Book Character M*A*S*H

Long time no see, huh? 2020 has been a ride, but I don’t need to tell any of you that. If you are a living breathing human being that inhabits earth, you probably know all too well!

Anyways, enough excuses-

I just wanted to share real quick a little game me and my writing friends would play at sleep overs and hang outs where you create a character based on your current circumstance. It’s a fun time waster and produces some fun results. Enjoy!

Inspired by the original game of mash, now you can make a completely randomized character based on these questions. Have fun!

1. What was the gender of the last person you talked to?

A) Female (Male character)

B) Male (Female character)

2. What meal did you just have?

A) Breakfast (black hair)

B) Snack (blonde or dirty-blonde hair)

C) Lunch (red or orange hair)

D) Snack (black hair)

E) Dinner (brown hair)

F) Dessert (any NOT NATURAL color hair)

G) Midnight snack (dark brown hair)

3. What place did you just go to?

A) School (red or blue eyes irises)

B) Religious Building (blue, brown, or orange eyes irises)

C) Park (green eyes irises)

D) Beach (eyes irises of any NATURAL color)

E) Concert (dark eyes irises of any color)

F) Mall (any color eyes irises)

G) Department store (deep blue eyes irises)

4. What sport have you watched most recently?

A) American football (British or mostly British)

B) Baseball (Asian or mostly Asian [can be from any Asian country])

C) Soccer (Spanish or mostly Spanish)

D) Video gaming (African or mostly African)

F) Basketball (American or mostly American)

E) None of the above (anything not already mentioned)

5. What animal did you last see?

A) Dog (4-8 yrs. old)

B) Cat (8-12 yrs. old)

C) Bird (12-16 yrs. old)

D) Fish (16-20 yrs. old)

E) Reptile (20-24 yrs. old)

F) Amphibian (24-28 yrs. old)

G) None of the above (28+ yrs. old)

6. What color shirt are you wearing?

A) Red (average person)

B) Orange (fantasy or sci-fi warrior)

C) Yellow (misunderstood outcast)

D) Green (medieval royalty)

E) Blue (time-traveler)

F) Indigo (elemental warrior)

G) Violet (DNA experiment gone wrong, animal/human hybrid)

H) Pink (popular celebrity)

I) Black, white, gray or brown (Spy)

J) Other (anything not already mentioned)

7. What letter does your name, or the name of a friend, start with?

A) A (Character’s first name starts with Z)

B) B (Character’s first name starts with Y)

C) C (Character’s first name starts with X)

D) D (Character’s first name starts with W)

E) E (Character’s first name starts with V)

F) F (Character’s first name starts with U)

G) G (Character’s first name starts with T)

H) H (Character’s first name starts with S)

I) I (Character’s first name starts with R)

J) J (Character’s first name starts with Q)

K) K (Character’s first name starts with P)

L) L (Character’s first name starts with O)

M) M (Character’s first name starts with N)

N) N (Character’s first name starts with M)

O) O (Character’s first name starts with L)

P) P (Character’s first name starts with K)

Q) Q (Character’s first name starts with J)

R) R (Character’s first name starts with I)

S) S (Character’s first name starts with H)

T) T (Character’s first name starts with G)

U) U (Character’s first name starts with F)

V) V (Character’s first name starts with E)

W) W (Character’s first name starts with D)

X) X (Character’s first name starts with C)

Y) Y (Character’s first name starts with B)

Z) Z (Character’s first name starts with A)

How old is your best friend?

7) (Character’s pet is a cat)

8) (Character’s pet is a dog)

9) (Character’s pet is a bird of some kind)

10) (Character’s pet is a lizard)

11) (Character has no pet)

12) (Character’s pet is something wild such as a tiger or wolf)

13 or older) (Character’s pet is something totally unreal)

What color are the eyes of the last person you talked to?

Blue) (Character’s weapon is a scyth or a spear)

Brown) (Character’s weapon is a sword or katana)

Hazel) (Character’s weapon is a bow and quiver of arrows or a gun)

Green) (Your character has no weapon except themself)

What color is the walls of the room you’re in right now?

