New year’s is not going how you expected. Not in the least. During the New Year’s Eve celebrations, you noticed a strange cloud on the horizon of the sky that no one else seems to pay attention to. Quickly, it culminates into an enormous storm before blowing everyone and everything about. Somehow, perhaps by falling and hitting your head, you’re knocked out. Only to wake up and find yourself on January 1st of the previous year.
★Vulnerable
You’re a reckless teen who has little to no regard for your own safety. Fed up with your act, your guardian angel quits. But little did you know what he was really protecting you from….
★A Mysterious Read
You go to check out book at your local library to find there is a book reserved at the desk for you. The cover is blank so you don’t know the title. Confused and unable to remember whether or not it was you who reserved the book, you take it home and begin to read. To your surprise, the book describes the beginning of your day, right up until you checked the book out. But there is more to read….
★Fish Bait
You are a farm boy who lives near a lake and herds goats and sheep for a living. One day, you decide to fish for your supper. But, to your surprise, you find something much bigger than a fish at the end of your line. You have caught the famed Capricorn.
★Cursed Castle
You are the daughter of a wealthy family who happens to own a castle. You don’t exactly live like a princess like expected. In fact, the castle is simply a tourist attraction and is the means by which your family makes their living. One day, while helping your mom clean the basement of the castle, you see a full suit of armor walk from one end of the hall to another before disappearing around the corner. Confused and amazed, you inform your mother who of course doesn’t believe you, chalking it up to the wild imagination of a child. But you know what you saw. And other weird things begin to happen….
★ Garnet Heart
The year is 2052, and you are a robotic scientist who has achieved much in your life. Your specialty is developing incredibly intelligent AI, and, for an upcoming Science Event, you decide to design a new, and innovative Robot: The GEM. The GEM design is a humanoid robot design with a chamber in the robot’s chest where you can place an item. You chose a Garnet, and your first GEM robot comes to life. You later find out that the personality of the robot depends on the gem you place in their chest.
A few days ago, I got together an extensive list of Super Powers to aid in people’s character creation. In a similar vein, I wanted to create a post with a few tips and tricks one might employ when making a gifted vigilante or superhero sort of character.
Though one thing to keep in mind when developing the areas below for your character, that each thing is generally connected to create a cohesive and believable MC. For example, the outfit/armor of your hero may tie into their power and/or their backstory. Or vice versa. All of the elements of a super hero character- the clothes, the powers, the backstory, everything, are generally connected in some way.
The Clothes/Suit
There are a few things to consider when creating your character’ super suit. First, how does it tie into the hero’s identity? Generally, it can tie in a few different ways…
It ties into their powers
It’s design and overall style could harken to the hero’s powers. Like Mr. Lightning bolt man having a lightning bolt on the chest of his suit. This is pretty common with most superheroes though it doesn’t have to be the case.
Another way it can tie into the character’s power can be done by functionality. Think about The Incredibles and how each person’s suit is designed to match their powers. For example, Violet’s suit disappears along with her. In general, the functionality of the armor or suit of your hero should definitely be taken into account, especially where their skills are concerned. We don’t want Inferno Man’s costume going up in flames constantly, now do we?
It ties into their backstory
Sometimes, a character’s outfit can harken back to their roots. Where they came from. Got a hero who was once a pick-pocket living on the streets? Maybe give him some slightly tattered street clothes. This can be done with many characters though generally this outfit is changed out for a new, more suitable (and generally more stylish) super suit later.
It ties into their position with a group or team
This isn’t always the case as there tend to be a lot solo heroes out there, but if you plan on putting your character on a team with other individuals, maybe consider if they have a uniform? Or a symbol of sorts that appears on all of their suits?
The Powers
Figuring out powers for you character can be the most fun part of character creation (and often is the first place I start when make super hero OC’s), BUT sometimes if I’m starting with a backstory, I can get stuck. Generally powers tie into the character’s backstory but this can also be left up to speculation.
Below are a couple things to consider when picking out your character’s power if you haven’t already done so.
A Weakness
Overall, it’s a good idea to give you character a weakness of sort or some clear limits of what they can do once you’ve picked out their power. Every well designed power should come with its own “rules”.
Their superhero name
If they have one, tying it back to their super powers is the common choice. You can get really creative here. Animals or creatures of sort are often used as names. Colors are often employed as well. Or you can just go for an alias for your OC. It’s all up to you.
