Line #99 Main/CelestialDeadline


1	->''"Even the arts you call sorcery are governed by cosmic laws," answered the man in the green turban. "The stars direct these actions, as in other affairs. Not even my masters can alter the stars. Not until the heavens were in the proper order could they perform this necromancy."''
2	-->-- '''Creator/RobertEHoward''', ''Literature/ThePeopleOfTheBlackCircle''
3
4	Magic doesn't obey human-made timepieces but follows the cycles of nature and the movement of the spheres. A spell's duration, then, extends from sunrise to sunset, or during a phase in the lunar cycle, or some other vaguely fairytale measurement of time such as one's Dangerous16thBirthday or AYearAndADay or by following a celestial zodiac.
5
6	Comes in two varieties
7	# '''[[LiminalTime Magic Has Dramatic Units of Time]]''': Sunrise, sunset, [[WhenTheClockStrikesTwelve twelfth gong of the clock-tower]], the phases of the moon, birthdays, saint's days, Sabbath, etc. Which invokes all kinds of FridgeLogic, such as, what would use something so inaccurate as when the sun sets, especially since the world is round and there's always a sunset somewhere?
8	# '''[[FantasticFragility Magic Has Its Rules]]''': Somehow setting limits such as a "RuleOfThree" or [[WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}} "Until the Castle Rises Above the Clouds"]] or "Until the Sun Sets," or [[VirginPower "This spell/ritual/technique can only be performed by a virgin"]] makes the power work better or at all. [[MagicAIsMagicA So whatever happens needs to happen within the rules instead of at one's convenience]]. If a rules lawyer is around, this sometimes leads to NoManOfWomanBorn.
9
10	If the events happen on their own after astronomical events, see WhenThePlanetsAlign. Often overlaps with LiminalTime and RaceAgainstTheClock. Not to be confused with the out-of-universe CosmicDeadline.
11	----
12	!!Examples:
13
14	[[foldercontrol]]
15
16	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
17	* ''Manga/{{Inuyasha}}'' has an instance of being a human when the new moon comes around.
18	* Placing restrictions on Nen powers in ''Manga/HunterXHunter'' can act as a power multiplier for an ability, depending on the restriction.
19	* In ''VisualNovel/NanatsuiroDrops'', Tsuwabuki turns into a sheep plushie after sunset and changes back after sunrise. However, when the moon is full, he stays a plushie for a whole day, and during a new moon, he stays human all day.
20	* ''Manga/{{Wish}}'': Angels and Demons who have not been fully trained in all magics follow cycles. Angels are adult form during the day and chibi form during the night and demons are vice versa.
21	* In ''Anime/DigimonAdventure'', it was said that when the clock struck the [[NumberOfTheBeast Hour Of The Beast]] (i.e six seconds after 6:06 PM), the undead Digimon king would reveal his true form as a beast (i.e Myotismon being reborn as [=VenomMyotismon=]).
22	* In ''Manga/FushigiYuugi'', each of TheFourGods can only be summoned when all of their Seishi are found, and the priestess must be a virgin. However, there ''is'' a certain failsafe: if, for example, a Seishi is missing/dead/incapacitated/an imposter, or the priestess is only a TechnicalVirgin (or not a virgin at all, or believes herself not to be), the Summoning Ceremony ''can'' still be performed. The priestess and her Seishi will just have to retrieve a {{MacGuffin}} called the Shinzaho, which is an artifact left by the ''last'' priestess to enter the book. (This artifact can be literally ''anything,'' [[SympatheticMagic so long as it has some personal connection to her]]: a piece of jewelry or clothing the previous priestess wore, an accessory she carried, even her KidFromTheFuture.)
23	[[/folder]]
24
25	[[folder:Fairy Tales]]
26	* "Literature/{{Bearskin}}": The main character must wear the bearskin for seven years.
27	* "Literature/{{Cinderella}}": The magic stops working at [[WhenTheClockStrikesTwelve midnight]].
28	* "Literature/TheSoldierAndDeath": Deaths grants the soldier one hour to say goodbye to his family before taking him.
29	[[/folder]]
30
31	[[folder:Films -- Animated]]
32	* In ''WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast'', the Beast had to learn to love another and earn her love in return before the last petal on the enchanted rose fell off in order to break his curse. Fortunately, this also undid [[spoiler:his apparent death]].
33	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Brave}}'': Elinor's bear transformation will become permanent by the second sunrise if Merida doesn't undo it until then.
34	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Coco}}'': Miguel will be forced to remain in the Land of the Dead forever if he doesn't get home before sunrise the following day. This is indicated by Miguel [[spoiler: slowly becoming a skeleton as the movie progresses.]]
