Dear Fictional Hero [an unofficial challenge]

Hellooooo Vocal creators! Welcome back for yet another challenge! (This one's #7!)

Sorry for being a little late to this one!

For anyone just tuning in, I post unofficial Vocal challenges on (or around) the 1st of every month! They close at the end of the month, and then I post the results a week after!

You can find all of my open and closed challenges in my pillar post here:

I have had such a fun time with these challenges, and am so so so appreciative of everyone who has been following along since the beginning!

So, without further ado, let's get into it!

The Prompt

Write a story in the form of a letter to any fictional character of your choice!

I have been waiting to post this one, and there are so many moving parts of it, so let's talk 'bout it!

The Character

• You can choose ANYYYY fictional character you'd like. Doesn't have to be human. Can be from a book, but could also be from a show, a movie, a video game, a poem even, anything! Also, I know that the title of the challenge is "Dear Fictional Hero" but you don't have to choose the hero! Villain or protagonist, side character, that one cat that showed up in one scene, anything!
• AND it doesn't have to be popular! You don't need to choose a show or other fictional story that has been seriously under the public eye. You can choose something totally obscure!
• EDIT: I would like to clear up the criteria here! It should be a fictional character that already exists in the literary canon AND not something that you yourself have created. It should be something from a book/novel, movie, television show, video game, etc.
• BUT I would recommend (and would seriously appreciate!) that you write a little excerpt at the end or the beginning explaining a little bit about your chosen character. This might help your readers (and myself) follow along with who the character is!

The Author

• YOU don't have to be author of the letter (as in you, y/n). You can be, for sure, if that's what you'd like! Insert yourself in the narrative! BUT you can also write the letter from the perspective of ANOTHER CHARACTER of your choice. E.g., Peter to Wendy, Superman to Batman, Scar to Mufasa, Hagrid to Harry, etc. etc.
• If you do choose another character to be your author, it might be helpful to also insert a little explanation about that character in your excerpt, mentioned above!

AH! I am so excited for this one. I think so many authors are gonna have fun with it!

So, to keep in mind -- if there is a lot of interest, I may extend the deadline (or extend the date for the results). If I do this, I will update this post, and reply to everyone in the comments who has expressed interest to let them know of the change.

The Criteria

Word Count: I typically suggest a word count of 350+ words, but this challenge is a little different -- it's not your typical fiction challenge. For this one, I'm not going to suggest a word count. I know that some of you are gonna make this work in around 100 words, and others will have a lot to say. I'd suggest, however, that you stay within 1000 words, not including your explicative excerpt, just so I can get the results back to you within a timely manner!

Link back: This isn't required, but is a fun little touch for me! I would LOVE if you could post a link in your entry to this challenge post so that others can reference it and find more info about the challenge! If you're unsure about how to embed links, I'd love just a little shoutout to this challenge, if possible!

Comment: Come back here after your entry has been published and give me the link to it! If you don't, I won't know that you've entered and then I won't get to see your beautiful work!

NOTE: I will be adding all of the entries to the bottom of this post once they have accumulated. If you come back a day after the deadline and notice your entry isn't listed, I might've forgotten it! So let me know!

A note on editing: I won't be reading the entries until the deadline. So you can edit your work ANYTIMEE up until that point. I just please ask that you do not edit your work between the deadline and the release of the results. Thank you!

FAQ

Can I make more than one submission? Yes, you can! I would love to see what else you have to say or write on! I just have one rule -- in the case that you do enter more than once, only one submission per creator can be featured in the Top 3! (Just so one creator doesn't end up with a monopoly over the others.)

Can I submit a story I have already written? If you have a story that fits the prompt and meets the criteria, go for it!

Important Dates

Deadline: This challenge will close on Thursday, October 31st (Halloween! Sorry this one wasn't Halloween-related. Maybe I'll post another challenge halfway through October for the Halloween theme!) at 11:59pm MST.

• I will (try my very bestest) to send out reminders one week before the closure date to everyone who has expressed interest in the challenge (around October 24th)!

Results: The results for this challenge will be posted on (or around) Thursday, November 7th, a week after the deadline!

UPDATE!: Due to unforeseen circumstances, my presence on Vocal has greatly diminished. I am working my way through the entries and results will be posted ASAP.

• This post will include the Top 3 entries (1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners), as well as little blurbs rationalizing my choices. There will be links to all submissions included at the end.
• Prizes? Currently, my prizes are community-based, not monetary. The prize goes to the 1st place winner, in which I will read, like, and comment on five of the winner's works that I have not yet read, as well as subscribe if I have not already!

I think that's it! If you have any questions about the prompt, feel free to comment below! I can't wait to see what you come up with!

Happy writing everyone!

♡♡♡ Belle ♡♡♡

The Entries

(All entries will be listed here in the order they were submitted.)

1. Mark Gagnon "Hello My Old Friend"
2. Sarah Parker "Dear Ms. Know-It-All"
3. Mark Gagnon "To My Headless Stalker"
4. Paul Stewart "Dear George"
5. Rachel Steinmetz "Dear Mickey Mouse"
6. David E. Perry "A Letter to Mighty Man"
7. Kendall Defoe "Dear P."
8. Lost in Writing "A Letter to Hercule Poirot"
9. David E. Perry "A Letter to Danger Mouse"
10. LJoe "Dear: Little Miss Thang!"
11. Altum Veritas "Dear John"

(updated November 8th 2:06pm MDT)