Happy Yuletide reveals and happy new year! This was my first year back on the Yuletide horse after sitting it out for a few years, and I wrote three things and got three things so it was a pretty great Yuletide!
My fic:
A Lingering Soul, Fantastic Four (Comicsverse), Johnny Storm & Valeria Richards, 7k, rated G.
“What about you?” Val asked Franklin suspiciously. “Don’t you want Uncle Johnny to teach you how to drive, too?”
If Franklin wanted Uncle Johnny to teach him how to drive, then Valeria could bow out gracefully, citing Franklin’s right to go first as the older sibling.
“I’ve met my older self,” Franklin said. “He’s a terrible driver and he told me that that’s the best it’s ever going to get, so I figure there’s no point.”
Valeria, Johnny, a homecoming, and the worst car in the world. Canon divergent after the beginning of Slott's run.
Fire in the Cold, Fantastic Four/Spider-Man (Comicsverse), Peter Parker/Johnny Storm, 8k, rated T.
“I’m Jewish,” Peter pointed out.
For some reason he couldn’t fathom, he hadn’t kicked Johnny to the curb after lunch, and now they were strolling through Central Park, elbows occasionally bumping, drawing looks from people who recognized Johnny as the world famous superhero and celebrity Human Torch and Peter, if he was lucky, as “that guy who used to date that supermodel.”
“Exactly!” Johnny said. “So it’s not like you have other plans.”
“Oy,” Peter said. “That’s offensive, you know that? You’re offending me right now. I don’t know why I bother even talking to you, it just goes in one ear and out the other.”
“So you’ll do it?” Johnny asked, proving Peter’s point entirely.
“I really get the distinct impression you’re not listening to me,” Peter said. “Look, just – break it down slowly for me, okay? Don’t pretend I’m privy to whatever goes on up there on Planet Storm. Why do you want me, specifically me, to pretend to be your boyfriend for your holiday trip?”
Johnny asks Peter to pretend to be his boyfriend for Christmas. Peter has a lot of feelings about it.
A Champion Ring, Spider-Man (Comicsverse), Kaine Parker/Flash Thompson, 13k, rated T.
“So why are you and your husband here then, Mr. Thompson?” Angelique, the resort’s founder who’d introduced herself to the group as a commitment counselor and, to Kaine's total mortification, sexologist, asked. “What areas of your life are you hoping will be enriched by your stay with us? You’re both young, and yet you’ve taken on so much responsibility, fostering two teenage girls. Let’s talk a little bit about the pressure there.”
If Kaine had to listen to her talk about responsibility for another thirty seconds, he was going to lose it. Flash had told him to sell it, so what the hell.
“He’s in love with my brother,” Kaine said bluntly.
Agent Venom asks for Kaine's help on a mission, Kaine overthinks everything, and there is Only One Bed.
I also got three amazing gifts!
Long Way to Happy by pariahsdream, Kaine Parker/Flash Thompson, 9.6k, rated T. Kaine and Flash keep in contact after the events of Minimum Carnage, somewhat grudgingly on Kaine's part. This is a really perfect exploration of Kaine through the events of Scarlet Spider and New Warriors, and his developing relationship with Flash is handled with so much care and detail. Also, Kaine and Aracely get a very ugly cat. It's perfect and I love it.
And Hearts Will Be Glowing by sometimesalways (cherryvanilla), Peter Parker/Johnny Storm, 2.7k, rated T. Johnny, Peter, and the first Christmas at the Usual Place after they get together. This is so lovely and sweet but there's a point in it where I started laughing and then didn't stop until the end. It's so good.
Be There When I’m Gone by sometimesalways (cherryvanilla), Peter Parker/Johnny Storm, 2k, rated M. I'm always really fascinated by the idea of alternate takes on Johnny and Peter's shared history if they had gotten together at any point during it, and how that shapes and changes the coming events of their respective canon, and this delivers on that beautifully. An alternate take on Fraction's run where Johnny asked Peter to take his spot on the team instead of Darla. Incredibly thoughtful with the canon, sweet and wonderful!
a path to belonging (society of gentlemen): gabriel ashleigh/francis webster, 2.4k, outsider pov, friendship & found family
marriage bed (queen’s thief): eugenides/irene, 3.9k, conspiracy of kings missing scene, people being extremely married
in the moments between (queen’s thief): eugenides/irene, 9.2k, 5 times they found some privacy and 1 time they let other people see them, spoilers for return of the thief in this one, also people being extremely married tbh
Tag Set for Yuletide 2021 is officially open! Nominations will run until Thursday, Sep. 30th (might be Wednesday, Sep. 29th depending on your timezone.
