#so i COULD have chimerism but it also could have just been like vanishing twin syndrome | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

nvzblgrrl · 4 years

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BNHA Thoughts/Fic Ideas I’ve had hanging around for a while

A lot of this is heavier on theory than story stuff, so maybe get your science hat on if you want to read more.

Quirks in general work a lot more like the X-Gene in Marvel than the usual ‘next step in human evolution’ stuff, with the Quirk-gene mostly acting as an activator for the production of a certain hormone in the body which then presents as a Quirk depending on other genetic factors which allows for Quirks to run in families while also offering the chance for mutation + random combining based on recessive/dominant/co-dominant factors. Trigger is basically forcing a lot more of that hormone into the body to overclock the user/victim’s Quirk for a limited amount of time, possibly causing permanent changes if the dosage is large enough or if the user is exposed to the substance enough. Correspondingly, a substance capable of limiting or ceasing the production of that hormone could reduce or eliminate an individual’s Quirk, depending on the nature of it.

Todoroki Shoto’s Quirk Half-Hot Half-Cold is actually the result of Vanishing Twin Syndrome/Chimerism - it explains the division in his hair color, heterochromia, and the fact that he can only produce one element on each side of his body + not being fully resistant to either. That’s right - Endeavor only got his hero-material child by complete freak accident.

Before the reveal of what Nana’s power was, I was coming up with a brainstorm list of OFA users and their quirks, where I gave her TTK (Tactile Tele-Kinesis) because I liked having a combination of powers that when stacked sort of resulted in a Spider-Man/Superman hybrid. There was a bit more of an electrical angle to it - possibly tied to bio-electricity - to justify why Izuku’s manifestation of One For All involved green-lightning all over the wazoo (because it also Stockpiled bio-electricity to the point a user could weaponize it).

This ties back to Shigaraki’s power - my idea was that what he’s doing is decaying/rotting the bounds between the molecules, which makes materials break down progressively (first falling apart, then turning to dust, then that dust evaporating into less than that). I’m roughly 50/50 on the sheer destructiveness of it being the result of a 1-in-1 million mutation (possibly tied to the idea that descendants of holders of OFA tend to inherit mutated/intensified versions of their parents Quirk) or that uncontrollable aspect being because of tampering from AFO after he tracked down Nana’s son. Either way, part of why Tenko/Tomura’s hair went grey + his skin issues started is thanks to his unstable quirk destroying his pigmentation in his hair + skin and continuing to attack parts of his physiology (and probably being psychosomatic to some degree at this point).

Shimura Hana’s Quirk would be a similar-ish mutation in that instead of having a more run of the mill telekinesis, she has control over the electrical impulses in her body - not great for external presentation, even with the mutation that has her producing more than the average person, but it would grant her a low-level healing factor, limited wall crawling (same method as Spider-Man - manipulation of electrostatic force), and increased reflexes + reaction time.

Other One-For-All Holders (my names + quirk ideas, come up with before most of the reveals concerning these details). Much more of an ‘international’ aspect to the line-up than what seems to have happened with the canon lineage. Also not in the same order as canon, but of all the quibbles to have with my take, that seems kind of petty?

Shigaraki Hitoya/One For All - the first One For All and All For One’s brother. Male/?. Quirk - One For All/Stockpile.

Ryoo Seung/Karuma - second holder of One For All. Korean hero. Quirk - Superpower. General all-round physical enhancement Quirk - nothing truly remarkable except for the degree to which it improves the mental acuity and reflexes of the wielder. Largely passive, but can be pushed to speed up the user’s reaction time to the degree that the entire world seems to be working in slow motion.

Chan Sanshen/Metal Bell Song - third holder of One For All. Chinese hero, martial artist. Explored more of the metaphysical aspects of One For All than the others and actually put effort into making a study of the Quirk and taking the training of their successor more seriously. Male/cis. Quirk - Harmonious Soul - this Quirk is a mental one, giving the user a ‘danger’ sense, especially reactive to noise. This Quirk harmonized extremely well with Superpower’s mental enhancement aspect.

