#clarks's third law

[coolchromia]

[iibislintu]

i don't know about you but i think it's so cool when i hit the light switch and the electricity just. surges! into the lamp and then there's light all over. it's literally magic

[rowanthefierce]

has anyone else here read the morgaine cycle / the chronicles of morgaine by cj cherryh? anyone??

i'm rereading the omnibus collection and it's so good i NEED to talk about nhi vanye i chya or i'll combust

[somewhere-south-of-neutral]

Clarke's Third Law

A poem by Personification

Any Sufficiently Advanced Technologyis indistinguishable from Magic. -Arthur C. Clarke

I go to a school for wizards. Technically, we specialize in artifice, but artifice and wizardry go hand in hand.

Some of my friends are learning to write the spells that animate the magical constructs that display the moving pictures that run our society.

Some of my friends are alchemists. They don’t try to turn lead into gold. (We know how to do that and it isn’t really profitable.) They turn plants and rocks and animals into potions, which can be sold for green, which, as anyone who has chosen to read Frost or been forced to read Outsiders knows, is gold.

Some of my friends specialize in the flying carriages used to strike out into the Aether and leave footprints on the stars.

Some of them work on fabricating these fiery steeds, while others focus on calibrating the spellcraft required to point them at the correct sphere of heaven

Some of my friends study magical theory. Though they themselves cannot cast spells,  these sages delve into the underlying workings of the universe so that others can.

I, on the other hand, am majoring in Literature, Media, and Communication (no s). I’m learnin’ to talk real good. Sometimes, I look to the wizards and wish I’d learned to craft the universe as they do. Then, I remember that nothing can reshape reality quite like a well placed word or song  or book or poem.

Without us, nobody would know about their great feats of spellcraft. Without us, nobody would stand against the dark tyrants in their ivory towers. Without us, nobody would imagine the futures that don’t exist yet in order to create them.

History is written by the victors? History is written by the writers!

---------------

Please comment and critique.

This has been released elsewhere under my real name, so if you see it credited to someone else, that's probably actually me.

[masonicon]

any magic that doesn't create or destroy energy are just technology that mortals simply mistaken for such

[ehj3]

ART AND ARCHETYPE

“Any legend, any creature, any symbol we ever stumble on, already exists in a vast cosmic reservoir where archetypes wait.”  —Guillermo del Toro It’s lizards and aliens now, but when it was just a couple of sentences recording a fleeting idea last week, it was apes and robots. But as I sketched it out in photoshop, it seemed better to exaggerate the dichotomy. After all, we humans are one kind…

[monarchetype]

I love that the term for sending out communications is "casting" ah yes, let me Cast my voice across invisible waves in the air. With enough power, I can make a Broad Cast so that my message can reach further. I have some knowledge to share with you, might I Cast my handheld knowledge receptacle to the artifact in the living room that we might see its projected images? Love being a digital wizard

[keirou-kun]

Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. - Arthur C. Clarke

[artbyblastweave]

So with superhero origins, what's basically always been the case is that the writers exploit whichever area of cutting-edge science is currently in the zeitgeist, banking heavily that the audience will be unlikely to understand the actual effective limits of the science under discussion. In the pulp era many of the protocapes are getting whatever "power" they have from souped-up training regimens, healthy living, "Eastern Wisdom," whatever. In the thirties and forties it trends chemical- they're taking "miracle pills" or inhaling weird vapors or whatever, its steroids, they're on steroids, or possibly meth. In the sixties, in the atomic age, its particles, its radiation, its rays. Eventually, you know, it's pretty well understood that radiation can't do that either, so they migrate over to genetic engineering, cybernetics, nanobots. Every cape and their brother was some kind of cyborg or lab experiment in the 90s. These days it's quantum this, string-theory that, dimensional wonkery, cats in boxes. In 20 or 30 years we'll have a better sense of what all of that actually means in practice (likely not much) and then it'll be something else.

I've observed that Dr. Strange and other magical characters are actually basically immune to this treadmill, because they're magic- that's already post-modern and fluid and squishy and immune to the expectation of real-world scientific rigor. They're vulnerable to changing cultural perceptions of magic, the Strange of the 60s isn't interchangeable with the Strange from the 2010s, but it's not as drastic a shift. From the other direction Green Lantern is also kind of resistant to the treadmill because the lantern tech is, and always has been, ludicrously advanced and totally divorced from any real-world techno-logic- It's Clarke's third law shit. Flash was forcibly made immune to the treadmill through the introduction of The Speed Force into the mythos- it's not a chemical accident, it's a higher fundamental power, it's just how this universe is metaphysically structured, now stop asking questions.

