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acaplaya-musings · 23 days ago

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12 Days Of Christmas - Day 5

Title: Gingerbread Man Challenge - GEOFF vs LAYNE Day 5 - Cookies & holiday-themed contest Fandom: VoicePlay Warnings: N/A Word Count: ~2,000 words (see Author's note)

(Author's note: When I saw "cookies" and "holiday-themed contest" as potential prompts for the same day, of course my mind jumped to VoicePlay's cooking challenges! And I decided to write this one a little differently, in that basically I've written my own cooking challenge "episode" and done so in script format (informal script format, anyway), so the word count may be a little "deceptive", idk, but hope you still enjoy! (Also this definitely would not be a minute-long video, this would be like the extended edition for Patreon and also maybe Instagram))

(Geoff and Layne are in Geoff's home kitchen, both wearing aprons)

Layne: It's a VoicePlay cooking challenge!

Geoff (dramatically): To the DEATH.

Layne (cheerily): Christmas edition!

Geoff: We don't actually know what the death is this time. The others won't tell us!

Layne (overdramatically): Impaled with a candy cane!

Geoff: Who knows? Maybe!

(Cut to Eli, Cesar, and J, hanging out in Geoff's living room)

Eli: So we're doing a special baking challenge for the holiday season.

J: You say "we"...

Eli: *(chuckles)* Well Geoff and Layne are doing the baking, and we're just the judges.

Cesar: But it's not just a baking challenge, because first they gotta each make gingerbread men, and then they have to decorate them to look like us!

Eli: *(pointing between himself, Cesar, and J)* Just us three, anyway.

Cesar: Yeah they don't have to make themselves.

Eli: We figured it might be too easy to guess who made what cookies if they also made versions of themselves.

J: *(laughing)* Just look for the cookie with completely grey hair!

*(Eli and Cesar also laugh)*

(Cut to Geoff and Layne in the kitchen)

Layne: Start by mixing in all the dry ingredients.

Geoff: Are you using a store-bought spice mix in yours?

Layne: Yeah?

Geoff: I make my own spice blend. *(Looks at camera, speaking in a fancy/regal manner)* Specially Determined For Optimal Taste.

Layne: *(Smirking)* That's too much work, though!

Geoff: Baking is work! Might as well go the extra mile while you're at it!

(Camera turns to Layne, who's shaking his head at the camera)

Layne: Simple is better!

(Cut to Eli, J, and Cesar)

J: So how exactly did you convince them to do a baking challenge?

Eli: Well initially we were just gonna have it be a decorating challenge, more or less, with them just using ready-to-bake gingerbread dough and then decorating that-

Cesar (grinning): But I feel like if you told Geoff that he'd be supplied with store-bought dough, he'd just turn up to the filming day with his own homemade stuff instead.

Eli: *(laughs)* Layne probably would, too, if just to get an upper hand on Geoff.

(Cut to Geoff and Layne, who are now preparing their wet ingredients to be mixed)

Layne: I'm using golden syrup in mine.

Geoff (surprised): Golden syrup? Are you not using molasses?

Layne: The molasses flavour will come from the brown sugar!

Geoff: Well the molasses flavour in mine will come from the molasses! *(makes a "duh" expression to the camera)*

(Another cut, to Geoff and Layne still, but now they each have a dough formed, and are in the process of kneading)

Geoff: This only requires a little bit of kneading - you don't wanna overwork it or else the cookies are gonna become tough.

Layne: *(Comically puts a hand to his ear, grinning, as if paying extra attention to what Geoff's saying)*

Geoff: *(Notices and laughs)* No I'm just kidding! You actually should knead it a whole lot, and that's how it becomes extra pliable!

*(Geoff and Layne both laugh)*

(Quick cut)

Geoff: We're actually filming this part in the evening, so our dough is gonna go in the fridge and chill overnight

Layne: *(Covering his dough with plastic wrap)* It's gonna have a nice sleep in the fridge!

(Cut with a Spongebob transition card (audio included) saying "Many Hours Later". It's now the following morning and Geoff and Layne are taking their dough out of the fridge)

Layne: Good morning!

Geoff: Good morning!

Layne: Wait did you make two doughs?

Geoff: No, I just split the dough in half and then wrapped each before I put it in the fridge. Makes it easier to roll out.

Layne: Oh I thought that was just something you did after chilling the dough.

(Cut to Layne, coating his dough and work surface in flour, and about to start rolling out the dough)

Layne: Gotta make sure the dough isn't too sticky!

Geoff (off-screen): Are you making a mess in my kitchen?

Layne (grinning): Oh just wait till we get to the decorating part!

Geoff: Oh god, *(laughs)* what have I signed up for?

(Cut to Geoff)

Geoff: I'm rolling out my cookies in between two sheets of parchment paper-

Layne (off-screen): Work those muscles, Geoff!

Geoff: -which will also make it easier to transfer them onto the baking tray. *(Puts down rolling pin and peels off top layer of paper, then holds up gingerbread man cutter)*. I will however be putting a bit of flour on my cookie cutters, so the dough doesn't stick to them.

(Camera moves to Layne)

Layne: *(Fake dramatic gasp)* You mean you're not going the extra mile and cutting out your gingerbread men freehand with a knife? *(Barely hiding a teasing grin)*

(Camera moves back to Geoff)

Geoff (jokingly): No, I just make my own cookie cutters, like a normal person! *(laughs)*

(Cut to Layne)

Geoff (off-camera): Layne what are you doing?

Layne: *(Adding small pieces of extra dough to the heads of a couple of the gingerbread men cut-outs)* Well this is gonna be Gingerbread-Cesar *(referring to the gingerbread man with a mini-afro)* and this is gonna be Gingerbread-J *(referring to the gingerbread man with a flat-top)* so I'm giving them some hair!

Geoff: Yeah but now you're forced to use those two cookies for Cesar and J, instead of making a whole batch of cookies and just choosing the best three to work with!

Layne: How are you gonna do Cesar's hair though?

Geoff (in an "isn't it obvious?" tone of voice): Just decorate them on the serving plates? Like you could just pipe some of the icing coming off the top of the head and onto the plate, it'll be fine!

Layne (in a doubtful (yet light-hearted) tone): If you say so! *(Looks at the camera and points at himself while mouthing "I'm gonna win")*

(Cut to Eli, Cesar, and J in the living room)

Eli: Layne and Geoff aren't actually in the kitchen right now when we're filming this bit .

(Camera pans up and across to show a shot of the empty kitchen, before moving back to the trio)

J (spookily/dramatically): The magic of editiiiing!

Eli: The cookies have finished baking in the oven and they're currently cooling in the fridge.

Cesar: The kitchen honestly smells soooo good, like you folks watching this have no idea.

Eli: Geoff and Layne are waiting outside right now while we film this.

J (grinning): Yeah we kicked G out his own house! Like "nah this is our living room now!"

Eli: Once we're done talking, we're gonna go wait outside while Geoff and Layne come back in and start decorating.

Cesar: Should we tell the viewers now about the secret twist?

Eli: Well there's two secrets. The first is that Geoff and Layne don't know anything about the "death" punishment for the loser, and that won't be revealed until after we find out who won. The second secret is that the decorating part doesn't actually really matter that much.

J: *(laughs)* So Geoff and Layne think they're gonna be judged equally for both taste and presentation-

Eli: I mean maybe if I find it really hard to choose between the two just on taste, then I might use appearance as a deciding factor, but otherwise, yeah, we changed our minds from our initial idea.

Kathy (behind camera): And why didn't you tell them?

Cesar: Because I wanna see me in cookie form! And this way they're both gonna still put effort into it!

(Cut to Geoff and Layne back in the kitchen. Their baked and cooled cookies are in front of them on the countertop, along with piping bags, bowls of frosting (some coloured, some not), food colouring, a small variety of candy, and other things used for cookie decorating)

Geoff: And now it's decorating time!

Layne: *(Throws his hands up)* Hooray!

(Camera moves to focus on Geoff, already grabbing some icing)

Geoff: Do we have a time limit for how long we can spend on each cookie?

Kathy (behind camera): Only if I think you're taking too long.

(Camera moves to Layne)

Layne: *(Nodding emphatically to the camera while smirking)* Definitely time him!

