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4->''"Let's just say 'polarity torsion does it,' translate that to 'it's very expensive magic,' and leave it at that."''
5-->-- '''Liraz''', ''Webcomic/AfterlifeBlues''
6
7This is when a work has an intangible element that is obviously supposed to be magic, but is explicitly not called that. Maybe the word "magic" doesn't exist in their universe, maybe AgentScully is using InsistentTerminology (as maybe [[MagicIsEvil their religion explicitly prohibits "magic"]]) — yet whatever power they're using lets them [[PowerFloats levitate]], throw {{fireballs}} and [[MagicAndPowers anything else]] that standard-issue {{Fantasy}} magic can do. This trope also applies to works where a practiced mystical art such as [[AlchemyIsMagic alchemy]], [[TarotMotifs tarot cards]] or [[{{Ninja}} ninjutsu]] has been broadened to the point where it functions as all-purpose magic. There can also be crossover with UnequalRites when there are multiple sorts of mystic arts and AppliedPhlebotinum in a work.
8
9In a ScienceFiction setting, MagicFromTechnology and "[[PsychicPowers psionics]]" are favorite stand-bys along with MinovskyPhysics, possibly with a [[SciFiNameBuzzwords "quantum" or "nano"]] tacked on for good measure. If EverythingIsOnline, HollywoodHacking may be utilized as well.
10
11{{Sufficiently Advanced Alien}}s that have evolved to the point where the physical laws of reality no longer apply to them (such as [[Series/DoctorWho the Doctor]] or [[Franchise/StarTrek Q]]) generally do ''not'' count unless their powers are something PunyHumans can learn.
12
13Sometimes, a more limited power may turn into this over time, due to abuse of NewPowersAsThePlotDemands.
14
15See Also SufficientlyAnalyzedMagic when Magic is treated as like a science, and DifferentlyPoweredIndividuals for "Supers by Any Other Name". See also: NotUsingTheZWord, AMechByAnyOtherName, InsistentTerminology, MagicVersusScience, DoingInTheWizard, FlatEarthAtheist.
16
17----
18!!Examples:
19[[foldercontrol]]
20
21[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
22* In ''Literature/ACertainMagicalIndex'' (and the spinoff, ''Manga/ACertainScientificRailgun''), [[PsychicPowers esper powers]] are basically just [[FunctionalMagic Inherent Gift]] magic under a different name. Really, the only difference between the mages and the espers is that the mages use lots of crutches in the form of magic circles and magic items, while the espers develop SuperIntelligence to [[RequiredSecondaryPowers control their powers]] instead. And espers only get one power, while mages can learn multiple (though most don't use more than a few).
23** The lines between esper abilities and magic are further broken down when it turns out that that the training programme for unlocking esper potential was invented by a mage, based on a ritual intended to give the user traits of angels (and that the so-far theoretical [[ReadingsAreOffTheScale Level 6 espers]] are essentially [[DeityOfHumanOrigin Deities of Human Origin]]). And while ''most'' esper powers are based on a clear scientific concept, such as control over electricity or friction, the Gemstones (espers who unlocked their powers at a young age without training) often have far more abstract powers or ones that seem to do [[ComboPlatterPowers multiple unrelated things]].
24** Also played with by protagonist Touma's [[AntiMagic "Imagine Breaker"]] power. Academy City classifies Touma as a very weak esper for the sake of PlausibleDeniability (which even he seems to be fooled by), but he's actually a {{Muggle}} with some kind of CosmicKeystone inside his arm.
25* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'': The "Kido" that the [[{{Shinigami}} Soul Reapers]] use requires them to chant spells in order to summon blasts of energy among other attacks, but it's never explicitly called magic..
26* ''Anime/CodeGeass'': Geass is a MagicalEye that grants the user some form of MindControl, which varies by user, and [[UniquenessDecay more are introduced as the series progresses]]. While it's ambiguous if it's truely MagicOrPsychic, some abilities don't really fit into neuroscience ([[spoiler:Bismarck's CombatClairvoyance and Shamna's MentalTimeTravel]]).
27* ''Anime/DarkerThanBlack'': Contractors are able to do very specific things with their powers. These include generating massive amounts of electricity, using their blood as explosives, and draining people's life span. However, none if it is ever called "magic."
28* ''Manga/DemonSlayerKimetsuNoYaiba'': The demonic abilities are called Blood Demon Arts. Subverted with Slayers' Breathing Styles, despite clearly being [[ElementalPowers elemental]] they are said to be just physical abilities with [[StylizedForTheViewer visual flair]].
29* ''Manga/EdensZero'' has Ether, which the series typically prefers to call magic, an "unscientific" word for despite there being no firm science behind it. It's both the LifeEnergy of the universe and a [[AppliedPhlebotinum power source]] for machines, which can convert it into HardLight objects, and people can tap into the Ether in their bodies by using a technique called [[KiManipulation Ether Gear]]. It's also present in the atmosphere of planets, with many Ether-abundant worlds having unique planetary phenomena depending on its type (Blue Garden's Water Ether creates a river that floats through the sky, Norma's Earth Ether creates huge pillars of crystal in its clouds that regularly bombard the surface, etc.).
30* ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'': [[AlchemyIsMagic Alchemy]] is accompanied by flashes of light, [[spoiler:requires {{mana}}]], and can perform actions that look like PlayingWithFire or DishingOutDirt, etc., but Edward is quick to point out that it is not magic but ''science''. He's [[SufficientlyAnalyzedMagic not entirely wrong]], either, despite later revelations that [[spoiler:certain fundamental assumptions about Amestrian alchemy, including ''EquivalentExchange as they know it'', are false.]]
31* ''Manga/HunterXHunter'': After passing the hunter exams, hunters are required to learn Nen, a magic-like power that is hardly known to the public and invisible to non Nen users. Nen lets the user cast various magical abilities depending on its type of KiManipulation. The strength of the abilities greatly increases if the user imposes [[DangerousForbiddenTechnique difficult or dangerous]] conditions to them.
32* ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'' has several examples throughout its history, using different excuses for different types of what boil down to magic, from martial arts to what originated as visualized psychic powers.
33** Hamon is a martial art that supposedly lets you channel the power of the sun. In practice, it's a touch-based magic that allows you to do everything from disintegrating undead, healing wounds, weaponizing liquids, and climbing sheer surfaces with your bare hands.
34** Stands start off similar to a sort of summoning magic, with users manifesting avatars that can fight for them with various combat powers. As the series progresses, Stands begin to cover any magic power imaginable, even if that means stretching or breaking some of the universal rules.
35** The Bow and Arrow are artifacts that grant people Stands. A scientific explanation is posited involving a virus, but ultimately the arrows are magic, most clearly in how even the deadliest wounds they inflict somehow leave the target unharmed if they are "worthy" of gaining a Stand. How the arrows interact with people who ''already'' have Stands gets even more complicated, often involving some level of [[RealityWarper Reality Warping]], and has led to much WildMassGuessing.
36** The second timeline has things like the Spin and the Wall Eyes, which serve similar purposes as the above.
37* ''Manga/JujutsuKaisen'': Jujutsu Sorcerers and Cursed Spirits utilize Cursed Energy coming from ThePowerOfHate, which allows using SupernaturalMartialArts, {{Pocket Dimension}}s and personalized magic spells.
38* The Clans in ''Anime/{{K}}'' never refer to their powers as magic. The Slate is an "energy source". Their powers aren't from any standard, they don't all operate the same way, and they're quite easy to lose control of, but "magic" is never used. It's possible that they're trying to avoid the dreamy, inspiring connotations of "magic", since their powers are something frightening, with intense [[SuperpowerMeltdown potential for disaster]]. The Green Clan's more versatile powers (incl. walking through walls) are frequently called a "manipulation ability", a particularly standout example of this.
39* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'': Ninjutsu. Although ''Naruto's'' techniques are explicitly magical, they have no defined limits and allow NewPowersAsThePlotDemands, a lot of which aren't traditionally associated with ninjas.
40* ''Manga/OnePiece'' has Devil Fruit powers that allow for all sorts of effects. Beyond the standard fire/ice/lightning sort of elemental powers one might expect, the protagonist is a RubberMan, an enemy can generate poison gas, and one of the {{Big Bad}}s of the series is capable of CastingAShadow and causing earthquakes with a swing of his hand. None of these powers are ever explicitly referred to as magical; the few times magic is brought up, the whole thing is brushed off as silly.
41* ''Manga/Reborn2004'': Dying Will Flames, split into multiple variations and applications.
42* ''Manga/SaintSeiya'': Cosmo is a space-themed LifeEnergy that allows Saints to perform unique SupernaturalMartialArts. Higher Cosmo levels let the user use seventh and even eigth sense, [[MasterOfIllusion create illusions]], [[SpaceMaster bend space]], [[DraggedOffToHell send people to hell]] and [[PlanetaryRelocation move planets]].
43* ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'': The Spiral Energy is cosmic evolution forces in theory and ImaginationBasedSuperpower in practice, humans can spontaneously create new weapons or upgrade their mechs by strong will.
44* ''Anime/TwinPrincessOfWonderPlanet'': The Prominence and the Power of Darkness. Neither are explicitly called magic despite looking just like it. Altezza refers to the former as Fine and Rein's "weird power".
45[[/folder]]
46
47[[folder:Comic Books]]
48* In the Creator/ValiantComics titles set in the 41st Century (''Magnus: Robot Fighter'', ''Rai and the Future Force'' and ''Psi-Lords''), "ectotheric energy" is used by some people to achieve the effect of "magic", even though it is in reality a variation of PsychicPowers and is scientifically comprehensible. "Necromancy" occurs in many titles from the 20th Century, and is even more overtly expressed as a kind of "magic" (obviously, given the name), although it too is really psychic in nature.
49[[/folder]]
50
51[[folder:Fan Works]]
52* Deliberate in the ''VideoGame/HeroesOfTheStorm'' fanfic ''FanFic/HeroesOfTheDesk''--the [[FunWithAcronyms Strategic Prevention, Extraction, and Ablation Regiment]] calls it "Functional Supernatural Phenomena". And even then, they tend to take the view of SufficientlyAnalyzedMagic and/or invoke ClarksThirdLaw, though it's deliberately left unclear what counts as the former versus the latter.
53* Parodied in ''WebVideo/NullmetalAlchemist'', where Ed [[InsistentTerminology insists]] on [[AlchemyIsMagic calling alchemy "magic"]], because his mother told him that "alchemy" sounds too pretentious. Played straight by everyone else, though.
