History VisualNovel / MagicalDiary

** In ''Horse Hall'', [[spoiler:Damien falls in love with Mary for real as he carries on his ruse of fake dating her, much to his own disbelief.]]

* HelloInsertNameHere: The PC's name is chosen by the player (with "MarySue"/''GaryStu'' as the default for ''Horse/Wolf Hall'').

* MrFanservice:
** [[TroubledButCute Damien]]. Alienated from his [[{{Muggles}} muggle]] parents? Check! Bullied at school due to his mysterious, demon parentage? Check! Believed to be a vicious [[TheCasanova casanova]] - while really just LookingForLoveInAllTheWrongPlaces and getting his trust betrayed constantly for his trouble? Check! [[spoiler:Too bad it's an act he puts on, specifically designed to invoke this trope.]]
** [[LovableRogue Donald]].
** [[HotTeacher Professor Grabiner]].

** In ''Horse Hall'', the lead-ins to some of Potsdam's lectures or announcements and Mary's interpretation of them. Amusingly enough, this is subverted right away in ''Wolf Hall'' when he correctly deduces what kind of topic she intends to lead to without skipping a beat.

A ''[[SpearCounterpart Wolf Hall]]'' spin-off was released in 2020. It is set in an AlternateContinuity to the original ''Horse Hall'', where the general setting and characters are the same but SchrodingersPlayerCharacter creates numerous ripples causing events to unfold differently. In ''Wolf Hall'', the Player Character is the heir to a powerful noble bloodline masquerading as an ordinary ForeignExchangeStudent, wanting to experience what life is like without relying on his family name.

''Magical Diary'' is a UsefulNotes/RenPy-based RomanceGame series with [[SimulationGame Life Sim]] and AdventureGame elements, released by Creator/HanakoGames in 2011.

In the first game, ''Magical Diary: Horse Hall'', the PlayerCharacter was an ordinary teenage girl until she discovered her inborn capacity for magic and was given The Choice: deny her power and keep her normal life, or embrace it and enroll at the WizardingSchool Iris Academy to learn how to control and use her magic. The game follows her through her first year at Iris Academy and her introduction into the world of magic - and all of the dangers that come with it.

* AnythingThatMoves: Pastel. In ''Horse Hall'', she responds very enthusiastically when she finds out someone (you) is giving out free hugs, and if you send her a valentine card. She retains this personality in ''Wolf Hall''.

* HasTwoMommies: Jacob has two fathers.

* LivingMemory: [[spoiler:The 'Musette' that the protagonist and Ellen interact with turns out to be the spiritual imprint of the memories stored in the original Musette's audio diary, given physical form thanks to being exposed to the protagonist's {{WildMagic}}.]]

* IfYouEverDoAnythingToHurtHer: Kyo can deliver one to Gary the regarding Minnie...which falls completely flat due to [[MistakenForRomance Gary and and Minnie beimg purely platonic acquaintances]] at the time it's given.

* MeaningfulName: Damien shares a name with the kid from ''Film/TheOmen''. [[spoiler:They're both part-demon (although Potsdam calling Damien a cambion implies that his non-human parent is a [[HornyDevils succubus]], not the Devil) and both evil.]]

** Some of the carvings that can be found in the dungeons reference VideoGame/DwarfFortress and Franchise/{{Cthulhu|Mythos}}.

* TheLostWoods: What the protagonist's kingdom comprises of - the title he'll eventually inherit is the Mantle of the Woods.

* IllGirl: Virginia was born prematurely and has some health problems as a result. William explains it to you when she gets sick about halfway through the year.

** Wolf Hall: The protagonist is only in the country for a single year, meaning that most relationships will have to end. [[spoiler: Though the main routes tend to carry on correspondence with the possibility of meeting again later, and William's romantic ending defies this completely.]]

* BunnyEarsLawyer[=/=]EccentricMentor: Professor Potsdam. Despite being the powerful headmistress at a prestigious WizardingSchool she comes across more of a mature GranolaGirl. [[spoiler: Most of the time, anyway.]]

* CockFight: Jacob and Kyo eventually wind up butting heads over who deserves Minnie's attention. In ''Wolf Hall'', the male PC might also get involved. [[spoiler: However, ''Wolf Hall'' also reveals that Jacob and Minnie are only friends and he was just trying to protect her, not win her for himself.]]

