TotallyHuman
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- Feb 13, 2019
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I adore the idea of magic. Many a time I find it underutilised in stories because it opens up a whole world of potential developments - but I digress.
What I enjoy a lot is when magic is granted by some entities beyond humanity. Those could be Lovecraftian eldrich horrors or plain old demons from Hell or pagan Gods or spirits of nature, jihns trapped in lamps, 1000 year old witches who want to trap their best frenemy crush in an everending loop of murder mystery because they are yandere, even the big G (and I'm not talking about Google) - anything but some stupid mana fuel for miracles powered by imagination^TM (ugh).
Anyway, since I am talking about magic being granted, why not have it be traded? In a faustian bargain, of course. Because having characters be given powers to warp reality for cheap is boring and having them come out with profits when dealing with forces that fundamentally are beyond their very species in everything but idiocy feels forced. I have always been the kid to cheer for the devil in movies like Constantine and Bedazzled.
So I want to read any stories from here (or from royalroad, that space ship battles forum and other similar platforms but mainly from here) where magic is explicitly traded for with great supernatural beings in a very unequal trade - even if it is never really shown that the price is very heavy outright but implied, like the character trades their soul for magic and it is never really shown how they then suffer eternal damnation but it is already obvious that something that lasts at most a lifetime is worthless compared to something that will be there forever. But it can be shown that the price is heavy outright.
In case it wasn't obvious, the bargain cannot be escaped from. You seal it and you seal your doom.
Other requirements... no harem, preferably tragedy, would like psychological but really as long as it's not a harem and depicts magic as a faustian bargain then it can be a comedy for all I care.
What I enjoy a lot is when magic is granted by some entities beyond humanity. Those could be Lovecraftian eldrich horrors or plain old demons from Hell or pagan Gods or spirits of nature, jihns trapped in lamps, 1000 year old witches who want to trap their best frenemy crush in an everending loop of murder mystery because they are yandere, even the big G (and I'm not talking about Google) - anything but some stupid mana fuel for miracles powered by imagination^TM (ugh).
Anyway, since I am talking about magic being granted, why not have it be traded? In a faustian bargain, of course. Because having characters be given powers to warp reality for cheap is boring and having them come out with profits when dealing with forces that fundamentally are beyond their very species in everything but idiocy feels forced. I have always been the kid to cheer for the devil in movies like Constantine and Bedazzled.
So I want to read any stories from here (or from royalroad, that space ship battles forum and other similar platforms but mainly from here) where magic is explicitly traded for with great supernatural beings in a very unequal trade - even if it is never really shown that the price is very heavy outright but implied, like the character trades their soul for magic and it is never really shown how they then suffer eternal damnation but it is already obvious that something that lasts at most a lifetime is worthless compared to something that will be there forever. But it can be shown that the price is heavy outright.
In case it wasn't obvious, the bargain cannot be escaped from. You seal it and you seal your doom.
Other requirements... no harem, preferably tragedy, would like psychological but really as long as it's not a harem and depicts magic as a faustian bargain then it can be a comedy for all I care.
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