Full modpost with instructions here.
Eligibility Post: rules for what's eligible in Yuletide
Evidence Post: only necessary if your fandom is borderline or particularly obscure
Hi! I am also ardentaislinn on AO3. Thank you so much for volunteering to write one of my chosen fandoms! I really can’t wait to see what you come up with. Most importantly, I hope you have fun writing whichever of my fandoms it is. Any suggestions I make here are optional.
Here you’ll find:
My general likes
My DNWs
And prompts for the following fandoms:
반도 | Peninsula (2020) (aka Train to Busan 2) - Jung Seok, Min Jung, Joon Yi, Yoo Jin
Free Guy (2021) - Millie Rusk, Walter “Keys” McKeys
Automatic (1995) - J269, Nora Rochester
Zombie Detective | 좀비탐정 - Kim Moo Young/Kang Min Ho, Gong Sun Ji
You Can't Sit With Us - Sunmi (Music Video) - Any (Girl Gang Leader, Girl Gang Member with Slicked Back Hair, Girl Gang Member with Pink Machine Gun, Worldbuilding)
My Likes:
I like getting together fics most of all. I love almost every kind of romance trope (fake dating, slow burn, enemies/rivals-to-lovers, “unrequited” pining (that is really requited), marriage of convenience/arranged marriage, bed sharing, trapped together, etc.) Also, casefic, epistolary fic, consent, forbidden pleasures, beta heroes, found families, masquerades, military kink, physical imperfections, ladies being badass and female relationships (whether romantic or friendship), relationships that build tension before exploding, first kisses, equal relationships, competence, communication, U/RST, positive endings.
You may notice from the below that my ships mostly involve sweet and occasionally broken men being secretly head over heels for badass ladies, (and usually not feeling worthy). So that dynamic is strongly encouraged.
I also like smut, but it certainly isn’t a necessity. For smut, I’m (sadly) fairly vanilla. But I like light bondage, cunnilingus, shower sex, and accidental/consensual voyeurism, (Particularly guys taking matters into their own hands when they think they can’t be with their lady, and the woman stumbling across him mid-act. Possibly my favourite kink ever? Writer’s choice whether the woman joins in or gets embarrassed)
Happy endings (or at least hopeful endings) are preferred. Like, super, super preferred. I don’t mind angst at all, but it kinda has to be on the way out of the darkness by the end.
I have noticed that this year I've requested fics with interesting crossover potential - particularly with regards to Korean zombie canons. It was a total accident - I'm usually neither here nor there on crossovers - but I'm totally down this year if it inspires you!
Dislikes/DNWs:
Miserable endings. Death of requested characters. Baby/Pregnancy fic. Humiliation. Drug use/drug mentions/addiction. Self harm/abuse. Non-con/rape. Heavy kink. A/B/O. M-Preg. Incest. Bestiality, animal harm etc. Underage sexual content. 1st person POV (unless for epistolary). Not big on high school AUs or Rock band AUs. Unbalanced power dynamics in ships without acknowledging/exploring that.
A quick note on the Korean names - I’m fine with however you choose to transliterate them. Hyphen/no hyphen, slight differences in romanisation, etc. Just do what you are comfortable with and I’ll adjust no problem. No need to add the honourifics, though
I think that’s it?
And so, to the fandoms, in no particular order:
반도 | Peninsula (2020) (aka Train to Busan 2)
Jung Seok, Min Jung, Joon Yi, Yoo Jin
While maybe objectively not as good a film as the first one, I still enjoyed the hell out of it. Given that it was essentially a cross between Escape From New York and Mad Max, what isn’t to love? I loved the expansion of the world and the clever uses of zombies in the chase scenes. And I loved that the message was that being logical and self-sacrificing isn’t always the right choice - sometimes you should be driven by heart and empathy. And I really liked the idea that anything can mean happiness when you love and are loved in return - particularly in regards to Joon Yi, but also Jung Seok (and his found family?).
I would love if Jung Seok and Min Jung got together. I do think it would be a bit emotionally messy - they both have baggage (and likely PTSD), but that could be interesting to explore.
