May Writing Prompts 2021

[labrathor]

May is here! The sun is shining, except when it's raining, and plots are a-brewin' in old Nexus town. Some of which might already be in the works... keep your eyes open! We're looking forward to another good year with you all. And 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.

May's Writing Prompts

1. It's been raining for hours.

2. "Hey, I've always wanted one of these! Thanks!"

3. Other than personal grooming, what rituals does your character perform on a regular basis?

4. "I'm not supposed to tell you this, so if anyone asks, you didn't hear this from me."

5. Stowing away, out of sight.

Bonus image prompt:

Comments

[guitar_voodoo]

2. "Hey, I've always wanted one of these! Thanks!"

2 - what I’ve always wanted

[itmeanstruth]

Praise.

It meant a lot to anyone. But it seemed to mean a lot more when you were born into a pre-packaged set. It was a finite resource that needed to be hoarded. Just like their parents’ attention, there was only so much of it to go around on any given day, and both of the Uchiwa twins had vivid memories of vying for it in one way or another.

Which made a private late night conversation between Minoru and his mother all the more special.

“I want you to know, Minoru, I am very proud of your Ninja Warrior competition yesterday.” She smiled, setting a plate of taiyaki on the table in front of her son.

Minoru laughed a little to himself as he picked up the fish-shaped cake. “You know, growing up, how much I wanted to hear that?”

“Hear that I was proud of you?” She asked softly, and sat down close to her son.

It took a moment or two of gentle nudging before Minoru admitted, just as softly, “Yeah. You and Papa were both always so proud of everything Isamu did. ‘Isamu, you’re a genius. Isamu, you’re so smart. Isamu, you got a perfect score on that test, and that one, and that one too.’ All I ever got was ‘Minoru, good try. Minoru, you worked hard.’ The only thing I ever got an A in was effort.”

“Minoru...” she put a hand on her son’s shoulder and gently squeezed. “Minoru, that A in effort means more to me than all the marks on your report card ever could.”

“More than the marks on Isamu’s too?” He asked, without even thinking.

His mother, however, did not hesitate. “On both of your report cards put together. Do you know why that is?”

Minoru shook his head. Chichi’s expression softened. Raising twins was not easy, especially when they were as challenging as Isamu and Minoru were. Keeping Isamu intellectually stimulated was as difficult as keeping Minoru off the walls. And the roof. And literally anything else he could reach. And she would readily admit that she didn’t exactly encourage Minoru’s athletic endeavors until later. Her youngest son heard a lot more ‘get down from there right now!’ than he ever heard ‘great job reaching the ceiling fan!’

“Because effort is always more important than talent. Even a genius cannot be more naturally intelligent than they already are. Like how this room has a ceiling, talent has a ceiling. You cannot go any higher without hard work.”

Given how the twins defined and approached success as young adults, she thought Minoru already possessed a thorough understanding of this particular lesson. There was no harm in needing a refresher, though. Isamu, she sometimes worried, missed this one entirely. But such a lesson would be a struggle for anyone who found so many things almost effortless. Isamu’s ceiling was incredibly high. But it was still there. Moving to the Nexus was the first time Chichi ever saw him explore another room and even look up at a different ceiling, so to speak.

“You know all about going past ceilings, don’t you.” She smiled, and Minoru couldn’t help but smile back. “The announcers say you made it look easy, but I know how hard you work. I watched you fall down so many times. But I watched you get back up too.”

Those observations were not merely limited to parkour. They pretty much applied to everything Minoru did - his schoolwork, his eventual career, his newfound relationship (which Chichi was still trying to wrap her head around, honestly), all of it.

Minoru blushed a little. He took a bite of the taiyaki, trying not to match the anko filling inside.

“Am I happy that you qualified for the Finals? Of course, I am.” She pulled her son into a hug. “But your resilience? Your determination? Those make me very, very proud, Minoru. And they will continue to make me proud, no matter where you place.”

Minoru returned the hug. “...thanks, Mama.”