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This guy can create a shadowy effect around himself and his surroundings, and telekinetically shape the shadowyness to make illusions of big scary creatures and be spooky in general. Basically he can manipulate this area of darkness around him. This effect is not a solid substance. Things can go through the shadow illusions.

Magic in this universe is basically a force (as in like the force of gravity)(also kind of tangible? Strong magic hotspots often result in it fusing with energy in crystallized chunks) leaking in from another universe that allows users to connect their mind through it to energy and tell the energy what to do telepathically. But otherwise, it works with the same old laws of physics, thermodynamics; etcetera. Interdimensional happenings are common, which I'm pretty sure still goes into the category of physics.

So I guess what energy and/or substance is it pushing around to make the things happen?

I was thinking maybe a bunch of gaseous particles could be casting the shadow, like a cloud. But that would easily be blown away by wind. And it would need to be something that sticks to each other so the shadow doesn't leave as easily. And it would need to be able to make really dark shadows; more than basic cloud cover.

Or maybe it can be something that only partially exists in his dimension. You can't touch it, but it blocks light.

Any ideas of how to make this effect work realistically?

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  • $\begingroup$ I have a couple of ideas, but can you tell us a bit more about your goals? What are the limits and restrictions we're working under? What powers do you want this guy to manipulate? What consequences do you want to avoid? (Remember that the help center says not to ask questions where every answer is equally valid. This is achieved by explaining the context or framework we must work within). Thanks! $\endgroup$
    – JBH
    Commented Jul 5, 2021 at 21:23
  • $\begingroup$ worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/a/10510/86733 this answer from another unrelated question can be applied here to, as well as in any question regarding illusions and visual effects or sensory manipulation. $\endgroup$
    – Green
    Commented Jul 5, 2021 at 21:30
  • $\begingroup$ @JBH I'm not sure what else I can add. He can make himself and his surroundings look dark, and he can extend it into frightening shapes. How might I make this happen as realistically possible with knowledge of physics or whatever, since magic in this universe is basically just being able to manipulate energy into doing things in the environment, so real life's rules still apply. $\endgroup$
    – Chickenpeep
    Commented Jul 6, 2021 at 0:46
  • $\begingroup$ @Green Though this guy can also emanate feelings of unease, I like for the shadow power to be real. But that gives me more inspiration for what the magnetic field creating one can do. $\endgroup$
    – Chickenpeep
    Commented Jul 6, 2021 at 2:25

5 Answers 5

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Interdimensional photon absorbing sphere

The person has a small connection point that connects his brain stem to a 2 meter radius sphere of black material that is one plank length in the fourth dimension in relation to him. Using the brain stem he can make any point in the sphere capture light within one plank length of it. This lets him physically capture photons to make shadows. It isn't capturable or touch able, but it requires light to show an absence of light.

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His shadow is a cloud of gas particles which are specifically tuned to his will and respond to commands from his imagination. When not ordered otherwise, the particles cling to whatever parts of him are hidden from the light. In this way, they are concealed by his natural shadow and at most, appear to be part of it.

When commanded to take form, the particles move out into the light and absorb it. The absorption of light is the actual purpose of these particles and they transform the energy of that light into mobility and coordinated unity. It is the energy from the light which allows them to defy gentle winds, however strong gusts can temporarily disperse them and carry them away. If they are carried to far, the loose contact with their owner's will and may never return, but if the wind is short lived, they will return to him as soon as it disappoints.

There is no limit to the amount of light which these particles can absorb, so in direct sunlight they can actually take tangible forms like a sword of congealed darkness or animated black wings.

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  • $\begingroup$ Could they be partially interdimensional so they can't be affected by things? I don't like the idea that these things can be captured. Also any idea of what they're made out of? $\endgroup$
    – Chickenpeep
    Commented Jul 6, 2021 at 2:25
  • $\begingroup$ For that we will need more information about what you are writing. Is the shadow a product of technology or arcane arts or some kind of organism that psychics bond to naturally. We need to know what genre you are aiming at. $\endgroup$
    – Henry Taylor
    Commented Jul 6, 2021 at 14:29
  • $\begingroup$ Probably should have done deep thinking to remember how I have made the system function before submitting, but I didn't think to do that at the time, so that's in there now. $\endgroup$
    – Chickenpeep
    Commented Jul 6, 2021 at 19:06
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Phosphoromancy (like Alice from Magicians).

Instead of bending light, you could say that he "consumes" the light around him. This way he could influence an area around him, but it wouldn't get blown away but wouldn't be a solid object.

This would be good if you were purely interested in the character being able to produce illusions, etc. It might also have the added effect of making him completely "invisible" behind his "cloud" of influence, or at least shrouded in darkness.

The other two characters you might take inspiration from are Fumikage Tokoyami from My hero academia who's carries a "shadow" within himself, or General Kirigan from Shadow and Bone who can basically summon and manipulate shadow like it was substance. I don't think these characters use it the way you're looking to however.

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Light absorbing telepathy

The person simply creates something that absorbs the light. With the light not going further, any object/room behind would dim a lot. If tiny bits of light are still able to escape, you'll be able to see a dark shape where the light was obstructed.

Even better. With absorption of light you can assume the energy is used in a different way. Heat shadows are created by the local changes of density and thus refraction in the air. Your shadow creatures could do the same, changing when and how they give off this energy. Sometimes patches are hot, sometimes the lack of giving off heat will feel eerily cold. This will give both a strange refraction on the shadows, making them look more ethereal, as well as giving off a strange heat and cold differences. People will notice this and be more freaked out than they were.

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An aerogel like substance.

enter image description here

An extremely light, easy to break substance, that can with super power stuff move and reshape itself and cast shadows.

Pushing through it would feel like pushing through cobwebs, but could be done. If black it would cast shadows. It wouldn't float off in wind because it could tie itself around objects.

It is perfect, given its properties.

Despite the name, aerogels are solid, rigid, and dry materials that do not resemble a gel in their physical properties: the name comes from the fact that they are made from gels. Pressing softly on an aerogel typically does not leave even a minor mark; pressing more firmly will leave a permanent depression. Pressing extremely firmly will cause a catastrophic breakdown in the sparse structure, causing it to shatter like glass (a property known as friability), although more modern variations do not suffer from this. Despite the fact that it is prone to shattering, it is very strong structurally. Its impressive load-bearing abilities are due to the dendritic microstructure, in which spherical particles of average size 2–5 nm are fused together into clusters. These clusters form a three-dimensional highly porous structure of almost fractal chains, with pores just under 100 nm. The average size and density of the pores can be controlled during the manufacturing process.

It can support a lot of weight, but shatters under a blow. If people burst through, ripping off the dark surface layer, they will see the blue underlayer before it floats away and reforms.

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