(Cut to Geoff, who is spreading blue frosting over the legs of one of the cookies, to make jeans)

Layne (off-screen): I'm gonna give Gingerbread-Cesar a Santa outfit!

Geoff: *(Looks over)* Is that meant to be a Sexy Santa dress like from the Jingle Bell Rock video?

(Camera moves over to Layne and the cookie he's currently decorating. Most of the cookie's body is covered in red frosting, with a line of white icing along both the top and bottom of the 'dress')

Layne: Yeah, *(laughs)* he's gonna love it!

Geoff (off-screen): *(also laughs)* Honestly, he probably will!

(Cut to Geoff, currently using a piping bag)

Geoff: Decorating cookies is kinda like drawing on food... And I suck at drawing.

(Cut to Layne, now decorating a different cookie)

Layne: I'm gonna use two of these blue metallic sugar-ball things for Gingerbread-Eli's eyes.

Geoff (off-screen): They're called "cachous".

Layne: Gesundheit.

(Cut to Geoff)

Geoff: Almost... done...

Layne (off-screen): 10! 9! 8!

Geoff: Hey you don't get to do countdowns!

(Cut to Geoff and Layne placing metal cloches over their plates simultaneously)

Geoff & Layne (both at once): Done!

(Cut to Kathy, now standing with the two covered plates (Franchezca behind camera))

Kathy: Geoff and Layne will be waiting outside while their cookies get judged, so I'm gonna be the one to take the plates to the other guys.

(Cut to a shot of Kathy carrying the two plates over to the table where Cesar, Eli, and J are currently seated.)

*(Kathy sets the plates down in front of them and takes hold of the tops of both cloches.)*

Kathy: Okay, 1... 2... 3!

*(Kathy lifts up the cloches at the same time, and there are laughs and exclamations of "oh wow" and "oh my god", etc. from J, Eli, and Cesar.)*

Cesar: *(gasps in delight and picks up Layne's version of Gingerbread-Cesar)* Wait is this me in a Sexy Santa dress? Oh my gosh I love that. I almost don't wanna eat this one now!

J: Eat it second, then!

(Footage of J, Cesar, and Eli all trying the cookie versions of themselves from both plates)

(Cut to Geoff and Layne, standing in front of the table where Eli, J, and Cesar are seated)

Geoff: Have you made your decisions?

(Camera moves to face the judges)

Eli: *(Nods)* We have.

J: On the count of 3! One, two, three!

*(Cesar holds up a piece of paper that says 'A', while Eli and J hold up pieces of paper that say 'B')*

(Camera moves to Geoff and Layne)

Geoff: I won? *(excitedly)* I won!!! Yeah!!!

Layne: So I guess I'm dying then, somehow?

(Camera moves back to the judges)

Eli: The death for the loser of this challenge iiiiisss...

J: *(does a drumroll on the table with his hands)*

Cesar: Death! By! Cannibalism!

(The camera moves around and zooms in a little to focus on Geoff and Layne, who both look comically surprised, but also with a degree of intrigue).

[And then the 'script' for what would be the Patreon-exclusive "death", uploaded once the cooking challenge video went public on YouTube]

Eli: So we went out and bought some gingerbread dough, and we've been doing some baking of our own!

Franchezca: *(Walks into shot holding a plate with two gingerbread men on them. The cookies have been decorated to look like (or at least vaguely resemble) Geoff and Layne)*

Geoff: *(laughing)* Oh, no way!

Layne: *(also laughing)* Oh my god!

Cesar: So the 'death' is that the winner gets to eat the cookie version of the loser-

J: While the loser watches!

Geoff: Oh I love this death!

Layne: Of course you do; you're not the one dying!

*(Geoff picks up the Gingerbread-Layne cookie)*

Layne: I hope I taste delicious.

Geoff: *(breaks off one of Gingerbread-Layne's legs, and offers it to Kathy behind the camera, grinning)* You wanna bite Layne's ankle again, Kath?

Kathy (behind the camera): *(takes the leg and chuckles)* Hope this tastes better than the real thing!

Geoff: *(bites Gingerbread-Layne's head)* Definitely less carrot-y!

(Cut)

Geoff: *(Hands Gingerbread-Geoff to Layne)* Here, you can eat me if you want to.

Layne: Gladly!

(Cut to Geoff, Layne, Eli, J, and Cesar all gathered together at the table, smiling at the camera).

Cesar: Merry Christmas, Patrons!

Eli: Happy Hannukkah!

J: Happy holidays!

Geoff: Hope you get to eat lots of gingerbread cookies!

Layne: Bye!

#I've never actually tried gingerbread let alone baked it so writing this fic required some googling #This kind of fic format is almost definitely gonna be a one-off #Writing it in this format took WORK.#Back to Voludera in a couple days from now!#voiceplay #geoff castellucci #layne stein #12daysofchristmas2024 #12 days of Christmas writing prompts #Acaplaya writings

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slytherhys · 1 year ago

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12 Days of Christmas - ACOTAR Edition

In the spirit of the Holidays, I will be writing & posting short stories about the ACOTAR characters for the next 12 days. Please note that some will be shorter than others and that this is simply meant to be a fun time for everyone that loves these characters as much as I do!

PS. I'm open to requests.

You can also find this series on AO3 - as well as all my other stories.

8th day of christmas - gingerbread house

CW: Explicit Sexual Content

No Crying Over Spilled Icing (Elriel NSFW)

Elain eyed the gingerbread house in front of her with something akin to misery. Only twenty minutes ago, when she had first taken the dough out of the oven, she had been immensely proud of herself – it had been baked to perfection, neither too dry nor too moist, with a beautiful golden-brown colouring and a smell so sweet Elain had fought herself not to eat the whole thing in one go.

Buttercream had been used to make intricate, delicate patterns on what would be the walls, as well as cute little tiles for the rooftop. Candies, too, had been used aplenty. It had looked promising. Beautiful even.

But that had been before she had realised one of the walls was cut too short – something Elain hadn’t noticed until she started setting everything together – giving the house a sort of crooked, haunted look that made it resemble more a Halloween decoration than a Solstice treat. The icing, of course, hadn’t helped either. The walls barely stuck together, and the rooftop was slowly falling to its demise. Elain watched it all unfold, unblinking.

A great architect Elain did not make.

When she had first told Feyre she’d be bringing her own gingerbread house – and not one of those sets the bakery sold every Solstice – she hadn’t been expecting a building made of dessert to be so damn infuriating. She was set to leave in an hour and a half, and she doubted she had the needed time to try it all over again. She doubted she could find the will to do it in the first place.

“What are you doing?” A deep voice startled her, her eyes finally turning away from the baked mess in front of her.

“A gingerbread house.” If it could be called that. It definitely didn’t look like one.

Azriel tilted his head, eyeing the house with a stoical expression. “Are those the ones from the bakery downtown?” His eyes flickered to hers. “Cassian had mentioned how he wanted to try and build one.”

Elain huffed, suddenly affronted. “Of course not.” Maybe she should have though.

He gave her a sheepish smile. “Right. Dumb question.” He narrowed his eyes, eyeing the eyesore with curiosity. “Why is it…slanted, though?”

“Well, first the icing melted,” She explained, hating the way her voice wavered. “And then the wall on the left was too short.” Azriel nodded along as if she was making perfect sense. “And it smelled really good, so I might’ve eaten one of the windows and now it looks weird.” She dropped her eyes again. “By the cauldron, it’s barely salvageable.”

“Why not just take the side of the roof that’s slipping away? It could probably stand, even if it’d be a little crooked.”

She bristled. “Then it’ll be a gingerbread box.” He gave no indication whatsoever that this information alarmed him. “Az, no one wants to eat a gingerbread box.”

Azriel smirked. As if it were funny. “Calm down, princess.” He looked at the mess in front of them, going around the counter so he could stand by her side. “We can fix this.” He said, and Elain watched from the corner of her eyes as he came to stand right behind her instead, his arms going around her as he reached for the gingerbread in front of her.

“What are you doing?” She gasped.

“Why, helping you, of course.”

