Hello again! Happy Saturday! I’m back with an extra stuffed #vss365 Twitter prompt round-up this week! Since I was on vacation last week, I only had 5 prompts to share with you, but this week I have the extra 2 that I didn’t do from last week which means a whopping 9 micro stories for you today! I’ve had a lot of fun with these prompts this month. I’m not sure if I’ll keep going, though come to think of it I had fun with them when I did them back in October too so maybe this will stay a regular feature of the blog. What do you think? Do you guys like these? Well, here’s some more anyway! Finished out the week strong!
February 21st – Solution
“So when you multiply by the reciprocal and divide the exponents, the solution becomes clear! See?”
Clara stared glassy-eyed at her exuberant tutor. In her head all she could hear was Marlin in Finding Nemo screaming “IT’S LIKE HE’S TRYING TO SPEAK TO ME I KNOW IT.”
Of course I went a math route with this one. OF COURSE. There were enough posts about fluids and world-scale problems I wanted to do something a bit softer. This one popped into my head while I was walking into work on Tuesday morning and I giggled about it all day.
February 22nd – Peace
He’d had a taste of peace, once, a lifetime ago. Honeysuckle and lemon a soft memory on his tongue, warmed by lips no longer of this world. His mouth soured as he thought of his lost love and what their death had set in motion. Peace was lost to him forever, now.
It was apparently Sad Girl Hours after the silly math problem prompt. Can’t have too much fluff on the timeline, after all. I had the “honeysuckle and lemon” summer kiss aesthetic in my head for a brooding warrior/soldier type. Perhaps he is on a revenge mission after his lover’s death? Or perhaps he has just lost his own will to move forward? I left it kind of ambiguous on purpose.
February 23rd – Royal
There are times when Fae doubts her resolve. Moments of solitude where the enormity of her cause presses in on her like the vacuum of space. Why did the resistance trust the guidance of a fallen royal? Because she was the rightful heir? She was the worst Empress of all.
Another week, another prompt with my rebel alien princess. Fae is very strong. She had to be. But no one is a fortress, and even she has moments where the facade cracks. She doesn’t let anyone see it, of course, but I wanted to write her in a moment of vulnerability. There’s something to be said regarding the truth of her belief that she was the worst Empress. She abandoned her people, after all. Even if she believes her intentions were right. Ugh, I need to finish that story. (This will be written on my gravestone or I have failed.)
February 24th – Belle
Radiance fell from her as she moved; from her curls, her lashes, her slender fingers and full hips. Every motion was a song, a beacon. “Look at me! Hear me!” It was easy for him to forget she was no belle, just a thief like him, but her audience didn’t need to know that.
“Belle of the ball” was a common refrain in the posts using this prompt but I wanted to put a different spin on it. I had this image of a stunning beauty dancing at a ball or a party, capturing the attention of everyone there and shining brighter than the lights and decorations and jewels and then the thought that that was the whole point. She was there to distract while her partner commits a heist. Or perhaps she’s there committing a heist of her own and just happens to be watched by this other thief who knows her. The possibilities!
February 25th – Spirits
“Oh, very funny,” Nat cried as she nearly went ass over tea kettle into a narrow ravine. The mischievous, giggling spirits her father had sent to guide her on her quest had been the opposite of helpful. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were trying to kill me!”
Not much to say about this one. Was imagining a Will o the Wisp type of spirit guiding a character on a journey, but not being very helpful.
February 26th – Vermin
Zane inhales deeply of the humid air. The stench of rubbish and urine, tobacco and gunpowder, blood and sweat, all were home to him. The slums were where he belonged, with the rest of the city’s vermin, and with Charlie. A grin tugs at his lips. It’d been far too long.
Oooh this one. I didn’t want to go all out with the negative connotations of the word, so I thought about a person feeling like they belong to the city’s underbelly. Taking ownership of the word rather than it being derogatory. But then I remembered I had this one-off character from a recent blog post who would absolutely fit this description. Dunno where this fits in the timeline of the story I already wrote but I enjoyed bringing Zane back even if it was just for a few lines.
February 27th – Destination
“You have arrived at your destination,” the airy robot voice announces from the GPS. You furrow your brow as you compare the dismal facility to the cheery photo on the “Healing Waters” brochure. Ice grips your stomach as you climb out. This place is not what it seems.
This was a fun one. So many ways this could have gone. In the end I went a GPS route ending somewhere that was not what was expected. Not sure why I went with 2nd person POV but it felt right.
February 28th – Deathly
“Oh don’t give me that face,” Ramona scoffs. Hector’s deathly glower could send even the scariest of Gino’s assassins scurrying to the hills, but it would not work on her. She had seen his heart and found it beautiful. “It’s date night and you are NOT killing anyone.”
I liked the idea of a scary character having an “if looks could kill” face being unsuccessful with one person in particular. Wasn’t sure if it was because the other person was even scarier or knew them too well and thought they were just a big softy but went the latter route. Also thought about having Ramona say/think something to the effect of “not everyone can pull off that shade of pink” but I couldn’t make it fit with the right level of zing I wanted.
February 29th – Purge
Nothing could ever purge the emptiness that consumed her after watching helpless, as her first love withered away before her eyes. But as she sits now, years later, quietly watching the sunrise with someone new who loves her, she thinks maybe the void won’t stay so vast.
The last prompt for the month had a lot of people writing about the film franchise of the same name or cleaning out closets. I wanted to do something a little different. “Nothing could purge” stuck in my head as soon as I read the prompt and I spun this little scene. I didn’t want it to be all dark, so I added the little bit of hope with the second line.
And that’s a wrap! Probably. I hope you enjoyed these prompts and the behind the scenes that were longer than the tweets they’re about, haha. If you liked these, don’t forget to check out the other posts I’ve done! They’re all tagged for easy hunting. And don’t forget to come back tomorrow for the usual weekly update with a handful of new prompts for the week! Have a great rest of your weekend!
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Closet Full of Notebooks 