Words Can Break My Bones: Difference between revisions
m
clean up
m (added Category:Be Careful What You Say using HotCat) |
m (clean up) |
||
Line 2:
''Abracadabra!''
Another magic trope that is [[Older Than Dirt]], the idea of words that hold magic power unto themselves has been around since [[Ancient Egypt]]. Often paired and sometimes lumped with the power of [[True Name
Words of Power may be a part of a [[Language of Magic]] but are distinct in several ways.
Line 93:
* Quantum linguistics in the ''[[Doctor Who]]'' [[Expanded Universe]], used by the [[Cthulhu Mythos|Great Old Ones]]. Remarkably similar to the magic of the Carrionites in "The Shakespeare Code," below.
* in [[The Bookof All Hours]] by Hal Duncan - the Cant, the metaphysical language of the Vellum. humans transform into Unkin when an event in their lives causes them to hear the Cant from underneath reality, echoing from the Vellum. Unkin can then use it to reshape reality, warp and change spacetime itself as well as the Vellum.
* In ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'' legendarium, where the world was essentially ''sung'' into existence,
* A form of this in [[Tales of Kolmar]]. Servants of the Goddess Shia in times of great peril can be blessed by Her for an instant, and in that instant She speaks through them, using words they don't understand and don't need to have ever heard before. Nobody knows what they mean, but nothing can stand against them - and when they're spoken in this way, it's said that someone close to the Servant, someone they value dearly, dies within seven days. However, someone can know these words and even say them without either effect. The Goddess speaking these words is the big thing here, not the words themselves.
Line 99:
== Live Action TV ==
* ''[[Doctor Who]]'', "The Shakespeare Code": The Carrionites use words to shape reality; the right words said in the right way at the right time have dramatic effects. Unfortunately for them it works both ways and The Doctor's enlisted the best wordsmith around: ''Shakespeare''. They get an assist from [[J. K. Rowling]] too, via Martha: turns out that ''Expelliarmus!'' just happens to fit the end of his incantation to banish them nicely.
* An episode of ''[[Samurai Sentai Shinkenger]]''/''[[Power Rangers Samurai]]'' has a monster that can read a person's mind, find the most derogatory and damaging insult that person has ever been called, and repeat it to them, converting the emotional pain they suffer from the insult into physical pain. He's only defeated when it's revealed one of our heroes has gotten so used to being insulted in her life that the monster's power can't affect her. Interestingly, the monster is based on a Japanese [[Obake]] that, itself, suffers from
** Of course, the Shinkengers ''themselves'' indulge in this trope with their "Mojikara", or "word magic"; essentially, they use traditional Japanese calligraphy ([[Magic A Is Magic A|written in the correct brushstroke]]) to create or invoke certain things, such as summoning a horse by writing out the kanji for "horse". (The Samurai Rangers do the same, but their "Samurai Symbols of Power" haven't yet been acknowledged as an actual language.) The team's [[Sixth Ranger]], unfortunately, sucks at penmanship, so he does his mojikara through ''cell phone text messages''.
* A variation on ''[[Babylon 5]]'': Telepaths, in addition to scanning minds and planting thoughts or visions, can also effectively hit the target's "pain button", making every nerve in their body burst with blinding pain for a few moments. This is typically accompanied by them simply glaring at the other person and hissing ''"Pain!"'' It is only allowed to be used in self defense, and it is only used when more effective means, such as [[Muggles Do It Better|guns]], are unavailable.
| |||