In due time I suspect that all superheroic origins will converge on one of these. Unfalsifiable magic, unfalsifiable alien toys, unfalsifiable higher unifying forces. Or else they'll fall into the gaping maw of the secret fourth thing that lurks beneath and intersects with all three of these- that you got powers instead of radiation poisoning from that accident because we're in a story, the thing happened instead of not happening because it was more interesting, because "narrative" is a force as real, if not realer, than gravity. Of course it goes without saying that you need to be really, really good at writing to pull off the secret fourth thing. Start fucking around with the secret fourth thing and the result is either going to be genuinely transcendent metafiction or something so self-absorbed and tautological that it disappears up its own ass.

[patriottruth]

This is a reminder that on March 4th, 2024, the Supreme Court of the United States ordered donald j. trump to have 87 Democrats in both houses of Congress remove his insurrectionist disqualification from ever holding any federal office again. He failed to do so prior to November 5, 2024. Should he fail to do so by December 17th, 2024, he will not be the 47th President of the United States of America on January 20th, 2025.

So I've seen some comments suggesting this is misinformation. It's not. Per the Supreme Court of the United States' own Berger Test to disqualify judges, the MAGA SCOTUS majority ruling pertaining to donald j. trump being permanently immune from federal enforcement of Section 3 of the 14th Amendment means nothing; because it lacks standing in precedent, law, constitutionality, and relevance.

The three dissenting justices clarify that the only matter that was actually legally settled and, therefore, legally enforceable, pertained to state actions, not federal law enforcement actions against a disqualified insurrectionist presidential or federal candidate, such as donald j. trump, committing the federal crime of being an insurrectionist attempting to hold office without having their insurrectionist disqualification removed via a two-thirds vote of both houses. And so it is legal fact that the Supreme Court did, in fact, order donald j. trump to have his insurrectionist disqualification removed by a two-thirds vote of both houses on March 4th, 2024; it's just that donald j. trump and his legal team were too illiterate and unintelligent to actually read what was legal and had standing (state enforcement against federal candidates), and what didn't (federal enforcement against federal candidates). And MAGA SCOTUS is now permanently legally barred from ever addressing any matter pertaining to federal enforcement of Section 3 of the 14th Amendment against donald j. trump, so they can't even try to interfere on his behalf again should Democrats in the House of Representatives and the Senate demand and force a vote on the matter of donald j. trump's disqualification for holding federal office.

Berger v. United States, 255 U.S. 22 (1921), is a United States Supreme Court decision overruling a trial court decision by U.S. District Court Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis against Rep. Victor L. Berger, a Congressman for Wisconsin's 5th district and the founder of the Social Democratic Party of America, and several other German-American defendants who were convicted of violating the Espionage Act by publicizing anti-interventionist views during World War I.

The case was argued on December 9, 1920, and decided on January 31, 1921, with an opinion by Justice Joseph McKenna and dissents by Justices William R. Day, James Clark McReynolds, and Mahlon Pitney. The Supreme Court held that Judge Landis was properly disqualified as trial judge based on an affidavit filed by the German defendants asserting that Judge Landis' public anti-German statements should disqualify him from presiding over the trial of the defendants.

The House of Representatives twice denied Berger his seat in the House due to his original conviction for espionage using Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution regarding denying office to those who supported "insurrection or rebellion". The Supreme Court overturned the verdict in 1921 in Berger v. U.S., and Berger won three successive terms in the House in the 1920s.

Per the United States Supreme Court's "Berger test" that states that to disqualify ANY judge in the United States of America: 1) a party files an affidavit claiming personal bias or prejudice demonstrating an "objectionable inclination or disposition of the judge" and 2) claim of bias is based on facts antedating the trial.

All 6 criminal MAGA insurrectionist and trump-loyalist U.S. Supreme Court Justices who've repeatedly and illegally ruled in donald j. trump's favor are as disqualified from issuing any rulings pertaining to donald j. trump (a German immigrant) as the United States Supreme Court ruled U.S. District Court Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis was when he attempted to deny Victor L. Berger (a German immigrant) from holding office for violating the Espionage Act and supporting or engaging in insurrection or rebellion against the United States of America.

The only misinformation that exists surrounding the Anderson vs. trump ruling is the belief that the MAGA SCOTUS ruling on federal enforcement of Section 3 of the 14th Amendment against donald j. trump settled the matter and handed him permanent immunity from prosecution should he ever commit the federal crime of attempting to hold federal office. In legal fact, MAGA SCOTUS' nonsensical ruling attempting to grant donald j. trump permanent immunity from prosecution for insurrection is grounds for immediate and permanent disbarment; as they're clearly attempting to legislate from the bench and prevent Congress from legislating in a way that's unfavorable to their presidential candidate.

