...Well.  She believes it to be unsuitably backwards, so it is therefore unsuitably backwards.  The psychosomatic 'lock' doesn't turn that way, even if it does feel closer.

"...Hmn.  This one felt more like trying to turn a good key - or at least one that fits - the wrong way.  I suppose that invalidates the need to try it after seeing if I can cast this particular spell knowing what it's supposed to accomplish, at least.  Chanting and doing all the walking back and forth, it's tiresome." 

(...And frankly kind of dysphoric, honestly.  A lot of people like her voice, she gets 'ma'am'-ed often enough - but she's never felt quite right about it; it's like the actual vocal cords, or at least her body-image thereof, are out of place, and it slips easily into the default (and, therefore, bad) register if she's not consciously paying attention to her speech.)

...Send the recording...

So what's this supposed to do, now that we know I can't get it to do this particular thing?

It's supposed to make it 'rain' in a very local area, for watering a garden or de-fogging.

Huh.  You'd expect it to have an area delimiter.  I guess that's more part of the visualization...

...I wonder if that could serve as a power metric.  By way of max volume at specified humidity, or something.  's reasonably standardizable, and it would...  Oh, hmm, I don't know, actually...

Anyway, experimental procedure design aside, I'm gonna make sure this works like it ought to now that I know how it ought to work.

And, amazingly enough, it does.

Woo!  Fistpump!

Also she didn't get rained on, either!  Woo!  Fistpump!

And work it did.  Video attached.

A pause.

Well, we haven't disproven the hypothesis yet.  So I guess we can upgrade 'spells require user intent' to a possible theory.

We're also probably not doing actual science.

We should think of things to measure about magic

Total water produced vs humidity? Subjective experience of tiredness?

Internet chatter is sounding like people have mana bars, like, maximum magic per second output, and separately, a tank and regen rate

Also did you read this scary shit about tentacle monsters?? As if women didn't have to be on the lookout for NORMAL sexual predators already???????

I did read the scary shit about tentacle monsters, yes.  I'm just glad that they're ultimately a Tinkertechy superstimulus, rather than an ontology-altering one, and therefore we don't have any particular need for the SCP Foundation.  ...Wait, shit, the fucking Kyuubey-ass -- AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, while my mind runs off gibbering in fear and I contemplate the potential necessity of a SCP tattoo, I can at least let you know there's the smallest possible silver lining to the existence of those things: apparently the, uh, permanently afflicted, do potentially live longer, even controlling for magical potential.  Though the data's shaky.

Kyubey?

Oh. L.

The world is scary sometimes

But we kind of just do what we can

Sorry for making it especially salient

It's not like nukes don't exist. I wonder if Puchuus are on that.

Nukes are at least physical threats rather than onto-epistemic ones.  You can bunker from a nuke.  You can't immunize your cognition from the death parrot.  Or maybe you can but assuming that you can do it for all possible memes is -- hubristic.  Let alone the antimemes!  I don't know why I haven't been eaten by the spiders!

...How the hell are we still alive?

Presumably because magic doesn't work like that? Or the Kyubeys really are protecting us muggles from horrible shit?

If the Ring Video were real some chucklefuck would have posted it to YouTube and we'd have heard warnings not to watch YouTube anymore

Or something

I don't think there's anything we can usefully do about a hypothetical lurking apocalypse we don't know about is what I'm saying

Maybe there's something that's like tentacles that is less... Publicly acknowledged

But... Procedure is the same? Learn magic, learn how magic works, etc?

Yeah I mean I guess.  Could be that it's, like, also dependent upon the viewer having...

Hm, no.  Surely being obsessed with MGs doesn't have a particular correlation with magic talent.

Maybe the Kyuubey thing is also done by way of brain lesions?  Ugh, hypocrite that I am, I trust my brain chemicals to tell me they are brain chemicals.

Haaaaate this threat category, hate hate haaaaaaaaate it so muuuuuch, augh, why...

Gaslighting sure ain't fun, especially if it may or may not be magic gaslightning

I don't want to look at a head-exploding picture, either!  Though I do suppose there's a certain self-censoring element to that in that you'd likely have to invoke the concept to use the concept...  ...I, uh, need to go ask the cognitive science department something.  Motherfucker.

...Do we even have one of those, actually...

Anyway, I'm going to go see if there's anybody who can tell me if there's a use-mention distinction on the neurological level!  :smilinggrimace:

Back in a bit!

She googles.  She JSTORs.  She searches arxiv.  She finds no definitive answer, but it seems there might be people trying and failing to prove that could exist.

