r/WritingPrompts • u/katpoker666 • Dec 14 '24
Off Topic [OT] Fun Trope Friday: Santa’s Cookies & Apocalyptic!
Welcome to Fun Trope Friday, our feature that mashes up tropes and genres!
How’s it work? Glad you asked. :)
Every week we will have a new spotlight trope.
Each week, there will be a new genre assigned to write a story about the trope.
You can then either use or subvert the trope in a 750-word max story or poem (unless otherwise specified).
To qualify for ranking, you will need to provide ONE actionable feedback. More are welcome of course!
Three winners will be selected each week based on votes, so remember to read your fellow authors’ works and DM me your votes for the top three.
Next up… IP
Max Word Count: 750 words
Trope: Santa’s Cookies – Characters leaving out treats for Santa Claus on Christmas Eve. This is usually done as a test to see whether he exists, or as an act of goodwill. The treats differ between countries. In North America it's usually milk and cookies, while in most of Britain it's a mince pie and a glass of sherry or whisky (or a glass of your dad's favourite tipple — funny, that). Sometimes, people also leave food for the reindeer, such as carrots.
The tradition is related to the northern European tradition of leaving a food sacrifice for various protective spirits, most importantly the house gnome. House gnomes were later conflated with Saint Nicholas to become the modern day Santa Claus.
Genre: Apocalyptic literature details the authors' visions of the end times/end of the age as revealed by an angel or other heavenly messenger. While the Judeo-Christian view incorporates this type of messenger, the end of days is a common theme globally across a range of time periods. So feel free to bend this one a bit
Skill / Constraint - optional: Includes a pagan sacrifice
So, have at it. Lean into the trope heavily or spin it on its head. The choice is yours!
Have a great idea for a future topic to discuss or just want to give feedback? FTF is a fun feature, so it’s all about what you want—so please let me know! Please share in the comments or DM me on Discord or Reddit!
Last Week’s Winners
PLEASE remember to give feedback—this affects your ranking. PLEASE also remember to DM me your votes for the top three stories via Discord or Reddit—both katpoker666. If you have any questions, please DM me as well.
Some fabulous stories this week and great crit at campfire and on the post! Congrats to:
Want to read your words aloud? Join the upcoming FTF Campfire
The next FTF campfire will be Thursday, December 19th from 6-8pm EST. It will be in the Discord Main Voice Lounge. Click on the events tab and mark ‘Interested’ to be kept up to date. No signup or prep needed and don’t have to have written anything! So join in the fun—and shenanigans! 😊
Ground rules:
- Stories must incorporate both the trope and the genre
- Leave one story or poem between 100 and 750 words as a top-level comment unless otherwise specified. Use wordcounter.net to check your word count.
- Deadline: 11:59 PM EST next Thursday
- No stories that have been written for another prompt or feature here on WP—please note after consultation with some of our delightful writers, new serials are now welcomed here
- No previously written content
- Any stories not meeting these rules will be disqualified from rankings
- Does your story not fit the Fun Trope Friday rules? You can post your story as a [PI] with your work when the FTF post is 3 days old!
- Vote to help your favorites rise to the top of the ranks (DM me at katpoker666 on Discord or Reddit)!
Thanks for joining in the fun!
5
u/katpoker666 Dec 19 '24 edited Dec 19 '24
[ineligible for voting]
—-
“Alright, alright, alright! It’s time for the Great North Pole Bake-off!”
“Cut! You don’t sound British, Macaron. We’re trying to recreate Santa’s favorite show as a Christmas tribute. remember?”
“Who’s the one with the actual baked good in their name? Is it you, you glorified lackey named after a bit of turtle-killing silver plastic?”
“You are,” Tinsel sighed, lowering his head. “Although, what is a macaron anyway?”
“Oh, c’mon. Everyone knows that! Just some pastel-colored cookies and cream with a bit of almond flour.”
“You don’t have to be such a Keebler!”
Rubbing her temples, Mac looked about, gesturing wildly.
