisting that you take it deeper. Unlike Sanji, Zoro doesn’t wait for you to tell him to fuck your throat. He does it anyway, gripping your hair to give him leverage as he pumps his hips back and forth, sliding his cock against your tongue and hollowed cheeks.

“Goddamn!” Zoro hisses, watching the way his dick disappears and reappears between your plump lips, saliva bubbling at the corner of your mouth as your throat expands around his shaft. “The love chef is right about one thing: your mouth is perfect, baby.”

“I told you,” Sanji hums, lovingly running his fingers through your hair while he slowly fucks your hand that is now sodden wet from your saliva and his dripping pre-cum. “She’s a wonder of the Grand Blue.”

Zoro grunts in agreement, a loud moan leaving his body as your free hand massages his heavy balls. “Oh, you’re a slut,” he breathlessly chuckles. “You can’t help but want all of me.”

“And me!” Sanji whines, quickly becoming more turned on at the sight of the swordsman using your throat like it’s a toy. “God, Zoro, relax. She’s a woman, not a pocket pussy!”

Zoro glares at him, pissed that he is ruining his fun and his concentration. “Tell her that; not me. She’s enjoying this shit.” And you are. Your ‘pussy’ is throbbing from having both dicks all to yourself plus the luxury of having two sexy men fight over you.

Speaking of fighting, Zoro is currently at war with the urge to cum. “God, baby, you’re too good at this,” he groans. “You’re gonna make me cum soon.”

“No, no!” Sanji shouts, prying the swordsman’s hand off of your head so you can retract yourself from his cock. “You can’t cum in her mouth. It has to be inside of her to free her, remember?”

“I know that!” Zoro barks, still laying a hand on your head. “I was only tellin’ her to warn her.”

“Then you’d better switch with me and let me fuck her mouth a little more,” Sanji argues. “You’ve been too greedy. Don’t forget, I’m here too, Mosshead.” Zoro rolls his eyes, not looking too happy at sharing. “Fine, but don’t take so long.”

So the two share you, passing you around like a hot potato, fucking your mouth like it’s no one’s business. They shower you with praise and encouragement, telling you to take them deeper, calling you a “good girl”. Their words make you wetter, your slit throbbing impatiently. You want to get filled the same way your throat is.

“You’re doing so well, taking us at the same time like this, darling,” Sanji lovingly says. “What can we do to repay you for your kindness, hm?” Zoro seems to want to know too because he slips his cock out of your mouth so you can answer, but still ruts himself against your hand.

You don’t hesitate telling them what you need: “I want you to taste me,” you imploringly answer. “I want you to touch me.” The two smile at your neediness, their hands caressing your face and hair.

“Tell us how,” Zoro says. Though it sounds like a demand, you can tell that he is just as eager to please you as Sanji is judging by how quickly he gets on his knees to reach you better. “I’ve never been with a mermaid before.”

You smirk at him, causing him to blush. “Oh, really?” You ask. “I’d expect such a renowned swordsman to have been with plenty of women.” Sanji chuckles, earning a hot glare from the swordsman. “I’m just teasing you,” you giggle, pressing an apologetic kiss to his lips. “I’ll show you both how to touch me.”

Sanji kneels down with Zoro, both of them paying close attention to your anatomy. You lay back against a bed of seaweed and run your fingers over your throbbing slit several inches below your belly button. “Here,” you breathlessly say. “Right here.”

The two stare at it, realizing that it has its own puffy lips that are glistening in your wetness. Sanji, salivating at the sight, struggles to speak. “Is this your…y-your—“

“Pussy,” you finish, giggling at his stutter. “It’s just a slit, but it’s just as sensitive as one. My tail too.” You flap your tail around, pointing at your fins.

“You like bein’ touched here?” Zoro curiously asks. You nod. “On my fin and my scales. Just light stroke them with your fingertips. I’m very sensitive there.”

‘Please touch me there,’ you beg in your head. ‘Touch me anywhere.’ Your body burns like a flame, desperate to be touched, felt, and held. You are touch-starved and the way these men move their hands is making your appetite worse.

While Sanji stays at your side, Zoro moves down to your tail, gently placing it in his lap. “Like…this?” He probes, gently running his fingers down your scales. Your back arches and a whimper leaves your lips, his fingertips leaving a trail of pleasurable sparks in their wake. Zoro smirks at your reaction.

“Oh, she’s a sensitive one,” Sanji coos. “We’ll be careful with you, darling girl. Just relax.”

Then, gently and slowly, the French man begins sucking and licking up, down, and around your slit, exploring your wet folds. A loud moan that bounces off of the cave walls explodes from your body, finally unlocked from the treasure chest within you. “Hey!” Zoro barks. “Why do you get to go first?”

Sanji, pissed at being interrupted, turns to glare at his partner over his shoulder. “You’re down there with her tail, aren’t you?” He scoffs. “Shut up and keep stroking. If you don’t, I’ll take your spot there too.”

He then goes back to making out with your ‘pussy’, giving you gentle strokes with his tongue. You gently place your hands on his face and aim his face downward, his nose rubbing up against your clit.

The love chef hums and moans in pleasure just as you do, loving your taste and how wet you are. Even better are the sounds you make: desperate and beautiful moans, whimpers, and gasps drawn out of your body that echo in the empty sea cave with no one to witness but the two men currently pleasuring you.

Zoro moves his calloused fingers down to your tail fins, gently stroking up and down with his thumb and forefinger. His other one plays with your scales, his fingers tracing them like one would guitar strings. You can only describe the feeling as having a thousand tiny clits that are repeatedly stimulated. It’s a glorious, wonderful feeling.

“Oh, sh-shit!” You gasp, sensitive from such stimulation. “That feels s-so fucking good!”

Zoro picks his head up to intently look at you, a proud smirk playing on his lips. “Yeah?” He teasingly asks, his green eye piercing into yours. “I bet I’m makin’ you feel so good, aren’t I, baby?” He leans down to begin kissing down your scales, his tongue poking between his lips to gently slide down your tail. You damn near cum right there.

Sanji is still becoming acquainted with your slit, his tongue swirling about between your lips and against them while his nose swipes against the hood of your clit. He ticks his hooded eyes up to meet yours, hearts practically floating in them as he stares at your pretty tits and parted mouth as you moan. “And me too?” He asks, desperate to hear you say it. “Am I making you feel good too, darling?”

He does some kind of trick with his tongue that touches some spot inside of you that nearly makes you cum right there all over his face. ”Yes!” You whine. “Yes, yes, right here!”

Your hands grab his blonde hair, fingering his locks and keeping him locked against your cunt. He hungrily eats at you, his hands moving underneath you to hold your ass. When he pulls away, his mouth is sodden wet from you and he eagerly licks at his lips. “You’re so wet here, mon chere,” he gasps, his finger lightly toying with your pussy lips. “I could just slide my finger in.”

You flush at the idea, having already thought about it. “Um…you can,” you shyly say. “But can you both share?”

Zoro and Sanji look at each other, surprisingly not put off with the idea. Zoro quirks an eyebrow at you and you feel his hard cock nudge at your tail. “You want us to eat you out at the same time?” He asks. Sanji tuts, moving over to make room for the swordsman. “So desperate for us.”

And they give you exactly what you want. They take turns eating and slurping your wet pussy slit, licking and sucking your clit while the other fingers your slit, hooking either one or two upwards to stroke your G-spot. Sanji’s fingers are slender and long, perfect for piano, while Zoro’s are thick and fill you up.

They each offer copious amounts of saliva, spitting on your pussy even when the other has their fingers in you. But neither seem to care, too focused on making you lose your everloving mind.

And you are. Broken moans and high-pitched whines leave your lips, your hands gripping their hair and any part of their bodies for dear life. “Oh, my God,” you moan, your eyes rolling to the back of your head. “You’re both so good at this!”

Sanji’s mouth leaves your clit to leave kisses on your breasts instead, his hands groping what his mouth isn’t stimulating. You go to rub your clit, but Zoro firmly places your hand on your stomach. His eyes are fierce and stern, exciting you. “Uh-uh,” he firmly says. “Don’t touch her. She’s ours right now.”

‘She’s ours’. Your pussy is theirs. You feel yourself shiver, enjoying the idea of you being theirs.

Sanji presses a kiss to your panting lips, sucking gently on your tongue. “Put us where you want, darling girl,” he implores. “Show us what you need.” And when he goes back down to join his partner in feasting on your cunt, you push his head down onto your slit while Zoro finger fucks you.

The two don’t switch this time, probably because your moans have grown louder, signaling your end nearing. You can feel it the more Zoro’s thick digits curl up to fuck you, emitting lewd, wet sounds as they swirl in your wet slit. You can feel it the more Sanji makes love to your clit, swirling his tongue around and around. That knot in your core tightens with each second, threatening to snap.

“Oooh, fuck!” you croon. “Shit, you’re gonna make me cum! I’m gonna…gonna…!”

You can feel it. Just something more. A little more to give you that push. The swordsman is that push, his rough, velvety voice reaching your eardrums to encourage you to finally let go.

“Cum, baby,” Zoro moans. “Give it to us. We’ve got you.” Sanji hums in agreement into your slit, his tongue moving in perfect time with Zoro’s thrusting fingers.

Finally, you break and with a loud, ear-shattering moan, you cum all over them. Their mouths, their fingers, and their chests become covered in your cum…or squirt when you finally realize that you’re squirting. You didn’t even know mermaids could squirt!

Zoro shoves Sanji out of the way to get himself a taste, but Sanji is too busy laughing with joy at your loud orgasm to get mad. “My, what a voice!” He laughs. “Such lungs on you, ma chéri. I suppose you needed that?”

You slowly nod, coming down from your high. “That was amazing,” you sigh. “Thank you.”

You stare at both of them with such gratitude that Zoro blushes despite having just swallowed your squirt. He awkwardly wipes his mouth with his hand, his cheeks red. “Of course,” he says, clearing his throat. “So, uh…do you still want to—“

“Yes,” you giggle, sitting up and staring into their eyes. “Yes, I do. I don’t care who goes first; just as long as you’re both in me.”

Your libido is still high as is your need. You want both of them on you, in you, now. At this point it’s less about the curse and more about wanting to be filled and fucked by these two sexy idiots.

The two stare at each other, silently trying to come to an agreement. “I go first,” they say in unison then immediately become irked. “Why you?” They ask each other, quickly growing angrier at the fact that they share the same brain.

“Because you had her mouth first,” Zoro snaps. “Ya didn’t even ask me if I wanted first dibs!” Sanji opens his mouth to retort but then stops, pausing to think it over. “He does have a point,” you mutter.

“Yes, but…you’re too big!” Sanji argues, motioning to Zoro’s big body. “You might crush her or be too rough! You can’t just fuck her like you did her mouth. You need to take your time to get to know her body.” The two begin to go back and forth like two kids, tossing in immature insults and stupid nicknames.

As hilarious as the scene is, you can feel your slit throbbing impatiently and your need quickly growing to new heights. “Boys,” you firmly say, grabbing their attention. “Instead of fighting, why don’t you both just fuck me together?”

The duo blink at you, confused. “How?” Sanji asks, perplexed. “You mean…one gets your pussy and the other gets your…oh.” When he realized where that other dick is going, his cheeks grow hot. “What?”

Zoro snaps. “What does she mean?”

Sanji sighs and whispers to him, making the swordsman turn as red as a tomato. “Um…are you okay with this?” The blonde nervously asks.

You’ve never been more okay with something in your life, you realize. You know in your heart of hearts that these two will take care of you, casual sex or not. “I wouldn’t be asking if I wasn’t, pretty boy,” you giggle. “Are you okay with it?”

You look between the two, searching their faces for apprehension or any signs of second guessing. Despite their obvious nervousness, Zoro shakes his head, a determined scowl on his face. “Well…I suppose it is fair,” Sanji mutters. “We’ve shared her since the beginning, so why not continue?”

He turns to Zoro, puffing out his chest. “I-I’ll take the back if you want the front. Just as long as you don’t hurt her and you’re not too rough!” The swordsman rolls his emerald eyes, shoving the blonde out of the way. “Oh, shut up,” he huffs.

You suddenly find yourself being scooped up bridal style by Zoro, your tail flapping happily at the sweet act. You giggle and wrap your arms around his thick neck, leaning your head into his chest. He leans against a rock, keeping you against him, while Sanji stands behind you, his cock bobbing against your ass. Feeling yourself be sandwiched between both of them, your hands running over their muscles and abs, is enough to make you reach climax.

You keep your arms locked around Zoro’s neck, his face just inches from yours. “Is this okay?” He asks in your ear.

You nod, staring into his eye which reminds you of a vast, lush forest. It softens, flickering down to your lips. “You’re so beautiful,” he whispers. “I promise I’ll make you feel so good.”

Hearing such a sweet promise coming from the rugged pirate invokes something with you that feels like butterflies. You smile and softly peck his lips. “I’ll hold you to it, swordsman,” you whisper against his lips.

Zoro smiles and gives you another chaste kiss before moving between your bodies to rub your clit. Once you begin to moan is when he slowly slides his cock against your sodden wet slit…and then the tip slips in. You both gasp at the contact, sharing pants and heated breaths. You begin to roll your hips against his, slowly taking him inch by inch inside of you.

“That’s it, mama,” he coos. “Nice an’ slow…nice a-and…fuck!” He squeezes his eyes shut, his pretty face screwed up at the pleasure your silky, spongy, wet walls bring him.

You’re feeling it too—his girthy cock makes him a lot thicker which causes your walls to stretch around him. It becomes easier the more he moves, wetness secreting from the both of you to act as lube.

“Look down, baby,” he whispers. Look at that pussy takin’ me.” You do and you see what has him so pent up: the way his thick cock plunges in and out of your slit is so lewd yet so sexy. The first cock you’ve taken in a year!

“Wow,” you say in astonishment. Sanji watches too, unconsciously rutting his cock against your backside.

“Keep going,” you plea, gripping the swordsman’s shoulders. “Fuck me, Zoro. Please.” He doesn’t need to be told twice. Immediately, he grabs your hips and proceeds to fuck you, practically bouncing you up and down his cock, invoking broken moans and gasps from your pretty lips.

Zoro watches your face change expressions, his lips sexily pressed together at the immense pleasure he feels whenever your tight, wet hole throbs and squeezes around him. He quickly loses control, letting go for you. “Oh, God,” he moans. “Fuck, you feel so fuckin’ good!”

He does too. The pleasure is blinding, wiping your mind blank. Almost enough to forget about the love chef. “Sorry to interrupt,” Sanji chuckles. “But you’ve got another cock to take care of, darling…after I prep you a bit back here.”

He presses his index finger to your lips, coaxing you to suck on it. You hungrily do so, stimulated by Zoro’s cock as he slowly fucks you, pistoning himself into you.

You then feel Sanji’s finger gently pry your cheeks apart and probe your asshole. You gasp into Zoro’s mouth as you feel the French man’s digit lightly trace your asshole, keeping his touch gentle and soft. “Good girl,” he whispers. “Does it feel good?”

“Y-Yeah,” you exhale, struggling to even speak from the pleasure. Though it’s a foreign feeling, it makes the pleasure of Zoro’s thrusts feel even better.

Then, slowly, Sanji sinks his finger into your asshole, emitting a moan from you. “That okay?” he asks. “Not too much?”

“N-No!” you whimper. “Fuck, it feels so good!” Your body turns into mesh, your head lulling onto Zoro’s shoulder, your eyes fluttering shut. It’s all too much to take.

Zoro tightens his grip on you, still pistoning into you. “Such a big girl takin’ us both like this.” He presses a soft kiss to your cheek. “Jesus Christ, Sanji, are you done yet?”

