IT'S MAGIC. If it's not at least a little mysterious and otherworldly, WHAT IS EVEN THE POINT. Like yes, it should have a certain internal logic, but mostly so it's not too convenient - that spoils our suspension of disbelief. Dream logic is enough!
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I agree, yes. My current WIP has magic that may or may not be sentient - nobody knows, there's no way to find out. So sometimes magic does something unexpected, and plain weird, and the people have to work out what just happened.
jul 29, 2025, 10:51 pm • 3 0 • view
i like super rulesy sanderson magic because i am Like That, but i also like bizarre inexplicable magic (eg malazan), headology, light flavoring magic (does lotr magic even do anything most of the time?), and everything in between. so long as it's not a harry potter style lazy plot bridge I'm good
jul 29, 2025, 6:59 pm • 2 0 • view
LotR magic seems to be something you are more than something you do, or at least in the current Age, which I actually really enjoyed - again, mystery! suggestion! atmosphere!
jul 29, 2025, 8:02 pm • 1 0 • view
yeah it's great. feels like everything holds together without it but it adds vibes where appropriate. i have no idea what anyone is actually capable of and that's fine by me. (it is a bit more of a problem for the movies, because elision is more problematic. eg kinda silly gandalf/saruman scene)
jul 29, 2025, 8:08 pm • 1 0 • view
Yeah Peter Jackson on subtlety is like
jul 29, 2025, 8:10 pm • 1 0 • view
he has cinematic talents that were useful for a number of genuinely excellent scenes, but man did a lot of small, vital things fall by the wayside
jul 29, 2025, 8:13 pm • 1 0 • view
In one of my works in progress, there are (broadly) two categories of wizard: the Rationals who seek to find out how and why the magic they're doing works, and the Traditionalists who just go ahead and DO it. 1/2
jul 29, 2025, 3:34 pm • 1 0 • view
The Rationals call the Traditionalists "irrationals" (derogatory), and the Traditionalists call the Rationals "mechanics" (derogatory). 2/2, endut, hoch hech
jul 29, 2025, 3:34 pm • 1 0 • view
Blair Witch will always be my fave example. The supernatural entity has some sort of logic: it doesn't show up until after they knock those rocks over. It takes a while to close in on them. It shares elements w local spooky folklore But what exactly it is, what exactly the rules are? WHO KNOWS.
jul 29, 2025, 2:33 pm • 5 0 • view
And if we knew, it would be BORING, or certainly WAY LESS COOL. We SHOULDN'T be able to grasp more than an inkling of the magical. THAT'S WHAT MAKES IT MAGIC.
jul 29, 2025, 2:35 pm • 3 0 • view
If it IS fully knowable and ordinary, it's basically just a tool. Technology. Which gets interesting actually bc of that "sufficiently advanced tech is indistinguishable from magic" thing...some tech has a lick of magic/spookiness to it. Anything nuclear or radioactive, fr ex, I find CREEPY AF.
jul 29, 2025, 3:14 pm • 1 0 • view
Why? Bc how it works seems so arcane? Bc it seems at the limits of what we can harness and control? Bc it's so dangerous, and the consequences when it escapes that control are so horrific? It may be understood, but it's not at all mundane!!
jul 29, 2025, 3:22 pm • 3 0 • view
There's a sense of awe/mystery/danger that's important to the distinction. I don't really get how my cell phone works, fr ex, but it's still mundane af. Except that app that labels the stars when you point it at the sky. I'm told it's pretty straightforward as tech goes. But that...I marvelled at.
jul 29, 2025, 3:33 pm • 2 0 • view