Allergy free Spanish chicken with noodles recipe

Ingredients

• 800g chopped tomatoes
• 1 Massel vegetarian salt reduced chicken stock ultracube, crumbled
• 2 tbsps tomato paste
• Handful fresh basil leaves
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 2 tbsps olive oil
• 2 chicken breasts, trimmed, chopped into large bites
• 1 red onion, sliced into thin wedges
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• ½ a yellow capsicum, diced
• ½ a red capsicum, diced
• ½ tsp smoked paprika
• ½ cup pitted kalamata olives, whole or sliced
• ¼ cup cold water
• Orgran corn or corn and rice noodles

Method

• Simmer the chopped tomatoes, chicken stock and tomato paste in a large saucepan until the liquid is reduced and the sauce thick.
• Allow the tomato to cool completely.
• Pour the tomato into a blender with the basil, salt and pepper.
• Blend until smooth.
• Heat half the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.
• Add the chicken.
• Cook for 3-4 minutes until white.
• Transfer the chicken to a plate.
• Heat the remaining oil in the saucepan.
• Add the onion and garlic.
• Cook, stirring, for 3-4 minutes or until the onion has softened.
• Return the chicken to the saucepan.
• Add the blended tomato sauce, capsicum, olives paprika and water.
• Bring to the boil.
• Reduce the heat to low and cover the saucepan.
• Simmer, stirring, for 12-15 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.
• Cook the Orgran corn or corn and rice noodles according to instructions: approximately 5-6 minutes in salted boiling water.
• Stir the noodles through the sauce and serve immediately.

Note

• If this dish is to be served over multiple nights and reheated then cook only enough noodles for each night and portion the sauce. The noodles do not hold their shape well when reheated and crumble apart.
• Alternatively, you can serve the sauce on rice or with arborio rice mixed through it.

On the characterisation of females in action

Last night I was watching a new American version of an older British show (it shall remain unnamed and unshamed for now) and I became rather appalled at the lines given to a female who wanted to tramp out into danger in order to check out something of interest. Out of her mouth were coming lines only a male trapped in an early impression of feminist aggressiveness would write. It sounded like a child protesting to a parent that they could do anything so let them. "I can do this", "I won't be in danger" and then the sudden shock of just what the danger means and surprise that her life is in danger.
To be honest it all makes me want to slap hands over my eyes and ears but I don't have enough. The only other solution is to turn off the show but the rest of the show is fairly interesting, so far at least. While clearly not as good as the original series with regards to characterisation, all round, and drama, as the music is muted and bland, I haven't as yet given up. There's some hope it will improve.
Now, the disgust I feel at this characterisation is because it is completely unbelievable that a physically adept woman used to using a weapon or a smart and physically capable woman unused to using a weapon would pronounce with complete assurance while tramping off into danger that all is fine and she doesn't need that much protection. It just wouldn't happen. The woman used to weaponry and action would be cautious and well aware of just how quickly potential danger can turn into a deadly altercation. And the woman who is smart and physically capable would be well aware that she has some weaknesses to be covered by another. Strong women are strong because they react appropriately to a situation, not because they protest loudly, as a child does, that they can do anything. The woman who is left with only slung words is out of her depth and deserving of the bimbo blonde role. My disgust at watching this particular show was that a smart woman, physically capable with a weapon she has competency in wielding, was issuing the babble of an idiot. And she was supposed to be one to look up to.
At the very least I'd hope that a woman would promise that she'd try to keep herself safe rather than protesting that she would be no matter what. One shows a woman seeing reality as it is and then doing her best to get through while the other isn't a woman but a child seeing that the world will do as she says. 
The problem is that this isn't an unusual case. Unrealistic writing for female roles, born mostly of a repetition of cliche lines used since female roles came to include somewhat unfeasible action heroines, is still being produced en masse. And this is in addition to the usual inclusion of a few brainless bimbos (whether blonde or not) and tartlets who usually just babble at the leading male while he surreptitiously rolls his eyes.

So, here are some quick notes on female characterisation for a range of women-in-action roles. They can be mixed and matched and when doing so it is fairly obvious which points will be cancelled out.