She highly doubted he was that innocent. His scent surrounded her, the heat from his body resting upon her skin as a gentle caress. It was all Elain could do to keep her eyes open, to follow his hands as he gently studied her creation. She could hear his steady breathing, quickly realising just how close he was to her. His lips were by her ear, his front pressing against her back every so often.

“Maybe we could do a tent instead?”

Elain frowned at the suggestion. It could work, even if it felt lazy to do so. She felt his hands on her hips, caressing her as she mumbled, “I suppose so.”

He seemed pleased by her quick acceptance, the feeling of his lips so faint against her skin, it was nearly unnoticeable. “Or just accept the defeat and do something else instead.”

Elain hadn’t realized she had closed her eyes, but at the sound of his lewd proposal, she snapped them open, promptly stepping closer to the counter and stepping away from him. “You’re distracting me.”

“Am I?” He stepped closer once again, pressing his nose against her neck, his lips a breath away from touching her fevered skin. “You smell good.”

Elain nearly whimpered “That’s just the gingerbread.”

He pressed his mouth against her shoulder, nibbling softly as if he couldn’t help but taste her. “I’m pretty sure it’s you.”

She turned around, ignoring her erratic breathing. “I still need to bake another batch-” She gasped as she felt his hands on her waist, raising her so she was sitting on the counter before she could finish her sentence. “Azriel, we don’t have enough time for that.” Truth be told, she was doing very little to push him away.

Azriel, of course, noticed that as well.

“I think we have more than enough time, princess.” He said, voice raspy as he stepped even closer. Elain wasn’t sure where her body ended and where his began, but as he kissed her jaw, the corner of her mouth, it felt like the most urgent thing that he stepped even closer.

Elain nearly whimpered as he pulled away, panting as he grabbed the hem of her skirts, pulling them up at an agonising speed.

Elain, however, wasn’t to be deterred. “Someone’s cocky.” She said, far too breathy for it to mean much.

He raised an eyebrow, scarred hands trailing up her legs. “Is that a challenge princess?”

Elain ignored the goosebumps raising all over her skin, ignored the craving that seemed to throb with her every heartbeat. “If you’re up for it.”

“Let’s find out, shall we?” A smirk was all the warning she got before Azriel pressed his face between her legs. Elain cried out, mindless with want. Her legs quickly wrapped around his shoulders, pressing him closer to her at the first touch of his tongue against her center. She was vaguely aware of leaning back on her hands, accidentally spilling what remained of the icing on the counter.

She couldn’t bring herself to care – she reached for his hair with her other hand, moaning as he devoured her. He moaned her name against her core as if he couldn’t get enough of her. He was a man starved, licking her, and fucking her with his tongue as if this was both the first and the last time he ever got to do this. The feeling of his large, scarred hands pulling her thighs apart, the scratch of his beard against her sensitive skin, it was all too much. Azriel had barely pushed a finger inside her before Elain was tumbling over the edge, his name on her lips as she bucked against his mouth over and over and over again.

“Sweetest fucking thing in the world.” He growled, more to himself than to her. He was panting, eyes dark as he took her in. She probably looked like a mess, panting, hands covered in icing, legs opened in a lewd display of her arousal. Elain felt herself blush under his scrutiny, but any embarrassment quickly faded as he took her mouth, his tongue seeking hers. “Turn around, princess.” He mumbled against her lips, helping her get down from the counter before lightly slapping her ass. “We’re on a schedule.”

Funnily enough, that was the furthest thing from her mind. Nothing mattered – not the party, not the spilled icing, not even the gingerbread house that had somehow ended up splattered on the kitchen floor. There was nothing but him. Not as he pushed inside her, his length stretching her as if it were their very first time together. Her every nerve-ending was on fire, her body craving him even as he filled her again and again. There were only the sounds he made as he rutted into her, the gentleness in his hands as he pulled her by her hair, the wantonness in the way he kissed her.

“You’re making such a mess, princess.” He panted against her ear, pulling down her corset, his hands quickly grabbing into her bare tits.

“Please.”

“Are you close?” Elain could do nothing but nod. He had barely pulled out of her when she was being turned around, her eyes quickly finding his as he pushed back inside in one swift move, as if he had never left. “I need to see you when you come.” And then he was wrapping her leg over his hip, filling her even deeper.

He wrapped his lips around her nipple, nibbling on the sensitive skin as his cock kept pounding into her. The feel of his mouth, of his cock… All Elain could do was scream out his name as she crashed, coming around his cock just as he spilled into her.

“Fuck.” He panted, hips still bucking against her.

Elain giggled, high on his touch. “Think I still have time to bake something?” She asked, shamelessly pressing her lips to his chest, his throat, his lips, taking them between her teeth and pulling gently. He hissed.

“Not if you keep doing that.” His gaze roved over her before finally settling on her eyes with a mischievous glint. “And I don’t think that gingerbread cake is salvageable anymore.”

Elain supposed not, but she wasn’t a quitter.

In no time – and with a lot of effort – Elain was kicking Azriel out of the kitchen, scrubbing every nook and cranny of the counter and busying herself with something else. Something quick that wouldn’t raise any eyebrows.

Or so she had hoped.

“Where’s the gingerbread house?” Feyre asked only a few minutes later, eyeing the plain gingerbread cookies Elain had managed to bake in the measly thirty minutes she had been left with. Azriel, at Feyre’s question, gave Elain a heated stare, a smirk blooming on his lips as he casually strolled into the living room without a care in the world. Elain felt her cheeks heat up, pointedly ignoring her sister’s knowing smile. “Had a change of heart?”

Elain cleared her throat, squaring her shoulders as she made her way to the kitchen. “Sure,” she said. “let’s call it that.”

#elriel #pro elriel #elain archeron #azriel #elain x azriel #pro elain archeron #azriel shadowsinger #acotar #christmas fic #gingerbread house #feyre archeron #12 days of christmas acotar edition #christmas stories #christmas #happy solstice #christmas prompts #my writing

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ammarettu · 24 days ago

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Day 3 of 12 for @12daysofchristmas

Prompt: Here, take my coat.

Fandom: The Witcher

Characters: Jaskier and Geralt

Words: 886

Rated G

#witcher fanfiction #my writing #witcher #the witcher #writing prompt #12 days of christmas #Geralt and Jaskier #geraskier #geralt x jaskier

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percico-nicercy-events · 1 year ago

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The 12 Days of Christmas

In TEN WHOLE DAYS, the first event that we're running is starting! It's called the twelve days of nicercy christmas and is based on the Christmas classic The Twelve Days of Christmas.

PROMPT LIST:

Tag us ( @percico-nicercy-events ) and tag your creation #12daysofperciconicercy and #percico-nicercy events so that we can reblog your work!

#12 days of christmas #prompt list #nicercy #writing prompt #dialogue prompts #story prompts #romance prompts #angst prompts #percico #percico events #admin post

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laidee-flegman · 1 year ago

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the 12 days of Christmas journaling prompts

Seasons greetings everyone! To celebrate the beginning of the Christmas season I'm going to be uploading journaling prompts everyday for 12 days all surrounding Christmas, starting with todays!

What's your go-to Christmas movie, and why does it give you all the warm fuzzies?

If Santa had a smartphone, what emojis do you think he'd use to describe his Christmas Eve adventures?

Describe your ideal winter wonderland – snowflakes, hot cocoa, and all that jazz.

Share a childhood Christmas memory that still makes you grin like a kid on a sugar high.

If you were in charge of the North Pole, what quirky updates or improvements would you make?

Write a letter to your future self, reflecting on this Christmas and your hopes for the next.

What's the weirdest, most unexpected Christmas gift you've ever received? Spill the peppermint tea!

Create a Christmas playlist that perfectly captures your holiday vibes. Bonus points for dance-worthy tunes!

Imagine you're a mischievous elf causing harmless chaos in Santa's workshop. What kind of mischief would you make?

What's your secret weapon for surviving awkward family gatherings during the holidays?

Share your favourite Christmas recipe – whether it's a classic or your own quirky creation.

If your pet could write a letter to Santa, what do you think would be on their wish list?

Describe your dream Christmas tree – lights, ornaments, and all the trimmings.

What's your strategy for tackling holiday shopping without going totally Grinch-mode?