What would interest me the most in this fandom is post-movie fics. But if you wanna do a canon divergent/au thing, I’d be cool with that, too.
Some prompts:
Joon Yi struggles a lot more than her sister to readjust to a “normal” life
In order to stay together after being rescued, Jung Seok and Min Jung have to pretend to be married
After four long years of loneliness, Min Jung just wants to be touched
Jung Seok isn’t surprised to find himself in love with Min Jung - and wanting to be a father to her girls - but is he good enough for them? He’s left them behind once - can he forgive himself? Can Min Jung?
The zombie plague escapes from Korea - and Jung Seok, Min Jung, and her girls are the closest thing to experts on how to fight back and contain it that the authorities have. Will their nightmare never be over? Or is this a chance to end it once and for all?
With Min Jung in hospital while her leg heals, Jung Seok suddenly finds himself a surrogate father to two very unruly girls.
Jung Seok and Min Jung end up writing letters to each other - maybe after Jung Seok is drafted into the zombie-fighting army. (Or maybe Min Jung is the one who is drafted and he looks after the girls?) I imagine it might be awkward at first but both of them could grow to love it.
A bit of Worldbuilding? We've seen a bit of what the world is like outside of Korea, but maybe an expansion of that elsewhere through the eyes of one of these characters.
Their first X together as a family? (Christmas, Chuseok, etc) Is it melancholy or filled with relief? Or both?
The family team up with the characters from Zombie Detective or You Can't Sit With Us and aren't quite sure what to make of them.
I'm happy if you want to write a story featuring/focusing on just the adults or just the kids!
Free Guy (2021)
Millie Rusk, Walter “Keys” McKeys
This movie was so much fun! I thought I'd enjoy it before going into it, but I liked it even more than expected. I liked that it tried to have a message about treating people (even fictional ones) better. And that your fate isn't written. But it didn't take itself too seriously. I was highly entertained.
Given that I'm trash for stories where men pine for women who (they think) are too good for them, I clearly shipped Millie and Keys together. I was really surprised but happy with how they resolved things between her and Guy. Ultimately, I'd love more of the getting together part of this ship but also post- and pre-canon would be good, too!
Prompts:
What happens during/after the kiss? Do they go straight to bed or do they have some lingering things to clear up first?
What kind of adventures do they get up to together inside the game? Or a different game they didn't create?
Does the memory of Millie kissing Guy (twice!) cause some lingering jealousy for Keys?
How does Millie feel about Keys' porno cop look IRL?
What did their first meeting look like? And how were the early days of their friendship?
Millie and Keys must use their software development/gaming skills to save the (real?) world.
What happens if some of the AIs from the game somehow get downloaded into the real world like coma patients or experimental robots? What kind of chaos ensues? If Antwan finds out he'll try to use it to his advantage, so how do they stop him?
An AU in which Millie didn't watch the video or didn't figure out what it meant?
Millie and Keys try to play wingman for Guy.
Given that a lot of this canon happens online - feel free to use chat logs or other formats to tell a story!
Automatic (1995)
J269, Nora Rochester
This movie is pretty obscure and hard to find, so here's a link on YouTube!
I love cyborg movies. I love almost-innocent heroes that need to learn how to Person, and the heroines that see them as more human than they are. Despite the obviously low budget of this movie, it’s one of my absolute favourite versions of this trope.
I’m most interested in post-canon fic for this, but I’d really be so thrilled to read anything! I’m fairly certain there’s no fic at all for this movie.
Prompts:
What happens after the movie ends? The two are now on the run. How do they survive? What do they learn about the world and each other? Are there other cyborgs out there? Are they being hunted? This is an opportunity to explore further world-building, too!
How does Nora deal with learning what she did about herself at the end of the movie? (Trying not to spoil it!) She’s probably pretty traumatised and maybe kind of angry about everything that happened.
Did they meet before the movie starts, but one or both had their memories wiped?
What’s their first time like?
J269 learning how to be a person and everything that entails. What kind of mistakes does he make that almost give the game away? What does he like and dislike about being “human”?
J269 dealing with Feelings for the first time and not knowing what to do with them. Nora wants him to make a move but he doesn’t quite Get It.
If they are on the run...bed sharing. Huddling for warmth. U/RST. Fake-relationship. Trope-y goodness.
