I’m gonna come up with some magic systems/powers for kicks now here we go
-emotions can be transmuted into materials and crafted into items, in a process called catharsis. the transmutation captures a person’s entire emotional state in that moment, and items made from the purest emotions are highly prized. each emotion provides a buff of sorts, but if it’s very strong and/or the user is particularly sensitive, they can be overwhelmed.
-magic is in the teeth. humans can augment their abilities by adding the fangs of magical creatures to their mouths. dentists are a big deal. don’t want someone to use their magic? You Know What You Must Do.
-”oracles” see the lines of fate and can manipulate them, but it’s a highly complex skill with a lot of weird rules. also the universe has a sense of irony. and it REALLY gets weird when you have two oracles in competition, like two people playing chess with destiny. chesstiny, if you will.
-people draw their magic from colors, and each color provides a different function. mages color-coordinate for specific effect, but often hide their chosen colors under drab robes for the element of surprise. they’ll also do everything in their power to color their surroundings to their advantage
-power is determined through the establishment of bonds with others. bonds need not be positive, but they must be sealed over a token. most bonds are a net positive for everyone; some are unbalanced. everyone keeps their bond tokens close at hand, and they change with the relationships. and maybe different people provide different kinds of power in a bond? if you kill someone, all their bonds will be alerted.
…just @ me next time. Deesh. Mischief Gremlin to the Rescue!
#1: Emotamancy - Stands to (my) reason that there would be people whose job it was to ‘pull’ pure emotion from people and they could probably use certain folks as fonts of such. Anger from Karens, for instance.
The good ones would help people with Too Many Emotion [chronically anxious comes to mind] whilst the bad ones would just abuse their power to truly stomach-churning consequences. [Spouse plotting to murder you because you’re a cataclysmic asshole? We know someone who can drain all that rage off of them for a reasonable fee!]
Or if you want a mundane angle - customer service representative who shills emotions from the people who see them about problems all day.
#2: Dentomancy - Zookeeper medic seems to be the ideal job for sourcing animal teeth. Especially if there is an equal magic to regrow teeth once they’ve been pulled [something I dream of because shitty teeth, though the tooth-growing magic should be time-consuming and intense so people don’t exploit the system]. Shark teeth would be _everywhere_ as a potential magic implant, but either they don’t last long or they regrow from a bud and biting your tongue/cheek/lip would be excruciating.
Plot from this would be Right Dentist, Wrong Paperwork, where the potential mage gets the wrong set of teeth and adaptation becomes vital.
#3: Oraculamancy - I love the idea of two warring seers setting up the strings of fate and getting everything tangled. Something about hyperspecific prophecies versus hyperspecific circumvention.
OFC the pawns in their machinations fall in love and accidentally fulfill both sets of prophecies/circumventions because I’m Just Like That™
#4: Prismancy - Gandalf the Grey? Sauruman the White? Pffft. Rainbow warriors make everything gay and the universe is fabulous.
I got my coat of many colours, bitch - come at me!
#5: Bondamancy - If I can “borrow” [read: steal] a few lines from Critical Role, I give you - the Button Mage. A motley figure who’s a mixture of a Pearly Monarch and Look Mummy I Made This For You. A very friendly magecrafter who helps wherever and however they can and makes two buttons that match the person they aid.
Handmade is always better, but one off a coat/dress/pair of pants can do in a pinch.
A handshake, a kiss, a pledge, and the bond is formed. If either is within reach of the other, and the other is in need, they will KNOW. What was once the lost lonely and helpless has a sudden crowd of people who were just passing and heard the call.
It’s the ultimate in networking solutions.
If any of these ideas appeal to you, my prompts arena is over here. Feel free to add a basic storyline or trope for extra flavour.