first dta entry on this account <3 i absolutely adore this design and IMMEDIATELY thought it fit a character in my story who’s important but doesn’t yet have a design or personality! so here’s my entry :3 still a wip since i have more ideas to add in terms of art! ★—ART—★ —all can be found in much higher quality here: https://ibb.co/album/SRK2f7 1. reference 2. hero costume test sketch — this was before i drew the ref so i could mess w the costume design before finalizing it, and this is what i settled on :3 3. outfit sheet — various different outfit ideas!! i looove designing outfits for characters <3 normally i stick w/ the main outfit’s palette but i branched out a tiny bit since hollis would be a very color-loving guy 4. interactions with teammates — messing w/ their dynamics! from left to right the others are nico, iris, & cerise will definitely add more in the future!! ★—BASIC INFO—★ ✧ Hollis Ferren ✧ cis male, he/him ✧ 28 years old ✧ superpowered human; Hollis’ ability is an extremely common one, the power to manipulate energy into creating force fields ✧ works as a superhero named “Valor” ★—PERSONALITY—★ Hollis is known for being an extremely bright and friendly person, with optimism through the roof regardless of the circumstances. He actively chooses to see the best in people but has a very strong sense of justice, and when others cross his mental line from good to bad, he is extremely confident in doing anything he can to stop them. In general, he is less frightened than those around him by a lot of things ranging from horror to confrontation, and will stand up for others even if they’re too scared to do so themselves. His bravery is one of his strongest traits when it comes to his career, and his willingness to throw himself into any situation to protect others is a point of extreme admiration from many. This, along with his tendency for stubbornness, leads him to many dangerous situations which mean he’s constantly getting bandaged up— in addition to his clumsiness, which already grants him a litany of bandaids all over his small wounds from bumping into and tripping over things. Hollis is also extremely ambitious and likes to strive high, but in most cases he doesn’t like to go too far in fear of falling into a fierce sort of competitiveness he’s seen in others in his field, which would make him unlikable to be around. Instead he simply pushes himself to be better as he can and uses his dreams to motivate him. He has ADHD, specifically the hyperactive type where he has trouble staying still. He’s also very distracted and has a tendency to talk a mile a minute while never really getting his point across. Nevertheless, he’s gotten good at finding ways to work around it and does his best with the support of those around him. ★—RELATIONSHIPS—★ ✧ Nico: Of his three teammates, Hollis is closest with Nico, though of course he’s very close with the other two as well. They were best friends as kids even before Cerise forced her way into becoming their friend as well. While Nico is outwardly a grumpy person, he is a lot sillier and more open with friends and especially Hollis, and Hollis has always admired Nico’s innovative and extremely clever nature. It is often likened that Hollis is the sunshine to Nico’s storm cloud. ✧ Cerise: When Cerise essentially forced Hollis to be her friend as a kid, he didn’t expect much of it, but fast forward 20 years later and they’re closer than anything. With an energetic personality like his, Cerise and Hollis often find themselves in trouble together and enjoy every moment of it. It’s often assumed that they’re dating, but they’ve always been more like siblings, which means that teasing and bullying is part of their love language, even more than it is with their other teammates. ✧ Iris: Though it took some time for the two to really become friends, and even longer to become as close as with the rest of the team, Hollis and Iris have grown to care for each other deeply. Their opposing personalities often mean that “bonding” or “hanging out” looks more like sitting in the same room quietly or Hollis rambling while Iris listens in dead silence. Because Iris is younger than the rest of the team and has had a generally more difficult life, Hollis shares a feeling of protectiveness with the other two for them. ✧ Calihan: As Hollis’ manager, Cali often ends up being harsher than he wants to be on Hollis for his stubbornness and dedication to getting himself hurt, which often frustrates Hollis as he knows he’s doing the right thing. They have a tentative friendship with each other, though, since ultimately Cali is just looking out for Hollis and they both know it.
