Wasn't sure where to ask this -> A "person with powers" question

Leigh.Lyons · Apr 11, 2009

I have a character who has the ability to talk, spy, and walk through mirrors. in my universe, it's a mental ability. I wanted to branch her powers out as she becomes more accustomed to her abilities, but can't think of what direction to go. Her sister is telepathic and her brother is psychokinetic, so I don't want her to expand into "their" powers.

Any thoughts? Thanks!!

kct webber · Apr 11, 2009

Just mirrors? Could her mental abilities be tied to the quality/clarity of the reflection? Could she, as she grows stronger/more comfortable, be able to see, talk, and walk through anything that is reflective? And as she gets even stronger than that, perhaps things with lower quality reflections, like mere silhouetts. (sp?) Then even more powerful, she could see, talk, and walk through shadows.

I think it would be pretty cool to see a character walk out of the side of a coffee cup, or step out of a shadow.

MattW · Apr 11, 2009

Could she telekinetically move mirrors to pan and scan areas that aren't reflected?

Maybe she can see through still bodies of water?

Or she could leave messages on reflective surfaces?

Spookier maybe.

ELMontague · Apr 11, 2009

I like KCT's suggestion, but if you wanted something additional you could make her powers grow until she could see through other peoples eyes.

Adam · Apr 11, 2009

Sticking with the mirror thing, maybe she acquires the ability to "mirror" a person, meaning she can take on their appearance?

Thump · Apr 11, 2009

ELMontague said:
I like KCT's suggestion, but if you wanted something additional you could make her powers grow until she could see through other peoples eyes.

That is seriously creepy, I approve.

sunandshadow · Apr 11, 2009

The 'other reflective things' was my first thought too, but just to suggest an alternative, her affinity might be with the glass the mirrors are made out of and she might gain an affinity with all glass - be able to sculpt it, or perhaps turn herself transparent, or screw with a fiber-optics network...

dclary · Apr 11, 2009

Leigh.Lyons said:
I have a character who has the ability to talk, spy, and walk through mirrors. in my universe, it's a mental ability. I wanted to branch her powers out as she becomes more accustomed to her abilities, but can't think of what direction to go. Her sister is telepathic and her brother is psychokinetic, so I don't want her to expand into "their" powers.

Any thoughts? Thanks!!

Immaculate fashion sense?

Maybe that's all she's got is teleportation. Why do people have to always increase their powers? Maybe they just learn to do better with what they've got?

Leigh.Lyons · Apr 11, 2009

kct webber said:
Just mirrors? Could her mental abilities be tied to the quality/clarity of the reflection? Could she, as she grows stronger/more comfortable, be able to see, talk, and walk through anything that is reflective? And as she gets even stronger than that, perhaps things with lower quality reflections, like mere silhouetts. (sp?) Then even more powerful, she could see, talk, and walk through shadows.

I think it would be pretty cool to see a character walk out of the side of a coffee cup, or step out of a shadow.

I was thinking that it would expand to water and such. I've thought about her coming out of a cup of coffee, let's say, but thought it might get hokey. Besides a person can't fit into a mug. The smallest mirror she could fit, logically into would be about 45x45 cm (18x18 inches). Then she could crawl into it like an air duct from old spy movies.

I really like the shadow thing

! I've had ideas for a shadow-walker but couldn't find a body to put the power in!

MattW said:
Could she telekinetically move mirrors to pan and scan areas that aren't reflected?

Maybe she can see through still bodies of water?

Or she could leave messages on reflective surfaces?

Spookier maybe.

The message thing could work! For work, she currently uses small parabolic mirrors for servallience, like the ones in department stores but 2 inches across.

ELMontague said:
I like KCT's suggestion, but if you wanted something additional you could make her powers grow until she could see through other peoples eyes.

THAT IS SO COOL! :hooray:

Adzmodeus said:
Sticking with the mirror thing, maybe she acquires the ability to "mirror" a person, meaning she can take on their appearance?

I really like that idea! Ooohh, that could be creepy.

sunandshadow said:
The 'other reflective things' was my first thought too, but just to suggest an alternative, her affinity might be with the glass the mirrors are made out of and she might gain an affinity with all glass - be able to sculpt it, or perhaps turn herself transparent, or screw with a fiber-optics network...

Oohh I like it! I can see the fictional headlines now: "Fiber-optic cables turn to swan sculpture! Tokyo power grid down for 5 minutes!"

Leigh.Lyons · Apr 11, 2009

dclary said:
Immaculate fashion sense?

Maybe that's all she's got is teleportation. Why do people have to always increase their powers? Maybe they just learn to do better with what they've got?

Oi! Don't get me started on her fashion sense. Let's just say she loves message tee's in an almost unnatural way.

I'm thinking in the long term. I have, so far, 3 books written for this series and a good 16 more ideas. My thought has always been that finding new ways to use an ability is best. A part of finding a new way to use an old power is think abstractly about where it could also be applied. I want the "power jumps" (I hate that term) to make sense.

I used to devour the Anita Blake books, and still I couldn't get enough. But she started adding weird powers that didn't make sense and my favoritism waned. So, when I stared writing books with a "magic" character, I wanted to make sure that didn't happen. Powers shouldn't come from the land of FuckifIknow.

The power issue like language. When we are young, we can only make simple sentences. As we acquire more skill, our sentences become more complex, but I can still say and understand "I MADE POOPY!"(<- I'm around too many little kids)

Karen Duvall · Apr 11, 2009

I love all these ideas! Maybe think about some limitations, too. Like how she might get stuck in a mirror. What happens when a mirror breaks. If someone fogs a mirror with their breath and she's inside it, what does this do? If a mirror is moved, or is covered, or is buried. Lots to work with here.