(Metal Bell Song was one of the trickier ones to come up with and at least part of his characterization/style came from me mistaking the costume of one of the OFA holders as something else - specifically, no shirt + iron rings on arms instead of the DBZ thing he has going on. I just have a long standing fondness for martial arts movies.)

Diya N. Chaudhary/Durga/‘Tamil Tiger’ (did not choose this name, as it was a product of America’s ‘Kafaybe era’ of Heroes, and largely hated the designation) - fourth holder of One For All. From Nagpur, India - later immigrated to United States to take advantage of the Hero system despite its flaws at that period in time. Female/demi-girl. Tiger-stripes somewhere in costume - might have been painted directly on skin. Quirk - Manifolded Hands - allows the user to manifest multiple arms and hands. Limit appears to be eight arms in addition to the user’s original set. Arms usually recreate the markings and clothing of the original set, but not weapons or restraints.

Ron Quinones / Avanyu / Rattler (ended up with this name because of the Kafaybe issues) - fifth holder of One For All. Mexican/Native-American. Member of the Hopi-Tewa tribe. Originally met Diya on an Internship because of an idiot filing paperwork getting ‘Native American’ and ‘Indian’ mixed up. Male/cis. Quirk - Blackwhip. One For All strengthened Blackwhip greatly, improving its range, the number of whips, and the strength of said whips.

(came up with all of this info before his canon name + superhero name reveal).

Ataru Rokubee-Hexum / Freeshooter - sixth holder of One For All. German/Japanese-American. Male/transgender. Quirk - Black Marble – type: Accumulation/Emitter. user gathers ambient toxins/pollutants from the air (water and earth are possible, but physical contact is required) and concentrates them into beads of hyper-dense material that is almost impossible to break down into their original form and have a durability on the level of diamonds. These beads are usually 1 cm in diameter, though variance is possible depending on. The user can only make one at a time, with the time needed to make them varying depending on level of pollution available, but the average time in urban areas is about 3-5 seconds for the average sized bead. Quirk was supercharged by One For All to increase speed and ease of gathering, especially in solids + liquids.

Shimura Nana/Diamante - seventh holder of One For All. Japanese. Female/cis. Quirk - Electrostatic Grip - some form of touch/tactile telekinesis (slightly electrically based, so works better with certain elements than others). Good for improving traction and grip, along with allowing wall-crawling and limited flight. Received One For All before having her child, so that slightly impacted his Quirk factor so his children ended up with slight physical enhancements + alterations to their inherited Quirks.

#bnha #mha #my hero academia #my writing #not the whole thing but quite a bit #leans mostly on quirk theory #i'm not as dedicated a reader of the series as i could be but i do enjoy it

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joannalannister · 6 years

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hi! i know u dont like the tyrion targaryen theory (understandably so), but how do you feel about tyrion having chimerism? (if u dont know what that is, it's when a person biologically has 2 fathers bc a woman had intercourse with 2 men within a short period of time, so the kid would have one mother and two fathers)

Hi! Thanks for asking me! This is a great question, and there are several things to unpack here:

the definition of chimerism and what you’re describing

the claim that Tyrion is a chimera

how this all relates to the Tyrion Targaryen theory

what this all means for Tyrion’s story as a whole

First, let’s define some terms, because what you have described is not my understanding of chimerism. I don’t claim to have extensive knowledge of biology – I’m basing my understanding on things I read in Scientific American, Time magazine, Wikipedia, etc – so if someone more knowledgable wants to correct me where I err or link me to some published scientific articles to help me learn more, it would be most appreciated.

You seem to be describing superfecundation, not chimerism. Superfecundation results in two (or more) babies, not one.