( continuing here since i initially wrote too much in one box :”] ) ★—STORY/ROLE—★ Hollis is a supporting character in the story I’m currently calling “Celestials,” being the teammate of the main character, Iris (“Luna Moth”), as well as Nico (“Whip-Poor-Will”) and Cerise (“Cherry Bomb”). Though initially hesitant to accept Iris into the trio when they were forced to by the team’s managers, Hollis and the others quickly grew close to them, becoming as tight-knit with Iris as with each other. Hollis has a harder time understanding Iris because of their wildly different personalities, but he does his best to accommodate them and cares for them deeply. They’re like a younger sibling to the whole team, and Hollis is no exception— so while they sometimes fight with or tease each other, Hollis and Iris, along with the rest of the team, know deep down that they can rely on each other when things get serious or difficult. While Iris and Cerise take on the roles of active attack in battle, Hollis tends to fall into more defensive position, which he is well-suited for as a result of his power. He protects himself, his team, and civilians using his force fields and, while he will attack back, usually only gets initially involved in the fight to defend. Part of the reason for this is because he is far less graceful than his teammates, and often finds himself meeting the ground when he doesn’t intend to, meaning that the others have a tendency to start fights instead so he doesn’t immediately embarrass himself. Regardless, his input on the team is extremely valuable, and in the end he is most often the one who captures foes by imprisoning them in his force fields to contain them until the criminal is delivered to the right people. Hollis is a well-loved hero by the majority of the public, though his whole team is, really. His civilian identity is anything but secret at this point, and he doesn’t mind it too much. His biggest dream for a long time has been reaching the official list of Top 10 Heroes in their district, which covers a decent portion of the country, so when Iris does so, Hollis finds himself a little jealous— but much more than that he knows they deserve it and he’s extremely proud of them. Throughout the story of Celestials, Hollis and the rest of the team regularly face off against many supervillains, with the most reoccurring being Solstice and Eclipse [the other two main characters of the story], a partner duo who are very good at what they do. Valor struggles to use his force fields to capture them as, even when one can be worn down and caught, Solstice’s power allows him to create portals which teleport to anywhere he desires, while Eclipse’s technical prowess allows her to redirect the energy and power in Valor’s force fields so that they’re not a barrier. Though teams more suited towards this power set are sent to fight the two, Valor’s team is most often the one dealing with them since they often target Luna Moth, which Valor is ticked off about and he has a personal vendetta against the villains because of this. It only gets worse as pressure from the Council of Heroes pushes them more and more to officially stop these villains for good, whether through legal means or not… ★—BASIC BACKSTORY/LIFE—★ Hollis’ backstory is hardly anything too special. He had a good, stable family growing up and, though his early-noticed ADHD made life a bit more difficult than for others, he always received the support needed to get through— if not from the proper systems, then by the sheer force of will by his family and best friends. He became extremely close with Nico and Cerise in around 3rd grade and they’ve made it about 20 years as a best friend trio with only a few major stumbles along the way. Watching heroes on television constantly growing up, Hollis became one of the many children who dreamt of one day being as powerful and good as those they watched. The only difference was that Hollis was one of the few willing— or capable— to push through the rigorous training and become the person he always dreamed of. His best friends following his lead certainly helped him fuel his stubborn determination no matter how hard things got. Hollis currently lives in a fairly nice apartment in the city, close to the hero agency he’s employed at for obvious reasons, with Nico as his roommate. He dates occasionally, but isn’t super serious about settling down or anything, and his family constantly pokes at him teasingly for this while media and fans take this as a chance to fawn over his availability. Hollis owns two dogs named Bambi and Angie, female Jack Russel Terriers with just as much energy as Hollis who often exercise alongside him. ★—CREDITS—★ ✧ art: mine [@honeyfinnz] ✧ design: @ArtyBananas ✧ song: scrawny by wallows [HEAVILY censored haha i got the audio from another project a while ago and it did the best job showing the most of the song while still censoring it]