* DomesticAbuse: Kyo is extremely possessive of Minnie and pulls a lot of manipulation on her when she tries to break up with him for it. They break up at least twice over the course of the story, but [[spoiler: Minnie will end up going back to him if you don't intervene in some way.]]

* LaserGuidedAmnesia: Used to enforce [[ExtraStrengthMasquerade the masquerade]] and prevent anyone non-magical from finding out anything about magical society. Specifically, it's used on anyone who finds themselves kicked out of magical society, whether by expulsion, breaking a promise, or choice. A milder version is applied to the parents of Wildseeds to make them forget that their children are magical, but in some cases, it hits harder than intended and the parents in question start to forget that they care about their children, [[spoiler: which is what happens to Ellen's parents. She eventually tells Potsdam to make her family forget about her completely.]]

* {{Magitek}}: [[spoiler: Utterly forbidden. Ellen tries to experiment and it nearly gets her expelled. Another character ''was'' expelled for it in the past.]]
** Justified in Wolf Hall, [[spoiler: with the more-informed protagonist mentioning in narration an "Aquarian Incident" that occurred less than a generation prior to the story, where the mixing of magic and technology somehow resulted in [[MySignificanceSenseIsTingling worldwide magical disruption]] and [[EarthShatteringKaboom multiplanar devastation]].]]

* MeaningfulName: Damien shares a name with the kid from ''Film/TheOmen''. [[spoiler: They're both part-demon (although Potsdam calling Damien a cambion implies that his non-human parent is a [[HornyDevils succubus]], not the Devil) and both evil.]]

** [[TroubledButCute Damien]]. Alienated from his [[{{Muggles}} muggle]] parents? Check! Bullied at school due to his mysterious, demon parentage? Check! Believed to be a vicious [[TheCasanova casanova]] - while really just LookingForLoveInAllTheWrongPlaces and getting his trust betrayed constantly for his trouble? Check! [[spoiler: Too bad it's an act he puts on, specifically designed to invoke this trope.]]

* ObfuscatingStupidity: [[spoiler: Professor Potsdam]] is a lot more devious than she first appears.

** Blaise in the ''Wolf Hall'' game [[spoiler: changes back and forth between male and female, but is "officially" female as a resident of Butterfly Hall, even if male at the time, which makes the pronouns even more confusing.]]

* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Potsdam appears to be this, while Grabiner comes across as a JerkAss. [[spoiler: In their own way, they're both reasonable; Potsdam would rather [[AdultsAreUseless remain hands-off]] and prefers to [[SinkOrSwimMentor let students learn about the world through experience]], while Grabiner focuses on protecting his students by terrorizing them when they come close to getting hurt. Grabiner is right that there are many dangers that students NEED to be scared away from, but Potsdam is right that some lessons can only be appreciated the hard way.]]

* SecretCharacter: [[spoiler: Big Steve]] had a side romance path added in a late update for ''Horse Hall''. Reaching it is ''much'' more difficult than any of the other characters. ''Wolf Hall'' has a number of side romances, some of which are nearly impossible to stumble over without a guide.
* SecretSanta: In December, the protagonist will be assigned to give a gift to someone, though due to a sudden snowstorm, this gets changed into making a card instead. Though it's meant to be random, in ''Horse Hall'' the player is always assigned to whichever of her two roommates she has the worst relationship with, granting a last-minute chance to win points before choosing a route. [[spoiler: ''Wolf Hall'' confirms that Professor Potsdam deliberately manipulates the Santa assignments.]] The ''Wolf Hall'' player may end up creating a card for Jacob, Raven, or Barbara.

** It's also how long [[spoiler: Virginia and Jacob would have to stay married, although if you make the right choices you can get Virginia out of this by offering to marry her yourself instead.]]

* ChildhoodMarriagePromise: On Virginia's route, Donald plays a prank on her for Valentine's Day by finding a marriage contract that she and Jacob made as kids and passing it around the school. [[spoiler: Then Potsdam gets word of it and informs the two that the contract they made is enough to be considered a promise, and [[MagicallyBindingContract since the promises of witches and wizards are binding]], they actually have to get married once they turn eighteen or they'll both lose their powers ''forever''.]]