Zombie Detective | 좀비탐정
Kim Moo Young | Kang Min Ho, Gong Sun Ji
Admittedly I wasn't sure what to make of this show at first. It's a horror comedy, and those two elements don't always mesh perfectly. But I ended up really liking it! It's silly at times but that's part of the fun.
The thing I liked most was actually the clever way they explained how he could be a zombie but also a functional person. Basically someone with special powers but also kinda dead? Amazing. If you want to do a bit of world building around this element I'd be cool with that, too. But also, around how being a zombie and being in a relationship works.
I like that he's a mixture of confidence and feeling unworthy. I feel like his line at the end "How can anyone date a zombie?" is something that he kinda believes and kinda doesn't. I like that! And I like that she's spunky and brave and has her own strengths to match his.
Prompts:
What happens when Moo Young meets another zombie like him? Is it evil? Is it a pretty girl? Is it an evil, pretty girl? Is Sun Ji jealous?
There are zombies in this world, so are there vampires? Werewolves? Ghosts? Gumihos? Do Moo Young and Sun Ji fight with them or team up with them? Or does Sun Ji become a supernatural creature herself?
Casefic! Maybe the murder at the end is more complicated than it first appears? Or maybe one of their friends goes missing?
Fake relationship? Bed sharing? Other tropey goodness?
What happens right after they meet again at the Halloween party? How do they get together from there?
Can Moo Young even get it up? Being dead and all. Does he have to find other ways to please Sun Ji?
I know I said no pregnancy/baby fic and usually that's true...but in this case I'm weirdly fascinated by the idea of Sun Ji getting pregnant by a zombie and whatever half-dead superpowered baby might result. Consider it world building? And whatever emotional consequences it might have for the characters. Happiness? Certainly. Nerves? Probably. Horror? Potentially…
I assume that they make at least some of their money by finding missing people (dead or alive) with Moo Young's special sense of smell. This could be funny or poignant, depending, but maybe they also get in trouble with the law? How do they explain...everything?
Can Moo Young ever really be human again? What if Sun Ji decides she doesn't want him to be?
You Can't Sit With Us - Sunmi (Music Video)
Any (Girl Gang Leader, Girl Gang Member with Slicked Back Hair, Girl Gang Member with Pink Machine Gun, Worldbuilding)
Link to the music video!
This music video is extremely up my alley. Mostly the part when cute girls in cute clothes start killing the crap out of zombies! It's very my jam.
So I'd love an expansion on that idea! I'm undecided on whether the zombie outbreak has been happening for a while and the women were just shocked to find them invading a safe oasis, or whether the zombies are a new threat. Either way is fine for me!
While I'm not really married to a romance in this canon, if it inspires you I'd prefer f/f or f/f/f, but background m/f is fine too if you want to keep the girls as friends! I don’t have any headcanons on names for these characters, but if possible please don’t name them after the actresses (eg Sunmi).
Prompts:
Origin story! How did the girls meet? How did they get their skills and weapon cache? Were they a gang of assassins before the zombie outbreak or did they learn after the fact? Were they enemies or friends first?
What happens after the video? It looks like the leader and her zombie boyfriend are about to get arrested. How do her friends get her out of that mess? (Both the arrest and the boyfriend?)
What kind of adventures do they have together in the apocalypse? How do they keep their clothes looking cute and their hair perfect? (This can be a little tongue in cheek if you’d like!) Are they the Cher Horowitzs of the apocalypse?
Crossover with one of my other zombie requests! Do the family from Peninsula meet the girls on their travels? Do the girls try to kill Moo Young from Zombie Detective and then bond with Sun Ji? You can even make the girls villains or antagonists if you like!
This definitely had a mix of retro vibes - flip phones and video stores, etc, with the song itself and the apartment more 80s - was this set in an alternate universe? A simulation? A video game? Or did they create this world themselves as a nostalgic refuge?
The girls have a rival gang that's a bit T-birds to their pink ladies. Maybe also an all-girl gang? Do they compete for kills? Reluctantly help each other? Kiss each other? Try to kill each other? All of the above?
There's a From Dusk Til Dawn reference in there. Are there also vampires around? Does one of the girls become a vampire or a zombie and her friends have to help her?
An arranged marriage situation? Idk, it's the apocalypse, go wild!
