ONC Upon a Time - 2025 Reading List
44 stories
Her Elora | ONC 2025 by _p1nk_tr4sh_
_p1nk_tr4sh_
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Elora isn't like other girls. Because she's a faerie. The wings, the pointy ears, the sparkles-- she's got it all. She's also not like other girls because it's not often that one is ripped from royalty, whisked away by a thief with long dark hair and stormy blue eyes. With her new captor in tow, the flames of a potential uprising boil over, and Elora is caught in the crossfire. Life is about to get a lot more spicy. And not just because her captor is hot. Definitely not because of that, even if it's true. Um, Stockholm Syndrome who? Will Elora manage a chance at better days, even with her turbulent fate? Or is she forever someone else's treasure and nothing more?
Windsor Lane by spelunkadunk
spelunkadunk
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    Parts 17
When Rosie's new husband ignores her, she begs the harlot next-door for lessons on seduction (1980s suburban dystopia with a spicy lesbian romance) *** It's 1982, and newlywed Rosie McGee has just moved into an idealistic suburban cul-de-sac called Windsor Lane. As a good Christian girl, this is Rosie's dream come true... or at least, it should be. However, next-door-neighbor Scarlett Everly doesn't fit in with the rest of the good Christian wives in their neighborhood (she drinks, she sleeps around, and she doesn't even attend church!). Worse, Rosie's new husband suddenly seems utterly uninterested in her. Has he already been seduced by Scarlett? Or is Rosie simply too boring? After a honeymoon more closely resembling a funeral, Rosie gathers her courage and marches right up to Scarlett's door with a plea: teach me your ways. Scarlett agrees, with one condition: Rosie must model for her next painting. When the agreement leads to unexpected attraction, Rosie begins to question her own priorities. The warmth she once felt when holding Thomas's hand is nothing compared to what she feels when Scarlett is painting her. But a good Christian girl should not think of such things. Especially not in Windsor Lane. Grand Winner for the Pride Awards 2025 Honorable Mention in ONC 2025 ONC 2025 prompt 53: On your honeymoon, you discover the most shocking truth about your spouse--one that could change everything. Also prompt 118: You're feeling trapped in your current relationship and can't shake the urge to break free.
Time of My Lives (ONC 2025) by CemeteryFaerie
CemeteryFaerie
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    Parts 17
This is an ONC 2025 story! When Maya decided to take a yoga class to get out of attempting an actual sport, she had no idea that she was about to unlock memories of a past life, or that she'd accidentally travel to that past and find her current self in the middle of unexpected danger involving Gods, Goddesses, and an evil entity who killed someone she cared about. Can Maya change the past and save the day? More importantly, what will happen if she tries?
The God Codex: SURVIVAL MODE by evacharya
evacharya
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    Parts 6
In 2081, Mia has survived two attempts on her life-and learned she's far cooler than her best friend, Nate. But surviving a mad scientist after the proprietary tech inside her body is nothing compared to becoming the most wanted fugitive, with a bounty on her head. The surface is still off-limits, humanity lives underground, and CodeTech controls their every move-without their knowledge or consent. Scientists are scrambling to recreate Dr. Amour's rumoured, lost technology-tech that promised to improve their quality of life-but the government would rather see it destroyed. Mia knows the truth: life in the bunkers is no life at all. Her mission is clear-destroy CodeTech and free humanity from absolute control, as Grandpa intended her to do. To do that, she must trust that snarky voice in her head that isn't hers, fight like her life depends on it, and elude the mad scientist still hunting her. But to reach CodeTech's heart-the Hive-she must infiltrate the very government hunting her, and navigate every danger standing in her way. Easy-peasy, right? *** This is the long-awaited sequel to my 2021 Watty winning Sci-Fi, THE GOD CODEX. The story will continue from where the last book ended. Prompt 79 (modified): Instead of robotic rulers, this story has humans, high on power, and the lengths they'll go to control the population. All rights reserved, Eva Acharya 2025.
On A Winter Afternoon [ONC2025] by MelisandeScott
MelisandeScott
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    Parts 40
Markus has left everything behind to live in a remote cabin near a lake. He wants to be alone, but in the middle of a snowstorm, a stranger knocks at his door and asks for shelter. Prompt 44: In the middle of a storm, a stranger arrives at your cabin, and you offer them shelter. But the storm's forecast says you'll be stuck for much longer than expected. This novella is a standalone but is set in the For Centuries universe.