This is the only pertinent and legally important part of the Anderson vs. trump ruling with regards to federal enforcement of Section 3 of the 14th Amendment against donald j. trump or any other insurrectionist committing the federal crime of attempting to hold office without first having their insurrectionist disqualification removed by a two-thirds vote of both houses:

Justice Sotomayor, Justice Kagan, and Justice Jackson Opinion on the Majority Ruling:

Yet the majority goes further. Even though “[a]ll nine Members of the Court” agree that this independent and sufficient ratioAnd MAGA SCOTUS is now permanently legally barred from ever addressing any matter pertaining to federal enforcement of Section 3 of the 14th Amendment against donald j. trump.nale resolves this case, five Justices go on. They decide novel constitutional questions to insulate this Court and petitioner from future controversy. Ante, at 13. Although only an individual State’s action is at issue here, the majority opines on which federal actors can enforce Section 3, and how they must do so. The majority announces that a disqualification for insurrection can occur only when Congress enacts a particular kind of legislation pursuant to Section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment. In doing so, the majority shuts the door on other potential means of federal enforcement. We cannot join an opinion that decides momentous and difficult issues unnecessarily, and we therefore concur only in the judgment.

Yet the Court continues on to resolve questions not before us. In a case involving no federal action whatsoever, the Court opines on how federal enforcement of Section 3 must proceed. Congress, the majority says, must enact legislation under Section 5 prescribing the procedures to “ ‘ “ascertain[ ] what particular individuals” ’ ” should be disqualified. Ante, at 5 (quoting Griffin’s Case, 11 F. Cas. 7, 26 (No. 5,815) (CC Va. 1869) (Chase, Circuit Justice)). These musings are as inadequately supported as they are gratuitous.

To start, nothing in Section 3’s text supports the majority’s view of how federal disqualification efforts must operate. Section 3 states simply that “[n]o person shall” hold certain positions and offices if they are oathbreaking insurrectionists. Amdt. 14. Nothing in that unequivocal bar suggests that implementing legislation enacted under Section 5 is “critical” (or, for that matter, what that word means in this context). Ante, at 5. In fact, the text cuts the opposite way. Section 3 provides that when an oathbreaking insurrectionist is disqualified, “Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.” It is hard to understand why the Constitution would require a congressional supermajority to remove a disqualification if a simple majority could nullify Section 3’s operation by repealing or declining to pass implementing legislation. Even petitioner’s lawyer acknowledged the “tension” in Section 3 that the majority’s view creates. See Tr. of Oral Arg. 31.

Similarly, nothing else in the rest of the Fourteenth Amendment supports the majority’s view. Section 5 gives Congress the “power to enforce [the Amendment] by appropriate legislation.” Remedial legislation of any kind, however, is not required. All the Reconstruction Amendments (including the due process and equal protection guarantees and prohibition of slavery) “are self-executing,” meaning that they do not depend on legislation. City of Boerne v. Flores, 521 U.S. 507, 524 (1997); see Civil Rights Cases, 109 U.S. 3, 20 (1883). Similarly, other constitutional rules of disqualification, like the two-term limit on the Presidency, do not require implementing legislation. See, e.g., Art. II, §1, cl. 5 (Presidential Qualifications); Amdt. 22 (Presidential Term Limits). Nor does the majority suggest otherwise. It simply creates a special rule for the insurrection disability in Section 3.

The majority is left with next to no support for its requirement that a Section 3 disqualification can occur only pursuant to legislation enacted for that purpose. It cites Griffin’s Case, but that is a nonprecedential, lower court opinion by a single Justice in his capacity as a circuit judge. See ante, at 5 (quoting 11 F. Cas., at 26). Once again, even petitioner’s lawyer distanced himself from fully embracing this case as probative of Section 3’s meaning. See Tr. of Oral Arg. 35–36. The majority also cites Senator Trumbull’s statements that Section 3 “ ‘provide[d] no means for enforcing’ ” itself. Ante, at 5 (quoting Cong. Globe, 41st Cong., 1st Sess., 626 (1869)). The majority, however, neglects to mention the Senator’s view that “[i]t is the [F]ourteenth [A]mendment that prevents a person from holding office,” with the proposed legislation simply “affor[ding] a more efficient and speedy remedy” for effecting the disqualification. Cong. Globe, 41st Cong., 1st Sess., at 626–627.

