Unconventional Uses for Basic Superpowers

Viator

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Share an unconventional use you would have if you were suddenly obtained a common super power. For example, I have never really wanted to fly, however I thought if I were ever to obtain the superpower, I would have a use for it. I would dress as various scary monsters, then late at night, I would fly to kids 2nd story bedroom windows and scratch at it until they woke up and saw me; Then after I terrified them, I would fly away. It's a public service! I would help kids keep their belief in the magical unknown.... The dark and terrifying magics to be sure, but their world's would be full of possibilities! 😂😂😂
 

RyreGruel

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If I had an inventory that I could acces at will I’d store my passwords in it so I would always have access to them since I can’t remember things well and would at the same time have them be more secure that having them auto Fillmore every device of mine.
 

Jemini

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I think mine would only be unconventional in the sense that most writers are way too squeamish to consider the horrifying possibilities behind this power. However, almost everyone who knows about this power has at least thought of this use.

I am talking about portals, and the horrifying consequences of closing them when something is half-way through it. But, who says that "something" has to be a person? You psychopaths! Has anyone ever stopped to consider the implications of using this power to cut industrial grade steels along very precise lines for construction work purposes? Seriously, the possibilities are endless once you start applying the more destructive side of portals to inanimate objects.
 

RyreGruel

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I think mine would only be unconventional in the sense that most writers are way too squeamish to consider the horrifying possibilities behind this power. However, almost everyone who knows about this power has at least thought of this use.

I am talking about portals, and the horrifying consequences of closing them when something is half-way through it. But, who says that "something" has to be a person? You psychopaths! Has anyone ever stopped to consider the implications of using this power to cut industrial grade steels along very precise lines for construction work purposes? Seriously, the possibilities are endless once you start applying the more destructive side of portals to inanimate objects.
Oh my your so right, just think about how your sandwich won’t ever be squished because your blade was too dull or never needing one of those bulk paper cutter. I can’t even start to imagine how nice it would be to have an infinitely thin cut for woodworking since as long as you line it up right there isn’t a blade to grind/cut a portion of into dust forcing you to account for ever cut your ever going to make on your base stock. Not to mention people like me who can’t cut straight to begin with wouldn’t need to worry anymore.

I can’t believe I fell into the trap of only thinking about how to use the super powers in an unconventional way regarding their normal use instead of how to use them entirely unconventionally.
With the revelation jemimi gave me and the super power I earlier mentioned of an inventory couldnt you use it to instantly create a perfect vacuum by storing everything including all of the air or make a super compressor by putting out more stuff from the inventory into a confined space. You could put things into the storage and go higher in elevation (like up a building) and break the conservation of energy as now it has more potential energy to impart by being higher to start without having had energy spent to raise it up. Depending on how far away you can put things into it and how far away you can take things out at you can do the same thing without even having to make yourself.
 
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CupcakeNinja

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Share an unconventional use you would have if you were suddenly obtained a common super power. For example, I have never really wanted to fly, however I thought if I were ever to obtain the superpower, I would have a use for it. I would dress as various scary monsters, then late at night, I would fly to kids 2nd story bedroom windows and scratch at it until they woke up and saw me; Then after I terrified them, I would fly away. It's a public service! I would help kids keep their belief in the magical unknown.... The dark and terrifying magics to be sure, but their world's would be full of possibilities! 😂😂😂
Just give me the power to feel happy, man.

...oh wait. *sniffs an ungodly amount of cocaine.* never mind, I figured it out.
 

Ddraig

<First Dragon of SHF> <Pokemon Goddess of NuF>
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I think mine would only be unconventional in the sense that most writers are way too squeamish to consider the horrifying possibilities behind this power. However, almost everyone who knows about this power has at least thought of this use.

I am talking about portals, and the horrifying consequences of closing them when something is half-way through it. But, who says that "something" has to be a person? You psychopaths! Has anyone ever stopped to consider the implications of using this power to cut industrial grade steels along very precise lines for construction work purposes? Seriously, the possibilities are endless once you start applying the more destructive side of portals to inanimate objects.
Straight Sun Core farming for rare elements. Why bother with starlifting bs, when you can just get direct access to the core?
 

