“With the destructive potential of these abilities, why do so very few individuals perish in the chaotic and unpredictable emergence of their talents?

Maybe because the talents in question tend to come with safety measures for their wielders?

For the first two or three weeks of the class, we’ll be talking about these most pivotal moments in a given parahuman’s existence, these trigger events, when an individual first gains their powers, typically through some form of trauma.

Sounds like an excellent starting point.

“Throughout the course, we’re going to be looking at correlations and patterns, both in relation to trigger events and other things.  For example, how does the nature of the trigger event shape the power?

Aha! So there is some theorizing around that in-universe. Niice.

Doesn’t necessarily mean there is a correlation, but it does mean there’s enough evidence that a significant portion of the scientists think there might be one.

A study by Garth and Rogers suggests that psychological stress leads to a higher prevalence of mentally driven powers.  Tinkers, thinkers, masters, shakers.

Hm, makes sense. Psychological stress is what Taylor went through, and she’s a Master. And whatever happened to Labyrinth (a Shaker) was also very likely psychological in nature, and the power didn’t help on that front.

This also makes me more curious as to what happened to Tattletale.

Also: Which classification does Grue fall under? On one hand, his darkness does have an area effect that shakes up the battlefield, but it’s not really very similar to the “feel” of Labyrinth or Vista’s powers. With those two it’s more like they change reality itself.

I don’t think he fits into any of the other categories any better, though.

The more physical violence that is involved, the higher the bias towards physically driven powers.  Garth and Rogers suggest a sliding scale, but it may not be that cut and dry.

If this is accurate, then Tattletale probably went through something that hurt her mentally far more than physically. Meanwhile, Taylor was physically manhandled and forced into the locker, and ended up with the power to control the quite physical bugs.

“A followup study by Garth touches on what we know about cape ‘families’.  If one individual in a family has powers, it is far more likely that others will as well.  Almost always, this trend is either descending or lateral, it seems to transition from parent to child, or one sibling to another, but not from child to parent.  

One sibling to another is a curious one. It’s almost like the parents are carriers of a predisposition, but not necessarily predisposed in their own right.

Maybe everything started a generation earlier than everyone thinks, but the first people affected weren’t able to get powers themselves?

Flechette wasn’t a breaker, though her power came close.  Technically, she was a striker, a cape with the ability to apply some effect by touch or at point-blank range.

Yeah, but what exactly is that effect?

Also, point-blank meaning within touching distance or so is a common misconception, at least within the context for firing guns. It actually means within such a range that you don’t have to adjust your aim due to gravity.

The striker classification could include certain breaker effects as they were applied to things other than the cape themselves, but not always.

Makes sense. So then what you’re leading up to here is that your power allows you to make your projectiles break the rules?

Other strikers included those who used energy weapons, those who had certain kinds of superstrength that weren’t accompanied by durability and those with pyrokinesis or such that didn’t extend more than a foot around them.

Hm, so it’s really more about the range than anything else?

The way she used her ability, coupled with the intuitive understanding of angles, trajectories and timing she got from her secondary powers, gave her a low rating as a ‘blaster’.  A cape with a ranged attack.

Fair enough, I suppose.

And I guess Lung is a Blaster specifically because his pyrokinesis doesn’t belong in the Striker category, then.

It was a drop to the next rooftop, Flechette noted.  She touched the front end of the needle that was mounted in her arbalest, used her power on it.

Capes with the ‘breaker’ classification were generally those who had some ability to ‘break’ the natural laws of the universe as far as those laws applied to them.

Ah, I see. Interesting.

Shadow Stalker was one.  Scion was apparently another.  There were others who could slow or stop time in relation to themselves, change their effective orientation in respect to gravity or make themselves effectively larger without the exponentially increasing the stresses that the increased size and mass would normally place on their body.

That last thing sounds like Fenja and Menja.

Also, I love the idea of changing which way gravity acts for oneself. It reminds me of a running background gag I did in a project I’m no longer proud of, in which pears, specifically, were

inexplicably affected by gravity depending on how the panel looked. For example, if the panel were to be upside down for some reason, pears would fall upwards from the characters’ perspective.

Almost always, such powers came with some physiological changes that let them manage despite the altered environment they were effectively operating in, allowing them to breathe and walk at the very least.

Nice.

“Only one of whom is of any particular concern.

Bitch?

Investigations into two members have suggested sociopathic tendencies, and if they’re channeling their efforts into low threat activities such as robberies, we can afford to ignore them for the time being.”

Oh, so then Skitter is the one you’re worried about?

I suppose she has shown her skills over the last eight Arcs.

“Faultline’s Crew.  Mercenaries, low rating, mediocre rating, low rating…  A Shaker 12?  Seriously?”

Hm. Labyrinth? I suppose what she does fits with Vista’s example of shaking things up on the battlefield.

“The girl has cognitive deficiencies that reduce the effective threat she poses, but yes.  Again, that group is not an imminent threat.

Definitely Labyrinth, then.

I guess changing the playing field really is the signature of the Shakers, then.

In the current situation, I might suggest you leave them be if you cross paths, conserve your group’s strength for the priority opponents.  The Merchants and Hookwolf’s group.”

Makes sense, I suppose.