He glares at the blonde who has yet to slip his dick inside of you yet. “Hold on!” He barks. “I need to make sure she’ll be okay to take me!” But you know you are. Your asshole is as open and stretched as it’s going to be. Plus, your want is increasing and so is your need. You need, yearn, to be filled.

“Sanji, please,” you moan. “I need you.” You reach your arm back for him, hooking it around his neck to pull him flush against you. He holds your ass and massages it as you push back against him, rubbing his cock between your asscheeks. The act is so slutty and so unlike you, but you can’t help you. You need him too.

The blonde wraps one around his cock and brings it to your asshole, gently pushing his hips toward you. A gasp leaves his hips as soon as that tight muscle squeezes around him. You push back, taking more of him in you while Zoro pauses, letting you get used to both of them.

It’s a weird, strange feeling to be filled at both ends…but it also feels amazing. You can feel them touching every sensitive part of you that makes you see the entire galaxy behind your eyelids.

“Easy now, darling,” Sanji pants. “Take your time. Just meet me halfway.” You continue to do so, pushing back while he pulls forward. You toss your ass back into him, taking him deeper and deeper with every inch, forcing slutty moans and whimpers out of Sanji’s mouth. “Fuck,” he moans. “Fuck, ma chéri, you’re so tight here!”

Zoro smirks at the blonde over your shoulder. “Can’t handle it, Vinsmoke?” He sniggers. “Is that ass too tight?” Even though he’s the main one struggling not to move, his entire body trembling against you.

Sanji scowls at him. “Don’t be so vulgar,” he growls, but you can feel him throb inside of you. “Just shut up and fuck her.”

Shockingly, Zoro listens and the two begin to slowly move at the same time, falling into a rhythm that has you moaning and calling to God, your sounds bouncing off of the cave walls.

They both push in and pull back at the same time, each of them filling your holes which pushes you toward your second orgasm with every push and pull. Zoro presses his lips against your ear, his hips slamming into yours. “Thatta girl,” he praises. “Take those fuckin’ cocks. Such a good little slut, y’know that?”

You wordlessly whine at his degrading words, shuddering helplessly between them. The swordsman grips you to him, rubbing his pelvis up against yours. “Come the fuck here,” he growls. “You hear me talkin’ to you?”

“Y-Yes!” You whine. “I-I’m sorry! Fuck, Zoro, yes, right there!” Your rosebud sings with pleasure as Zoro continues to rub against it, your entire body coming to life from what you’re feeling.

Sanji caresses your face, turning you to face him. “You have the most beautiful voice, ma chéri,” he lovingly sighs. “I want to hear more of it. Will you sing more for us?”

As if persuading you, he rolls his hips in a way that makes both of you moan. “Do it,” you plead. “Fuck me.”

They do just that, taking you on the ride of your life, fucking you into oblivion. And their dicks aren’t the only things responsible. Every time their lips touch some part of your body—your neck, shoulders, lips, breasts—, every time their hands grope you, every time you grip or stroke their hard muscles and warm skin, you can feel that knot in your core begin to tighten as much as your wet slit and asshole do around their cocks.

At some point, their thrusts become faster and harder, keeping you squeezed between them and holding you up for better access to do as they want to you. They fuck you like there is no tomorrow, letting out loud moans and grunts that make you wetter, causing their cocks to become even slipprier so it’s easier to slide in and out of you. You can’t believe how good you feel, let alone how long it took for this to happen.

Zoro gives you an open-mouthed kiss, playfully nibbling on your bottom lip. “This enough for you, mama?” He whispers. “Are these dicks good enough for you?” Your tongue is too heavy to speak, the pleasure stealing your voice from you. “Aw, the poor baby can’t even speak,” he laughs.

Sanji is just as fucked up though, his hips moving on their own as he grips you to him. “Fuck, I’m close!” he moans. “I can’t wait to fill you up, darling. I’m gonna make you all mine.”

Zoro scowls at him questionably. “Yours?” He huffs. “What about me? You think your load is gonna be bigger than mine?”

The French man raises an eyebrow, smirking challengingly at him. “Let’s find out. We’ll see who can make her cum the quickest and fill her up the most.”

Always up for a challenge, Zoro gives him a smile. “You’re on.” He then locks his arms around you, keeping you dangling off of the floor. “Hold on tight to me, mama. This ride is gonna get bumpy.”

You tighten your arms around him, anchoring yourself to him while Sanji locks his arms around you. “Let us know if it’s too much, okay?” he whispers.

You nod, leaning your head back against his shoulder. You give yourself to them and they give their all to you, pounding your pretty pussy and even prettier asshole until you’re sobbing, fat tears glistening on your lash lines. Your tail fin curls in ecstasy the way your toes would and your hands move to grip your men’s hair, overcome with pleasure.

“O-Oh, fuck!” You sob. “Yes, yes, yes, just like that! I-I’m gonna cum!” You can feel it building with every passing second; with every drop of wetness that dribbles down your inner thighs and coats your slits. “Me too,” Zoro huffs. “You’re just too goddamn tight, baby.”

Sanji only gives you a wordless, slutty moan, unable to speak. But he doesn’t have to. You can feel both of their cocks throbbing and swelling inside of you, their thrusts becoming more urgent and much harder than before.

Tapping into your powers once more, you look both of them in the eye, keeping them close, wanting to be one. “Cum with me,” you demand. “Both of you cum with me now. Fill me up.”

After a few more sloppy, stuttering thrusts, the pirates give you what you want. They cum inside of you up at the same time, filling you up to the brim with two cream pies that knock the air out of you. Their slutty, loud moans and grunts trigger your own orgasm. With a shiver and an earth-shattering scream that nearly shatters the pirates’ eardrums, you finally combust and cum all over Zoro’s cock while your asshole clenches around Sanji’s.

You feel like you’re soaring for just a few short, blissful seconds, flying through the highest clouds and taking the pirates with you. They keep you lifted up and against them as you shudder and writhe in pleasure, riding out the hardest orgasm you’ve had in a year.

It makes you dizzy and your head goes completely blank. It takes every single ounce of energy out of you, so much so that you go limp when it fades. You lean your head against Zoro’s chest, suddenly exhausted.

At some point during your mind-blowing orgasm, you pass out. You don’t remember much about what happened after you had your second nut. But when you awaken, it is dawn and you find yourself still sandwiched between a sleeping, naked Zoro and Sanji. The swordsman has his muscular, scarred back to you while the love chef is pushed against your back, acting as the big spoon.

The morning sun peeks through the cave, turning the soft waves that crash against the shore a beautiful hue of gold. The sunlight illuminates off of your naked bodies, acting as a physical representation for afterglow: your arms, your faces, your legs…

Legs?

To your utter shock and joy, you look down to see that you no longer have a fish tail but your legs. Your beautiful, gorgeous, human legs. You sit up between the pirates and wiggle your toes just to see if you can do it. Your little piggies listen to your order, your toe bones wiggling about.

“Oh, my God!” You shout, unable to keep your happiness at bay.

Your shout alarms the pirates and they quickly awaken. Zoro immediately grabs a sword while Sanji panickingly looks around for danger, his blonde hair a sex-ruined mess. “What, what?!” He gasps. “What is it?!”

You take a moment to gather your words as tears begin to push past the dam of your eyes. “My legs!” You sob. You show the duo your legs, happily moving them around. “You broke the curse! It worked!”

Zoro gapes down at your legs, even gently stroking your skin from your thigh to your knee. Sanji breaks out into an astonished smile, his gray blue eyes wide with wonder. “My God,” he whispers. “It was real.” You nod, unable to keep yourself from sobbing with joy. You can’t believe it worked!

The swordsman looks pleased that everything worked out for you. “I guess our work here is done,” he says. “We should be leaving now.” To your confusion and shock, the two leave you sitting there and begin to get dressed. “Wait, you’re leaving?” You ask. “Right now?”

Zoro stares at you as if it should be obvious while he puts on his pants. “Well, yeah,” he says. “I mean, we gave you what you wanted, right? We’re not needed anymore.” He shrugs on his boots with the quickness, still having not put on his shirt. “But it was…really nice.” He clears his throat, awkwardly looking away from your naked form.

Sanji is quicker putting on his clothes, staring at you somberly. “Better than nice, ma chéri,” he sighs. “You were amazing. But our time here has come to pass. Our captain will be looking for us, so we should—“

“Don’t go!” you blurt, grabbing Sanji’s hand. The love chef looks taken aback at this. Zoro is too, looking at you with a startled expression. You’re just as taken aback at yourself and the sudden desperation you feel watching them go. Why do you feel this way? After all, you did tell them you could depart after you got your legs back.

And while you are happy to have your beautiful, human limbs back, you’re not happy to see the pirates go. They made you feel safer than you’ve felt your whole life. They accepted you, helped you at your darkest hour, fucked you stupid, and came inside of you without even knowing you. All to help you! How can you give them up?

You flush embarrassingly and release Sanji’s hand, instead using your arms to hug yourself, covering your naked breasts. “I-I mean…you don’t have to leave so soon. I really enjoyed your company, regardless of the sex.” You look at each other from under your lashes, bashful but honest. “I wouldn’t mind y’all stickin’ around for a bit.”

Zoro and Sanji stare at you in shock, obviously not expecting this proposal from you. Then their gazes soften, filling you with butterflies that nervously flap and flutter about. Before any one of them can respond, a sheer, loud scream coming from deep within the cave stops you:

“Zoro!” Luffy calls. “Sanji, are you in here?!”

Immediately, you crawl behind a rock, frightened. “We’re coming!” Sanji shouts. “Luffy, don’t move!” You hear other voices too, unfamiliar and scary to you. You haven’t been around other help in a year.

Zoro walks toward you and kneels with you behind the rock, his eye sparkling with mischief and gentleness. “I wouldn’t mind that either if you don’t mind our crew.”

He hands you over his shirt, holding it out for you. “But I will warn you: they’re annoying and unhinged, but you won’t find better people than them.” He gives you a crooked smile that makes you trust his words.

“You want me to join your crew?” You ask in disbelief. The swordsman passively shrugs, ever the emotionally constipated one. “If you want,” he bashfully asks. “I think Luffy will like you. He likes everybody…mostly.”

Sanji chuckles, kneeling beside you. “What do you say, darling?” He asks, a sparkle in his eyes. “You up for some more adventure?”

You take a moment to stare into the men’s eyes, seeing nothing but a generous nature that soothes your fears and leaves you feeling giddy, happy, and safe.

“Hell yes,” you giggle. You take Zoro’s shirt and put it on, feeling like you’re wearing a dress with how big it is on you. You then wrap your arms around both men’s necks and bring them in for a soft, thankful kiss. “Lead the way, boys,” you purr.

Joyfully, Zoro scoops you up into his arms while Sanji fusses about not being able to hold you, much to your humor, as you’re carried away to meet your new crew. Suddenly, the fog that the witch’s curse created is gone, leaving your present and your future looking brighter than ever.

And all because of that stupid ass song.

THE END.

[97keanu]

Premise: Vampire!John Wick has caught your scent, and now there's nothing that will stop him from obtaining what he craves. You on the other hand, are enjoying a night on the town dressed as an angel for Halloween. You don't realize what a mistake you've made walking into a real vampire's path.

Tags/CW: DARK FIC, Vampire!JW, Being hunted, pred/prey, innocent!reader, angel coded!reader, bimbo!reader, dumb!reader, blood drinking, regular alcohol drinking, john is an evil vampire, dub-con, dead dove don't eat, hypnotism/hypnotized!reader, reader has a secret kidnapping!kink, reader has secret dark desires, knife kink in the form of claws, biting, teasing teasing teasing !!!, mind reading, reader who is a secret slut, reader who wants to be sacrificed, major character death mentions/teased, blood doll!reader, readers fate undetermined.

A/N: I've always had a thing for vampires. In this fic, I explore some of my favorite naughty kinks, and give you an extremely long and kinky sex scene between John and reader. Hope y'all like it, be sure to heed the content warnings ʚ♥︎ɞ

He has hunted your scent for miles. That sweet, delicious blood of yours calling to him in even the faintest amount. You poor, pretty little thing, that doesn't even know she's being hunted. You laugh with friends after dark, walking in groups for safety as you enjoy the Halloween festivities. You have no idea that it doesn't matter where you go tonight. That John has already decided your blood will be his, and so it shall be. You look so dolled up too, in your tiny miniskirt and frilly, barely-there white top. On your back, two perfect, tiny fake angel wings float along your figure, a costume halo atop your head. You look pristine, and John can only imagine what all that white will look like when he's done with you. It's as if you decided to serve yourself up on a silver platter for him, unknowingly.

As you walk about the city in wobbly, chunky platforms, you giggle into the night air with friends, the mist of your breath pooling in the sky above you. You don't notice in the sea of people that is New York, that you're being stalked. You don't see the man, moving silently from building to dark alleyway, inhaling your scent as deep as he can. You don't see the fangs, that glint under street lamps as he passes. They've grown so long from desire he can hardly keep them hidden behind his lips. Luckily for John, costumed Halloween goers flood the streets. A perfect time for a creature of the night like him to be so bold in public. Tonight, he will go unnoticed.

You however go into the next club on your bar hopping adventure without a care in the world. You don't see the dark figure slipping in behind you at a speed you can't even comprehend. You walk with an air of innocence and wide-eyed wonder. You gawk at spooky displays and laugh at slasher costumes as you walk by. You know that underneath that scary mask is just some greasy twenty-something who would love to get you in bed. As if.

The lights and music blare, and you are pulled by your friends to the dance floor. You're already feeling the heat of the cocktails you've had tonight in your body, and when you move to the rhythmic music, you feel your legs wobble along lazily. Your friends pass you another drink, you don't know from where, and you consume it happily. It's sweet, bitter aftertaste goes down easily, and you enjoy your night of being young and free.

A few men try to dance with you, but when you size them up, they're so not your type. They're just too young for you, even if they are likely the same age as you. You've always loved a more mature man, someone bigger and wiser than you who can really put you in your place. Half of you fantasizes about a man like that taking you from this hedonist pit of a club, pulling you into his car and driving away. You imagine he would take you back to his house just to tie you up and keep you kidnapped there against your will. The idea has always turned you on, but none of the men in this club tonight could ever give you something like that. You continue to dance with your friends, ignoring any drunkards who try to make a pass at you with an up turned nose.

The night continues on, and more drinks find their way into your hands. You happily take them, not caring how beyond drunk you are. As you're dancing, you slowly realize how seperated you are from your friends. You glance around, looking for them in the crowd, but see no one. Instead you feel the hair on the back of your neck raise. You feel as if you're the one being watched.

When you finally find the pair of eyes on you, you see the face of a handsome, older man in the crowd. You're surprised to see a man like him in a crowd like this. He seems so suave, so opulent, and through your drunken eyes, he also seems expensive, if not rich. You saunter over, slowly dancing through the crowd, until you're close enough to the staring stranger to see how intense his eyes really are. For a moment, fear washes over you, but you shake your head, deciding yourself silly for being afraid.

John can hardly hide his delight that he has caught you, his pretty little prey angel. He hears your thoughts about a man like him taking you away, tying you up, and using you like the hole you are. John has to laugh under his breath. You could never guess how true that sentiment really is. John can imagine doing more than just tying you up, though.

He watches as you walk right over to him, he can sense the fear rising up in you. You have every right to be afraid, but you still come, like the fly to the spider. You know it, in your heart, that John is a predator. Your own senses tell you, but like the silly human you are, you ignore them. Human's have lost all superstitions for creatures like John, it almost makes it too easy to trick you into letting him in.