54* In ''Fanfic/OpeningDangerousGates'', [[Manga/{{Bleach}} Kisuke Urahara]] tells the Manga/FairyTail characters that magic and reiatsu are one and the same. Every one has a reserve of energy in their bodies, but only some people can access it, and it has different effects based on the individual and how they apply it.
55* ''FanFic/EscapeFromTheMoon'': Doa’s magic is referred to as “thaumatics”.
56* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11157943/3/I-Still-Haven-t-Found-What-I-m-Looking-For I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For,]]'' it's shown that the [[Franchise/StarWars Force]] is just a weaker, dormant form of magic. Eventually, Harry uses so much at once that magic "wakes up" and force users all over the galaxy find themselves using new abilities they never dreamed of.
57* ''WebAnimation/HoloChronicles'' is [[DownplayedTrope a bit weird]] about this. Actual magical abilities, or "mystic arts", ''do'' exist and ''are'' recognized as mystical in nature (prime examples being Fubuki and Mio, who both use it ''extensively''), but they are most often referred to as "mystic arts" specifically, only using "magic" in rare instances that [[WatsonianVersusDoylist may just be Kugeki messing up]]. Same with Rushia's [[{{Necromancer}} necromancy]]. Not explicitly called magic even ''once''. And then there are examples that ''should'' be seen as magic by the characters' canon lore from ''WebAnimation/{{Hololive}}'' proper, but aren't, such as Lamy's basically-ice-magic being attributed to a trait ability (the Elemental Trait of Ice and Snow, to be specific) instead. Only time will tell if Shion will become the only [[DifferentlyPoweredIndividual talent]] in the setting to be explicitly referred to as a mage.
58[[/folder]]
59
60[[folder:Films — Live-Action]]
61* In the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse, WordOfGod says there is no magic, just new and strange kinds of science. Yeah, even with ''Film/DoctorStrange2016''. This was eventually dropped and magic has become a staple of the setting. Even some cases that were previously examples of this trope, such as Wanda's powers, are now stated to be real magic.
62* In ''Film/TheMatrix'', bending the rules of physics while jacked into the computer world is ostensibly just hacking a program, but tends to be accorded mystical significance. Then Neo starts controlling machines in the real world with his mind alone...
63* ''Franchise/StarWars'': The Force, right down to being split between Light and Dark magic. Slightly different in that [[DoingInTheWizard Obi-Wan initially presents it as "an energy field"]] generated by living beings, the prequels gave it a physical component in the form of micro-organisms in the bloodstream, and it leans more towards the science fiction-y "telepathy, telekinesis, precognition, illusions" rather than fireballs or summoning or turning into frogs. Unusually, it's more inspired by [[UsefulNotes/{{Taoism}} Daoist magic]] than anything Western.
64[[/folder]]
65
66[[folder:Literature]]
67* ''Literature/TheBrokenEarthTrilogy'': What they usually call "orogeny" is basically magic (although "magic" still exists in-universe as a nigh-forgotten separate but related force from orogeny). Lampshaded in this scene:
68-->'''Essun:''' What did they call it?\
69'''Alabaster:''' Hn?\
70'''Essun:''' [[AdvancedAncientHumans The obelisk-builders.]] You said they had a word for the stuff in the obelisks. The stuff of orogeny. What was their word, since we don't have one anymore?\
71'''Alabaster:''' Oh. The word doesn't matter, Essun. Make one up if you like. You just need to know the stuff exists.\
72'''Essun:''' I want to know what they called it.\
73'''Alabaster:''' They called it ''magic''.
74* ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfThomasCovenant'' has Earthpower, an ambient quasi-mystical energy of The Land, which some humans can channel to devastating effect. Though the series also has magic (via the Wild Magic of white gold). Comparably, Earthpower is fire, wild magic is an atom bomb.
75* Creator/BrandonSanderson's ''[[Literature/TheCosmere Cosmere]]'' multiverse in general uses this; individual systems of FunctionalMagic are referred to by their names, and the term "magic" hardly ever comes up. The exception is in ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive'', where one magic system ''is'' called "the Old Magic". In ''Literature/TheAlloyOfLaw'', allomancy is referred to as magic a few times. By contrast, the multiverse's resident MetaGuy, in the appendix of the same book, seems to refer to all forms of magic as "investiture", but exactly what this means is not yet explained.
76* ''Literature/CradleSeries'': The magic system in general is referred to as "the sacred arts," in rather the same tone you might say "the arts and sciences." No part of it is ever referred to as magic, just being the standard physics and technology of the world. The Abidan, extraplanar entities that enforce universal law, refer to these things as "energy systems," and using one world's energy system in another is one of the first and most obvious law violations.
77* ''Literature/DragonridersOfPern'' is officially classified as science fiction, because the dragons in question are actually alien creatures who have had genetic engineering added to them by human scientists. But how were the original alien creatures able to teleport or engage in mind-to-mind communication? That's attributed to an innate psychic power, which is different from having an innate magical power for... reasons.
78%%* Drawing in ''Literature/{{Ewilan}}''
79* ''Literature/HallowMass'' No one uses "magic" or casts "spells". Instead, the cultists and the antiquities staff enact various "formulas".