Ultimately, under the guise of providing a more “complete explanation for the judgment,” ante, at 13, the majority resolves many unsettled questions about Section 3. It forecloses judicial enforcement of that provision, such as might occur when a party is prosecuted by an insurrectionist and raises a defense on that score. The majority further holds that any legislation to enforce this provision must prescribe certain procedures “ ‘tailor[ed]’ ” to Section 3, ante, at 10, ruling out enforcement under general federal statutes requiring the government to comply with the law. By resolving these and other questions, the majority attempts to insulate all alleged insurrectionists from future challenges to their holding federal office.

“What it does today, the Court should have left undone.” Bush v. Gore, 531 U.S. 98, 158 (2000) (Breyer, J., dissenting). The Court today needed to resolve only a single question: whether an individual State may keep a Presidential candidate found to have engaged in insurrection off its ballot. The majority resolves much more than the case before us. Although federal enforcement of Section 3 is in no way at issue, the majority announces novel rules for how that enforcement must operate. It reaches out to decide Section 3 questions not before us, and to foreclose future efforts to disqualify a Presidential candidate under that provision. In a sensitive case crying out for judicial restraint, it abandons that course.

Section 3 serves an important, though rarely needed, role in our democracy. The American people have the power to vote for and elect candidates for national office, and that is a great and glorious thing. The men who drafted and ratified the Fourteenth Amendment, however, had witnessed an “insurrection [and] rebellion” to defend slavery. §3. They wanted to ensure that those who had participated in that insurrection, and in possible future insurrections, could not return to prominent roles. Today, the majority goes beyond the necessities of this case to limit how Section 3 can bar an oathbreaking insurrectionist from becoming President. Although we agree that Colorado cannot enforce Section 3, we protest the majority’s effort to use this case to define the limits of federal enforcement of that provision. Because we would decide only the issue before us, we concur only in the judgment.

What all of that means is that between now and December 17th, 2024, donald j. trump has no choice but to go to Congress and have 70 Democrats in the House of Representatives and 17 Democrats in the Senate vote to remove his insurrectionist disqualification, as he was ordered to do by SCOTUS on March 4th, 2024, or he's not legally the President Elect and cannot be inaugurated, sworn in, or hold federal office again on January 20, 2025. The clock is ticking!

Here's why this will work: donald trump's legal tactics are deny, attempt to wiggle out of it on technicalities, and delay, delay, delay. Well, from November 2023 to March 4, 2024, donald trump not only said that he was never an officer of the United States, but that he also never swore an oath to support the United States Constitution. And then he said that Section 3 of the 14th Amendment says nothing about running for office, only holding office, and since he's only running for office, nothing can keep him off the ballot. And that's where this has finally caught up to him.

SCOTUS illegally took the case to begin with. SCOTUS was required to kick the case back to Congress immediately to force a two-thirds of both houses vote to remove donald trump's insurrectionist disqualification. But they illegally denied Congress the ability to vote on it at the time, illegally legislated from the bench to keep donald trump on the ballot by illegally amending Section 3 of the 14th Amendment of the United States Constitution, and dismissed the clear two-thirds vote requirement to replace it with "Congress must pass new legislation and amend Section 3 of the 14th Amendment in order to keep insurrectionists off of the ballot and out of office in the future. All six MAGA SCOTUS injustices can now be immediately and permanently disbarred from ever judging or practicing law anywhere in the United States now and in the future for that illegal legislating from the bench; because the U.S. Constitution clearly says that the Judiciary can never interfere with Congress legislating, or with the President enforcing the laws of the United States.

donald trump and his allies figured that was a win, that SCOTUS couldn't be challenged, that the Democrats could never get legislation passed to keep him off the ballot or from holding office again, and the matter was dropped. But that's where he was wrong; because Section 3 of the 14th Amendment still reads, and only legally reads, that the only way an insurrectionist can hold federal office again is by a two-thirds vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate; and that means that now that donald trump can't try and use the technicality of "I'm not even trying to hold office, I'm just running for office," and he's actively trying to hold office with no technicality wiggle room, donald trump's only path to the White House is to have 70 Democrats in the House of Representatives and 17 Democrats in the Senate vote to remove his insurrectionist disqualification by December 17th, 2017; and his favorite tactic of delay, delay, delay won't work because delaying means he can't be inaugurated, sworn in, and serve as the 47th President of the United States; and that means Kamala Harris would become 47th President of the United States by default.

If anyone is interested in fighting another trump presidency, contact every Democrat representative in the House of Representatives and the Senate and remind them that donald j. trump cannot be inaugurated, sworn in, and be the 47th President of the United States on January 20, 2025 unless 70 Democrats in the House of Representatives and 17 Democrats in the Senate vote to remove his insurrectionist disqualification before December 17, 2024. Many of them have online contact forms. You may have to enter an address near their local office in their district for the contact form to go through, but I know they're going to want to be reminded of this by as many people as possible in order to save humanity and American democracy from donald trump. Plus, Kamala Harris can be contacted via the White House Vice President contact form; and as a presidential candidate and the President of the Senate, she and President Biden can do a lot to enforce donald trump having to have his insurrectionist disqualification removed by a two-thirds vote of the House of Representatives and the Senate before December 17, 2024.