John pulls you in when you get close enough, he has to hide how sharp his nails are, be gentle with your fragile body, but he still senses how rough he's pulled you in. In your drunkeness, you assume you've just tripped into him.

John feels your warm, tiny body against his, and you move like a siren, obviously not as angelic as you seem. Your body ungulates on his, rubbing your backside straight into John's cock. To your surprise, he's already hard, and you blush thinking it was so easy to do such a thing to him. You don't know that it's not just your body that's turning him on. No, it's what he's imagining doing to you after he's had his fun toying with you like this. It's that sweet blood that pumps in your veins so temptingly.

He let's his hands move up your body, caressing every curve, feeling your hips and gripping them into himself, imagining how he would take you later on. His hands continue up, pressing and playing with your breasts, and for a moment, you reach up for his hands, startled by how forward this strange man is being in public. He relents, his hands moving up to caress that pretty neck of yours. In your intoxicated state, you continue to allow him to play with you.

What you don't notice is John has slowly pulled you from the crowd, isolating you from the rest of the humans having a fun Halloween weekend. You don't even realize it until John is starting to move you through a back door of the club, the night air suddenly chilling you and ruffling the feathers of your wings. You turn to face him, and he smiles so sweetly. As he smiles you notice the sharpness of his teeth, and your mind tries to explain it away as a costume, but they look so real, and so sharp. Your instincts once again tell you to run, but with the way he's looking at you, you feel a pull to him you can't explain.

It's as if everything in your brain is telling you how dangerous this man is, but your body can't get enough of him. Even being so close now, his husky, earthy scent, similar to pine trees and steel, draws you in. You feel your body tingling where he touches you on your waist and back, his finger tips freezing. He reminds you of winter itself, cold and unmoving. But you are moving aren't you? When you notice your surroundings outside his intense, dark eyes, you see you've been drawn to a dark corner of the alleyway.

You look about and notice how quiet it is, how it's as if everyone else has been banished from the area, not even the rustle of wind is making a sound. No, the only sound right now you hear is of your increasingly alarmed breath. You look back to the strange man to see he has bent you backwards, your wings now barely brushing the dirty alley, your hair swept from your neck.

Suddenly, in the moonlight, those glinting fangs don't seem so fake. In fact, they seem so real you're shaking from it. Your rabbit heart thumps relentlessly, and suddenly adrenaline floods your body. You move to run, to jump out of his grip like a frightened doe, but his hands hold you like steel.

"Who--?" You begin to say, trying to muster a scream for help that doesn't come.

"My sweet angel," John speaks for the first time to you tonight, and your entire body goes cold. "You will be so delicious..."

John doesn't care to hide it anymore, the fear has overcome all else inside you, and you know that he is dangerous.

John takes his hands to your throat, turning your head so that he may look into your eyes. You look into them, those two dark orbs, and you feel that fear wash over you again as you realize how red they are getting. You must be imagining things, it must be the lack of light, but no, you're sure of it. This mans eyes are truly, deeply, darkly red. And just when you had mustered enough sense to want to run away, he's hypnotized you. His vampiric powers of manipulation wash over your mind, over your body. You feel a false sense of calm, and your mind tries to scream for your body to run, but you can't. You're stuck there, transfixed and mouth agape, your body wanting John more than anything.

Now that he has you in such a vulnerable state, he simply picks you up, carrying you bridal style to a spot he's already picked out. He takes you to a nearby apartment, abandoned and high up enough no one will hear you scream. He has outfitted the bedroom here as the perfect vampire nest. The windows are boarded from all light, the room is adorned with candles, and he's even brought in some tools to use on you. He will take his time with you, that much was certain. You want to struggle as he sets you down on the bed, but your body doesn't move. You look up at him like a lamb to the slaughter, waiting for him to break your pretty little neck.

"Hands." He says roughly, and before you can think to deny him, you're lifting your hands I front of you, doe eyes looking at him so pitifully full of tears that won't fall.

He ties your hands skillfully together, tight and inescapable. Then he ties your hands to the bedframe above you, and you look up from there, asking for some miracle to save you.

"There will be no miracles tonight. Not for you, angel." You glance at him, wondering how he read your mind. He laughs when he sees the confusion in your eyes, his fangs yellowed by the candle light.

"Don't worry, my sweet. Being able to experience all that you have in that pretty head of yours is just half the fun..." John pets your hair before he begins to undress you.

When it's time to focus on your clothes, he has an easy answer for that. He runs his claw along your body, so sharp that even the slightest bit of pressure would surely slit your delicate skin. You can feel the hypnotism waning, but suspect that he has done this on purpose.

"Yes... I have." John answers your thought. "Now, let's hear those lovely moans of yours."

You try to scream, and it comes out as a soft murmur, something akin to being strangled. You feel tears fall down your cheeks, and gasp as you feel John apply just enough pressure to slice through your mini skirt. He plucks it off of you the way one might pluck a petal from a flower. You watch as he tosses it away, feeling the cold air on your almost nude bottom half.

He works his way back up your body, still allowing his claws to glide against your baby soft skin. He reaches your top, and snaps the straps easily, pulling the top off to reveal your breasts to him. Despite everything, you can't help how easily wet your cunt is getting.

"You may try to deny me," John says, again pulling your feelings straight from your head. "But I know you've always wanted this. That's what drew me to your blood. You have the blood of someone who knows they're prey."

"N-no..." You attempt to say, but the words barely find their way out.

"Don't lie, I can see those dark thoughts at the back of your head. How you used to touch yourself to the thought of being kidnapped. How you wished someone would tie you up, just like this. Even just tonight, you thought of this. Don't start being a brat for me now, angel. Show me how badly you've wanted this." The last sentence is a command you must follow, and when John's hands have reached up to your glossy mouth, you have no choice but to open.

You feel him place two fingers so deeply inside your mouth, your pussy trembles at the thought that he might cut you there. It's as if he's placed a knife in your mouth, so gentle, but so deadly. You close your warm mouth around his cool fingers, sucking lightly. The thoughts you've had about scenarios like this before flash in your mind, no doubt John's influence.

While he keeps you pacified, he runs his free hand down your exposed body, taking care to hold your breast, feeling your beating heart behind it. The smell of your fear and pleasure mixing in your blood has John beyond hard, he doesn't know how much longer he can contain himself before biting or fucking you. He holds back his throbbing fangs, for now.

You watch helplessly as he pulls his fingers from your mouth, moving his body down yours, until his head is lined up with your soaking cunt.

"I can smell how badly you've wanted this from here..." John teases, and you bite your lip, embarrassed of how your body betrays you.

John plays with your white, lacy panties, pulling them so taut that your pussy lips get caught around them. You moan despite yourself as John plays with your panties just so, your engorged clit getting some wanted attention.

"You're so human...denying yourself the ultimate pleasure you've been seeking, I would never dream of such a thing." John muses as you writhe against your restraints, even this slightest touch driving you mad. You think of kicking John away, but your legs just won't work for you. He has you perfectly spread for him, tied up like a present, and unable to resist.

"I'm sure all your fantasies consist of killing young, helpless women. I'm not sure that counts." Your voice whispers in a chiding tone, and by the look of John's dark eyes on you, you wish you'd held your tongue.

John pulls your panties so hard against your tender clit you let out a small scream. He moves his face to meet yours, speaking directly to you as you lay there fearful, mouth open to silent screams.

"Yes, angel. I do kill young, helpless girls. Let's see if you can be a good girl tonight and change my mind." He watches the fear pool in your eyes, breathing in the scent of it with a smirk.

You try to hold his eye contact, try to be the brave girl who fights her attacker. But that's just not you. That's never been you. You've always been soft, easily guided this way or that. You've never been particularly smart, or witty. You've gotten by on your beauty alone for so long, that you made yourself think you were more powerful than you were. Really, you're just a lost little lamb, looking to be herded, but finding the wolf instead.

John can see that, hear that in your thoughts, and he reaches up, cups your face in his hand, and pulls your eyes back to his.

"I think if you expand your mind a bit, little lamb, you may even really enjoy being drained to death..." The way his cold eyes fill with excitement at this statement makes your stomach flop. It takes everything in you to pull your chin away from his hand.

He let's you, pulling back down to your glistening cunt. John pulls your panties up and places a sharp claw under it, the soft side of his claw brushing against your clit. In one fell swoop, he cuts away your panties.

You squirm and try to make your legs close, your whining coming out between sharp breaths as you try to fight this power over you. He slowly brings his face to your quivering cunt, looking up at you with those dangerous onyx eyes.

"The sooner you realize you've always been meant to be someone's plaything, the sooner you'll find yourself loving this..." He whispers, prodding more of those sick fantasies to flash in your head.

John let's his fangs flash in the light before letting his tongue taste you. His tongue is surprisingly cool, making you recoil, but with more movement, you hate that your hips try to buck into his mouth. He's teasing your clit every so carefully, moving perfectly to keep you on edge. Your entire body floods with pleasure that you try to keep at bay.

"You know you want more...ask me..." His voice breathes against your pussy, leaving chills to run up your spin.

You hate how right he is. You want this, you want this man, no, this monster to fuck you senseless. You can't believe how sensitive you're getting even at the idea that he kills you, that you become nothing but a meal for such a powerful creature. Your blood pumps loudly in your ears as you try to ignore him down there, try to will your body not to be so sensitive to his touch, to his tongue lapping at your cunt ever so gently. You should be fighting him, screaming for your life, scheming at least for how to get yourself out of this, how to save your own life.

But when you look into his dark eyes, you know it's no use. Any plan you could come up with, he would hear. Any escape, if you somehow got out of your restraints, was futile. He was stronger, faster than you in every respect. All you could do was lay here, shuddering against the monster that's tempting you to let them make you cum. What were you supposed to do? What would the smart, cunning, witty girl do?

"P-please..." Your voice summons, and John's ears perk up at the sound.

"Please what? What changed your mind?" He looks at you curiously.

"Please...make me cum. I've..." You take a deep breath and hold it as John gives a longer lick. "I've never been the smart one, or the one who was going anywhere big in life. I'm only useful as a hole to fuck. Please fuck me and make my pitiful existence mean something."

"And if I kill you?" John teases your pussy by lightly gliding his claws across it, the feeling similar to that of a cool blade being used.

"Then I would be happy to be of use to you..." You can't believe you've said this, but you can feel John pulling the words from you with his eyes.

You close your eyes after the last word, unable to look into John's eyes any longer. After a moment, when you hear nothing, you peek at him. He looks at you like a cat presented with a shiny new toy. His interest in you is piqued more than even before.

"Maybe you will be more than a temporary plaything..." John raised his eyebrows with a hint of laughter, the sentiment didn't help much to relieve you of your fear.

Seeing you so willing to admit how much a girl like you was meant to be nothing more than fuck meat and a meal made John's cock struggle against his pants. He has grown tired of smart girls who try to escape, it always ended the same anyways. Now you, you who can admit that they are prey, that was much more interesting. The way you sacrifice yourself to him made John feel like a king, no, a God.

He could feel himself throbbing with want, wanting to take you here and now, but he was a man of his word. He would make you cum first.

He returns to your cunt, served up for him perfectly, and begins to devour you much more than before. He licks with purpose, using his tongue to give you so much attention your eyes almost roll back from the intensity. What surprises you more, leaves you gasping is when he sucks your clit into his mouth, his teeth ever so gently applying pressure and new sensitivity. You quiver and your legs seem to not be your own, muscles tensing and squirming under John's touch. You feel John's hand hold your thigh down in place, his claws knicking your skin just slightly. The pain mixed with the pleasure John gives begins to send you over the edge. When you see the small droplets of blood begin to leak from your thigh, you cum for him, moaning into the night air.

As you settle down, your heart rapidly getting away from you, your eyes lazily open and watching John, you see him move his mouth to your thigh, lapping up the blood that's been spilt there.

John licks the wounds, and the close up, but tasting your delicious blood has him unable to hold back anymore. He needs more of it. Now.

John sinks his teeth into the soft flesh of your inner thigh, his fangs almost melting into your dainty skin. You cry out, and John bites deeper, his cock leaking from the sound of your despair, his mind reeling from how good you taste. Soon, he pulls his teeth back, sucking deeply of the blood that gushes into his mouth. As he begins to drink from you, an unimaginable wave of pleasure crashes over you.

You can barely contain yourself, your voice not your own, your moans of anguish and want, heedy and full of need. You've never felt such pleasure, not even from how well John made you cum moments before. You greedily relish in it as John drinks deeper, a free hand lifting to pet your sweet cunt, driving you mad with sensation. You feel yourself begin to cum again. Then again. And again as John continues to consume your precious blood.

John can feel your heart slowing, can sense your life force leaving you as he consumes your warmth. He has to force himself to stop, his muscles tightening and attempting to keep his jaw locked on your thigh. You're so high on pleasure you hardly notice how close to dying you really are right now. You feel yourself slipping away, as if falling into darkness and greeting it happily. Maybe he was right, maybe dying this way wasn't so bad...

John pulls his fangs from your thigh with great strength. He laps carefully at the two pinprick wounds, and watches as they slowly close, as if nothing at all had happened. You can barely hold your head up, your breath slow. You lay languidly, lolling about when John moves to get near your face.

He softly pets the side of your face and your eyes flutter open, looking up into his eyes the way Ophelia may have looked at the sky before succumbing to death. You watch, unable to process what's happening, as John slits open his own wrist, letting the blood there drop into your open mouth. The taste is sweet, bitter, and smoky, just like him. You swallow with great effort and John watches as your paleness slowly starts to perk up.

"You're going to be an interesting blood doll indeed..." He whispers as he pets your hair gently. "Now rest..." He commands and your world goes dark.

Taglist: @sunnythebunny7 @smutmaniac @worldsgreatestsinner

[blueishspace]

Adventures of the Darkest Witch Shelby. (1?)

For @emilynyaesmp.

Shelby was proud of being a dark witch and maybe that was a bit obvious for the few who knew her, but who wouldn't be in her place? A member of the shadow coven, group once founded a thousands year ago by the darkest and most evil witch in history: Gemini Tay of the Crystal Spikes. The coven had been behind most of the conflicts in recent years, and though very few outside of the magic community knew about them they were feared in the magic world. Now, she was ready to fulfill her destiny, ready to bring chaos and destruction to the newly built empires, nothing was going to stop her.

.

.

.

She had missed her alarm, she was going to be late. She had just been made an official witch in training, this was her first day, and she was late. The urge to turn the first stranger into a frog and boil them was strong... Yet a true witch always schemes and does not act on Impulse so She forced herself to breathe. This was fine, she had been sent to the most peaceful region to get rid of her... But she wasn't going to give up! She was going to bring disaster onto this land and claim the title of full fledged evil witch...she could hardly contain her excitement.

Shelby: "So this is it then? The Nevermore?"

It was spooky, dark and humid... she loved it already, this was going to be the perfect place to pratice her evil spells away from prying eyes... Yes, this was the perfect place to build a hut.

Shelby: "Perfect".

Now... to meet the emperors whose life she was going to ruin.

The first one wandered into her swamp, rookie mistake. She could smell his fear as he got lost... This was the perfect time to strike.

Joey: "Hello? HELLO? is anyone near? I have lost my way!"

Shelby: "Hello there?"

Joey: "H-Argggh matey"

A pirate? This far inlands? What a weird sight... still pirates were group to fear, also bringers of chaos ... Maybe she could wait a bit before turning him into a bug abd smashing him with her boot.

Shelby: "A pirate? Come to steal my things? You can't. They are mine. I have toads."

Still better to make sure he wouldn't try anything funny-.

Joey: "Oh no no no! I'm just glad someone came to help me!"

...What? No that wasn't why she had come to him when she heard his screams, he had gotten it all wrong.

