/r/AskScienceFiction

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It's like Ask Science, but all questions and answers are written with answers gleaned from the universe itself. Use in-universe knowledge, rules, and common sense to answer the questions. Or as fanlore.org calls it Watsonian, not a Doylist point of view

It's like Ask Science, but all questions and answers are written with answers gleaned from the universe itself. Use in-universe knowledge, rules, and common sense to answer the questions. Or as fanlore.org calls it Watsonian, not a Doylist point of view (Further reading on Watsonian vs. Doylist perspective can be found here, here, and in the dictionary definitions of the two terms.)

Take the fictional rules of the universe to their logical conclusion, ad absurdum.

We also now have an offical sub-reddit Discord server: Check it out!


Rules

  • Official rules post
  • FAQ
  • New FAQ
  • Submit a FAQ entry
  • [Tag] your posts with the setting you wish to discuss.
  • Answer the questions from a Watsonian perspective only-- no Doylist answers.
  • We discourage but do not forbid roleplaying. However, if you choose to roleplay, please remember that you must answer as if you had all the information available to a member of the audience. You already know Bruce Wayne is Batman, you already know Darth Vader is Anakin Skywalker, you already know Sauron is evil.
  • Any fiction is allowed not just science fiction. Avoid questions about real-world pseudoscience (i.e. chemtrails, homeopathy, etc.), however.
  • General questions are discouraged; without a firm set of in-universe rules, most of them boil down to "whatever the writer chooses" in terms of answers. r/whatiffiction, a sister subreddit, has rules more accommodating to these sort of questions.
  • No real life questions. AskScience and AskHistorians exist for that.
  • Any sort of competition questions belong in whowouldwin.
  • Sources are welcomed and encouraged.
  • Search for your question, it may have been asked and answered before. (This doesn't, of course, mean there isn't room for further discussion.)
  • Wheaton's Law (Don't be a jerk).
  • Upvote good content; downvote incorrect information. Report anything that discusses metadata or involves personal attacks.
  • Elaborate upon your answers. Low-effort posts (e.g. "Speed Force" with no further explanation when asked a question about the Flash) do not constitute satisfactory answers.

Spoiler Policies

  • The title of your post should not contain spoilers for six months from the date of release. If only the body of your post contains spoilers, you may instead make the title "[Canon] Spoilers: Canon" and not use the link flair. Replace "Canon" with the work or body of fiction in question.
  • Comment spoilers should be formatted on a separate line as >![Thing to be spoiled.]
  • Our Spoiler policy must be observed for six months following the date of release.
  • Spoilers from works older than six months may optionally be concealed using our flair system, however this is CSS-based and will work only in browsers.

This subreddit is for discussion of fiction using information about the universe and not meta information about the work.

For non-serious answers for real world science problems try:

And just for fun, don't forget to check out our friends at

/r/AskScienceFiction

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1

[home safety hotline] hsh mainly advocates for appeasement of the supernatural largely due to their highest ranks being fae but are there other organizations out there who advocates for a more direct and permanent solution to the fae?

If so how are they avoiding mouseifcation? Who are they and why do they prefer out destruction of the supernatural rather than hsh method? How do they permanently kill fae entities and how would the hsh respond to a group of fairy killers they can't mouseify.

1 Comment
2024/12/03
14:36 UTC

1

[Splatoon] How does squid form work?

Alright, so inklings have the ability to seemingly shapeshift into a much more squid-like form. How would this work though? How would the atoms rearrange themselves like that? And more importantly, how does it allow them to sink into ink? The ink doesn't, like, extend into the ground, it's about as dense as water you accidentally spilled on the floor.

2 Comments
2024/12/03
14:29 UTC

15

[Limitless] How could Eddie forget about paying off the gangster's loan?

Constantly enhanced by NZT-48 he shouldn't have been able to forget such a crucial aspect of his scheme when he turned that loan into profits.