Superfecundation is the fertilization of two or more ova from the same cycle by sperm from separate acts of sexual intercourse, which can lead to two babies born at the same time from two separate biological fathers. While possible in humans, it is extremely rare, and most instances in humans occur from artificial insemination. (A technology which Westeros obviously does not have.) Superfecundation results in two babies born together who are half-siblings, meaning the two children have the same mother but two different fathers. I would like to stress that, while technically possible, superfecundity is rare in human reproduction outside of a laboratory.

Superfecundation is more common in mammals with an estrus cycle (which humans do not experience). Superfecundity is often found in cats. “Superfecundation occurs when a female mates with two or more males. One litter can potentially have multiple fathers as long as they all mate with the female in the optimum time of conception. A single kitten cannot have multiple fathers; each individual kitten in a litter has only one father.”

In cases of superfecundation, each individual has only one set of DNA.

A chimera is a person who has more than one set of DNA. The term comes from the mythical Chimera, a mythological creature that is part lioness, part goat, and part snake. Chimerism occurs in humans when:

a twin dies in utero and the surviving twin “eats” / absorbs the other’s DNA. “Most human chimeras were, at one time, twins. Current theories posit that genetic chimeras develop spontaneously when fraternal twin embryos fuse or when one twin absorbs the other. The absorption process is called Vanishing Twin Syndrome, a haunting phrase to describe the ingestion process.“ [x] In natural pregnancies (achieved without the use of IVF), Vanishing Twin Syndrome is estimated to occur in less than 0.5% of pregnancies; it is rare.

blood is exchanged by twins in utero

a person undergoes an organ transplant, such as a bone marrow transplant [x]

a woman becomes pregnant, and a small number of cells from the fetus migrate into her blood and travel to different organs [x]

the DNA of a child lost in utero is absorbed by the mother, turning her into a chimera “and invisibly altering her body into a kind of living memorial” [x]

From what I understand, you would have to combine superfecundation with Vanishing Twin syndrome to achieve the chimera situation you’re describing.

Additional articles I found interesting:

“No, women do not absorb and retain DNA from every man they have sex with“

“Here’s why ‘two-dad’ babies aren’t yet a biological reality”

Perhaps I am not looking in the right place, but the only thing I was able to find (outside of reddit) about a woman having multiple partners resulting in a chimeric pregnancy, was a theoretical discussion on a Quora forum, in which it was hypothesized that a superfecund woman had sex with two men in a very short period of time, resulting in two fertilizations (very rare), and during the pregnancy one of the twins was absorbed by the other twin (also very rare), so that the resulting baby was a chimera with two fathers.

No statistical probabilities were given, but this seems almost statistically impossible to me, even before considering this situation in a world without modern medical technology.

In Tyrion’s case … If we were to assume both (1) superfecundity and (2) Vanishing Twin Syndrome to create a very, very rare two-father chimera … shouldn’t we see some evidence of Aerys’s DNA, as well as Tywin’s?

If GRRM wanted us to figure this out, wouldn’t he make it more obvious for us? Aerys had purple eyes, while Tyrion has a black eye and a green eye. Tywin has green eyes. Aerys had silver/silver-gold hair, while Tyrion has white and black hair. Tywin doesn’t have white hair, but Tommen does. Aerys didn’t have dwarfism. Tyrion has dwarfism. Tywin has metaphorical dwarfism. To me, all this simply points to Tyrion having Tywin’s (”real” and literary) DNA.

(I mean, we’re talking about the author who referenced Olenna’s broken betrothal and “queer” right on the page in ASOS, and we were all trying to figure out for years about Olenna, and it was right there in front of us. GRRM ain’t subtle.)

So I don’t think that Tyrion is the product of superfecundity and Vanishing Twin Syndrome, both of with would need to occur in order for Tyrion to be a chimera with Aerys as one of his two fathers. Which is very unlikely.