Grey) (You character is on the run)

Yellow) (Your character is or is training to be a warrior for the leader of their world)

Pink) (Your character lives in the wild with animals or other made up beasts)

Blue) (Your character is part of a rebellion)

Red) (Your character is on a quest)

Orange) (Your character is off to save a family member)

White) (Your character led a normal life before the villian came and kidnapped their family but the character got away)

Green) (Your character goes to a type of magic or combat training school)

Purple) (Your character stumbles upon another magical realm)

None, I’m outside) (Your characters poses as royalty to be a decoy)

What kind of flooring does the room you’re in have?

Carpet) (Your character has a girlfriend/boyfriend)

Wood/Tile) (Your character is single)

It’s grass, I’m outside) (Your character is part of a love triangle) (and how are you taking this then?)

What kind of chair are you sitting on?

Wooden) (Your character has a human girlfriend/boyfriend/crush)

Coach/Sofa/stuffed chair) (Your character has a hybrid as a girlfriend/boyfriend/crush)

None, I’m sitting in the floor) (Your character has a werewolf or a vampire for a girlfriend/boyfriend/crush)

Desk Chair) (Your character has a elvin/dwarven/pixie girlfriend/boyfriend/crush)

None, I’m standing) (Your character has a assassin/spy girlfriend/boyfriend/crush)

Other) (Your character has a human girlfriend/boyfriend/crush)

Colors in the Sky

Long ago, when I was four, my mother told me that each vibrant color of the rising or setting sky was a mark left by the people who inhabited on planet earth. She said everyone would make their mark someday, even me. It may be at the most unexpected time, and you may not even notice–but you, will make your own colorful streak in the sky.

At the beginning of time, the sky lacked color, so the very first four people, the first ‘Mark Makers’, added color to the world above. The original ‘Mark Makers’ were a family, a distant older brother, a pair of good natured paternal twins, brother and sister, and last but not least, a rosy child that was the baby of the family, who loved to stand out and be herself.

The first one, the twin brother, filled the sky at the time we call day break, and the second loved the way her paternal brother did it, so she made it a similar way-she painted what we call afternoon. The next ‘Mark Maker’ was the youngest of all. She streaked the sky with shades of rose and orange.

The elder brother hated this idea, but wanted to be remembered for all eternity, so he had splashed the sky with dark, spooky colors of the night.

She told me the stars in the sky were decorations for one of the first ever ‘Mark Makers’, to show our gratefulness, and also so the children wouldn’t be so scared. As time passed, more and more ‘Mark Makers’ let their intakes of the world scatter across the sky, but as more and even more came, the marks of the new members were forced to become reduce in size, allowing enough room to fit everyone’s in.

Mother told me every mark has its own unique story to it, intertwining with one another. That I, one day would leave my mark. But 9 years have passed, and I still haven’t gotten one chance to just dabble on the boards of the skies. And I think I never will…

Original Fairytales: Born of Fire

Once upon a time, in a land born of fire and smoke, there was a Kingdom. At this kingdom’s center was a castle made of dark stone, that sat perched atop a hill that surveyed all of the lands of the valley. There lived the wise king and queen who ruled fairly over their domain and were loved by all the people.
The monarchs were happy, for they had a flourishing kingdom and were adored by all the people. But, alas, not all was perfect for the Queen was barren and the couple yearned for children of their own. So, one day, the King set out to travel towards a large mountain that overlooked the kingdom.
There, the man remained for a week’s time, hoping and praying earnestly for a child. Then one day, he came upon the highest peak of the mountain, and there he found a large opening. In that opening was a substance of the likes he had never seen. A liquid fire that bubbled and smoked where is sat in the mountain’s hole. Then, a woman rose from the people, her presence like that of a wildfire, robbed in nothing but flames, her hair flickering in burning tendrils.
“I am the lady of the fire and have heard your cries,” she said to the King. “And I shall fulfill your wish.”
In her hands, she seemed to be holding a wrapped bundle of cloth. But, upon grasping the bundle, the King found the cherub-like face of a baby, nestled in the fabric. But when the King turned to thank the lady, she was gone.
And so, the king returned home with the child, and he and his wife named her Kenna, which means “born of fire”.
And so Kenna continued to grow up with her parents, given everything her heart desired. The family continued to hold favor with the people and the kingdom upon the hill was prosperous. All was well.