7 Comments
2024/12/03
10:05 UTC

1

[The Nightmare Before Christmas] Could Oogie Boogie be Classified as a Colonial Organism?

Basically the Title. Would Oogie be considered a Colonial Organism along the lines of a Man O’ War?

8 Comments
2024/12/03
08:07 UTC

0

[Neverwinter Nights: Hordes of the Underdark] In Chapter 3, if you summon Deekin's spirit he tells you that "Deekin keeps telling angels that he gots lots to do, that he not stayings up there, but they not believes him!" Deekin never expressed any faith, what Deity was claiming him?

As we of course all know, in the Forgotten Realms when you die your soul is sent to whatever god you worshiped and the faithless are cast into the wall of the faithless. Deekin is not shown to be an atheist or truly godless, he simply never expresses any faith. He probably either had some god he worshiped, or possibly closely enough aligned with the ideals of a god that they claimed him anyway. Different sources on DnD are a little wishy-washy on if you can avoid being faithless by aligning to the ideals and values of a deity even if you don't active worship one, some DnD materials allow that. Either way, Deekin was talking to an angel, so he was not being judged as faithless.

So my question!

What god was trying to claim Deekin?

Deekin said angels and being a bard with VERY high lore ranks at this point he can probably tell the difference between angels and other kinds of planar beings. Angels are in Celestia, the Lawful Good afterlife and there are a limited number of deities there who might claim him. Who was claiming him?

5 Comments
2024/12/03
04:32 UTC

13

[MCU] If the vegetation in Wakanda evolved to subsist on vibranium, could Tony Stark's arc reactor get infected by Wakandan plants and funguses?

14 Comments
2024/12/03
02:52 UTC

0

[Doctor Who/Dragon ball] The Doctor and Goku sit down and talk, what would each think of each other?.

Exactly what it says on the tin.

7 Comments
2024/12/03
01:59 UTC

1

[Nursery Rhyme]Hey diddle diddle! The cat and the fiddle! The cow jumped over the moon! How did the cow do that without friction burning it to a crisp an dhow did it get so high? How does ANY of this work?! How does a cow do that, where or what is the moon? Someone please make this make sense!

12 Comments
2024/12/03
01:03 UTC

0

[home safety hotline] are their other types of magical creatures out their and that aren’t fae or fae related?

Like Native American mythical creatures battling with the fae?

2 Comments
2024/12/03
00:42 UTC

4

[Hellraiser] How did Leviathan imprison Morte Mamme?

I have been reading about Morte Mamme and her brother Leviathan from some of the Hellraiser comics, and it seems that they both have similar powers when it comes to getting into people's minds. Morte Mamme can even get into the minds of other non human animals. She can also create life. She bestows magical powers onto her harrowers. Their weapons are magically enchanted by Mamme, she gives them invisibility powers, ahe grants them the ability to shoot lightning and has the power of transmutation and she grants then the power to inhabit the bodies of other creatures. She created acid that can burn cenobites, she grants them regenerative powers. She can simply create things out of thin air, so there is at the very least, minor reality warping. She truly has the powers of a god. Aside from the mental manipulation, Leviathan does not seem to have comparable powers, so how was he abe to imprison a being as powerful as Morte Mamme? Does Leviathan have other powers I am not aware of? I would appreciate any information. Thank you for your time :)

6 Comments
2024/12/03
00:21 UTC

41

[Bayverse Transformers] Can we reasonably conclude that Sam was killed by Cemetary Wind sometime between Dark of the Moon and Age of Extinction?

If I remember correctly when Optimus first wakes up in the barn in Age of Extinction he's telling some unknown person to run before he starts threatening Cade and everybody else that he's going to kill them. The only problem is that we don't know who he's talking about.

14 Comments
2024/12/03
00:17 UTC

140

[The Incredibles] What happened to the supervillians?

