Dear reader kind enough to click on my profile, if you remember any of the stories listed below as being written by DjinniFires, let me assure you that Debrah Clachair is the same writer under a different nom. The nom is still not my real name (because the thought of writing under my real name makes the muscles in the back of my neck knot up), but I plan to write a whole lot more stories using it. For anyone who read The Potions Master - Redux, the title The Forbidden Potion is new but the story is the same. Sorry, no sequel!

Background for Waylaid (Once Upon a Time): In Storybrooke, Maine, storybook characters live in exile. Once victims of a powerful curse that suppressed memories of their origins, they're now free from the fog of forgetfulness. Instead, they vacillate between two identities—one from the land of ogres and evil queens; the other from the land of hamburgers and cell phones. They differ on which holds the brighter promise of happily ever after.

The characters, in order of appearance, not order of importance:

In Neverland, Smee was Captain Hook's right hand man. In Storybrooke, he delivers bouquets for Moe the florist.

In fairy tale land, Mr. Gold (lawyer-pawnbroker-antique restorer) was the wizard Rumplestiltskin (spinner of gold, maker of deals, the Dark One). He was also Belle's beloved Beast—but when beastliness is more than skin deep, even true love's kiss can't fix a rocky relationship. After the curse broke, Mr. Gold brought magic to Storybrooke. The ability to toss a fireball comes in handy with annoying customers. As part of the curse, everyone's fairy tale *stuff* ended up in Gold's shop. Now that they remember what they're missing, they want it back.

Ruby (waitress at Granny's Diner) was Red (as in Riding Hood) who shapeshifted into a wolf for a few nights every month. Now that Storybrooke has magic, she fears the effects of the full moon.

When Mr. Gold learned Regina (the Evil Queen) had Belle locked up in a psych ward during the long years of the curse, he was... displeased. After promising noble-hearted Belle not to kill Regina, he conjured a wraith to torture her soul. Emma Swan and Mary-Margaret (Snow White), selfless heroines, chased the wraith through a portal to protect Regina—then got sucked into fairy tale land with it. Regina escaped unscathed.

Dr. Archie Hopper (psychologist) was Jiminy Cricket. All things considered, he's happier in Storybrooke. At least he's not a bug.

Acting Sheriff David Nolan (Prince Charming) is married to Snow White. Their daughter Emma, separated from them as a baby, grew up outside Storybrooke as a normal earth girl (tough with intimacy issues) while they remained the same age in time-warped Storybrooke. She spent her 29th year in Storybrooke. At the end of it, her love for her son Henry (adopted as a baby by Regina) broke the curse.

Thomas (teenage dad working in the Storybrooke Cannery) is Cinderella's Prince.

In fairy tale land, Moe the florist was Sir Maurice. In exchange for Rumplestiltskin saving his town from ogres, he'd allowed his daughter Belle to become the Dark One's housekeeper. Moe is much happier being responsible for house plants in Storybrooke.

Soldier Mulan and Princess Aurora (Sleeping Beauty) are among the handful of characters left behind in fairy tale land; when the story opens, they're teamed up there with Emma and Snow White.

When baby Emma was sent to earth, so was Pinocchio. He grew up to be novelist August Wayne Booth (liars make the best writers). During the 29th year of the curse, he began reverting to wood. Understandably alarmed, he came to Storybrooke where he tricked Mr. Gold (Rumplestiltskin) into thinking he was his long lost son Baelfire so he could get his hands on the magic dagger that had granted Rumplestiltskin his Dark One powers. When Mr. Gold unmasked the lie, he was... displeased. Being a crazy badass, he pinned the younger man against a tree with the dagger. When he heard Pinocchio's motive, he relented but—since Storybrooke under the curse lacked magic—couldn't help. When the curse broke, Pinocchio disappeared.

Neal Cassidy is Baelfire's earth name. He's Emma's true love—if he can manage to get off her shit list. Eleven years earlier he ditched her, not knowing she was pregnant. In Waylaid, he spent the years between leaving his father behind in the Enchanted Forest and growing up on earth as Peter Pan (for those who follow the show, this is a major divergence—in Waylaid there is no "evil Pan").

FAN FICTION WRITING

What I love about writing fan fiction—

The chance to play in other writers’ worlds

For movies/TV, the chance to explore what can’t be shown on screen: what the characters are thinking (that the actors in my favorite works are so masterful at implying)

The chance to do what the play “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead” did—show what happens when characters walk offstage.

The chance to pick up the loose threads that all writers drop—sometimes just wisps of fluff—and see where they might lead.

The chance to play “The Great Game” with my favorite worlds. This term is from the first great fandom, Sherlockians, who realized it was fun to attempt to resolve anomalies and clarify implied details of Arthur Conan Doyle’s books and stories.

What I hate about writing fan fiction—

Lack of reviews! I also hate a lack of being faved and followed, of course, but it's the reviews that would give me clues as to what to improve.

My favorite types of characters—

Tragic villains (who often--though, not always—turn out to be heroes)—Rumplestiltskin/Mr. Gold (Once Upon a Time), Elim Garak (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine), Nichole Wallace (Law and Order: Criminal Intent), Severus Snape (Harry Potter; yes, his "villainy" is mostly in the realm of snarkiness, but he's so snarky), Lucien LaCroix (Forever Knight), Claude Frollo (The Hunchback of Notre Dame, the original Victor Hugo version, possibly the Cedric Hardwicke movie version, but not the Disney version), Barnabus Collins (the original Jonathan Frid portrayal in Dark Shadows), Angelique (the original Lara Parker portrayal in Dark Shadows), Brian de Bois-Guilbert (Ivanhoe), Dinobot (Beast Wars), Blackarachnia (Beast Wars), and characters played by Peter Lorre.

Massively troubled but impressively competent heroes—Sherlock Holmes (particularly as portrayed by Jeremy Brett or Benedict Cumberbatch but also Jonny Lee Miller), Robert Goren (Law and Order: Criminal Intent), Rogue (X-Men), Dr. Nicholas Rush (Star Gate Universe), Dr. Anthony Hill (Wire in the Blood), Quasimodo (Charles Laughton's versionhe's competent enough to keep the mob from attacking Notre Dame), Mara (MaraDaughter of the Nile), Spock (the original Leonard Nimoy portrayal in Star Trek), Odo (Deep Space Nine), Spike Spiegel (Cowboy Bebop), several of the X-Men.

Common man heroes with goodhearted common sense—Emma Swan (Once Upon a Time), Dr. John Watson (particularly Martin Freeman's version), James Rockford (The Rockford Files), Harry Potter, Hermione Granger (no need to cite), Puss 'n' Boots (though I like the Shrek movie version, I'm talking about the original fairy tale version), Aladdin (in this case I am talking about the animated version—Disney's), Frodo Baggins, Samwise Gamgee and the rest of the Hobbits, characters played by Jimmy Stewart, Henry Fonda, Danny Kaye.