* DeconstructedTrope: The romance with Damien is a deconstruction of the plot where LoveRedeems the TroubledButCute villain. [[spoiler: Damien's read that romance novel, and he's not only manipulating Mary Sue in the classic romance-novel sense, but he's manipulating the player's expectations of how this story goes to get what he wants, and everything he does before the WhamEpisode is in fact pure fakery.]]

* EarnYourBadEnding: The [[spoiler: divorce]] ending requires you to take a very specific series of actions and is a downright ''horrific'' failure mode taking your life FromBadToWorse.

* FaceHeelTurn: From the perspective of magical society, the ending in which [[spoiler: the protagonist loses her magic and escapes with Damien]] constitutes one. The truth of the situation is [[BlackAndGreyMorality something much more complicated]].

* HeroicTeamRevolt: During the final exam, there are plenty of ways to cause your team to collapse from lack of trust (usually due to your personal romantic affairs), but the most blatant way is if [[spoiler: you tried to intercede for Damien after he tried to steal your soul. They will issue a direct ultimatum: give up Damien, or they will throw the exam then and there just to spite you. This also gets you reassigned to Snake Hall.]]

** Him telling you that you might be in danger in the Academy - that you could lose your mind, or your life, or worse? [[spoiler: If you get expelled, you will "lose your mind" by being brainwashed. As for your life and your soul, they are also in danger... from Damien!]]

** [[DefiedTrope Defied]] by Potsdam. She says that if [[spoiler: trying to steal your soul]] isn't technically on the books as an expulsion-worthy offense, she'll ''make'' it one.
** However, used in one event to get out of a MagicallyBindingContract. [[spoiler: Virginia and Jacob promised to ''marry'' when they turn eighteen. They did not promise to marry ''each other''.]]

* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: If the player is a member of the Rose and Wasp, [[spoiler: they can choose to seek revenge on Kyo after he and Minnie have an explosive and public fight, but it goes ''very poorly'' and leads to Kyo injuring Jacob. While the player doesn't get caught, she is horrified at the unintended consequences of her actions.]]
** Similar results if the player uses that membership [[spoiler: to send William to fight Damien, after Damien betrays the player.]]

* NonStandardGameOver: The [[spoiler: Divorce]] achievement in particular, which is difficult to reach but is probably the worst possible outcome for the player character. You can also get expelled if you get too many demerits or if you slack off on your studies in the early game.

* SufficientlyAnalyzedMagic: [[spoiler: Ellen starts to work on developing this on her route. It scares the crap out of the professors.]]
** It's possible to determine that the real issue is her [[spoiler: use of electronics]].

* AlternateContinuity: ''Wolf Hall'' takes place in an alternate timeline to ''Horse Hall''. Whatever happened in the first game does not affect the plot outside of minor [[CallBack Call Backs]].

* DeadAllAlong: [[spoiler: Musette, who was originally thought to have only been expelled,]] is eventually revealed to have died before the game began.

* FaceHeelTurn: The protagonist, if he follows Damien's route all the way to the end. [[spoiler: The only way to get Damien's ending is to decide to be just as evil as he is and play with people's lives for fun.]]
* FalseFriend: Zig-zagged. The protagonist is aware that Damien is one of these, and that he will lie and charm and then betray anyone he dates. The protagonist therefore has the option to do this back to Damien, pretending to be innocently fascinated by Damien in order to lure him in. This may turn into a case of BecomingTheMask on the protagonist's part. [[spoiler: But not on Damien's.]]
* ForWantOfANail: For players who've played both games. The presence of the ''Wolf Hall'' protagonist forces William to choose him as his freshman during initiation. Which means he doesn't choose Ellen. [[spoiler: Which leaves her to be selected by Damien and end up going through much of Mary Sue's plotline from ''Horse Hall''.]]

* MustBeInvited: This is one of the reasons why the protagonist is leery about letting Damien into his room, as he's well aware that this rule affects many inhabitants of the Otherworld and he doesn't know exactly how much trouble Damien will pose to him. As the relationship progresses he does eventually invite Damien in, [[spoiler: and said invite makes Damien's plot to kidnap him that much easier.]]

