December 2020 Writing Prompts

[iam_senpai]

December is upon us! This year more than most poses significant hardships for all of us as the Holiday Season closes in but we've done our best to put together a gathering of prompts you can distract yourselves with pondering for your muses. Thank you all for making this game what it is. 2020 sucks, but at least we have a place to play still. As always--

Disclaimer: I never close old writing prompts from previous months. People can and should be encouraged to post on old month's prompts and I highly encourage players to track these posts to catch stragglers or new people writing on old prompts.

Now. With that out of the way, onto this month's prompts.

December's Writing Prompts

1. "If you throw that snowball at me, you'll regret it."

2. No matter how small, the fire of hope burns bright against the dark.

3. A pleasant kind of loneliness.

4. What's your character's perfect snow day?

5. "Where does this trail lead?"

Bonus image prompt:

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2

[itmeanstruth]

If there was anyone whose hopeful fire burned brightly in the dark, it was Minoru's. And there was no better time to burn it than now. No sooner had Isamu come in out of the cold, Minoru was grabbing him by the arm and dragging him right back outside.

"Come on! I need your help!" he said with a huge grin plastered on his face.

"Whatever for?" Isamu asked, concerned. "...What did you do?"

"Better question is, what am I gonna do. And the answer to that is SHOPPING!"

Isamu hurried to keep pace with his twin brother. "Have you been in Ziggy's presence again? It is uncharacteristic of you to be excited over the prospect of shopping."

"Well, yes. But that has absolutely nothing to do with me being excited." he laughed. "You remember Jack, right? I am going to sneak into Hunger City, scale a skyscraper and give all of his adopted kids a surprise Christmas holiday."

"The least insane part of that is you scaling a skyscraper, honestly..." Isamu could argue that the entire plan sounded horribly unsafe, but that kind of logic never swayed his brother from anything, really. And as long as he had a guide in the form of Jack, then surely, everything would work out all right. In the end, he just sighed, "All right. I will assist in the gift selection process. What do you think the children would either need or want?"

As they walked toward the shops, they started brainstorming.

"Okay, the youngest is a toddler. And he's blind." Minoru helpfully supplied, and then let his brother's wheels start turning.

"Hmm... So something stimulating on a multi-sensory level, but also fun."

"But no batteries, though. Nothing they'd have to plug in to use. So all those fancy noise-making stuffed animals are out. I was thinking of getting him a big stuffed dog, but we'd have to find one that feels really nice."

"Specifically, one that has different textures, for increased stimulation. At the risk of selecting something too educational, have you considered some braille picture books or braille blocks? Does their world use the equivalent of braille for the visually impaired?"

"They kind of... well... vaporize the impaired, so no. They probably don't. But learning to read isn't a bad thing." Even Minoru could agree to that. (Leave it to Isamu, of course, and there would be books for all three of the kids being tucked in with Minoru's gifts.)

It wasn't long before they found the perfect gifts - a set of braille blocks and a large dog-shaped bag to put them in. The bag was basically a stuffed animal in its own right and hiding the blocks in there gave Jack a secret way to teach Charlie how to read braille without getting caught. Neither of them were sure that was an issue, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

"All right. Who are we shopping for next?"

"Choko. She's ten, and she's as sweet as can be. I shadowed some of the physical therapists when Jack brought her in for her first session. I already picked up one of the inflatable exercise balls they had her using for balance, and another set of resistance bands. But I want to get her something super fun too."

"Physical therapy?" Isamu questioned, and Minoru helpfully supplied that she had multiple sclerosis.

"Then perhaps an activity that does not require much energy, something that can be enjoyed on days when she feels fatigued or needs to rest."

"You're going to suggest books, aren't you." Minoru laughed.

"Of course. But perhaps also something creative? Or maybe a game?"

The twins found what they were looking for in a Paint Chip Poetry card game - which was honestly something the entire family would probably enjoy. Minoru also picked up a doll that looked like her and some spare clothes to go with it.

"Okay, next is Donya... He's fourteen, and I think he snuck into Ziggy's album release party, actually..."

"Ah, yes! I saw him participate in karaoke more than once while you roamed the venue in your somewhat inebriated state. Unfortunately, based on the stipulations you provided, a portable karaoke machine would not be well received."

"He's definitely like a little Ziggy, though."

"Accessories for his hair and suitable makeup, perhaps? A nail art kit? I know they make tattoo markers that can be applied safely to the skin."

"All of those sound like a good idea!" Minoru grinned. He'd probably love that. "Let's throw in a nice little mirror too, just in case."

"That's all the children, I presume?" Isamu asked.

"Well, kind of. There's still his girlfriend. Kind of girlfriend?" Minoru did his best to explain, though he didn't know much - just that she'd been vaporized at one point, and didn't have much of a mind left anymore. He wasn't sure what that meant - what memories, if any, she still had. But Jack took care of her, and therefore, she was getting a gift too. But Minoru had absolutely no idea what to get her.

"Hmm..." Isamu thought it over for a few minutes. "Perhaps it would be a touching gesture to obtain a locket for her, so that she can put a photo, a scrap of familiar fabric or a lock of hair, something to remind her of Jack or the children."

"That could work." he nodded. With Isamu's help, he picked out something nondescript, but still classy.

It wasn't long before Minoru was loaded down with bags from various shops. He couldn't wait to go home to wrap everything up and load up his large knapsack. If there was extra space, Isamu vowed to slip in some books. Minoru, on the other hand, vowed to slip in some food. Jack's hometown wasn't called Hunger City for nothing. If he could bring them a meal or two, maybe even a small gingerbread house kit for the kids, it wouldn't hurt.

Fire of hope in the dark, indeed.