I’d like to thank the person who commented on my last post. I’ve decided to use the term “irregular” to describe my superpowered characters. Have other series used this term? I also have a few questions about some other plot points:1. I’m trying to figure out how powers are inherited. My original thought was to have powers caused by a random genetic mutation that COULD be passed down, but wasn’t necessarily hereditary. There would be a different mutation that causes each power set. I’m not sure I want to use this explanation because I’m not using the term “mutant” to describe the superpowered characters after all. My other thought was to have superhuman abilities be a polygenetic trait. With all domanint genes being “normal” and different levels of recessive genes causing different powers. The huge drawback with this explanation is it’s likely going to be too complicated for me to keep track of which characters would have which powers (not to mention difficulty explaining why irregulars are so rare).2. I haven’t figured out what to do about Brianna’s clothes when she transforms. The explanation I’m working on would not allow for her clothes to change with her, but I don’t want anything too revealing to be seen. Something else to note is that she frequently changes form involuntarily. I did come up with one solution. Brianna has a bracelet that belonged to her biological father’s mother (her father was an only child, so his mother gave it to him for if he ever had a daughter as an adult). Brianna doesn’t know this at first, but it’s made of a special metal that’s extremely reactive to body heat. About a few minutes before she’s about to transform (I haven’t figured out how long yet), the bracelet slowly gets tighter, and at the 5-10 second mark (still have to figure out how long), it starts vibrating. There would still be times she would have issues from her clothes not shifting with her, but it wouldn’t be a frequent thing (and she would only be seen from the shoulders up between the time after she transforms and when she gets her clothes back. Do you think this is a good solution?Any help is greatly appreciated. To all the American members of CCAS, have a happy and blessed Thanksgiving! Thanks!
You need to be a member of CCAS - Christian Comic Arts Society to add comments!
Just to clarify your question #1, you want powers that are genetic but not heredity(passed down from parent; right? I have several ideas:
A) Epigenetic changes are made after fertilization, often after birth. They are caused by environment, including the mothers hormones, and affect how genes are expressed or even if they are expressed. Google "epigenetics" for more information.
B) This idea is more far-out: A great deal of our DNA does not directly produce proteins which affect cell function; decades ago this majority of our DNA was erroneously called 'Junk DNA.' At least a portion of this DNA is composed of non-functional mutated genes from past ancestors (including the remains of viral DNA) the the cell has wrapped up but not done away with. Instead, with every cell division, this chunk of unusable DNA is copied and stored by the daughter cells; just like I have a few books from my grandparents on my bookshelves that I have no intention of reading, and will probably pass them on to my children. Idea is that your protagonist takes a compound that reactivates one or more of these inactive genes; could be genes from a virus or from a werecat ancestor.
K.G. Adams > Brien SparlingNovember 26, 2017 at 1:08pm
I originally wanted powers to be caused by a random genetic mutation that—while it doesn’t necessarily have to ORIGINATE from a parent—-could potentially be passed down to future generations. I came up with a subplot where Brianna has to decide whether to have a special blood test performed on her two young children to see if they carry the mutation or not. Her father had similar abilities to her, which she never knew because he died when she was a baby (she will find out near the end of the series).
Replies
Just to clarify your question #1, you want powers that are genetic but not heredity(passed down from parent; right? I have several ideas:
A) Epigenetic changes are made after fertilization, often after birth. They are caused by environment, including the mothers hormones, and affect how genes are expressed or even if they are expressed. Google "epigenetics" for more information.
B) This idea is more far-out: A great deal of our DNA does not directly produce proteins which affect cell function; decades ago this majority of our DNA was erroneously called 'Junk DNA.' At least a portion of this DNA is composed of non-functional mutated genes from past ancestors (including the remains of viral DNA) the the cell has wrapped up but not done away with. Instead, with every cell division, this chunk of unusable DNA is copied and stored by the daughter cells; just like I have a few books from my grandparents on my bookshelves that I have no intention of reading, and will probably pass them on to my children. Idea is that your protagonist takes a compound that reactivates one or more of these inactive genes; could be genes from a virus or from a werecat ancestor.
How aware is she about her shape-shifting?
She could regularly wear a concealed suit underneath her normal clothes, one that would accommodate her size or form as she changes.
About the Irregulars' rarity, it could be a genetic combination of very specific genes and DNA.
Due to the vast and countless DNA combinations possible, the Irregular gene would be a tiny percentage.
I'm glad I could help with the name, and I hope my other ideas can help you as well! Happy Thanksgiving!!