* OminousVisualGlitch: When the protagonist and Ellen finally find evidence about what happened to [[spoiler: Musette, her sprite glitches in sync with the recording.]]

* RelationshipSabotage: After realising that Damien is starting to put the moves on Ellen, William can enlist the protagonist's help to make sure the relationship doesn't take off. The protagonist can do this in two ways: by preventing a gift that Damien sends to Ellen from reaching her, or by [[{{Honeytrap}} shifting Damien's focus away from her and onto him instead.]]

* UnequalPairing: William is worried about this occurring if he dates the protagonist, thanks to both the age gap between them and because he's technically supposed to be the protagonist's mentor figure during his time at Iris Academy. In order to initiate the romance the protagonist needs to have taken steps to prove that they're both mature and assertive enough to enter a relationship with him on somewhat equal terms, otherwise William becomes convinced that he's taking advantage of them and turns them down.
** [[spoiler:The protagonist's relationship with Damien has shades of this in Damien's ending. Sure Damien appears to be besotted by the protagonists more manipulative side...but this happens ''after'' the protagonist has handed him a new means to achieve his goals on a silver platter.]]

* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: Many of the characters have unusual hair colors. You can give your character one, too.

* CanonName: The ''Horse Hall'' protagonist has a default name, Mary Sue. Likewise, the default name for the ''Wolf Hall'' protagonist is Gary Stu. Both are deliberate nods to the [[MarySue fanfic trope.]]

* SkunkStripe: One of the possible hair colorings for the protagonist.

* RomanticAsexual: Virginia is willing to have a relationship with the protagonist, but admits she isn't interested in doing more than kissing and cuddling with anyone and worries that this will eventually cause problems for them as a couple.

"Magical Diary" is a UsefulNotes/RenPy-based RomanceGame series with [[SimulationGame Life Sim]] and AdventureGame elements, released by Creator/HanakoGames in 2011.

* GayOption: No Hanako Games title would be complete without this. In ''Horse Hall's'' case both Ellen and Virginia fulfill the [[SchoolgirlLesbians role]] officially. In ''Wolf Hall'', the main options are Damien and William.

* {{Asexuality}}: Virginia repeatedly insists she's not interested that way in anyone, male or female. In ''Horse Hall'', even if you manage to enter into a romantic relationship with her (which isn't easy), at the end it comes out that she'd really rather just cuddle.

* DummiedOut: According to the developer Patreon, several scenes were written involving Raven joining the Book Club on her side route, but rendered unreachable because the prerequisites for the Book Club existing and Raven's route are contradictory.

* {{ILLKILLYOU}}: Grabiner makes it quite clear to the protagonist that he'll happily finish them off if any of their careless actions wind up endangering his students. During their first meeting, no less.

* DeconstructedTrope: The romance with Damien is a deconstruction of the plot where LoveRedeems the TroubledButCute villain. [[spoiler: Damien's read that romance novel, and he's not only manipulating Mary Sue in the classic romance-novel sense, but he's [[WrongGenreSavvy manipulating the player's expectations of how this story goes]] to get what he wants, and everything he does before the WhamEpisode is in fact pure fakery.]]

* DeconstructedTrope: The romance with Damien is a deconstruction of the plot where LoveRedeems the TroubledButCute villain. [[spoiler: Damien's read that romance novel, and he's not only manipulating Mary Sue in the classic romance-novel sense, but he's [[PlayingThePlayer manipulating the player's expectations of how this story goes]] to get what he wants, and everything he does before the WhamEpisode is in fact pure fakery.]]

* OnlyChildSyndrome: Most non-Wildseed magical users are only children. The reason why this is the case is discussed in Ellen's route; most adult magical users tend to take up full time residence in the Otherworld, which is a very, very dangerous place for magical children, and so tend avoid having kids all together or chose to have only one, which is raised in the Low World until they can safely enter the Otherworld. The Dansons are the exception to the norm, with their three kids being attributed to the fact that they've chosen to settle down and raise a family in the much safer muggle world. Meanwhile, mixed species couples can physically only produce one child, thanks to magical influence.