NotaNuffian

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Oh my your so right, just think about how your sandwich won’t ever be squished because your blade was too dull or never needing one of those bulk paper cutter. I can’t even start to imagine how nice it would be to have an infinitely thin cut for woodworking since as long as you line it up right there isn’t a blade to grind/cut a portion of into dust forcing you to account for ever cut your ever going to make on your base stock. Not to mention people like me who can’t cut straight to begin with wouldn’t need to worry anymore.

I can’t believe I fell into the trap of only thinking about how to use the super powers in an unconventional way regarding their normal use instead of how to use them entirely unconventionally.
With the revelation jemimi gave me and the super power I earlier mentioned of an inventory couldnt you use it to instantly create a perfect vacuum by storing everything including all of the air or make a super compressor by putting out more stuff from the inventory into a confined space. You could put things into the storage and go higher in elevation (like up a building) and break the conservation of energy as now it has more potential energy to impart by being higher to start without having had energy spent to raise it up. Depending on how far away you can put things into it and how far away you can take things out at you can do the same thing without even having to make yourself.
The height thing has been done by a few CN MCs iirc, a dude stored two two-tons rocks and dropped them onto his foe when he flew up to the stratosphere. Sadly his foe is Eneru/ Electro so that did not work.

Mind reading... so that I can know why my boss wants from me. Or better yet, try to understand why the females in my house is always on their menopause.
 
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Cipiteca396

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Straight Sun Core farming for rare elements. Why bother with starlifting bs, when you can just get direct access to the core?
Because a literal nuclear explosion would come through the portal? Pro tip, don't go anywhere near a fucking star. You will die. This is why the first person to develop superpowers will end the world...

I honestly can't think of any basic superpowers right now, for some reason. The only thing that comes to mind is accelerated healing. Umm. Organ donor?
 

Jemini

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The height thing has been done by a few CN MCs iirc, a dude stored two two-tons rocks and dropped them onto his foe when he flew up to the stratosphere. Sadly his foe is Eneru/ Electro so that did not work.

I think you missed the point of RyreGruel's application of storage powers. The point is not dropping a heavy object on something. The point is just dropping the heavy object, period. The idea is that it breaks the 1st law of thermodynamics by creating extra energy.

The energy you use to walk up the stairs all gets released when you go back down the stairs. So, that energy is a constant and in compliance with the 1st law of thermodynamics. The problem comes when you are carrying an object in your storage space. The storage space removes the object's weight. So, this means you are not expending energy to climb the stairs. However, an object being high up relative to gravity means it has more potential energy than it had when it was down lower, and you just carried it up there without expending the normal amount of energy to do so.

You don't even have to drop it. Just by taking it out of your storage space and leaving it on top of the building means you created potential energy. Someone could even carry the object back down the stairs. It will have still added energy to the universe.

Conversely, you are also destroying energy and removing it from the universe if you use your storage space to carry a heavy object safely from a tall mountain or building and then take it out at a lower elevation.

This means that the storage space power literally breaks the universe. This has to be one of the better non-conventional uses of a superpower just for the fact that you can use it to break the laws of physics.
 
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Anon_Y_Mousse

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People speaking of portals, so I'll just share my idea of a comic book villain who uses portals to drop feces on people's heads during public speeches. That's basically it.
 

N0xiety

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If i had the power to teleport stuff into other objects, various kinds of explosions for fun! You could cause a lot of different kinds of explosions, some weak, some strong, some devestating and nuclear in nature, or even build some kind of weapon that works together with your power to create gamma ray beams etc. that will kill anyone exposed to it. Just depends on what matter you are teleporting into another. Lots of different combinations. Magic teleportation can be lots of fun because of the bs nature of teleporting matter into the space another occupies. While it isn't that easy to fuse matter, if you have precision and timing, you could do pretty much anything with it.
 

Ddraig

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Because a literal nuclear explosion would come through the portal? Pro tip, don't go anywhere near a fucking star. You will die. This is why the first person to develop superpowers will end the world...

I honestly can't think of any basic superpowers right now, for some reason. The only thing that comes to mind is accelerated healing. Umm. Organ donor?
Not really, you take stuff from the part of the star which you can handle (so ideally the core, but given current tech progress, we probably are just taking from the surface), which you definitely can process and handle, given a specialized facility - possibly in space but eh. And it would be insanely profitable too.

