Create A Magic System

[Suuper-san]

@lego what a cool magic idea, and even going pre-photo era for the backstory. very epic.

mine is a bit of a weak one this time round. also partly because I've lost my mojo for gap filling so it'll sound more like a summary than an explanation. Also sounds more like a type of magic in a larger system, than a magic system on its own. I can't quite get my head around that yet.

-Use of spatial magic to compress items into photographs, for storage/transport.
-Only non-living things
-Uses specially crafted photopaper (imbued with spatial magic)
-An item can only be stored in an image that is as large as it is. So to store a car you would need a 2mx4m piece of canvas, and then roll it up. Let's assume largest dimensions count, so an item might look smaller from a certain angle but that wont mean it fits in a smaller sapce.
-The larger the item the more energy and skill is needed to transfer it in and out.
-Multiple uses risk damaging the item or making the photopaper unusable.
-The photo will weigh the same regardless of the weight of an item inside it.

[NO1SY]

Damn Vacant... these are not easy!

Spoiler

Yeah... I'm not above the obvious memes...

I feel like I'm pulling this one right out of Harry Potter or something... or homeopathy...

Every time that a photo is taken, capturing a moment, it takes a piece of its subjects in that moment. Just a tiny piece of each being's essence, trapped within a still image. Then, if someone were to draw on the essence held within the photograph they are able to experience that scene as a memory, combining all of the momentary experiences of the subjects within. This could have several applications within the world, for instance a detective may be able to experience a criminal's thoughts/motives or desires if the perpetrator is caught on camera; a person could illustrate a story in a book or newspaper with photographs that allow the reader to experience the exact ideas and emotions that they are hoping to evoke; a person may be able to learn a skill that they have no prior experience with; a person with a neuro-degenerative illness might be able to experience scenes and memories that they have lost; humans may be able to fully empathize with animals and understand their emotional responses... I'm sure that the list of potential ways this could be applied is long.

What is interesting to me is that this system raises a few questions: Can you lose too much of your essence if you constantly dispense it into photographs, and can it "regenerate" over time or something or will it eventually kill a person? What about people that take photos of others without consent - would this be considered a much more serious crime? Perhaps these dynamics would create some new form of trade, whereby photographed essences become some sort of currency; with people trading away pieces of themselves or trading with pieces of others - which gets to some more seedy and morbid places.

Not incredibly well fleshed out, but the beginning of a neat little idea I think.