~~

Kenna woke to the beating of drums. It was her eighteenth birthday, she told herself. So, of course, there should be some celebration among the people. She rolled over in her bed, paying the pounding no heed. But as it continued to grow louder and louder, she rose and rushed to her balcony that overlooked the kingdom, wrapping her crimson, silk robe around her as she went.

A gasp escaped her lips as she saw a dark shadow on the horizon, moving slowly towards the city. “An army!” she exclaimed, her hands clenching into fists.

She whirled around and opened her mouth to call for a servant before stopping herself and resolving to dress quickly and skip her morning wash up. She burst into the royal chambers, talking feverishly fast to the council members, and her parents. “Ah! The attack!” a councilman said once she had finished.

“We have been well aware of this for the past two seasons.”

“What?” Kenna was confused.

“Our spies among our enemies have been quite helpful,” her father elaborated. “We have it all under control, dear heart.”

“Yes, dearest, why don’t you go back to sleep,” her mother agreed with her husband, nodding in such a way that made her dark curls bounce around her shoulders.

“Don’t worry your pretty head,” Her father finished, waving her away.

“Now off with you, we have business to attend to.” Kenna was indignant.

“But these are my people too. This is also my home as well! Can I not aid in the fight to defend it?!” She demanded, crossing her arms.

“Kenna, you would do well to hold your tongue,” her mother spoke sharply. “Now return to your room. This does not concern you. You are not Queen yet.”

Kenna turned, blinking back angry tears as she stalked out of the room, slamming the chamber doors shut behind her. The princess returned to her room to sulk and cast worried glances out her balcony window. The shadow army had finally stopped moving closer, coming to a stop just a few miles out from the city gates. Tents of dark fabric were put up. And so the waiting game began.

Kenna wondered what the plan of the army was. Hold them under siege? Attack them at night? Wait while they send an assassin in to kill their royalty and advisors? Kenna flopped backward onto her bed, heaving a long sigh. She wished terribly that her mother and father had allowed her to stay in the council chambers.

She wished they had let her sit there quietly and listen to the clever schemes that her father would suggest and the battle strategies that the council members would cook up. She wished so bad even if she wasn’t allowed to speak. Anything would be better than waiting around, listening to the silence before a battle. She sat up quickly.

“No,” she said. “I will be prepared to fight, they can count on that.”

The princess left her room once more, this time making her way down a long corridor that led to her parents’ room. Knowing that the room would be empty, she let herself in, her eyes searching for what she had come for.

Her gaze came to rest on a glass case mounted to the wall. Inside was her father’s famous sword collection, composed of rare and exotic rapiers, longswords, and sabers. She licked her lips as she looked at them longingly. How she had always wished she could wield one herself. She wanted so badly to grasp the leather hilt of the sword firmly and feel its balanced blade in her fist.

“And today I will!” she told herself, moving to open the metal case. The glass door swung open and Kenna looked quizzically, wondering as to which blade she should take. She finally decided on a long, intricate saber with a gold embellished hilt.

Kenna admired it for a moment before slipping it into its scabbard that she had attached to her waist. Now, if the enemy invaded her city, she would be ready.

