Once Upon a Fic reveals and recs

[dolorosa_12]

I'll post about the Australian election result in the next few days once the dust has settled, given it is uncertain whether we will have a minority Labor government with a confidence-and-supply deal, a Labor-led coalition with Greens and independents, or a Labor government with a tiny majority, but as you can probably tell from the array of possibilities, I have breathed a sigh of absolute relief.

Suffice it to say, I have a bottle of champagne chilling in the fridge.

once_upon_fic authors were revealed yesterday, so I can now post enthusiastically about what I received, other recs from the collection, and share the work that I wrote myself.

My gift was this wonderful character study of the selkie woman in the Icelandic 'The Sealskin' folktale:

only a seal, only a skin (1131 words) by Pingoodle
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The Sealskin (Icelandic Folktale)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Selkie Woman/Husband
Characters: Selkie Woman, Husband - Character
Additional Tags: Pregnancy
Summary:

I taught my six children what to look for, to soothe my heart. Again and again they’d come to sit at my feet and tell me: Only a seal, only a skin.

I also wrote a selkie story, although mine was for the slightly different Scottish variant on the tale:

The Sea Inside (1687 words) by Dolorosa
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The Selkie Bride (Scottish Folk Tale)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Selkie (The Selkie Bride)
Summary:

This is a story about the language of the sea, and the language of the land. An earthbound selkie sheds and reclaims many words, and many skins.

It seems to have been well received, and I'm glad from the comments that people could see what I was trying to do with language, with the landscape, and with the sea.

Here are my recs from the collection.


In The Bear's Castle (2489 words) by pikkugen
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Østenfor sol og vestenfor måne | East of the Sun and West of the Moon
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Jenta | Girl/Kvitbjørn | White Bear (Østenfor sol og vestenfor måne)
Characters: Jenta | Girl (Østenfor sol og vestenfor måne), Kvitbjørn | White Bear (Østenfor sol og vestenfor måne)
Additional Tags: Missing Scene
Summary:

A missing scene between the girl's arrival to the bear's castle and her unfortunate visit back home.

The MINOTAUR Project (1020 words) by Missy
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Ancient Greek Religion & Lore, Theseus and the Minotaur (Parallel Lives - Plutarch)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Ariadne/Dionysus (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore)
Characters: Ariadne (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore), Dionysus (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore), Theseus (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore), Asterion the Minotaur (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore)
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Space, IN SPACE!, Romance, Rescue Missions, Humor, Character Study, Future Fic, Alternate Universe - Future, Future, Computers, Mild Angst, Betrayal
Summary:

For as long as Ariadne can remember, it's always been her, the MINOTAUR, and her parent's space craft, lost and adrift in the great black beyond.

But then a distress call from a party barge changes her life.

Telling Tales (archive-locked).

The Mute of Nettlesford Hall (4049 words) by DaisyNinjaGirl
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: De vilde Svaner | The Wild Swans - Hans Christian Andersen, Fairy Tales & Related Fandoms
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Penelope/Lord Carmichael
Characters: Elisa | Penelope, Lord Carmichael | The King
Additional Tags: AU: 19th Century, spinning, Silence, selective mutism
Series: Part 2 of A Spot of Fae, My Dear?
Summary:

The delicacies of negotiating a love affair when one of the participants won’t—or can’t—say what’s on her mind.

This was a great exchange in which to participate, and I'm so glad I took part!

Comments

[spikedluv]

I'm glad you were able to breathe a sigh of relief!

[dolorosa_12]

Thank you! It's so wonderful to have good political news for once!

[chestnut_pod]

Good news of politics at last! Congratulations :)

And I so thought "The Sea Inside" was yours! It's a lovely story, and keeps good company.

[dolorosa_12]

It's such a relief to have some positive political news for once — the feeling is indescribable!

I'm amused and delighted that you were able to recognise (or at least suspect) 'The Sea Inside' as being mine, and I'm glad you liked it.

[kore]

CHAMPAAAAAAAAAAGNE <3

[dolorosa_12]

*raises glass*

I am so relieved!

[svgurl]

Elections can be pretty stressful so it's good that you are relieved about the results! :D

[dolorosa_12]

They absolutely can be, especially over the past decade or so. It's nice to have something political to celebrate for once!