Physically strong female

• Usually trained to some degree and capable of accurately judging her own strength versus another's.
• Analyses a situation before jumping in.
• Always looks out for danger out of habit or instinct.
• Uses other people's weaknesses against them.
• Shows careful consideration of physical situations.
• May be a bit more aggressive than sensible.
• Usually more sensible than aggressive due to the large number of those physically stronger than herself.
• Capable of covering or working around her own weaknesses better than those physically stronger than herself.
• Determined to get through any situation.
• Highly values teamwork as this is one way to work around weaknesses.
• is NOT the same in character as a physically strong gung-ho male seeking to establish himself. There is mainly adrenaline to contend with rather than a testosterone battle.
• Is usually more straight forward in her approach to others.
• Identifies with those of capability not just those in a clique formed of physically strong people.
• If stuck in a group of men, she is likely to joke and laugh with them, if allowed, but not be the same as them.
• May not identify with another woman even if there are only two women in a group of men.
• Is unlikely to run from danger nor barrel in headfirst without thinking and assessing the situation.
• Very deadly when given a weapon she understands and is adept at using.

Physically weak female

• Usually untrained but willing to resort to weapons she understands - from keys through to mace or a gun if she has lessons.
• Usually less aware of what can lead her into danger.
• Usually more aware of what danger can mean to her and more things in life are a threat.
• Aware of her weaknesses.
• Works to cover them up through some bravado in normal situations.
• Will not attempt anything beyond her capabilities even if she wants to.
• Will balk at smaller challenges than a physically strong female would.
• Instinctively looks out for danger but not always as good as a physically strong and trained woman at identifying what is dangerous.
• Unlikely to say she can do something she can't just to make a point.
• Does not always understand the aggressiveness of men but can find it attractive if it is in her favour - due to admiration of strength and the perceived safety their presence creates.
• Can be greatly intimidated by physically strong men approaching her aggressively as there is little she can physically do to fight back successfully.
• Likely to resort to tricks, if smart, in order to escape danger as she is very willing to use tools and weapons to substitute for physical strength. 
• More likely to be a quick problem solver, unless incredibly dumb.
• Unless dumb, will not immediately scream and run when in danger - thereby drawing attention to herself - but rather lie low and think of a solution or an escape route.
• Will work with whatever she's got to survive.
• Determined to survive and will do nearly anything to.
• Will definitely work in a team whenever possible.
• Potentially deadly when seriously attacked by anyone who expects her to squeal and run.

Smart female

• Will recognise all weaknesses as a matter of logic.
• Will work hard to overcome any physical or situational weakness by using tools and weapons.
• Will always think before acting.
• Respects the physical help offered or provided by others as she sees it might well be needed.
• Does not proclaim she can do anything because she thinks she might be able to.
• More likely to underestimate her survival abilities when in danger and therefore overcompensate - she'd build a bomb where a single bullet is all that's needed.
• Unsure of her physical abilities due to an understanding of what different experiences and backgrounds ultimately mean.
• A quick problem solver by nature with greater tools and weaponry options to pull on than the average woman, purely for knowing how to construct or use more tools and weapons - if only theoretically at first. Knowledge is power in this case.
• Usually needs some time or period of calm, however short, to assess her surroundings in order to come up with a complex solution. If such a situation does not arise then she will pick up and use anything available just as a physically weak female would.
• Determined to overcome her weaknesses but not assured she will so she will always accept help.
• Will not scream and run.
• Will lie low or find a place with the equipment she needs and think of a solution.
• More likely to respond to danger with force than a physically weak woman. If she is both physically weak and smart though, she will resort to more powerful and complex tools and weaponry - possibly than needed.
• Will not claim to do what she can't.
• Good at working in a team and possibly the leader of the team due to her ability to plan ahead with care and an eye towards every one's survival.
• Very deadly unless she is without the supplies to make tools and weaponry or any pre-made ones.

Dumb female

• Unlikely to understand what danger truly is until she sees it.
• Likely to scream and run, thereby calling attention to herself and dying first.
• May freeze in shock instead of running.
• Could protest that she's more capable than she is but unlikely to continue to do so when she sees by comparison that she's not as capable as others.
• Easily put in her place.
• Once she understands she's far less capable she's unlikely to go wandering off into the danger field. She's more likely to cower and dream up worse situations than what's coming.
• May be prone to hysteria but can be intimidated into shutting up.
• Unlikely to survive despite wanting to unless helped.
• Unlikely to do anything useful to prevent her death unless helped.
• Is not a child and does understand things once they are pointed out to her.
• More often than not she needs direction.
• Incapable of adequately fighting back the strong in a physical altercation.
• With direction she is capable of using weaponry.
• Will possibly use tools if she has a moment to think.
• Likely to die screaming and too panicked to fight.
• Not very deadly unless directed to be so.