35	* ''WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaid1989'': The contract is made until the sunset on the third day. Covering sunsets and the rule of three.
36	* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirls1'': The gateway between Equestria and the human world only remains open until the moon reaches its peak in the night sky at the end of the third day, to which it will close for the next thirty moons; Twilight has until then to get her Element of Magic back from Sunset Shimmer and return home.
37	* While not quite magical, in ''WesternAnimation/OnceUponAForest'', the heroes have only until "the moon is full" to collect the herbs and return them to save their friend Michelle. In this case, it might not have been so much the Moon itself as it was an approximation of how much time they had before Michelle's illness reached a point where it would be incurable.
38	* ''Franchise/{{Shrek}}'' is big on this.
39	** In [[WesternAnimation/Shrek1 the first film]], sunrise and sunset were important times for Fiona.
40	** In [[WesternAnimation/Shrek2 the second film]], Shrek has until midnight to make the effects of his potion permanent. Lampshaded:
41	-->'''Shrek''': Why is it always midnight?
42	** In [[WesternAnimation/ShrekForeverAfter the final film]], Shrek had twenty-four hours to undo his MagicallyBindingContract with Rumpelstiltskin, or else his existence will end and the world will remain [[VillainWorld under Stiltskin's rule]].
43	* ''WesternAnimation/ParaNorman'': Norman is supposed to read from the book at the witch's grave before sunset. When he finds the apparent spot, it doesn't work and the curse takes effect, but that's because he was at the Puritans' burial site, not the witch's.
44	* In ''WesternAnimation/TurningRed'', if Mei doesn't undergo the ritual to seal her red panda spirit away during the first red moon after she gets it, it will never be able to be sealed.
45	[[/folder]]
46
47	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
48	* ''Film/SixteenWishes'': Abby's candles that make her sixteen birthday wishes come true won't work anymore after midnight, and all granted wishes will become permanent.
49	* ''Film/TheBoyWhoCriedWerewolf'': Jordan's werewolf transformations at night will become permanent by the next sunrise if she isn't cured by then.
50	* In ''Film/TheDarkCrystal'' we have the Great Conjunction, an alignment of the world's three suns, described as a catalyst for "great change." In the film, the Dark Crystal must be completely reassembled and the Mystics and Skeksis reunited by the upcoming Great Conjunction in order for harmony to be restored.
51	* Mogwai shall not be fed "after midnight", lest they turn into ''Film/{{Gremlins}}''. Nothing is said about when you can feed them again.
52	* In the silent film ''Film/TheGolem'', the Rabbi can only create the Golem while a certain astronomical constellation occurs. The occurrence of another constellation supposedly causes the Golem to rebel.
53	* ''Film/{{Ladyhawke}}'': A couple is cursed so that she's a hawk by day and human by night, and he is human by day and a wolf by night. They only get to see each other in the moments of sunrise and sunset, until they are saved by [[RulesLawyer Rules Lawyering]].
54	* In the vampire movie ''Film/OnceBitten'', an ancient vampire known as the Countess must bite a male virgin three times by Halloween each year to retain her youthful appearance. Although she does drink non-virgin blood, this merely sustains her, not her looks.
55	* ''Film/TheSantaClause2'': Scott Calvin has until midnight on Christmas Eve to find someone worthy to be his Mrs. Clause and get married to her, or he'll stop being Santa forever.
56	* In ''{{Film/Soultaker}}'', the heroes have until their life support is turned off at midnight to reunite with their bodies. And then the movie more or less completely ignores said deadline.
57	* In ''Tiny Christmas'', Elfonzo's shrinking goggles lose their powers when the sun rises on Christmas Day.
58	* In ''Film/YourHighness'', the evil wizard needs to perform a certain ritual with a virgin to [[spoiler:create a dragon]]. This ritual may only be performed once every 100 years when the two moons align.
59	[[/folder]]
60
61	[[folder:Literature]]
62	* ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'':
63	** Sunrise acts as a magical ResetButton. A typical spell does not last beyond the rising of the sun, unless the wizard takes particular care to weave it, in which case it might last through one day. Anchoring a spell by casting it on an object multiple times will have the magic last indefinitely, if the wizard can keep up the maintenance, which is how Harry's leather duster survives his repeated adventures. [[spoiler: Merlin wove incredibly powerful spells repeatedly using time travel to create Demonreach, and ''every single brick'' has more magic in it than ''most of Chicago'', so those spells will last presumably forever.]]