The Backstory
The backstory, when done well, should cover a few elements. The origins of their powers/skills, their relationship with their support system (and often, how they lost that support system. Backstories generally involve the death or a romantic partner or family member), and what led them to the life they now lead.
The Team
This is an optional element, but deciding whether your hero works solo or with a group is vital to the story. If you do choose to drop your hero into a group, you need to develop the other characters and figure out whether they’re other fighters like your MC or if they’re more of a support crew. You also need to consider whether or not they work under an umbrella organization or if they operate under their own terms.
The Tech
Technology in super hero media and stories tend to be a little more advanced or bizarre than that of the real world. It’s a good idea to flesh out exactly where technology is at in your story and time period as this often plays a role in the storyline of most super hero tales.
The Villain
And finally, we get to the second most important element of the story. There are tons of different avenues you can take with the Villain. You can make him sympathetic, have personal ties with the hero or another “good” character to complicate things, give him all sorts of cool gear…the possibilities are endless. But, in all this fun, don’t forget the MAIN AND IMPORTANT THING TO DO WHEN MAKING A VILLAIN FOR YOUR STORY-
Make it make sense as to why your hero is opposing the villain. Hero development and Villain development are tightly linked as this is where you should start considering MOTIVES. And motives, are often what give SPICE to a hero’s tale. Because these motives can be shockingly different or similar in some cases. But at some point, the villain and hero are going to need to butt heads. And it needs to make sense to the reader as to WHY.
And I think that’ll do it! There’s much more to say on this topic but there’s a brief overview of what I personally find important when developing a Super Hero OC. Good luck on creating your supers!
Aaaaand we made it! As I am writing this, 2022 is merely hours away and soon, people will be cheering as they usher in a new year. 2021 has been rough for everyone I think but I wanted to take a moment and reflect on last years resolutions and my former self’s goal’s that she wished to achieve over the course of her freshman and sophomore year of college.
Last year I divided my goals into categories, much like this year’s. These categories were writing, photography, blogging, art, personal, and school.
So let’s see how I did, shall we?
Starting off with the writing category….
Finish 5 short stories – check! I finished this one quite early actually. I now see the goal as rather small but at the time of setting it I was doing significantly less writing by large.
Finish the rough draft of “SNOW” – Snow is the title of my full length, fairytale themed mystery novel based on the events of Snow White. I finished the first rough draft of Snow in the summer and was quite proud of myself. This year I hope to finish the second and get the third underway.
Create a new plot book – This one requires some explaining. Every year, I write down many plots that I cannot write so I print the ideas out and collect them in various “plot books” to keep track of them as well as flip through for inspiration. I finished two the year prior and wished to make a third this year. I completed this task as well.
All of these goals were met much to my satisfaction. This next year I hope to set a few more as well as more challenging ones as I feel I’ve gotten an idea of how much writing I tend to do throughout a year.
Next up is the photography category…
Have a photoshoot with my bestfriend – Did this in the summer along with most of these other shoots with the exception of the Medieval shoot which was done in the snow.
Have a Medieval themed photshoot – Check! Did this in February I believe.
Have a photoshoot in a ballgown – Double check! Did this one twice.
Have a superhero themed photoshoot – Check as well! Me and my friend wanted to have a photoshoot in our marvel costumes for comic con which made for some fun pictures!
Next, let’s review my blogging goals…
Achieve 200 posts – I am surprised at how quickly I was able to complete this one! I got into blogging quite a bit more than I expected to this year which is awesome!
Try and post at least once a week – Mostly completed this one. There were a couple gaps during the year but overall I would say this goal was mostly met.
Feature/interact with other bloggers more – Mostly completed this one as well! I’m slowing trying to get involved in the wordpress sphere of blogging and am slowly making some blogging friends as well!
Make some new graphics – Did this twice actually. Once mid-year and again just today. I wanted a new, clean look for my blog to usher in the new year with!
Next up are my art goals…
Paint at least 5 paintings – Finished this during the spring semester of college. I was enormously stressed out and painting helped me relieve such stress.
Finish a sketchbook – Check! I have moved onto a new one and its also already half finished!
Try and draw a realistic person – I usually draw cartoon-y styled people so this one was challenging but I completed it a few times for good measure over the course of the year. Drawing realistic people is unbelievably hard.
