This is a power that fascinated me when I was younger, but I stopped paying attention to it as I got older. Intangibility is what it sounds like. A person can pass through objects like a ghost. It seems simple and designed entirely for thieves because they can get into any building. So, I lost interest until this (things really start around 1 minute):
Let’s get to the tips, but I’m probably going to use Mirio as an example for most of them because he’s amazingly well done.
This is a terrifying power to have because of its greatest flaw. If used improperly or control is lost, the character can (and really should) start falling through whatever they’re standing on. This means falling out of any vehicles while they’re moving, through buildings from the upper floors, and even into the earth. Authors tend to avoid this issue because it brings up a question of how they didn’t die when it first showed up, but that can be chalked up to a mental defense mechanism that cuts the power off when in danger. This does NOT always work if a stronger character loses full control.
Two things I never considered with intangibility are breathing and senses. It makes sense that air wouldn’t enter intangible lungs and light can’t enter intangible eyes to create vision. You can come up with reasons for these to not be a probably such as allowing oxygen directly in from the surrounding area. Same goes for light since the two are not solid like what the character normally goes through. Still, downsides like this can help limit the power of a character who is technically unstoppable.
Psychic powers should still work. Intangibility is only of the body, so the mind shouldn’t be protected by this specific power. There can be some loopholes such as the character moving out of time or dimensions by a hair, but that should also mean that they can’t communicate with others. If you’re going to have them become immune to psychics then you need a really big tradeoff.
As you can see, intangibility at a higher level doesn’t always mean the entire body. A character can practice to make part of themselves solid while the rest is ghostly. This allows them to accomplish actions that require intangibility AND interacting with the environment. For example, slipping a leg through a wall to trip a guard without exposing your whole body. Reaching through something to type on a computer without entering the room is another. Get creative since the human body can be split up in many ways.
Yes, it’s funny for a character to phase and lose their clothes. Don’t overdo that joke and try to keep it tasteful.
Since intangibility is only the ability to pass through things, a character using it in combat needs to know how to fight. Mirio is powerful because he knows how to fight even without using his quirk. He’s developed a style that uses it to his advantage, but the moves are still part of a martial arts school. For example, a character with intangibility can throw a punch, which passes through the skin to hit the liver directly. This requires precision, knowledge of anatomy, and training to deliver the blow quickly. An untrained hero might clumsily pull it off by surprise, but an experienced enemy will be ready once they see the power. Combat training is where the characters can gain skills to handle hand-to-hand.
In a world where intangibility is a known power, there should be defenses against it in terms of weaponry and security. More than likely, someone with this ability set out to be a thief or broke into a building. That means, advanced security systems can come with barriers designed to stop intangibility. Same goes for guns, which may fire energy instead of bullets for these characters. Keep in mind that these heroes and villains don’t cease to exist, but simply pass through objects. They are some kind of wavelength or whatever you want to say to show they are still around since they can be seen. So, it’s not surprising a scientist or organization found a way to counter it and make a fortune in the process.
Kind of a jarring jump from all the fantasy teasers since July and now you have something from Chasing Bedlam. Well, you know that poll from June? Cassidy and Lloyd each got a vote. I’m giving them a shared scene because they’re more fun to write as a team than separately. Enjoy.
I’ve been thinking about some of the more common powers that we see in fiction. It doesn’t matter if they’re natural powers, magic, or tech-based, but they seem to show up all the time. At first, I was going to just write about them, but realized I’d just be giving advice on how to use them in fiction. So, I might as well use one of my favorite post types, which is the ‘7 Tips’. First up is TELEKINESIS
Not every telekinetic has to press their fingers to their temples or lean forward to stare at their target. This can be how they start, but these actions are clear indicators that they are about to act. It makes them a target in a fight and not very useful until they get stronger. Now, it does show strain on the mind and body, but try to think of other methods. Balling of fists alone can do something. The human body has many signs of tension and stress for you to choose from.
Telekinesis is the moving of things with your mind, but that doesn’t mean you can’t modify it. The basics can remain while you make your character a specialist of some kind. Maybe they can only move inanimate objects because they’ll kill a living thing by moving them. It could be only pushing or pulling or levitating. It’s possible that they can only move their own body with their powers. Limiting the scope can help to develop unique uses, which helps the story stand out.
This might be the most important one! There needs to be a limit to the amount that the character can lift. If they’re hurling skyscrapers with their minds and not feeling the strain then they may be near unstoppable. Think of telekinesis as a set of invisible limbs that come out of the mind. They have muscles, which need to be worked on to increase their strength. Even with practice, they will hit a weight limit requiring the person to either stop or push to a point of self-harm.
Telekinesis doesn’t always mean the character has telepathy too. I remember there being a theory decades ago that the human mind has a hierarchy of psychic powers once it goes beyond 10% usage. First, the theory is useless. Second, it went empathy, telepathy, and then telekinesis by 10% increments. This is why you see older characters having this as a set. It isn’t necessary . . . Says the guy who created Lost the Dawn Fang who has telekinesis and telepathy.
It’s possible for telekinesis to imitate other powers. You just have to be creative in how it’s used. Force fields can imitate heightened durability. Sticking to places can work by having them use it on their own body. Same goes for flight. This requires that you understand the other power and telekinesis, so research can help.