It's somewhat reassuring, at least, to suspect that the only time creating BLITs is likely to be possible, let alone feasible, is in a (self-extincting) death curse.  That you'd have to expose yourself to a dangerous meme, while it was dangerous, before you could possibly inoculate yourself to it.

...She suddenly wanders off into the weeds of wondering whether people with aphasia have problems casting things, but catches herself before she gets too far.

...I'm back.  Signs cloudy, but point to "memetic attacks are effectively bombing your own position".  Better than nothing.  Standing down from high alert for now.

...She checks her email.

Alex has an email from the clinic:

The Tantric Wellness Wholesome Aesthetic and Healing Spa prides itself on its careful discretion and devotion to privacy.

We do employ succubi, and we do offer medical care that is based on magical means, including sex transition care, under select circumstances and certain conditions.

Please note that while we offer services including sex therapy and education, STD screenings, and treatments for sexual organs and/or dysfunctions, the spa staff, regardless of species, do not have sex with clients at our clinic. Any instances of harassment are grounds for a permanent ban and other actions. You can read our Commitment to Goodness here [link]. We advise looking at other organizations employing or composed of succubi for sexual interests.

For most clients, payment for services is preferred in cash, and appointments should be made well in advance. Possible alternate arrangements, especially in reciprocal magical services, can be discussed during your orientation appointment, which lasts 1-2 hours and is $90 (non-refundable).

Please fill out the attached form and return it through the SecureForm portal (click here for instructions) to book an appointment to discuss your options.

Of course.  Thank you for your candor.  Do you take insurance?

She can fill out the form, sure.  She's not busy.  Once that's done, though, and OcularStone informed with a 

Heard back from the succubus-hiring people and these guys are definitely medical practitioners; their client-facing software is medtech, there's nowhere else this janky -

-- Well.  Just because she isn't in immediate panic, doesn't mean that she's not still thinking about defending herself from memetic hazards.

And what better to defend against memes with, than other memes?

Onto the blank pages before her spill instructions.  Or things that could become them, given time.

Fragments of thought, like "Rule of Three vs. total threat surface coverage - make nine?", and "What does the black moon howl?  -- WORKS for challenge-response portion" and "Initiant/respondent divide?  Needs to be collapsed for self use", diagrams of dramatic lighting and drafts of a three-monkeys-esque design.  "Sacrifice potential to create coghaz as defense against allowing them in?  Is that necessary?"

The phrase "There Is No Antimemetics Division" is scrawled and underlined in her characteristically shambling handwriting.

In one of the corners, there is a small sketch labelled 'Magneto helmet?  Dorky but memetic...  Unsuitable prop-dependency, though.  Logo can be improvised, especially w/ Type-Blue overtone.  Blue Sharpie or w/e.'

...I worry that I am about to throw myself into the deep end.  Why I'm actively designing a ritual to protect against cognitive hazards when I've barely started doing any magic is quite beyond me to explain - at least, as anything but anxiety.  And I just got done saying I shouldn't need to worry about that sort of thing outside of, like, death curses or some shit.

But damn it all, I appear to be doing it anyway.

At least send me what you're working on first so I can properly document it?

'A cross section of the spell development process' or smth

Here's a google doc we can both edot [link]

Most of our procedures are elective and ineligible for most insurance. We take insurance for some procedures that are considered medically necessary, but mostly prefer not to interact with those systems.

I'm doing this pen-and-paper; easier to do this without having to struggle with image editors.  Here's what I've got so far, though.

...I should really invent brain-machine interfaces.

And to the medical people:

I rather intend to wring every penny I can get out of my insurance, when it comes to gender-affirming care.  They deserve it - plus, the law's on my side as far as what must be covered, at least where my billing address is.  Not quite as sure of the regs around here, which is kind of surprising, considering.  But so noted.  I'll expect to have to do paperwork about it, or something.

That sounds like something to do slowly and carefully

After comparing our schedule and your provided availability, we can set an appointment from 10:30-12:30 this coming Saturday. Is that acceptable?

Oh, definitely.  But it equally definitely needs to go On The List.

It'll do.

OcularStone is writing up an experiment log in the shared Google Drive folder.

Thank you, your appointment is confirmed. We are looking forward to seeing you.

So is she, random biosculpting place; so is she.

...

She takes a break from fiddling with the ritual state to answer a suddenly-occurring question.

"This is Alex Marche, I am once again recording an experiment; the procedure is as follows.  Step one.  Say 'Let there be light' while in the specific mindset of doing a dramatic invocation.  Step two.  Expect this to produce a magic light.  ...Step three, see if this replicates without the actual saying-words part, maybe, but frankly I just want to see if this works."

She pauses.  Takes a sip of a drink.  Intones - "Let there be light."