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Fairy Tale AU
| Tropes and genres | |
|---|---|
| Related tropes/genres | AU, Fusion, Fantasy |
| See also | Elf AU, Royalty AU, Historical AU, Fairytale Romance |
 Art by alby_mangroves for The Long Road to Lynbrook (MCU) (2017) | |
| Related articles on Fanlore. | |
Fairy Tale AU, short for fairy tale alternative universe, are fanworks that take characters and put them in situations and/or settings from fairy tales. They include a wide range of stories: fusions with movies or books or the fairy tales the fanworks are based on, fanworks that only use some fairy tale elements, and fanworks that follow a classic "fairy tale romance" plot structure.
Most frequently fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Andersen, or Disney are used as inspiration, but works that use myths and fairy tales from other cultures exist as well.
Common tropes that are usually related to a Fairy Tale AU are curses (such as the sleeping curse), True Love, True Love's Kiss, and Fairy Godmothers. Princes and Princesses are also pretty common.
Fanworks
Fanfiction
- Joxer Fairy Tales, a gen Xena & Hercules zine with stories inspired by fairy tales
- Kuro to Ao by xparrot, a SGA story by based on Japanese myths
- The Travels of Lucky Luffy by hibem, a One Piece story that incorporates several fairy tale elements
- The Prince and the Captured Moon by oxoniensis, a (Merlin) story in which goblins capture the moon, and a brave prince rides out on a quest.
- Storytime, in which fairytales and classic literature are acted out by Doctor Who characters for the entertainment of their toddler versions.
- Merlin: Omen by Val_Creative. Sorcerers no longer existed. The man in the glass coffin must be dead. Pairing: Merlin/Arthur
- Supernatural: Impostor in A Strange Land by embroiderama. Jessica Moore wasn't who she seemed to be, but she still had to find her own way.
- Teen Wolf: Fairytale by cheesewithmy. Stiles had shifted around awkwardly by the dead animals, holding a sixty gallon trash bag, because his mom had loved cats, okay, and he wasn’t just going to leave those there to, like, rot, they were kitten sized for fuck’s sake. He’d been glad that he couldn’t smell whatever it was that was stressing his more lupine acquaintances out. And then Derek had growled, “Elves,” all fangs and red eyes.
- twisted this feeling walked out of shape by Merideath (Agent Carter, 2016) offers a twist on the "owing a witch your firstborn child" trope.
- West of the Moon, East of the Sun by KnifeEdge, was heavily influenced by a Norweigen fairytale, East of the Sun and West of the Moon
- When the Moon Fell in Love with the Sun by Mejhiren, Hunger Games story inspired by East of the Sun and West of the Moon
Zines
- Enchanted Omens - an anthology zine in Good Omens fandom focused on fairy tales and folklore. (2021)
Example Art Gallery
Beauty and the Beast Inspired
Art from Interphase Calendar by Gayle F. (Star Trek: TOS) (1977)
Art for The Rose and the Thorn, created for the GabeNath Mini Bang (Miraculous Ladybug) (2020)
Sleeping Beauty Inspired
Nobara/Maki Sleeping Beauty AU fanart by onyxstone14 (Jujutsu Kaisen) (2022)
East of the Sun and West of the Moon Inspired
poster by jackpotgirl created for When the Moon Fell in Love with the Sun (The Hunger Games) (2013)
Other
cover of The Prince and the Captured Moon, showing Merlin as the Man in the Moon (2009)
Resources
- Fairy Tale AU tag at the AO3
- Fairy Tale tag at Pinboard
Challenges
- Fairy Tale Challenge at SGA flashfic
- Reddie Fairytale Project, an It challenge (2018)
- Fairy Tale Inspired a multifandom exchange (2021-2022)
- KotLC Fairy Tale AU Exchange, a Keeper of the Lost Cities exchange (2024)