#rotg secret santa 2022

[thyphrog]

ROTG Secret Santa 2022!

Prompt 27: Pitch being a fashion icon!

This was a pleasure to draw :)))) If there's anything I'd be overjoyed to draw it would be Pitch and fashion <3

@rotgsecretsanta

[stormingfrost]

I was wrong (and I’m so, so sorry)

A fic for the secret Santa prompt: ‘Pitch, having turned from his evil path, reconciles with North about all he’s done to the Guardians.’ Hope you like it!

read it on ao3

fic under cut

“I killed him,” Pitch said quietly. North studied Pitch. He was hunched over, knees to his chest. 

“I meant it to be permanent, too.” 

North sat on the couch, staring at the dwindling fire. It was about a year after Pitch changed his ways. There had been a lot of argument between the Guardians about him, with Pitch standing off to the side and watching. He’d said nothing the whole time. 

In the end, they didn’t accept him. They didn’t get the chance to. Bunny hadn’t forgiven him for the death of his people. Tooth was still angry with Pitch, but she was more forgiving than Bunny. Sandy was quiet, thinking rather than saying anything. Jack had been the most understanding, but constantly checked in with Bunny about how he was doing. After all, the genocide of his entire species was a big thing to apologize for. But it wasn’t any of their choices. Pitch drew himself away, avoiding the Guardians. 

Until North opened up the door to his study and found Pitch observing the fireplace. At first, North had tensed, hands going for his swords. But Pitch wasn’t an enemy anymore. 

“And the Pooka,” Pitch sighed, running a hand over his face. “I murdered all of them. A genocide.” He looked over to North, a smile built with grief on his face. North raised an eyebrow. He didn’t know that Pitch remembered that. Pitch looked over at North.

North had nothing to offer, if Pitch even wanted that. 

“North,” Pitch started, then grew quiet. He seemed to want to say something, anything, but he couldn’t. 

“I was a soldier once,” North said. “I remember the man I killed. I didn’t know him. He carried a picture of a woman and a small child with him.” He closed his eyes. “I wasn’t not sure if the man’s family thought about the killer of the man. If they did, they would hate me.”

“I fought shadows when I was a general,” Pitch said, a small smile making its way onto his face. “I didn’t kill anybody until I became me.” He gestured to himself. North nodded.

“I didn’t even remember it,” Pitch continued. “I forgot about my life, before. I thought I was simply Fear until I was Pitch.”

North knew about Pitch not remembering his life, but he didn’t know that he got them back, somehow. Pitch wasn’t as evil as before, but he was slowly getting worse. Manny noticed Pitch starting to over-do his fear, bringing out the earlier days of the dark age. It had been the Moon’s idea, granting Guardianship to Pitch, to keep Pitch from worsening.

“I remembered,” Pitch murmured. “And I was terrified. My actions…every one of them…” He ran a hand over his face. “I’d fallen far.” 

“How do you do it?” Pitch asked. “Remembering what happened, and still be… a Guardian.” The fire crackled, the wind outside howled. It was dark, the sun refusing to come out until the warmer months.

“We were at war,” North said simply. “If it wasn’t him, it would’ve been anybody else. Maybe even me. Doesn’t mean I don’t hate what happened, or that I don’t see a dead man when I close my eyes. But, it’s better not to give into it.”

“It wasn’t war, what I did. It was completely one-sided.” 

Pitch stared into the fire, dull eyes carefully watching the flame. He sat up and stared at North, meeting his gaze. 

“You were fighting to survive,” North offered. Pitch chuckled darkly. His old excuse. Survival. With belief becoming more and more scarce, Pitch knew he was doing better than those without belief. He didn’t need to fight, didn’t need to maim. 

“Would Bunny say that? Sandy? The man in the Moon? Anyone that is left from the golden age?” North shrugged. 

“I do not know.”

“You offered me a place here once,” Pitch said. 

“You once refused.” Pitch laughed, shaking his head. 

“I keep thinking. About that day. I swore vengeance against you like you actually did wrong against me.” He folded his hands in his lap, avoiding North’s gaze again. “I keep wondering what I would be if I had accepted.” 

