How do I explain my MC's powers?

Hey, so I'm almost done putting together my futuristic MC samurai set in the near future but what's missing is my explanation as to how my MC has gained special aquatic abilities.

Which sounds like a better and more reasonable choice? He gained them through inheriting it from family? He was given it due to an experiment in a lab or he gained it as a child from being in contact with aquatic beings? This little feedback would help so much.

 

Before this question is answered I think it is important to understand what the link between being a samurai and having aquatic powers. Why do they have aquatic powers?, What kind of aquatic powers? what is the story line of your work? How old is this guy, what kind of world does he live in? What creature inhabit where he lives etc.

 

Superheroes are either born, made in a lab or gained powers by contact with something. All those origin stories are equally good and all have been successfully used many times. Choosing one or another won't make your book better or worse. The inherited powers are the easiest to insert in a story since you don't have to provide any further explanation, so that would be the reasonable choice if you can't come up with a good explanation about what that lab was or how the contact happened.

 

Just had a thought,

could you have it that when he becomes a samurai, i.e. when he is initiated etc, he is bestowed a power from the shogun? or master? that relates to the 4 elements? his aquatic powers come from the water element?

 

It's just something I decided to make up for my samurai main character having aquatic abilities to add more flare and style. Now in terms of making sense for why he has aquatic powers, I have two options for two story versions.

One is that he was a brainwashed soldier mercenary that went through a lot of battles, torture and gets transformed into an aquatic samurai by inheritance, initiation or from a lab set in the future with the world split in two with one side limited technology and guns outlawed leaving the MC in a world where he learns the way of the samurai and the other side of the world has more advanced technology with guns firearms where the more bad guys are from.

Or the other story version is a little less violent and he would belong to a mysterious samurai clan of aquatic beings who live in a exotic world hidden with beauty and culture where he is less familiar with the real world and their technology do to living in some exotic feudal isolated society.

Which version would be a more popular option that readers would enjoy more?

This is what's been holding me back, once I fix this it will almost be completed.

 

Thank you for that input. I still cant figure how it would make sense if one of his parents passed it down to him? Is there any mythology or race based on the water elements?

That could make it interesting. So instead of inheriting it he gains it through his training?

 

You could look up mythological Japanese beings related to water, such as these:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kappa_(folklore)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nure-onna
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mizuchi
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuzuryū

Depending on how you're treating the supernatural in your world, he might gain the actual powers of such a being (or be tutored by one of them), or it could be a more symbolic link for a power with a more scientific basis.

 

That is true. Honestly Iv'e been working years on the idea of this characters originality and coming up with which ideas work the best without being another cliche'd superhero.

The problem is I don't wanna misinterpret the true meaning of a samurai, then fall into the category of fully romanticizing it which has been done to death. Now this was my original plan, some of you might find this silly and stupid but originally I was going to just call my MC being a fish samurai warrior but I couldn't figure a way to make it more serious and believable cause I've been told it sounds dumb :-( so I was going with the idea of just a futuristic samurai instead. Of course it doesn't mean I'm going to give up on it or any of my other ideas, as I've been working on this story and ideas for a long time. I'm just not sure how to make something as a fish samurai character be taken seriously with a thrilling, cool story.

How could a fish samurai character like this work without being viewed as immature, childish and given a good representation of a samurai? If anyone has an answer to this, it would help greatly.

 

It does sound like you're overthinking this a bit. Just go with it, and if the result is awesome / funny enough, the readers probably won't mind any silliness--it would probably be worse if you come across as embarrassed and apologetic for your own core ideas. I'm a strong believer in execution trumping concept every time.

 

I like the idea of a fish samurai. If going "futuristic" makes it a little more awkward, there's nothing compelling you to do so.

As for power origin... eh, you could always say he's just a freak of nature, or depending on how far you want to dive into mythology and fantasy, the descendant of a water-living yokai of some sort. That would work!

 

Keep in mind too, you can always change it later on if you turn out to not like the idea that you picked originally. One of my MC's has changed species five times over the course of this story, but I think this one will stick.

 

Not to add to overthinking your concept, but do any of your other characters have the same aquatic ability your MC is about to display? Sometimes in superhero stories a fan makes connections of people having similar abilities or resources that the writer may need to explain.

 

Hey thanks, yeah I've been playing around with the ideas for a while. Right now when I write it, it just sounds like another cliche'd super hero origin. What kind of water yokai's are known for being very strong and powerful beings?

Thanks, I've been working on it lately and have changed it multiple times too. The thing is I can't figure out which is less tropey between my MC getting genetically engineered into an aquatic water being or inherited it from family going back centuries ago. There's not much to be done with aquatic powers.

Well yes, kind of. My MC was supposed to stand out the most due to his special abilities and skills but I do plan on adding other characters with aquatic abilities along with other characters with other types of abilities as well.

 

I'm no expert myself. I'm afraid you'll have to look that up on your own. Writing fiction based on existing cultures requires quite a lot of looking things up, after all!

Here's a quick Google search link to get you started: http://lmgtfy.com/?q=japanese+water+yokai

 

I get the desire to write non-tropey stuff- I am taking several elements I have never really seen together in fantasy and chucking them all in a pot specifically because there are tropes I want to break. But I also have been building this world for a long time, so I've got an idea how it all fits together. Maybe you could think about making how he got his powers an 'Option C'. What is Option C? I don't think anyone knows yet. I'm a pantser, so lots of things I discover as I write. You might think of or discover something later that's the perfect origin story that you just wouldn't think of at this point. Something unique to your story, you know?

 

I've been trying and I still haven't found a good reason yet as to how he gains these abilities other than based on a mythical folklore. What are some tips you used to get good ideas and inspiration?