Joey: "Right, I am pirate Joe."

Shelby: "Shelby...witch".

Joey: "I heard there was someone you! I never met a good witch before!"

And he thought she was a good witch? How dare he? She was close to just turning him into a frog, possible alliances unregarded.

Joey: "Ever since the skeleton army sank my ship I have been exploring these lands in search of others that could bring the undead army down for good"

An army of skeletons sank his ship? Shelby had a brilliant idea to torture him, she summoned a skeleton so that his final moment would remind him of what he had lost... The result of that however was ...small and the pirate quickly destroyed it.

Joey: "Oh thank you!"

... Why was she being thanked?

Joey: "You heard my story and created a small skeleton for me to vent a bit of my frustration at! That helped a bit, so thank you new friend!"

No! No! That wasn't what she meant to do! How did this happen!? She knew what she had to do, trow a fireball at him.

.

.

.

She missed and hit a bunch of trees which upon burning left a visible opening to the outside.

Joey: "Oh! Is that the way out? Thank you witch friend! See you soon!"

And with that he left... Shelby was counfounded now, how had this gone badly this quickly? This wasn't supposed to happen! She was an evil witch! She was going to scream!

She decided to spy on the other emperors, someone had opened the end portal and she was ready to take the credit for herself, that would surely brew fear and terror in the hearts of those foolish rulers ... She could already hear the pleas for mercy.

She stayed near and soon it was time, she jumped in little after the rulers and found herself in the nether when-

Joey: "Oh It's the good witch I met earlier!"

Lizzie: "Oh! Why is she here though?"

Joey: "She must have come in to help. She is a good witch after all."

No, no, not again! Why did this keep happening! She wasn't meant to- Fine, she was going to go along with this charade if only to make the suffering end quicker.

The end was in short a bust, the bad kind, still she had learned something from it. She had learned the identity of all other emperors and she ... She was scared. She wasn't ready to seeing a god glowing in divine light and she wasn't ready to see the coldhearted dictator called empress Katherine with them. She knew her, everyone did, born from a cursed kindom and powerful conquerer with an iron fist. She was a fan and yet... She was scared at the idea of being her enemy, she needed to contact her and work together. Yes, the distraction their alliance could bring... Even the god would be unable to do anything!

... In the meantime though she would prepare potions for the future, you never know when you'll need more toads.

Next

[yandere-fics]

Very spooky request. Witch reader with the whole kingdom cast after her.

The Kingdom wants them due to their skill. At least that's what they say to the other court nobles. Totally not because they're such a nice charming bby that always is so kind to them. Theanna totally didn't fall in love with them when she was still seeking ways to take the throne. Their smile and laugh a stark contrast to the whining and complaining of her courtiers. And Abigail and Ainsly totally didn't get enamored when they showed their skills and abilities defeating raging beasts and protecting some children who ran just a bit too far into the forest when playing. Elisha is also adamant that she only goes to the witch for their help in healing her wounds. Totally not because when she looks into their eyes she sees the finest jewels she's ever seen. That evil dragon is the only one that seeks out the witch. The court says it's to hinder the kingdom's prosperity, but in actuality it's because whenever Veronia and reader run into each other they give her some bangin biscuits and pastries. Also she sometimes stays the night and cuddles with Veronia :3c.

(Okay I love how this sort of feels like reader literally only really likes Veronia. Had to change it a bit with Theanna since she already had a mage. She recruited Ainsley at the age of 12 cause she was girlbossing. I was a bit goofier with this request, it was a bit less dark than other things. Ainsley is excluded because if everyone else were pining for her darling like this, they'd be dead, she has no loyalty even though she's in Theanna's squad.)

♡ Them With A Sweet Witch Darling ♡

♡ Theanna always feared those with magic when she was younger, before she knew better. At the time of your meeting there was always the fear that should she come into contact with someone who had magic, they'd be able to see the copious amounts of spells that she had on her, and possibly dispel them, though that way highly unlikely as Ainsley always reassured her. Thus upon your first meeting she was hesitant to get close to you, despite you being known as extremely friendly and loveable to all the villagers. ♡

♡ When she first approached you it was with ulterior motives, having the witch who was beloved by her citizens on her side would only be one more reason for her to be made successor. She liked you enough but that was the extent of it. She really didn't think much more about your interactions until she really took the throne and realized she would need a wife. A kind wife, and she realized you'd been the only one to truly be kind to her before she became heir to the throne. ♡

♡ That totally was all there was to it. She needed a wife and you were perfect for the role. Yeah, she's kind of stupid and doesn't realize if that's all there was to it then she wouldn't have forced you to move your house to the capital and she wouldn't have assigned her best knight to watch over you secretly(R.I.P. to Abigail, she'll never get a break) ♡

♡ She was kind of upset when you became common knowledge to the people. You had been the first person she had truly gotten close to when she arrived in the world, seeing as you always treated all of her wounds. She liked having you be her safe haven in the forest so hearing you had moved to the capital was extremely frustrating because now you would be treating other people's wounds. ♡

♡ She had tried her best for years to convince you to join her on her travels as a healer, totally only as a healer, and yet you had chosen to move to the capital just because the crown princess asked you to? Needless to say the adventurer is now on bad terms with the rest of the kingdom. ♡

♡ At a certain point they have to weigh their options, they can either have the lovable witch, or the dragon slayer. They chose you, lol. Elisha really needs to hatch a plan to take you to another kingdom but with your rizz, they'd probably also try to take you. You'll never be Elisha's secret again. ♡

♡ Abigail is fine with being your knight, honestly she would have tried to guard you when you moved to the capital anyways. She knew being a witch would make adjusting to capital life difficult and you were almost a minor celebrity so you needed security. That's all there was to it. ♡

♡ She's oblivious to how she feels, simply believing her feelings towards you are just wanting to protect the future queen, one of the most skilled warriors she's ever met and she would never ever take the queen away from her closest friend, right? ♡

♡ Be still heart, she can't allow herself to love, she'll have to settle for being your admirer and guard. Maybe, hopefully Theanna dies before you so in your later years as a widow, you can move into her estate and she can have you close to you. ♡

♡ The kingdom has committed an act of war by having you move to the capital. She can't have her mate be so far away. It was bad enough when you lived in the forest and had people visit you at random. She was allowing that to happen though because you always returned to her at the end of the day. You were happy to see her right? So why then did you move to the capital?! ♡

♡ It's alright cause you still visit her with your cookies every week, and she knows that the people keeping you in the capital will be oulived by you so you will one day return to the forest with her and she'll hold you there forever. ♡

♡ All she must do is have patience. ♡

[tyrantisterror]

Wizard School Mysteries Book 3 Soundtrack

It's that time again! Another book published, another official unofficial soundtrack I made to listen to while working on it and am sharing for your listening pleasure. I know last time I waited until the first two Wizard School Mysteries books were both published to do a combined "Freshmen Year" soundtrack, but I'm not repeating that now for two reasons: first, the only reason I did that in the first place is because I had forgotten to post the book 1 soundtrack and didn't want it to get lost in the shuffle when I went to post book 2's, and secondly, there's a good chance I might work on Maude and Mordi and/or Dark Chivalry before publishing Book 4, and that would make for a very long wait, which would be a shame because after a year and a half of listening to it on and off I can confirm that this WSM soundtrack is a fucking banger.

There's the playlist for your listening pleasure, and after the cut I'll list the tracks and what they correspond to in the book! WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!

Chapter 1: How the Youths spent their Summer Vacation - Vacation by Vitamin C. We start the book with a mostly low-stakes chapter about our young adult heroes returning home (well, for about half of them anyway) after their first semester at college to enjoy summer vacation, and so out songtrack starts out with a peppy, fun song about vacation whose tonal dissonance with the rest of the soundtrack feels very appropriate to me.

Chapter 2: A Haunted Start - Season of the Witch by Lana Del Ray. As we get into the story proper and see things develop, we set the actual tone of the book with an appropriately spooky song about witches.

Chapter 3: Spirit Glue - The Vampire's Ghost by Jimmy Bower. I found this song on a big ol' set of Halloween soundtracks called Kandy Coated Kackles, and it inspired/named the character of May Shade well before Wizard School Mysteries was even a sparkle in my eye, so it felt kind of like a given to tie it to the chapter that introduces us to May proper.

Chapter 4: Resident Assistance - Float On by Modest Mouse. One of the great songs of my teenage years, I felt Float On was a good pick for Ladislava's character theme, being a list of anxieties followed promptly by how each one fizzled out and became manageable with just a short amount of time. Lad's arc in the books is focused on finding a way to relax and take things as they come which, in my experience, is one of the more valuable lessons to learn in your college years.

Chapter 5: Freyasday the 13th - Black by Toby Fox. Ok, I guess... I guess I have to explain a bit of Homestuck to you all now. So, right, Homestuck begins as this goofy adventure where teenagers play a video game that alters their own reality, first by adding monsters, and eventually giant meteors that threaten to destroy the world. Every now and then it cuts to one of those monsters, a living chess piece named Jack Noir, and his frustrations with the leadership of the monster army. Then, in one of the big moments of the story, Jack Noir kills the queen of the army, steals her empowering ring, and becomes a terrifying threat that alters the course of the story so severely that it changes from "goofy comedic adventure" to "adventure with now very real and terrifying stakes for our heroes despite the goofy elements still being present." It's the entrance of what TV Tropes would call a "Knight of Cerberus," a character who raises the stakes so quickly that the tone abruptly shifts to be noticeably darker than before. Or, in short, a perfect theme for when Buddy finally runs into the Meddlesome Youths.

Chapter 6: The False Necromancer - Witchcraft by Frank Sinatra. This is less a theme for chapter 6 specifically and more for the book as a whole - it's where I got the book's title, "Wicked Witchcraft," from after all. But it also provides a nice break in the tension that's been building in the soundtrack, the way this chapter provides a brief break from the drama that's been building since the end of chapter 1. Plus I have to save the Lord Dhenregirr themes for Book 4.

Chapter 7: Finding Acheron - Soldier At War from Anna and the Apocalypse. Surprise, it's a Polybeus theme! This was the first song I chose for him back in the early pre-writing days of WSM, and it became so ingrained in my mind that I ended up planning a setpiece where he fights zombies in tribute to it. It's a fitting song, though - the character of Nick Saint in Anna and the Apocalypse enters the story seeming like a fairly one-dimensional cocky braggart, singing a song about how he's an uber-masculine badass who will save the day. But as the movie goes along, he reveals he's actually got a pretty good head on his shoulders and more heart than he'd admit, to the point where his reprise of the song - which occurs during a genuinely heroic sacrifice - has you hear lyrics that you thought were ironic and realize they were, in fact, genuine. That was all stuff I was planning for Polybeus's arc at the time I was putting together it together, and it stayed in the plan for him as the books so far have shown, so it's a really good fit for him even without the zombie fighting scene.

here's a weird break tumblr forced me to add for some reason

Chapter 8: Slashing Stones - Hellbent by Mystery Skulls. This song is specifically for the Buddy chase at the end of our chapter, as well as the slasher vs. gargoyle fight it explodes into. One of the reasons I assemble these soundtracks is to help me get a flow in mind for writing important action scenes, and I think this sets the tense and chaotic tone of Buddy's invasion of the AAAM really well.

Chapter 9: Remedial Demonology - Paint It Black by Versaemerge. It's a Gretchen theme, to no one's surprise since this is the Gretchen book! Well, perhaps there's a surprise that it took us nine chapters to get to a Gretchen-specific theme given the book's plot, but this is where it fit soundtrack-wise, and I do think this is kind of a crucial chapter for Gretchen's character development. Like Polybeus's theme two chapters up, I picked this song for Gretchen early in the planning stages of the series as a whole, before I even had the specific books figured out. Well, ok, tell a lie - I picked out the Rolling Stones version initially, but it didn't sit right with me to have a song with male vocals being used for a trans woman character, so I spent... a long time looking for covers of the song that 1. had a lady vocalist and 2. kept the elements of "Paint It Black" that I like, namely its almost hypnotic rhythm. There are some songs that feel like whirlpools to me - they sweep you up at the start and spin you faster and faster around as they get more and more intense, until you finally crash into the center at the end of it. "Paint It Black" is one of those songs, and while I listened to many interesting covers of it by lady musicians, this cover by Versaemerge is the only one that kept that whirlpool quality of the Stones's original take. And that's important to Gretchen's arc in this book particularly - she is a person with a pessimistic worldview, one who sees bright colors and can't help but paint them black, and in this story she's slowly sucked down into despair thinking she can never escape thinking that way. Book 3 is about saving Gretchen from that spiral, to get her to finally see the colors all around her.

Chapter 10: The Boy Behind the Mask - Baby Boy by Worthikids. Ironically, despite this chapter being a riff on the song Alex Cooper wrote for Jason Voorhees, I chose a different Friday the 13th inspired song to represent it on the soundtrack. Baby Boy is sung from the perspective of Pamela Voorhees, Jason's mother, and highlights the tragedy at the core of the series that's kind of overlooked by the movies themselves - namely that Jason was a child who drowned because of negligent child care workers, and that all the murders that spiral out of that negligence come from a place of grief and, weirdly, love. Which is, ultimately, what this chapter explores through Buddy - a very similar character to Jason that's being explored in a story that, unlike the Friday the 13th movies, can actually step back and explore the tragedy at the core of him. He's a child who's suffered a great deal of cruelty and neglect, and beneath the horrors he's committed there's grief, love, and trauma that needs to be dealt with.

Chapter 11: All Hallowed Eve - The Guide to Success by Joe Iconis. This song is for the coven and their benefactor, Shax, as the collective antagonist of the book - a song that demands a young worker server all social ties and devote themselves solely to advancing in the workplace by kissing the asses of their superiors and throwing away any notions of compassion and morality. A song about selling your soul on behalf of a company that doesn't give two shits about you, basically, i.e. a perfect summation of the villains' philosophy in this book.

Chapter 12: The Land of the Dead - Land of the Dead by Voltaire. I think it's pretty self explanatory how a song called "Land of the Dead" fits a chapter called "The Land of the Dead" that's about people exploring the land of the dead.

Chapter 13: The Devil and Gretchen Pappenheimer - Famous Last Words by My Chemical Romance. In the early planning phases of this series, I knew I wanted Gretchen to have a Faust arc, and that I wanted it to resolve with a Devil and Daniel Webster style afterlife trial scene, and the rest of this book's plot all kind of fell in place in service of reaching that moment. So it's kind of funny to me that I had trouble finding a song that did the scene justice - one of my first attempts was "The Trial" by Pink Floyd, but it didn't feel quite right. I finally found what I was looking for during a different but related WSM soundtrack task - I was looking at songs from my college and high school years to add to the developing series soundtrack, and revisited the entirety of MCR's The Black Parade. That album was so important to me in college, and the ending of it, "Famous Last Words," is this beautiful finale where the protagonist of the album decides whether or not to keep on living or give in and die. Which, again, is kind of what Gretchen's story about - will she succumb to her own low view of herself, or will she realize there are people who love her and that she has a reason to fight for her right to exist? The increasingly passionate chorus of "I am not afraid to keep on living/I am not afraid to walk this world alone" "Honey if you stay you'll be forgiven" "Nothing you can say can stop me going home" fits this chapter so well, and I like to think of the two verses - nearly identical but different in slight ways - are sort of figurative Shax and Helseng using the same facts about Gretchen to argue different perspectives on her morality, while the build in the second half of the song - "I see you lying next to me/with words I thought I'd never speak/awake and unafraid/asleep or dead" - as the part of the chapter where Stinkbaby and Buddy provide the crucial soul-saving testimony on Gretchen's behalf. Man that's entirely too many thoughts on this, let's move on.