(More on why Tyrion is not a secret Targaryen and #A plus J does not equal T)

I am not even 100% certain that Tyrion is a chimera (at least not the medical definition of a chimera). Don’t get me wrong, it’s an interesting theory: Tywin and Joanna conceive a second set of twins (and twins are common among House Lannister!), and one of those twins dies in the womb and Tyrion “eats” it (more cannibalism!) and absorbs his twin’s DNA. It puts an interesting spin on this quote:

Tyrion wondered what it would be like to have a twin, and decided that he would rather not know. Bad enough to face himself in a looking glass every day. Another him was a thought too dreadful to contemplate.

If this Vanishing Twin theory were true, it’s suggestive to me of Cain and Able, a good son and a bad one, and Tyrion has both of them inside him. But as far as ASOIAF theories go, I don’t think this is one that could ever be confirmed, save by word of God, and I’m not sure that GRRM would play into such a strict dichotomy. ASOIAF themes don’t support the idea that evil could be something (or someone) separate from oneself, something Tyrion needed to “absorb”. I think GRRM would be much more likely to say that the potential for evil is inside all of us (without the need of an evil twin) and it’s something we need to fight, constantly.

So, I mean, it’s interesting to wonder if Tyrion is a chimera!

But I don’t think he is.

The only observable characteristic I see that could possibly point to chimerism in Tyrion is his heterochromia (the difference in coloration of the irises, hair, and/or skin). And heterochromia can be caused by many things other than chimerism.

Heterochromia in infants may be caused by:

Horner’s syndrome

Sturge-Weber syndrome

Waardenburg syndrome

Hirschsprung disease

Bloch-Sulzberger syndrome

von Recklinghausen disease

Bourneville disease

Parry-Romberg syndrome

“Though multiple causes have been posited, the scientific consensus is that a lack of genetic diversity is the primary reason behind heterochromia. This is due to a mutation of the genes that determine melanin distribution at the 8-HTP pathway, which usually only become corrupted due to chromosomal homogeneity.“

Tyrion’s parents were first cousins. I mean,

Fandom: Incest causes genetic mutations! It’s bad! Won’t someone please think of the children!GRRM: Here is my favorite character, Tyrion, son of Tywin the Incestuous Blood Purity Bigot. I gave Tyrion heterochromia. Fandom: That can’t possibly be due to incest. GRRM: Maybe – just maybe – Tywin’s obsession with blood purity has really fucked his children over in more ways than one. Fandom: …nah. Tyrion is a chimera. GRRM: …is this what you all do in the years between my books?

When there are both genetic and thematic reasons to explain Tyrion’s heterochromia in the story … well, the idea that Tyrion is a chimera seems a bit overkill. It’s really not necessary to, well, other Tyrion any more than he already is. He doesn’t need all these weird and highly improbable explanations for why he is the way he is.

(I mean, Euron has heterochromia, and no one is suggesting he is a chimera or a secret targ.) (And I don’t want to know if anyone is; leave me in my ignorance please.)

In terms of how I feel about Tyrion have differently colored eyes and differently colored hair, I think it is thematic. Like his brother Jaime, caught in an identity crisis halfway down the page of the White Book, halfway between the Lannister shield and the white one … I think Tyrion is caught between the Lannister ideology of dehumanization, greed, lust etc (represented by the green eye, the white blonde hair) and his own humanity (shown to us in those moments when he designs a saddle for Bran, when he speaks up for Sansa, etc, represented by the black eye, the black hair).

(The interesting thing to me is that unlike most authors, GRRM is using black here to represent heroism and humanity, when that is traditionally represented by the color white. But black is soft, black is enveloping, like a blanket to wrap around you to save you from the icy searing white cold. "By night all banners look black")

The heterochromia is a signpost representing Tyrion’s duality, his potential to go both ways, which I talk about in detail here.

I hope that helps explain my views, and thank you again for asking!

#tyrion lannister #tyrion meta #septalemores #asoiaf meta #replies #chimera #chimerism #superfecundation #lannister thoughts #a plus j does not equal t

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