#science is magic that we understand

[chaoticbuggybitchboy]

“Magic isn’t real” okay explain to me the way that we are all made of stars, explain the way that sound works, the way that light works, the way that the same numbers appear so many times in our universe that we’ve given them names, the way that humans trace patterns in the stars, the way that the remains of organisms millions of years old have been transformed into to the screen you’re reading this on, explain to me that feeling of connection when the singer the dancer and the players are all one, explain language to me, explain the way plants turn sun into energy, explain love to me, explain the way that everything (and I mean everything) we know is all created by the fact that particles too minuscule to comprehend want so desperately to be together that they created the world, explain to me that humans find purpose and peace in chaos, explain to me how humans can see the universe and see intent in things.

Explain the universe to me and tell me that magic is not real

[discordiansamba]

they are both just. so done.

[queenofshenanigans]

2300 words into a fic where Steve finds a dragon in his closet and calls Eddie over in a panic because he HAS to know what to do about a dragon right? That's one whole half of his nerd game!

[rabbitindisguise]

I'll be fine I just need to apply my healing and protection runes (gets out a roll of KT tape)

[oflgtfol]

“But no one actually ‘looks’ through [modern telescopes]. Margaret Huggins lamented the shift from gazing at the heavens to squinting at tiny patches of light. Now we’ve gone much, much further. In today’s astronomy, photons of light from the sky, along with the celestial secrets they contain, are picked up by electronic detectors, converted into digital data and crunched through impossibly complex equations by some of the most powerful computers on the planet. In 2016, bricklayer-turned-astronomer Gary Fildes described visiting Chile’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) in his best-selling book An Astronomer’s Tale. Incorporating four mirrors, each 27 feet wide, the VLT collects visible and infrared radiation and can distinguish points in the sky separated by less than a millionth of a degree. Here, at the forefront of today’s attempts to understand the stars, Fildes was struck by the sight of scientists hard at work in control rooms, eyes glued not to their telescopes but to banks of screens: ‘They didn’t look as if they had seen the real sky for days.’”

- The Human Cosmos: Civilization and the Stars by Jo Marchant

[torturedp0etry]

PRIMARY MUSES.

[nerdynanny]

@doctorbrown called for an angel and got-- a lost boy

"Where am I?" The teen had stumbled out of a portrait-- appearing rather disoriented. He was shorter than the scientist-- and very young-- around the age Marty had been when he'd come to work for Doc. He was distinctly Japanese-- and wore a pair of glasses on his face.

How he had ended up in-- what looked like a workshop remained a mystery to him. Perhaps the solution would lie in the painting that glowed prior to his arrival-- an artwork that now remained far too quiet. The light had gone-- as had a figure from the painting itself.

He turned his attention toward the other figure, blue eyes narrowing as he made out wild white hair. Though the room was-- spinning.

Satoshi stumbled and crumpled to the ground.

[aschlindartroom]

Is there a magic system in Bird & Fish, and if so how does it work?

This is an EXCELLENT question, and also one that is difficult for me to answer (mostly because my magic system is a little in flux right now). Note below, stuff might change.

Basically, there are two types of "intelligence" in the Second Serpent universe: the Stagnated Intelligence (S.I.) and the Parasitic Intelligence (P.I.). Parasitic intelligence was coined in the late 21st century, when a strange geological formation was discovered at the bottom of the Mariana Trench. This formation ended up being "intelligent" and proceeded to take over the entire laboratory through a kind of "contamination."

Below is an excerpt from a top-secret Schmidt & Foster report on the subject.

Every mechanical, chemical, or biological system has an inherent “intelligence” that allows entropy to effect change or movement within the system (a.k.a. Stagnated Intelligence). NEC56, however, has an “intelligence” that is capable of contaminating and controlling any system that it comes into contact with. In that vein, it is unlike any matter known to man, and this unique property has been so named Parasitic Intelligence. Laboratory research has shown that when a Stagnated Intelligence comes into contact with a Parasitic Intelligence, the two types of intelligence engage in a competition for dominance on a metaphysical level. In the event that the Parasitic Intelligence system (P.I.s.) overpowers the Stagnated Intelligence system (S.I.s.), the former S.I.s. takes on the “intentions” of the P.I.s. The two systems integrate, with the P.I.s. at the helm. In the event that an S.I.s. overpowers a P.I.s., the "intentions" of the S.I.s. are maintained, while taking on some of the benefits of the P.I.s. This is known as the Feedback Phenomenon (or, the Intelligence Feedback Theory).