Chapter 14: Doom Defied - Death Is Not the End by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. I view this as a joint theme for both Gretchen and, oddly enough, Helseng, who doesn't appear in this chapter but was crucial for it being as happy as it is. In Gretchen's case, it shows the progress her arc has made since it began in the first book by being an inversion of her first theme, "Paint It Black." While "Paint it Black" is about feeling sorrow and grief even when surrounded by happiness and joy, "Death Is Not the End" is about finding hope and optimism even when facing a worse case scenario. Gretchen is no longer a person who assumes the worst about herself and how others view her, because she's face the worst fate she could imagine, and not only did her friends stick up for her, but Death herself argued that Gretchen deserved another chance. As for Helseng, well, "Death is not the end" is very much the message of the Death Arcana she represents, and the mechanical reality of what death is in the world of this story - and, by proxy, what her role is as a grim reaper. She is not the end of people, but the one who brings them to the next step of their journey, and a guide who loves her charges even as they face dire peril.

[pleas3pretendimnothere]

Six more books this month! If I keep this up, I'll be barely able to meet my 52-books goal. The (short) Narnia books are my backup plan if I run out of time... Anyway, I read a lot of great stuff this month!

Piranesi

By Susanna Clarke - I've been looking forward to this read all year. Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell was my favorite book I read last year, and while Piranesi was not quite so huge and fantastical, it was still another outstanding project from Clarke. I loved this book.

Piranesi's best strength is the constant sense of foreboding. The narrator is childlike, his desires and endeavors so simple, they sometimes seem pathetic. Piranesi is naive but he isn't dumb. He seeks truth, and his naivete transforms a strange, cold, unwelcoming world into something magical, mysterious, and benevolent. This creates a peculiar sense of wrongness throughout the tale's beginning, and when truths slowly come to light, Clarke only further bends the reader's perception of Piranesi's world. Is it the world that is broken, or the men living within it?

The book somehow felt too simple, too quick, but nonetheless, I couldn't put it down. The main character is loveable, and the challenges he faced still haunt me. Even now, I get shudders, remembering the twists! Deeply psychological stuff! Everyone who loves a good mystery, maybe even horror, needs to read this one. BUY IT!

Sabriel

By Garth Nix - I'm a sucker for fantasy romance (very different from romantasy, btw). If the fantasy world is weird, and the romance is built from adventure and adversity, I'm game. This book...this is it...

LOVE Sabriel. Can't sing enough praises. We've got weird necromancy magic based on runes and a series of bells capable of varying archaic horrors. A weird fantasy world split in half. On one side, people are living in a happy and prosperous Ghibli world, on the other, they're fighting monsters and undead ghouls in a Souls game. There's a cat that is also a mind-devouring cosmic god. Cool. Then, children are thrown helplessly to the wilds as bait for bigger predators. It was Berserk, but for the girlies.

The romance was exactly what I like. Natural, built on friendship and trust, and low on the horniness scale (although Nix weirdly informs us that our male character is...cut....okay, I guess...). The adventure was dark and gruesome, as the central magic system is necromancy, so there was an unexpected element of horror in Sabriel. Nix pulls off a sinister sense of danger and risk that sustains itself from beginning to end. Characters die and are killed and brought back, and the ending! Bizarre, frightening, but endearing and clever. Loved it.

Cannot WAIT to pick up the sequels. This is my perfect book, no flaws, no notes. If you like sweeping romance and spooky fantasy, stuff like Howl's Moving Castle, BUY IT!

The Ship of the Dead

By Rick Riordan - I don't know how to review Riordan books. I don't know what to say. They're all carbon copies of each other with little distinct tweaks to an excellent formula. They're all good.

I mean it, I don't know what to say. The Magnus Chase series is good. Period. It's fun, it's weird, and this finale was especially dark. The dragon scenes were excellently scary! Throughout the rest of The Ship, I was laughing, I was gasping, I was having a wonderful ol' time. Period, no notes. Keep it up, Rick.

Don't sleep on these books, that's all. Read them, learn stuff, warm your heart, and repeat. Revolutionary series? No. But joyous and loveable? Absolutely. RENT IT!

Borne

By Jeff Vandermeer - I just ate so good this month. Sabriel was my perfect book, and so too is Borne. I am an insatiable devourer of dark romance. Thank you Jeff, god bless.

Weird is the best way to describe Vandermeer's projects. The Southern Reach trilogy played on evolution, madness, and legacy. It was freaky and exciting, and I knew after finishing it that I had to read more from Vandermeer. His mind is sometimes so impossible to comprehend. Borne came into my lap, and I zipped through it in no time. Why? Of course, because there's romance! I just can't put that shit down, I'm serious!!

This novel is quirky and silly at times, and then it quickly turns upsetting and dark at the drop of a hat. It's graphic and absurd, and the terror is masterfully written. Like Junji Ito, Vandermeer finds horror in the absurd. He takes a bear, a frightening predator, and says, what if it was really big? And it was flying? And it also used to be a normal man, but now its a fucked-up god? Silly, strange, but when written in the cosmic sense, as Vandermeer writes it, petrifying. The mundane becomes the macabre. Chef's kiss.

And a goopy, otherworldly, unfathomable monster? What if it was a child? What if it loved you, and you taught it to be kind, but it was still just a monster? Borne the character is so complex and fun and scary, and I think I won't ever to be able to forget how he made me laugh.

And I didn't even mention the romance, oh, the ROMANCE! Another perfect book. If you're into psychological horror and romance, this is for you. I'm talking fucked-up, NieR: Automata, SCP shit. Loved it so, SO much, BUY IT!

In the Time of the Butterflies

By Julia Alvarez - And now for something completely different! I read A Thousand Splendid Suns and told my friend I was a sucker for stories about the struggles of women in the world. She said, "Oh! I've got just the book for you!"

In the book's Afterword, Alvarez explains her intent to bring the struggles of the Dominican Republic to the English-speaking world. That English-speaking world is a bubble, after all, and it's a difficult one to penetrate. Growing up as an American, I knew almost nothing about the world south of America. I learned about Europe and China and North America, but I essentially thought South America was all one, big, same place. Africa, too. Of the Dominican Republic, even as an adult, I knew very little.

For that, I am most thankful to the book. Alvarez follows a fictionalized version of the Mirabal sisters, four sisters whom three of were martyred during the Era of Trujillo. While many of the events of book are dramatized, many surprising scenes are not. I was constantly fact-checking the events of this book, which lead to lots of time spent researching the history of the Dominican Republic. Before this read, I knew next to nothing about the country, and now, that's totally changed.

The book feels mournful from the start, as the reader knows these women are doomed. Nonetheless, each feels like a fully realized woman with personality and desires, hopes and sorrows. I only became emotional during the epilogue, when Alvarez details the impact of these four women following the murders. I genuinely felt I had watch three women die far, far too young, and I commend Alvarez for that.

Alvarez has accomplished a powerful, insightful novel about women and the Dominican Republic. The day of their death, I learned too, would become the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. That's kind of a big deal! It's a personal, emotional read, and I'd recommend it to any and all readers who want to understand a massive part of history in a quiet corner of the world. RENT IT!

Yumi and the Nightmare Painter

By Brandon Sanderson - I am no stranger to Sanderson's work, but I knew almost nothing about his four "Secret Project" novels. Of them, this one attracted me the most because romance + fantasy = yippee!! Unfortunately...I sort of hated this book.

I love the Mistborn series. Really enjoyed The Way of Kings and Elantris. Adored Warbreaker. Again, I am quite familiar with Sanderson's cosmere and his style of writing. Yumi was akin Sanderson's modern Mistborn books--fun, but lackluster. Where Alloy of Law and its sequels are campy, Yumi is just embarrassing. I was cringing SO MUCH at Sanderson's constant need to explain away all the mystery of this book! Mystery is good, I kept screaming! Ask Nix! I don't need an explanation for every little thing! When he wasn't explicitly saying, "Yes, we are definitely in fantasy anime Japan," he was covering for all the plot-holes that OBVIOUSLY weren't really plot-holes! Plot-holes I hadn't even considered, until his quirky narrator served them up to me out of nowhere! Why? I don't know! I don't know!!!

Don't get me started on the Japanese-cringe. It really felt like a mediocre, forgettable anime. At one point early on, Sanderson attempts to explain what MUST be Keigo, and...oof. So wrong, so misunderstood! And why attempt putting fantasy Korea into the mix when hardly any effort was made to do so? Why not make both Japanese fantasy? WHY?!

I'm getting angry just writing this. The book had a lot of potential to explore cool ideas; a nobody from a technologically-advanced society ends up in a position of import in a foreign land, where everyone thinks he's someone he isn't. The possibility for conflict was ripe. What if Painter thieved Yumi's body? What if he attempted to split their connection and seize control? His own body had been stolen and reshaped! Wouldn't he be disturbed, upset? I wanted some kind of betrayal, I wanted anger and agency, but instead, our two main characters are instantly peas in a pod! Everything's cool, all the time! Painter's secrets are small and unimpactful, and while the twist of Yumi's world WAS more worthwhile, it somehow lacked drama? How? The twist was huge, why didn't it feel huge! It was Broken Age and Your Name, but worse. If there were stakes, I didn't care about them!

To describe this book in one word, I'd say disappointing. Don't read this. Watch Your Name, play Broken Age, but just...just don't read this. Waste of my time! SKIP IT!

[bookaddict24-7]

REVIEWS OF THE WEEK!

EVERY WEEK I WILL POST A VARIOUS REVIEWS I’VE WRITTEN SO FAR IN 2024. YOU CAN CHECK OUT MY GOODREADS FOR MORE UP-TO-DATE REVIEWS HERE.

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8. That Time I Got Drunk & Saved A Demon by Kimberly Lemming--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

First five-star read of 2024 🙏🏽

My friends have read this book and LOVED it, so I don't know why I'm lowkey surprised by how much I enjoyed this. I thought it would be a cheesy and slightly boring read (I didn't read the synopsis, okay? Sue me.) But what I got was SO far from that. Full of adventure, heart, sexual tension, and hilarious sass, I found myself laughing and paying rapt attention.

I loved the MC and her responses and commentary. I can see myself re-reading this just to highlight all of her sass. She's one of those contemporary characters set in a fantastical world that helps keep these kinds of stories light and fun. There's a scene where the demon just stares at her like "Okay, so we are definitely getting married" and I don't even blame him. This woman is a BADASS.

I loved their exploration of their world and how quick it was. Some readers might want more setting development, but honestly? I'm happy with how light and straightforward it was. I also really liked the side characters and how the demon just takes out anyone he wants, especially if they threaten the MC.

This was fun and everything I wish that other cozy fantasy book had given me. The new editions of the other two books have already been preordered 😌.

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9. The Thing About Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

THE THING ABOUT JELLYFISH perfectly encompasses the tortures of middle school, the changing of the people we once called friends, and the effects of grief and how a child's mind may twist in ways that might help them comprehend the reality of death.

Ali Benjamin does a fantastic job of drawing out the history of her MC and her friend. The way they both changed and how the MC came to choosing to stay silent verbally for the majority of the book. Watching her trying to find reasons for why her friend has died was heartbreaking. I can't imagine being a parent in that situation, where you know you can't help your child comprehend the change in their reality.

Also, middle school is a cruel place for a lot of kids (hi, I was one of its victims) and the levels of evil some of these kids get up to is truly astounding. It broke me a little watching this friendship fall apart and this poor, young MC having to remember the last moment she saw her friend alive.

Sometimes things just happen and this whole book is, ultimately, a great source for children grieving. Life can be messy, confusing, and sometimes heartbreaking. Benjamin's novel is beautiful and this is another one of those middle grade books that I think adults AND kids should be reading.

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10. The Skull by Jon Klassen--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

If no one has read any other Jon Klassen books, then they're in for a surprise. If they have, then they'll recognize the eeriness of his writing.

You can't tell me that the hat books aren't creepy (there's a couple of pages where the big fish CLEARLY eats the little fish in the long grass). This guy is morbid and props to kids' authors who can write a book both for kids and adults.

The artwork was beautiful as always and the story was a very, very quick read. Perfect for those 5-7 year olds who want to try something themselves but don't mind a talking skeleton or skull.

This also got reeeeeeal dark at one point and I was just thinking of how some of the Gen Alpha kids are.

Highly recommend--especially for those littles who love a little spooky with their bedtime stories.

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11. The Fiancée Farce by Alexandria Bellefleur--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Romantic, at times funny, spicy, and full of characters I wanted to punch in the dick, THE FIANCÉE FARCE was entertaining from beginning to end.

Much like many of my reading experiences, I jumped into this without knowing what I was getting myself into and imagine my joy and surprise when the trope of "marriage of convenience" popped up. I loved watching these characters fall in love with each other, and I loved seeing the thwart the horrible people in their lives. I also loved that one of the MCs has a massive love for reading (shown through her family's bookstore).

Was this the best romance I've ever read? Not really--it had some pretty obvious climactic points and some very over the top villains--but it held my attention and I fell for the couple. I loved that one helped the other find her confidence that had been stripped from her at a younger age.

One of the things that keeps me from giving this a five star rating is how...in a bubble this story feels? Like, we meet other characters as they serve their purpose (as is the usual) but if they're not in the scene, it's like they don't exist. There's one scene where one particular character doesn't speak and it's a pretty pivotal moment for the reader to pay extra attention because this is a huge hint about this character, but Bellefleur doesn't even hint at it? It's like that character is deleted from the scene. This is like taking the adage of "when you're with me, I only see you" and using it to the max.

Other than that, this was an entertaining and sexy story of proving assholes wrong and falling in love despite you believing that you're not deserving of love. Highly recommend for enough looking for a cute romance full of family drama and fake relationships!

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12. Ana On the Edge by A.J. Sass--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Such a powerful story!

One of my favourite messages that ANA ON THE EDGE could potentially give young readers that it is OKAY to be in the process of trying to figure out who you are, but also that it's okay to not have all of the answers at once.

We see the MC struggle with their identity and their relationships throughout the whole book, especially because their world has always seemingly had such clear cut gender norms (Ice skating is a huge part of her world). I can't even imagine trying to find who you are when everyone around you is imposing who they think you are on you.

I also enjoyed that we got to see some of the more pivotal relationships in the MCs life and that messy in-between with friendships when big changes happen--like sudden schedule changes, or new friendships blossom. While this book tackled pretty big topics, I liked that its core it was still truly an MGLit book that explored the importance of friendships and keeping the good ones alive (even when life gets a bit hectic.)

Finally, I adored the relationship between the MC and their mom. I loved that they were a team and even though it took a little bit of time, they had some good communication between the two of them. There were some heartwarming moments and I loved seeing them understand each other better as the story progressed.

I think this is another great LGBTQ+ book to have in my back pocket for when I need to recommend great Queer books to readers!

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13. Mindy Kim & the Birthday Puppy by Lyla Lee and Dung Ho Hanh (Illustrations)--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

It's been a while since I picked up the last MINDY KIM book but this was just as cute as I remember the last two books being. There were some moments that made me tear up a little, but I'm just an emotional mess sometimes.

I loved seeing Mindy come into her own with her brand new puppy. A couple of my best friends have a puppy and as I read Mindy's adventures (or misadventures), I thought of how difficult it was for my friends to parent a brand new puppy. This is a kid's book, so I'm not surprised Mindy was able to be so successful so quickly, but in reality, puppies are a lot more work than what was shown here. BUT this didn't take away from the story at all! I love that this could be a really great resource for littles who want a puppy, but need a further understanding of the responsibilities behind it.

And much like the last two books, there were some important topics explored here: how families might look, grief, multicultural traditions, and responsibilities one might take on.