~~


The enemy came crawling over the walls with sharp grappling hooks and armed with jagged weapons that sliced and cut with a biting fury. The men on the walls were no match with their primitive swords and crossbows that were of a much weaker metal. And they were outnumbered.
The King and Queen exchanged worried glances from where they stood overlooking the battle on the balcony. And for the first time, a distinct feeling of fear had come over the two.
The armies of the King and Queen were barely able to withstand the first wave of soldiers from the opposing side. And by the third wave, they had already taken over the main part of the city and continued to push towards the castle which they promptly invaded at exactly midnight.
The enemy had achieved victory and foreign royalty now sat upon the throne of the city of Feyre. The King and Queen were then thrown into the dungeons below the castle, left to weep for their people and their loss. However, a flicker of hope continued to burn in their hearts for their eighteen-year-old daughter had seemed to evade capture or else she would be by their side in the dungeon cell. The parents hoped desperately that their daughter would one day return and deliver her people. The Queen and King, kneeling in the cell, sent up a quick prayer to the Lady of Fire in hopes she would watch over and aid Kenna on her quest.
And while the Queen most certainly had her doubts, especially as their time in their cell dragged into weeks, the King never gave up on their daughter. She would return someday.
“After all,” he would tell his worried wife. “She was born of Fire.”
And the Queen would nod grimly. She knew all too well.
~*~
Kenna slipped silently through the doorway, holding her sword tightly in her hand. She paused a moment to listen to make sure no one lurked in the library. Silence echoed back, but her ears still hummed with static due to adrenaline. She glanced down at the blood smeared sword, a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach.
I’m not abandoning them, she told herself, moving forward into the library. She made her way to the far wall and removed a book from it. She then reached into the space the book once occupied and her fingers found their way around a small metal knob which she turned slightly clockwise. A mechanical click was heard and the bookshelf swung forward, revealing a dark, gaping tunnel.
“There is no shame in living to fight another day,” her father’s words rang in her head. But still, her shoulders sagged and her head was bowed low in shame and defeat as she descended into the darkness, the shelf swinging deftly behind her.

Story Aesthetic Inspiration

Whatever inspires I guess. Here are a few aesthetics I like that are fun to incorporate to stories for symbolism or just plain fun.

Herbs

Violins

The month of September

Piano keys

Flickering candles

Grandfather clocks

Dawn/Sunset

Cherries

Autumn 

Masquerade balls

Jasmine 

Winter

Parsley

Dice

Sage

Orchids

Coral

Shadow

Ocarinas

Saffron

Guitar

Ruby 

Pepper

Stained glass windows

Gears

Diamonds

Crystals 

Gold 

Blood

The moon

The planets

Playing cards

Crows

Prisms and rainbows

Greek

Lanterns

Roses

Stars

Carnivals

Green Computer code in a black background

Ink

Irises

Church Bells

Silver

Ivy 

Rain

Lightbulbs

Aurora

Royal

Apples

keys

Fireplaces

Paint

Egyptian style drawings

Black Pearls

White kittens

Blue butterflies

Settings/AU Ideas

In Modern times,

In A city,

In Victorian times,

In Space,

On a pirate ship,

In An academy,

In London,

On an African savannah,

That are pirates,

In A spaceship,

In Sci fi era,

That are/is a superhero(s),

In A circus,

in Egypt,

In Rome,

in A forest,

In Another dimension,

In The Steampunk era,

In High school,

In University,

In a time traveling machine,

In The zombie apocalypse,

in Fantasy world,


Fandom Inspired Bucket List

Have a honey picnic in the woods and talk about life with a friend. (Pooh Bear)

Have friends show up at my house for an “unexpected party”. (The Hobbit)

Canoe down the river to the theme song of pirates of the Caribbean. (The Pirates of the Caribbean)

Go treasure hunting and look for a “national treasure”! (National Treasure)

Sword duel with lightsabers (though if you haven’t done this already, you seriously need to examine your life choices). (Star Wars)

Try Turkish delight (Narnia)

Try lembas bread (Lord of the Rings)

Wear a fez (Doctor Who)

Try archery in the woods like Legolas (Lord of the Rings)

Drink blue coke (Percy Jackson)

Recreate the rewrite the stars scene (The Greatest Showman)

Run a maze (Mazerunner)

Write in galifreyan (Doctor Who)

Eat a hogwarts feast (Harry Potter)

Get sorted by the sorting hat (Harry Potter)

Play capture the flag Percy Jackson style (Percy Jackson)