If Christmas characters had social media profiles, what kind of posts would they share? #FrostyTheSnowmanSelfie

Write a short story about a magical, unexpected Christmas adventure you'd love to experience.

Share a cringe-worthy holiday moment that still makes you laugh. We all have 'em!

If you could spend Christmas anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?

Create a Christmas-themed bucket list for the season. Check off as many as you can!

What's the most bizarre Christmas tradition you've ever heard of? Would you give it a go?

If you were in a Christmas movie, what would your character be like, and what wild shenanigans would they get up to?

Reflect on the year and jot down three things you're grateful for – big or small.

Share a Christmas joke that never fails to crack you up. Laughter's the best present, right?

Describe the perfect Christmas morning – from the smell of pancakes to the sound of ripping wrapping paper.

If you could invite three fictional characters to your Christmas dinner, who would they be and why?

Write a letter to Santa outlining your good deeds and maybe a few… not-so-good ones.

What's your favourite way to give back during the holiday season? 'Tis the season of giving, after all!

If you had a Christmas-themed superpower, what would it be and how would you use it?

Share a heart-warming holiday quote that inspires you to spread good vibes.

Reflect on one goal or intention you have for the upcoming year. How will you sleigh it?

#journal prompts #journaling #journal #journals #writing prompt #christmas journal prompts #christmas #christmas holidays #christmas journal #12 days of christmas journaling

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homosociallyyours · 1 year ago

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Christmas fic prompt:

Under the mistletoad

If Harry doesn't get true love's kiss by 11:59 pm Christmas Eve, his curse-- to turn into a toad at each full moon --will be permanent. With the help of his best friend, Louis, he sets out to go on as many dates as he can to find love.

But could what he's looking for be even closer than he thinks?

#fic prompt #free to good home #you still have time to write a 12 days before christmas advent fic lol #title inspired by the cheesy xmas romcom i just put on #a no nonsense reporter has to do a her station's biggest advertiser: a company famous for their 'mistletoads'

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seaside-writings · 1 year ago

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Hello, hello, all you holly jolly people! It is the first day of my “12 Days of Prompts” event and we're starting off with something a little scary.

Every Christmas season there are two horror movies that my family and I watch over and over again. The first one as you can call see is “Krampus” and the second you’ll see later on!

Krampus is by far one of my favorite Christmas movies, I know that sounds strange, but it’s the truth. I love the monster designs, how the characters a portrayed, and how it still feels more like a Christmas movie than a horror movie, even during some of the actual horror parts. Plus, I like that it doesn’t try and take itself too seriously.

So if you haven’t seen it yet, I highly recommend it!

Like always if you do use these prompts please tag me so I can see what you’ve made!

I hope you all stay blessed and safe throughout your day.

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays: Celia ❤💚❄⛄🎄

“It started with the wind, on a cold night, much like this,” - “It's Christmas. Nothing bad is going to happen on Christmas!” - "That's what a family is, baby. People you try to be friends with, even when you don't have a lot in common,” - “You're not thinking of going after that snowplow alone, are you?” “A Shepherd's gotta protect his flock,” - “It's the blizzard, honey, nothing's working right now,” - “They can see dust specks on Mars, but no one noticed a giant blizzard hurtling towards us,” “Well, as soon as the power's back, you can write an angry e-mail to the National Weather Service,” - “I would just be calmer if I knew how we were gonna survive Christmas with 12 people stuck in a house with no hot water, no heat, and no electricity,” - “You know, she and I, we butt heads, but I can't imagine life without her,” Yeah, I know what you mean,” _ “And that night, in the darkness of a howling blizzard… I got my wish,” “Oh, lay off of him! The kid deserves a prize for telling the truth!” - “It's just a scratch,” “Oh, my gosh,” “It looks like something bit you.” “Nope! Probably a bear trap under the snow or something,” “We don't have bears here,” - “Dear Santa, I know I haven't been great this year and I'm sorry for that, but I was really hoping you could help out me and my family this Christmas,” - “So, where’s the nog? I need to get merry,” - “Come on, kids, I'm gonna teach you how to make peppermint schnapps,” - "A little sugar, a little spice, makes everything nice." - "I haven't been this hungover since the Pope died." - “But Krampus didn't take me that night… He left me, as a reminder of what happens when hope is lost, when belief is forgotten… and the Christmas spirit dies,” - “They too had given up. And eventually, so did I,” - “What’s she saying?” “This… This is all our fault… he’s come for us all... He?” - “And for the first time, I didn't wish for a miracle, I wished for them to go away… a wish I would come to regret,” - “I'm old enough to know when life is coming at me with its pants down,” - "Listen, why don't we just leave? Right? We can all pile in the truck and we'll just see as far as we can get, and we can pick up-” “The truck's gone,” - “And I just wanna say I’m sorry for… thinking you’re such a spineless dick all these years,” - “Poor bastard must have sailed clear through,” “Looks more like the opposite,” “What’d you mean?” “The glass is punched in,” - “Don't suppose you got me a backup generator for Christmas, did you?” “Yeah, it's under the tree next to your ties and underwear,” - “Blah blah blah. Bullshit, bullshit. Ah, here we go, the wishlist!” - “Enough with the sappy crap, let's open up the damn presents,” - “See? Let them out of your sight for one second, and boom, shotgun wedding,” “Can you not, please,” “Well, you ought to know,” - “What did you see up there?” “You don't wanna know, sweetheart,” "Honey, I just got my ass kicked by a bunch of Christmas cookies, so trust me when I tell you I can take it!" - “It's not starting! It's not starting! Why isn't it starting!?”

“I think our best bet is to stay put, board up all the doors and windows, and as soon as the weather breaks, we'll go find her,”

“Hey, asshole! I take back my wish, I take it all back! Give me back my family!” - “I, um-- I just wanna say thanks for, uh, you know, saving my ass back there,” - “Twisted fairytale horseshit!!” - "I've hunted a lot of game in my day, those are hooves. Big ones too. Could be an elk or a goat,” What kind of goat walks on its hind legs? - “How much ammo do you have?” “A couple shells still loaded, maybe a dozen in my pocket. Why?” - “What? “She said we're screwed,” - “They had forgotten the spirit of Christmas, the sacrifice of giving. And my family was no different,” - “And as he had for thousands of years, Krampus came not to reward, but to punish, not to give, but to take,” - “I tried to help them to believe again, but we were no longer the loving family I remembered,” - “I knew Saint Nicholas was not coming this year. Instead, it was a much darker, more ancient spirit. The shadow of Saint Nicholas. It was Krampus,” - “I just wanted Christmas to be like it used to be, but forget it! I hate Christmas! I hate all of you!” - “Evil Santa? She’ll be yammering about a rabid Easter Bunny come Spring,” - “What are we gonna tell the kids?” “I don't know. The truth?” “Sure, which version of it?” - “Yeah, well, you know-- she always gets a little weird around Christmas,” - “Baby, please don't do this, listen, we can figure something else out,” “This is how I figure things out,” - “You had mom's angel this whole time?” “Yeah, I thought you knew,” “No,” - “It was almost Christmas, but this Christmas was darker, less cheerful. But I still believed in Santa, in magic and miracles, and the hope that we could find joy again,” - “I'm sorry, I just wanted Christmas to be like it used to be,” - “Our village had given up on miracles, and on each other,” - “Remember we used to fight over who got to place her?” “Yeah, you fought dirty, I still have the scars,” “Where do you think my girls get it from?” - “I don't like this,” “Whoever did this is a demented son of a bitch,” - “Come on, come on, please,” “I'm trying! I don't even know how to drive a stick! We have a hybrid! - “The snowplow?” “The keys were in the ignition-” “And it was beat to hell!’ “But if it runs, I drive it back here, and then everyone piles in the car and follows while I clear a path in front of us,” “And go where?” “The mall doubles as an emergency shelter, and if it's empty, we'll try the police station,” “And what if they're gone too?” “Then we keep driving till we see lights or people, plowed road, somewhere safe for the kids,” “And then we bring help back here,” - “I think it's panicking, trying to get outside,” “Well, we boarded everything up,” - “What are you doing? We've got four other kids here to protect,” - “It's not what you do, it's what you believe, and what you've given up," - “I think all this might be my fault,” - “What are we gonna do now?” “We keep the fire hot,” - “Oh, hey, there you are! Hey, kiddo. we thought the sugarplum fairies may have gotten you,” - “Everybody, hold on to each other,” - “Be good,” - “Wow, what's this all about?” “It's nothing just… merry Christmas,” “Merry Christmas to you too, baby,”