Insane female

• Depending on the condition she has she may overestimate her abilities due to a fantasy based thought process.
• More likely to respond violently and irrationally.
• Fights more instinctually.
• If smart she will use any weapons and tools she's adept in but will less capable of adapting to a new situation - will not change her fighting style so easily as she's mentally trapped by fantasy and a previous victory.
• If she's dumb then she's more likely to fight as an animal, losing her higher reasoning in her drive to survive.
• Often needs help to survive.
• Will go down fighting.
• Is more likely to leap into battle than any of the other women.
• Is less likely to care about any injury received.
• Very deadly in a one-on-one but unlikely to survive in more complex and difficult situations.

Possible combinations for sane characters

• Dumb but physically strong - loses the mental aspects and caution of a physically strong fighter but gains a greater ability to survive a one-on-one. May be mouthy if she realises her strength. Likely to be cannon fodder unless helped.
• Smart and physically strong - the deadliest of them all as no matter the situation she will find a way to survive and is most likely to achieve her goal.
• Smart and physically weak - more likely to use her mind to overcome any problem. Less likely to believe she's capable of any physical feat and so greatly in need of company if trying to survive a terrain without potential tools or weaponry. Even quicker thinker than a smart and physically strong woman out of necessity.
• Dumb and physically weak - she dies.

In short, for a female not to be strong in some way shape or form she has to be as thick as a brick. Women tend to rely on their minds a lot more than muscle when in a fight and only extreme fear or stupidity will stop them from coming up with a solution. A physically stronger person may beat them or  the dangerous situation may be too much to handle but the vast majority of women will go down fighting and trying to protect what's important to them.

Best fictional babies

Maggie from The Simpsons

Ike from South Park

Stewie from Family Guy

Pubert from Addams Family Values

Bamm Bamm Rubble from Flinstones

Baby Herman (with cigar) from Who Framed Roger Rabbit

Jack-Jack Parr from The Incredibles

Boo from Monsters Inc

Pebbles Flinstone from The Flinstones

Gir from Invader Zim

Tommy (in blue) and Dil (in yellow) Pickles from Rugrats

Zombie Baby in the Dawn Of The Dead remake

Zombie Baby in Peter Jackson's Braindead

Baby from Trainspotting

Baby Bender from Futurama

Allergy free apricot quinoa pancake recipe

Ingredients

• 1½ cups Orgran self-raising flour
• ½-¾ cup quinoa flakes (see note)
• ½ tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp Orgran No Egg
• 2 tbsps honey (optional)
• 40g Nuttlex, melted, cooled
• 2¼ cups goat’s milk
• 2 fresh apricots, sliced fine


Method

• Sift the flour, quinoa, baking powder and No Egg into a bowl and stir to combine.
• Whisk together the Nuttlex, honey and goat’s milk.
• Add the goat’s milk mixture to the flour mixture and whisk to combine.
• Fold in the sliced apricots.
• Allow the batter to rest for 10 minutes. The batter will thicken as the quinoa dissolves.
• Lightly grease a small frying pan and heat to medium.
• Cook ⅓ cup portions of the batter for 2-3 minutes then turn the pancake and cook on the other side.
• Repeat with the remaining mixture.
• Top with fresh apricot and honey or maple syrup.


Note

• The amount of quinoa can be increased to the expense of some flour for a nuttier taste.
• These are very soft pancakes so if they are a little too hard to handle add some more flour.