Illustrate a story – I illustrated a fairytale I wrote.
Make concept art for my novel – Done! I also made a map for the world of my novel as well.
Create 100 digital art pieces – Completed this one as well.
Make a self portrait – Check! Did this twice over the summer and once during the fall semester.
Next we’ll be moving onto the personal goals category…
Read at least 5 books – This might seem like a tiny goal to most people but at this time in my life, I had a huge reader’s block that persisted until the summer of this last year. Thankfully I was not only able to read 5 but 10 books this year.
Do a devotional daily – Didn’t quite make this one. Slacked off during my fall semester where I would do my devotional on and off. Habits are hard man.
Drink more water – Mostly completed this one? I should have made this goal more specific but overall I drank more water this year than the year before (where I was regularly dehydrated) so let’s hear it for progress. I did way better at this after my freshman spring semester for sure.
Complain less – I’m still making progress on this one. I don’t know if I exactly failed this one, but progress is much slower than I’d like with this one. Complaining is a bad habit that has plagued me since high school (heck, my blog is even called LOW EXPECTATIONS). I’d love to stop whining so much but I just love letting the world know when I’m unhappy.
Eat 3 meals a day – This was a goal I added later on the year mid spring. I was in horrible health both mentally and physically during this time which was made worse by my response to stress which was not eating. I started not feeling hungry without even thinking about it. In fact, I only noticed this was becoming an issue when I started shedding weight like crazy which is pretty bad when you’re an already scrawny 5’1 college girl. So I made this goal.
And I’m happy to report that I’m in a much better place. While I didn’t achieve this goal perfectly, by large, I’ve been good at eating 3 meals every day. The habit was hard to form and I struggled through the summer but overall, the hard work has paid off.
And now, the school related goals I made…
Don’t fail a class – I was worried about this goal for awhile. In the spring, I all but flunked my midterms. I thought for sure I was going to fail Bio 1 (THE CLASS THAT IS MY MAJOR). But things really did end up working out and I ended up not only passing Biology but did so with a B. Hang in there, fellow students.
Make at least a B in Chem 1 – Again, I was worried about this one. Chemistry was incredibly hard for me and I’d spend literally 4+ hours on the subject daily, trying to teach myself the material as everything was online. It was horrible but I had an amazing course lay out which made it feel more manageable. I came out of the class with an A+.
Shoot for a B in Pre-cal – And a B is what I got. I test badly in math so I spent the entire semester cushioning my grade for when I took the final. I got a 54% or something like that on the final but came out with a B as I worked so hard on all other assignments because I knew I wasn’t the best at math tests, especially when they’re timed.
Test out of my Chem 1 final – In my Chem 1 class, if you were happy with your grade, you could choose to opt out of the final. And since you already know what grade I got in the class, you bet your buttons that I was NOT take that final. No, thank you.
Create a solid 4 year graduation plan – Completed this one during the summer. I sat down with my sister who had already graduated college and made an excel document with all my classes and when I need to take them. Incredibly helpful during registration week.
Take finals in a healthier mindset than in the spring – Another goal that I added mid year. So, taking my finals in the spring, I was kind of dead inside. I was shaken up after doing so poorly on my midterms a few months earlier that I almost expected to do badly. I ended up doing fine on almost all of them (except for the pre-cal but we’ve talked about this). Really, I was just in a pretty toxic head space at the time and a part of me knew it. I equated my grades and performance to my worth without even realizing it so when I flunked my first big tests of the year, I really struggled.
So I made a goal to take my next finals in a much better head space the following semester. And so I did.
Completing this goal was a product of an astounding amount of work I’d done on myself after the void of doom that was the spring semester. These last finals I got sick with the flu during the week but to my surprise, this didn’t exactly stress me out. Moving all my finals back and missing out on precious study time while I was sick was annoying but I wasn’t falling apart at the seams like I was during last finals season.
I took every test with a sense of finality and pride. I’d done it. I’d made it through the fall semester of my sophomore year and regardless of whatever grade came back, I knew I was going to be okay.
And that feeling was a victory I don’t think can compare to anything else I have achieved during this last year.
Next year mostly certainly come with some downs. That’s kind of life. But it will come with some ups too. And I’m so excited to see not only what the ups are exactly, but how I will grow this next year. I’m a little nervous, granted, but that’s alright. Because regardless, I’m going to be okay.