When a "special birth" is brought into contact with this Parasitic Intelligence, the subject will become host for a battle between themselves and the parasitic intelligence. This process is usually incredibly painful and traumatic. In the event that they overpower the P.I.s., the subjects find themselves... enhanced. They can develop all kinds of physical and metaphysical abilities, though they often pay dearly for them (shorter life spans, sickness, insanity, etc.) All "0 Births" are contaminated, and are usually doomed to a very slow and agonizing death.

Seung and most of the main characters are called "excellent births." That is, their ancestors were the ones that went through their "trial," and any abilities they acquired have been passed on genetically.

But, here's the real kicker: Schmidt & Foster runs the ENTIRETY OF NEW LONDON on this stuff. The trams and the dome are fueled by CastOil (a type of NEC56, which is the scientific name for the parasitic intelligence organism), and the only way they keep it in check is by using magical symbols and arrays to hamper the parasitic intelligence and "direct the intention of the system." If that sounds really wibbly-wobbly and potentially stupid to you, it definitely is, and it will ABSOLUTELY become a problem.

The kinds of abilities that can be obtained are under the cut (master list of all this stuff to come... sometime).

PRIMARY TYPES:

Automatic Tuning

The ability to gain insight into or manipulate the objective world through an individual’s automatic cognitive or metaphysical abilities. Less controlled and more volatile than manual tuning.

Manual Tuning

The ability to gain insight into or manipulate the objective world through correspondence. Overall, Manual Tuning requires precision and skill, and is volatile if used incorrectly. The effects of Manual Tuning can be strengthened by those with Automatic Tuning Aptitudes.

Ego Tuning – To manipulate oneself as a way of tuning in to the objective world. Type of information gained results from the type of manipulation. Manipulations include: self-harm in varying degrees, weightlessness, contortion, painting of the face or nails.

Fluid Tuning – To use different fluid correspondences as a way of tuning into the objective world. Type of information gained results from types of fluids used/how the fluid is used. Manipulations include: Painting a variety of patterns in blood, spitting onto objects, stirring pots or cups of water.

Object tuning – To manipulate objects as a way of tuning in to the objective world. Type of information gained results from the objects manipulated/ methods of manipulation. Manipulations include: setting varieties of stones/objects into patterns, adjusting the properties of mechanisms such as clocks or computers.

Palm Tuning – To manipulate metaphysical properties of people/objects by drawing, painting, or writing particular patterns, words, or symbols. The Eventee’s designs, once created, hold power for varying degrees of time (relative to the experience of the Eventee)

SECONDARY TYPES:

Insights

The ability to gain insight into the objective world.

Direct Insight – The ability to obtain information about a person or an object. it is recommended that individuals with the event be protected from stimulating or crowded environments for their psychological safety. These individuals are often highly sensitive with a high rate of suicidality, and require monthly psychological evaluations. This Event is difficult to study and requires further research.

Precognitive Viewing – The ability to perceive future events.

Remote Viewing – The ability to see a distant or unseen target. The potential of this ability for military missions is still being studied.

Retrocognitive Viewing – The ability to perceive past events.

Divination – The ability to see the “truth” as it exists and not as it may be experienced by others or the self. A subject may “divine” a four-digit passcode, a symbol, or other hidden/secret knowledge.

Remote Communications

The ability to communicate with others without speaking or gesturing, using one’s metaphysical abilities.

Close Proximity 1– The ability to transmit or receive thoughts or ideas to living beings in the about a 100 mile radius.

Close Proximity 2 – The ability to transmit or receive thoughts or ideas to living beings anywhere on earth.

Far Reaching– The ability to communicate with excellent births across alternate planes of existence. Only one documented case in the history of Schmidt & Foster experimentation. Often requires the use of manual tuning techniques.

Transference

The ability to materialize, disappear, or teleport oneself. This is achieved through the manifestation of temporal distortions, and can be volatile with an intensity dependent upon many variables, such as the user’s psychological stability and experience level. Transference Events used on a smaller scale have few effects, but large scale Transferences should be used sparingly.

