Once Upon a Fic reveals and recs

Now that the authors have been revealed, it's time for me to write a brief round up of this year's once_upon_fic exchange, which is well on the way to becoming my favourite exchange in the calendar.

I'm going to share my own gift again, because I'm honestly just beside myself with happiness at the effort and care that went into this. It's definitely my number one rec from this year's collection.

Deals In The Dark (15412 words) by DragonflyPrince
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Rumpelstilzchen | Rumpelstiltskin (Fairy Tale)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Müllers Tochter | Miller's Daughter/Rumpelstilzchen | Rumpelstiltskin
Additional Tags: Once Upon a Fic Exchange 2023, Light Angst, Motherhood, Arranged Marriage, the romance stuff is really downplayed
Summary:

A bargain was made for her life. Now she has no choice but to arrange her own escape.

I matched in my own assignment with a request for the Selkie Bride folk tale, and my recipient had prompted a fic that looked at how the selkie's seven children reacted to her return to the sea. This was perfect for me, because it brought together three of my favourite things: transformations, grief, and people whose lives are intertwined with the sea. This was the result:

Standing on the Shore (2504 words) by Dolorosa
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The Selkie Bride (Folk Tale)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Selkie (The Selkie Bride), Selkie's Children (The Selkie Bride), Husband (The Selkie Bride)
Summary:

The lives of the selkie's children, after their mother returned to the sea, and they were left behind, to watch the ebb and flow of the tide, and wonder.

I also have a couple of other recs from the collection.

( Four recs behind the cut )

Did anyone else participate in this exchange? What did you most like from the collection?