[frownyalfred]

This just occurred to me but - did Bruce get to keep his money in eye of the sky? I feel like access to a bank account with millions of dollars in it would be a resource that wouldn't exactly be "safe" for him to have, but then like, are the assets just going to sit there for the rest of eternity? (I think the fact that none of that money would be able to be put back into the economy would piss Bruce off...) Or is Clark like "ah yes your money will be allocated to our cause I need you to sign this for me :)"? Or some secret third option? What are your thoughts

In case you are wondering yes I will be sending in asks in hopes to flesh out the world building questions that pop into my head at ungodly hours even though the story is over for the rest of time if you let me I think you've infected me forever help it's so fucking compelling (although the rest of your stories are also wonderful I've been a fan of yours way before this au in particular I'm not trying to pigeon hole you into one singular thing keep writing <3)

Ahh thank you so much for sending this, you really keep me invested in this fic and the worldbuilding! My take is that when Kal-El finally revealed Bruce’s identity to the public and took him up to the Watchtower, it was all done at once.

Kal-El would’ve needed J’onn and Cyborg’s help. Cyborg would’ve folded in the accounts already funding the Watchtower to ensure their stability. Wayne Enterprises would be allowed to keep enough to stay afloat and functional, minus all research into “dangerous” topics like weapons or experimental gadgets etc. Kal-El’s public mercy, as it were. I’m sure LexCorp was burned to the ground, so it really is mercy.

Bruce Wayne’s personal accounts would be frozen to ensure he couldn’t escape easily, and that his family couldn’t easily stage an escape. And to cut off the fledgling Resistance/Insurgency.

Since Injustice canonically revolves around the Regime taking on the duties of an occupying government, anything they say is essentially law. So if they take Bruce’s money, there’s no one to stop them. Things are allowed to proceed as normal, as long as those activities don’t threaten the Regime.

I’m not sure if Kal-El keeps the money frozen or allocates it to the Regime. Either are likely options in my mind, to be honest. The Watchtower is expensive, but they have more than just Wayne Enterprises to pull from, now. Maybe all of Luthor’s money is used as Kal-El’s final “fuck you” to Lex. Hmm.

[hangingfire]

Someone ensure that this process is preserved on acid free paper or stone or something so that archaeologists of the future can stumble on it. It'll be like the Rosetta Stone for the twenty-first century.

Have you ever wondered how tech technicians recover data from faulty flash and memory whose data cannot be recovered by normal methods.

[i-try-to-write-stuff]

Request

Clark x reader where he meets her (perhaps saves her), becomes infatuated with her, stalks her subtly and is subtly dark but not outright obvious.

This blog supports Palestine & Lebanon!!!

Zionists can fuck off.

There may be grammatical errors.

You were sitting in your office one moment and the next thing you know,  you were under the rubble of your office building, your body was crushed, you were pretty sure that your limb were broken in several places, and you could taste the blood in your mouth. The weight of destroyed chunks of cement was crushing your body making it harder and harder for you to breathe, you were losing consciousness, and you reluctantly embraced the comforting blanket of death.

---

Kal-El was deserately trying to save people around him who were engulfed in the rubble of the building. He could hear several heartbeats simultaneously most them were strong enough to survive a few seconds under the rubble as he rescued people in critical conditions, but one heartbeat was slowing down, that sound was coming from the other side of the giant pile of rubble. Clark dove in head first to save the poor soul on the brink of death. He carried you out of the destruction safely in his arms. In the rush he did not hear your waning hearbeats. Maybe it was a good thing that you were rescued by a God who did not follow the laws of nature and brought you back to life with little effort. 

When you opened your eyes after being revived, you saw a hazy silhouette of something blue and red. You were covered in debris and your nose and throat were filled with crushed cement and sand. You began retching as soon as oxygen flooded your lungs. Superman flew to the nearest ambulance and deposited you in their hands. You didn't recall much of what happened or even your rescue by a God walking among mere mortals on this earth. All you remember was waking up in a hospital bed and your Mom, Dad and siblings bickering by your side. 

Doctors were marveling at the speed of your recovery despite multiple injuries and severe internal bleeding every doctor on the hospital floor was wondering how you survived but you rushed it away but to your parents, it was an act of God, not the God they were praying to but still an act of God. On the third day,  you were visited by a bespectacled journalist from Daily Planet, whatever that was.