Dowsing

The ability to locate an object, person, or place.

Remote Manipulation

The ability to manipulate objects/people using the mind. Individuals with this ability tend to suffer from an acute megalomania, either socially encouraged at a young age or brought on by the freedoms presented by the ability itself. More research being conducted on psychological/social correlations.

Organic Re/Deconstructions

The ability to change a person or living thing’s mind or physical body through metaphysical means.

Minor Re/Deconstruction – To alter a living being’s surface-level aberrations (appearance, acne, broken bones) through touch or manual tuning techniques. This variation is often temporary.

Major Re/Deconstruction – To alter a living being’s genetics or other complicated aberration (cancer, blood diseases, mental health). The effects of this variation are often permanent when conducted successfully.

Essence Re/Deconstruction – To sever or reconnect a body/object’s connection to an essence.

Wellspring Re/Deconstruction – To alter a living being’s connection to the objective world through healing or harm (read: give or take away Events). The inclusion of this Event is hypothetical, as it has not been observed in laboratory conditions. Its potential is being studied.

[scottstiles]

human brains are so funny like s;dkfgnkjdfsg oh no! something i don’t understand! its gotta be god or a ghost or an alien!!

[brittlebutch]

i can’t stop thinking about this weird little storm chaser AU my brain dreamed up where bill&ted are the POV characters but crucially not the main characters but the problem is that I truly don’t know anything about storms and I worry I’m not smart enough to understand if I do start researching LOL

[oxy-codone]

one thing i love about being insane is that in my head literally anything for any reason is possible. You dont think teleportation or time travel is possible? well it is bc we will never truly ever know everything about the universe. It could be possible. hell magic could be real for all we know

[mantisgodsdomain]

Here's a vocaloid song I watched that gave off vibes that, while not exactly the same as Marigold's, is probably in at least a related category.

I wanted to hear your thoughts on it.

(Also, tw for medical/dental horror.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdpwOLSKMLA

Oh, we think we know what song this one is.

(pause while we click the link)

We've already watched this one! Novocaine is a Snakemouth Den song, we feel, and to a lesser extent a Dr. H.B. song. Not Marigold, though, just adjacent.

[chewingbatmanlikeasqueakytoy]

Danny should absolutely rip on the Flashes

Realistically, Danny meeting the flashes and having any of them deny the existence of magic/saying "magic is just science we don't understand yet" should be met with ENDLESS mockery. Like come on The flashfam WORKS with gods, magic users, some of the JL/JLD are literally demons and ghosts. Diana/WW was MADE FROM CLAY in some canons!

Scepticism on that level should ABSOLUTELY be met with "I didn't know the Justice League worked with flat earthers" Type scorn. The burns should be third degree. The fatalities wide spread. No one who lives in a world with that much evidence of magic should be allowed to carry "magic isn't real" as an opinion and not be derided for having their head in the sand. As I understand it the scepticism comes out of the flash comics from like, the 60-80's which fair but the other heroes stories had to accommodate for each other when the crossovers started happening so I feel it's only fair to have men of logic like the flashes (so many of them are scientists of some type right?) deduce that yeah magic has to be real ESPECIALLY - When any of the magic users, ANY OF THEM - Could respond with a very simple: "Magic is science you don't understand." "What?" "I understand exactly what I'm doing. I understand exactly what I need to do to get repeat results, and I understand what not to mix not to get undesirable results. What about that implies a lack of understanding? Magic isn't something WE don't understand, magic is something you don't understand."

I enjoy the idea of the flashes being sceptics, I actually enjoy it a lot. Sceptics are very necessary to any narrative, but honestly the magic users deserve a chance to call them out because really having someone call your life's work and very real craft 'not real' 'hoaxes' and essentially parade it around as something they could come to understand better than you if they just looked into it but have made no effort to would be enough to make anyone break their teeth from clenching their jaw so hard.

Essentially early days flashes as sceptics makes total sense. The flashes continuing to have "magic isn't real" as an opinion for too long into the story gives them Flat Earther Level Intellect.