What do celebrations look like in this world? Holidays, weddings, etc?
How did the world get to where we see it in the video? I’d be down for an unusual format for this one - letters/reports/diaries/other in-universe documents.
Thank you so much! I'm sure I'll enjoy whatever you write but I hope this letter holds some useful inspiration for you!
I didn’t have this blog during Yuletide, so I’m just going to share them here! I wrote five fics (~35K words) in a short span of time, so I’m pretty proud. Fics are Beth/Benny unless otherwise specified.
Beth Harmon Post-Moscow, fake dating Benny Watts, and discovering what’s real and what’s not.
Originally made by dcnnatroya.
Like wildfire in dry summer heat, the news spreads overnight.
Lee publishes his scoop announcing the relationship between Watts and Harmon, from his recollection of Cleveland ‘67 to today, Atlanta ‘69. They give him a few more crumbs but remain tight-lipped about any other details, like for how long and how serious and why. While Benny’s tongue is a talented shade of silver, Beth’s is not, so she avoids lying directly.
They try to outwit each other in some perpetual motion wheel, chasing each other like the blades of a fan, like the Manicheans from her Methuen theology textbook that illustrate the world as an infinite struggle between light and dark.
Competitively, Beth never plays like Beth, and Benny never plays like Benny. If this were the bedroom, it’d be some kind of roleplay.
(3) your past becomes your present if it's always on your mind
for Arsenic | Beth & Jolene DeWitt, Jolene & Original Female Characters, Jolene / Original Male Character, T, 2.9K
Canon and post-canon fill-in Jolene-centric narrative.
Originally made by behbuh.
Jolene watches Beth, lifer no more, pack by the candlelight of her nightstand.
Beth accuses her of taking her book; Jolene tries not to let the sarcasm seep too deeply into her tone.
So color Jolene surprised when Beth says quietly, eyes averted, “I’m sorry you didn’t get adopted.”
If even Beth is noticing something off with Jolene, then everyone probably knows that Jolene is angry.
“Shit. I make out just fine right here.” Jolene plays it off, turns around, and grits her teeth to sleep.
She doesn’t hug Beth goodbye. From a window, she watches Fergusson and Deardorff load Beth’s briefcase into the backseat of her new home, the mother full of hope and the father decidedly less so, and she watches Beth try to wave goodbye to Mr. Shaibel. Good riddance, Jolene thinks.
(4) the path through the mirrored maze
for thisismetrying | M, 10K, Dec. 2021, with dialectica_esoterica
Post-Moscow dementia fic. Beth/Benny POV. Warning(s): major character death
Originally made by onceandfuturehimbo.
“I still feel like I’m losing my mind.”
“Is it because you still feel like taking the vitamins?”
Beth shakes her head furiously. “No, not like that. Just...there are blank spots. I can see games still, but once they’re over, I can’t remember them. Like my memory’s not recording correctly.”
Jolene’s immediate instinct is to deny it. “No, no, you’re not.” Jolene takes a deep, wavering breath and says, “Well, hopefully things are okay long enough for you to come to my law school graduation in August.”
“I did say I would be there for you, just like you are for me.” Yeah, it’s a little mushy, but it’s more or less a direct quote from their conversation a couple months ago before Moscow. Beth’s smile reassures Jolene that she’s right, she’ll be okay for long enough.
After a hearty meal, Beth excuses herself to use the restroom.
She’s gone for ten minutes. Jolene opens a book to read.
She’s gone for thirty minutes. The waiter comes by the bill, and Jolene wonders if something has gone terribly, terribly wrong.
She pays and starts combing the promenade for her friend. How hard can it be to lose someone with such vibrant hair?
-
“José Capablanca was a prodigy and lived his life handed to him on a silver platter, eschewed books and formal study for food and women and booze. They say the coroner put his ego as the cause of death. Alekhine played obsessively for years and years, became World Champion and then the alcoholic that showed up to every game drunk. His dead body was found hunched over a chess board. At least Beth isn’t like them.”
“Harry?”
“Yeah?”
“Shut up.”
Bonus fic that wasn’t finished in time but I enjoyed writing anyway:
(5) The Start of Something New
for paperclipbitch | E, 5K
New Year's Eve hate-kiss. High School Musical Fusion AU, enemies-to-lovers fic ft. canon-typical sexually charged chess for B2.