Another great addition to the series and I'll hopefully be reading the next one soon!

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14. Suddenly by Isabelle Autissier--⭐️⭐️.5

I had a lot of expectations for SUDDENLY by Isabelle Autissier, but we all know expectations are sometimes the death knell of a story. The cover enticed me, the synopsis further pulled me in, but the clunky translation full of thesaurus-level words and the random time-jump totally took me out of the story.

Normally, I DNF books that aren't working for me because hi, I have a massive TBR to get through before I die. But I will give Autissier this: she wrote a very intriguing beginning to her book. I wanted to see these characters survive and thrive in their new environment. A morbid sense of intrigue had me continuing the story as they mercilessly killed creatures I never thought someone could kill so coldly, and as they had massive introspection about their super privileged lives (and their first world ignorance about their importance in the grand scheme of things.)

These two characters were severely unlikable, but I couldn't help but get attached. I felt such a mixed bag of emotions towards the FMC and when the time jump happened, I felt further disconnected from not just her, but the story as a whole.

I'll be blunt: the second part of the book (or more like 3/4 way through the book) ruined this for me. I understand the importance of seeing the story of the "after" but I hated it. I think it went from being an interesting exploration of survival and humanity to the superficial experience of society marking you as a hero for surviving. I get that this is also the point: the further examination of how society is in (the character's) reality vs. the truths they realized about the societies they had grown in and how wholly unprepared they were for the battlefield of survival. I get that, but I still disliked it. From there, I felt like the story dragged and my attention wavered even more.

And don't get me started on the ending--the page I thought was going to be the last page was a better last page than the actual last page.

Overall, I liked the first half of the book. Despite the dark aspects, the gut churning choices, and the heartbreaking conclusion, I enjoyed that part. The second part of the book brought the whole story down for me.

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15. Fake Dates & Mooncakes by Sher Lee--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

FAKE DATES AND MOONCAKES was a pretty straightforward and easy read, but listen, it was FUN. This felt like I was experiencing a K-Drama or C-Drama. It was such a good time--the dramatic twists, the threats against the middle class guy dating the rich guy, and the CRAZY RICH ASIANS-like trip and event? Freaking amazing. LOL the love interest literally waits for the MC outside of his school standing by his Ferrari. This is juicy Asian-drama level stuff and I ate. it. up.

The romance was adorable and sweet and I won't lie, I sometimes forgot these were teenagers--not because of anything gross, but because these two were so mature in their actions and how they interacted with each other.

The familial relationships were so sweet and I loved how they clearly had each others' best interests in mind whenever something pivotal happened. They were adorable and I loved them.

Reading this was like experiencing some of my favourite Asian dramas again, with a dash of CRAZY RICH ASIANS. It wasn't an earth-shattering read, but five stars for solely being entertaining and making me smile with giddiness. If you want a cute gay story with some truly cute moments, then you might like this--especially as a read for when the warmer weather finally returns!

___

Have you read any of these books? Would you recommend them?

___

Happy reading!

[cyberpunkonline]

The Best Halloween-Themed Games on the Spectrum 48k: 8-bit Frights That’ll Have You Scream “LOAD”

Alright, Spectrum warriors, it’s time to slip on that vintage ZX hoodie and celebrate Halloween the only way we know how—by loading up some good ol’ 48k games for this year’s #CyberSamhain event! Now, if you thought the Commodore 64 had some strange horror gems, wait until you see what Sinclair’s little wonder has in store. The Spectrum 48k was the king of quirky games with more bugs than a haunted house, but that’s what we loved about it, right?

So buckle up and grab that cassette tape because we’re about to dive into the best spooky, Halloween-themed games on the Spectrum 48k. Hold on to your joysticks, folks—it’s going to be a creepy, pixelated ride.

1. Cauldron (1985) Witches and pumpkins, what more could you want for Halloween? Cauldron is a proper retro classic, and this witch ain't your typical broomstick-riding pushover. You’re on a mission to collect ingredients to take down the Pumpkin King (yes, you read that right). The game’s got it all: flying, platforming, tricky jumps, and enough frustration to make you cast a spell on your Spectrum. Those pixel-perfect jumps? They'll have you pulling out your hair faster than you can say, “Accio controller!” But trust me, it’s worth every frustration-induced rage quit.

Resource: For a full witchy breakdown of Cauldron, check out Spectrum Computing’s archive—they’ve got all the juicy retro details to keep you spellbound.

2. Dark Star (1984) Not strictly Halloween-themed, but when the word dark is right there in the title, you know it belongs on this list. Dark Star is part space shooter, part survival horror—well, at least in that classic 8-bit "I'm all alone in this terrifying void of space" way. You’re tasked with stopping an alien invasion, but the tension? That comes from the eerie, oppressive silence of space, plus some incredibly tricky enemies. The sparse graphics make it feel even creepier, like you’re fighting aliens in a haunted arcade cabinet. Yeah, it’s a stretch, but if space horror is your thing, give this one a whirl.

Resource: The World of Spectrum database has a deep dive into Dark Star, so hit that up if you want to explore more of the game’s spooky sci-fi vibes.

3. Nosferatu the Vampyre (1986) When it comes to classic horror, you can’t forget about vampires. Nosferatu the Vampyre on the Spectrum 48k might look like a jumble of pixels and questionably animated sprites, but hey, that’s part of the charm! You play as Jonathan Harker, trying to survive your encounter with the infamous Count Dracula himself. The castle is dark, full of traps, and you’re constantly on the lookout for bloodsuckers. It’s got the kind of campy, eerie atmosphere perfect for Halloween, with the added bonus of feeling like you’re starring in your own 80s horror flick. Just remember to keep that wooden stake handy!

Resource: Spectrum Computing has the lowdown on Nosferatu, so grab your garlic and head there if you want to learn more about this vampire-slaying adventure.

4. Atic Atac (1983) If you’re in the mood for some top-down spooky fun, Atic Atac is the way to go. Set in a haunted castle, you’ve got to find the pieces of the Golden Key to escape, while avoiding all manner of ghouls, ghosts, and creepy-crawly creatures. The game’s classic ZX Spectrum charm comes through with its minimal color palette and basic graphics, but that’s what makes it so iconic. Plus, the haunted house vibe, coupled with the eerie sense of isolation, makes it perfect for a Halloween gaming session. You’ll be running in circles, screaming “where’s the key?!” in no time.

Resource: Check out Lemon64's counterpart, Spectrum Computing, for a proper throwback guide to Atic Atac—they’ve got all the tips you need to survive the haunted castle.

5. Jack the Nipper (1986) Okay, so Jack the Nipper isn’t exactly a Halloween game, but what’s creepier than playing as a naughty toddler causing chaos in a town full of unsuspecting adults? There’s something unsettling about this game, from Jack’s weird, smiling face to the mayhem you cause. Whether it’s releasing animals from a zoo or chucking food at people, this game is all about trickery and a bit of mischief—like the ultimate Halloween prank. Plus, the cartoony graphics have a weirdly spooky vibe if you play it at midnight…alone…with the lights off. You’ll see what I mean.

Resource: If you’re feeling nostalgic for more toddler terror, Spectrum Computing has a deep dive on Jack the Nipper.

6. Alien 8 (1985) If sci-fi horror is your jam, then Alien 8 will scratch that itch. This isometric survival game sees you exploring an alien-infested spaceship while trying to reactivate the ship’s cryogenically frozen crew. Sounds easy? Think again. The game’s got atmosphere, tension, and puzzles that will make you want to throw your Spectrum across the room. And those aliens? Creepy little things. It’s the kind of slow-burn suspense that’s perfect for Halloween, when the line between space and haunted house blurs into one massive pixelated nightmare.

Resource: Hit up Lemon64’s Spectrum archive for all things Alien 8—they’ll guide you through the maze of alien-infested corridors.

7. Splat! (1983) Alright, let’s get a bit weird, shall we? Splat! is one of those bizarre Spectrum games that kind of feels like it was made for Halloween but without really trying. You’re in a maze, trying to avoid being crushed by giant bricks while creepy, abstract monsters chase you around. It’s fast-paced, weirdly stressful, and the abstract graphics make it feel a little unsettling in the way only early 80s games can. Perfect for a Halloween night where you just want to feel off.

Resource: If you’re up for some weird arcade action, check out World of Spectrum’s breakdown of Splat! and get lost in the bizarre fun.

Final Thoughts So, there you have it, retro gamers—the spookiest, most bizarre Halloween-themed games you can play on the Spectrum 48k for #CyberSamhain. Whether you’re chasing vampires, flying on a broomstick, or causing trouble as a tiny toddler (seriously, that game’s still weird), these titles will give you that creepy, nostalgic feel with the added bonus of feeling like you’re back in the 80s. Dust off that Spectrum, load up your tapes (or hit the emulator, we won’t tell), and enjoy the ghoulish, pixelated glory. Because nothing says Halloween like battling vampires with nothing more than your joystick and a load of patience.

[a30somethingslookatpopculture]

🍂 Tv Shows That *Feel* Like Fall 🍂

Fall is a time of falling leaves, harvesting pumpkins or corn, brisk chilly mornings, and sweaters! It evokes the coziest of memories. So grab a blanket and cup of your favorite autumn drink and cozy up with one of these shows perfect for the season! Each of these shows give off those fun fall feels. Some even have Fall or Halloween themed episodes that I love to go back to every year! 

In no particular order… 

Gilmore Girls

Comfort watching at its finest! No show embodies that fall feeling quite like Gilmore Girls! It has all those fuzzy Fall feels (and some great wintery ones too, but that’s a discussion for another day). The opening shot alone exhibits vibrant autumnal scenery. Even the theme song gives off all of those nostalgic warm feelings. Autumn in Stars Hollow somehow just feels right. It feels like the perfect small town to enjoy all the fun festivities and colorful people. There’s a great Autumn harvest episode to boot, with all the right sights and food! Even the Thanksgiving episodes are worth the watch. 

Goosebumps

You really cannot go wrong with Goosebumps for spooky season watching. Each episode tells a different chilling tale sure to get you in the Halloween spirit. The Haunted Mask and The Scarecrow Walks at Midnight are must sees for this time of year. It's The Twilight Zone for kids. 

Buffy The Vampire Slayer

Watching Buffy and the Scooby Gang take on all sorts of big bads, what could be better? Whether you’re into vampires, witches, demons of all varieties, experiments gone wrong, and so on…Buffy has it all. With three Halloween episodes and at least one really great Thanksgiving episode, there’s plenty of holiday centric stuff too. 

American Horror Story

Just like Buffy, American Horror Story offers a variety of creepy creatures, death and mayhem. Each season tells one singular story (with the exception of Double Feature which tells two). You can binge through a season in no time, and never have to watch the others if you so choose. I’d suggest most of the seasons, but there’s just something about Coven that feels oh so right. It depicts a coven of witches descended from the original Salem witches. It’s full of history (some real life, might I add) and fun supernatural debauchery. 

Stranger Things

Stranger Things has everything you are looking for wrapped up in an 80s nostalgic bow. Something is just not quite right in Hawkins Indiana, and it’s up to these young small town residents to figure it out. It’s full of the adventure and early childhood friendship that we all often find ourselves a little extra nostalgic for this time of year. There’s a really great Halloween episode, too, that will evoke fond memories for any 80s kid. 

Wednesday

While there are no official Halloween episodes of the show (yet), the whole show gives off those spooky season vibes. The heart of the first season is a supernatural mystery that Wednesday gets wrapped up trying to solve. There’s scary looking creatures, a special school for “gifted” students, and even some throwbacks to the Addams Family movies. Wednesday even dawns a pilgrim outfit again. 

Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina (And/Or Sabrina The Teenage Witch)

Whether you’re looking for something dark or something light-hearted, the world of Sabrina Spellman is full of magic and fun. Her birthday is on Halloween, afterall!  Both shows bring something different to the table but you really cannot go wrong with either one. And there’s plenty of great Halloween episodes between them. 

The Twilight Zone

Another great anthology show. This one tells self-contained stories in each episode -much like Goosebumps of Are You Afraid Of The Dark was for kids. The series includes everything from horror and supernatural, to even science fiction and a little comedy. It has appearances from the who's who of Hollywood at the time. And the theme song is to die-for! Gone are the days of tv hosts introducing you to what you are about to see. And i’d say just about nobody did it better than Rod Serling. And the black and white format adds to the creepiness, I feel. 

(Honorable Mentions: The Munsters/ The Addams Family, Are You Afraid Of The Dark, Supernatural, & Charmed to name a few) 

[cherrygirlystuff]

Get Ready for the Ultimate Brat Summer Bucket List – Wild and Reckless Things to Do Before Fall!

Hey, babe! 🌸 Can you believe summer is flying by? Before we know it, we’ll be trading our crop tops for cozy sweaters, and the carefree days of Brat Summer will be just a memory. But don’t worry – there’s still time to make this summer unforgettable! Whether you’ve been living it up or feel like you haven’t quite done enough yet, I’ve got the perfect Brat Summer Bucket List to help you go out with a bang. Ready to get wild and reckless? Let’s do this! 🎧✨

What is Brat Summer? 🌟

First things first, let’s talk about what Brat Summer is all about. This isn’t just any summer, babe – it’s a season where you embrace your boldest, baddest self. It’s about living life on your terms, having fun, and not taking anything too seriously. Brat Summer is your time to be fearless, try new things, and create memories that you’ll laugh about (or maybe blush about) for years to come. So let’s make these last few weeks count, shall we?

1. Go on a Spontaneous Road Trip 🚗

Nothing says reckless summer fun like jumping in the car with your besties and hitting the open road. Pick a destination that’s a bit out of your comfort zone – maybe a quirky roadside attraction, a hidden beach, or a small town with a reputation for the unexpected. The key here is spontaneity. Don’t overplan; just go with the flow and see where the road takes you. Blast your favorite playlist, grab some snacks, and let the adventure unfold.

2. Have a Midnight Beach Party 🌊

Who says the beach is only for daytime? Grab your friends, some blankets, and maybe a little (or a lot) of glitter, and head to the beach after dark. There’s something so freeing about the ocean at night – it’s mysterious, a little bit spooky, and totally magical. Dance under the stars, tell ghost stories by the waves, and if you’re feeling really brave, take a midnight dip in the water. Just be sure to pack some warm clothes for when the chill sets in!

3. Sneak Into a Rooftop Pool Party 🏊‍♀️

This one’s for the truly adventurous souls. Find out where the hottest rooftop pool party is happening and make it your mission to get in – whether you’re on the guest list or not. Dress to impress, act like you belong, and enjoy the high life for a night. The thrill of sneaking in is half the fun, and once you’re in, you can sip on fancy cocktails, take in the city views, and maybe even make some new friends. Just remember to stay cool and keep it classy!

4. Have a Picnic at Sunrise 🍓

After a wild night out, why not wind down with something a little more serene – but still totally Brat Summer? Pack a cute picnic (think strawberries, croissants, and mimosas), and head to your favorite park or scenic spot to watch the sunrise. There’s something so peaceful and beautiful about being up before the rest of the world, and it’s the perfect time to reflect on all the amazing memories you’ve made this summer. Plus, sunrise selfies? Yes, please!

5. Try an Extreme Sport (Even If You’re Scared!) 🪂

Brat Summer is all about pushing your limits, so why not try something that gets your adrenaline pumping? Whether it’s skydiving, bungee jumping, or surfing, pick an extreme sport that scares you just a little bit and go for it. It’s the ultimate way to feel alive, and you’ll be so proud of yourself for stepping out of your comfort zone. Plus, you’ll have the bragging rights to say, “Yeah, I did that!”