64	** Faerie magic likewise has this limitation. In ''Literature/{{Changes}}'', Harry gets a whole panoply of goods from his faerie godmother, the Leanansidhe, but learns that they're only good until noon the next day. She implies that, had the gift come from a Summer faerie rather than a Winter one, it would indeed run out at midnight like Harry was worried might happen. He's worried because the villain's spell is ''also'' keyed to midnight, and he's got quite enough on his mind as it is.
65	** Also, any ghosts or spirits which try to go out during the daylight will be destroyed, unless they are inside a specially constructed multi-dimensional "house" (Bob's is a skull) or otherwise hidden from the sunlight.
66	** And, in ''Literature/ColdDays'', Harry finds out that [[spoiler:Halloween night]] is a time when even immortals can be killed.
67	* Similarly, in the ''Literature/OctoberDaye'' series, a number of spells dissipate at sunrise. But it doesn't last until sunrise. It lasts until the first birdsong is sung.
68	* In ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'', according to Death, [[AC:The lawyers of Fate require a loophole.]] when dealing with prophecies.
69	* Similarly, in ''Literature/AGameOfUniverse'', the contract with the devil has a loophole: One year before it runs out, 13 heroes can be recruited to find the holy grail. If they find it before the contract runs out, the contract is nullified.
70	* In ''The Lightning Thief'', the first book in Creator/RickRiordan's ''Literature/PercyJacksonAndTheOlympians'', Zeus sets the deadline for the return of his Master Bolt at the summer solstice. Afterward, he will wage on Poseidon, whom he believes is responsible for its theft.
71	* In Creator/RobertEHoward's Franchise/ConanTheBarbarian story ''Literature/ThePeopleOfTheBlackCircle'', the king is killed by magic on a certain date.
72	* In Creator/RobertEHoward's Literature/{{Kull}} / Literature/BranMakMorn story "Kings of the Night", Kull's appearance is governed by this.
73	-->''Out of the sunrise he came--into the sunset he has gone. Out of the mists of the ages he came to us, and back into the mists of the eons has he returned--to his own kingdom''
74	* In Creator/AdrianTchaikovsky's ''[[Literature/ShadowsOfTheApt Dragonfly Falling]]'', Uctebri explains he is awaiting the most auspicious date.
75	* In L. Jagi Lamplighter's ''[[Literature/ProsperosDaughter Prospero Lost]]'', Theo recommends that if they can't wait for a holiday, to use the Ouiji board on Wednesday. (Odin, and Hermes, the two gods associated with that day, were both associated with magic.)
76	* In Creator/EdgarRiceBurroughs's ''Literature/TheMonsterMen'', Chinese medicine is described as using this.
77	* In Creator/WenSpencer's ''{{Literature/Tinker}}'', Windwolf explains that times are important for spells -- blessings are best at noon, curses on moonless nights.
78	* In ''Living Alone'' by Stella Benson, Richard describes a spell cast at low tide, Christmas night.
79	* In ''Literature/TheShatteredKingdoms'', Meiran's magical illness, which was caused by being "blessed" by both a sun god and a moon goddess when it should have been just one of them, has a debilitating effect on her at dawn and dusk.
80	* ''Literature/GoblinsInTheCastle'': Once every eleven years, the spell holding the goblins prisoner weakens, and they can be freed on that night. They spend the time calling out for someone to release them, but it takes until the eleventh weakening (121 years exactly after it was first cast) before William frees them.
81	[[/folder]]
82
83	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
84	* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'':
85	** In season six, the antagonists' plan to open Purgatory and harvest the SoulPower within hinges on a ritual that can only be performed during a lunar eclipse.
86	** In season seven, the attempt to [[spoiler:reverse the results of said ritual, i.e. return all the souls to Purgatory]] must ''also'' be done during a lunar eclipse. Except there isn't going to be one anytime soon. [[spoiler:So Death says ''[[RealityWarper he'll make another]]''.]]
87	[[/folder]]
88
89	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
90	* ''TabletopGame/ArsMagica'':
91	** Most spell durations under the standard SpellConstruction rules are linked to celestial events. "Sun" ends on the next sunrise or sunset; "Moon" lasts until both the next new moon and full moon have set; and "Year" ends at sunrise on the fourth equinox or solstice.
92	** Practitioners of Celestial Magic can use more specific spell duration factors derived from the movement of zodiac signs. However, these factors require {{Astrolog\|er}}ical calculations, and any error throws off the duration.
93	* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'':
94	** Late 1st and early 2nd edition often include powers, usually magic items, that can be used "X times per day", but don't define what the device considers "a day" (e.g., sunset, sunrise, twenty-four hours from the last use, etc.). This language is clarified in later editions.
