Tuxedo Mistress Lotus Crystal
Title : That girl with a Sailor Jupiter tattoo =) Posts : 10799 Join date : 2012-07-25 Age : 36 Location : São Paulo/Brazil
| Subject: [TIE BREAKER] Festibration Writing Contest 23rd December 2013, 9:33 pm | |
| Original rules and stories can be found here: http://www.thegalaxycauldronforums.com/t6264-voting-festibration-writing-contest So we have a tie! I'm gonna post entries 3 and 4 here and please, let's vote to break the tie. December 25th we'll announce a winner =D Entry #3 - Spoiler:
Christmas was a really depressing time of the year for me. You know, not knowing what was my real name and having no memories of my family really took a toll on my holiday spirit. Every year at the orphanage, we would have this trimming of the tree followed by the mass at the church. Normally, I'd just help feed the poor at the Soup Kitchen and then stay in my bed, until eventually people stopped asking me to join them.
After I left the orphanage and moved to my brand new apartment, I hoped things would remain the same and for some time, they did. However when I was 18, something magical happened. I have always known my girlfriend was a social butterfly and I loved her for it, but nothing would warn me of what was to come.
I arrived home after volunteering at the Soup Kitchen just to find a trimmed tree and an amazing smell. Apparently, Usagi thought I shouldn't spend Christmas alone and decided that since I wouldn't go to her house or Christmas dinner, she would bring dinner to mine.
Her mother was, along with Mako-chan, finishing preparing the turkey. Shingo was playing video games in the living room. Ami-chan and Tsukino-sama were talking about the meaning of Christmas. Minako-chan and Rei-chan were arguing over the music. All of them were so caught up in their current activities that no one noticed me. I just stood in my door looking at the scene. I realized, then, my girlfriend was not at sight. After looking at the balcony, I saw her golden hair and just followed suit.
She looked like a goddess, my goddess. White dress and little curls in her hair... and her smile shone so much. She held a box in her hands, which she gave to me when she got closer. It was then that I saw something funny over us. We were standing under a mistletoe. So I leaned down and kissed her.
In that moment, my holiday spirit came back. I couldn't believe I had spent all this time alone in such a special date, alienating myself from this, the unit feeling, the love, the joy. Because of her, my one true love, I realized Christmas is a time for celebration, and it didn't matter that back then I thought I had no motives to celebrate, because now I do have a motive. I have her, my guardian angel.
Entry #4 - Spoiler:
The evergreen trees in the studies and entrance halls were decorated in garland and dressed in candles, wreaths were on the walls, holly graced every mantle, fires blazed in every fireplace, ribbons of red and green gave color to rooms, while musicians began carols and hymns that filled the castle with comfort. Endymion stood at the top of the stairs and took it all in, breathing deeply the smell of evergreen and fresh baked goods, enjoying the warmth of the season. Yuletide was here.
He descended the stairs, adjusting the clasps of his cape, knowing exactly how ridiculous it looked even as he knew how important traditions were. When he reached the bottom of the stairs Cassie, one of their maidservants, approached him with a small tray of china, a fond smile on her face as she looked up at him. “Prince Endymion, how handsome you look!” she fawned in much the same way as a mother would. He smiled halfheartedly in an attempt to placate her as she swapped the tray to balance on one hand so she could twitch the heavy red cape material into place and pat down the fluffy white trim. “The children will love you!” He smiled again, nodding slightly, causing the golden circlet to fall farther down to fit snugly across his brow. She stood back, smiling up at him, and then jumped a bit. “Oh! Would you like some hot chocolate?” she asked, pouring the sweet-smelling drink from the metal teapot and into a small teacup. He accepted, taking the teacup from her, and she excused herself to continue with preparations for the evening’s festivities.
Sipping carefully from the hot drink, he walked over to the window and smiled; the moon would be full tonight.
The tour began on the backs of grey horses, their saddles and bridles decked in tiny silver bells and bunches of holly. He led the procession through the crowded parade grounds, Kunzite, Zoisite, Nephrite and Jadeite following behind, each of them decked out as Yuletide Judges, wearing attire nearly as outrageous and opulent as his. The people cheered as they passed, little children hugging their mother’s legs or their father’s necks as their parents reminded them of the importance of the “Yuletide Judges”. Every year they were watched over by the benevolent Kris Kringle, who would deem them as either naughty or nice, but on the eve of Yule the Yuletide Judges would tour the city, making the last calls on the children who lived there. They would hand out treats and talk with the children, deciding once and for all if they would be visited by their dear friend Kris. If they had been naughty, this was their last chance to prove themselves good.
The duty of being a Yuletide Judge was a near-lifetime affair; when a judge retired he trained a younger lad to be Kris Kringle’s eyes and ears in the city, and that lad would continue the tradition for years on end, to keep the myth and spirit alive through continuity. Prince Endymion had turned Yuletide Judge when he was thirteen, taking over for one of his father’s knights just a few short years after learning the truth about Kris Kringle. One by one his friends were turned to Judges as well; Jadeite had been the latest and last to become one – he went through his ‘training’ last year through Sir Denevine, and now the group of five Judges for Elysion were complete, and they would keep the tradition for most of the rest of their lives.
He enjoyed the tradition, the emotions the children experience when he meets them, the trepidation, nervousness, and anxiety, only to watch the fears disappear when he decides that their nice levels outweigh their naughty and pardon them for the year, he also liked watching his friends’ styles, though he thought some were a little more annoying than others. Kunzite treated it as a true trial, making the kid unbelievably nervous before making his decision. Zoisite actually pulled the kids aside, one by one, and with a small scroll had them repeat everything naughty they had done and subtly hint that they had forgotten a thing or two. Inevitably the kid would start panicking, but he would pardon them; he said that he really wanted the kids to regret their mean streaks, and, typically, the next year the kids he had visited behaved a lot better than the year before. Nephrite was more jovial about the whole thing – he would stare them down, make them turn in circles, ask them a few strange questions, and typically pardon them, though he always acted suspicious and would involve other kids in one kid’s judgment, asking questions like “Has he been a good boy this year?” “Hmm… what do you think, does he deserve a gift from Kris?” or “I don’t know… should I pardon him?”. Jadeite was a little more aloof with the whole business, and would sometimes get flustered with the more outgoing kids, but he’d get used to it.
It was a long day, but slowly they made their way through the city, splitting up to interview the children of different homes, or sticking together to face a large group of them (sometimes they were followed). Zoisite’s scrolls, rather than being filled with the naughty deeds of children, were a census of the children of the town, and as they saw each of them he would strike their name from the list. If the child wasn’t at home they would typically find them with a group of their friends, awaiting the Judge’s arrival nervously; but if they couldn’t find the child at all, he or she usually turned up at the Yuletide ball, their parents in tow, eager to find a Judge and earn his approval before it was too late.
When they arrived for the start of the Yule Ball they were tired but feeling fulfilled; none had given a poor judgment, though the rumors of such a terrible event still roamed the city; grabbing a quick meal in the kitchens they saw the last of the presents being wrapped, preparing for their midnight deliveries, and knew that no child would be disappointed come morning. None ever were.
EDIT: RESULTS ARE IN!!! http://www.thegalaxycauldronforums.com/t6264-voting-festibration-writing-contest#193595 |
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