Beth Harmon and Benny Watts have an instant connection over chess, along with spades of hatred and attraction. From their first meeting they can’t stop fighting, and it’s all very confusing. No knowledge of High School Musical franchise required.
Originally made by smallscreensource.
Made by faearies.
“You know what? Someday you might thank me for this,” Hilton calls as he leaves.
The Boy-With-Really-Fine-Hair takes the seat next to her, where he deliberately keeps his eyes off any one person, trained instead on the chessboard, as if he can’t help himself. He enunciates carefully at his friend’s back, “Go to hell.”
“Or not,” mutters Hilton, sauntering away with a cheerful spring in his step.
-
She’s interrupted by a shout behind them: Ten! Nine!
The New Year’s countdown has begun. Well, that’s not going to keep her from shouting at him. “You arrogant jerk, there’s no way that the knight move is stronger, you need it for a defense against the threat of—”
Notes: For @hyggescribbles. I’m so sorry this is late! I wanted this to be on time, but never got around to finishing yesterday. Hope you enjoy! Also, big thanks to @loonysama for setting up the Yuletide event!
Summary: When Kristoff's mother signed him up to go on a bachelor game show in order to help him find a date, what he gets is not what he expected.
Find it here on Ao3
Kristoff wasn’t planning to spend his Saturday night on a bachelor game show, in fact, he never planned to spend his time doing anything like this at any point in his life. He was never one who enjoyed being around people much and being the town’s mechanic was oftentimes seen fixing cars in his shop or taking his dog Sven out for a walk. But, his mother stopped by his cabin last night to drop off some dinner before surprising him with the news that she had signed him up for some kind of bachelor show to help him find a date. Which led him to where he is now.
He loved his mother to death, but her crazy love antics could be a lot for a guy who preferred solitude to handle. She wanted him to find that special someone to spend the rest of his life with, but some people were just destined to be alone.
Oh well. They were on the last round of the game show anyways and there were only two contestants left, so there was no turning back now. Besides, it’s not like this had to go anywhere past one date with the winning girl. After the first date, he would just politely explain how he ended up in this situation and tell her that he had no interest in taking things any further. But, when the lights flashed, signaling that there was a winner, Kristoff’s heart dropped into his chest when he saw who it was. The petite redhead with freckled cheeks and the most dazzling pair of blues eyes looked at him from across the room, her cheeks blushing as she tucked a strand of stray hair behind her ear. He cursed under his breath; he was hoping she wouldn’t be the so-called “lucky winner'' - though he considered anyone who had to go on a date with him unlucky - because she had been the only one out of all the contestants that had actually managed to capture his attention. He was a dead man.
———
Kristoff looked at himself in the mirror. He was dressed in a nice, long-sleeved, white linen shirt, and instead of jeans, he wore his best pair of black pants with a black leather belt to hold them up. To finish his look off, he added a pair of nice shiny dress shoes and tried to comb back his hair to the best of his efforts - although some strands hung down just above his eyebrows. Sven barked his approval as if he was telling Kristoff to stop fretting over his looks, and he knew that he should listen to him, but he couldn’t help but worry; tonight was the night of the date and though it would be their first and only their first, Kristoff felt that the least he could do was dress up.
The game show had given him the opportunity to learn a little bit about her, so he wasn’t going into this totally blind thank goodness. He also learned that her name was Anna, a name that he believed matched her beauty.
Checking his wristwatch he gave himself one final curt nod, hoping to soothe the ball of nerves that was beginning to form in his stomach. However, as he grabbed his keys before heading out the door, snow started raining down hard; the huge snowflakes covering the trees in the distance in a sheet of white.
A frustrated groan escaped his lips, there was no way he would be able to drive in this. He shot Anna a text explaining his “unfortunate” predicament, however, he didn’t really consider it as such as he never wanted to go on the date in the first place. Too bad he inherited his mother’s heart of gold. No, instead of ending things there and continuing on with his life of solitude, he just had to offer her to come over to his place as an alternative option. And of course , to his insane amount of good luck, she had to accept.
However, that still didn’t resolve the issue of just how Anna was gonna get there. He didn’t know - well neither knew - of where the other lived and he certainly couldn’t use his car, especially since that was the reason she was coming over in the first place.