Consider the stress and damage that’s inflicted to the targets. Lifting a person up against their will can hurt, especially if the telekinetic is new. It’s assumed by the audience that the entire body is moving, but you can play with this. What if the character tries to shove someone, but focuses only on the stomach? That could knock them back, but also induce vomiting. Lifting by a limb can causes dislocation. Objects can get crushed if shifted with too much force. This is typically ignored, but you can play with it.
Determine how comfortable the character is with this power to decide if they will use it only in emergencies or all the time. One who is scared will try to avoid moving things and may be hard-pressed to display the power. It can be terrifying to manipulate objects without your hands, especially if other people fear it. Yet, a character who revels in the power will use it for everything. Getting the remote, turning off lights, opening doors, and most other things that require hands may be done with the mind instead. This is a great way to demonstrate the character’s personality as well as their power.
With my son’s birthday coming up, I figured it would be a good time to regale people with some funny parenting pictures. Also . . . I couldn’t find enough that covered ’12 year old’ and made me laugh. All pictures are from a Yahoo Image Search.
Think I’ve gone more cowboy with ‘Git to Bed’ being uttered a lot
Still terrifying because he tenses his fingers and toes
I gave up when the Lego Mushroom Kingdom took over the floor
My personal one needs the ‘toilet’ section to be much bigger
Revenge has been enacted in response to this kind of gift
Some days, you just want to slap a twenty in their hand and send them off to 7-11
Turkeys- Next week is Thanksgiving, so only 3 days of school.
Vampires- The week after that ends with the release of War of Nytefall: Eulogy.
That takes care of the future, so let’s look at the past . . . Ugh.
I don’t know what happened to me, but I had a fun weekend with my son and was ready for what I knew would be a rough school week. 2 days left in the quarter, so make up tests were coming. I was ready! Yet, I get wrecked for some reason. I mean, I handled everything, but Monday drained me immediately and I never fully recovered. The big sign that things were going to be rough was me being woken up by alarm instead of waking up 10-30 minutes before it goes off. The cold weather may have played a part too. So, I dragged myself through Friday, which was slow and hazy.
Of course, this means I didn’t do much else. Wasn’t in the mood to do more either. I’ve been prickly as one friend pointed out yesterday. Think a few personal situations are getting to me. It’s made it difficult to focus on anything creative too. I keep trying, but I don’t have it in me. Frustrating is an understatement. This time of year tends to be difficult when it comes to writing too. All the holidays, work, dealing with certain people, etc. wear me down. This is why I’m not touching Slumberlord until after the new year and that will be primarily editing of the first book. I’m thinking of writing and preparing the first 3 books before publishing since I want to get Do I Need to Use a Dragon? (Fantasy Writing Tips) out there first. Not sure how to price it though since it’s pretty big. Maybe 99 cents is best and I shouldn’t push my luck.
The stress is why I hope to get a bunch of notebook work done this weekend. ‘Phi Beta Files’ will have at least the 4 main heroes ready. I think I might skip doing detailed bios of the other characters since most are going to be used only a few times. Weirdest thing is that it’s the first time I’ve broken in a notebook since before the divorce. I became so used to the previous one that I’ve established habits that make using others frustrating. For example, the old notebook would stay open because it was bigger and the spine was more flexible. This one is smaller, which I don’t mind, but I keep leaving it open and it closes on me. I’m nitpicking here. Guess I still need more rest.
Outside of work, my son got his first quarter grades and he did really good. Passed everything with only one grade being in the 80’s and the rest in the 90’s. I’m very proud of him because he worked hard. This takes some of the edge off since last year was crazy with the covid schedule. A big change this time is that many of the assignments have been for classwork and we can’t touch them at home. They don’t want parental influence on these, which I get. It’s hard to step back, especially with the writing assignments, but I’m working on it and seeing that he’s starting to get the hang of it. I’ll always be worried and fighting the urge to step in to his rescue, but I guess we’re inching towards the time when I’m in the passenger seat instead of the driver’s seat.
Television-wise, I started watching an anime called ‘Food Wars’. It’s . . . something. I got more into it than I expected, but the characters have orgasmic reactions to the food. It was funny at first, but the effect has gotten a little old. The story and characters are still good enough to keep me interested. I’ve only got access to seasons 1-2 and 4-5, which means I’ll be lost if I can’t find 3. Guess I’ll stop at 2 and leave the rest alone until 3 turns up somewhere.
I have taken a break from ‘Food Wars’ to watch the live-action ‘Cowboy Bebop’. As of this post, I’ve watched 2 episodes. I liked the original, but was never a diehard, so this thing existing never pissed me off. Felt like I’d give it a chance since the creators claimed to want to honor the original while making something new. Always curious when the people show respect towards the source material. Unfortunately, it feels like somebody on the staff missed that memo. It’s frustrating to see how there are good parts and getting into it, but then you get smacked by an addition that derails things. It was episode 2 that made me think I hit a button and switched to a different show. It was the writing that got to me because the characters weren’t bad at most points until it hit the additions . . . Okay, it was the fucking Vicious and expansion of Spike’s past that I hated. I was really hoping they’d touch on it a bit more without screwing it up, but they just leaned into a bad idea that has me not caring about the main plot. I’m going to finish it because I think the main actors are good and entertaining with the secondary plots being more interesting. I’ll probably finish this today and start in on ‘The Great’ season 2.
Next week is Thanksgiving, so that’s pretty much it. Hope everyone else is having a good time.
Legends of Windemere 