Remember in the Incredibles movie when Superheroes were made illegal by the government and then banned permanently, never again able to perform hero work or stop crimes in the process?

I only have one question..........what the hell happened to all the supervillains? You'd think that once all supers were banned and forced to go into hiding, every supervillain would see this as the perfect opportunity to wreak havoc and destruction upon the public, right? I mean, the government got rid of their most valuable protectors, so normally, the supervillains would think, "Idiots," and determine that they'd be free to terrorize the public now that supers were gone.

So, what happened to any supervillains who were around at the time? How did the government handle them after they banned superheroes>

33 Comments
2024/12/02
23:15 UTC

10

[Zootopia, Kung Fu Panda, similar settings] So there are no humans. What happened to early hominids, like Australopithecus?

Evolved into something else? Went extinct? If so, why?

10 Comments
2024/12/02
22:07 UTC

26

[Baldur's Gate 3] Could we use a True Polymorph spell/scroll to turn flayer Karlach back into a tiefling?

16 Comments
2024/12/02
21:21 UTC

9

[Star Wars] Can Force sensitives heal faster from injuries than a non Force sensitive?

I don't mean heal like Wolverine but at least enough they could heal from their injuries within one day.

6 Comments
2024/12/02
20:45 UTC

137

[Psych] i’ve almost gotten away with the perfect crime, but now this psychic shows up. How do I beat this guy?

My father in law owns a jewelry store that my wife and I work at. The inheritance we’d get when he dies is insane but the man is in perfect health and in his early 60s. We don’t want to wait that long to get our money!

We successfully made it look like he was killed in an accidental fall at work. Covered all of our tracks too.

We’re not those idiot criminals you see on TV, we’ve been planning this for years. The police were just about ready to declare the case closed but all of a sudden this “psychic” and his friend show up and they’re thinking we might’ve done it.

I am scared shitless. I’ve seen him in the news, he’s cracked a lot of cases. My wife and I are so close to getting our hands on 5 million bucks. How do we beat this guy without straight up murdering him (it was stressful enough covering up one murder, I don’t think I want to push my luck and try to cover up another)?

Any way we can trick or discredit Shawn? Whoever helps me, you’ll be rewarded.

Edit: Grammar.

15 Comments
2024/12/02
20:24 UTC

81

[LotR] What would Gandalf do if Sauron got the ring back?

Let's say after the battle of Pelennor Fields and before the march on the Black Gate. Gandalf knows it's game over once Sauron has the ring. Does he just head back to Valinor?

34 Comments
2024/12/02
19:43 UTC

1

[Planetside 2/Halo] Could the combined factions of Planetside 2 fend off a Covenant invasion?

Let's say that, during the war on Auraxis, a small Covenant fleet happens across the planet and finds a bunch of filthy humans fighting each other on it (ignore the timeline problems this creates). For the sake of the answer not being a flat no because the Planetside factions would get stomped by the UNSC in space let alone the covenant, let's say that Covenant aren't allowed to glass them from orbit. Maybe there's a large amount of forerunner artifacts on the planet or something. The three factions, recognizing the threat they're facing, form a temporary truce to fight back. How do they fare against the Covenant's technology and troops? Could they fight off the Covenant on the ground war?

3 Comments
2024/12/02
18:33 UTC

0

[Harry Potter] Could an arbitrarily powerful Occlumens resist a Memory Charm?

3 Comments
2024/12/02
18:30 UTC

30

[Star Trek] Why doesn't there seem to be any point-defence systems against photon torpedoes?

41 Comments
2024/12/02
18:18 UTC

137

[Doctor Who] How did the Time Lords not know Gallifrey would be destroyed?

First off, I realize that not all Gallifreyans were time lords. However these were people with the ability to time travel, were they exclusively traveling to the past or perhaps forbidden from time traveling to gallifrey outside of a set period? Was this just a set point in time that every time lord knew was coming?