Allergy free Thai basil chicken stir-fry (Gai Pad Grapow) recipe

Ingredients

• 1 double chicken breast, sliced
• 4-5 cloves garlic, chopped fine
• 1 fresh red chilli, chopped fine, or ½ tsp chili flakes
• 3 tbsps white wine
• ½ -1 small red capsicums, sliced
• ½ -1 small yellow capsicum, sliced
• ½ -1 small green capsicum, sliced
• 3 shallots, sliced
• ½ compressed cup Thai or sweet basil
• 2-3 tbsps olive oil

Stir-fry sauce

• 4 tbsps fish sauce
• 3 tbsps allergy free soy sauce replacer
• 1 tbsp lime juice
• 2 tbsps brown sugar
• 1 tsp cornflour

Method

• Combine the stir-fry sauce ingredients together in a small bowl, stirring to dissolve the brown sugar.
• Spoon 2 tbsps of the sauce over the prepared chicken and stir in.
• Set aside to marinate for a few minutes while you prepare your other ingredients.
• Set the remaining stir-fry sauce aside.
• Heat a wok over medium-high heat.
• Add the oil and swirl it around.
• Add the garlic and chilli.
• Stir-fry for 1 minute until fragrant.
• Add the chicken and a splash of white wine.
• Stir-fry until the chicken turns white.
• Add a little more white wine, as needed, to keep wok moist.
• Add the capsicum and ¾ of the stir-fry sauce.
• Stir-fry until the capsicum has softened but still retains some of its crispness.
• Reduce the heat to medium-low.
• Add the sliced shallots and the remaining stir-fry sauce.
• Stir until the sauce coats the other ingredients.
• Remove the wok from the heat and fold in the fresh basil, allowing it to wilt.
• Taste-test for a blend of salty-spiciness with a strong basil flavour and adjust the flavours to your liking.
• If too salty, add more lime juice. If not salty enough add some fish sauce or some salt.
• Serve with jasmine rice.

Rosy's scrawled book recommendation: The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan

The Thirty-Nine Steps
John Buchan

Blurb
'I snapped the switch, but there was nobody there. Then I saw something in the far corner which made me drop my cigar and fall into a cold sweat.' 

When Richard Hannay is warned of an assassination plot that has the potential to take Britain into a war, and then a few days later discovers the murdered body of the American that warned him in his flat, he becomes a prime suspect. He flees to the moors of Scotland and a spirited chase begins as he is pursued by the police and the German spies involved with stealing British plans. 

Buchan's tale unfolds into one of the seminal and most influential 'chase' books, mimicked by many, yet unrivalled in the tension and mystery created by his writing. Buchan reveres Hannay as an ordinary man who puts his country's good before his own and the classic themes of the novel influenced many films and subsequent 'man-on-the-run' novels.

Publisher
William Blackwood & Sons

ISBN
N/A

Rosy's scrawlings on The Thirty-Nine Steps

Published in 1915, The Thirty-Nine Steps is an essential spy adventure read. It was influential in the creation of the James Bond character and adapted by Alfred Hitchcock to film, amongst many other adaptations. The most influential aspects of the story is the overland chase that has Richard Hannay donning disguises with the ease of Sherlock Holmes and tackling new landscapes with a boldness that became Bond's. There are borders in The Thirty-Nine Steps but they mean more to the spies and those defending their country than Richard Hannay as he endeavours to escape the clutches of three German spies.

The story is set before the advent of WWI. With the introduction of the spy Scudder, a man in the know and on the run, we are thrown into the politics at play before WWI erupted. At first the information Scudder provides is rather anti-Semitic and sounds like a the conspiracy theory of a raving loon. Soon enough though, the information is updated to one of an assassination plot and a war at sea between Germany and Britain, one that had been building up with the arms race at sea between these two nations. Some facts and some fiction are thrown together to form this tightly woven spy novel but the best is in the Richard Hannay's escape from a murder charge and the band of German spies.

Richard Hannay goes through events that remind you of the North by North-West plane scene, of Bond going quietly out to sea in a rowboat or motorboat, of Sherlock meticulously affecting a disguise and of the real art of acting to convince others you aren't yourself but someone else. He's not a man originally a spy but by the end of his tale he shows a distinct knack for it.

The Thirty-Nine Steps is a quick and clever read. The writing can feel lengthy at times but that pace never changes. There's much good fortune, some rather unbelievable while others quite convincing, that tells of Buchan having to forcefully invent ways for Hannay to survive but none will irritate you so much as have you drop the book. There is high adventure and a psychologically tense closing scene, which in itself reveals exactly why Hitchcock would have been interested in making a film based on the story. The Thirty-Nine Steps is well worth a read for many reasons but mostly for the fun of the tale and the influence it has had upon all spy stories since.

