straightforwardly | 233 | Yuletide 2020 Recs

I’ve finished my first pass through the Yuletide collection, and now come bearing some initial recs! (I do need to emphasize the “first pass” part—for whatever reason, a lot more fics than usual ended up on my marked-for-later list rather than being read straight away.)

Fandoms include: And Then There Were None, Beware of the Villainess, “Christmas Cottage” by Thomas Kinkade, Cotillion, A Little Princess, The Secret Garden, and The Snake Fight Portion of Your Thesis Defense

Never Be Drowned (And Then There Were None, Vera/Lombard & Wargrave, 2.4K)
"You know what they say, he’d joked, if you’re born to be hanged you’ll never be drowned."

Vera Claythorne is trapped in a time loop.

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Off The Path (Beware of the Villainess, Melissa/Yuri/Nine, 4.8K)
Yuri just wanted to have a nice picnic with Melissa.

The forest had other ideas. Luckily, Melissa was a greater force than inevitability.

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The Only Place That's Real (“Christmas Cottage” by Thomas Kinkade, 1.1K)
Every so often someone would come through the village, looking for the cottage. This time it was a man in a fine silk suit and a faraway look in his eyes.

Once upon a Time (“Christmas Cottage” by Thomas Kinkade, The House, <1K)
Peace and quiet can be deceptive.

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Bonnets (Cotillion, Freddy/Kitty, <1K)
Kitty seeks Freddy's advice on a matter of the utmost importance.

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Liberté, Egalité, Sororité (A Little Princess, Becky/Sara, 5.5K)
Sara, visiting France for the first time, suggests that Becky travel as her friend -- not as her maid.

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Perennial (The Secret Garden, OFC & Mary, 1.7K)
When Mridula came to serve the Lennoxes, she was not in the least disagreeable-looking. She could not afford to be.

(Mary's parents survive the cholera epidemic and stay in India. This does not mean that the garden, or its magic, is done with her.)

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FAQ: The biggest snake in the history of academic snake fighting (The Snake Fight Portion of Your Thesis Defense, <1K)
Q: Did the snake win?
A: Yes.