You thought he looked astonished to see you but then you brushed off it as you seeing things that weren't there. Your doctor said you would experience something like that because of the trauma your body and brain went through. 

Clark was stunned to see you alive and thriving, he had done his best to heal you up but your life was still hanging on by a thread when he reluctantly left you with the paramedics. His curiosity was not letting him sleep at night. So, he took the initiative and scouted several hospitals using his journalist credentials. But seeing you alive and well, looking fragile like a doll being doted upon your family, he felt some warmth blooming in his chest. You looked precious and fragile like a dewdrop on a flower.

Clark wanted to interview/interrogate you alone but your older brother and sister refused to leave your side while your younger brother gave him a stink eye. He asked you some prodding questions but you were unable to answer any of that, you did not remember anything apart from some blue and red haze. Clark smiled, you remembered his silhouette even if you did not remember seeing him. Clark could feel the irritation radiating out your siblings, your brothers were itching to throw him out. He made himself scarce pretty quickly after that. While he was exiting the hospital, he cocentrated on voices coming from your room. 

"You can't stay here overnight", the nurse said.

"We don't want to leave her alone.", your sister replied.

"Ma'am, we understand but hospital policies are something that can not be changed for any patient" the nurse explained patiently.

"But, she almost died, what if she dies again?" your younger brother whined like a pre-teen. 

"She is not gonna die, she is healthy, and she will be here when you come tomorrow during visiting hours." 

"You guys need to go home and rest" you replied in raspy voice. 

"But.."

"No buts, I'm not gonna die overnight, I know I scared you all but you need to go home and rest. Also, take care of Mom and Dad,  I had to practically kick them out." you added.

"Go, I need some sleep, I can't rest without you three hovering over me like mother hen" 

They protested but your siblings left you alone  for the night.

The nurse gave you an injection for your pain and you were dead to the world.

Clark rushed home and had a quick shower before he headed out for the night. He entered your hospital room undetected, there you were sleeping blissfully, unaware of your saviour's eyes on you, scanning your body. He healed your body with his Kryptonian powers and he sat down on your bed. He did not know what came over him,  he caressed your cheek, he brushed off the strand of hair on your face which was irritating you in your sleep, you unknowingly snuggle into his warmth. Clark decided to stay with you at the  but his plans were interrupted by the night nurse making the rounds. He stayed as long as he could feeling a connection with you, something that wasn't common for him. He left you alone that night with a silent promise to return.    

[theocddiaries]

[In Smallville, after a hurricane…] Diana: Well, what do you think of the house that love built? [Diana taps the front door a couple of times and the house comes crashing down. There's absolute silence. Clark sighs and takes off his glasses to clean them. A glass breaking is heard] Clark: Aw, shoot! [taking a deep breath]: Ah-- Now… Calm down, Clark-diddily-diddily-diddily-diddily. They did their best, shoddily-iddily-iddily-diddily. Got to be nice… Hostility-ilitity-bility-dility. Aw, hell, diddily-ding-dong crap! [snaps]: Can't you morons do anything right?! [They all gasp] Bruce: Clark, we meant well, and everyone here tried their best. Clark: Well, my family and I can't live in good intentions, Bruce! Oh, your family is out of control, but we can't blame you because you have goooooood intentions! Jason: Hey, back off, man! Clark: Oh, okay, dude. I wouldn't want you to have a cow, man. Here's a catchphrase you better learn for your adult years. "Hey, buddy, got a quarter?" Everyone: Uuuuh… Jason: I am shocked and appalled. Damian: Kent, with all due respect, Jason didn't do anything. Clark: Do I hear the sound of butting in? It's got to be little Damian Wayne taking after his father, just answering questions nobody asked! Hal: Hahaha… Clark: Oh. And what do we have here? The intergalactic arm of the law? The last case you got to the bottom of was a case of Mallomars! Harley [laughs to herself]: Mallomars. Oh, that's going in the act. Clark: Oh, yeah, the clown's apprentince, the only one of you buffoons who doesn't make me laugh. And as for you, I don't know you, but I'm sure you're a jerk! Constantine: Hey, I've only been here a few minutes. What's going on? Clark: And you're an arrogant, hate-filled man. Ollie: Hey, hey, I may be a little arrogant and hate-filled, but I, um-- What was the third thing you said? [Clark walks straight to Guy Gardner, who smiles nervously at him] Clark: Gardner… you are the worst and most annoying living being I've ever met. [turns away and leaves] Guy: Ooof, I got off pretty easy.

