A COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE TO BEING THE MOTHERFUCKING DARK ONE

( magic always comes with a price )

-HERE IS THE DEAL WITH MAGIC IN OUAT. IT ALWAYS COMES WITH A PRICE. Generally speaking, that price is probably either small or huge, depending on the magic. You could cast a minor spell and stub your toe later or you could cast the MOTHER OF ALL CURSES and lose your home and get a gaping void in your heart. Basically, magic is a crapshoot. 

 

-MAGIC IS ACTUALLY PRETTY FUCKING STRUCTURED. It follows physics. You can't create something out of nothing with magic and you can't destroy something just with magic- and I mean destroy as in wipe it off the face of the planet by wiggling your nose (you can make them explode, however). You can cause a lot of fucking destruction with magic. You also can't make people fall in love and you can't bring people back from the dead. Dead is dead and true love is extremely powerful and no one fucks with it.

 

-THERE'S TWO PRIMARY TYPES: Fairy magic (which doesn't cost shit because it's ~pure~ if it's not DARK FAIRY BULLSHIT because those exist apparently, despite Rumple's insistence on everything coming with a price- it's just not very useful and also he's a Bitter Betty because god a fairy gives your son one magic bean) and witchcraft (which is like magic heroin). (Note: The main reason fairy magic P R O B A B L Y doesn't come with a price is because (A. It has to be believed in to work and (B. It requires a reagent- fairy dust) Genies and other magical creatures exist, but whatever.

 

-CURSES DON'T HAVE AN UNDO BUTTON. They can be broken, but you can't go "shit I fucked up, lemme do that again." You also can't retroactively alter them. Curses cannot be broken with more witchcraft, because that would be counterproductive and honestly most people don't curse people with the intention of fixing it. Fairy dust and true love's kiss (and true love in general) are typically the most effective ways of breaking a curse.

EDIT: CURSES DO, IN FACT, HAVE AN UNDO BUTTON. I WILL GET BACK TO YOU ON THAT.

 

-Magic does not come from within, which is why anyone can cast spells when they're written in magical spellbooks, etc. Because THE SPELLS ARE LITERALLY. IN. THE BOOK or why normal people can use fairy magic through the use of fairy dust. Witchcraft has to be harnessed, so if there's NO MAGIC in a world, you can't do shit. 

 

- A lot of magic requires a focus- an item used to channel it or a potion of some kind. Not a whole lot can just... happen. Even Rumple sometimes has to use a fairy's wand to channel stronger magic with the help of some fairy dust. Some magic exists in certain items and can be used by anyone, regardless of innate magical ability, such as the CANDLE OF DEATH.

 

-Curses last forever until they're broken. Enchantments tend to be short term, barring a few exceptions.

-Magic is INHERENTLY NEUTRAL. It's what you use it for that matters. The reason fairies are so precious and pure is because their magic CAN only be used for good and if it isn't, you get dark fairy bullshit. I will get back to you on dark fairy bullshit when the show gets back to me on that.

 

-Magic comes from emotion. You tap into strong emotions to get a result. The darker the thought, the darker the magic. Bloodlust, anger, and rage will get a desired effect, but so will love. Ultimately, you have to think of something either dark or something you love enough to use magic to protect- barrier spells and enchantments work best when the latter is used, while the former works for everything else. You can't overthink it- you have to want it emotionally.

-DON'T YOU FUCKING TALK TO ME ABOUT BLOOD MAGIC AND NAME MAGIC RIGHT NOW, I WILL KICK YOUR ASS.

 

GENERAL MAGIC SHIT

CURSES:

-Sleeping curse: Created by a potion either put into someone's food or, more commonly, transferred through blood by lacing a needle of a spinning wheel with it. It puts someone into an eternal sleep from which they can only be woke by true love's kiss.
 

-Transfiguration: Human-animal  only (see spells for object transfiguration). One of the more common curses- turns a human into an animal or a monster or an object. Like all curses, these spells can be broken with fairy dust or true love's kiss. 
 

-Other curses: There are plenty of simple curses that function similar to enchantments, but are much darker in nature. They require certain ingredients and, like an enchantment, require something meaningful, although unlike enchantments, the curses usually require something with a negative memory associated to it, usually a heart or blood or something along those lines.
 

SPELLS:

(Note: almost any "effect"-based can be reproduced in potion form with the right ingredients- i.e. sleeping spells, memory spells, transfiguration spells, etc.)

Teleportation: Appearing and disappearing in puffs of smoke. You can also teleport other people too.
 

Telekinesis: There is no other way to describe it. You throw people around the room or move objects with your brain. 
 

Fireballs: SERIOUSLY. ARE YOU REALLY SHOCKED THERE ARE TONS OF FIREBALLS INVOLVED. THAT'S EVERY SORCERER'S FAVORITE SPELL.
 

