Tragedy or Majesty- Dreams Come True and Nightmares Too

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

Velli can’t fail anymore.In a world that's made for monsters and gods, his friends have been slaughtered, his mother is a breath away from death, and the woman he loves might soon be gone. Even better, while most people have powers, Velli has a curse that holds him back.

But there's a dangerous opportunity: he can trade his curse for power. Power that can get him the girl he loves, protect those around him from dying like his friends did, and power that can save his mother's life.

To get this power he must capture legends, monsters, and murderers - beings that have thrived while he has suffered. The more he collects, the more powerful he will become. What begins as a desperate bid for survival spirals into something darker as Velli discovers just how much of his humanity he's willing to sacrifice.

A few lies. A little violence. Each compromise pulls him deeper into the abyss.

This world breaks everyone eventually. For Velli, it ends one of two ways: Tragedy or Majesty.

What readers can expect-A morally complex protagonist willing to cross lines

Using strategy to winHigh-stakes conflicts with legendary beings

Romance subplot that can end in love or heartbreak

Visceral, immersive action sequencesA soft magic system full of mysteryMultiple different origins of the world. It's up to the reader to decide what's true.

Information

Status: Hiatus
Year: 2024
Author: finchink

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.2/ 5.0
Followers: 130
Views: 29,482

Chapters(79 total)

Reviews

No reviews yet. Be the first to share your thoughts!

Community Reviews(7)

