video; un: coffeefiend

[ichoosefight]

[ Steph has set up this PSA perfectly framed so that everyone can see the exasperated expression on her face. Not angry, thankfully that whole ordeal is over, but deeply unimpressed by her fellow interdimensional travellers. ]

I'd like to take a moment to remind everyone of Murphy's Law.

You may not call it that. You may not know it exists. But I promise you, it holds true for every culture, in every time period, in every universe:

Anything that can go wrong, will.

Does it seem like a bad idea? It is. Is there a chance it'll blow up in your face? It will, and probably everyone else's face too. Is it going to make strangers mad at you? Don't do it.

[ She looks the camera dead in the eye, glaring as though she can stop people from being stupid by sheer force of will. She will damn well try regardless.

There's a pause while she hopes that sinks in. ]

Also, this may be an unpopular opinion, but I'm sharing it anyway:

Necromancy is never the answer.


That's all. I'm out.

Comments

[sulit]

Not art; Art! With a capital A. A magic discipline.

It has its uses, just like any other kind of magic. You think throwing fireballs around isn't just as destructive? No one gets their feathers ruffled over that.

[ichoosefight]

fireballs don't have a tendency to turn around on you and try to take over the world, go on targetted murder sprees, or rip holes in the fabric of space-time.

[sulit]

Well, you've clearly never cast a fireball before. 🔥

No, they just have the potential to level villages or start wildfires. Decimate an entire region's livelihood. Hold cities ransom. At range! Magic is magic. ✨✨✨ Regardless of what it does, someone will find a way to make it catastrophic.

You can't say that necromancy does all these bad things while also ignoring that *other* magic can do bad things. Or that necromancy can also do good things. That's just how it is.

[ichoosefight]

sure I can, people have way more backwards worldviews than that

I didn't actually say any of those things tho

I'm just saying, people start fooling around with dead bodies and it almost always means trouble.

[sulit]

No, what you said was that necromancy was never the answer. I'm just disagreeing. Necromancy is as varied as any other school of magic.

But fine, I'll address the dead bodies thing instead! If someone dies, we're just supposed to move on? Even if they didn't deserve it? Might as well not have Healing Arts at all! Those are necromancy too. Two sides of the same coin, even if you only like looking at one of the faces.

[ichoosefight]

I'm sure it's plenty varied. actually my for-real opinion is that magic is probably a Bad Idea from the universe in general and I'm glad we don't get a lot of magic users in Gotham.

But, not to get too serious here...

Yes, you're supposed to move on. Because that's life.




and bringing someone back from the dead just because you think they're hot is seriously messed up

[sulit]

????????

That is. The dumbest use of necromancy I have ever heard of. I don't know where you even got that logic, but like, yes??? That would be a good example of a very messed up logic for bringing someone back from the dead. Good job. Extremely gross.

On the other hand, you also have the dumbest reason for not using it! If you have magic, why would you *not* use it for what it can do? What, you just leave people dead because that's how it is! Oh well! Do you let infections fester too because "that's life"? Or do you use medicine to make it better? If a child was accidentally mauled by a wild animal, would you just shrug your shoulders and walk away? Or would you take them to a cleric to be revived like how a doctor fixes a broken leg?

Maybe your Gotham place could stand to have a more nuanced view of magic.

[ichoosefight]

don't look at me dude that's what it sounded like you were saying

Gotham could also use a lot less murder, but who's to say which is more important to potential homeowners



I think you know how absurd it is to compare being dead with having a broken leg, but how does necromancy work in your world anyway? You make it sound like some easy, fullproof treatment with no risks or side effects.

[sulit]

I am looking at you because I would never say anything like that. I don't even know where you got that from!

Your previous statements have shown that you don't get to tell me what I think is absurd. You're absurd. 👿

And I didn't say it was easy or fullproof. Reviving someone is expensive and a complicated amount of magic. Most people think that only the gods can grant that sort of magic, so obviously you would go to a temple to have a cleric cast the magic. But to me, that sounds silly. If I can figure out how to use positive energy to bolster the physical capabilities of others, to give them more energy and make them feel more capable or less injured, then I don't see why I can't figure out how to use it to shove a soul back into the body it belongs to. It's all the same energy.

Everyone thinks that necromancy is about zombies and stuff, but that right there is necromancy too. You can also use necromancy to talk to spirits, find out what they want and settle their regrets. You can use it to preserve a body or ward away other necromantic spells that might try to animate it. You can ask spirits to protect someone, or transfer life essence from one person to another.

Necromancy isn't just "raising undead armies". It's the manipulation of positive and negative life energies, and it's a useful school of magic.

[ichoosefight]

in a world where necrophilia is a thing and serial killers wear masks made out of pig faces, there are no safe assumptions

if you want to debate ethical medical practices I'm game, but my opinion's the same. given the choice between a world with all kinds of magic good and bad and a world with no magic at all, I'd choose no magic.

sadly I have not been given that choice, so I have to settle for saying "zombies bad".


this is kind of a tangent but I have to wonder... have you figured out how to shove a soul back into a body? it doesn't sound like you have