[undreaming-fanfiction]

Eddie's palms were sweating like crazy. There used to be moments when he was gratetul for this less obvious sign of nervousness, but at times like this it was bloody inconvenient. The chalk dust clung to his fingertips as he worked on his summoning circle under the archmage's watchful eye, an eye that was waiting for a single mistake that would warrant another disqualification. A third one in the last three years.

It was all bullshit as his best friends Nancy and Chrissy had told him. They both were younger and had the same skill. Sure, Nancy's intellect was through the roof and Chrissy studied with a rigid motivation of someone who wanted to leave their stifling family behind, but Eddie wasn't bad at all. Hell, he grasped the intricacies of magic almost naturally and in another world, he would have been praised, supported by all his peers and professors.

Yeah, right. That would be a world where he wasn't a filthy commoner.

Sure, magic didn't choose blood or status or a full set of silver cutlery in one's mouth, but oh did the upper class love to pretend. "We have magic in our bloodline," they lied through their teeth. And so when a kid of a petty thief showed magic potential surpassing the one of their coddled kids, they were aghast. They scoffed at his long unruly hair, at his cheap dark clothes, at the extra shifts his uncle had to take to keep him in the academy. They tried to get rid of him so many times, unfair test questions, discriminatory behavior, bullying...Eddie saw it all and guess what, he didn't care. As his wise uncle told him "they see you as a cockroach, boy. So become one. Show them how persistent you can be, make them wish they let you graduate."

Eddie adored his uncle, if that wasn't clear. That man was hard working and smart. If the world was worth anything, he would have been an alchemist, with his precise mind and nimble hands. But since world was shit and unfair, he was just a helper for one, although a great and kind one, Scott Clarke. Eddie was happy for his uncle, for the companionship he found in Scott, but there was inherent bitterness in him that wouldn't leave.

See, the issue with Eddie was - he had no clear goal, no illuminated path in his future. He wanted to explore magic, see what it had to offer. Where others had a clear destination, like Nancy with her passion for magical channels of communication or Chrissy and her focus on healing magic and diagnostics, Eddie was...untethered. He wanted to do anything and everything and he worried that this would be his downfall this time too. Because that's exactly what the whole summoning ritual hinged on.

Eddie wiped his hands on his pants, earning a disapproving scoff from the archmage. "Magic demands grace and dignity," that's what the asshole always said before elegantly wiping his mouth with a napkin or drying his sweaty brow with a white handkerchief. Eddie wanted to kick him in the shin and see how elegant he looked toppling over.

Just a few more chalk lines, no use in delaying the inevitable. This was the final exam of the senior year, but also a crucial skill that Eddie simply had to master. Because each mage needed a companion from the other side, that was the law. It didn't matter if you summoned a fae, a zephyr, a demon or even a wailing ghost of your grandma who decided to stay in the world beyond instead of moving on, you needed a companion to help with channeling of magic, amplifying it. Some mages kept the same companions for decades, other went through a series of brief companionships to find what they needed.

If Eddie only knew what he needed. That's what he was supposed to do - enter the circle, open a gate to the other world and project his ambitions, his desires. Which were, as usual, all over the place.

"I'm ready," he told the archmage as he stood up and dusted off his hands, creating more white smears on his pants.

The older man just rolled his eyes. He seemed to be in his fifties, with thick hair and just one or two strands of grey. But who knew, magic didn't really make aging normal. "I will believe it when I see it, Mr. Munson. You have yet to surprise me."

Eddie bit back a scorching remark and cracked his fingers, getting ready. He forced on a wide smile and waved at his friends who had, as expected, aced the exam. Nancy was chatting with her companion, a storm elemental (her name was Robin, as he would learn later, and she could speak so fast only Nancy was able to understand). Chrissy stood next to a tall dryad, Barbara, and gave Eddie a thumbs up, beaming at him. "You got this!" she mouthed at him and, with a brief whisper, made Barbara join in a very awkward cheer.

"Okay, here I go," muttered Eddie and entered the circle. His fingertips sparkled as he touched the prepared runes, activating them. He had one brief moment to take it all in, the scowl on the archmage's face, Nancy's quiet and confident smile and Chrissy's radiance, before the runes rose in a circle around him and obscured everything.

He blinked at the swirling colors around him, whispered voices. "Hello?" he called out, hearing the echo of his own voice. "My name is Eddie...um. I mean, Edward Munson and I am searching for a companion."

The voices sounded closer, but not close enough. He hadn't offered anything yet, so he wasn't too discouraged. "Um. I am looking for someone who would like to explore the world of magic with me. The possibilities it has and who is maybe looking to find themselves too..."