6. Have a Fashion Show in a Public Place 👗

This one’s all about confidence and fun. Gather up your most outrageous, over-the-top outfits – the ones that make you feel like the queen you are – and strut your stuff in a public place. Whether it’s the mall, a busy street, or even a museum, treat it like your personal runway. Bonus points if you get your friends involved and make it a full-on fashion parade. The goal? Turn heads, have fun, and own your Brat Summer style!

7. Host a Bonfire and Burn Your Regrets 🔥

Summer is the perfect time to let go of anything that’s been holding you back. Gather your friends, some marshmallows, and anything that symbolizes the things you want to leave behind, and have a bonfire. Write down your regrets, fears, or anything that’s been weighing on you, and toss them into the flames. Watch them burn away as you laugh, dance, and celebrate the amazing person you’ve become this summer. It’s cathartic, empowering, and a perfect way to end Brat Summer on a high note.

8. Get a Tattoo (Or Something Less Permanent) 🦋

What’s more reckless than a spontaneous tattoo? If you’re feeling bold, book an appointment and get inked with something that represents your Brat Summer experience – whether it’s a tiny symbol, a word, or something more elaborate. If you’re not ready to commit to a tattoo, try something less permanent like a henna design or temporary tattoos. It’s a fun way to mark the end of an unforgettable summer and carry a piece of it with you into fall.

9. Crash a Festival or Concert 🎤

If there’s a big festival or concert happening nearby, make it your mission to be there – even if you don’t have tickets. There’s always a way to sneak in, whether it’s through the back entrance, blending in with a group, or finding a loophole. Once you’re in, dance like nobody’s watching, sing at the top of your lungs, and soak up the energy of the crowd. Festivals and concerts are the ultimate summer experience, and crashing one makes it all the more thrilling.

10. Have a No-Rules Day 💥

Last but not least, dedicate one day to living without any rules. Sleep in or wake up early – it’s totally up to you. Eat dessert for breakfast, say yes to everything, and do whatever makes you happy in the moment. It’s all about letting go of expectations, forgetting about responsibilities, and just living in the now. This day is about pure, unfiltered fun, and it’s the perfect way to cap off your Brat Summer.

Final Thoughts, Gorgeous: Let’s Make This Summer One for the Books!

So there you have it, babe – your ultimate Brat Summer Bucket List. These are the wild, reckless, and totally unforgettable things you need to do before fall arrives. Whether you’re sneaking into rooftop parties, jumping out of planes, or simply having a day with no rules, the key is to live it up and embrace the fun, fearless spirit of Brat Summer.

Remember, you only get one summer like this, so make the most of it. Be bold, be daring, and most importantly, be unapologetically you.

What’s on your Brat Summer Bucket List, babe? Let’s chat in the comments about the wild and reckless things you’re planning to do before fall – I’m dying to hear all about it! 💕

[fantomcomics]

What’s Out This Week? 5/17

Happy MUTHAS day!

A Spell Of Trouble TP -  Trini Tinture

Popular, rich and great at school, Carrie lives a charmed life - because, unbeknownst to her classmates, she's a witch! Hailing from a long line of witches and warlocks Carrie has never wanted for anything - that is until her bumbling, nonmagical and anti-magic cousin Angela shows up! And worst of all-if Carrie can't turn Angela into a legendary sorceress she'll lose all her powers! Worlds collide and sparks fly as these cousins have to learn to live together - or else! This comedy classic from British"girls" comic Jinty features a brand new cover by the original artist, Trini Tinturé, as well as another tale, the spooky, insect-infested Creepy Crawley, in a volume perfect for Halloween!

Arcade Kings #1 (of 5) -  Dylan Burnett

Joe, a mysterious new face in Infinity City, has suddenly become the hottest new player at the Round House Arcade. Anyone can challenge him, but no one can win.   But Joe's secret past is about to catch up to him when his most formidable challenge yet rolls into town, forcing Joe to combo his powers with a joystick, his fists...and his fighting family legacy!

Blink TP -  Christopher Sebela, Hayden Sherman & Nick Filardi  

Wren Booker was three when she was found alone and covered in blood on the streets of New York. Since that day, she's been haunted by the childhood she can't remember...until decades later when she finds a cryptic website streaming multiple CCT feeds from strange rooms in a ruined building. Something clicks, setting off hidden memories that lead her back to a place she's seen in lifelong nightmares. Hunting for answers, Wren breaks in and finds herself lost in the camera-filled dark mazes of a decayed social experiment known only as BLINK...which she quickly discovers is not abandoned at all. But what should be a foreign nightmare-scape feels all too familiar for Wren as she follows her obsession all the way down, piecing together the story of BLINK-as well as her own ties to it.

Blood, Love, Ghosts & A Deadly Spell #1 -  Damian Connelly

Off of the huge successes of his previous comics, You Promised me Darkness and Follow me Into Darkness, here's a little gem Damian Connelly saved for last... "Blood, Love, Ghosts, and a Deadly Spell" is a dark, atmospheric 64 page volume filled with horrific tales from the inimitable mind of Damian Connelly, author of the best-selling hits "You Promised Me Darkness" and "Follow Me into Darkness". The book contains four never-seen-before self-contained horror short stories and an illustrated poem that will terrify, unsettle, and astonish.

Centralia HC -  Miel Vandepitte

The earth in and around Centralia has warmed so much, it's impossible to stand on without melting. Those who survive long enough will be confronted with carnivorous birds, collapsing buildings, and the trigger-happy Simia Nasalis, armed with bazookas and stilts. Against their better judgement, a group of adventurers set out to discover the treasure of gold hidden away at the heart of the abandoned town.

Chilling Adventures Presents: Jinx, A Cursed Life One-Shot -  Magdalene Visaggio & Craig Cermak

Jinx Holliday is a firecracker and a firestarter. Destruction always follows in her wake. And sometimes weirdos stop her and talk about her "destiny." It's all combined to create quite the aura of mystery around a 14-year-old girl who just wants some pizza rolls, and while her soul might belong to Satan, her heart belongs to the electric guitar. But one day, when Archie and company come looking for her help because Jughead is acting weird, Jinx and her BFF Danni embark on a mission to exorcize Jughead. It's the two BFFs vs. Satan for the good of humanity-or at very least, for Jinx to just be free to be a normal 14-year-old girl who just happens to dabble in necromancy and rock 'n' roll.

Disney Villains: Maleficent #1 -  Soo Lee & Jae Lee

Disney and Dynamite proudly present Maleficent, Queen of the Forbidden Mountain! Her realm is shrouded in darkness, and evil, and full of all things that go bump in the night. Her soul is cold, hardened by a lifetime of small-minded wanderers seeking to steal her powers to satisfy their mortal greed. Her patience wears thin. Her mystical might grows. It is a matter only of time before she descends the mountain and unleashes her horrible magics upon the powerless people below. A stunning vision of villainy from writer and artist Soo Lee!  

Doodles From The Boogie Down TP -  Stephanie Rodriguez

A young Dominican girl navigates middle school and her dream of being an artist in this debut coming-of-age graphic novel inspired by the author's tween years. Eighth grade in New York City means one thing: It's time to start applying to high schools! While her friends are looking at school catalogs and studying for entrance exams, Steph is doodling in her notebook and waiting for art class to begin. When her art teacher tells her about LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, Steph desperately wants to apply. But she's in the Bronx, and LaGuardia is a public school in Manhattan-which her mom would not approve of. Steph comes up with a plan that includes lying to her mom, friends, and teachers. Keeping secrets isn't easy, and Steph must decide how far she'll go to get what she wants.

Elvira In Monsterland #1 - David Avallone, Kewber Baal & Dave Acosta

What's scarier than Dracula? ALL THE DRACULAS! Vlad the Impaler is back, and he's raiding the Multiverse of Movies to build a monster army and conquer the world. And only one woman can stop him! Vampirella! But she's busy in her own books... so it's up to Elvira, the Mistress of the Dark, and bane of Vlad's existence, to stop his evil plan! It's monster movie madness horror from writer David Avallone (Elvira in Horrorland, Bettie Page: Unbound) and artist Kewber Bal (Vampirella, Red Rising, Red Sonja).

Everything Is Fine GN Vol 1 -  Mike Birchall & J.J. Birch

We need to forget. You know as well as I do. Sam and Maggie are a normal couple, in a normal house, in a normal neighborhood. There is nothing strange about their heads, their neighbors, or their sweet little dog. Everything is fine. This is the story of a couple doing their best to get by in a world where things are absolutely, totally, and unquestionably fine. Collecting episodes 1-16 of the WEBTOON comic.

Flawed TP Vol 1 - Chuck Brown & Prenzy

Gem Ezz is a psychiatrist in the Kafkaesque city of Setham, where corruption and brutality rule the streets. By day, she uses words to solve her patients' problems. By night, she takes a more direct-and sometimes deadly-approach. But when her practice puts her in the sights of an immortal serial killer, Gem finds herself embroiled in a power struggle that threatens everything she's ever known.

Going Remote: A Teacher’s Journey GN -  Adam Bessie & Peter Glanting

With Peter Glanting's powerful illustrations, author Adam Bessie, an English professor and graphic essayist, uses the unique historical moment of the COVID-19 pandemic as a catalyst to explore the existing inequalities and student struggles that plague the public education system. This graphic memoir chronicles the reverberations from the onset of the pandemic in 2020 when students and educators left their physical classrooms for remote learning. As a professor at a community college, Bessie shows how despite these challenges, teachers work tirelessly to create a more equitable educational system by responding to mental health issues and student needs.

Grand Slam Romance GN Vol 1 -  Ollie Hicks & Emma Oosterhous

In this queer graphic novel that's equal parts romance, softball, and magical girl drama, Mickey Monsoon is the hotshot pitcher for the Belle City Broads, and their team is poised to sweep the league this season. But Micky is thrown off their game when Astra Maxima shows up to catch for the Gaiety Gals, the Broads' fiercest rival. Years ago Mickey and Astra were best friends... and maybe more. That was, until Astra unceremoniously dumped Mickey to become a softball wunderkind at a private girl's school in Switzerland. Now, Astra is flirty, arrogant, and reckless on the field-everything the rule-abiding Mickey hates. Astra thinks Mickey's cute and wants to fool around, even despite their rocky history and the trail of jilted softballers that Astra leaves in her wake. Too bad the only thing Mickey wants is vengeance for their broken heart and wounded pride! Full of wet mitts, hard hits, and a bevy of softball-playing babes, Grand Slam Romance: Book 1 is a flawless home run that is sure to knock readers out of the park.

Harley Quinn: Ravenous HC -  Rachael Allen

When Harleen Quinzel wakes up in a hospital bed with no recollection of the past few months, she scrambles to pick up the pieces of her life.  As she starts classes at Gotham University and an internship at Arkham Asylum, Harleen is determined to make her mark, getting paired with the most high-profile female inmate at Arkham-the notorious Talia al Ghul. Talia is brilliant and fascinating, and as they spend more time together, the lines between good and bad begin to blur for Harleen. When she starts to see Talia less as a patient and more as a mentor, all of Harleen's dark and dangerous pieces begin finding their way to the surface again. The only way to stop the terror that haunts the halls of Arkham Asylum may be to let her darkness out.

Harley Quinn: Reckoning SC -  Rachael Allen

Experience the origin story of a Super-Villain in this Harley Quinn backstory that fans have been waiting for! When Harleen Quinzel scores an internship in a psych lab at Gotham University, she's desperate to make a Big Scientific Discovery that will land her a full-ride college scholarship and get her away from her abusive father. But when Harleen witnesses the way women are treated across STEM departments-and experiences harassment herself-she decides that revenge and justice are more important than her own dreams. Harleen finds her place in an intoxicating vigilante girl gang called the Reckoning, which creates chaos to inspire change. And when Harleen falls for another girl in the gang, it finally seems like she's found her true passions. But what starts off as pranks and mischief quickly turns deadly as one of the gang members is found murdered-and a terrifying conspiracy is uncovered, putting the life Harleen has worked so hard for at stake. Will she choose her future-or will she choose revenge?

Hotel Rem HC -  Zack Keller & Gabriele Bagnoli

Rembrandt Somner is the happy-go-lucky new owner of Hotel REM, a place for all the fantastic people and creatures in our dreams to hang out when we wake up. Channeling his endless enthusiasm, Rem attempts to balance his unwieldy coworkers and wild guests in order to run a successful business that makes his parents proud. However, a demanding celebrity guest threatens to be the rude awakening that ruins everything!

Last Game GN Vol 1 -  Shinobu Amano

In elementary school, the rich and spoiled Yanagi Naoto was known for excelling in both studies and sports. But then he suffered the first setback of his life when Kujou Mikoto, a girl from a poor family, transferred to his school and performed better than Naoto at every turn. Reeling from this unforgivable blow to his pride, Naoto decided that he had to make Mikoto lose at something... by making her lose her heart to him, which he could then break! Now that they're both in college, will Naoto finally be able to win Mikoto's affections-or will he lose this final game with her?

Mech Cadets TP Book 1 -  Greg Pak & Takeshi Miyazawa

Every four years, giant sentient robots from outer space come to Earth and bond forever with a brand new crop of Sky Corps Academy cadets. But this time, instead of a cadet, one mech bonds with Stanford Yu, a young kid working with his mom as a janitor at Sky Corps. This is the opportunity of a lifetime for Stanford, but first he'll have to earn the trust of his classmates and survive an uncompromising enemy...the Sharg! Bestselling author Greg Pak (Ronin Island, Planet Hulk) and fan-favorite artist Takeshi Miyazawa (Runaways, Ms. Marvel) bring to life this underdog story as Stanford and the newest team of Cadets and Robos face relentless training, an alien invasion, and the threat of losing themselves and human existence. They'll realize the true sacrifice that comes with duty and service and what makes a hero in this full collection of Mech Cadets perfect as a jumping on point ahead of the animated series on Netflix!

Ms. Truesdale & The Fall Of Hyperborea #1 (of 4) -  Mike Mignola & Jesse Lonergan

One of the last followers of a failing Heliopic Brotherhood of Ra, the unassuming Miss Truesdale, finds herself on the receiving end of Brotherhood leader Tefnut Trionus's final vision. Connecting her life in Victorian London to a young gladiator's in ancient Hyperborea, Truesdale discovers she now has the chance to change the future by altering the bygone past.

Navigator HC -  John Bruno & Jordi Armengol

An alien navigator, captured in battle on Jupiter's fourth moon, Europa, seeks sanctuary. In return, the alien will provide his advanced technology to help defend mankind from the alien force that enslaved him and has come to destroy us. In this backdrop is a story of love and reconciliation between a young Marine officer-placed in command of Earth's forces-his estranged wife, and Amy . . . the daughter he's never met.

Ogi’s Summer Break GN Vol 1 -  Koikawa

On the first day of summer vacation, Haruto Ogi fell in love with legally blind Shinya Tago. All though they connected immediately, Tago was at first utterly unaware that Ogi had fallen for him. For once, Ogi felt comfortable fully being himself; if his crush can't see him, then he's safe from being judged. A sweet love story about overcoming differences and accepting yourself for who you truly are.

Red Room: Crypto Killaz #1 -  Ed Piskor

The media won't leave Brianna Fairfield alone since her father was arrested and identified as the Steel City Cannibal. But what more sinister forces are also following her? Mistress Pentagram and the Red Room Players return in this all-new, four-issue miniseries from Ed Piskor (X-Men: Grand Design)! Splatterpunk never looked so good! As seen on YouTube's Cartoonist Kayfabe!