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abiiors · 1 year ago

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twelve days of christmas

okay, i'm back again because i had so much fun in october! but this time it's a bit different—as you can see, there are only 12 prompts and not 31 so you can have a bit more flexibility about when you want to post :)

no rules as such—you can write 1 or 2 or all 12 and post them any time in the month of december. once again, i'm posting this a month in advance so people have the time to plan + write

i hope you guys participate again and i would absolutely love to read your fics so pls tag #christmas75 if you use these <33

typed list of prompts under the cut

1] secret santa 2] we went to winter wonderland 3] under the mistletoe 4] nightmare before christmas 5] naughty vs nice 6] gingerbread house 7] all i want for christmas 8] eggnog and mulled wine 9] snowed in 10] ugly sweater party 11] home for christmas 12] midnight kisses

(ps: i made these for me and my mutuals in the 1975 fandom but if you want to use these for other fandoms, please feel free to do so :) however i'd really appreciate if you didn't use the christmas75 tag <3)

#reblogs are really appreciated <3 #the 1975 #matty healy #ross macdonald #george daniel #adam hann #christmas prompts #christmas #christmas75 #winter prompts #writing prompts #christmas writing prompts #christmas writing challenge #12 days of christmas #winter #writing prompt

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writerwrightlegend · 23 days ago

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Twelve Days to Christmas(Day 2):Christmas Shopping.

Summary:Yuu goes christmas shopping to buy gifts for all of his friends. Grim tags along and things get chaotic rather quickly. Especially when you're at risk of running into the people he's shopping for.

Yuu and Grim headed into Mr. S's Mystery Shop. Yuu had a list of all of his friends and classmates and something that he knew that they would want. The list went like this;

Riddle Rosehearts:Book of crossword puzzles.

Ace Trappola:Deluxe card deck.

Deuce Spade:Blast cycle helmet and gloves.

Cater Diamond:Stakeboard.

Trey Clover:Dessert recipe book.

Leona Kingscholar:Chess board and pieces.

Jack Howl:Snowboard equipment.

Ruggie Bucchi:Wallet.

Azul Ashengrotto:Calendar planner.

Jade Leech:Mushroom terrarium.

Floyd Leech:Musicology book.

Kalim Al-Asim:Poison remedies kit.

Jamil Viper:Hip hop cd.

Vil Sohoeonheit:Special edition makeup kit.

Epel Felmier:Pocket knife.

Rook Hunt:Photo album book.

Idia Shroud:Gaming headphones.

Ortho Shroud:Telescope.

Malleus Draconia:Violin music sheets.

Silver:Trainers' Foil and sword sheath.

Sebek Zigvolt:Katana and sword sheath.

Lilia Vanrouge:Cookbook.

Finnegan Redhood:Arrows and quiver.

Grim:Gastronomy book.

While some of them weren't the most ideal things he could think of as gifts, but he still wanted to get them something, even if he didn't know some of them better than others. He was sure that he would find everything in Sam's shop. The only issue was...

"Hench-human! What are we doing here?!"

Grim was here and he was one of the people on the list. Yuu knew that this was going to be a challenge, but he was sure that he could get the present for him when he wasn't looking.

"We're shopping for presents, Grim."

"Why? Something coming up soon?"

"Well... Back in my world, around this time, people would get gifts for their family and friends as a way to show their appreciation. So, I'm getting one for all of our friends and classmates."

"Even for... Those guys..."

Grim's voice lowered as he addressed the obvious group of people in the school.

"Yes... Even them..."

Yuu pulled out the list as they stepped into the store.

"What's that?"

"The list of gifts for everyone."

"Can I see it?"

Yuu froze before reluctantly showing Grim, hiding his name and gift with his finger as he showed him. Grim scanned the list before his eyes widened in surprise.

"Myaaah! That's a lot of stuff!"

"Dude, not so loud."

"Sorry... Are we really getting all of that stuff?"

"Yeah, but we're putting everything in bags so that they can't see them in case any of them show up."

Yuu grabbed a large bag as Grim followed him. As he looked around, he was able to find Riddle's, Ace's and Trey's gift before marking their names with a checkmark. As he was looking for Deuce and Cater's gift. He heard a familiar duo coming towards him.

"Yuu?"

"Hey dude! What's up?"

Yuu nearly panicked as he turned around to see Ace and Deuce.

"Oh hey guys... What are you doing here?"

"We're just getting stuff for the next unbirthday party for Trey."

"What's in the bag?"

"Yuu's buying-"

"It's just groceries for the week."

Yuu interrupted Grim. He had a feeling that showing him the list was a bad idea.

"We're just about to get some canned tuna, right Grim?"

"..."

"Oh, yeah! Delicious tuna!"

Ace was still suspicious but Deuce didn't seem to notice anything.

"Okay, we better get this stuff back to Trey."

Yuu let out a sigh of relief as they left. His body stopped tensing up.

"That was a close one."

"Myaaah?! Was I not supposed to tell them?"

"Dude, I wanna surprise them. Don't go telling them that."

"My bad..."

"It's okay, let's get the rest of the stuff."

Yuu managed to get Deuce's and Cater's gifts. He had everyone from Heartslabyul covered. Now it was time for Savanaclaw. It was a lot easier to find the trio's gifts. He was able to mark off all of Savanaclaw and start looking for Octavinelle's presents.

He was able to find the calendar planner and mushroom terrarium for Azul and Jade. He just had to find Floyd's gift. It took him a minute but he was able to find it. Finally, he could cross off all of Octavinelle and start looking for Scarabia.

As he looked at the list to see what he needed for Kalim and Jamil. He saw the duo out of the corner of his eyes. He immediately moved with Grim to a different part of the store, trying to avoid them as he looked for Kalim's gift. This was a lot more challenging than he originally fought. First he had to hide the fact that he was getting something for Grim, then ran into Ace and Deuce while getting their gifts, and now the same thing has happened with Kalim and Jamil. Yuu just had to hope that neither of them would approach him while he was finding their gifts. As he put Kalim's gift in the bag and went to find Jamil's gift, Grim suddenly bumped right into Kalim. Yui quickly thought of something to distract them.

"Hey guys!"

"Hello, Yuu.."

"Grim... I thought I told you to watch were you were going."

"Whoops! My bad..."

"Eh, sorry if we ran into you guys. We were just getting some groceries."

"And tuna!"

Kalim noticed that there was a lot of the stuff in the bag.

"What's all of that stuff?"

"Oh! Just some groceries, don't worry about it."

Yuu nearly started sweating but was relieved when Jamil started pulling Kalim away to check out.

"Anyways, we better get back to our dorm, right Kalim?"

"Oh yeah! Bye guys!"

Yuu breathe another sigh of relief as they left and managed to find Jamil's gift. He crossed out Scarabia. He could now start looking for Pomefiore's gifts. He found Vil's gift before finding Epel's and Rook's. He could now cross Pomefiore off of the list. He was able to find Idia's and Ortho's gifts, marking Ignihyde off of the list. He could now look for Diasomnia, which was the second to last set of gifts to look for. He found the violin rosin for Malleus, and the cookbook for Lilia. As he was looking through the swords, he heard a loud voice echo through the store.

"Human!"

Yuu and Grim turned around to see Sebek and Silver. This wasn't good as they were right in front of their gifts. All they could hope for was for their interaction to be short.

"Hi, Sebek. Hey Silver."

"What's up?"

"Have you two seen Malleus anywhere?"

"You guys lost him again?"

Grim said with a slight smirk.

"Ignore him, and to answer your question, we haven't seen him."

They both nodded before leaving and Yuu was able to collect their gifts. The last two gifts for Grim and Finnegan, the other person living in Ramshackle. Yuu was able to grab Finnegan's gift and as he was grabbing Grim's...

"Hey, Yuu! I was wondering where you and Grim went!"