People speaking of portals, so I'll just share my idea of a comic book villain who uses portals to drop feces on people's heads during public speeches. That's basically it.
Straight from those 20 year old sewage tanks ~

Btw depending on how a lot of the superpowers work, thermodynamics kinda goes xd, which opens up a source of infinite energy so yeah ~ Which is technically the premise of Madoka magica... >.>
 

NotaNuffian

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I think you missed the point of RyreGruel's application of storage powers. The point is not dropping a heavy object on something. The point is just dropping the heavy object, period. The idea is that it breaks the 1st law of thermodynamics by creating extra energy.

The energy you use to walk up the stairs all gets released when you go back down the stairs. So, that energy is a constant and in compliance with the 1st law of thermodynamics. The problem comes when you are carrying an object in your storage space. The storage space removes the object's weight. So, this means you are not expending energy to climb the stairs. However, an object being high up relative to gravity means it has more potential energy than it had when it was down lower, and you just carried it up there without expending the normal amount of energy to do so.

You don't even have to drop it. Just by taking it out of your storage space and leaving it on top of the building means you created potential energy. Someone could even carry the object back down the stairs. It will have still added energy to the universe.

Conversely, you are also destroying energy and removing it from the universe if you use your storage space to carry a heavy object safely from a tall mountain or building and then take it out at a lower elevation.

This means that the storage space power literally breaks the universe. This has to be one of the better non-conventional uses of a superpower just for the fact that you can use it to break the laws of physics.
*Raise hand*

*lowers hand when I understand what you mean.*

I was going for the whole "storage space in is another space, there for it is more like a delayed teleportation from one space to another.

But I now see what you mean, the conservation of energy states that energy can neither be created nor destroyed, only to be converted or transferred, meaning that somewhere, the energy for moving the object from low point to high point or vice versa has to be turned into something in order to keep the balance. But since storage power is a ability common yet untapped/ unstudied, I and most of us here have nothing much to comment it on other than the fact that the object "gains" energy when the person is elevated or "loses" energy when lowered. The whole "person puts the object into the subspace and therefore the mass becomes zero, resulting the only energy change to be the person's mass, not person+object" is a dilemma as the energy (work done over time) for the object is not accounted. Unless there is a substantial difference in using the subspace at different height aka more energy usage the higher you go, then there is no way to show where the energy has gone.

In the example of "gaining" energy, when the person carries the object in subspace and climbs higher, the object gains potential energy from height and to counter that energy "gain", the person taking the item out needs to lose the exact amount? (I put a question mark to doubt myself. I doubt myself all the time)

Ps. I have a fun giggle at myself thinking of a child using the subspace to carry a wheel of cheese from shop to home, only to get tire out when he extracts the cheese. I suddenly like to give thanks to the bag of holding with no mumbo jumbo mass reduction/ nullification and skyrim/ fallout and other games having weight limits on their storage space.

I mean, even mass reduction/ nullification magic balances the book by counting in the mass of objects into mana usage so they don't hurt my head that much.

Have a thought like this though:
 
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Jemini

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*Raise hand*

*lowers hand when I understand what you mean.*

I was going for the whole "storage space in is another space, there for it is more like a delayed teleportation from one space to another.

But I now see what you mean, the conservation of energy states that energy can neither be created nor destroyed, only to be converted or transferred, meaning that somewhere, the energy for moving the object from low point to high point or vice versa has to be turned into something in order to keep the balance. But since storage power is a ability common yet untapped/ unstudied, I and most of us here have nothing much to comment it on other than the fact that the object "gains" energy when the person is elevated or "loses" energy when lowered. The whole "person puts the object into the subspace and therefore the mass becomes zero, resulting the only energy change to be the person's mass, not person+object" is a dilemma as the energy (work done over time) for the object is not accounted. Unless there is a substantial difference in using the subspace at different height aka more energy usage the higher you go, then there is no way to show where the energy has gone.

