I'm writing a story that was originally conceived as an anime/manga concept, and in the process of creating a character, I came up with this little bundle of destruction: A Misincarnated Salamander with an identity crisis. In the story, a Misincarnation is what happens when a non-human soul is placed into a human body. It's different from a possession, because the soul didn't take over the body, it is the original soul of the body, it's just not a human soul. In this case, she's a human with the soul of a salamander (Fire elemental). Misincarnations display the abilities of their soul's true form, which in this case means the character can control and is immune to fire. What I'm wondering is, has anyone else ever come up with something similar?
Of course someone probably has. Even loosely. But I wouldn't overly concern myself with that, if I were you. I think if I worried about being original all the time I'd get nothing done.
My concern isn't whether it's original, I'd just like to find out if a similar concept floats around that I can use as a frame of reference
Oh I see, sorry. I couldn't name anything as this isn't my area, I hope others can help you. It's a good idea regardless.
Can't say I've quite come across this concept before. Lots of similar ones, like a bird being turned into a human and thus she acts like a bird in a human's body, or shifter creatures whose true form is an animal but they can turn into humans, which often means they will retain traits and habits of their animal form. I have a friend who wrote about a girl who'd been turned into a cat, who then got returned to her human form but the removal of the curse wasn't entirely successful, so she still thinks she's a cat and acts like one. I also came across a book once about a character who was a tree - and she'd been mysteriously turned into a human girl, so her entirely perspective is from that of a tree in the body of a girl. But a "miscarnation" - nope, don't think I've heard of it. There're lots of very similar concepts you can draw from though. I think the more interesting question might be, how is your idea different from the above concepts I've mentioned? Like, sure, yours is about reincarnation into the wrong body - but how does that really play out in the narrative arc? How does it affect the character in ways that are different to one of the concepts above, where characters nonetheless inhabit the "wrong" body? Just because the root of it is different doesn't mean it necessarily plays out differently. How will you apply your concept so it's significantly different?
I'd say you'd be better looking at this like "The Time I Reincarnated as a Slime" and "I Reincarnated as a Sword," which is a manga for similar items to get inspiration from. I won't lie. I got inspiration for my Magical Girl novel from anime. However, I also took the standard warrior quits/warrior returns plot and ran with it into something that is my take on it. No plot is original anymore; they've all been done. It's your take on it that's different. Take your idea and run with it how you see fit.
Possession is very often or almost always handled as if there were two intellectual an emotional souls/spirits/nonmaterial beings/memetic entities/memeplexes/... competing about power inside one person or group of persons. So... To me this is one subtype of possession. As a reference...? It's better to focus to the dynamics of partial possession and/or "possession" than substance. So... - Pratchet & hiver.Pratchet & Summoning Dark - Bibble: several - Jordan Peterson: evilness in totalitarian group thinking (memetic perspective even that he does not talk about memetics aloud) - The idea of totem animals. - Pratchett & borrowing (Granny W.) - Psychology and Psychiatry: dissociation - Computer virus and/or virus protection software - Pinocchio - Some marshal art's technique groups (monkey style...) - The field of social psychology in general... - Harry Potters: several characters - Several childrens stories
Well, it's not "reincarnation". It's her original soul, but it's not a human soul. Which is where it gets extremely complicated.
The soul that has been reincarnated into a new body is, technically, the original soul of that body, don't you think so? Because that soul is the rightful and only occupant of that body. Only in your case, when the human character was born, she was born with a salamander soul - it is as if the salamander reincarnated into the wrong body, hence your term "mis-carnation" (I just assumed it was playing on the word reincarnation, honestly) Or if I've got the complete wrong end of the stick, then I apologise and you'll have to explain again... sorry. It just occurred to me - you might want to look into transgenderism (not even sure if that's a word). Anyway, perhaps talk to transgender people - it's often that they feel to be in the wrong body. There certainly are also people - real life people - who believe they're leopards and crocodiles and such. Googling these stories might give you an idea on how you can write yours.
Well, you're close enough to understand it. Reincarnation has to do with recycling the soul into a new body, which does occur in the mythos, just not in the case of a misincarnation.
I think then just stop using the word miscarnation if it is unrelated to reincarnation, because you are gonna get a lot of confused readers otherwise. I think then you mean there is no recycling of the soul - just that someone was born but the soul didn't match the body.
It makes sense to me. To be incarnated means to take a physical form. To be reincarnated means you've take on a second (third, etc.) form. To be mis-incarnated means you've taken a physical form you weren't supposed to, be it first form or not. Is that what you're going for @DarkPen14 ?
Not a book, but in the Mortal Kombat movies Reptile is a l lizard that possesses a statue of a person, and that is how they get into the tournament. Though they kinda have to be thrown into the statues, since they can't possess them without a little help. Other than that, I haven't really seen the concept explored.
I typed "misincarnation" into google, and this thread is #3. Numbers 1 and 2 refer to the same twittter user, @misincarnated, so I'd say you're onto something fairly original.
You have the freedom of coining a new method of having an animal in human form, but once it is in there you have a story pretty much like all the others. It just depends how much of the tale involves incarnation at all, and how much is just backstory. Backstory only has so much value.
Now you put it that way, it does make sense. So it seems I've mistakenly taken the word as miscarnation, not misincarnation. I think I just had reincarnation stuck in my head, honestly. Again, that probably does prove that the OP has quite an original idea going
It's kind of the ultimate extension of a sex-gender mismatch -- "a woman trapped in a man's body" -- except having salamander powers in a human body removes any doubt about whether it's "real" or not. That might be a frame of reference.
Now you're reminding me of Elsa... (based on the parallel between using magic as evidence of something otherwise unseen)
Good point. And it raises the idea that it's counter-productive to try to hide or suppress something that's the core of a person's being. Elsa doesn't just use magic: she is magic, in a way Harry Potter never can be. People telling the MC here to suppress their salamander-ness might be equally disastrous. [ETA: Ooh, I wonder if Elsa might turn out to be whatever the ice-equivalent of a salamander is misincarnated into a woman ... and Anna, with her red hair, could be ... ]
Elsa could be a sort of Undine (Water elemental). I don't think there's a specific name for ice elemental. And I don't think Anna has any powers, but I've only seen the first movie, so i dunno