34 Comments
2024/12/02
17:46 UTC

287

[Edge of Tomorrow] How did Tom Cruise manage to reset time after destroying the Omega?

I only saw the movie, but the entire point is that Tom Cruise keeps going through the same loop because the Omega mistakes him for an Alpha and resets the day each time he dies.

However, when our hero finally kills the Omega and his blood mixes with that of a killed Alpha, time resets again.

Does that imply that there is more than one Omega? And if so, why are the aliens losing anyway after that?

42 Comments
2024/12/02
16:05 UTC

18

[Prey video game] I live in a rural town and I heard about this invasion on the news before my electricity went out. What can I do to survive?

I’m terrified to leave my house because those aliens ("Typhons" the TV said) can mimic anything. I’m running out of food, but every noise outside makes me think something is waiting to kill me. Should I stay put or risk leaving for help, and how can I even defend myself?

8 Comments
2024/12/02
14:26 UTC

31

[DnD / Pathfinder] Does the Arch Devil Asmodeus ACTUALLY care about Law or is he simply a selfish asshole using it for his own benefit? Does he actually have any principles? Further explanation in the body...

Before you go "What? Yes, obviously, he is Lawful Evil!" Well, let me ask about that...

Asmodeus is a selfish prick who only cares about himself. That is pretty evil. And he loves using the Law to his own benefit and screwing others over with it. What I am asking is, does he ACTUALLY care about Law as a virtue, is it something he believes is a moral virtue, or is he just an asshole? Does he look at a lawful and orderly society and think "That is a virtuous society, except that it isn't evil?"

In circumstances where he could break Laws and act unlawfully AND there would be no downside for him, and it would be to his benefit, would he do so or would he refrain from doing so because it runs counter to his beliefs? Being the ruler of Hell he has a great deal of control over what Infernal law actually is, which greatly benefits him. But there is a difference between believing something is beneficial for him, clearly it is, and it being a virtue worthy respectfing for its own sake.

Also I know that the DnD and Pathfinder versions are different but they are fairly similar so I asked about both. In both versions he screws over Lawful Good angels and gods using Law and sticks to deal he made but I don't think that necessarily counts either for or against the idea he has principles, there would be consequences if he broke those deals, sometimes they were to his benefit and if nothing else it might hurt his reputation if word got around that he was full of shit so certainly he wouldn't do it with powerful beings in a position to spread the word.

So, given all of that, what do you think?

31 Comments
2024/12/02
13:53 UTC

14

[Dragon ball] What does the common person think of Vegeta?

I mean hes married the richest women in the world, he cant be unknown right? Are they aware hes an alien prince? That he used to destroy civilisations?

24 Comments
2024/12/02
10:29 UTC

2

[Arrested Development] Maeby is arrested at the end of season 4, so why is she free and trying to hide from the cops at the start of season 5?

3 Comments
2024/12/02
09:17 UTC

1

[Marvel] Who or what started the Hunger virus?

I know the explanation is time traveling infected Sentry in self contained time loop, but is there more to it? Is there some cosmic entity that created the Gospel of Hunger to infect multiverse?

3 Comments
2024/12/02
07:09 UTC

2

[Predator/Alien] How would the Predators react to the existence of a Predalien hive/clan?

Basically, if enough Predators for chest-busted to form their own hive or "zombie clan."

10 Comments
2024/12/02
06:16 UTC

1

[Transformers: Prime] Where was Unicron stored after his anti spark was captured during Pedacon’s rising

I mean no matter how secure Unicron seems i truely doubt the Autobots and Decepticons are willing to have Robot Satan anywhere near both his old body of earth and Cybertron.

So where did they put him after all was said and done?

3 Comments
2024/12/02
02:46 UTC

160

[Harry Potter] As the parent of a Wizard child, do I have any options if I want them to learn magic without them having to be seperated from me in a boarding school for 3/4 of their childhood?

52 Comments
2024/12/02
01:44 UTC

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