80* ''Literature/TheKingkillerChronicle'': Sympathy, not to be confused with "Naming". If you know the true name of something you can command it, but if you don't then you can find something to represent it and use your willpower to force what happens to this to happen to that. Sympathy is seen as magic by many people in-universe, but people who actually use it insist that it isn't.
81* ''Literature/TheLookingGlassWars'': Imagination. Complete with divisions into White and Black imagination. And since it is, as the name suggests, an ImaginationBasedSuperpower, it's very flexible, so there's no need to cast specific spells.
82* PlayedWith in ''Literature/LordOfTheRings'': when [[TheReliableOne Sam]] asks [[ThePhilosopherKing Galadriel]] if she's about to use magic, she admits that she's not sure what he means by that term--hobbits use it to describe things that elves do naturally, but also the [[BlackMagic sort of things]] that [[BigBad Sauron]] does, though in her mind they are completely different.
83* ''Literature/TheMachineriesOfEmpire'' has "[[ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve consensus mechanics]]" where a combination of social norms, ritual observances, and technological amplifiers create a zone of "[[BackgroundMagicField calendrical terrain]]" where "[[{{Magitek}} exotic technology]]" and "calendrical effects" become possible. The former include {{Living Ship}}s with FasterThanLightTravel and internal AlienGeometries; the latter let StateSec agents MindProbe people or [[TouchOfDeath transform them into paper]] with a touch.
84* Played with in the ''Literature/MediochreQSethSeries''. Some people occasionally ''do'' call it magic, but most get quite uppity about the fact that it's [[InsistentTerminology properly called]] "[[{{Whatevermancy}} mancy]]".
85* ''Literature/{{Runemarks}}'' uses "glam". ''Literature/TheGospelOfLoki'' makes it clear that this is exactly the same as the thing we call magic.
86%%* ''Literature/TheSharingKnife'': Ground (Lakewalkers specifically dislike the term magic.)
87* ''Literature/StrengthAndJustice'' firmly assures that everyone's powers in the books are called "dynas" (short for "dynamism"), but at several points magic circles are said to appear when a dyna is in use, and the history of the city very clearly states that the users are all with an innate magical capability. It's a bit unclear as to what it is exactly.
88* ''Literature/ViceroysPride'': Averted; as Dan is setting up his experiment to prove that the alien "technology" is actually magic, he notes that some people might insist on calling it "dimensional energy" or something like that. But he's a nerd who's had too little sleep and too many energy drinks, so he's in no mood to split hairs. In later books this backfires a bit, as it turns out that the world governments were extremely uncomfortable with calling it "magic" and so either tried to ignore or downplay it everywhere they could. It's pretty low on the list of things that go wrong in the end, but it might have helped if Dan had given them a fake scientific-sounding word to use instead.
89* ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'': The One Power, which is segregated by sex, with males using ''saidin'' and females ''saidar''. Using the Power is called channeling. The BigBad has his own flavor, which its followers call the True Power. Then there are miscellaneous bits of less well understood WrongContextMagic floating around, like dudes who can talk to wolves, Ogier Treesinging, Dreamwalking, and Min's aura vision. All of it is clearly magical, but [[NotUsingTheZWord the word "magic" is never used]]; the closest they come is when Aes Sedai (an influential organization of female users of the One Power) are occasionally called "witches" as a pejorative.
90[[/folder]]
91
92[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
93* ''Series/DoctorWho'' tends to handwave what would otherwise blatantly be magic with TechnoBabble, but it ''is'' established canon that magic did once exist, before it was banished by the Time Lords in favour of rationality, and bits of it are still floating around.
94** Block Transfer Computations — complex mathematical equations that were never openly compared to magic, but the most blatant use of them (at least until the novels decided that [=TARDISes=] were made out of them) [[Recap/DoctorWhoS18E7Logopolis involved]] a planet of monastic aliens chanting arcane formulae to reshape reality.
95** A funny lampshade (or is it a reference) is made in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E4TheGirlInTheFireplace "The Girl in the Fireplace"]], where the Doctor says that the window they're looking through to XVIII century France is a "spatial-temporal hyperlink".
96--->'''Rose:''' What's that mean?\
97'''The Doctor:''' No idea, I just made it up. Didn't want to say "magic door".
98** The [[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E2TheShakespeareCode Carrionites]] — witches who use what the Doctor insists is not magic, but physics based on words rather than numbers.
99* On ''Series/{{Haven}}'', the supernatural powers that affect the residents are known as the "Troubles." They're never referred to as magic, despite being indistinguishable from it. This is [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] in season one by Jess Minion, a Haven transplant of Mi'kmaq descent who is accused of being a [[MagicalNativeAmerican witch]] by townsfolk who don't like her animal welfare advocacy. She points out that the Troubles aren't any different from what she's being accused of, and tells Nathan (who is Troubled) that he has been "transformed by magic," and the only thing lacking is his perspective.
100* ''Series/MotherlandFortSalem'': Although the word "witches" is used, the word "witchcraft" isn't. Magic and spells are never referred to as "magic" and "spells" in the show, only as "work" and "workings". The adjective "magical" or "mystical" is never used.
101* In ''Franchise/StarTrek'', humans are absolutely militant about this. No matter how scientifically-inexplicable something is, or if that something can outright change the laws of physics at will, it is ''still'' not "magic". Referring to it as such will provoke an immediate negative response and denial. {{Technobabble}}, even if it is completely unsupported by evidence, will invariably be accepted as an explanation before "magic" will. Things which would be considered "supernatural" in real life such as PsychicPowers or RealityWarper[=s=] are still regarded as scientific in nature, even though Federation science cannot explain them. Which is why talking about the limitless power of "thought" is acceptable, but using the m-word will get you an earful of [[FlatEarthAtheist Flat Earth Atheism]].
