First Thoughts

My mind often wanders to strange places at unusual times and when I feel like sharing those thoughts I'll be placing them here. So what are my first thoughts? My attention span finds itself focusing on average Joes, the normal people, or any other way you want to consider them.

In movies, TV, comics, books, and games you'll often see or read about a person that is just like you or me; normal. They're not superheroes or mutants. They don't have anything unique about them in a sense that there is nothing extraordinary about them. In cases where this person's world is steeped in the supernatural or otherwise, they stand out for being so completely normal and undoubtedly human. It's why we, in a general sense, are so drawn to characters like Batman. The problem with Batman though is that he's not a real representation of a normal person. He's rich, has a detective's mind, and has spent years honing his body in order to fight against forces that the not so normal people of his universe could easily fight. He really does not represent a normal person.

In other series that have a normal side-kick character to some sort of super-hero, that sidekick will gain powers, come across some item, or even invent something that will help them fight the antagonist and draw them away from their role as the normal character. Willow, from Buffy: The Vampire Slayer, is such a character. She starts off as a normal person, albeit with high intelligence and good hacking skills, but she slowly changes into that of a very powerful witch.

Other 'normal' characters remain as they are and get left behind by those who have a little something extra. Or even confront the lead 'superhero' on how they cannot deal with the extraordinary life their friend/family/lover now leads.

To those that write original prose, here's a challenge for you. Write about a completely normal character in a world that is far from normal. This character can have one, and I mean one, characteristic that helps them survive in their unusual world (immunity to magic, skilled in physical combat, amazing computer skills, ingenious inventor, etc.). Now rather put than put them in a side-kick like position to some special individual, have this normal character stand alone or have the gifted person as their side-kick. This character cannot, at any point in your story, be given any items, powers, or what-not to further help them fight the good fight.

Hazy spot: To be fair your 'normal' character can have a psychic ability as their aiding characteristic but it has to be a very weak one. For example, if your character has empathy or telepathy they can barely glimpse a person's feelings or thoughts. In the case of prophecy, keep it to prophetic dreams and make sure the dreams are obscure. Or have it work like the spidey sense, the characters gets a sense of foreboding right before something bad happens. Besides those three options however I would not recommend any other psychic ability as they need a lot of power to be useful and psychic abilities in general lean towards the not normal in my opinion.

Note: This challenge was inspired by a fanfic commenting on a normal character's introduction to the supernatural and how it is understandable they're freaking out, they've never had to deal with it before.