Self GN -  Christopher Sebela & Cara McGee

Postscript backs up everything about a person into a file ready to be loaded into a printed body that offers one final chance to wrap up loose ends after they've died. Nat Winters has finally achieved something like a perfect life. No more scraping or getting by. She has a home, a husband, and a job turning into a career. When Nat's Postscript gets hacked and her file is torrented, her life gets set on fire by these tweaked copies of her running around the world, chasing down their own versions of her deferred dreams. As more of them begin coming to town, looking for her, Nat will be forced to confront a dozen different sides of herself and try to fix the mess they've made. But as she tries to contain things, Nat finds out there's a contingent of Blanks out there who want to hurt her, even kill her, on the orders of a mysterious enemy who is looking to make this identity theft permanent.

Squire & Knight GN Vol 1 -  Scott Chantler

Squire is brainy, bookish, and terribly under-appreciated by his boss, the brawny, inept knight, Sir Kelton, who somehow always gets all the glory. So, when the two mis-matched heroes find themselves in a cursed village, plagued by a demonic dragon, Kelton rides off to slay it, and Squire stays behind to catch up on some reading. But Squire starts to notice that something isn't quite right about this town... can he uncover its strange secrets? Scott Chantler's prolific pen has inked a fantastic world with a compelling mystery. With characters that are relatable and dynamic, Squire & Knight is an instant classic that will enthrall readers.

Tig & Lily: Tiger Trouble GN Vol 1 - Dan Thompson

Lions, Tigers, and... a house cat?! Oh my! Life at the zoo gets complicated when a tiger finds out she as a new roommate. What makes a tiger, a tiger? Is it the stripes? The roar? This is something that Lily, the tiger at the local zoo, has never had to worry about - until she meets the fiercest animal of them all... her new roommate. Tig might look like a house cat, might sound like a house cat, but Tig knows he is a Tiger. The competition is on as these two cats figure out what it means to be a Tiger... and a friend. A purr-fect graphic chapter book series!

Tsumasaki Ni Kourozu GN - Aki Aoi

One day, Iwai, an ordinary college student, is suddenly offered a part-time job to work as an assistant for the mycologist, Murota, a seemingly moody and unsociable man. Though things start off a bit rocky, Iwai soon finds that he not only enjoys spending time with Murota and learning about a world previously unknown to him, but he also likes taking care of the man when he neglects to take care of himself. However, joy is gradually replaced by unrest, as Iwai becomes increasingly aware that his feeling towards the man may be deeper than he originally thought.

We Can’t Do Just Plain Love GN Vol 1 -  Mafuyu Fukita

She's Got a Fetish, Her Boss Has Low Self-Esteem. Sakura Yuino is beautiful, cool-headed, and good at her job, and when she's transferred to handsome, polite, but shy Itsuki Kiritani's department at her office she's determined to do a good job. Unfortunately for her, Kiritani is so nervous around women he can't help getting "excited" around her. And Yuino finds her personal fetish triggered around her new boss, whose smell is intoxicating to her. After a post-work drunken tryst, they realize that perhaps this arrangement isn't so bad after all... This book contains sexual content and is intended for an audience aged 18 years and up.

Yakuza’s Bias GN Vol 1 -  Teki Yatsuda

A yakuza enforcer becomes the gang world's biggest K-pop stan in this cult comedy manga that went from webcomic to sleeper hit in Japan! Takeru is one of the top lieutenants in the feared yakuza outfit the Oshio-gumi. He lives his life by the code of the Japanese underworld, where nothing is more important than loyalty, and ties between soldiers and their aniki are sacred bonds. Takeru's never had time for hobbies... until the boss's only daughter Megumi drags him to a K-pop concert, and he sees the glittering, charismatic Jun for the first time. Smitten like a new recruit on his first job, Takeru plunges into fandom with the solemnity and passion only a true man who walks the way of the yakuza could muster.

Whatcha scooping up this week, Fantom Fam? 

[crabmanmanda]

[Online][5e][Below -21][GMT +8] The Realm of Feuds and Fables, An ongoing campaign loosely based off of Warhammer Fantasy/40k set in a homebrewed world.

Welcome one and all! Delve into a realm of mystics, political intrigue, and only a tad bit monsters as your characters go through dirt and mud to fight the Pandemonials (Chaos). Uncover dark secrets, help the regular folk, and perhaps find love along the way! (not). But remember deceit and horror lies within every inch of this world, and a small slip-up or a bad roll of luck could change the fate of many! So what will it be? will you take the call of adventure?

Here's some information about the campaign:

Setting:

It's world **loosely** based off of Warhammer Fantasy, with a world filled with history and lore but I do want to work with players and perhaps add more to the world! Perhaps a town there, or a dungeon here. Otherwise I want to try and create a world enjoyed by the players.

Now we have been playing for quite awhile, around 6 months, with lore and all that nonsense all of which have been placed in a lore channel which you can read!

Frequency: Once a week on Sunday Mornings (GMT + 8), Next Session you'll (That's you) be joining is in (10/12/2023. 10am GMT+8)

Players: Looking for 2 folks that are **below 21** (We are teens). so making it a round 6.

We have an Anxiety- Ridden Fairy Artificer, a Commander Dragonborn Fighter, a Human Performer Monk, and a (hopefully) Ranger Ogre!

Your DM (me): not a perfect man, and a novice to DMing, not the best in rules, but does want to be friends with their players! (been told I make good spooky descriptions)

So if you find this at all interesting just PM me! And best of wishes ~ Me, a Crab

[queensparklekitten]

ooh you play modded now? what are your fave mods/which ones do you recommend?

yeah, i joined a modded server a while back and now it's hard to adjust to vanilla minecraft again! As for favourite mods, it's hard to choose just a few but here you go

(i use fabric btw but i'm p sure at least most of these have forge versions)

If you're really into lore, questing, lore, adventure, and lore, End Remastered is really good. Regular eyes of ender no longer work- you need to find 12 of the 16 special Eyes scattered around the world via exploring, fighting, and mining! Each Eye comes with its own cool as hell design, and if you mouse over it, you will obtain Lore!

Extra bonus points if you combine it with Yung's Better Strongholds, which makes strongholds cool as fuck. Extra EXTRA bonus points if you combine the two with BetterEnd which I'm gonna detail later on.

Speaking of Yung's Better Strongholds, the creator also has upgrades to other structures as well. I've only tried three of their mods, though, the other two being the one with bridges, and the mineshaft one. They're pretty good.

Clutter adds various fun things to the world and I can't get enough of it. Features it gives you include: butterflies (including nether ones), cherry fruit, super cute little kiwi birds, some cute blocky furniture including really pretty lacy curtains you can open and close, moss-and-flower-covered deer in lush caves, butterfly wing elytras in every colour, books placeable on the ground, little floating fish in the End, and adorable plushies of various creatures!

And if the plushies in Clutter aren't enough for you, there's also Perfect Plushies to add even more! I especially love the bunny one it's so cute

Not enough decorations? Beautify is a particular favourite of mine. Like Clutter, its decorations are vanilla styled (I've never particularly been one for furniture/decoration mods full of circles). Some favourite features of mine include lattices you can put flowers on to have them growing on your house (I covered the ceiling of a room of my base in flowers that way), hanging pots you can put most plants in, and book stacks that give power to your enchanting table while making your enchantment setup look cool.

Speaking of pretty things, Oh The Biomes You'll Go is a must-have. Seriously, it's so pretty and so good for exploration and building. The trees are massive and range from forests of perpetual autumn to purple leaves with pink flowers, there's places so full of colourful flowers it's impossible to ever use them all, there's rare enchanted forests with cyan roses and there's tall cliffs with pools at the top with lilypads and how have i not mentioned the massive stone arches covered in moss yet?

After BYG, the second best biome mod is definitely Regions Unexplored. You've gotta get this one for the rainbow glowing crystal caves alone. That being said, the lands with blue and purple leaves on all the trees, forests with big glowing mushrooms, poppy fields, pumpkin fields some of which are naturally carved (you could make a lore out of this), and fuzzy hanging plant-like things in the nether with glowing ends don't hurt either.

What's that? That's not enough pretty things for you? Well, even if it's actually more than enough, you absolutely need to get BetterEnd. Legitimately the prettiest mod I've ever seen. The starry sky alone will blow your mind. And then we've got aurora crystals which are as pretty as they sound, colourful mosses and glowing flowers everywhere, crystal and petal and snowflake particles in the air in places, huge trees with leaves in every colour out there and lots of flowery vines or lichen, very spooky dark forests that i've gone full tma statement-giver mode about, large glowing mushroom-trees covered in moss some of which are big enough to build a village on top of, golden spiral trees, massive star-shaped formations of emerald ice in the sky... I really can't describe how pretty betterend is you have to see it for yourself. Also crystal elytras. And a wood type with spiral patterns in the logs. And an enchantment that lets you look at endermen without angering them. And pink silk moths.

On the other hand, if you're looking for something a little more... spooky, or you're really into lore, The Graveyard is one of my favourite mods ever. The mobs are terrifying, between the blood and the way they move and the fact that some of them have glowing white eyes which sets my Minecraft veteran instincts off hard, but the structures are awesome and the lore is INSANE, to the point that I've got an entire google doc dedicated to my observations with this one mod and have imagined up music videos about the lore and the happenings that led to my uncovering of more and more of it. You're gonna find yourself going crazy seeking out more and more structures with lecterns, chests, and item frames containing books written by someone long dead, and getting closer to putting together the pieces (hehe double meaning). It's also got by far the coolest bossfight I've EVER done in Minecraft, with a REALLY good song that plays during it. And tons of skeleton decorations you can make to decorate your base for Halloween. So if you're a fan of manmade horrors beyond your comprehension, you gotta try Graveyard. If you're a fan of lore but don't want to have to deal with ghouls or revenants or nightmares (understandable) you still gotta try Graveyard but do it on peaceful difficulty or with commands that let you make it day or switch to creative mode at a moment's notice. (note: Graveyard's lore contains heavy discussion of cults, as well as mentioned child death and described body horror. all avoidable.)

It's also got a companion mod called Nyctophobia that adds some spooky biomes.

Creeper Overhaul adds biome-specific creeper variants, and I'm pretty sure at least one of them is friendly and won't explode you (or at least neutral). There's bamboo, desert, dripstone, and more variants of creepers, all of them designed to camouflage into their natural habitat. It's fun to make headcanons about all the different kinds.

Still not over a certain mob vote? Friends & Foes adds losing vote mobs! The glares are cute and tameable and the wildfires come with a new structure, but if you ask me, it's only got a spot on this list if you also get the addon Flowery Mooblooms, which allows for moobloom variants with every single flower in the game!

Not enough creatures? Want more? Naturalist is great in the creatures department. You can tame the adorable songbirds (including cardinals and canaries), put a snail in a bucket, ride a giraffe or zebra, and get your ass handed to you by a hippo. Also there's dragonflies.

If you want some super cool weapons, Simply Swords has the coolest fucking weapons. You can craft scythes and battleaxes and stuff, or you can go exploring and find weapons like a fire sword that explodes your opponents, or a poison sword that can convert any positive status effects on your opponent into negative ones, or a purple fire sword with an eye on it that is always watching and can regen you by damaging your enemies, or... you get the picture. It's also got support for Mythic Metals which adds some cool ores.

As for food, Croptopia is good. There's lots of fruit trees, you can make a lot of jam and soup and pie and juice and stuff. There's also Farmer's Delight which I really like, and an addon for the latter called End's Delight that adds more food to the End!

If you're into Origins, I'd say it's not fully complete without Extra Origins alongside it. <- she says without having ever actually chosen any of the origins from it, just thinking they're critical to Modded World Lore bc her first modded server had it and thus including them in her large collection of design headcanons for each origin

Finally, there's the More Axolotl Variants Mod which is exactly what it sounds like. around 10 new axolotl colours, including sculk and glow ones that you can only get through breeding. Little guys <3

Aaaand I think that's covered all the bases for my favourite mods for all the things required for a good modded world: pretty things, cool items, lore and worldbuilding, creatures, food, and the horrors!

[deltaruminations]

if i can be momentarily ship-for-brains a little bit i do think the implication of asriel and dess having had A Thing is very interesting when considered from the Eloping From The Narrative/Dess ‘n’ Dings Mobius Double Reacharound* perspective. because like yeah what’s more Rejecting The Narrative than the story’s intended hero rejecting her made-to-be love interest and waltzing around the Fantasy Holes with the story’s intended villain instead, directly defying the Will of their absent clockmaker God

like. thinking about the relationships around Dess, both the Holiday and Dreemurr parents were literally Made For Each Other — we know that at least Asgore and Toriel are the same Type of monster (this isn’t yet confirmed for the Holidays, but i think it’s more likely than not. also i will be shocked if the Mayor’s name isn’t Clarice. come on.), which fits common Fictional Family tropes — but even before her disappearance there may have been cracks forming. we don’t know enough about rudy and c’s relationship yet to say much about it, but we do know they didn’t start off on the best foot, though rudy plays off their meeting as a funny anecdote.** asgore and toriel were high school sweethearts who, if we follow that trope, may have never considered seeing anyone else before getting hitched, and we know (from our perspective later in the timeline) that the marriage failed. rudy and asgore have long-standing and extremely obvious chemistry but apparently never seriously entertained the idea that they’d make a good couple.

and then their first born kids seem to be in a perfect position to be Love Interests — they’re next door neighbors, childhood friends, she even wears his jacket. a perfectly wholesome Story Couple. of course asriel is the perfect love interest, the sweet, popular golden boy, her parents’ best friends’ child and someone the bulk of the audience already loves. i could see both in- and out-of-universe actors being very approving of it, even pressuring for it.

and i could see Dess, already rebellious, picking her own name and watching scary movies and wielding bats against bullies, looking at that whole situation and mistrusting it and thinking, Maybe I Should Explore My Options. maybe asriel is, if she’s being honest, a little boring. and, well, who’s that strange, spooky boy who just showed up in town one day? the one who keeps giving her Halloween pencils*** and seems to know just a little too much about quantum optics? the quiet outsider no one seems to like or trust very much? maybe he needs a friend. so they start to hang out. they stumble onto Dark Worlds together, and that becomes their little secret — not just because the Dark Worlds themselves are so exciting, mysterious, and dangerous, but because they can sense that the relationship is increasingly transgressive. her parents can’t know. asriel definitely can’t. these two kids’ relationship becomes so entangled in the escape of a collaborative fiction in which they can safely and authentically be themselves, together, that they end up dragging the whole universe with them into a struggle over creative disagreements (do we let it end with the Roaring or not?) that is really, at its core, about an unspoken mutual fear of losing each other. as above so below etc.

the possibilities in that for tying together other story threads… there are a lot. i dunno. ex: if this is D&D’s little secret, who’s the other person in “YOU TWO”? well, what if kris followed them on one of their excursions? what if they knew about the Dark Worlds, and even the burgeoning relationship, but struck a deal — they get to join in the adventure as long as they don’t tell. maybe the “deals” and “agreements” between kris and will-be extraplanar entities run deep. convenient, isn’t it, that kris as player-vessel can’t talk as far as a Player is concerned, and can’t speak freely to other characters? they can’t spill secrets or tell of any truths or promises they may know exist in anyone’s hearts. if that wasn’t gaster’s doing, then what if it was dess’s? is this all just high-octane copium to justify liking a very fringe crack ship? probably. man. i don’t even fucking know. just. do you see my Vision. do you understand. also they’d just be funny together i think

*truly don’t know what an appropriate and succinct name would be for this theory/headcanon but i’m assuming you guys know what i’m talking about given that i won’t shut up about it

**it is, to be fair, pretty funny

***i know i know the Halloween pencil story from Get In The Car, Losers substantiates nothing. just. [takes an uncomfortably long, loud huff of copium] let me have this one vaguely evidence-adjacent thing. blease,