102[[/folder]]
103
104[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
105* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'': The Warp and psionics, but Chaotic practitioners don't shy from calling themselves wizards. As a comparison, in the ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'' universe -- as befitting fantasy -- the Warp is unashamedly magic. Mechanically, the Psychic Phase in earlier editions of 40k is an identical clone to the Magic Phase in Warhammer Fantasy, especially notable when identical daemons shared between the two settings who are treated as wizards in one are psykers in the other.
106* ''TabletopGame/NewWorldOfDarkness'': Downplayed, with elements of UnequalRites. Each supernatural splat has its own, very distinct powers, but as a general rule, only [[MageTheAwakening mages]] call their abilities spells, even though they all (usually) recognize themselves as supernatural or magical.
107** ''TabletopGame/VampireTheRequiem'': Disciplines, plus [[BloodMagic blood sorcery]].
108** ''TabletopGame/WerewolfTheForsaken'': Gifts
109** ''TabletopGame/PrometheanTheCreated'': Transmutations
110** ''TabletopGame/ChangelingTheLost'': Contracts
111** ''TabletopGame/GeistTheSinEaters'': Keys, Manifestations, and Ceremonies
112** ''TabletopGame/MummyTheCurse'': Affinities and Utterances
113** ''TabletopGame/DemonTheDescent'': Embeds and Exploits
114** ''TabletopGame/BeastThePrimordial'': Atavisms and Nightmares
115** ''TabletopGame/DeviantTheRenegades'': Variations and Scars
116** ''TabletopGame/PrincessTheHopeful'': Charms and Invocations
117** ''TabletopGame/LeviathanTheTempest'': Vestiges
118** ''TabletopGame/SirenTheDrowning'': Verses
119* ''TabletopGame/InNomine'': Songs and Sorcery, one of the rulebooks notes that many of those in the know will [[InsistentTerminology get annoyed]] with anybody calling Songs "magic", and some will also get annoyed about using that term for Sorcery. Also you don't "cast" Songs, you perform them.
120* Psionics in ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' can fall somewhere in or near this trope depending on the edition and variant rules. The default in arguably the most popular incarnation is "magic/psionics transparency", where spells and psionic powers are identical (i.e. DispelMagic works on psionics and vice versa) and in [[TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms some settings]] psionics is outright referred to as a type of magic. The main difference between the two is that spellcasters work with external energy [[VancianMagic using predefined spells as templates]] (giving them larger numbers of techniques), while psions work with internal energy [[ManaMeter which they shape directly through willpower]] (making their individual techniques more flexible). Earlier editions and mentioned variant rules, however, make psionics fully or partly disconnected from magic (i.e. DispelMagic does ''not'' work on psionics and vice versa), while still having the same magic-like techniques.
121* ''TabletopGame/MageTheAscension'' does use the term magic (or Magick) for its magic in most supplements, but this only represents the perspective of the default player faction, the [[AncientConspiracy Traditions]]. Their enemy, the [[RepressiveButEfficient Technocratic Union]], considers magic merely a special case of advanced applied physics, with its practice often referred to as ''Enlightened Science''.
122[[/folder]]
123
124[[folder:Video Games]]
125%%* ''VideoGame/AnarchyOnline'': {{Naonmachines}}, or Nano Programs, as they are called in this world, are tiny machines to allow characters to perform a multitude of actions, whether offensive or defensive.
126* ''Franchise/AssassinsCreed'': Pieces of Eden. The Apple of Eden, the most prominent of these artifacts, can give the user control others' minds and bodies--even making them kill themselves--or allow a DoppelgangerAttack or apparently bringing the dead back to life; when Ezio uses the Apple in ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedBrotherhood'', it is CastFromHitPoints. The Shard of Eden deflects bullets, and the Shroud of Eden really ''does'' bring people back to life, [[BodyHorror but not in the best way possible]]. Despite all this, they're really just SufficientlyAdvancedTechnology.
127* ''VideoGame/BioShock'': Plasmids. ''VideoGame/BioshockInfinite'' replaces them with "Vigors." You drink them instead of injecting with a syringe, but other than that they work the same. There's some TechnoBabble [[AllThereInTheManual in the manual]] about a species of sea slug that produces large quantities of stem cells that make [[GeneticEngineeringIsTheNewNuke genetic engineering]] much easier, but [[MagicGenetics no amount of genetics explains]] where the {{fireballs}} or [[BeeBeeGun bees]] that fly out of your hand come from.
128* Neo-Psionics in the outer space hack 'n' slash ''VideoGame/CrimsonSea''. Sho and Feany have the extremely rare power to generate different nifty effects based on sound frequencies.
129* ''Franchise/DeadSpace'': The Kinesis and Stasis Modules.
