Once Upon A Time recs

[selenak]

Once Upon A Time is shaping up to be one of those fandoms for me where the canon gives me more of what I want than the fanfiction does. Most, though not all, of my fanfic seeking expeditions to see what’s been posted at the usual suspect places end up spotting:

- A gazillion Rumplestilskin/Belle stories, most of which, going by the summaries, A Us: so do not want.

- Emma/any guy, be he Graham, Neal, Jefferson or Hook: sorry, not interested, either. Emma gen stories are cool, but rare.

- Emma/Regina: okay, let’s try the slash juggernaut. Hang on… who is this completely out of character written obligatory Bigoted Coldhearted Enemy Of Pairing person the writer calls “Snow” or “Mary Margaret”? SO DO NOT WANT. I didn’t get even to the point of finding whether or not Regina gets the full woobie why-are-those-meanies-not-giving-her-hugs treatment in the story in question, the Snow bashing made me click away in a fury.

- Ruby/Whale: after In the name of the brother, there were three or so charming stories, but not it’s AU s all the way there, too.

The family relationships and friendships which are actually my primary interest in this show you have to look really hard for, fanfic wise. And the one pairing I actually would love to read more of, nobody but me seems to have been writing. *waves sociopaths-in-love flag and eyes another rewatch of The Miller’s Daughter. * However, misscam is a lone star in the wilderness, writing about Emma and her parents – I’ll link some stories beneath the cut, because the descriptions are spoilery for s2 and I know some people on my flist haven’t watched it yet – and now has started a fascinating A U which asks a “what if?” question that made me wonder “damm, why hasn’t anyone done this yet?” but also be glad misscam does it, who isn’t likely to woobify our Mr. Gold or Regina, yet render them layered. It is this: what if Regina had balked at killing her father to cast the curse, leaving Rumplestilskin no choice but do his own dirty work and cast it himself? How different (or not) would Storybrooke be if it had been formed by his wishes instead of hers? The backstory gets revealed, like in the show, bit by bit, so we haven’t found out yet whom Rumplestilskin has killed in order to power the curse. As it has to be someone the curse caster loves, the choices at this point in the in the time line are either Belle – whom however he presumably also assumes to be dead in this AU, since the point of departure from canon seems to have been Regina not killing her father and giving up on her vengeance (for now) – or Cora. I’m simultaneously eager and dreading to learn which one, and how a Regina who has stopped herself from one crime but still has a long way to go will be handled.



Pretender (1325 words) by Fyre
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Author Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Characters: Greg Mendell
Summary:

Storybrooke, Maine.
They told him it wasn't real, over and over. They told him that his dad must have got lost in the storm that hit when they were camping. It was the shock, they said. The trauma of losing his father so soon after losing his mother. He wanted people to be to blame, because people could be punished. Storms were just storms, and you couldn't go after them, but people: you could find people and punish them.

Not Even Darkness (1844 words) by misscam
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Prince "Charming" James | David Nolan/Snow White | Mary Margaret Blanchard
Characters: Snow White | Mary Margaret Blanchard, Prince "Charming" James | David Nolan, Emma Swan, Henry Mills (Once Upon a Time)
Summary:

Maybe. A faint sort of hope, to think nothing is certain, not even darkness. Snow, Charming and Emma in the aftermath of a darkened heart. [Snow/Charming, Emma, Henry]

Made All the Difference (2268 words) by misscam
Chapters: 2/?
Fandom: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Prince "Charming" James | David Nolan/Snow White | Mary Margaret Blanchard, Belle/Rumpelstiltskin | Mr. Gold, Huntsman | Sheriff Graham/Emma Swan
Characters: Rumpelstiltskin | Mr. Gold, Snow White | Mary Margaret Blanchard, Prince "Charming" James | David Nolan, Emma Swan, Henry Mills (Once Upon a Time), Evil Queen | Regina Mills, Belle (Once Upon a Time), Regina's Father | Henry Mills Sr.
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe
Summary:

Certain things never change, Mr Gold knows. But everything else might still. Regina doesn't cast the curse, Rumpelstiltskin does. It may make all the difference. [Snow/Charming, some Belle/Rumpel, minor Emma/Graham, Regina, Henry, others]

Adding Up (aka Charming Dating Advice) (2000 words) by misscam
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Prince "Charming" James | David Nolan/Snow White | Mary Margaret Blanchard
Characters: Prince "Charming" James | David Nolan, Emma Swan, Snow White | Mary Margaret Blanchard
Summary:

Emma isn't sure what she wants. Her father offers some advice. It may just add up. [Emma & Charming bonding. Minor Snow/Charming, Emma/whoever you want to imagine.]

Comments

[katta]

Thanks for these recs! I'm having a hard time finding good fanfic for this show too. (I've even taken to reading some not-good stuff just to pacify my need for more show.) Of course, what I'd primarily want is badwrong pairings and gen, which is always hard to find. I really wish I could find more new-to-this-world Pinocchio, though, that seems like it could be sweet enough for the majority of the fanbase.

[selenak]

Well, supposedly the next episode is about him, so maybe that will inspire a bit of fanfiction?

[katta]

Ooh, nice! Maybe there will be, even though they can't ship a seven-year-old. (I don't particularly have an interest in adult August, except maybe if it's about him and Marco.)

[lilacsigil]

Thanks for the recs! I do actually ship Emma/Regina, but after constantly running into my least favourite thing (character bashing) when reading fic about them, I've kind of given up.

[selenak]

You're welcome. I'm still undecided what is worse, not finding stories about one's favourites or finding gazillion of stories but 99% horribly ooc or featuring all the tropes one doesn't like. I've experienced both in my fannish life, and nope, can't decide what I growl about more...