Orcs, Tea, and Revolution (A Cozy Fantasy written for ONC 2025) by lisa_london_
lisa_london_
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    Parts 21
Combine a mountain filled with rugged orcs with a mysteriously arrived shop serving delicate cups of tea. Could this be the start of a revolution? **** On Orc Mountain, there is nothing but dirt, smoke, and backbreaking labor in the mines. There are no colors, no sun, no breaks for rest. There is definitely no tea. That is, until a mysterious tea shop appears in the orcs' domain. Glimmering in blue and pink, it stands out against the rugged backdrop. At first, the hardened inhabitants of the mountain are understandably leery about the malpositioned shop, wondering how it got there and why. Lava, a dedicated supervisor at the mines, takes it upon herself to investigate the suddenly-arrived business. Stepping inside, she meets Jasper, the bubbly fairy shopkeeper, who offers her a fragrant brew. Once Lava takes a sip, the sweet yet bitter taste pulls her in, making her clamor for more. Soon, all orcs are hooked on tea, but something sinister is brewing under the surface. When Lava catches Jasper conducting a secret meeting in a backroom, the true purpose of the tea shop is revealed. Soon she is forced to choose between her newfound passion for tea (and Jasper) and her dedication to the mountain's mining operations. *** Legends & Lattes x Shrek *** An ONC novella using prompt #15: A mysterious tea shop suddenly appears and you can't help but wonder: what's its true purpose, and why does it seem so important?
The Taste of Iron by Easterhead
Easterhead
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    Parts 37
Humanity is struggling to survive in a world that's no longer theirs. Liv, a scavenger leading missions to the edges of the city for food, medicine, and iron, knows things are getting worse. Every trip feels more desperate than the last. Humanity has an expiration date-the forest, and the creatures that dwell there, just have to wait them out. When a mission turns out to be a trap and Liv wakes up on the wrong side of the tree line-alone, disoriented, and for some reason not dead-she learns the forest doesn't just kill people or take their souls. It changes them. She doesn't know what she's becoming. Only that it's something way stronger than what she was. And that killing things never felt this good. Murderbot meets The Cruel Prince-with a whole lot of psychological horror My entry for onc2025, based on prompt 125: I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain. - Frank Herbert
Damnatio Memoriae [ONC 2025] by empiresofwater
empiresofwater
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    Parts 24
When Rosalin arrives in the imperial capital, Livia, she carries with her a burden of secrets. Her purpose is not what she says aloud. But Rosalin is not the only one shrouded in lies: there is no sign of Empress Cassyna's twin sister, Servina, and everyone speaks of her as if she is a ghost. What Rosalin hoped would be a journey to save her and her family's lives turns into a game of power and peril. A feud between two rival siblings is written in Livian history and myth, but this is no tale of goddesses in heaven. This will endanger the whole empire. [ONC 2025 - PROMPT 66]
Cheer me up by iliamah
iliamah
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    Parts 12
You're not the shy, bookish heroine who bumps into the quarterback and wins his heart. You're Avery King-blonde, beautiful, terrifying. The head cheerleader. The villainess. The one who's supposed to get dumped while the central couple kisses under the fireworks. Except... plot twist: you've read this book before. And you're not playing along. After dying under suspiciously tropey circumstances, Helen Jones wakes up in the body of her least favorite character from Yearbook Yearnings-a chaotic high school romance filled with over-the-top drama, unexplained superpowers, and a reverse harem made of angsty boys. Now she's Avery King. According to the system, she has one job: follow the script, sabotage the heroine, and die before the final chapter. Yeah... no thanks. Instead, Avery's rewriting the plot-one fake smile and a closet full of backup cheer uniforms at a time. But the story's evolving too. The school crawls with vampires, werewolves, ghosts, aliens... and an angel ready to fall for their sake. And if that wasn't enough? The secret storylines are beginning to unravel. Why? Because every hundred years, the moon chooses two guardians to protect its light. This time, it chose two girls, two soulmates who always find each other, and always fall apart: The heroine... and the villainess. For fans of My Next Life as a Villainess, Scum Villain's Self-Saving System, and Legally Blonde (with a little Buffy the Vampire Slayer thrown in), Cheer Me Up is a sapphic, chaotic, genre-bending comedy where the villain gets a redemption arc, the heroine gets a girlfriend, and the world might just get saved-if Avery can survive high school. Again.