I'd recommend this book to: those who love spy novels, war stories and overland chase adventures. Also those who love James Bond stories.

Allergy free honey lime marinade (for drumsticks) recipe

All the good plates were used so here's a green and brown colour themed dish.

Ingredients

• 60mls allergy free soy sauce replacer
• 2 tbsp honey
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp lime juice
• 7-8 chicken drumsticks

Method

• In a shallow container, whisk together the soy sauce replacer, honey, oil and lime juice.
• Strip the chicken skin from the drumsticks.
• Place the chicken drumsticks into the mixture and turn to coat.
• Cover and marinate in the refrigerator at least 30 minutes or, if time permits, overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 200°C.
• Lightly oil a large baking dish.
• Line up the drumsticks in the baking dish.
• Drip over some more marinade.
• Set aside any remaining marinade for basting.
• Cook the chicken drumsticks for 20-25 minutes, basting once or twice, until the juices run clear.

Allergy free rich chocolate pancake recipe

Ingredients

• 2 cups Orgran self-raising flour
• 2 tsp Orgran No Egg
• ¼ cup cocoa
• ¼ cup brown sugar (optional)
• ¼ tsp cinnamon
• ¼ tsp nutmeg
• Pinch of cardamom
• 40g Nuttlex, melted, cooled
• 2¼ cups goat’s milk


Method

• Sift the flour, No Egg and cocoa into a bowl.
• Add the sugar and spices and stir well.
• Combine Nuttlex and goat’s milk.
• Add the goat’s milk mixture to the flour mixture and whisk to combine.
• Allow the batter to rest for 10 minutes.
• Lightly grease a small frying pan and heat to medium.
• Cook 1/3 cup portions of the batter for 2-3 minutes then turn the pancake and cook on the other side.
• Repeat with the remaining mixture.
• Serve pancake stacks with maple syrup or chocolate sauce.

Rosy's scrawled manhwa recommendation: Nineteen-Twenty One by Yohan

Nineteen-Twenty One
Yohan

Blurb

Yun-lee is a girl who is carrying a huge emotional scar in her heart. Due to an accident, she lost 2 precious years of her life, the time period between 19 and 21 years old. Her life is empty. She is miserable, but still attending a preparatory school in an attempt to catch up with all the time she has lost. Suddenly, one day on her way to feed some stray cats, she comes across a young man who seems to have what she has lost... the period between 19 and 21 years old.

Alternative names

Nineteen, TwentyOne

Девятнадцать

열아홉스물하나

19-21

Status

Complete

Manga reader sites

Manga Fox, Manga Reader

Rosy's scrawlings on Nineteen-Twenty One

Nineteen-Twenty One is a very gentle story about loss, identity, new beginnings and becoming an adult. Yun-lee has lost a period of her life and some of her physical health due to a traffic accident while Ju Dong-Hwi is aimless and lost after graduation, knowing only that a career or study lifestyle is not for him. Their problems are very personal and the impact of them seems limited until the pair of them become involved in the lives of a large number of stray cats. Once they do they become agents of social change and betterment as they enlighten people about the cats and help build up the neighbourhood's garden. Together, Yun-lee and Ju Dong-Hwi find their way in life and realise what they'd like to do and how to be adults.

One of the most interesting aspects of Nineteen-Twenty One is its focus on the stray cats. There is a long discussion as to what to do with stray cats, the way humans should treat them and how their health should be managed. Both Yun-lee and Ju Dong-Hwi start out caring about the cats through feeding them during their lunch hours but soon their concerns deepen. The health and lifestyle of the stray cats becomes increasingly important to them both as they discover that they are both carers and interested in cats. Yun-lee and Ju Dong-Hwi develop relationships with a vet and those living in the area the cats frequent, eventually considering futures within the pet care business. Along the way they, and we as readers, learn a lot about what can be done for stray cats that provides them with a better life over the long term. 