In the example of "gaining" energy, when the person carries the object in subspace and climbs higher, the object gains potential energy from height and to counter that energy "gain", the person taking the item out needs to lose the exact amount? (I put a question mark to doubt myself. I doubt myself all the time)

Ps. I have a fun giggle at myself thinking of a child using the subspace to carry a wheel of cheese from shop to home, only to get tire out when he extracts the cheese. I suddenly like to give thanks to the bag of holding with no mumbo jumbo mass reduction/ nullification and skyrim/ fallout and other games having weight limits on their storage space.

I mean, even mass reduction/ nullification magic balances the book by counting in the mass of objects into mana usage so they don't hurt my head that much.

Have a thought like this though:

Magic just about always tends to violate the 1st law of thermodynamics in some way. There are some smart authors that like to find a way to keep account of this, but they usually screw something up. Space magic is the largest violator by far.

Usually, the simplest solution to this problem is to not include space magic of any kind and then for any other form of magic just say that it requires an equivalent amount of mana to obtain the effect, of which mana would expend an equivalent amount of energy from the world compared to the amount of energy being created. (Fire magic would create thermal energy, ice magic would create physical matter proportionate to how much thermal energy is lost, wind magic would create mechanical energy... ironically, it is actually earth magic that would have to have it's price of casting jacked up the most in order to apply this rule. It creates matter and mechanical energy without reducing thermal energy.)

I have actually come up with another rather interesting solution for my world. The 1st law of thermodynamics has a rather interesting qualifier attached to it. "In a closed system." So, if you manage to make it so your world is NOT a closed system and you actually have energy coming in from an outside source and also leaving the world to return to that outside source somehow, it really solves a lot of problems with the laws of physics. (You just have to be a little clever about how you write trans-dimensional spaces.)

My solution in this is "the void." I use the proper definition of "void" too. It is literally an empty absence of something that ought to be there. However, there is a powerful form of the absolute most base form of energy in existence radiating through the void. It is made up of such a fundamental form of existence that is even finer than radiation which allows it to even cross the empty void. And, I don't stop there. I call the multiverse around my worlds "The pearl-chain multiverse" for a reason. It describes the manner in which the energy flows through the void-space. Each multiversal hypersphere is like a pearl on a chain, and the void energy flows through it like a massive river going from world to world.

It's cosmic level world-building that I don't really get the chance to bring up in the context of my writing much, and it goes further in depth about how magical energies change from one form to another, but suffice it to say that it solves a lot of laws-of-physics problems while also allowing for some really fantastical worlds.
 

Mechaphobic

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I would want the ability to make portals like from portal 2. How nice would it be if when the microwave beeper you could just create a portal and grab your food, or if you are in the match and you need to piss, boom!
 

NotaNuffian

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Magic just about always tends to violate the 1st law of thermodynamics in some way. There are some smart authors that like to find a way to keep account of this, but they usually screw something up. Space magic is the largest violator by far.

Usually, the simplest solution to this problem is to not include space magic of any kind and then for any other form of magic just say that it requires an equivalent amount of mana to obtain the effect, of which mana would expend an equivalent amount of energy from the world compared to the amount of energy being created. (Fire magic would create thermal energy, ice magic would create physical matter proportionate to how much thermal energy is lost, wind magic would create mechanical energy... ironically, it is actually earth magic that would have to have it's price of casting jacked up the most in order to apply this rule. It creates matter and mechanical energy without reducing thermal energy.)

I have actually come up with another rather interesting solution for my world. The 1st law of thermodynamics has a rather interesting qualifier attached to it. "In a closed system." So, if you manage to make it so your world is NOT a closed system and you actually have energy coming in from an outside source and also leaving the world to return to that outside source somehow, it really solves a lot of problems with the laws of physics. (You just have to be a little clever about how you write trans-dimensional spaces.)

My solution in this is "the void." I use the proper definition of "void" too. It is literally an empty absence of something that ought to be there. However, there is a powerful form of the absolute most base form of energy in existence radiating through the void. It is made up of such a fundamental form of existence that is even finer than radiation which allows it to even cross the empty void. And, I don't stop there. I call the multiverse around my worlds "The pearl-chain multiverse" for a reason. It describes the manner in which the energy flows through the void-space. Each multiversal hypersphere is like a pearl on a chain, and the void energy flows through it like a massive river going from world to world.