“Bunny would’ve been angry.” Pitch chuckled at that, wiping a tear away with a gray hand. 

“I wouldn’t blame him.” 

Pitch stared at the fire, and then at nothing. 

“Pitch,” North said, “You don’t have to be forgiven.” Pitch snapped his eyes over at him. It was teetering on being mean, even cruel. Maybe he deserved it. But Pitch knew that North wanted to say more. 

“You’re right, there is nothing you can do to make it up with them. But, that doesn’t mean that you can’t be better than before.” 

“How?” Pitch asked, “How can I be better?”

“Try,” North replied. “Trying is half the battle in the beginning.” 

“What’s the other half?” North smiled. 

“Living with yourself. Finding yourself.” Pitch sighed.  

“It’s hell,” he said. 

“A lot of things are. Jack called Moon ‘Satan’ once.” 

Pitch blinked. 

“Really?” 

“You’re not the only one Jack is cross with. Manny left Jack alone, you know. Jack said they have ‘beef,’ doesn’t make sense. There is no cattle.” Pitch stared at North. 

“You’re joking. I thought-“ Pitch paused. “What other dirty secrets are you Guardians hiding?”  

“Not secrets.” North shrugged. “Jack would gladly talk about it with you if you asked.” 

Pitch sighed, wringing his hands together. “Everyone I can interact with fears or hates me.” Pitch stared at the window. “I thought I loved it, and for a while I did. But I was alone. I had power, and I was utterly alone. I was scared.” He sighed, leaning back. “They have a right to hate me. I did terrible things.” 

“They do,” North agreed. “But it still matters if you try or not.” 

Pitch sighed, watching the fire with dark eyes. 

“If I try, they’ll still hate me.” 

“It’s better than doing nothing, no? Forgiveness isn’t owed to you because you're a better person now.” Pitch nodded. 

They sat in silence, the fire crackling with a dying flame and the wind howling like a wolf. 

“I’m sorry,” Pitch said quietly, “I almost killed you, back in Santoff Claussen. I didn’t know how you lived.” 

“If we sat here and listed everything you’ve done we’d be here for long time.” Pitch grimaced. 

“Well, I’m sorry anyway. I was wrong. I don’t have an excuse or an explanation.” 

North was quiet for a while. Pitch held his breath, listening to the fire as the silence stretched into shadows. 

“Thank you,” he said finally. “You’re trying. I appreciate you trying.” Pitch nodded, sighing in relief. 

“I’m trying.”

[rotgsecretsanta]

2022 Secret Santa Masterlist

Here are all of the works posted for RotG Secret Santa 2022!

Prompt 1: A day in the life of the Man in the Moon Fic by fanarchoslashivist

Prompt 4: Arrietty/The Borrowers AU where small fairy sized Jack is secretly living at the north pole; plays amongst all the model toys, enjoying snacks left out by Phil.  Art by Tenchikotheartist 

Prompt 5: Based on the prologue comic: What if North had made Pitch agree to become a Guardian? Era Of New Ideas by Sylphidine

Prompt 6: Bunny & Jack brotherly bonding Collector’s Edition by storminfrost

Prompt 9: Forgotten memories Pitch and anyone Echoes of The Past by frosted-night

Prompt 12: Jack, Bunny, and the Groundhog arguing over the weather Seasonal Dispute by Sarsfe

Prompt 13: Jack's Christmas gifts to Pitch Keepr of Fear: The King of Nightmares by jaimistoryteller

Prompt 14: Jack and Bunny investigating a crashed spaceship Art and Hollow Spaces fic by ave-aria

Prompt 15: Jack and Katherine in ugly matching sweaters. More chaotic the better Fic by fosermi

Prompt 17: Jack Frost and his army of penguins and polarbears Art by nimohtar

Prompt 18: Jack Frost meeting Jack Skellington Jack’s Halloween by jaimistoryteller