Nineteen-Twenty One is illustrated by the artists Zhena, Jenna and Kim Hye Jin. The art is very sweet, flowing and brightly coloured. There's lots of flowers, cats and the colours pink, green, brown, yellow and blue. Black and white are used mostly for depth and shading, occasionally clothes. There's a depth and warmth to the images that draws you in and highlights the larger world within which the personal struggles of Yun-lee and Ju Dong-Hwi occur.

I'd recommend this manhwa to: cat lovers, women and those stuck in a life rut for whatever reason.

Notes on manga reader sites
The quality of manga readers can vary. The uploads are often done cheaply or as a serious hobby by a collective. Be aware that sometimes licence hasn't been given but the sites noted above, Manga Fox in particular, are extremely careful about adding and pulling mangas according to license agreements. So you shouldn't have to worry too much about the material being pirated. There are also translated works and non-translated. Amongst the translated works you will find that the quality of translation may vary according to the skills of the translators. Usually the works are perfectly readable anyway, with only a few added or dropped words or a word in the incorrect tense or with/out plurals. But sometimes the text becomes gobbledygook. In which case, either seek another version or give up and buy an official copy once a printed translation comes out. The other issue of note is you may need to expand the screen to read the text easily as sometimes the scans are minimised a little.
I find that if a page doesn't download properly or some other issue occurs (too slow or someone ordered the pages incorrectly etc.) with one reader then skipping across to another reader and picking up where I was is quite easy and rarely annoying.
Otherwise, enjoy and watch out you don't get too addicted you forget about the necessary things in life.

Best Wind In The Willows quotes for tattooing

"Beyond the Wild Wood comes the Wide World."

"It takes all sorts to make a world."

"As he looked, he lived; and still, as he lived, he wondered."

"As one wakened suddenly from a beautiful dream."

"I have the gift of conversation."

"There is nothing--absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats."

"We chaff, we sparkle, we tell witty stories."

"Here today, up and off to somewhere else tomorrow!"

"A horizon that's always changing!"

"Everything seems asleep, and yet going on all the time."

"Absorbed in the new scents, the sounds, and the sunlight."

"The unseen was everything. the unknown the only real fact of life."

"Take the adventure, heed the call."

"'Tis but a banging of the door behind you, a blithesome step forward, and you are out of your old life and into the new!”

“I'm going to make an animal out of you."

Allergy free coconut and passionfruit rice recipe

Ingredients

• 400ml coconut milk
• ¾ cup goat’s milk
• ¼ cup caster sugar
• Pinch of salt
• ¾ cup white rice, preferably arborio
• 3 passionfruits, pulp seeded

Method

• Place the coconut milk, goat’s milk, sugar and salt in a medium saucepan.
• Bring to the boil over medium heat.
• Add the rice and stir well.
• Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, for 25-30 minutes or until most of the liquid has been absorbed and the rice is tender.
• If the rice becomes tender before the liquid has been completely absorbed - can happen with other sorts of rice - then drain off a little by placing the rice in a sieve.
• Stir through ⅔ of the seedless passionfruit pulp.
• Serve with a drizzle of the remaining passionfruit pulp, seeds included if you'd like.

Developing super powers for your character

When creating your super character, there are many mental powers to choose from but the fields they fall within are limited. They are limited by what is usually referred to as the mind, body, soul divisions. For those who don't believe in souls but rather a form of mental spirituality then the use of power by the unconscious of the universal nature can take the soul's place. To keep this category understandable though, I've called it all spiritual powers. There is also another category whereby a character can enhance or gift a power to someone else while enhancing or detracting from their own. They can act like boosters or suppressors but as their power is considered more passive then the others characters with such powers often appear on the sidelines (unless physical contact is required for powers to be passed on).
When choosing mental powers it is quite feasible to assign a character strong powers in one or more abilities and weak in others. Sticking to sets of 2-3 powers maximum though, makes the character more understandable. This is particularly so if their weaknesses are easily discernible  What makes a character sympathetic is a weakness or two that need overcoming and are hopefully being battled. This is why near invincible or invincible characters are interesting only for a short period of time. Attempts at sympathy and empathy wane after a while as characters prove impossible to connect with. No human is without weakness so an understandable super hero or villain must be too.
When choosing the powers to use you should also be aware that many powers already have aspects of two or more types of powers, eg, mental powers such as mediumship have a spiritual aspect and physical powers that are energy based can be considered as spiritual or mental manipulation of the body. This is especially the case for mental and spiritual powers as there is a constant argument over the mind/body split and whether there is a soul in society. The argument leads to an inability to accurately categorise a power unless personal opinion in included in the character and world construction. As this will happen anyway, I see little drawback in not being able to define powers more objectively.
Once you choose a power, disassemble it to understand just what your character will do with it, how they will use it and what the weaknesses inherent in the ability are. From there you are part way towards characterisation and plot development, particularly if you are set on playing on your character's weaknesses.

