Need an idea!
What about crossing thz 4th wall?
You say your character always felt he was special, as if his story was written by someone else and he would always be fine.
He has no real power, but believe it because so far everything is always as the life of a good MC should be.
At some point he makes a leap of faith and survive (thanks to your plume) and then rename himself as Plot-armor man.
Don't thank me x)
DarkRay The helminthes in my opinion are the most original! But nasty!
Or maybe everything is easier, the main character bought on the street, a pie, ate it .... but this is from Alice and the worm and the mushroom ...
Yes, it scratches the back of the head ... you probably have to use a cliche ... but more realistic.
Try it in the real world, get access to radiation? Immediately squeezed by sanctions! The same for chemicals, but that's ninja turtles ...
Except that?! The protagonist sank into the desert, fell into a hole, and there they extracted uranium ... and of the type was irradiated ... and became the Hulk.
Or maybe even easier ... drank a glass of water from an unknown source in the forest ... and the sto possess super-power ?! But probably this is also somewhere and someone already had ...
SP1RIT Then it’s better to have udon or spaghettonni with Italian sauce, and in the sauce there was that very substance ?! And so I would eat "Genghis Khan" or Tandori Chicken, it is tastier!
Arkinslize This is too confusing and complicated. Something reminiscent of the super cult Russian director Tarkovsky with his "Stalker" or "Salyaris". It’s easier to be and people will stretch!
Something simple, should be more or less realistic.
The best option, the main character, went to the library and a book accidentally fell on his head - analytical geometry. But under the cover was a grimoire!
Or a student after a noisy party went to a lecture, but he had an allergy attack, he drank an antihistamine, but did not read the instructions that he could slow down his reaction. Stumbled on something and grunting his head on the asphalt, woke up and became the owner of super-power ...
... the whole novel he performed all sorts of miracles feats ... and then it appears at the end of the book that he is in the hospital ... or opens his eyes and he is on the pavement, comes to his senses, people are running to help him. It turns out that his whole long life was just a dream or a game of the subconscious during for example 2-3 minutes of his fusion?
Gourmet_DAO See, it's not easy. Marvel and DC did a good job exploiting all possibilities :D If I had to go with most original, least used kind of thing... Dude that fucking "struck by meteor" sits in my head all the time. It's so ridiculous, and stupid, that it is viable. Like seriously, this is a one in billions or trillions chance of that happening. I'm not saying the meteorite should be you know large...
DarkRay Yes, with a meteor, this is surprising and unbelievable, if he cracks then the head hero will immediately become coal, the first chapter will be the last.
Yes ... this is of course a very strong idea! But its implementation, it’s required to hell with fiction ... it's like Ged, who made a boat out of magic, but as he fell asleep, the magic dissipated and he began to sink - Ursula Le Guin “The Tale of the Earthsea” Trilogy ... I don’t understand at all how can a person survive after that. The author probably needs to turn off common sense :)
The meteor didn't directly hit the MC but the city giving those who survive a power
Something like that
And add a twist like
Government/alien/Gods/paradox
Yes?
No?
SP1RIT Ladies & Gentlemen.... We Got Them
(warning, earrape in the middle)
Get this idea:
A one in a billion, no, a trillion chance. A lone man stargazes on a serene hilltop. He watches as the comets fly past, illuminating the dark sky above. Suddenly, he is struck by a space rock! "AGH!". The rock roughly the size of an egg, strikes through his heart, making him fall to his back. The man bleeds, seemingly destined to die... But fate had different plans...
"It hurts!... It Hurts!". The space rock contained parasitic life forms, forms that mankind would never dream of. The forms ate away his flesh, but in exchange become his new beating heart. A heart replaced by the parasites, with force unknown to man. "What... What happened to me? Where am I?".
MISJUDGMENT!
"No! I didn't do anything wrong!", "BOOOM!", "BAM!", "Karcheng!"... "Monster! He is a monster!". He didn't know who he became...
BETRAYAL!
"Help me dude, you are my only friend", "Sure... Sure get in"... "You lied to me! Weren't we brother, friends for life!"... "You became a monster! You are not my friend!".
Global Announcement: News anchor: "Shhhh... Strange events are taking place around the world Shhhh... There are Humans... or whoever they are with powers we can't comprehend Shhhh... Shelter. All armies has been involved".
"I... I'm not alone?". "We are different, but there are those who want to harm normals. We want to stop them!".
Will they save the humanity? Protect their loved ones, stay true to their goal? "Are you sure this is the correct way?", "Positive".
DOUBLE THE ACTION!
"Look out!", "BAM!", "CLING!", "SWOOSH!", "BOOOOM!".
TRIPPLE THE EXCITEMENT!
"Get down!"
MORE OF THE EXCITEMENT!
"Get down again!"
They face their own kind, but will they come out on top?
