The Goblin and the Small Town Sheriff
Reason for being here – First real GoldenSwan.
And it's by Twyla Mercedes, enough said.
When I say the first GoldenSwan, I don't mean the first story with that pairing, but it was the first one that was 1) not just a one shot, 2) is finished, 3) doesn't have the Gold be Henry's father angle be why they get together, and 4) found some way for it not to be just Emma messing with Gold and ending up liking him, or it being the for filament of their favor deal.
Now there are a billion Golden Swan one shots, and a ton that never finished, but this was the first one that said, ok, why not put them together, make a story out of it, and not have it be that ten years ago Gold was out of town and slept with Emma and nine mounts later Henry was born. Or Gold says to fulfill the favor deal, kiss me, and the rest is history.
Of course it was the first one to say drugs and booze would begin the road to true love, but details details, I happen to be a fan of that road.
That Twyla Mercedes managed to have a great deal of fun with this story. She took a grossly underused pairing and not only made it work, but considering how early it was in the entire series she made it all her own. Her own rules for magic, her own relationships, her own characters, her own side stories and back stories and upside down stories to go along with the series.
She also managed, back in season one, to predict the appearance of not only the Snow Queen, but the Wicked Witch of the West. Now she may have made them her own characters, with all the before mentioned stories to them, but there's a part of me, especially during most of season 4B that wished that one of those relationships, any of them at all, was what was actually going on with Rumpelstiltskin instead of the fiasco that we dare not name.
And the sequel, The Goblin and his Bride, is also a favorite.