[txttletale]

i've gotten asks a few times on like 'how to do ''fantasy races'' without. like. just making race science true in the world'. and i think there's three approaches. the first is harkening back to tolkein and making it clear through framing device or format/tonal cues that you are writing in a mythic register--that you are writing about a world where the basic premises of positivism and empiricism simply aren't true. a world where 'biology' is like, not necessarily a salient premise--where there are things that just cannot be understood. (that's not to say that tolkein's orcs werent v. racialised in v. nasty ways--but it wasn't race science in the way a lot of more modern fantasy is.)

the second way i think is to go and actually understand the history of 'race' as a concept. 'race' has not always existed--it was an ideological invention birthed from / alongisde the enlightmenent and imposed onto populations through military force. in real life, it's less helpful to conceive of 'race' as an attribute someone has and and more as a relationship they have to society. so if you want to actually include scientific racism in your story as an element of your worldbuilding and not something decalred epistemologically true you should be thinking about why these people have been racialized and under what hegemonic paradigm--who, in-universe, invented & enforces the racial classification system that distinguishes between 'human' and 'orc' as taxonomic characters?

the third and final way is to simply think of the traits you understand as belonging to ''fantasy races'' (say, pointy ears and exceptional nimbleness and hundred-year lifespans for elves) as instead just being... more variations in the way people can be. like, in the real world, we do not consider 'tall people' or 'blonde people' or 'myopic people' a different species. in a world where sometimes people have wings or pointed ears or green skin, why should that be different? you've just introduced new types of variation within the population of people--you've just expanded the meaning of human. and of course, right, you can still roughly group these features, or note that some of them are more frequent in some ethnic groups--in much the same way as saying 'on average, people in sweden are taller, paler, and more likely to be blonde and blue-eyed', you can say 'people in these forests tend to be shorter and live longer and have pointed ears'--without having a hard taxonomy that classifies all these attributes as metaphysically different Types Of Person

obviously these are all very different approaches--and there are probably other ways to handle this too! i just get this question a lot whenever i do Orc Discourse and finally felt like getting these thoughts out. there are so so so many places we can take fantasy--let's move the horizon beyond 'magical race science' and imagine genuinely new worlds

[jinjeriffic]

DCxDP Prophecy Universe Part 2

Part 1

Damian glared at the envelope. He and Father were in the process of analysing the letter for any signs of toxins, explosives or other traps. Obviously he wasn’t fool enough to open a missive from a questionable source without taking precautions. So far, all their scans had come up empty. Literally. The letter was defying all their attempts at chemical or spectroscopic testing, x-ray and magnetic resonance scans were inconclusive, it defied all properties of ordinary matter. It was frustrating. It was vexing. He was blaming magic.

For all intents and purposes, the letter looked like ordinary paper, with an ordinary wax seal, bearing the initials CW. The looping handwriting addressing it to Damian was precise and neat. Swiping the surface of the letter for chemical traces yielded no results. When Damian had tried to cut off a corner of the paper for analysis it had resisted all attempts, including a laser and a diamond headed cutting tool. Damian’s only satisfaction was that when Father had grunted and taken over the task from Damian, he had no more success than his son. As if Damian didn’t know how to perform the standard array of tests!

It certainly didn’t help that his siblings wouldn’t stop their incessant chattering!

“I’m just saying, ghosts wouldn’t be the weirdest thing we’ve encountered, Red. I’m not sure it would even make my personal Top 5.”

It seemed gossip among heroes travelled faster than the speed of light.

“Really, Nightwing? Ghosts? It’s far more likely to be a meta with something to hide. Or a few screws loose.” Damian could practically hear the eyeroll in Drake’s voice “And since when do ghosts act as glorified mailmen?”

“I don’t know Red, since when do aliens pretend to be Kansas farmboys? C’mon, we deal with magic users all the time!”

“And lets not forget people coming back from the dead” Red Hood interjected over the open comm line.

“Magic is just science we don’t understand yet. Any sufficiently analysed magic becomes indistinguishable from science!”

“B, a little help here?”

“Hn” Father straightened up from his position at the lab table “Oracle, any progress on clearing up the footage from Robin’s mask?”

Grayson threw up his hands with a frustrated huff while Drake smirked.

“The program is almost finished rendering. Whatever scrambler they used did a real number on the video quality. I’m surprised the audio is as clear as it is.” Oracle replied.

“Hn. And the isotope tracer on the money?”