Leigh.Lyons · Apr 11, 2009

Karen Duvall said:
I love all these ideas! Maybe think about some limitations, too. Like how she might get stuck in a mirror. What happens when a mirror breaks. If someone fogs a mirror with their breath and she's inside it, what does this do? If a mirror is moved, or is covered, or is buried. Lots to work with here.

She is actually really vulnerable when she is connected to a mirror doing any sort of in depth mirror work. The more complicated the work, the harder it is for her to protect herself when she's linked to the mirror because her soul is attached to it. Her basic three skills themselves she can do without any problems.

I think I'm just worried that some of the big bads I throw her against will pulverize her.

Kathleen42 · Apr 11, 2009

In Mordant's Need, some of the characters use mirrors to move supplies. Some of the characters also have the ability to shift the image the mirror shows.

In the Merry Gentry books, at least one of the characters can send objects through mirrors (messages written on paper and spiders, I believe). That would be a pretty powerful thing.

Leigh.Lyons · Apr 11, 2009

Kathleen42 said:
In Mordant's Need, some of the characters use mirrors to move supplies. Some of the characters also have the ability to shift the image the mirror shows.

In the Merry Gentry books, at least one of the characters can send objects through mirrors (messages written on paper and spiders, I believe). That would be a pretty powerful thing.

Huh. I did not know that.

Yeah, I got 1/4 of the way through the first Merry Gentry and decided that if I wanted porn, there were places online where I could find it (and dare I say the plot is better because it doesn't pretend to be anything but porn). My friend is really enjoying the MG books though, I should talk to him about the messages thing.

I actually took my mirror element from all the "evil witch" stories... which is why she will have to contend with the possibility of going evil later on.

Kathleen42 · Apr 11, 2009

Leigh.Lyons said:
Huh. I did not know that.

Yeah, I got 1/4 of the way through the first Merry Gentry and decided that if I wanted porn, there were places online where I could find it (and dare I say the plot is better because it doesn't pretend to be anything but porn). My friend is really enjoying the MG books though, I should talk to him about the messages thing.

I actually took my mirror element from all the "evil witch" stories... which is why she will have to contend with the possibility of going evil later on.

I don't think it was used often. There was one part in the first book where MG wrote "help me" on a paper towel and tossed it through the mirror. Mirrors are also used at various points in the series as a means of communication - sort of like a fairytale Skype.

Most of the mirrors in Mordant's Need weren't regular mirrors. Most were more like "doorways' into other worlds.I heartily recommend it if you're ever looking for something to read. The first book is The Mirror of Her Dreams and the author is Stephen R Donaldson.

In The Tenth Kingdom the wicked queen uses mirrors to communicate and spy but she can also use still pools of water.

Leigh.Lyons · Apr 11, 2009

Kathleen42 said:
In The Tenth Kingdom the wicked queen uses mirrors to communicate and spy but she can also use still pools of water.

I did draw from that. I LOVE that show... movie.... thing

.

ETA: I will have to put those books on my reading list!

RavenCorinnCarluk · Apr 11, 2009

There are some cool suggestions for powers here.

One of my own: it's not exactly an extra "power", but perhaps at first she just jumps through the mirrors. Moves instantly from one mirror to the next, no sense of what's in the mirrors, and she just appears where's she's going. The more she does it, the longer she can spend in the mirror realm, and finds out weird secrets about it. (I know looking in a mirror as a kid, I was convinced there was another world through there.)

It really sounds more like an adventure point than a power, but I think it could be interesting.

Leila · Apr 11, 2009

Wow, that's a really interesting ability. And I like the suggestions too. I'd be interested in expanding into other reflective surfaces - which maybe could have different effects to using glass? Like maybe trying to do the same thing with water which she does with a mirror could have a totally different result. Or something like water could be used for a different purpose entirely, like trying to see the future. (Actually, I'm not that into people seeing into the future but that's probably another thread entirely.)

Not entirely relevant, but one of my other favourite questions with people with magic is whether there are any malfunctions. Does her power always work perfectly? What happens if mirrors break? And what happens if she's just trying to use a mirror to do her hair? Would it let her?

Leigh.Lyons · Apr 12, 2009

Leila said:
Not entirely relevant, but one of my other favourite questions with people with magic is whether there are any malfunctions. Does her power always work perfectly? What happens if mirrors break? And what happens if she's just trying to use a mirror to do her hair? Would it let her?

Great questions! I've been giving them some thought too and can answer-

Does her power always work perfectly? No. Sometimes she can't do it at all.

What happens if mirrors break? If the mirror breaks while she's attached to it, she'll die. That's all there really is to it.

And what happens if she's just trying to use a mirror to do her hair? Nothing, assuming she doesn't touch the mirror. Maybe as she grows more confident, she'll be able to do magick without touching. *Shrug* I don't know yet.

Would it let her? I don't see why not.

payitforward · Apr 12, 2009

What if she was able to meet--or awaken--people's Dopplegangers? You could get into some seriously fun and creepy stuff there, but perhaps that's taking the plot in a different direction.

Leigh.Lyons · Apr 12, 2009

payitforward said:
What if she was able to meet--or awaken--people's Dopplegangers? You could get into some seriously fun and creepy stuff there, but perhaps that's taking the plot in a different direction.

Interesting.....
Like I said above, there is a pretty strong chance of her going evil, so that power could actually play into that story line.

Thanks!

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