Once upon a time, there lived a man who lost his heart. He lost it to a woman with eyes like honey and a voice like silk. He handed it over to her without hesitation not thinking he would see her run away with it in less than a month. But she did. And the man was left alone and with a hole in his chest. Determined to fill it with something, he set out to craft a new one. A new heart that could be even better than the one he had lost. So he gathered his crafting tools together and went out into the land in search of materials. He came upon a city that sat upon a high mountain. There in its streets, he found a girl with a cart who sold colored ribbon. It was so beautiful, the man decided to make a heart of silk. He bought red silk from the girl and returned where he when about sewing his silk heart. But when he had finished, he found the heart much too light in his hands and entirely too vulnerable. So he set out again this time into the woods. This time he came upon a woodcutter who told him of a kind of wood that could withstand anything. The man decided he would buy some of this wood and fashion his new heart from that. He carved this new heart carefully with his tools and when he had finished, he found himself quite proud of his handy work. But another problem arose when the heart had been set on a table in front of an open window and clouds overtook the sky as it began to rain. The man returned to find his wooden heart, rotted and black on the table. Frustrated and discouraged, the man traveled once again, determined to find the perfect material from which to craft his heart. It was on his travels once again that he met a witch upon the road who listened to his problem. She then offered the man a solution (for a price of course which he ignorantly paid). “Take this stone,” she said after she pocketed his gold, “and carve yourself a heart that shall never break. Nothing shall penetrate its shell.” And so the man agreed, returning to his home to carve the stone into a new heart. He found the stone quite heavy but surprisingly this did not deter him, determined not to possess a vulnerable heart ever again. The man fashioned the heart and hid it away in his house. The man began staying home more as well, for fear someone might break in and steal his heart of stone. Soon, his paranoia grew so much to where he never left his home. And so he lived. Just him and his heart of stone. Until one day a woman happened by his house. He was suspicious of her at first, afraid she had come to steal the stone heart. But he was slowly won over by her politeness and allowed her in. Once inside the home, the woman remarked that the house felt cold, opening a window to allow the sun in. The man couldn’t remember the last time he had allowed the sun inside. The woman also noticed quite a few cobwebs hanging around the place. So she began clearing those away. Grateful, the man offered her a meal for her troubles. She heartily agreed. Over warm food, the man asked the woman why she had come in the first place, thoroughly perplexed at her arrival. He was no longer in the habit of inviting anyone over. She set her leather satchel on the dinner table. “I found this discarded on the side of a road months ago. I have been searching far and wide for its owner. Finally, I was led to you.” The woman drew out the man’s old heart from the bag, offering it to him freely. It was that day that the man decided he had very little use for a heart of stone. He then found himself inviting the woman to a meal the next evening if she so wished. Delighted at the gesture, she accepted. It wasn’t before long that the two courted and were engaged, then married. And they lived happily ever after in a cottage where cobwebs never hung, and sunlight filled its rooms, for it was now a house of two hearts.
Welcome to the writer’s tea time challenge! A witch offers you a selection of steaming teacups. Which do you choose?
Rose You take a sip, and find yourself transported back in time, into the body of a young princess. What do you do and what happens next?
Earl Grey You take a sip, and suddenly can see ghosts and the dead, as well as commune and talk with them. What happens next?
Matcha You take a sip, and you glance at your hand to find yourself sprouting green, gossamer scales. Your throat burns, and you scream as you cough fire and begin to transform. What do you do next?
Lavender You take a sip and feel very dizzy. When you awake, you find yourself very, very small. But-oh! Where did these tiny little wings come from?
White You take a sip and the creamy, white liquid goes down your throat like silk. The following day, you find your feet feel lighter, and your voice is beautiful in every sense of the word. You also seem to be constantly fighting the urge to help people at every turn. Have you always been this benevolent? The weirdest thing occurs when you gaze in the mirror, to find your eyes have turned a distinct shade of gold. What happens next?
Chamomile You take a sip and lean back in your chair in a deep sleep. When you awake, flowers have ground all around you, as if protecting you. They have also woven themselves around yourself to form a crown, and you seem to be wearing a white, heavenly gown. What do you do next?
Peach You take a sip and blink, only to find yourself gazing at your own body. It seems you have switched places with the witch? What do you do next?
Responses can be as long and short as you want.