Kleo EriliRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Tragedy or Majesty follows Velli, a young man already pushed too far, but not far enough. His friends are gone, his mother dying, and the woman he loves just out of reach. He has nothing. He can take power, but it’ll cost him more than he has.
Parallel to Velli, we have Anne Graves. She answers a midnight knock at the door, and her world ends in an instant. The Weakness she has isn't a fantastical one, it's all to realistic – if she's afraid, she has to follow what is demanded of her. Fear controls her. That’s how she loses everything.
The vibe of Tragedy or Majesty is uniquely bleak, reminding me of the darkest parts about the Slaughterhouse Nine in Wildbow's Worm – it's definitely not for you if you can't work with despair in a story. If you can though, the author finchink doesn't pull his punches. It’s bleak, but not hopeless. The horror elements are absolutely there. The psychological tension is on edge from page one. I especially like the Weaknesses system, because it's not only really well done, but it's also a fresh take in a grenre that usually concentrates on strengths and how to exploit them.
No problems with the grammar and the prose has a good punch.
If you want something light and optimistic, Tragedy or Majesty is not your book. If you want something raw, something that makes you uncomfortable, something that doesn’t promise a happy ending but makes you desperate to see where it goes anyway? Then Tragedy or Majesty is absolutely for you. It won’t let you go.
ElectrikBlueRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I'll preface this by saying that I usually have a lot of trouble reading first-person storytelling. Still, Tragedy or Majesty is so cleverly crafted that I found myself transported in its universe.
The story feels like you're in a dream, from the descriptions to the events, to the monsters/creatures/whateverthefuckthosethingsare, to the MC's thoughts. Everything feels distorted and blurry and nightmarish, yet so coherent.
It's like when you get into a bizarre dream, and everything makes sense to you. Then you wake up, and you're unable to explain anything.
I had trouble getting into the story at first, even though it seemed like there should be everything for me to enjoy. It took me some time to get used to the style and understand where everything was going.
And I'm thankful I stick to it. I even reread the first chapters, now cast under a different light.
This is what I mean when I say it's cleverly crafted. Because what I mistook for a fault in the author's writing was actually willed and full of sense. The internal struggles are deeply evocative, and the author uses literary devices to play with the reader and the characters.
I also absolutely love the relationship between the MC and its curse; some interactions are my favourite parts of a few chapters. It gave me big Disco Elysium vibes (huge compliment). Veilli is also the right amount of flawed but also deeply engaging, and the characters around him are real and interesting.
The story itself is gripping, and I found myself wanting to shuffle through the chapters as fast as possible to know what would come next.
I had to stop for today and wanted to review it immediately. But I'll definitely keep reading, hoping to find a way out of this fever dream.
Evelyn AdelbergRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This story throws you into a world much like our own, where an unnatural Rain caused people to develop powers. Most powers came with a curse - not related to the powers themselves, but to the psyche of an individual.
We follow Velli, who -among other things- tries to get the girl of his dreams (pun intended).
I really liked his character. He is pragmatic, maybe a tad paranoid, and street smart. His heart is in the right place, but there's still a healthy level of hesitation when he makes decisions that out his life, or his relationship, at risk. His main struggle isn't against monsters or overpowered beings, bit against poverty, which adds another layer of relatability.
I don't like Dream's archetype, and when Anne was practically begging her to prove her right in the unfounded violence she was about to release, I saw myself in Anne.
Dream never did anything wrong. Being naive and sheltered isn't a crime...
That was a highlight of storytelling imo.
The highlight of this story is in my opinion its setting. I can't fully put into words my thoughts about it, because I have nothing to compare it to. It's dark, unforgiving, twisted in a way where if you were thrown into it tomorrow, you wouldn't survive it.
The author does an excellent job of establishing this gloomy, dreadful, atmosphere, present in almost every scene.
And the monsters are unpredictable and dangerous. It's the case of "bad scary thing" getting worse. And worse. This adds a lot of tension, as we as readers realise that the characters might not make it out, while we watch them cling onto hope.
Specifically, in the scene with the Drowned Beast and Anne, since the second it entered the apartment, I knew something bad would happen. I expected Dream to die, maybe Anne too, and Velli to at least get seriously injured.
But they all acted almost as if this was normal, showing just how much their world is different from our own, and how that shaped them.
The only drawback is that in my opinion there could be more
ScoatesRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
The story begins with a cryptic note, then moves on to a scene with a woman trying to protect her family, but she is cursed to follow orders when she is afraid. It then moves to a poem summarizing the state of the world. So that's what I mean by saying the story is dreamlike. Even the chapters themselves carry an ethereal quality, with a blurred line between the characters' internal dialogue and external events. There are some nightmarish aspects as well, such as grotesque multi-mouthed monsters with hairy tongues, and sensory overloads, like spiders crawling everywhere.
Despite this, you'll be grounded quickly. One of the characters notes that the sequence of events seem suspiciously well-timed, as if orchestrated by fate. This kind of “invisible hand” guiding the story reflects a sense of predestination, another quality of dreams where events unfold with strange coherence yet leave the dreamer feeling manipulated or controlled.
The characters are distinct and well-developed, with conflicting goals and motivations.
The world is dreary, monster-filled, and chaotic. One of the gods is named "Division" which itself is not very comforting. A cursed rain brought powers, many awful, to the inhabitants.
Grammar is not distracting. I only noticed one typo.
S.O.ARoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
This story kicks off with a punch to the gut and keeps the hits coming. The world-building is clever - taking the usual "people get superpowers" trope and flipping it into "some people get cursed with anti-powers." The author nails the horror elements without going full gore-fest, using psychological terror and body horror in ways that actually serve the plot.
The character work here is solid. Velli's internal struggle with Fate (his mental passenger) gives us natural exposition without info-dumping, and Dream works as both a foil and potential love interest without falling into typical tropes. The pacing keeps things moving while building tension effectively.
Style: Clean writing with good flow, though occasionally gets a bit purple with the metaphors Story: Strong premise with good execution, hooks you early
Grammar/Vocabulary: Solid technical writing with varied vocabulary
Characters: Well-developed leads with distinct voices and motivations
Overall: A fresh take on the superhero/horror genre that delivers on its premise. It balances character development with creepy moments effectively, and the world-building feels organic rather than forced. The relationship dynamics and power system are intriguing enough to keep you reading.
Looking forward to seeing how deep this rabbit hole goes. Just maybe don't read it at 2 a.m. when someone might knock on your door.
SvenwritesbooksRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
In terms of horror, Tragedy or Majesty strikes me as an interesting cross between The Brothers Grimm (the movie with Matt Damon and Heath Ledger) and Full Metal Alchemist in two unique ways:
The atmosphere.
The overall setting of ToM, while set in a more Urban Fantasy world, gives me the same “creep factor” I experienced while watching The Brothers Grimm. There’s something deeply unsettling about the world and the overall feeling it leaves you with regardless of the scene. It might sound cliche, but the term “atmospheric” is right on the money for me. There’s this background aesthetic that’s hard to pin down, but lingers in the back of your mind as you read.
The monsters.
I’m convinced writing good body horror is an artform. Most stories (and movies) lean way too far into it, to the point it becomes outright ridiculous and distracting from the overall narrative. For me, Full Metal Alchemist struck that middle ground even if it was used more subtly than most (and I’m talking the human alchemical experiments gone wrong, not the homunculi just yet). The body horror was deeply disturbing, unnatural and often tragic. You get some inklings of it in ToM as well, which genuinely surprised me.
In terms of design, the monsters we encounter throughout the story remind me of both the human hybrids of FMA and the homunculi themselves. One, in particular, reminded me of Pride in terms of aesthetics and I absolutely loved that. There are some unique twists to their design as well, so don’t mistake them for copy and paste versions of the originals. They have their own unique flavor that makes them memorable in their own right.
There is a fair bit of psychological horror as well, which I will always appreciate. We get glimpses here and there of the absolute worst sides of humanity, like people tormenting one of the cursed characters more or less for the fun and curiosity of it. Among other things. It’s tough not to spoil aspects of it. Honestly, you should just give it a read for yo
D.N.A.Royal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
When I first read it, everything in the story hit me straight in the mind, to the point where I couldn't wait to find out what was really happening—and what would happen next!
Even the writing style is unique!
First, you're introduced to the letter, and you might be confused about its meaning (which is why you should read it and turn to the next page!). Then, you're immediately thrown into the horror of a woman and her family’s situation. From just one paragraph, you can feel the tension, vividness, and gripping sensation, pulling you right into the story. It's like you're the "I" in the story. I personally think the use of first-person POV here is brilliant.
There's a heavy focus on internal struggles and the tension between doing what's right vs. doing what’s necessary to survive. The world is oppressive, with unpredictable threats (like the Drowned Beast), and the characters constantly battle their own fears, guilt, and emotional turmoil. However, sometimes, Velli's internal monologue with Fate can feel overwhelming (as it is too much), causing the narrative to slow down or become difficult to follow.
Technically, the writing itself has minimal errors!
However, in terms of the characters, I like them all, except for Dream...
Dream's almost excessive trust in Anne, especially when Velli is clearly suspicious, can be frustrating at times.
While it's true to her character, it would be beneficial to show more of her internal conflict or doubt about the situation to make her character arc more dynamic (if she even has one). Otherwise, her excessive "trust"—even when it's obvious the world is far from safe—seems less believable. Like... I know that when everything gets too dark, we need light, like Dream. But for some reason, Dream's overly trusting and "too" kind behavior almost reaches a suicidal level, her life easily threatened because she's narrow-minded, like a child who doesn't understand what's wrong with this world.
On the other hand, I really like Anne.
She's