 

If it's a science fiction story, or future fantasy, you have a lot of different options to explain someone developing powers!

Genetic engineering - He is either a cloned creature with custom-made DNA, or an experimental subject whose genetic structure has been partially re-written to make him useful for water-based tasks.

Bionic implants - For whatever reason (experimentation, to save him from incurable disease, or injury, perhaps he is a willing tester for new technology) he has been implanted with bionic gills, skin and bones restructured to withstand pressure, improved eyes to see in dark, salty water, etc.

Nano-bots - the character's body has been infused with nanobots that breakdown water into the appropriate gases to filter into lungs, divert chemical energy to tasks at hand, including increasing strength or stamina, durability, etc.

Aliens - Nonhuman lifeforms, extraterrestrial or maybe from the deep ocean, have used a complex science, virtually indistinguishable from magic to primitives like us, to transform the protagonist into homo sapiens oceanus. Their motivations are entirely unknown.

Mutation - exposure to unknown energies or chemicals or perhaps even just random freak of nature chances of birth have given him powers that place him apart from the rest of humanity.

 

Think you have answered your question. If you haven't found a good reason yet after all this to how he gains his abilities other than mythical folklore then perhaps either:

1. Mythical folklore is the answer
2. the abilities he has are not suited to the story.

I'm hoping its the former. Because given he is a samurai this seems to fit what you are after. Don't over complicate it. It's your story do what you see best. We can only give you ideas not write your story for you. Personally I prefer mythical folklore over "Science gone wrong" scenarios.

 

If you can't think of anything, then I suggest just kicking things off anyway. Write a couple of scenes where he's using his abilities, and either do the explanation later, or add it in at the start when you've got a handle on the character. Or don't use those scenes at all, but generally, I suggest to stop fretting and start writing.

 

Hmmm, how I got my inspiration. I'd say a mix of brainstorming and EUREKA! moments. For example: I have a lot of story ideas, only 1 of which I'm concentrating on right now. But at one point, I got it in my head that it would be fun to set them all in the same world. Now, most of them it wouldn't be that hard to tweak the setting and it would work, but I had one where the world was veeeery different than the rest. (The existence of fantasy races for one.) So, I took my story, and started writing it, letting my subconscious work on how to fit it all together when I couldn't figure out how to right off the bat. While I was still in the beginning of my book, it hit me one day while I was waking up/going to sleep how to fit it together. And so I took that seed, thought it out a bit more, and voila! I'm still not sure how all of my ideas fit into this world, but I know how this one does and that's good enough for me.

Basing it on a myth sounds good though! Could look up water creature myths, read those, and just let your subconscious whir away. I personally like to put a different spin on things, so you could think of a way to modify a myth to fit your story and I think that'd be pretty cool.

(Edited because hit post button too early.)

 

This should help alot, thank you.

I can try and see how it turns out since I was using the mythical idea originally. But the ones I find when looking them up don't seem as powerful or charismatic as the ones seen in European folklores.

You're right at least I have a better idea now on what I can plan on ahead.

Hey thanks for that advice. I just got to keep on brainstorming and put the puzzles and pieces together and it should turn out fine, when it comes to Japanese myths I looked up, not many heroic ones but some scary ones!

 

To me, it really depends on the world and the story you want. Those three options have very different implications.

If it's inherited, then he's presumably got family and ancestors with similar powers. He's either got a long tradition of people with aquatic powers he can look back on, or he's been severed from his past for some reason, probably plot-relevant. Either way, there's a hereditary subculture of people with aquatic powers who have their own ways of using or not using their powers and probably some sort of folk mythology around their powers. And barring some major diaspora or cultural genocide, most of the people out there with these powers will have family with the same powers. When you're raised by parents with a power they know is hereditary, you having powers will come as no surprise, so most parents of people with aquatic powers will be reasonably prepared for the common ways that those powers manifest early on, and will raise their child with important wisdom about how best to handle their powers. They'll also grow up seeing how society reacts to their parents' powers, for good or for ill, and be taught ways to handle the unpowered majority, just like ethnic minority kids are taught how to handle white racism.

If it's given to him by an experiment, then you have some scientific organization that made the experiment happen. They're almost certainly going to be plot-relevant - are they good guys, bad guys, or something in between? They also have a motivation, something they were trying to accomplish. What is it? Is it some sort of material gain, or are they more interested in gaining knowledge? What did they want to learn? Are his powers the desired outcome, or an accident or side effect? If they're accidental, does the organization know that their experiment gave him powers? They're probably doing other experiments, too, those could be plot hooks - maybe some of his allies or antagonists have powers from the same organization. Also, why him? How did he end up being part of their experiment instead of someone else? How secretive or open is this organization?

If it's some sort of power-granting aquatic being, what are they? Why do they grant powers? Are they sentient? Are they dangerous? Do they have a culture? Did they give him powers deliberately? If so, they probably want him to do something for them in exchange. Have they given powers to anyone else? How often do they grant powers - is he some sort of really unusual Chosen One, or is this a fairly standard occurrence? How much do people know about these creatures?

 

Hey thanks, this gives me some good ideas to work with. I think I'm liking the experimental idea the best cause it might give me a lot to explore with or combine?

 

Bear in mind which you pick also depends on how experienced/skilled you want him to be with the powers. If he inherited them or was created with them, he's had them all his life, knows (with the former, probably from long family history as well) what they can and can't do and quite possibly (with the evolutionary idea) has some religious/mythological/cultural beliefs that impact on how he and others like him do use or see them.

If they're recent (implant, some form of technology) then even if he's had them some years, there still may be things he doesn't know or understand or have discovered, and he's far more alone with them, unless there are other implanted people (and they wouldn't have all the answers either)