I don't yet have a proper title in mind for this, but the genre is magical girl/boy with a slightly more of a regular superhero and dark fantasy twist. There is plenty of potential here for tragedy, a lot of black comedy and possibly some GxB/GxG, depending on whether or not I feel that writing obtainable into the routes would feel forced or not alongside the actual plot. (I'm all for otome, man, so hopefully this makes itself a reality~) Right then, without further ado, the plot.
Concept:
Quartz is a city quite unlike any other. Aside from the small fact it happens to be one of the many supernatural cities dotted about the earth, over the past year or so, there seems to be something very wrong with it. All of a sudden, Quartz has been overrrun with people that almost seem to fit the tropes of 'magical girls and boys' - as in transformations and named attacks, mind you, not your run of the mill witches and warlocks. Which would be all well and good, if it wasn't for the fact that such a thing has never been seen before by the supernatural community, nor should it be possible. Oh, and the fact they're killing eachother. That too.
After a bit of very distant observation and careful research, the QPD deduced a few things. All of these 'magis', as they came to be known, were previously witches or warlocks, and all seemed to have met with a very unfortunate accident not long before they underwent this strange transformation. Accidents that should have almost definitely been fatal. These poor souls, on their death beds, were met by a friendly face and a very kind offer, an offer that few dying people would ever think to turn down. A second chance at life, with a renewed purpose - and power beyond compare. All for the low, low price of your soul.
And so, for the past year, the rogue contract demon known as 'Ghast' has been making these offers to unfortunate witches and warlocks, almost taken before their time, giving them life and some of his power in exchange for them taking on a new life as a magi, to use their new powers to reap the souls of evil. Or any souls at all. He doesn't really care. Using this new surplus of souls to keep himself comfortable and provide for his new protégés, everything seemed to be coming up Ghast... until Hell got involved. Naturally, stealing souls that would otherwise be intended for Heaven or Hell doesn't sit right with the higher ups, and once Death himself caught wind of what Ghast was doing, it seemed about time that the Reapers got involved - with Hell's collaboration - to track down this rogue contract demon and stop his selfish deeds. But Ghast is two things if nothing else - incredibly clever and incredibly determined to survive.
So Ghast did what contract demons do best - find a loophole and exploit the hell out of it. And this is where our protagonist comes in.
Nineteen year old Sonia has always wanted to be a superhero, ever since she was little. So, when Ghast appears to her and tells her she's been chosen in the aftermath of a car crash, naturally she's delighted. Well, as delighted as one can be in such a situation anyway. Ghast gives the young witch the means to perform a ritual he claims will 'bind' them, giving Sonia his powers and allowing her to become the magi she has always dreamed of. Little does she know, this ritual binds Ghast to her as a servant, meaning that he is now both entirely in her control, and completely untouchable by Reapers and Hell. A win-win situation, right? Not quite. There is still the small matter of the other magi roaming the city, now unknowingly consuming the souls they reap due to Ghast being conveniently missing, and becoming quickly demonized and extremely hungry. Any and all magi become a target for the powerful, particularly the newbies - a category that Sonia fits into nicely.
Can Sonia live out her dream of being a 'superhero', survive the brutal hostility of Quartz's magi and dodge the Reapers that seem to be popping up everywhere to try and put a stop to the soul buffet going on in the city? With Ghast's 'helpful' tips, and the assistance of fellow magi Valentine, her chances are looking... slim at best. Fingers crossed?
Cast: (WIP)
Sonia Kael - '???';
The Delusional Hero...?
Sonia is a little... odd. She has always been utterly fascinated by superheroes, wanting to hone her magic as an arcane witch to be best suited to someday fighting alongside her masked heroes, obsessed with combat based magic, gadgets and other such things. Unfortunately, her parents voiced a few small flaws in her plan, namely that first and foremost, superhero isn't a viable career path, and second, superheroes aren't... real. Sonia was discouraged, but she did not forget her dream. Instead she pursued the slightly more realistic goal of art and design - having shown a flare for it in her years of doodling superhero costumes almost everywhere in her school books - on the surface at least. Attempting to lead a life of normality proved to be quite the challenge, and though Sonia struggled with the social aspect of college life, she at least conquered the academic side with relative ease, allowing her parents to breathe a collective sigh of relief. Sonia earnt herself an apprenticeship with a well-known company, moved out and everything seemed to be going well. Then a car crash left her trapped within the twisted wreckage and on the brink of death, until the smiling face of a friendly stranger appeared from the fog and offered her all of her greatest dreams on a silver platter. It wasn't like she was using her soul anyway.
Darcy Elmore - 'Valentine';
Self Proclaimed Magi Extraordinaire.
The life of a magi is a rough one, quite the dog eat dog world... in some cases, literally. So when Sonia finds herself really quite out of her depth and up against some powerful magi, the 'mysterious' and 'dashing' Valentine comes to her rescue. Who is then revealed to be a little more self absorbed and vain than anything else, but he is - at the very least - a damn good magi. Valentine does not agree with the state of affairs that the magi world has descended into, a volatile anarchy spilling blood left right and center. And Valentine is not a violent man. Sort of. Regardless, he takes pity on Sonia, having been unceremoniously thrust into this deathtrap, and decides to take her under his immaculately groomed, unnecessarily showy wing. And together, the two of them shall take the world by storm...
Ghast;
The 'Benevolent' Teacher.
The contract demon behind this whole mess. Ghast decided that working for hell simply wasn't for him - they were going in two completely different creative directions, Hell saw him as an obedient worker, and Ghast saw himself somewhere a little different. Say, in a managerial position. Maybe even CEO. Ghast got just that, in the form of being self employed, and eventually found his way to Quartz to see about striking himself some deals off the record. But simple contracts were just so boring, it was always the same old shtick; 'your soul for your loved one' or 'your soul for infinite fame and wealth'. Perhaps it was tedium, perhaps it was the fact that the modern population seemed to be catching wise to these age-old tricks, but Ghast desired a new game. Taking a little inspiration from some popular media he happened to stumble upon, Ghast decided to make things more interesting, turning a lucky few percent of Quartz' citizens into magi, simply to sit back and watch what happened next. Their task was simple; they would remain as powerful magi able to hone their craft and save lives... all as long as they harvested souls regularly. The souls would keep them powerful, and more importantly, alive. After all, it is difficult to function without a soul... But, as with all good things, it had to come to an end, and with Reapers on his trail, Ghast was a desperate demon. Finding Sonia was no more than a stroke of good luck, and after spinning her the old 'chosen one' story - which worked a lot better than expected, the poor thing's a bit superhero mad, who knew? - he found himself nice and cosy in the position of her resident contract demon servant. Now he has a slightly different problem; keeping her alive. Because if she dies, the Reapers will come down on him like a tonne of bricks, and that's the last thing he needs.
A few extra design concepts that will eventually be worked into developed characters:
Progress:
- Sonia's regular and magi forms designed.
- Valentine's regular and magi form designed.
- Ghast designed.
- Side character concepts designed, awaiting development.
Questions:
- Do you like the sound of the premise?
- Would you be interested in seeing otome-esque elements in this? (obtainables worked into the routes, etc.)
- What do you think of the characters so far? Do you have a favourite?
Any other questions, alongside title and character name suggestions are always appreciated~!
) Anyway, yes, I'm interested in your mystery project! In particular, I want to know more about the inner workings of Hell. I wonder what the folks there think of this mess? 