"I tolerated this long enough! Time to finish this!". "BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!", "Swoosh!", "Crash!"
Starring:
DarkRay "Yea, nothing else comes to my mind. This should suit you though"
SP1RIT "I thought you were dead, seems I was wrong"
ursus010 "You know? Life is not that easy"
"BAM! BOOOM! KARCHENG!"
Astro Soul: Awakened
(Only in good cinemas... NOW!)
He got a birthday gift from his long deceased father, to open at his xx birthday (because by then he would be old enough to handle this power) and found it was a special potion made by his scientist father before he died a strange death. It turns out this special potion was made to turn humans into (you name it) with special powers such as.. (you can be creative here).
His father hid this secret because he was afraid his invention would be used to create war machines or special soldiers.
I haven't read many superpower books, but let me list a few ideas that may not be cliché.
1) Physical or emotional trauma. Make a situation where the character needs the power to survive or help others, but they do not have it. The power is unlocked, unbeknownst to the character until another event happens where they can use the power. This has been done, but there are many mental and physical illnesses that you can choose a rare one to unlock the superpower. Phobias could help place pressure on the mind to bring out powers. Just like how someone can be triggered by forgotten traumas, the superpowers can come like the memories. (Might have to mix in psychology which could be difficult to explain logically.)
2) This one might be very cliché- Magical objects that grant them powers? Perhaps a random stinky shoe they found on the road or a strange amulet.
3) If there are others in the world who have superpowers, maybe have the character touch someone with powers and some of their ability will be passed onto the character.
4) If the novel mentions deities or superior beings, maybe have them grant the powers? This one is quite cliché in cultivation books though.
5) The character finds a phrase or book that lets their powers flow after being blocked for so long. An ancient chant is a cool example. Actually, this might be cliché in fantasy novels. I don't know.
6) Losing a limb that prevented the power from activating? I can't imagine how to explain that though.
7) They underwent a surgery where they received an organ from a donor who had superpowers. They have a piece of the person's power. (Not supposed to be scientific at all.)
8) Hearing a song. The song could be like a call bringing forth the powers.
9) Simple abilities evolve to become superpowers. For example, someone can yell very loud without superpowers. Then, the ability becomes deadly screeches.
10) The character searches for their abilities for years until they finally say "Damn, I wish I had superpowers!" A star shoots across the night sky and bam! Their powers have arrived.
11) They do something stupid like eat a rock.
12) Gaining superpowers in steps. Use a few of the ways a superpower can be gained and combine them to lead up to the final product. One idea unlocks the power. The other helps it grow.
That was interesting! So many things have been done that this list was so difficult to make and even then, half of these have been used in some way. Many of them are not logical, which is also a bit disappointing. Anyway, good luck with your writing! Sorry for writing too much.
Missrealitybites just reminds me of "attack on titan"
The_Good_Devil oh really? Thanks for letting me know. It's quite cliche but with a tweak here and there I'm sure any writers can make it their own. Like people say, there is nothing new under the sun. :)
The_Good_Devil oh really? Thanks for letting me know. It's quite cliche but with a tweak here and there I'm sure any writers can make it their own. Like people say, there is nothing new under the sun. :)
Gourmet_DAO the MC has an allergy. He ate something that triggered his allergy. He convulsed for a day. According to past results of the same situation, he was supposed to be dead. However his body preserved. Every white cell of his body was defending the substance that attacked his body. Finally his white cells won. He survived. His white cell evolved because of this. It repairs itself 100M/ per second making him immune system became stronger than anyone else. Like wolverine, his wound healed instantly. He was then called, "Mr. Undead" (lame title I know. Can change that)
However, this unkillable man has weakness that no one knows.
He still has his allergy.
You can also try a One Punch Man.
The MC did something pretty normal(invent something. It could be eating pasta every single day for 10 years) and obtained superpower at some point. So every time someone ask him, he tells them that is because of the banal thing he has done every day for years.
The idea is that it must be something doable, but that nobody sane would do every single day on the long run.
DarkRay Ahahahahahahhahahahaa !!!! You already wrote a new novel, I have nothing to do :)
Otherwise it will be plagiarism !!!
Missrealitybites The idea is curious, probably father was liquidated for special services and the potion was replaced. The main character drinks and see, not knowing, turns into a military laboratory mouse. Hulk 2. Remake. But from this one can do something, there is something in this idea ...
ValKree It’s healthy that you wrote so much, there are some very interesting ideas. I liked the concept found by chance, on the road, the usual and old and kind of unnecessary thing but ... Perhaps a random smelly shoe that they found on the road, or a strange amulet. (somewhat reminiscent of a movie about a teapot that gave money for pain, I don’t remember its name ...) I also read little about super abilities, apart from the novels of Ursula Le Guin, I watched Marvel!
Thanks it was really helpful!