His voice trailed off. He sounded silly even to himself, not to mention to the creatures, spirits and demons in the realm. But just as he was about to quickly make up a goal, just to attract someone, he heard whispering in his ear. It sounded both melodic and dissonant, single and split. "You're intriguing. Intriguing enough to consider your offer. Say, Eddie. You seem open to everything, but...is there something that you really, really want? A desire you have? Something a companion could help you accomplish?"

Had Eddie been someone with a milder temperament, he would have explained how he hoped his success would open the door for more people like him, to change how elitist magic was. But he wasn't that, he was Eddie and he didn't feel like starting his first companionship with a lie.

"I want to succeed so much that the archmage will lose all of that fucking powdered hair," he grinned into the swirling void. "I want him to look at me, the first trash commoner mage, and know that despite being way more powerful and influential and whatever else, he couldn't get that scrawny kid to quit, no matter how many times he unfairly failed me. I want to make him feel like he's sucking on a lemon whenever he sees me. I want to become a living proof that he was wrong."

There was laughter in his ears and this time he realized - it wasn't one voice but two. One seductive and feminine, the other amused and slightly bitchy, belonging to a man.

"Well, Eddie," whispered the woman and Eddie shivered from her warm breath.

The man leaned in too, into his other ear. "We can help you with that."

And just like that, the magical void dissolved and two warm hands found their way into his.

Eddie emerged into the great hall to a series of gasps, cheers and curses. Chrissy was jumping up and down on her toes, clapping. Nancy seemed to be stuck between shock and serious amusement. And the archmage...well. That was something else.

But Eddie had manners so instead of reacting to any of them, he turned towads his companions. Two beings at once wasn't exactly common and Eddie had to understand who exactly he invited into his life.

He didn't have to recall much of his lectures on the other world to realize that his companions were demons. And not just any type, no. He gulped as he offered his hand again. "Thank you for answering my call. As I said before, I'm Eddie. Human, obviously."

The female demon was almost as tall as him, but unlike him she was gorgeous. Her thick brown hair fell to her strong shoulders in gentle waves and her amber eyes sparkled with mischief. She had moles and beauty marks all over her beautiful face. "Pleasure to join you, Eddie. Stevie, a succubus." She winked at him and shook his hand. "Obviously," she whispered.

She nudged him to the male demon, eerily similar to her, but where she was seductive he was snarky. Which...was doing equal things to Eddie's insides. Not only. "Steve," he said and squeezed his hand with a deliciously calloused hand. "Not a succubus, obviously, but an incubus. Pleasure indeed."

Eddie felt a bit manic. The wide smile on his face was starting to hurt but he couldn't bring himself to care and when Stevie used her tail to examine the chains on his belt, he wondered if the butterflies in his stomach weren't actually a stomach infection. "Uh...sorry if that's a stupid question, but are you...are you twins?"

He expected a scoff or a simple yes, but the look that Stevie and Steve exchanged wasn't clear at all. He wondered if he might have offended them, but Steve ended up throwing his arm around Eddie's shoulders and pulled him close. Yep, definitely a stomach bug because the butterflies were off the charts. "That's a bit complicated. We'll explain in a bit, but now..." The bitchy smirk on Steve's face was everything and as he whispered into Eddie's ear, Eddie couldn't help but snort. This was pure gold.

Standing between his companions and wrapping each arm around their waists, Eddie smiled at the archmage, pale and looking like he was ready to vomit all over his summoning circle.

"So, archmage Harrington," drawled Eddie and Stevie snickered next to him, "have I finally managed to surprise you?"

As Steve and Stevie raised their hands and, in a single voice, said sweetly "hi dad!", Eddie felt like his goal of giving the old pompous fart a heart attack was just within reach.

[spyglassrealms]

Arthur C. Clarke was right.

Technology really is magic. I know that’s said a lot but like I’m sitting here looking at one of those chargers that you put your phone on top to wirelessly charge. And today is the first time I’ve really looked at it and gone “truly how the fuck does this work”

Maybe we stress about fantasy worldbuilding too much. We’re like “oh we gotta know the rules of the magic system,” no you don’t. I don’t know the rules of our magic system. If Aragorn, son of Arathorn got hit by a truck that orcs and goblins were driving flintstone style, and he transmigrated into my living room, I would not be able to explain any of the technology around me. I have no idea how I’m making this post. Imagine the first caveman who was like “oh shit the wheel” and I’m nodding along with that cave man. I understand how the wheel can roll. This next sentence was supposed to be about how I can sort of grasp how landline telephones work, but then I thought about it and no I don’t. I am surrounded everyday by mystical forces.

Anyway I have to use this particular charger because this miracle machine’s charging port is fuckin broken again