Find out what kind of demigod I am (Also, Percy Jackson)

Make a camp necklace/tshirt (Percy Jackson)

Play hide and seek peavensie style. (Narnia)

Do the Parent trap handshake (Parent Trap)

Make my own wand. (Harry Potter)

Make my own sonic screwdriver (Doctor Who)

Do my hair like they did the avatar show (do katara’s loopies) (Avatar the Last Airbender)

Recreate the avatar intro but ridiculously. ( Avatar the Last Airbender)

Play pisho ( Avatar the Last Airbender)

Make a betrothal necklace (bonus points if I give it to someone) ( Avatar the Last Airbender)

Drink cactus juice. (It’ll quench ya!) ( Avatar the Last Airbender)

Solve a mystery while smoking a bubble pipe. (Take a guess??? Sherlock Holmes)

Find 221B (Sherlock Holmes)

Build a lightsaber??? (Star Wars)

Bury a treasure and make a map to it! (Pirates of the Caribbean)

Write something in a bottle and throw into a body of water. (Pirates of the Caribbean)

Throw a tea party like the mad hatter (Alice in Wonder Land)

Own a hogwarts house scarf (Harry Potter)

Play weeping angel tag (Doctor Who)

Play a game of quidditch (Harry Potter)

Release a floating lantern. (Tangled)

Swim with a mermaid tail. (The Little Mermaid)

Make a fairy in a bottle like link. (Legend of Zelda)

Make an Elvin crown. (Lord of the Rings)

Do a battle of wits. (The Princess Bride)

Ride in a wheelbarrow and very epically I might add. (The Princess Bride)

Eat a MLT (The Princess Bride)

Read the tea leaves. (Harry Potter)

Build a fairy house. (I dunnoo… Fairies I guess?)

Wear converse, a tan trench coat, and a sonic screwdriver for a day. (Doctor Who)

Play an Ocarina (Legend of Zelda)

Play Avatar’s love on the Kalimba (Avatar the Last Airbender)

Quick Writing Ideas

Quick Writing Ideas

A fairytale but told in reverse. This could mean a many number of things. You could reverse the roles or the events, either works. It’s good practice and helps you move past figuring out what to write. 

An excerpt from your life but told in a dramatic, over the top fashion. We’re all drama queens and you know it. This not only allows you to write what you know, but I’ve found it’s a wonderful way to expand your vocab because it forces you to look up big and fun words. And while these words are pretty frivolous in this specific context, these words will come in handy the next time you take on writing a story where they wouldn’t be so out of place. 

Get inspired by history. Write short excerpts from the point of view of old historical figures. There are tons of interesting people to be discovered in the past. 

Get inspired by art. Art and writing have a common purpose… to create a picture, so the two are clearly linked in one way or another. Perhaps this is why I find inspiration in the lovely paintings of the past. To do this yourself, pick out an interesting or unusual painting and use it as writing inspiration. 

Write an over the top conspiracy theory. The more ridiculous, the better. This also can be tool for building your vocabulary while you have fun writing the worst lies you’ve ever conjured. 

Write a piece specifically for mocking a cliche. 

Write down a list of three aesthetics or objects that you really like for some reason or another. Now try and incorporate them into a story. 

Take a fable or fairytale The primarily stars animal characters and humanize them. Or, if you’d like, take a human based fairytale and make all the characters forest animals. 

Take a work that you really like and give it a mood shift and tell it in a fashion completely opposite of what it was originally but while keeping most of the main events. For example, you take a work of Edgar Allan Poe and give it a sunny, happy, comedic spin. 

Challenge yourself to write a story where the narrative and events are completely confined in one room. 

Pick a specific year to inspire your work. 

Pick a historical figure to inspire your work.

Have your work center around a specific object. Like a mirror or a pen for example.

Have your work be inspired by a game. For example, chess, checkers, poker or just playing cards and their suites in general, Clue, monopoly, Candy Land, Shutes and Ladders, Mastermind, or Battleship to name a few. Think outside the box.

