Soul Eater

While it isn’t common, I have found a few stories that have people who transform into weapons.  Most times, it’s a curse that the character wishes to break.  They are wielded by a friend and cannot change back and forth.  Yet, there are a few, such as above, that can shift from human to weapon at will.  So, how can this work?

People will be looking for an explanation of how, which tends to be magic.  Though, another option is the mutant route where you have people who are simply born with this ability.  It feels like you can either go simple with a faint explanation or go detailed, but you can’t linger in the middle.  Readers will want it to be a solid power or system, so trying to be coy can make it feel more like a pointless gimmick.  This is a major setting piece to the world and story too.

Another thing to consider is if the person feels pain or can take damage.  Swords chip and can even break, so what does this do to the human form?  One would assume that a shattered sword means death.  At the very least, massive amounts of broken bones and internal bleeding.  Some stories have done it that the person is stuck in weapon form until they are repaired by a specialist.  This shouldn’t be without repercussions like scars or loss of strength.  Either way, there should always be a risk in regards to the transformation and then use.

You also have the wielder to consider because having just anyone grab this humanoid weapon can be odd.  Typically, there seems to be a connection either through blood, marriage, or friendship.  For example, ‘Soul Eater’ has the weapons and users partnered up in a training academy.  They are connected through lessons and friendship then later by experience.  A key point is that the weapons are also assigned, so there is a bond.  This means nobody else can use them effectively, which creates a tighter system.  Otherwise, everyone is going to be picking up every human weapon, which is confusing and possibly unsanitary.

Personally, I think this ability is more niche than transforming weapons in general.  It fits this week’s topic, but it isn’t something you can use often.  Stuffing it into your fantasy or science fiction story could be fun, but also clunky.  It isn’t like other superpowers or magic because the person has to be wielded by another.  They can’t just transform and then hop around as a sword.  So, there’s a symbiotic relationship required, which comes with its own subplot.  It’s almost required, so you can’t really just use it as a pure gimmick without much thought.  That will just make the concept fall flat.

So, what do other people think of this type of power/concept?