130* Magic in ''VideoGame/{{Destiny}}'' is described as "paracausal", in the noun form "paracausality", in reference to the fact that it defies physical law and causality as we know it. It's furthermore (and more commonly) divided into either Light or Darkness, two opposing paracausal forces which can be tapped into to do magic. Characters "use the Light to" do things another franchise might say a character would "use magic to". The word "magic" ''does'' get used, mostly in reference to the Hive, who channel the Darkness via things like runes and rituals (rather than the [[FullContactMagic practical, intuitive]] means used by Guardians), but their patrons the [[EldritchAbomination Worm Gods]] dismiss the word as one used by small minds and taught them how to do it so they could "respond in kind" to enemy paracausal weapons.
131%%* ''VideoGame/{{EarthBound|1994}}'': Psi
132* ''VideoGame/GoldenSun'': Psynergy can be harnessed by special humans known as Adepts. These Adepts are further divided into [[DishingOutDirt Venus]] (Earth), [[BlowYouAway Jupiter]] (Wind), [[AnIcePerson Mercury]] (Water), and [[PlayingWithFire Mars]] (Fire) Adepts. Psynergy is used by means of mental will, and can only be [[InvisibleToNormals seen by other Adepts.]] Psynergy can be used against non-Adepts and they will be damaged/affected by it. In addition to combat [[ElementalRockPaperScissors elemental damage]], Psynergy can also bestow certain other abilities, like [[PsychicPowers mind reading]] (Jupiter), [[MindOverMatter (tele)kinesis]] (Venus), and [[SuperNotDrowningSkills waterbreathing for one's self and others]] (Mercury). There are also special Psynergy types used for travel or secret hunting [[MagicEnhancement bound to typically mundane items]]. These range from a simple string of beads to an everlasting icicle. Some of these Psynergy-granting items can only be used by Adepts with the same elemental affinity as the item itself.
133* ''Videogame/HalfLife1'': The Vortessence is a binding life force that allows the Vortigaunts to communicate with each other via telepathy.
134* ''VideoGame/{{Inindo}}'' has ninjutsu as one of the three types of magic, consisting of ElementalPowers.
135* In ''VideoGame/{{Loom}}'', the Guild of Weavers utilizes its RealityWarper powers through a "distaff" (which is just a MagicStaff lacking the apparatus normally attached to a distaff), on which "drafts" are cast through sequences of musical notes, or through the Loom itself, which can effect the entire cosmos at once. Each guild has its own form of magic, each couched in the terms and tools associated with its normal occupation.
136* ''VideoGame/TheLordOfTheRingsOnline'': Rune-Keepers and Lore-Masters, to get around the fact that there are canonically only five wizards in all of Middle-Earth.[[note]]Gandalf, Saruman, Radagast, Alatar and Pallando.[[/note]]
137* ''Franchise/MassEffect'': Biotics. It's basically telekinesis and kinetic energy bolts by another name - extremely detailed justifications, but in the end, its still lift spells. All of the advanced technology in the setting works off the same principles.
138* ''VideoGame/TheMatrixOnline'': Hacking. Building on the ''[[Film/TheMatrix Matrix]]'' films' exploration of MagicFromTechnology, the game introduces an entire character class built around casting spells by hacking into the Matrix's code from within. Every "spell" is accompanied by an explosion of green binary code, just to remind players that it's not ''really'' magic.
139* ''Franchise/{{Nasuverse}}'': Magecraft seen throughout the franchise, especially the ''Franchise/FateSeries'', is what mages use to cast spells. While outsiders label it magic, mages are insistent that it's something entirely different. This is mostly a case of UnequalRites; magecraft uses study and Mysteries to develop a way to use {{mana}} to produce an effect that a human being could perform normally; for example, repairing a broken object with a wave of the hand. This is often summarized as "performing possible actions using impossible means." However, True Magic, also called Sorcery, also exists, and produces otherwise impossible effects. For example, materializing the soul, or dimensional travel. Interestingly, "impossible" is based on the [[ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve beliefs of humanity as a whole]]; flight used to be a True Magic, until humans invented various means of artificial flight. Entire branches of magecraft became useless because they were based on this True Magic, but at the same time it became far easier to replicate flight with other forms of magecraft.
140* ''VideoGame/Onmyoji2016'': [[UsefulNotes/{{Onmyodo}} Onmyōdō]], which is already considered Magic by Any Other Name in RealLife.
141* Aya in ''VideoGame/ParasiteEve'' uses "parasite energy" (or PE as it's shown on the UI) as a source of her powers as well as [[BigBad Eve]]. Parasite energy lets Aya manipulate her mitochondria to use abilities like healing, giving her next gunshot a huge power boost, and so on. The sequel still uses the same system, but it's renamed MP since it's now called "mitochondrial points". Regardless, Aya's powers might as well be magic in the eyes of everyone she meets.
142* ''VideoGame/PhantasyStar'': It's an ostensibly SpaceOpera and PlanetaryRomance, but ESP and "techniques" are functionally magic, with true magic being generally considered to be a rare lost art which only a select few can wield.
143** This is a plot point in Episode 5 of ''VideoGame/PhantasyStarOnline2'', where the swords-and-sorcery alternate dimension of Omega has what is referred to by the inhabitants as Mana, which is used to cast Magic. Your allies immediately recognize this to be what you and they know as Photons and Techniques, just by a different name.
144* Sure there's an actual magic user in ''VideoGame/PsychicForce'' and its sequel, but the Psykers don't have traditional psionic abilities such as telepathy and telekinesis. Instead what they have Psy which acts more like the ElementalPowers over the earth, wind, fire and not so traditional ones like darkness, time and gravity.
