User blog comment:Omyx/Alien QoL suggestion/@comment-24922135-20161213153009/@comment-24922135-20161213154851

like I said, shitty writers.

Nobody puts down a book to go look up what the character looks like. A good writer will brielfy describe what the alien looks like as to give the reader the general idea (enough so that they don't need to look up the alien's image) and then the powers will be explored as the character learns how to use it.

let's use my own alien Faucet as an example. Here's how I would write him first being used by Ben in a generic setting:

"Ben slams down the omnitrix, and brown fur begins to grow up and down his body His mouth elongates into a snout, and his ears move to the top of his head. As the transformation completes, he resembles a humanoid otter."

"The enemy charges at Ben. Panicking, Ben pulls his arms across his face to block the attack. To his amazement, the water either side of Ben rises up and forms a shield in front of him following the motions of his hands."

That's quite a small chunk of what could be a very long scene, but it gives you his appearance and powers in a concise manner. Faucet (I didn't link this earlier to avoid you clicking it) is a humanoid otter with water bending abilities. I think I've proven my point.