Mental powers
When thinking of mental powers most come up with telepathy and telekinesis straight away. They are the two main mental powers, after all, and effect someone else's mental state or physical state. Often enough, anyway. But there is little interaction between the mental and the spiritual with these two abilities. 

Includes: psychic weapons, possession, mental projection, mediumship, omniscience, cross-dimensional awareness, psychometry, memory manipulation, mind control, precognition, empathy and many more abilities.

Spiritual powers
Powers of this nature draw on the unconscious mind, higher level thought, the emotions and the unknown spiritual elements of the world to be constructed. Once you open a character up to spiritual powers there needs to be a source or overarching world construction that allows for spiritual powers. This could mean gods or it could mean that all living beings, including the earth, has a spiritual side to their nature (like mana to magic systems). If these types of worlds are undesirable then having the powers be purely mental is the way to go. In doing so though, you will need to explain that there is no mind/body split, however you see fit. If the mind is the body then the need for a spirit is no longer there and the use of mental powers can be directly linked to any number of physical powers.

Includes: mediumship, possession, empathy, astral projection, omnipresence, summoning and more. 

Physical powers
These powers can be unconsciously controlled by a character, can occur to their bodies without conscious control asserted, or have some elements of mental control but come more directly from the body or impact the body more than the mind. As there's often a mental aspect to physical powers these two categories are worth exploring together.

Includes: body part substitution, animal mimicry, healing, duplication (physical or temporal), bone manipulation, invisibility, superhuman longevity, fire breathing, poison generation, sonic scream, x-ray vision, heat vision, wall crawling, water breathing, shape shifting, elasticity and more.

Boosting or suppressing powers
Basically as above. Through touch or mental control a character can manipulate the powers of others and sometimes themselves by pairing or absorbing powers.

Includes: power augmentation, power bestowal, power mimicry or absorption, power negation, power sensing.

Technology and powers

Aside from powers that stem from the body, mind or spirit there are powers that come from technology. These technological powers are usually ones that can draw, however unbelievably, from physics. Light, heat, sound, radiation manipulation are all possible through technology as well as plain old physical powers. Invulnerability or nearly so through the use of a suit or force field can be similar to invulnerability through an innately strong physical form.
Technology offers an obvious weakness when you consider the possibility of the technology breaking down but there remain the more basic weaknesses that come with being overly strong in one area at the cost of another. A suit will often inhibit movement while tech-enhanced light sensitivity would need to be shut off if a blast of extremely bright light came towards the character (and so on and so forth). Don't just stick to technology failing because if you consider the other weaknesses there to be drawn on you can also create possibilities for character and technological growth and development.

So when developing super powers for your character consider world construction, plot development, power pairing and weaknesses. Whether working from a weakness to world construction or plotting to characterisation, all these aspects of a story need to be considered carefully. Choose your super powers wisely.

Rosy's scrawled manhwa recommendation: Girls Of The Wild's by Hun

Girls Of The Wild's
Hun

Blurb
Wilds high, it has a history of 42 years as a fighting specialist all girls private high school meant solely for the elite. The place Wilds-League is held, the most popular event in the country, the only place in the world where teenage girls have brutal fights with their lives. This year has been changed into a mixed gender school. The only male student- Song Jae Gu, has been granted a full 3-year scholarship regardless of grades. Being someone who had to spend every moment working or taking care of his two younger brothers, he accepted. However, the scholarship was granted with the sole condition he does not leave. But after meeting Queen, the bloody champion of Wild's-League, drenching her in coffee, calling her a "Monster" and getting caught while she was taking a shower... that could prove fatal.

