Domino is a small rectangular block marked with two groups of spots on one side. Also known as bones, pieces or men, dominoes are used in games of chance and strategy. Most domino games involve drawing tiles and blocking your opponent from playing them. Some, such as bergen and muggins, count the number of tiles in the losing player’s hands while others duplicate card games–but without the wind blowing them away.

In the X-Men comics, Domino is a mutant with the ability to create and manipulate chains of chance. Her luck powers are activated whenever she engages in an action whose chances of success are uncertain. While she can’t consciously control this ability, it emanates from her body at all times and can affect the outcome of any event. She can use her powers to change the odds of a battle, for example, by placing herself in a vulnerable position that will draw lightning to hit two sentinels at once.

This power is a source of her nickname, the Goddess of Luck. Domino’s uncanny luck is reflected in her name, which derives from the Latin word beatus (lucky). She has shown a measure of control over her abilities, however, by deliberately putting herself into situations in which she can be harmed in order to amplify the odds of survival.

After Domino assassinated Flagsmasher and resigned from Six Pack, she joined Cable’s X-Force on Providence. She was later recruited by G. W. Bridge to be a part of a new task force, but left the team again after she and the rest of the X-Force were captured in a fight with the Hecatomb. She resurfaced later, possessed by Aentaros, one of the malevolent Undying spirits. Cable subsequently immobilized her with a neural blocker.

Hevesh is a master builder of domino shows, in which she sets up hundreds or thousands of individual dominoes in a carefully sequenced layout that culminates in them all toppling with the nudge of just one. She follows a version of the engineering-design process when creating her mind-boggling setups, and she likens the effect to a narrative. Whether you compose your manuscript off the cuff or write it using a structured outline, understanding how to apply the domino effect to your story can help you make your writing more compelling. Think of every plot beat in your novel as a domino, and you’ll see how this technique can transform the way you structure your story.