Prompt 21: Jack is like a stray cat who has multiple homes that are unaware of each other. Often found sleeping in a pile of nightmares, tooth fairies, easter eggs AND christmas elves because it's warmer and he can get free snacks. He is a repeat offender and isn't sorry, will pretend he hasn't been fed in forever to dupe people into doting on him. Only Sandy knows that Jack is playing them all. Is It A Con If It'd Been Freely Offered Anyway by LinesAndColors

Prompt 22: Jack or Pitch or both! Techwear aesthetic Art by mrsketchy Art by ksclaw

Prompt 23: Kozmotis teaching Emily Jane to sail A Wild Ride with Papa by Jamie_Aizen

Prompt 24: Man In The Moon and Jack Frost doing dumb sibling stuff Art by fanarchoslashivist

Prompt 26: Pitch, having turned from his evil path, reconciles with North about all he's done to the Guardians. I was wrong (and I’m so, so sorry) by storminfrost

Prompt 27: Pitch being a fashion icon (optional Sandy or Jack posing in the background like a model). Art by ave-aria Art by thyphrog

Prompt 28: Pitch Black as a nightmare centaur (bonus if he has way too many legs like Sleipnir) BONUS bonus if he is like a real horse that gets startled by dumb things (a plastic bag or sudden noise). BONUS BONUS bonus if Jack likes to sneak ribbons onto his tail despite getting kicked (pin the tail on the Pitch anyone?) Art by bunnimew

Prompt 29: Pitch playing the lyre with fireflies around him on a starry night. Art by mrsketchy

Prompt 33: Pitch with a fancy gothic outfit Art by aroace-ghostface

Prompt 38: Sandy's Christmas eve rounds Help Me To Dream by Sylphidine Dreams of Christmas Night by Sarsfe

Prompt 40: Sandy having a nightmare either being caused or being consoled by Pitch Bitter by LinesAndColors

Prompt 41: Sandy just chilling on a dreamsand cloud and looking up at the night sky Fic by fosermi

Prompt 44: Sophie and bunny arts and crafts fun Art by fanarchoslashivist

Prompt 45: The Guardians and/or Pitch have Wanted posters! Art by purblzart

Prompt 46: The Guardians reluctantly accepting Pitch as a part of their "family" after Jack convinces them to Game Night by Eastofthemoon

Prompt 49: [No Ship] Jack has gained the power to shape shift into winter animals. Chaos quickly follows much to Jack's amusement.  Sprinting through a Winter Wonderland by BirdBrainedInsomnia

Prompt 50: [No Ship] Jack with pink hair :D Easter Herald by jaimistoryteller Art by ave-aria

Prompt 53: [No Ship] Pitch tracks down one of his missing Nightmares in a barn with a mother cat and a newborn litter of kittens Art by ksclaw

Prompt 55: [No Ship] Sandy falling asleep at inopportune times. Plan Your Naps by bunnimew

Prompt 56: [No Ship] The Burgess kids make holiday presents for the elves and the Yetis, and leave them for Santa / North to pick up Operation Christmas Helpers by jaimistoryteller

Prompt 61: [Jack/Bunny] Soulmate AU Fic by fanarchoslashivist

Prompt 68: [Jack/Katherine or No Ship] A wholesome gathering of friends and family by the fireplace ☺️ (DEFINITELY platonic relationships prioritized, though Jack x Katherine can be added if the author/artist wants) Twelfth Night On Guardian Street by sylphidine

Prompt 71: [Jack/Pitch] Blackice, android!pitch and mechanic!jack au Soul Survivor by bunnimew

Prompt 75: [Jack/Pitch] Ice skating date! Canon or AU. A Date at Moonset by jaimistoryteller Tales of Burgess III: On Friends and First Dates by nimohtar

Prompt 80: [Jack/Pitch] One or both as royalty Neon Escape by bunnimew

Prompt 82: [Jack/Pitch] Request: fluff, Jack/Pitch, family. Nopes: dub/non con, hurt no comfort, MCD that sticks, Tooth/Jack unless part of polyam6.  Art by bunnimew