To pass it along…
Title your post “I chose _______” and fill in the blank with whichever tea you chose.
To offer a friend some “tea”, tag your friend in your post and link them to this original challenge.
And so the series of writing prompts continues! In this post I plan to tackle creating a few writing prompts based around the MBTI personality type of INFP. The personality type is known at the “mediator” and is known for being in touch with their feelings and being empathetic towards others as well as one of the more introverted personality types. This personality type has a very gentle, dreamy feel and as such I associate them with fairytales, van gogh paintings, violins/soft classical music, and dreamy nebulas in the night sky.
Armored Heart
A princess with a strong thirst for adventure and to prove herself worthy to ascend to the throne (unlike her irresponsible twin brother) stumbles across a strange suit of armor in an abandoned room in the basement of the castle. She puts it on only to find that this armor is enchanted to where she can change her appearance in the armor as well as accomplish incredible physical feats. What happens next is up to you…
Letters to the Ocean
A mountain deity is in love with the ocean deity. You are the appointed mail carrier as well the transcriber for both parties in this love story as both are bound to their physical forms of nature. Tell me of this love story?
Quilted Fate
You are an odd, single woman living along in an old, sleepy town during the late 1800’s as the new nation of America gives rise. You see many ranchers and settlers come and go but you remain in your small town house, working as a seamstress for a living… among other things. It is not entirely public knowledge but you are a seer who weaves the future into your quilts. And this becomes apparent to a visitor who waltzes into your shop one day….
The Cafae
You are secretly an immortal fairy who runs a café for overly tired college students. Things are going fine until you accidentally run into another of your kind while on the job.
The Chosen Two
There exists a fantasy world where “The Chosen One” is reincarnated time after time to vanquish the persistent evil that plagues the land. A sign of sorts appears to the pregnant woman to let her known she is carrying the future hero of the world and one such sign appears to a woman living in a remote village. The townspeople are excited to know that the next hero is going to be born in their village. But much confusion and concern arises when the woman gives birth to twins and they have no idea which is “The Chosen One”.
The Key to Everywhere
While rummaging through your attic, you find a box that you don’t recognize. Inside, you find only one old fashioned key. Being a fan of collecting old shiny things, you slip the key into your pocket. Fast forward a little, and you lock yourself out of your apartment. Flustered and annoyed you grab the key from your pocket as oppose to your regular house key and unlock your apartment door. When you realize what has happened, you are quite confused how a key found in your attic that is clearly old and designed for old doors could unlock your modern apartment.
Just a little mini reading list that I recommend for fellow fantasy enthusiasts (like myself), to check out and read! Have a Merry Christmas!
★The Little Match Girl
I used to hate this fairytale because it was sad but as I’ve gotten older, I have learned to enjoy it’s melancholy nature, plus it’s a nice and quick read if you don’t have a lot of time on your hands to spend reading old stories.
★The Elves and the Shoemaker
This one I always loved. It was cute and cozy. It was also written by my good pals The Brothers Grimm. A solid 8/10 fairytale for sure. Elves are always great.
★The Holy Night
I don’t know if this counts as a fairytale but it’s easily a classic. It is a tale written by Selma Lagerlof which stars a cold-hearted shepherd who meets a man looking for wood to make a fire to warm his wife and their newborn child (sound familiar?).
★The Nutcracker
Another classic. I really like this one because I own a fairytale book with the most beautiful illustrations. The sugar plumb fairy is gorgeous and was everything my 7 year old self wanted to be.
★The Little Girl and the Winter Whirlwinds
A little less well known fairytale. It’s about a wicked winter witch that wants to make winter last all year so a girl sets out to stop her. She also enlists the help of father Christmas to help her on this adventure (and no, this isn’t the Chronicles of Narnia, though speaking of which…)
★The Lion, The Witch, And The Wardrobe
This is a Christmas fairytale and you cannot convince me otherwise. Read the book with illustrations to vastly improve your life. God Bless, C.S. Lewis and him stoking my desire to check every closet for a magical world.
★The Steadfast Tin Soldier
A tale by Hans Christian Anderson. Is unbelievably cute but surprisingly heart breaking? Like A Romeo and Juliet style Toy Story. But still manages to be sweet.
And I’ll stop there! My hot chocolate is getting cold! Hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas season! A goodnight to all, and to all a goodnight!
Rose