95	** ''TabletopGame/{{Ravenloft}}'': Adding a fanciful duration or an escape hatch when laying a curse makes it ''much'' more likely to take hold.
96	* ''TabletopGame/InNomine'': Different kinds of beings get a bit of spent [[{{Mana}} Essence]] back at different times of day, at least when they're on Earth. Angels get theirs at sunrise, humans get it at noon, demons at sunset, and ethereal spirits at [[WhenTheClockStrikesTwelve midnight]].
97	* ''Franchise/TheWorldOfDarkness'':
98	** ''TabletopGame/ChangelingTheLost'': If you're lucky, contracts work until sunup or sundown, whichever happens first.
99	** ''TabletopGame/LeviathanTheTempest:'' One of the means by which Leviathans may augment the power of their Rituals is through Portents, auspicious alignments of moons, stars, and other factors. The rarer the Portent, the more time needs to be invested in preparing the ritual to use it, and the more power it generates (so using the full moon to augment your Ritual would only require a scene or so of prep work but wouldn't generate much power, whereas a once-a-century conjunction of planets might have an entire campaign revolve around harnessing its power and could be used to fuel the kinds of effects that permanently reshape the world).
100	** ''TabletopGame/PrometheanTheCreated'': Prometheans regain one point of [[{{Mana}} Pyros]] with every sunrise.
101	** ''TabletopGame/VampireTheMasquerade'' and ''TabletopGame/VampireTheRequiem'' both have a few powers, usually BloodMagic, that end at sunrise.
102	[[/folder]]
103
104	[[folder:Theater]]
105	* ''Theatre/AMidsummerNightsDream'': The fairies show up WhenTheClockStrikesTwelve.
106	-->'''Puck''': ''Now it is the time of night\
107	That the graves all gaping wide,\
108	Every one lets forth his sprite,\
109	In the church-way paths to glide:\
110	And we fairies, that do run\
111	By the triple Hecate's team,\
112	From the presence of the sun,\
113	Following darkness like a dream,\
114	Now are frolic:''
115	[[/folder]]
116
117	[[folder:Video Games]]
118	* ''VideoGame/{[Fairyside}}'': In Memory 8, Evaline says that her and her sisters' "gifts of magic" to Shirley will "last until dawn".
119	* In ''VideoGame/GhostTrick'', the ghost Sissel is told up-front by a fellow ghost that if he wants to solve the mystery of his own death, he better hop to it, since ghosts only stick around until the next crack of dawn, then they cease to exist. [[spoiler:This turns out to be a MotivationalLie to get him to take part in the main story, since his refusal to help in a previous timeline led to [[BadFuture pretty much everybody in the game apart from the villains dying horribly and said villains getting away with their plans]]]].
120	* In ''VideoGame/SpiritsOfAnglerwoodForest'', the BigBad [[spoiler: Ezra]] has turned people [[ForcedTransformation into trees]] and captured their spirits. When the sun rises on the Winter solstice, all the captured spirits will be lost forever.
121	[[/folder]]
122
123	[[folder:Webcomics]]
124	* In ''Webcomic/TalesOfTheQuestor'', the hunt lasts until cockcrow. [[http://www.rhjunior.com/totq/00521.html Not mind you, dawn]]. (Good thing for ExactWords.)
125	* In ''Webcomic/WapsiSquare'', 2012 is not only WhenThePlanetsAlign, [[http://wapsisquare.com/comic/anyideas/ it's when you can do something about it]].
126	* In ''Webcomic/DreamKeepers Prelude'', [[http://www.dreamkeeperscomic.com/Prelude.php?pg=191 Namah deduces her show's on as if it were this.]]
127	* In ''Webcomic/{{Doodze}}'', [[http://seguemediagroup.com/doodze/?p=627 the sunlight only protects you as long as it's up.]]
128	* In ''Webcomic/{{Erstwhile}}'', [[http://www.erstwhiletales.com/a-tale-with-a-riddle-0-3/#.T29v9Nm6SuI the woman is allowed to go home only overnight.]]
129	* In ''Webcomic/DragonMango'', [[http://dragon-mango.com/comic/chapter05/dm05-46.htm making the seal had drawn on the raw power of the stars' alignment.]]
130	[[/folder]]
131
132	[[folder:Web Original]]
133	* In ''Literature/TalesOfWyre'', demons and some spells vary in power on a daily cycle: they are at their strongest (or sometimes weakest) when their associated star is overhead at some special location.