Prompt 85: [Jack/Pitch and No Jack/Jamie] Jack discovers one of Pitch's favourite places to be is an amusement park, and he wants to go with Jack (can be themed/halloween, up to you). All that FEAR. No genderswap. No mpreg. No MCD. Thrills, Chills, and Skills by bunnimew

Prompt 89: [Jack/Sandy] Sleeping together Art by ave-aria

Prompt 91: [North/Bunny] The Guardians are celebrating Christmas together. Ending of Christmas Eve's Rounds by Sarsfe

Prompt 94: [Pitch/North] Anything Pitch/North Art by ksclaw

Prompt 96: [Pitch/Pitchiner] [NDU] Memory Retrieval by sylphidine

Prompt 98: [Pitch/Sandy] Vampire!sandy and priest!pitch au. OTP Art by winterswrathe

Prompt 99: [Pitch/Tooth] Pitch and Tooth as a duo of glamorous jewel thieves. Art by fangirl530

[bunnimew]

To Swap Our Places

A VERY LATE ROTG SECRET SANTA 2022 GIFT dfgjhdfjk

Rating: T

Fandoms: Rise of the Guardians (2012)

Relationships: Jack Frost/Pitch Black

Characters: Jack Frost (Guardians of Childhood), Pitch Black (Guardians of Childhood)

Additional Tags: Stranger Things AU, psychic powers, nonlinear story telling, some violence, some blood, some angst, typical Stranger Things things, you don’t need to know Stranger Things to enjoy this tho xD 

Summary: They were done being pawns. Tonight was the night. Pitch and Jack will stop at nothing to get the future they want.

For the RotG Secret Santa 2022 Prompt: ROTG/Stranger Things Crossover. Either Gen or Jack/Pitch as main pairing. The ROTG characters as Stranger Things peeps.

For @nimohtar <3 <3 <3

Read on AO3 here!

[sylphidine]

[ROTG] Tulip

Written for the Day Five prompt for ROTG Hope Week 2022 

Characters: Emily Bennett, Jamie Bennett, Sophie Bennett 

‘Verse: A prequel to my fanfiction A CITIZEN OF THE UNIVERSE AND A GENTLEMAN TO BOOT

@rotg-hope-week

___________________________

Emily James Bennett had half the naming responsibility for her first child, and the full responsibility for the naming of her second child. 

Her first child, born in November 2001, was named James Cameron Bennett… “James” after the family naming tradition of using the mother’s maiden name, “Cameron” because her husband thought it would be a funny reminder of one of their favorite movies. At the time, she’d thought it sweet.

Her second child, Sophia Lilias Bennett, was born in January 2008, several months after her husband had walked out on their family, and it was entirely up to her now to wring what sweetness she could out of life. So Emily pulled two names from her fondest memories. “Sophia” came from the heroine of a Charlotte Lennox novel that she’d been assigned in college, and “Lilias” was chosen because of Emily’s love of the book THE  SECRET GARDEN.

[Her third child, one Jackson Overland Frost, came to her much later, full-grown and needing no input on his name, but that is another story and can be told another time.]

The first spring after Sophie was born, Jamie helped Emily transfer tulips from their indoor pots to the big container pots she’d purchased the previous autumn. Normally the “help” of a  six-and-a-half-year-old would be more in the line of hindrance. But her little boy had developed a serious side in the last year, and he had an intensity and focus that Emily was happy to direct into creative and useful channels.

Years ago, Emily’s father had started the tradition of giving all three of his children tulip bulbs each autumn to plant and nurture in the yard of the family home on Long Island.  She remembered her younger self’s excitement of guessing when her plants would bloom, and what colors her tulips would be. So when she was looking to distract Jamie from Kevin Bennett’s defection, and trying to find an activity they could do together while she was in her last trimester of pregnancy, Emily hit upon the idea of indoor gardening.

She set up a shelf in the unheated sunporch for three tulip pots… one for her, one for Jamie, and one for “Baby”, at Jamie’s request.  It was both a hurt and a relief to her heart that Jamie did not ask for a fourth pot, for “Daddy”.