Yuu nearly jumped as he turned around to see Finnegan standing behind him.

"Hey Finn..."

"What's that?"

Yuu reluctantly decided to tell Finnegan about the gifts.

"So, I bought everyone presents..."

Yuu leaned in closer.

"Don't tell Grim, but I got him one too."

Finnegan nodded and made it clear that he wouldn't tell anyone about the presents. Yuu was able to buy everything for everyone, well, mostly everyone. There were still a couple of people from each dorm that needed presents, and he wanted to get something for the staff too. That could wait for another trip. For now, he had some christmas gifts to wrap when he got back to Ramshackle.

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blizzardfluffykpop · 1 year ago

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12 days of Winter Year #7

Groups you can request for are MONSTA X, PENTAGON, SEVENTEEN, and Xdinary Heroes.

To request, pick a prompt and a member from one of the groups listed above, and the specific reader you want it for (if not specified, I’ll make it gender neutral). Also, I do not take requests for smut.

Completed stories will be posted every odd numbered day of December!

Update: All prompts have been written so they are no longer strikethrough!

Please request!!!

“I’ll light the fire; you place the stockings on the mantle.”

Building a snowman together

“If I give you this peppermint kiss, will you give me a real one?”

A Winter Postcard that reads, “Meet me in ____” (You choose the destination!)

“Your mom made me a gift?” “Yeah, you’re a part of the family now.”

Cooking Christmas dinner together for your friends

“After sledding, do you want to have hot cocoa at the lodge?”

(Bias) giving you frosted flowers

“Mistletoe… my arch enemy”

A Holiday Dress Up Party

“Snowball fight!”

Make your own prompt!

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12daysofattoye · 1 year ago

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acaplaya-musings · 21 days ago

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12 Days of Christmas - Day 7

Title: Deck The (Castle) Halls Day 7 – Decorations & A little accident Fandom: VoicePlay (Fantasy AU again, and a direct continuation from 'Snow In Voludera' and 'Finding Warmth In Wintertime') Warnings: N/A Word Count: 4,429 (I really didn’t expect this one to be so long!)

(story below the Keep Reading cut!)

Geoff, Kathy, Eli, and Layne followed Cesar out of the dining room, and upstairs to one of the spare bedchambers. Over in the corner of the room, Cesar was kneeling down next to a couple of boxes, and looking inside one of them eagerly.

“Yes! I knew we had kept our decorations from last year!” said Cesar.

“And some from the year before that, and the year before that, and the year before that…” said Eli drily.

Cesar looked up. “I know it might not be much to decorate a whole castle with, but we could buy some more – there’s usually special Winter Markets happening in town around the start of the festival – and I could make some more as well!” Cesar pulled out a stringed garland of paper snowflakes from the box. The snowflakes were a little crumpled and slightly yellowed around the edges.

Geoff held up a hand as Cesar appeared to be reaching into the box again. “Cesar, hang on,” he began, “I really do love the concept, it sounds pretty fun and I’m sure you’ve got plenty of ideas for decorating the castle, but I’m still trying to recover my energy from the snowball fight; would it be alright if this could maybe wait until after lunch?”

Cesar deflated a little. “Yeah, alright then, I can wait,” he replied, standing up. Then he brightened. “Ooh! I could go down to the village in the meantime and buy some stuff for decoration-making!” A look of hesitation flashed on his face. “Uh, if that’s alright, Geoff?”

Geoff smiled reassuringly. “Of course it’s alright! Go right ahead!” he replied. “I’ll probably go just relax in the library for a while.”

“I’ll keep you company!” said Kathy, sharing an affectionate smile with Geoff.

“I might go check in at The Palace, then,” said Layne, “I’ll see if I’ve got any Winter Festival duties, and hope that I’m not needed for Yuletide.”

“I’ll come with you,” said Eli to Layne. “I’ll try to have a quick look for Yuletide music stuff, both song tracks and sheet music.”

“Everyone make sure to return in time for lunch!” said Kathy.

---------------------------------------------

“Be careful not to eat too fast, Cesar! You’ll give yourself a sore stomach!”

The group had reconvened at the dining table for lunch, and Cesar in particular was tucking into his meal doggedly.

“What’s got you so hungry, Cesar?” Geoff asked.

“Let me guess,” said Eli, a knowing look in his eyes, “Cesar’s thinking that the sooner he’s done with his food, the sooner decorating can begin, right Cesar?”

Cesar looked up from his plate and smiled sheepishly. “Not that I’m trying to hurry you guys or anything…”

Geoff chuckled. “Well you mentioned something about making decorations yourself, right?” he asked. “Maybe you could start making some more while you wait for us, if you wanted to?”

Cesar beamed. “Great idea! I can go make a start on it right now!” he said. He grabbed his plate, and disappeared out of the room.

“And there he goes!” said Eli, rolling his eyes but smiling.

Geoff turned to look at Kathy. “Actually, speaking of the Winter Festival and stuff,” he began, “Cesar said that many other kingdoms have their own celebratory things in winter as well, right?” He looked over at Eli, who nodded in confirmation, before focusing back on Kathy. “So what about the kingdom you and your parents moved to? Did that have something as well?” Geoff asked.

Kathy gave a half-nod half-shrug. “Yeah, technically,” she replied, “but it wasn’t much like the Winter Festival here. Vecchinoio would have combat displays from the Royal Knights, marching parades, big speeches from their king about hoping for a prosperous new year – all very formalised, you know.”

“Sounds boring,” said Layne.

“I often found it so, yes” said Kathy, nodding again. “I don’t actually remember much about my winter experiences in Voludera growing up, but I remember that I was never allowed to attend the Yuletide party in town. I always did love getting to see the decorations in the village, though!”

“Sounds like we’re both in for some new experiences, then!” said Geoff, smiling. He pushed his chair out from the table. “What do you say we go check out that box of decorations that Cesar was looking at before?”

“Sure, if Cesar hasn’t gotten impatient and beaten us to it!” replied Kathy.

--------------------------------------------

The group headed up to the spare bedchamber where the box of decorations was still sitting, but Cesar wasn’t there.

“He’s probably making more decorations in his room,” said Layne.

“Hopefully that’s what he’s up to, anyway,” said Eli.

Geoff approached the box and sat down next to it as he looked inside.

“Sure got a lot of stuff on strings in here,” he said, pulling out a threaded chain of cotton balls.

“And you have a lot of empty wall-space,” said Layne, “so I think it’ll work out alright.”

“We could definitely benefit from a few more garlands and hanging decorations and the like,” said Eli, “whether bought, or made, or some of each. There really is plenty of space to make use of!” He reached into the box and lifted out a long chain of fabric bunting, with patterns embroidered in colours of red and green. “Oh I’m glad we hung onto this one, for sure!”

“The idea of hanging up decorations is one thing,” said Kathy, “but figuring out how to do it is another matter entirely, both in terms of height and in getting things to stay up!”

Eli looked unbothered, and perhaps even a little smug. “Well I can’t say for sure how everyone else does it,” he said, “but we usually find ways to manage.” He lifted a hand up, palm facing upwards, and the string of cotton balls rose up into the air, hovering about half a foot above the ground.

“Works for me!” said Geoff.

Layne and Eli took some of the garlands and other stringed decorations, and went to go find places to put them, while Geoff and Kathy kept rummaging through the box they had come from.

“Wow, there’s some really nice stuff in here,” said Geoff, pulling out some shimmering ornaments made of coloured glass. “I’d be tempted to keep some of these on display year-round!”

“Yeah, I get that, but then they wouldn’t be as special!” said Kathy, pulling out a couple of figurines carved out of wood. “Most of the reasoning for having special winter decorations is so you have something else to look forward to when the season comes around again!” Then Kathy’s cheeks went pink as she spotted something else, down in the bottom of the box. “Oh goodness, would you look at that?” She lifted it out and showed it to Geoff. “I assume you’ve seen this before?” she asked.

“Mistletoe, right?” Geoff replied. “Or something made to resemble a mistletoe cutting, at least. Or it’s a cutting with some sort of magical preservation, I suppose.”

“Do you know much about mistletoe?” Kathy asked in a subtle hint-hint manner. “Have you read about it, maybe?”