Have a color play a dominant theme in your story.

Have a plant play a dominant theme.

Or an animal.

Pirate Dialogue Writing Prompts

Because why not?

“Batten down the hatches!”

“Work is for people who don’t know how to plunder.”

“Not all treasure is silver and gold.”

“I climbed the crow’s nest and now I can’t come down.”

“Weigh anchor!”

“Full speed ahead!”

“We’re pirates! We have no moral dilemmas!”

“Obey the captain or learn to swim.”

“Hoist the colors.”

“We’re pirates; We don’t take out loans!”

“The ocean roar is music to a pirate’s soul.”

“You’re so salty today; you’re making the ocean jealous.”

“We’re pirates; we don’t err, we arrr.”

“Treasure x’s are the only kind I’m interested in finding.”

“Home is where the anchor drops”

“A smooth sea never made a skilled pirate.”

“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.”

“Don’t look to closely at the water.”

“Books are my silver and gold.”

“Individually we are a drop, but together we are an ocean.”

“Parrots are way too cliche.”

The Struggles of a Project Bouncer

I, my dear friends, am a project bouncer. All too often I’m struck with a lightning bolt of creativity that fuels me roughly for a week only to dissipate as quickly as It came. 

And so I’m left with a story concept that is pushed to the back shelf that is already crowded with other dead ideas and concepts that I l tell myself I’ll get to later. And of course, later never comes. 

I think the most frustrating bit about this aspect of personality is that fact that I always feel like I’m overflowing with ideas and yet I don’t actually get anything done. After the end of a creative jolt I’m left with nothing but a vague character description and plot outline and a blank word document. It’s like I’m encountering writers block before I’ve even started. I can’t focus on one idea long enough and everything feels like it’ll result in a dead end. 

But, as I’ve come to figure out, my problem isn’t necessarily the time that I have with an idea that’s giving me issues. It’s the way I use it.  

You see, if you’re anything like me, your creative eureka! Moments happen often frequently but they are fleeting. Generally what I do with this time is… well nothing.  And that, my dear friends, is my problem. I squander my creative bursts on… daydreaming? Nothing productive anyway. 

So here’s how I combatted this issue. The solution was really simple actually. 

Every inspiring idea and concept that comes to my head revolving around this topic, I write down. Everything. All the random bits of dialogue, all the random character details, the scenes… all of it. 

And needed to put to use my creative energy right away. I needed to stop “letting it simmer” because that leads to me burning out. I learned that I needed to take advantage of this flash of inspiration and actually WRITE. There’s no room for perfection. I just need to DO it cause pretty soon I’m going to loose steam and that’ll be the end of it. 

And, so, by the end of a weeks time (and my creative high), I should have the hardest part of the story out of the way; the beginning. And if I can get that down, I can run with it and see where the story takes me. 

“The beginning is perhaps more difficult than anything else, but keep heart, it will turn out all right.”

~Vincent Van Gogh 

Van Gogh Quotes that feed my Soul

“Normality is a paved road: It’s comfortable to walk, but no flowers grow on it.”

“The fishermen know that the sea is dangerous and the storm terrible, but they have never found these dangers sufficient reason for remaining ashore.”

“I am always doing what I cannot do yet, in order to learn how to do it.”

“Art is to console those who are broken by life.”

“I always think that the best way to know God is to love many things.”

“For my part I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of the stars makes me dream.”

“I feel that there is nothing more truly artistic than to love people.”

“I wish they would take me as I am.”

“Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.”

“Love many things, for therein lies the true strength, and whosoever loves much performs much, and can accomplish much, and what is done in love is done well.”

“I often think that the night is more alive and more richly colored than the day.”

“What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?”

“I put my heart and my soul into my work, and have lost my mind in the process.”

“Be clearly aware of the stars and infinity on high. Then life seems almost enchanted after all.”

“A great fire burns within me, but no one stops to warm themselves at it, and passers-by only see a wisp of smoke.”

“The beginning is perhaps more difficult than anything else, but keep heart, it will turn out all right.”