Jamie took to talking to the plants all through that winter, sitting bundled up in his snowsuit, and asked Emily to knit a cozy for each of the pots for Christmas. She explained, rather clumsily, that the tulip bulbs needed the cold, mixing in a jumble of misinformation about hibernation. Her son gave her a disapproving look and said, “They’re tulips, Mommy, not bunnies!”

She kept her face serious with a great deal of effort and agreed with him.

And thus an annual tradition was born - buy tulip bulbs just before Jamie’s birthday, plant them in pots indoors to nurture all winter, and transfer them to the container gardens outdoors in April.

In the latter part of the spring of 2012, when Jamie was ten and Sophie was four, Emily noticed that the tulips that she and Jamie had planted were particularly lush and healthy. She also noticed rabbit tracks far more often in the backyard than she could recall in previous years.

It wasn’t until a year and a half later that all the puzzle pieces came together in her head. Why the tulips were so much more lovely; why Sophie had started asking for her own special tulip bulbs [“the parrot ones, Mommy!”]; why the family gardening tools were always neatly put away even though both children frequently had to be reminded to pick up toys and clothes.

Emily got the answers to all those questions in the months after she adopted Jack, and learned that The Easter Bunny was real, as were Santa Claus, the Sandman, and the Tooth Fairy.

That autumn, when Jamie was about to turn twelve, Emily added pots to the sunporch, labeled “Jack”, “Aster”, “North”, “Sandy”, and “Tooth”, so that there were eight in all.

Five Aprils later, there was a ninth pot, planted with black tulip bulbs of course, labeled “Pitch”.

[stormingfrost]

Collector’s Edition

In which an egg collection is explained. A fic for the secret Santa prompt: “Bunny & Jack brotherly bonding.” Hope you like it!

read it on ao3

fic under cut

“Hey, Bunny, what’s up with the eggs?” 

Bunny paused, looking up at Jack. 

“The eggs?” He looked down at the one in his hand. “Really?” 

“Oh no, I didn’t mean those ones. I meant the ones in that room with glass around them. It looks like a museum?” Bunny set the egg down, and it jumped and ran away. 

“You mean my googie collection?” 

“Collection?” Jack echoed. “You have a collection of eggs?” He smiled. 

“Yeah,” Bunny said defensively, preparing for teasing. It never came. Jack grabbed Bunny’s arm and pulled him up. 

“You are showing me that collection, Cottontail.” Bunny hesitated, looking at Jack. It was maybe one of the first times someone wanted him to show the collection. The others really didn’t understand, despite them wanting to, and Bunny tended not to ask to show them. But this was an invitation to explain. An invitation to share. 

“You sure?” Bunny asked. Jack huffed and rolled his eyes. 

“Sure about what? You like eggs. I want to know what those ones are.” 

Bunny smiled. 

“Alright, but don’t say I didn’t warn you if you start dozing off.” 

“I’m sure it’s so boring,” Jack said, yawning and leaning on Bunny like he was falling asleep. “I’ll be out quicker with you than dreamsand.” He stretched his arms, mock yawning, and then stood up and grabbed Bunny’s arm and pulled.

“Come on!” 

Bunny and Jack made their way through the warren, and Jack saw the room, grinned, and made a beeline for it. It was well taken care of, but the entrance had vines growing over it, almost like a curtain. Bunny made sure that his collection was tucked in a safe spot in the Warren, just in case of any trouble that may appear. 

It was one of the few areas not disturbed by the nightmares that Easter. Bunny hid a grimace. He hadn’t remembered the collection until he started cleaning up and then ran into the room in a panic. He didn’t know why he cared so much for them, and it was enough that the thought of losing the googies made him feel so…scared. 

Jack chuckled, already in the room.

“Is there a light in here? There was a light when I found it.”

Bunny snapped, and soft lights illuminated the room. Jack looked around, a bit dazed. 

“Normal light would harm some of the older eggs,” Bunny explained. “The lights can be turned on manually, but I have a timer on them.” 

“Why a timer?” 

