Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-25926288-20150622205208/@comment-24008305-20150623025028

I love discussing magic systems too! In fact, there's a very long thread on The Vampire Diaries wikia about the magic on the show and it's simply fascinating! Some of these people really did their homework...culture, mythology, semiotics, occultism & what not. Unfortunately, I joined the discussion a bit too late as it's not active anymore. But it's an incredible read and a very good reference for fantasy writers.

Anyway, as I posted on that wikia, I love the mechanics of magic, how & why it works, as well as the aesthetics, the rituals & ceremonies and general spell work (besides TVD, another example is Charmed). OUAT may not have an elaborate system of magic but I do like what they've managed to do, especially in Wonderland. Not only does Wonderland have Middle Eastern influences (I love Eastern Cultures!) but I feel that the magic is a balance between internal (sheer will power) & external (spells, potions, items, enchantments, etc.). They've also managed to highlight the laws of magic as well (OUAT & Wonderland are in the same universe but I don't recall ever hearing a discussion on the laws of magic on OUAT).

On OUAT, while I do love that most characters are born with magic (a simple hand wave and bam! magic! who doesn't love that?) it would be nice to see some more external magic (I don't think potions were ever fully utilized on OUAT nor magical items except for written spells and Rumple's dagger; some other magical items were seen, like the magic globe, but they're only utilized once or twice; Also, I'm kinda confused about the word 'spell' as it's used on the show. OUAT seems to be throwing around that word as a catch-all phrase for magic; I thought it simply meant an incantation that generates magic).