Geoff thought for a moment. “It grows on the stems of other trees, the berries are usually white, but can be yellow, and they taste pretty bad.”

“Well, yes, but- wait, what do you mean ‘taste bad’? Mistletoe berries are poisonous!”

“They are?”

Kathy chuckled. “Well, poisonous to humans and at least some animals, anyway. But what I was going to say was that some people hang mistletoe in doorways during wintertime.” Kathy held up the mistletoe and dangled it between the tops of both their heads. “And if two people with feelings for each other happen to find themselves underneath it, then they must share a kiss!”

Geoff felt his cheeks become a little warmer. “Oh really? Is that so?” he replied, his eyes twinkling. He reached up and gently placed one hand over Kathy’s, with the mistletoe still held aloft in her grasp. “Well I don’t think we need a plant to help us with that kind of thing, but since we’ve been given the opportunity…”

Geoff began slowly leaning in closer, and Kathy mirrored his movement without hesitation. Her heart fluttered as Geoff tilted his head ever-so-slightly, and she closed her eyes…

“I see you’ve found the mistletoe, then?”

The two of them whipped their heads around to see Eli standing in the doorway with an amused smirk on his face. “It belongs to Cesar, or it did, anyway,” he continued. “Apparently he hung onto it ‘in case he found the right person’. The both of you might as well keep it, though – you’d certainly get more use out of it than Cesar ever did!”

“Have you come to grab more decorations to hang up?” Geoff asked, trying to sound casual while hoping his face didn’t look as red as it felt.

“Actually I was coming to show you a couple that we’ve put up so far,” Eli replied, “and ask you if you had any ideas or suggestions, but I can come back later if you’d prefer…?”

Geoff sighed and stood up. “No, it’s fine, lead the way,” he said. Geoff offered Kathy a hand to help her to her feet, while giving her a small smile and a half-shrug.

“It’s alright, we can leave this till later,” said Kathy quietly to Geoff, wiggling the mistletoe in her fingers. “Perhaps we could put this somewhere in the bedchamber tonight, hm?” Geoff’s face became flushed with heat again, but he said nothing and simply squeezed her hand affectionately, before the both of them followed Eli out of the room.

Layne was waiting for them downstairs next to a pile of stringed decorations on the ground, along with a strand of fabric bunting which hung above the entrance doors, and a string of brightly-painted nuts and fruit seeds, which ran along an adjacent wall.

Geoff looked up at the bunting on the wall and then down at the pile on the floor. “Hang on, I thought I only saw one strand of this fabric bunting stuff in the box?” he asked in confusion. “And some of these look longer than they did earlier.”

Eli shrugged, a small hint of smugness in his expression. “Duplication spells and extension spells aren’t really a bother for simple items such as these,” he replied. “And it’s all in the spirit of the Winter Festival, right?”

“So what do you think?” Layne asked to Geoff and Kathy.

Kathy looked around at the great stone walls as she thought for a moment, before turning to Eli. “So it’s really not too much effort to put things up wherever you want?” she asked

Eli waved a hand, and sent a string of paper snowflakes high up onto the wall, enough that they would have been level with Geoff’s snout if he were in dragon form. “No trouble at all, so long as I can still see where I’m putting stuff!” he said.

“So easy in fact that sometimes you don’t know when to stop!” said Layne, smirking at Eli with light-hearted teasing.

“Hey, we all make mistakes sometimes!”

Kathy smiled. “Well, I think that that other cloth bunting could go on the wall at the top of the main staircase, and some of those strings of nuts and seeds would work well underneath some of the windows down here,” she said.

“Yes, and perhaps we could string some of those cotton balls up along the staircase banisters,” said Geoff. “Maybe even use the cotton balls for the lower set, and use the snowflakes for the upper set.”

Eli grinned. “All sounds good to me!” he said, and then he began carrying out Kathy and Geoff’s suggestions.

“We might have to leave the bough till tomorrow,” said Layne, “but so long as we don’t forget about it!” He looked at Geoff. “It’s traditional for people to hang a branch of like a pine tree or a fir tree on the outside of their house above the doorway,” he explained. “Something to do with hoping for a prosperous and plentiful new year or something like that, I dunno, but it looks kinda cool, anyway. We just go find a new bough each year; most people do.”

“Oh yeah I think I remember,” said Kathy. “My parents would have a whole archway of evergreen branches outside the doors to our castle. I wonder if maybe we could do the same thing here?”

“Sounds like something Cesar would love, honestly,” said Layne. He paused for a moment. “Where is Cesar, anyway? It’s not like him to be missing out on all this; usually he’d be throwing decorations around left right and centre!”

Geoff cupped his hands around his mouth and looked up in the direction of the bedchambers. “Cesar! You’re missing out on decorating!” he called.

“Uh, I’ll be there in just a moment!” Cesar called back.

A mid-air string of cotton fell to the ground as Eli stopped what he was doing. “Uh oh, I think I know that tone of voice,” he said, eyes narrowing.

“Let me guess,” said Layne, “it’s the ‘I’ve-messed-up-and-I’m-trying-to-stop-you-from-finding-out-about-it voice, right?”

“Takes one to know one!” Eli replied. Layne poked his tongue out at him.

“We better go make sure Cesar is okay,” said Kathy. Geoff nodded and followed her upstairs, with Layne and Eli in tow.

The group found Cesar in the hallway outside his bedroom, with a couple handfuls of paper stars and paper flowers in his arms.

“Oh hey guys! And Kathy!” said Cesar. “I didn’t mean to take so long, I’ve just been in my room, this whole time! Just making decorations! Really getting into the swing of things, y’know?” He was attempting to sound like his usual bubbly self, but his smile was strained and didn’t quite reach his eyes.

Kathy took a couple of paper flowers and examined them, impressed.

“You must have a lot of experience making these!” she said. “These two look practically identical to each other!”

“Yeah, well, practice makes perfect and all that!” Cesar replied, his voice now definitely tinged with nervousness (or perhaps guilt, or both).

Eli was looking closely at the paper flowers Kathy was holding, growing even more suspicious as he touched a couple of the petals.

“I don’t suppose you’ve got any more decorations in your room that we could use, Cesar?” he asked. “We’ve got a lot of free space to work with, after all!” He was smiling, but there was a look in Eli’s eyes that said ‘I know there’s something you’re not telling us.’

“Uh, yeah! Sure! Of course!” Cesar replied. “You all just wait here a moment, and I’ll go and grab some more! Here, Geoff, hold these for me!” Geoff was suddenly given the other paper flowers and paper stars to hold.

Eli’s patience was visibly wearing thin. “Cesar, give me one good reason why we shouldn’t go into your room ourselves,” he said.

Cesar hesitated, one hand on his door handle. “Um, because you might see some of the gifts I’ve gotten all of you?” he suggested.

“Nice try, but you usually don’t start gift-shopping until the Winter Markets in town.”

Cesar slumped his shoulders in defeat. “Okay, but can you at least promise not to get mad?” he asked.

Eli looked at Cesar’s anxious expression and sighed. “I promise not to yell or raise my voice at all, but that’s all I can guarantee.”

“Fine, better than nothing, I suppose.”

Then Cesar swung open his bedroom door, and led the others inside.

There were a couple moments of silence as Geoff, Kathy, Layne, and Eli stared in shock and surprise at Cesar’s bed, or at least what they assumed to be Cesar’s bed. It was piled high with countless paper flowers, and then there were yet more piles sitting on the floor adjacent. One pile sat separate to the rest, and was a grouping of paper stars rather than flowers.

“So like have you been secretly stocking up on these in preparation for the season or what?” asked Layne, breaking the silence.

“I don’t think we’re gonna have enough boxes for all of these,” said Geoff.

Eli looked a little more around the room, and his eyes landed on one more star and two more flowers sitting on a small table off to the side. These ones were sparkling, as if coated in some special glittery substance. Eli’s eyes widened and his jaw clenched. Then he took a deep breath in, and then out again. “Cesar, have you been in my Magic Room?” he asked, sounding like someone using every ounce of willpower to retain their composure.

“Why, what makes you say that?” Cesar replied, with a last-ditch attempt at innocence.