145* In ''VideoGame/SanityAikensArtifact'', psionics were discovered by the scientist Joan Aiken during an artifact dig in the Middle-East. The psionics in the game doesn't conform to the usual Telepathy/Telekinesis, instead people who became psychic developed "totems" that granted a theme for their powers to develop around (Nathaniel Cain is the creator of the Fire totem, the closest thing to traditional psychic powers). These include the Totem of Science (science-themed powers like lasers or a binary number grid that generates energy), the Totem of Illusion (throw imaginary knives at people), Totem of Demonology (summon demons) and etc. - making psionics act more like magic.
146* ''VideoGame/SecretOfEvermore'': Had alchemy, in what was essentially a VR simulation.
147* In the ''VideoGame/{{Shinobi}}'' series, "ninjutsu" is the name generally used to describe special magical attacks based on fire, lightning, etc.
148* ''VideoGame/SongsOfConquest'': The Essence is one of five types of magical energy generated by units. Wielders can cast any spell as long as they have enough Essence collected, and aren't restricted to one spell by turn.
149* ''VideoGame/{{Spore}}'': Any of the archetypes' superpowers qualify.
150* ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'': Chaos energy and any abilities powered by it generally work like magic, although said abilities are usually, but not always, limited to [[SuperMode Super Modes]], a variety of [[HandBlast Hand Blasts]], or [[SpaceMaster space]]-[[TimeMaster time]] manipulation. While the word magic itself has been thrown around in the games once or twice, [[WordOfGod Word of God]] dictates that magic in the traditional sense doesn't exist in-universe.
151* ''VideoGame/StarCraft'': Psionics (Complete with glowing hands in the sequel even though it is supposed to be a mental power.)
152* ''VideoGame/StarOcean'': Heraldry, Symbology, Runeology, Whateverology... [[spoiler:Justified in-universe as being programming code--the universe is actually an MMORPG, and magic is really just the AI hacking the system, and the eponymous symbols and runes are the game's code.]]
153* ''VideoGame/TalesSeries'' in general calls every single combat technique an "Arte" (with an "e", like in [[YeOldeButcheredeEnglishe Middle English]]), both spells and weapon attacks. While most of close combat artes are explicitly ''not'' magic, they still produce magic-like effects, such as {{Sword Beam}}s. When it comes to spells, the series' standard approach is to name them "[X] Artes", or "[X]-''jutsu''" in Japanese, "X" being a game-specific concept.
154** ''VideoGame/TalesOfEternia'': "Craymel Artes" are accessed by trapping [[ElementalEmbodiment Craymels]] into a special crystal, which then allows its holder to cast spells of trapped Craymels' element(s).
155** ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'': Magic is referred to as such, but there's also "Angel Artes", which can produce undeniably magical effects, but somehow differs from "normal" [[MageSpecies elven]] magic, a difference that is represented by [[FeatherMotif glowing feathers]] that replace usual InstantRunes during casting.
156** ''VideoGame/TalesOfRebirth'': "Force" is a rare and unique power, that grants its user access various abilities, ranging from [[ElementalBaggage creating pillars of ice]], to [[DoppelgangerAttack conjuring illusory copies of oneself]], to [[FreakyFridayFlip switching bodies with someone else]]. Exact powerset depends on the type of Force (listed powers belong to Forces of Ice, Rainbow, and Moon, respectively), some being more arcane than the others.
157** ''VideoGame/TalesOfLegendia'': "Eres" is a mysterious power, described as "the blessing of the will of the sea". It manifests in two forms - Iron and Crystal, with the latter allowing its user to cast StockRPGSpells, and the former being a stand-in for the aforementioned close combat artes, {{Sword Beam}}s and all.
158** ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'': Magic is known as "Fonic Artes", with "Fonic" here referring to {{Minovsky Particle}}s known as "Fonons", which comprise the game's world.
159** ''VideoGame/TalesOfHearts'': "Will Artes", which draw power from one's [[OurSoulsAreDifferent Spiria]].
160** ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia'' and ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia2'':
161*** "Spirit Artes" are used by Rieze Maxians. They have a special part in their brain known as "mana lobe", which houses mana. By reciting a spell, they offer some of this mana to spirits, so they can enact the spell.
162*** Elympions lack mana lobes, so they use an artificial method, that basically fools the spirit into using its own mana for a spell. Spells used this way are called "Calculatrics".
163** ''VideoGame/TalesOfZestiria'' and ''VideoGame/TalesOfBerseria'': "Seraphic Artes" and "Malak Artes" (which is the same thing under different names) can be used by Seraphim[=/=]Malaks, or humans to whom they are bound, whether willingly or not.
164** ''VideoGame/TalesOfArise'': "Astral Artes" run on Astral Energy, LifeEnergy that permeates all existence. That being said, there ''are'' people in the setting who are called "mages", but they still use Astral Artes instead of magic.
165* ''VideoGame/TrailsSeries'': "Orbal Arts" is the umbrella term for all spells that characters use in battles. They are explained to be more of MagicFromTechnology, drawing their power from special crystals, that characters insert into devices called "orbments". It's a sound explanation for simpler spells, but not so much for spells like "Albion Wolf", which summons a giant spectral wolf that fires a ball of energy, and may or may not be an apparition of the Holy Beast of Crossbell. Actual magic does exist, but tends to be more subtle, and is very rare.