His dad did have that big sleigh he used to give people rides around town on snowy days just like this. If Anna didn’t live too far away and if his dad didn’t mind - which he knew he wouldn’t since the man was just as desperate for him to get a girlfriend as his mother - he could ask him to pick her up and bring her here. And seeing as there were no other alternative options or any more ideas of transportation he could think of, he texted his dad asking if it was okay, to which agreed to the plan - not to the surprise of Kristoff. The next step was, of course, to message Anna and make sure she was okay with it - which she was. She sent him her house address which he then forwarded to his dad. She told him if he got lost, to look for the house with the light-up reindeer on her lawn and a giant red door with a hanging wreath that had small elements of Yule tidings on it.
———
It was about an hour or so later when Kristoff heard a soft knock at his door. He grunted, getting up from his chair taking a deep breath before turning the knob to reveal Anna with a timid look written all over her face.
She was wearing a peach-colored scarf and a little matching puffball hat that had flattened her bangs against her head. The look was simple, but she looked absolutely breathtaking.
“Hi,” she gave a little wave with her gloved hand and blushed a little at the awkward silence that followed.
Kristoff was in a total stupor standing there in complete silence for what must’ve been a minute or maybe more. Her blush is what causes him to snap out of his reverie. Great, she probably thought she was on a date with some freak now that led naive people into his home and were never heard from again.
“Oh uh…come in. Don’t want to let the frostbite bite.” He moved out of the doorway to let her in, waving thanks to his dad as he closed the door and shuffled his feet awkwardly as she discarded her coat and any other article of winter clothes she had on.
If her winter outfit made him flustered, then her long black cocktail dress must have made his eyes pop out of his head.
Her hair was in an elaborate bun, decorated with a piece of holly on the side of her head. He hadn't noticed before because he was in a total mind shut down, but she had worn makeup. Not much, but the red painted along her delicate lips and the neutral eyeshadow dusted on her eyelids framed by the black mascara on her lashes made her eyes glow. They were like an ocean, and he was lost at sea.
Being the gentleman his mother raised him to be, Kristoff took Anna’s things and hung them on the coat rack near his door.
“So uh, I know that we were originally planning to go out to eat, but since we can’t do that thanks to the snow,” he crossed over to where she stood rubbing his palms together, in the act of needing to find something to do with his hands. “I have some spaghetti and a jar of pesto I can whip up. I know it doesn’t sound as romantic as a candlelit dinner at an exquisite restaurant, but it’s fancier than anything else I have in my pantry so-”
“It sounds perfect,” she smiled in a way to calm her nerves and his own.
“Great!,” he exclaimed, sounding a little more excited than he intended. “I mean uh - perfect. I’ll just uh - I’ll just get that started then,” he stuttered. “Feel free to make yourself comfortable.”
Anna sat herself on his couch as he went to the kitchen to prepare their meal. He brought the water to a boil before discarding the pasta from its box and into the hot liquid.
“Your father is lovely,” Anna called from her place on the couch.
“Oh um - thanks,” Kristoff replied, checking to see if the pasta was almost done. “Yeah, he’s great. Was always super supportive of me.”
He couldn’t see it, but Anna had nodded softly, smiling to herself, as she looked down at her hands; fiddling with her fingers.
More awkward silence pursued and neither had not said another word to each other until dinner was ready.
Over the course of their meal, both had loosened up quite a bit, and Kristoff even found himself enjoying her company.
He discovered that this has been the first date Anna has been on since her breakup with her ex - whom, after the way Anna described him, he had wanted to punch him in the face - three years ago. She talked about how it took her a while to heal after she found the man she believed she would marry cheating on her with another woman. Bastard is all Kristoff could think of at that moment. What a heartless bastard.
“When I saw the ad for the game show pop up on my computer I decided that it was time to put the past behind me and have a fresh new start.”
“My mom signed me up for it without my knowledge,” he chuckled, reflecting on the moment his mother had told him he would be on a bachelor game show and how irritated he was with her. “I actually got annoyed at her. She wanted me to find someone to spend the rest of my life with, while I wanted to spend the rest of my life alone .” He saw the hope deflate in Anna’s eyes, but he took her hands in his, causing her to look up at him. “But now I’m starting to think she wasn’t so crazy after all.”
They stared at each other, smiling; unaware that a new love was beginning to blossom.