“Oh, I don’t know. Perhaps because I can recognize Magic Dust when I see it?”

“Oh is that what it’s called? Yeah that makes sense I guess…”

“Cesar-”

Cesar threw up his hands pleadingly. “I can explain! I swear!” Eli folded his arms and looked at him expectantly. “Look, I had been busy making some of these, but then I decided to take a break from paper-folding, and I went for a wander through the castle to get some ideas on the best places to put stuff up…”

“And you happened to pass by my Magic Room?” Eli guessed, raising an eyebrow.

“The door was open! It’s not like I broke in! So I stopped to have a bit of a look inside – from the doorway – and I happened to spot a small pot of this sparkly powder stuff! And I happened to be holding one of the stars I had made, and I thought that the sparkly stuff would make the star look really pretty; I didn’t think it would actually do anything!”

Eli looked at him disbelievingly. “You found it in the Magic Room, and yet you didn’t expect the powder to be magical?” he asked.

Cesar shrugged helplessly. “I kinda wondered if maybe it’d make the star start glowing?” he replied. “But I also kinda just thought it probably wouldn’t do anything because I’m not a magic-user!”

Eli shook his head. “Magic Dust, as it’s most commonly called, is made with finely-crushed metals and/or gemstones, and it’s infused with what is basically magic essence. It doesn’t inherently need a person to provide a source of magic – it pretty much is one. But it seems you more or less figured that out yourself?”

“Yeah, well, I went in and sprinkled some of the ‘Magic Dust’ onto the star I was holding, and I was just thinking about how I would need to make a good few more of them, when suddenly like five extra ones appeared on the table!”

“And yet you then used the Magic Dust again?” said Eli, glancing again at the gargantuan mass of paper flowers.

Cesar looked extremely sheepish. “I guess I did kind of get excited by the idea of saving some time and effort,” he replied. “I went and grabbed one of the flowers I had made and put some of the Magic Dust on it, and then I put some on one of the magic copies it had made, and that’s when it kind of got out of hand.”

Geoff happened to look over at a chair in the room, upon which sat a few matching doublets, each identical to the one that Cesar was currently wearing. “Uh, not to make any assumptions, but did you do any more duplications after that?” he asked.

Cesar saw where Geoff was looking and grimaced. “Look, I was just wiping the Magic Dust stuff off of my fingers! That was a total accident!”

“Well hey, at least we didn’t end up with multiple Cesars!” Layne joked.

Eli remained deadpan. “No, Magic Dust isn’t that powerful, thankfully,” he said. “It’s usually used when a magic-user wishes to apply a spell or enchantment to a specific item and have it last for a long time. But regardless, it is meant to be only handled by magic-users for a reason, and it is not easy to obtain!” Eli took a step towards Cesar, and Cesar immediately cowered away from him.

Fortunately for Cesar, Kathy decided to step in – literally moving to stand between the two men. “Alright, how about we all pause and take a deep breath for a moment?” she said. She turned to Cesar. “Cesar, you should have come to talk to one of us instead of trying to hide it and deal with the problem all yourself. And even ignoring how risky it was for you to go into the Magic Room by yourself and touch things in there, the simple fact of the matter is that you used something you knew didn’t belong to you, without permission!”

Cesar hung his head sadly. “I know, I’m really sorry,” he said, to both Kathy and Eli.

Kathy then turned to Eli. “Eli, obviously you have good reason to be annoyed and upset, but please remember that no one got hurt, nothing got broken, and there was no actual damage caused because of this. Cesar is clearly very remorseful about what he did-”

Cesar nodded emphatically.

“-and I’m sure we can find ways to obtain more Magic Dust if you need it.”

Eli sighed. “Yeah, alright, I guess I can let this one slide,” he said. He held up a finger and pointed it towards Cesar. “But Cesar, never go into my Magic Room by yourself again without my permission!” he said.

“I won’t! I promise! Swear it!” Cesar replied, holding up a hand while placing the other on his chest.

Eli turned and pointed his finger towards Layne. “That goes for you as well!”

Layne looked surprised and indignant. “Me? But I had nothing to do with this!” he protested. Eli fixed him with a Look. “…Yeah, yeah, I promise as well,” said Layne.

“So anyone got any suggestions about getting rid of some of these?” asked Cesar, gesturing to the mass of flowers. “I was thinking about maybe flattening them or tearing them up, but that would kinda take a long time, and I’d still be left with lots of paper!”

“Well, the magic-copy flowers are also just paper, right?” said Layne. “Maybe we could throw some into a fire?”

“Hmm, I guess that wouldn’t have any disastrous consequences,” mused Eli. “I could go light the fireplace in the master bedroom; magic fire for magic flower duplicates, that kinda fits, right?”

“Might still be a little time-consuming, though, depending on how quickly or slowly the paper burns,” said Kathy.

Geoff, meanwhile, looked thoughtful, as he looked towards the pair of Magic-Dust-coated flowers. “Hey Eli, I don’t suppose you could figure out which of these two flowers is a magic duplicate, by any chance?” he asked.

Eli looked at him curiously, but went over and picked up a glittering flower in each hand, eyeing them closely, and even sniffing them. “It’s this one,” he said, holding up the flower in his left hand.

Geoff took it from him and turned to the rest of the group as he explained his idea. “The large majority of the flowers here came from when you put Magic Dust on this magic-copy flower specifically, yes?” Geoff asked. Cesar nodded. “And all the duplicates would be connected to the original thing that was magically copied in the first place, right? Like they appeared specifically because there was a paper flower that was sprinkled with Magic Dust. But if we destroyed this original source flower, then maybe all the copies that sprung from it will be destroyed as well!”

Eli considered the idea, and appeared intrigued by it. “That… sounds like it could work, actually!” he said. “It’s worth a shot, if nothing else!”

“Have you not used Magic Dust for duplication spells before?” Kathy asked Eli.

Eli shook his head. “No, I more use magic dust for stuff like making a candle burn brighter and/or longer, or making an inkwell hold more ink than its size allows, that sort of thing.”

Layne raised a hand. “Uh, if there’s a chance that what happens to the source object will happen to all its copies, then perhaps we shouldn’t throw it into any sort of fire,” he said, as Cesar’s expression became alarmed at the thought of his entire bed setting alight.

Eli snorted. “No, best not to,” he replied. “I could turn it into a small handful of sand, perhaps? Geoff, hold your hand out flat with the flower resting on your palm.” Geoff did as instructed. Eli stretched out his hands and wiggled his fingers in readiness. “Alright, let’s see if this works. Flos semel chartaceus; Nunc tumulus arenae!”

The flower appeared to dissolve on Geoff’s hand, until nothing remained but a small pile of pale sand. Geoff wasn’t sure what to do with the sand, and didn’t want to just drop it on the floor, until he looked over at Cesar’s bed and decided to just let it fall anyway, where it could join some of the other sand in the room.

“It worked!” said Cesar happily, looking at the greatly-reduced scattering of flowers on the bed. “But now my bed’s all sandy, and so is some of the floor!”

“And if you ever touch anything in my Magic Room again without asking, I’ll bring an entire coastline into your bedroom!” said Eli.

Kathy placed a hand on Cesar’s shoulder. “We can help you deal with that later tonight,” she said, “but how about we go get some more decorating done while there’s still daylight left?”

Eli’s expression relaxed into a smile. “Yeah, come on, Cesar, I wouldn’t want you missing out on all the fun!” he said.

Cesar beamed. “Well what are we waiting for, then?” he replied.

Geoff and Kathy hung back for a moment while Layne and Eli followed Cesar out of the room.

“Man, what a day!” said Geoff. “I wonder how other Voluderians get on with this kind of thing, or even just people in other castles, for that matter.”

“I bet they have less fun,” Kathy replied. “And besides, even the most beautifully-decorated castle wouldn’t be of any interest to me if I had no one to share it with.”

“Well I can’t disagree with you there,” Geoff replied, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close. Kathy pulled out the mistletoe from her pocket and held it above her head with a playful grin. Geoff laughed, but of course was more than happy to oblige her.

#voiceplay #The dragon in the castle #Sunlight Castle Stories #The Dragon's Winter #12daysofchristmas2024 #12 days of Christmas writing prompts

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