“Sorry B, no hits on the local sensors. Wherever the guy went it’s either outside Gotham or shielded somehow.” she said, mildly frustrated.

“Maybe it’s ghost magiiiiic” Drake sing-songed. Grayson lightly cuffed the back of his head, to which the former Robin responded with a firm shove. Their interaction quickly devolved into a childish tussle.

Damian gave an annoyed huff. “Don’t you two imbeciles have anything better to do?”

“Aww, we’re just here to look out for our baby brother!” Nightwing teased.

“Yeah, we gotta make sure your ghost encounter didn’t leave any lasting psychological damage!” Red Robin added.

Before Damian could retaliate for their needling, Oracle chimed in. “Uh, guys? You’re going to want to see this. Most of the footage was corrupted beyond repair, but I was able to pull some partial stills and, well…” she threw a handful of pictures up on the screen. There was artifacting marring them, but parts of the stranger were visible in each of them. Oracle magnified one that had a pretty good view of his face.

“Holy shit” Drake whispered.

Damian frowned. “What?”

“Dami, he looks like you. Just… older.” Grayson said softly.

“What are you talking about?” Damian snapped.

“Disregard the pale colouring for a second. The nose, the chin… he looks like you if you had a growth spurt,” Drake wrinkled his nose “and went through puberty.”

The commlines erupted into chaos. 

“Wait, wait, wait,” Spoiler exclaimed “are you telling me there’s an older version of Robin running around Gotham?!”

“Copy?” Batgirl inquired.

“Don’t tell me Talia cooked up Demon Brat 2.0!”

“Given that he looks older it’s more likely version 0.1 if anything,” Drake snarked, “though there’s the possibility of artificially accelerated growth rates…”

Damian had had enough. “Tt. You are ignoring the obvious - if this is some kind of supernatural entity it likely copied aspects of my appearance in an attempt to engender feelings of familiarity.” he said haughtily, pushing down the uncomfortable churning in his stomach. There was no way Mother would replace him with a cheap copy. She couldn’t! “Besides, the creature has obvious powers and neither of my bloodlines has any trace of the meta gene.”

“That’s ignoring the ghostly elephant in the room.” Grayson chimed in, “Maybe it’s a dead ancestor?”

Drake gave their older brother an annoyed look “Even a time travelling descendant from the future is more likely than that. And delivering a ‘prophecy’ to boot?”

Oracle pulled up an aged up picture of Damian next to the stranger’s, highlighting several reference points. “On closer inspection, there’s a couple of discrepancies. The cheekbones for one - Robin definitely takes after his mother, while our mystery meta looks more like… well… Robin’s grandmother on the paternal side.” she finished hesitantly. “B?”

They turned to look at Batman, who had remained silent during the whole exchange. If they hadn’t known him so well they would have thought him unaffected, but the tightening around his mouth betrayed his agitation.

“There’s no use in pointless speculation until we have more data to work from,” he growled, “Oracle, look for any reports of a meta matching the target. Since our regular methods have failed to yield results, I will contact the JLD about running tests on the letter.” He turned to Drake, “Red Robin, see what you can find on recent League activities. If this is another scheme by Ra’s or Talia we need to know about it.”

“The last thing we need is more demon spawn running around!” Red Hood groaned over the comms.

Damian was furious. This was absurd! To even indulge the possibility that that creature was in any way related to him was making him feel like he had swallowed battery acid. He was the Demon’s Heir! He was not replaceable! There was only one thing to do.

“Robin? Stop!”

He ignored his Father’s shout. He stomped over to the lab table, snatched up the envelope and broke the seal.

Nothing happened.

He unfolded the paper and saw the same handwriting that had been on the outside.

Brother of blood, brother of soul

Never buried but already mourned

In lightning and ice the scorned child returned

To strike down the Demon’s Head

With all that Death earned

Damian’s hand shook. He reread the lines over and over again, refusing to comprehend. He could feel his Father standing behind him, scrutinising the letter as well.

“Son…”

Suddenly, the paper burst into green flames, going up into smoke that dissipated unnaturally quickly.

Silence reigned for a few moments. Then…

“Well that was needlessly melodramatic” Nightwing remarked.