“Oh!,” Anna exclaimed, “I almost forgot. I got you a present. You know just a little something to say thanks for taking me out - well I guess inviting me over would be the more appropriate term now.” She got up from her seat pointing her thumb behind her, “Let me just go and get it real quick.” She did a fast walk down the hallway leading to the front door, being careful not to trip on her stiletto heels, and returned with a beautifully wrapped gift with snowflakes on the paper and a big green bow on top. She sat back down before handing it to him, wringing her hands together nervously.
“Thank you, Anna. You didn’t have to do that.”
“It’s the Christmas season, plus I wanted to,” she said shyly, biting her lip.
Kristoff smiled and returned his attention to the gift in front of him. With careful fingers, he tore into the paper, not wanting to ruin the perfectly wrapped present. He gasped when he finally revealed what it was - a small woodworking kit for beginners.
“I remember learning one of the things about you on the show was how you always wanted to take up woodworking as a hobby. So when I saw it well…I thought of you.”
Suddenly, butterflies began to flutter in his stomach, his palms became sweaty, and his heart started beating a million times a minute. There was truly no end to this woman’s kindness.
“Thank you. I love it.” Great, now he felt guilty because he hadn’t gotten her anything, and even by the short period of time he had gotten to know her…he already knew that she deserved the world. “I’m sorry. I’m afraid I don’t have anything for you in return,” the tone in his voice defeated.
“That’s okay,” she gave a little flick of her hand, “your happiness is a gift enough.”
Two hours later, after sharing more stories of life experiences with one another, cleaning up after dinner, and saying goodbye to Anna when his dad returned to pick her up; he lay in his bed smiling that night, his thoughts with a certain little redhead and the date they scheduled for next week.
This year I received two incredible fics for two incredible neo-Victorian gothic novels:
I The Rose Upon It by gaialux (The Little Stranger - Sarah Waters, Caroline Ayres & Roderick Ayres)
It was strange, was it not, how a person can become accustomed to something. A creak here of an old house settling; a shuffle there as an inhabitant moved rooms away. Never mind all three of you are in the parlour and no guests have come by in so long.
Never mind at all.
The Mary Reilly Papers by evewithanapple (Mary Reilly - Valerie Martin, post-canon epistolary)
@heyitsannemarie
“I brushed my hair down and let it fall over my breasts and I thought, is this a sight my master would care to see?” oh GIRL you are down BAD.
@princessbeeeeeee
@heyitsannemarie is this a romance novel
@heyitsannemarie
@princessbeeeeeee LMAO NO
This year I wrote:
and all the senses rise against (Midnight Mass, Riley Flynn/Father Paul Hill, 2.6k, Explicit)
Riley Flynn flees Crockett Island, and the priest follows.
the heidelburgh tun (The North Water, Henry Drax/Patrick Sumner, 1.3k, Mature)
Drax shows Sumner a better way to go about skinning a seal.
false taste of paradise (The Card Counter 2021, William Tell/Cirk Baufort, 2.9k, Explicit)
William Tell buys Cirk some clothes.
how the white lilies grow (The Power Of The Dog - Thomas Savage, Peter Gordon/Phil Burbank, 6.3k, Explicit)
Peter lays traps, and is caught in them.
(the first time ever) i saw your face (Mad Men, Bob Benson/Pete Campbell, 1.7k, Mature)
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
Fandom: Oxventure D&D
Pairing: Corazon/Prudence
Rating: Eldritch Blast
Summary: Corazon and Prudence accidentally get married. It goes about as well as you would expect.
Tagged: Accidental Marriage, Soul Bond, canon typical terrible puns, Sharing a Bed, pervy dolphins, the power of true love to defeat your enemies, Dungeons & Dragons Homebrew Content, everything I know about D&D I learned from oxventure and it shows, Banter, demonpirate, farce
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Here is my yuletide for 2021, some demonpirate soulbond accidental marriage featuring a lot of smug platonic idiots thinking that they are too platonic for the machinations of a paper thin comedy plot.
Featuring a pod of pervert dolphins, a level 99 divorce wizard, a good amount of the wizard Binbag, cold-blooded Egbert, a touching tribute to my late father and a lot of kissing, plus the bsod mental image of Prudence in Corazon's clothes.
Please enjoy! And please kudo/comment/reblog if you enjoyed it. this basically ate the last of my emotional capabilities for 2021 and also maybe gave me covid.