“Too much of this,” Bunny said, waving a paw at the light, “would damage them.” Jack nodded, and started observing an egg. Bunny felt tense. Why did he feel so tense? Jack scanned the tag on the display. His eyebrows crinkled and then he laughed.

“No way!” He exclaimed, turning to Bunny and pointing at the egg. “Dinosaur egg? It’s not even a fossil!” 

“Yep,” Bunny said, a smug look making its way on his face. “It was the first one I got. That one is a Hadrosauridae egg.” Jack hummed and nodded. 

“You collected it when it was born?” 

“I collect any unfertilized eggs.”  

“So, all of these aren’t fertilized?” Jack gestured to the rest of the room. Bunny hummed.

“It’s sure a fire-proof way to make sure none of them hatch and think you’re their parent.” Jack jabbed a finger into Bunny’s side, laughing. Bunny rolled his eyes as Jack formed a duck-shape with his hands and circled Bunny chanting, “Papa, Papa.” 

“You’re impossible,” Bunny deadpanned. Jack’s smile changed into a silly and fond one. 

“Yep!” 

They made their way over to the more recent eggs. Jack stopped at one, staring at it curiously. 

“Great Snow Goose of the Himalayas? I haven’t even heard of that one.” Bunny smiled at the egg. It was white, with fragile silver dots that sprinkled the egg. Jack held a hand up, nearly touching the glass. 

“It’s bigger than my head.” 

It had been a gift from Kathrine, as soon as Kailash started laying eggs of her own. Unfortunately, there was no father. With Kathrine doing her own thing, it meant that they didn’t get to see her often. It reminded him of the older eggs.

Maybe he was projecting a little too much into the eggs. 

The sharp pain came with looking at all the eggs whose species were no longer walking this planet. They were extinct. Gone. Bunny managed to save an egg, but no hope that they would ever continue living. 

A hand grabbed his own, Jack moving into his field of vision. He was frowning, concern written in his eyes. 

“You okay there? You got a little spacey,” he said. Bunny nodded. 

“Just thinking.” Jack hummed, letting go. 

“The egg was a gift from a friend. She’s off having her own adventures these days, but it’s always good when she visits.” Jack nodded. 

“So,” he said, “you didn’t answer my question.” 

“What was it?” 

“Why is it so big?”

“The wingspan of an adult is roughly 45 feet, they’re very big birds.” Jack whistled slowly. 

“Now I’m surprised it’s not bigger.” 

Bunny laughed, and Jack smiled. He spied a little egg walking around and picked it up, examining the purple and pink sparkly shell. 

“What are these? They come from the plants, I’m not sure if these can even classify as eggs.” 

“Oi, it’s an egg.” Jack hummed, putting the egg on his head and walking forward, arms out as if he were balancing.

“What kind? I don’t know any eggs that can sprout legs.” Bunny walked up to Jack, watching his movements. 

He didn’t need to pretend to balance. It was a ploy to get him to get distracted from the thoughts Bunny was having. 

“It’s a plant from my home, you larrikin.” Jack hummed, grinning as he looked up at the egg. It sat in Jack's hair, clearly not getting that Jack wasn’t going to drop it anytime soon. 

Bunny snatched it, looking it over. 

“Does it have a yolk? What would it hatch into?”

“It’s chocolate,” Bunny shrugged. “Magic. They tend to just… either go rotten or turn into chocolate all together. The rotten ones usually start off weird, I don’t paint them.”

Jack hummed, looking around. 

“So many eggs,” he said. Bunny nodded. Jack turned. 

“I still can’t believe you have dinosaurs.” Bunny shrugged. 

“It’s a complete collection, so far.” 

Jack laughed, hooking his arm with Bunny’s. 

“Let’s go,” he said. “North started a prank war and I think I can use some rotten eggs.”

[rotgsecretsanta]

That’s a wrap!

The masterlist is nigh which brings RotG Secret Santa 2022 to an official close and I want to thank everyone who participated! This was a great year and we loved getting to see everything you created!

Together we’ve posted an astounding 49 gifts for each other!

Thank you so much! This has been a wonderful way to begin 2023!

Don’t forget to thank your gifter! <3