134	* In ''WebAnimation/KillingSpree'', a strange mystic gives the main character the power to do anything he wants, but only until midnight. Having been turned into a NighInvincible badass, he naturally goes on a mass murder spree. The deadline comes into play at the end of ''Killing Spree VI'', when [[spoiler:he's seeming shot dead by a vengeful cop, only for the mystic to reveal that Jase [[NotQuiteDead can't be dead]] because it's not yet midnight and the spell hasn't worn off yet]].
135	[[/folder]]
136
137	[[folder:Western Animation]]
138	* In ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'', waterbenders draw their strength from the moon, so they're strongest during a full moon and weakest during a new moon. [[spoiler:When Admiral Zhao kills the Moon Spirit, the moon vanishes and the waterbenders are left temporarily powerless]]. Firebenders, similarly, draw their power from the sun, so Sokka plans the Gaang's invasion of the Fire Nation to coincide with the Day of Black Sun, a solar eclipse during which the firebenders will be temporarily powerless, providing an excellent window of opportunity.
139	** On the flipside, Aang has to defeat Fire Lord Ozai and end the war before the 100-year arrival of Sozin's Comet, which would boost the firebenders' powers to such high levels that the war would essentially be over. [[spoiler:They fail, but Aang manages to defeat Ozai anyway, and with the power of said comet also giving Aang that very same advantage.]]
140	** In Book 2 of ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'', Unalaq's plan to [[spoiler:reopen the Spirit Portals, free Vaatu and fuse with him, then use his power to destroy the world]], all hinges on an event known as "Harmonic Convergence" that only happens once every ten thousand years.
141	* ''WesternAnimation/BigCityGreens'': When a Green family member takes on the family's RiteOfPassage, they have until the sun goes down to fight a tough animal, wrestle it, and pin it down for three seconds. If they fail to do this by then, they won't be a Green anymore and will have to change their last name to something else.
142	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}'' They are stone during the day and flesh at night, in the pilot they are also cursed into dormancy "Until the Castle Rises Above the Clouds" (in other words, [[spoiler: rebuilt as a skyscraper in New York City]]).
143	** Most magic in ''Gargoyles'' has similar limits. According to WordOfGod, adding any sort of "this spell goes away when X happens" condition, no matter how ridiculous it may sound, makes the spell much easier to cast successfully.
144	** And other spells are of the first (sun- or moon-based) variety: Demona's DepopulationBomb in "Hunter's Moon," for example, only works on the night of the Hunter's Moon. WordOfGod is that Goliath and Xanatos seized it from her, waited a few nights, and destroyed it when the moon started waning. And her Stone at Night curse in "City of Stone" falls under both varieties: It is only effective at night (variety 1), and it is broken for good when and if "the sky burns" (variety 2).
145	* On ''WesternAnimation/RockosModernLife'', Filburt has an uncontrollable urge to go back to Kerplopitgoes Island on his 21st birthday, which coincides with the alignment of the planets.
146	** In the same episode, [[HereWeGoAgain Heffer has an urge to go on a fast-food binge]], prompted by the alignment of every fast-food joint in O-Town.
147	* In the ''WesternAnimation/TuffPuppy'' ChristmasEpisode "A Doomed Christmas", if Santa doesn't start his yearly run by midnight on Christmas eve, his reindeer will lose their flying magic, and there will be no Christmas for that year.
148	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Vampirina}}'': The episode "Vampire Weekend" has Vee and Poppy find full moon pendants that switch their lives on the day of a full moon. If they don't switch back before the full moon rises in the sky, they stay switched forever.
149	* In the ''WesternAnimation/{{Visionaries}}'' episode "Lion Hunt", Darkstorm uses a potion to [[ShapeshifterModeLock trap Leoric in his Lion form]]. If the effects of this potion are not reversed by the time the last of Prysmos's Three Suns sets, Leoric will never be able to change back into his human form again.
150	* On ''WesternAnimation/WinxClub'', the first third of the fifth season follows the Winx on a quest to obtain the Sirenix transformation. However, this is a RaceAgainstTheClock; they have one lunar cycle to finish it. If they don't earn Sirenix before the end of the day that the lunar cycle ends, they'll lose their powers forever.
151	* In the ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'' episode "Dying For Pie", when [=SpongeBob=] is thought to eat the exploding pie, Mr. Krabs says he’s only got until sunset before it drops into his lower intestine and that’s the time he is to explode.
152	* ''WesternAnimation/ZakStorm'': Xibalba the Shadow Queen could only regain her power and free herself on the night of the green moon, a celestial event that only happens once every five-thousand years.
153	[[/folder]]
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Context Main / CelestialDeadline