Alternative names

소녀 the Wild's

소녀더와일즈

Girl the Wild's

Status

Ongoing

Manga reader sites (free)

Manga Fox, Manga Here

Rosy's scrawlings on Girls Of The Wild's

I have to say, I love this manhwa. It is sweet and quite funny and there's plenty of characters to identify with and place your imagination behind. It is a piece aimed at women readers but there isn't much to stop anyone from giving it a whirl, be they tomboys to boys, and liking it. And because of this, and the reversed fairytale quality, I found Girls Of The Wild's rather charming. Far more so than the usual fairytale.
Girls Of The Wild's is about a boy, Song Jae Gu, who's been bullied, lost his father, been abandoned by his mother, is raising his two younger siblings and working for a living. He can't afford school so he takes a scholarship at The Wild's, a move he soon believes unwise. The reason he believes so is that he's the only boy in newly 'co-ed' school and the girls do not know what to do with him. The Wild's also just happens to be a school that fostered extremely good fighters, holds bloody fighting competitions and focuses on building the strength and abilities of its female students. So Song Jae Gu quickly finds himself to be the least 'masculine' of everyone present at the school and on the receiving end of an entire school's worth of female attention. Song Jae Gu essentially takes on the role of the girl in this school. He has to have a change room and toilets specially made for him after the girls started changing in class about him (his response: "Kyaa!"), he can't fight and is daunted by violence, he's protected by strong fighters who happen to be outgoing and tomboyish female fighters and he's taught how to stand up for himself and fight by those more capable in this realm. Typically, in stories at least, the role of Song Jae Gu is what a girl would experience entering an all boys school, complete with an intense culture shock. Added to this is his life of toil, which is very much like Cinderella's role minus the older family members, and the fact that the main contender of several love interests is an girl from an enormously rich and powerful family, representing the prince.
But here's where everything becomes less defined and more thoughtful. Song Jae Gu is physically strong and capable once he allows himself to learn. There are other males in the story who are constantly bandying on about uppity females, female strength and their supposed inability to fight well. The prince figure is also a girl initially brought up to be a boy but released from her heir duties once a boy was born and allowed to take on some girlish attributes like long hair, shyness and the wearing of skirts and dresses. Never mind that she's the best fighter at the school by far. The culture shock experienced by Song Jae Gu also highlights just how girls behave when by themselves rather than being a distorted picture of how boys behave when alone. All this and more lets you read and ponder gender roles and the actual range of natures within each gender and just where you yourself would fit. Most people aren't nearly as clearly defined in their gender as represented in most stories, particularly fairy tales, but Girls Of The Wild's is a story that would allow almost any reader to find their place, position and opinion on their own, through agreeing or disagreeing with a variety of characters own place, position and opinion.
To add to this is the beautiful and sweet artwork of Zhena. I've encountered her art before in Nineteen-Twenty One (which I also recommend but haven't written on yet) and it is art that creates a feeling of warmth and play. The art draws you in and creates a smooth flow of the story that's inescapable. It is filled with vibrant colours, the liveliness of movement and a delicacy that serves to highlight the more intellectual attributes of the story. Rarely will you see a martial arts manga or manhwa so brilliantly and cleanly portrayed, or one that will leave you feeling calm and happy.

I'd recommend this manhwa to: women and girls for the most part but anyone interested in gender roles, bloody martial arts, fairy tales and complicated romances.

Notes on manga reader sites
The quality of manga readers can vary. The uploads are often done cheaply or as a serious hobby by a collective. Be aware that sometimes licence hasn't been given but the sites noted above, Manga Fox in particular, are extremely careful about adding and pulling mangas according to license agreements. So you shouldn't have to worry too much about the material being pirated. There are also translated works and non-translated. Amongst the translated works you will find that the quality of translation may vary according to the skills of the translators. Usually the works are perfectly readable anyway, with only a few added or dropped words or a word in the incorrect tense or with/out plurals. But sometimes the text becomes gobbledygook. In which case, either seek another version or give up and buy an official copy once a printed translation comes out. The other issue of note is you may need to expand the screen to read the text easily as sometimes the scans are minimised a little.
I find that if a page doesn't download properly or some other issue occurs (too slow or someone ordered the pages incorrectly etc.) with one reader then skipping across to another reader and picking up where I was is quite easy and rarely annoying.
Otherwise, enjoy and watch out you don't get too addicted you forget about the necessary things in life.