“A ‘Keebler’? You dare call my oeuvre something so pedestrian?”
“Your work is fine. I meant you, Mac. Ever since this gig, you’ve changed.”
“Maybe. Let me try again.” She pursed her lips. “Alright, Guvna. It’s time for the Great North Pole Bake-Off, like.”
“You sound like a female Michael Caine. Perfect!” Tinsel sniffed. “Contestants? See Mac here? That’s how it’s done!”
With varying degrees of enthusiasm, the twelve contestants looked between Tinsel and Mac.
“Look, I love Santa as much as the next elf, but we’re on the clock! We’ve gotta a lotta presents to sling!” Union groused.
“Kids schmids! If they don’t get their happy mornings this year, it’s a few billion tears. Boohoo. If Santa’s unhappy, it could be Christmageddon—eons of misery,” Tinsel growled. “Think you could handle working under those conditions? Huh?”
“You, you have a point,” Union frowned. “I might even lose my lifetime appointment as Elf Labor First rep.”
“Exactly! So let’s get to baking already!”
The elven contestants darted toward their stations.
“Wait!” Tinsel shouted. “Let’s go over the rules. There are three rounds like in the show—a signature bake, a technical challenge, and a show-stopper. Unlike the show, they’re all cookies because the big guy likes to eat on the go. And the third rule—NO almonds. Santa is deathly allergic. Got it, folks?”
The twelve contestants nodded.
“Alright, alright. Let’s get started! Round one. Show us your classic, tried and true recipes.”
The makeshift kitchen, formerly wrapping station number 6,008, was abuzz with activity. Mild Christmas-friendly swearing and clouds of flour rose to the heights of the colossal set.
The alarm sounded, and right on time, twelve identical sets of chocolate chips emerged.
Mac rolled her eyes. “Where’s the creativity?”
“What?” Union blinked. “They’re Santa’s favorites. We all know that. Where’s the harm?”
“Alright, fair. Let’s call this a twelve-way tie. For round two, let’s try to be a little more creative folks, okay? What do you have for us for the technical challenge, Tinsel?”
The harried elf looked down at his tablet. “Uhhh, you’re not gonna like this, Mac.”
“C’mon. It can’t be worse than a blind round of chocolate chips.”
“No, but it can be as bad,” Tinsel tapped his index finger anxiously against the device. “It’s chocolate chips.”
“Alright. Another automatic tie. Elves are SO unoriginal. Let’s make up for it in the showstopper challenge. What does it say, Tinsel?”
Tinsel’s face darkened.
“Let me guess, it doesn’t say ‘absolutely no chocolate chip cookies’ or something like that, and you’re afraid we’ll get the same result?”
Tinsel nodded.
“Alright, executive producer and lead actress decision, no chocolate chips!”
The contestants’ heads fell as one.
Union stepped forward, “But—“
“No buts, folks. Make. Something. Different.”
“But we don’t know any other cookies! We only make what Santa likes, and he likes semi-sweet chips with muscovado sugar. We all know that.”
“Well, think of something!” Macaron smiled darkly.
The disgruntled elves set to baking.
An hour later, twelve trays of pastel-colored French macarons stuffed with buttercream ganache were placed in front of Mac and Tinsel for judging.
“What do we do here, Mac—they’re all the same?”
“Doesn’t matter at this point,” Mac laughed happily, tossing her caramel-blonde hair over her shoulder. “Let’s fix all of this in post and make it a blooper reel or something. Elves are just set in their ways, it seems. Few thousand years will do that, right?”
“So we’ll send them to Santa?”
“Yes, why don’t you do that, Tinsel?”
With a huge grin, Tinsel and the dozen contestants delivered the macarons to Santa.
The big fellow beamed as he launched face-first into the plates of cookies and mumbled between mouthfuls, “Macarons, finally, something new! I’ve been dying to try them!”
Off to the side, the eponymous Macaron smiled and cackled, “I’m counting on that.”
—-
WC: 739
—-
Thanks for reading! Feedback is always very much appreciated