Part 3

[long-live-astronerd-ghost-king]

DPXDC prompt. Ghost King uses Uno Reverse Card

Ghosts are not a race of evil creatures that most people think they are. And Danny was really happy when the Infinite Realms were able to make peace treaties with most countries of the human world. Ghosts, however, are a very vindictive race. At least that’s how young Phantom explained himself to Batman afterwards.

It just so happens that a couple of hours before the event aimed at expanding intergalactic unions most of the JLeague members due to an emergency call went on a mission. Which means people who had any authority in Phantom’s eyes became unavailable for a while.

So Shazam and Phantom as the most known outside the Earth were assigned to greet the guests and most importantly to entertain the visitors until the founders of JL return.

According to Phantom, Batman, being such a good detective with a bunch of backup plans, should have known that Danny’s favorite cereal ran out this morning, that he was late for first class, and that after school he had a fight with his parents. No, seriously, aren’t so-called scientists supposed to be able to admit mistakes in their own judgment? Danny got tired of being constantly ashamed of their behavior near other ghosts. It's bad enough that his authority as a ruler is sustained only by the support of those Ancients with whom he maintains friendly relations. Average citizens still doubt that he is a is sufficient to claim the throne. He’s had enough of being accused of not being a full-fledged ghost.  He’s not ready to hear rumors that he supports his parents' racist judgments too. In short, his day sucked. And all his ghostly nature now wanted to do something nasty to his neighbors to get rid of the tension.

Alien leader stretched out a hand to Phantom and Shazam. “Your Majesty Phantom, Champion of Magic. It’s an honor to meet you. I hope I learned the proper greeting gesture of the local intelligent race.”

And with that Danny’s reserve of conscience ran out. It’s a perfect moment to feed his need to be a little shit.

“The local intelligent race?’ Danny had this extreme bewilderment on his face. “Which one do you think..? Earth was the home of the Gods and of various inhabitants of the galaxy but it was a long time ago.”

Woman is clearly confused. Great. “E-Earthers. I think they’re called that.”

“Earthlings, intelligent race? You must be mistaken.” Danny faked a giggle. “Who told you that crap?”

“Phantom, what are you doing?” Batman hissed at him from an earpiece. Danny turned the sound off with a clear conscience. “I mean, seriously, there’s not a single serious study in the science library in this galaxy or any other galaxy that says humans are intelligent. Shazam, do you think they’re..?”

For some reason, Billy immediately remembered watching a man spend his entire salary on lottery tickets last week. And of course he was careless enough to shake his head and snort. That was all Phantom needed.

“Exactly. Earthlings don’t have to be intelligent to mimic the behavior of more evolved species. Surely you are well aware that Martians and Kryptonians, and many others have visited Earth at different stages of human development. My supervisor Clockwork and I have long been observing this strange species. In many ways, their behavior resembles a mixture of instinctive reactions of specimens from the 126 sectors of the nearest SBc Galaxy and several other creatures from planets of the galaxy KV59. However, even I, as an anthropologist with extensive experience of observing human species in their natural habitat, still have to explore and discover many of their secrets.”

“I do not understand. According to the documents among the delegation that greets us there are Earthlings. I mean I don’t question the scientific evidence of a respected Chronos or you, but why then..”

“Of course you don’t! It’s really quite simple. For the purity of the clinical experiment, which we are conducting now, it is necessary that Earthlings feel themselves ostensibly full participants of the «society» consisting of members with developed intelligence.”

“So, any luck, colleague?” Shazam, who realized that Batman would now skin them anyway, decided to at least participate in this theater so that the punishment would be at least deserved.

“Well, we’ve certainly come up with some interesting preliminary insights about the adaptive capacity of the human brain in limited contact with Martians. Of course, humans do not have real emotions to be full participants in communication, but their attempts and zeal are very inspiring.”

~~~~~

Meanwhile, Fentons watching a live broadcast of what was supposed to be an interplanetary friendship encounter are beginning to realize that if trying to punish a rebellious human teenager has always been difficult for them, the attempt to control the behavior of the 14 y/o half-ghost may become a nightmare not only for them.

Jack: Honey, I think Danny’s still a little upset about our old theories about the ability of ghosts to feel or think.

Jazz, sitting between them with the face of a man resigned to the chaos around her, could not restrain the sarcasm: Really? Why would you think that?