Summoning: As long as the object exists in the world, you can summon it to you.
 

Shapeshifting: Alternately known as "being Cora-ed." It's a difficult spell to master, but mastering it means you can assume any shape you choose- at least human-wise. You can also use the spell to change the appearance of someone else. 
 

Transfiguration: For objects only- see "curse" for human-animal transfiguration. This is merely the act of transforming an object into a different object. You can also use variants on this spell to fix broken objects. 
 

Enchantments: Probably the most common- and always used through potions. Enchantments are used to give power to ordinary objects to make them into protection spells or tracking spells, etc.- pretty much 90% of all useful spells come from enchantments. Usually the items, in question, have to mean something to the person involved before the enchantments can take effect. You can also use hair, etc. in making specific enchantments- taking a hair from someone's head can fashion a protection spell against that person.
 

This is also where the SPELLS ARE INSIDE THE BOOK shit comes in. Words are power- enchanted words doubly so. The spells might be specific, but it's the words that are enchanted so anyone can use them.
 

Animation: I have no idea what the fuck to call this- this is basically the act of taking previously immobile objects and animating them- so using trees and vines to capture a person, turning the cute little decorations on the wallpaper into viney traps, or making a stone wall shift to trap a person... Or hell making the ground SWALLOW SOMEONE. That's pretty much the kind of shit we're talking about here.
 

Barriers: Barriers... prevent people from coming into a place. And can also hide it. It's pretty self-explanitory. Invisible chalk makes these spells much easier to perform, especially if you're only protecting a small area. Barriers can either hide a place so people don't come there or hurt you if you try to leave.
 

Dishearting: It's surprisingly not a curse. Basically, it's the act of ripping the heart out of someone, enchanting it and thus keeping the person alive, and then using it to control the person. There are also counterspells to prevent a person's heart from being taken. Also a person who is the product of TRUE LOVE cannot have their heart taken.
 

Memory Retrieval/Memory Erasing/Other Memory Shit: There's two ways to do this. One I'm thinking is Dark One-specific (the act of actually pulling memories out of someone's head violently) and the other is more of an enchantment wherein you use a dreamcatcher to "catch" memories and view them. You can also erase memories or alter them. 
 

Immobilize: Freezes a person or animal or object in place.
 

Preservation: A spell to preserve a body. (or a severed hand)

Healing: Clerical magic, yey!

Mirror-related spells: mostly involves the ability to communicate and spy on people through the use of reflective surfaces. Any reflective surface. Except water, I guess.

Sleeping spells: Unlike sleeping curses, these put people to sleep for a short time. They don't work on people with stronger magic than you. Thanks, Pan.

 

DARK ONE- SPECIFIC POWERS

INVULNERABILITY: Can't be killed or greviously. Period. Unless stabbed with the extra special dagger of destiny. Also immortality. This only functions when there's magic around.

 

AGE MANIPULATION: Can apparently keep people young by spinning the clock back. Can also spin it forward.
 

BEAST MASTER BULLSHIT: Rumple fucking summoned a wraith, but I don't know if anyone could do that or if namedropping himself just makes him ten times less likely to get mauled by shit when he tries it. But considering he was capable of NEGOTIATING WITH OGRES, I guess there's some monster solidarity going on. They hang in the same hoods.
 

FORESIGHT: This one isn't even a Dark One specific power. He just Highlandered that skill from a Seer. It's complicated. And it means that he can see the future, but it's usually a hot mess than can be wildly misinterpreted. 
 

MAD SKILLS: Apparently, being the Dark One gives you mad skills in literally everything you do. Like somehow you SUDDENLY KNOW HOW TO USE A SWORD REALLY FUCKING WELL. And a bow and arrow. And honestly where the fuck did all that instinctual magical knowledge come from???
 

"So you possess the Dark One's dagger, now what?"

-Comes when called. This does not prevent him from just sneaking up behind you LIKE AN ASSHOLE and going "what the fuck do you even want?"
 

-It also doesn't prevent him from pretty much doing whatever the hell he wants short of causing your sorry ass bodily harm, unless you tell him "don't do the thing." So basically make sure you tell him "don't hurl emotional abuse at me" early in your relationship or you're just going to end up in a hot mess.
 

-You should probably also tell him not to have deep meaningful conversations with peasants who will promptly steal your shit and ruin everything. Seriously, put a leash on that thing. What the fuck.
 

-Basically the Dark One is not a mindless zombie drone that kills on command when controlled. He's a sassy fuck who kills on command unless you go around saying "stop being so goddamn fabulous." And that's rude.
 

-If you stab him with the dagger, you became the Dark One. It's like Highlander, but with less property damage, more sparkles, and has absolutely nothing in common with Highlander. Except that Rumple is Scottish. I CONNECTED THOSE DOTS SO WELL.