166* ''VideoGame/{{Xenogears}}'', ''VideoGame/{{Xenosaga}}'', and ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles'': Ether. At least in the case of ''Xenosaga'', a lot of this is explicitly stated to be nanobots in the environs being somehow influenced by the characters. The effects are still just like magic.
167[[/folder]]
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169[[folder:Web Animation]]
170* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': Every living thing possesses Aura, a [[{{Mana}} soul-generated power]]. [[HunterOfMonsters Huntsmen]] are trained to use Aura [[SuperToughness defensively]], [[KiManipulation offensively]] and manifested as a [[OnePersonOnePower Semblance]], such as SuperSpeed or MagnetismManipulation. Combined with Dust, a [[GreenRocks mined crystal]] that produces [[ElementalPowers elemental effects]], magic-style acts like [[WeatherManipulation summoning storms]] or wielding ice or fire can be produced. However, none of this is magic, which is believed to not exist. [[spoiler:[[WrongContextMagic True Magic]] is a [[{{Masquerade}} secret]] that is independent of Aura, Semblance or Dust. [[HereThereWereDragons Everyone could wield magic]] until [[TheMagicGoesAway stripped by the gods]] for an [[RageAgainstTheHeavens ancient wrong]], leaving behind remnants in the form of Aura, Semblance and Dust. The two remaining humans from that era are [[ForeverWar immortals]] battling [[SecretWar secretly]] for the fate of the world. The BigGood sacrificed most of his magic to [[SuperEmpowering create the Four Maidens]], who -- along with the Huntsmen Academies [[WorldsGreatestWarrior he invented]] -- protect [[ArtifactsOfPower four divine Relics]], which are needed by the BigBad to destroy the world.]]
171[[/folder]]
172
173[[folder:Webcomics]]
174* ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'':
175** The Spark. Semi-example. The machines are powered by science, but you have to have the mysterious "spark" to invent technology that runs on incomprehensibly eldritch principles. Against the basic concept of intuition, the further down you go into TheMadnessPlace, the easier it is for others, especially other sparks, to pick up on the basics of what you're doing (if they aren't killed by then). At the deepest levels, you can become a RealityWarper simply by 'thinking' about the supposed true laws of physics. It's not clear to what extent, though, since the technology is never clearly explained.
176** The old stories and legends of the setting's current SteamPunk era include magic-using figures (explicitly as ancestors to the "modern" scientists), hinting that the Spark may indeed be some kind of RealityWarper power which manifests through the individual's understanding of how the world works (i.e. people used to believe in magic, so Sparks did magic, science has replaced that worldview, so Sparks do science).
177** Before the main plot kicks off and keeps him busy, the Baron used his (very limited) free time working on a side project where he was actually experimenting on the brains of Sparks (namely those who were too dangerous to let live anyway) to try to determine the origin of the phenomenon.
178* ''Webcomic/GunnerkriggCourt'': Ether; [[SufficientlyAnalyzedMagic etheric science]]. A case of insistent terminology by the Court, as opposed to the creatures of the forest.
179* ''Webcomic/TheStoryOfAnima'', [[http://tapastic.com/episode/64773 Anima]] is a mysterious force emitted by all individuals. Its exact nature is unknown; in fact, it's only called Anima because the theory that it's SoulPower is the most popular one. While normally it can only be wielded through the aid of [[{{Magitek}} Catalysts]], some people, known as [[DifferentlyPoweredIndividual Animus]], are capable of harnessing their own Anima into unique super powers.
180* Initally, ''Webcomic/TalesOfTheQuestor'' used "Lux" and "magic" indiscriminately. Then they decided to ban the latter term and stop styling themselves “wizards” because [[ClarkesThirdLaw it's only magic to other people]], and those go by the principle most monotheistic religions have that MagicIsEvil.
181* In ''Webcomic/{{Unsounded}}'', the world's FunctionalMagic is called "pymary". WordOfGod justifies this, though, saying that the word "magic" implies something mystical and unknown. Pymary may look supernatural to us, but in the world of Unsounded, [[SufficientlyAnalyzedMagic it's an ordinary fact of life]].
182[[/folder]]
183
184[[folder:Web Original]]
185* At no point in ''Literature/FunnyBusiness'' are Jeannette's RealityWarper powers called magic, even though that's what most people the characters' ages would think to call the ability to ignore the laws of physics at will. They're generically called her "abilities" or "powers" instead.
186* The debate between magic-users and scientists in the Literature/WhateleyUniverse whether magic is just "psychic powers" or whether psychics in turn are just this trope keeps going. In the meantime, a new approach called "pattern theory" offers potential insight into where superpowers in the setting come from ''in general'', but is still very much in its embryonic stage as well as apparently [[MindScrew nigh incomprehensible]] to most people.
187* ''{{Literature/Prolecto}}'' has the abilities of angels, demons, and members of certain sects of the Survivalist Project. [[spoiler: Like Kayla.]]
188[[/folder]]
189
190[[folder:Western Animation]]
191* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'': Bending. Lampshaded in the very first episode:
192-->'''Sokka''': Why is it that every time you play with magic water, I get soaked?\
193'''Katara''': It's not magic, it's waterbending.\
194'''Sokka''': Yeah, yeah, whatever.
195[[/folder]]

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