Challenge Suggestions!

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Have a suggestion for a challenge? Do you already have an idea in your head for a brilliant story or an awesome graphic? Categories, themes, and prompts accepted.

Note: Staff reserves the right to not use, combine, or edit ideas to create prompts most suitable for the site.

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[Tanner Larson]

Thanks so much for making this thread, Tony! I posted a challenge suggestion in the general suggestion thread, so let me move it here:

Writing Challenge: "The Heist"

Hammel characters (yours or other folks') are pulling off a heist of some kind. It can be something small, like shoplifting, or something bigger like robbing a bank. It could even be light-hearted, like stealing something out of your friend's room just to play a prank on them. There can be intrigue, excitement, stealth, romance, whatever - as long as it involves a robbery of some kind.

I think it could be fun to see what folks come up with!

[Lani Hunter]

For a Writing Challenge I propose 'One Story'.

This is a concept where there are a set of characters, Hammel related of course. But not anyone's characters. New characters and new plots. All we are given are names and powers. And (similar to everyone writing a sentence to make a story) people can write a paragraph or two. Then the next person will write and so on and so forth. With so many brilliant writers here I would love to see what we are capable of creating!

For a Graphics Challenge 'Masks'
I know I cannot make graphics but I love looking at all of the amazing artwork! A lot can be contained in a graphic. I think it would be interesting to have a challenge where someone would pick a character and make a combination of how other characters see them, how the character sees themselves, and who that character really is. It'll be a cool thing and all the combinations wouldn't even have to be actual pictures, they could be objects or something to represent them.

[Tanner Larson]

Since summer's coming up, it might be cool to do a challenge depicting what your character does during Hammel's one-month summer vacation (either through graphics or writing). Not sure if we've done this before, but a lot of the currently-active users and characters are new since last summer, so could be fun!

[Ann Hudgins]

Writing Challenge; Universe change. Any Hammel characters in anything but Hammelverse. Perhaps?

Graphic Challenge; Personal Anthems. Graphics that have the motivational or nostalgic words for a specific character or group of characters. Maybe their favorite quote, or something they always say? Not catch phrase so much as reminder? Like Thomas' 'I Think I Can.' The catch could be, it can't be the player's own character, but someone elses?

[Tanner Larson]

Writing Challenge: your meta character's origin story. Most folks only put a few sentences about this in their applications. How exactly did their power manifest? How did they - and those around them - react when it did? And how did they respond to being told they had to uproot and go to a special school?

[Ferris Macklin]

Writing Challenge: The summer vacation challenge gave me an idea. In the fall, schools supposedly have kids write the infamous short informal essay "What I Did on My Summer Vacation" (supposedly because it's in movies and books all the time but I never once got this assignment in my 12 years of public education). While it's too late to request a challenge that does this, perhaps a future challenge could be an IC informal essay of another equally trope-ish topic? Like "What the Holidays Mean to Me" or "My Favorite Things". For both the students and adults, the essay could be something written in grades past or could be a current assignment (or for staff, maybe the school newspaper was asking various teachers/staff to write on the topic?)

WritingChallenge: There have been a few power swaps over the course of the board, but I haven't see one that swaps out jobs/positions. This could either be age-constrained with only adults swapping with other adults and kids switching ages (as they don't have jobs to swap), or all encompassing with some adults being put back in school and some kids vaulted right into the working world.

WritingChallenge: I have a thing for awkwardness. What if a meta's powers only worked or could only be triggered into functioning in very specific situations? A power suppressor who could only suppress if they were near a cat. A pyro who could only start fires when elated. A shifter who could only shift during feelings of intense infatuation.

[Joseph Ward]

These aren't really my ideas. I think either I've heard them mentioned before in the C-box or some other suggestion thread, but I feel they should be mentioned here for ideas for a Graphic Challenge.

Hammel De-Motivational Posters: You know the ones like "If at first you don't succeed, skydiving is not for you." Of course I suppose the argument could be made for motivational posters as well, but I feel like people would have more fun with the sarcastic ones.

Hammel Greeting Cards: Serious (or non-serious) cards with Hammel characters or plots.

[Zebadiah Hayes]

A few writing challenge ideas:

Personal Time-Warp(Not sure if this is the best way to put it): I was thinking it would be fun to see how characters would react if they were in a different age group. For example, who would Stefan hang out with if he were a student is the present time? What if Harmony was an adult who had to deal with the Hammel students in town. Basically just one character's age is changed. Although this could be a time-warp story, like making a current student be roommates with Sean, it doesn't have to be.

Personal Power-Swap(Or Power-less): What if your character woke up with a completely different power? Or now power at all. But they were the only one?

Invasion of the Body Snatchers: What if your character woke up in as a different person? This may or may not also swap powers. Either way would be hilarious.

[Ricio Miller]

And a graphic challenge idea.

So Ya Had a Bad Day: I was thinking this would be kinda like the graphic challenge version of the Kodak Moment thread. Using a picture a of a playby that doesn't fit the character (i.e. Stefan in a wig...or drag) and having fun with it.

[Alista Sabina Castillo]

Maybe this has been done before, buuuuut when I write Hammel prose it usually ends up being this kind of thing, so.

Scene from Your History: Pick a part, any part, of you character's backstory. Elaborate. Write it out into a full story.

Song Fic: Write a story inspired by a specific song. Can include lyrics or not.

*shrugs*

[Lorelei Wuornos]

I was just about to post the one about a fic inspired by a song when I saw the last post (just before mine)! I think that would be a wonderful idea because music is relative and everyone feels and interprets it differently. Definitely would be a great one!

[Kieron Sharpe]

Writing Challenge
The characters wake up one morning and find themselves in the world of their Playby. Can be as either the person themselves or shoved into the verse of someone/thing they portray.
Examples:
Devon being forced to spend the day as either an improv comedian or at a massive house party that may or may not have a demon problem
Ferris finding himself as a star on a film set or waking up in Medieval Britain alongside Arthur and his knights
Seb and Maebelle having to spend the day modelling
Kieron waking up with a note on his phone saying he has a radio interview, or with maddening bloodlust
Sean thrust into the limelight on a film set or caught in the middle of a gun battle
Connor being told he's got an interview with Ellen Degeneres and needs to get ready, or waking up halfway up a beanstalk

[Roger Vandelay]

Self-Insert Fics: you find yourself in Hammel. What do you do? Who do you meet? Do you have powers, or are you just visiting? Tell the story of YOU at Hammel.

[Deleted]

It's a small thing and born from a dream of Abi's, but I suggest a graphic/writing challenge honoring members rather than characters. A story which includes members and how you think they would interact in real life and then a graphic depicting your mental representations of our various members. Despite that a number of us know the truth behind the mask of our avatars, many of us also still only view each other as our chatango avatar or even as the play-by of the character we're most associated with. Therefore I think some interesting graphics/stories could be created from this concept and we get a chance to honor our favorite members, putting everyone in the spotlight.

Yes Yes? Ok, I'm going go back to being a kitty and go over here now.