It's cosmic level world-building that I don't really get the chance to bring up in the context of my writing much, and it goes further in depth about how magical energies change from one form to another, but suffice it to say that it solves a lot of laws-of-physics problems while also allowing for some really fantastical worlds.
... so you cheated... in the sense that you bring in another unknown factor to deal with your unbalanced account and said "X is the tolerance for energy loss/gain and once you factor in that, everything is peachy~"

Calling you out as a fraud is uncalled for because when magic is on the table, everything goes down to unstudied areas, but I still want to call you out for that, especially when you took your time to guide and discuss about the flaws of magic and how it unbalances the bank book that is our scientific knowledge and now you proceed to say "solving the problem of magic with the solution from magic, THEY CANCEL OUT".

I know that this is inevitable, but still my head bangs on the desk.

Also, everything is irrelevant once you supersize the scale of the playing field
 

Jemini

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... so you cheated... in the sense that you bring in another unknown factor to deal with your unbalanced account and said "X is the tolerance for energy loss/gain and once you factor in that, everything is peachy~"

Calling you out as a fraud is uncalled for because when magic is on the table, everything goes down to unstudied areas, but I still want to call you out for that, especially when you took your time to guide and discuss about the flaws of magic and how it unbalances the bank book that is our scientific knowledge and now you proceed to say "solving the problem of magic with the solution from magic, THEY CANCEL OUT".

I know that this is inevitable, but still my head bangs on the desk.

Also, everything is irrelevant once you supersize the scale of the playing field

Except not. When the top-down rules are so off from the norm that the world is on the back of a giant turtle and gravity is the result of the difference between the earth elemental energy and wind elemental energy in the area, the energy created by gravitational force imbalances are based 100% on magical energies and no longer on the scientific energies.

The book balances out rather easily... (after you have already gone through the hard work of creating an entirely new way for the physical forces of the universe to interact with one another that makes complete internally consistent sense.)

Yeah. I'm working with some kinda high-tier world building here. I went the Tolkein route of actually creating my own custom language from scratch and mixed it with Pratchett's completely different laws of the universe that allows for a flat world to exist. And, I had to build my own magic system in this as well.

Yeah, sorry, but your attempt at a call-out kinda falls flat and is based upon a lack of information. I have done my home-work on this one.
 

NotaNuffian

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Except not. When the top-down rules are so off from the norm that the world is on the back of a giant turtle and gravity is the result of the difference between the earth elemental energy and wind elemental energy in the area, the energy created by gravitational force imbalances are based 100% on magical energies and no longer on the scientific energies.

The book balances out rather easily... (after you have already gone through the hard work of creating an entirely new way for the physical forces of the universe to interact with one another that makes complete internally consistent sense.)

Yeah. I'm working with some kinda high-tier world building here. I went the Tolkein route of actually creating my own custom language from scratch and mixed it with Pratchett's completely different laws of the universe that allows for a flat world to exist. And, I had to build my own magic system in this as well.

Yeah, sorry, but your attempt at a call-out kinda falls flat and is based upon a lack of information. I have done my home-work on this one.
👍

I am still salty cuz I based my assumption on talking about an Earth-like condition, not your newly created world.

Which is why we should never assume and instead ask.

Still salty though.
 

SternenklarenRitter

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the conservation of energy states that energy can neither be created nor destroyed, only to be converted or transferred, meaning that somewhere, the energy for moving the object from low point to high point or vice versa has to be turned into something in order to keep the balance.

Storage opened and closed at different heights (different gravitational potential energies) actually shouldn't create or destroy energy, even on an Earth-like world. It simply gets added or subtracted and from the internal heat energy of the object in question, or possibly the converted energy depletes the mana used to sustain the spell or scatters it in the user's immediate vicinity. Gravity in particular is an EXTREMELY weak force; the energy required to teleport (or store and release) a bucket of water a kilometer into the sky would only change the water temperature by about 4 degrees F (in Earths' gravity), hardly a noticeable difference if we're just going from town to town. Certainly a decent effect if we take that bucket from sea-level to a mountaintop, but our storage user would more likely be delirious from hypoxia at that point. If we go the mana route, considering the ease of launching a 10MP fireball, it might use half a point to balance out the height difference. A being capable of dimensional storage could feasibly never notice this effect.
 
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