The Fury's Book Club-- Reading Cursed World: Initial Sparks

[LaZodiac]

Regarding any and all speculations I'm going to wait until the very end of the book to say basically anything on them.

I highly encourage you do theorizing and stuff though, I love to see it. I do enjoy foreshadowing, and secretly seeing people find the foreshadowing fills me with an unending glee.

[Mith]

Spoiler: Metaphysics

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Because most people don't know the word umbra?

and "collective archetypal idea of shadow" theory is still possible unless the author- YOU- confirm or deny it, not REALLY being a manipulation of darkness but a manipulation of what people think what a shadow specifically is, and not what they think darkness in general is. so it could be a manipulation of the shadows cast by people specifically and not general darkness encompassing night and dark spaces and whatnot that some people don't count as shadows.

@ Mith:
That sounds interesting and like you know more about the science about it than me, so.....I'm not sure if I can say anything about it very well? But if Umbrons/ Penumbrons and Entrons led to the universe being cyclical in its Bang's, it would make some stuff work, I guess?

but thats the sensible stuff, for a wackier theory, maybe Gamma is descended from people with Shadow DNA because his ancestors fell in love with people from a world made of shadows, so his magic in fact opening up invisible portals through shadows to manipulate magical shadows to to do stuff with. would also explain Rei: maybe her dad was a being literally made of magical fire. it would explain why she doesn't have a father: her dad was fire, he had to go back to fire world.

Spoiler: Metaphysics

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The science is really complete nonsense. It just leads to some interesting pseudoscience visuals kinda like this universe marble, except it's this cyclical cycling between dark and light. The real fun rabbit hole is the fact that you could never tell if the dark energy/matter it is surrounded by is actually "the rest", or if it is contained in it's own shell of entronic crystal which is inside
a layer of high energy plasma.

Also a fun thought on mancers: we don't know how mancers break down, but it could be that they started out as people with lesser effects (infrared mancers that just controled heat, but would lose control of pure fire) that either inter-breeding with other mancers developed more nuanced abilities that became dominant over time.


Heck we don't know if mancers are human specific.

Legend of the Phoenix: A Pyromaniac Crow!
Kraken: A giant aquamancer octopus!

[DataNinja]

Spoiler: Metaphysics

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Kraken: A giant aquamancer octopus!

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Hydromancer is what I think was decided upon - pyro(mancer) and aero(mancer) are both Greek in origin, so hydro(mancer) fits better in with both the -ro suffix and the theming better than the Latin aqua(mancer). I can't remember if any earth mages are mentioned, but geomancer definitely has different connotations than terramancer, so that might be up in the air. Thanks Final Fantasy.

[LaZodiac]

As an aside to all you wonderful folk, I went for a walk today and took some pictures of the local flower installations that are now set up. If you want a more physical example of the way Laketown's commercial district is described.

You can see them here: https://lazodiac.tumblr.com/post/622...%C2%BD-flowers

[The Fury]

Sorry about needing to step away for a bit. Looks like discussion about metaphysics and the implications of mancers' abilities really took off though! Anyway, it's time for Chapter Nine

Spoiler: Chapter Nine

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Our chapter opens where we last left off, Gamma using shadow powers to attack Verde and Ella, while Rei uses pyromancy to produce fire in order to defend her friends.

...Or so it would seem. Gamma says that intense emotions can awaken a mancer's powers, and doing something like this seemed like it would work. After all, he "sensed something" in Rei and had to know if she was a mancer or not. Mm-hm. Rei is understandably angry with this plan and punches Gamma in the guts. Gamma, being a skinny kid still recovering from some injuries, drops. The awkwardness of the situation only gets worse when Rei realizes that while she can activate her fire, she still doesn't know how to put it away. Obviously, it won't do to for Rei to go around with her right hand on fire. So our heroes patch up Gamma so he can tell Rei how to get her powers back under control.

All this seems a lot for Ella. who's shuddering, stammering and obviously unhappy about Rei promising to not do anything reckless and, then coming back to a place like the burnt dance club. And to meet someone like Gamma. Verde meanwhile is trying to convince herself that it's all a bad dream. In the process of trying to calm her friends down, the fire on Rei's hand subsides... Well, that's one problem dealt with. Now to explain what's going on to a shaken up Ella and Verde, and do something about Gamma over there, passed out on the floor.

Rei... has a somewhat dubious grasp of what's going on and doesn't even have a firm understanding of what she is. She does her best to explain. The whole fire hand thing? That's definitely from her. She is a pyromancer after all! She snaps her fingers a few times to try and get something to happen. A little like messing with a broken cigarette lighter. Only something does happen-- the campfire that our heroes have made in the middle of the floor flares up causing a bit of a scare.

Verde tries her best to make sense of the situation. Ella's palm-reading, Rei's fire and Gamma's shadows, is real magic? Gamma clarifies, his ability is "shadowmancy, not magic." Oh, good. You're awake. Though it is confirmed that mancies and magic are not quite the same thing. Mancies are an inborn talent of sorts. Does this mean that Ella's palm-reading is magic? From where we're sitting, no. Probably not. It's suggested that Ella is just very good at reading people, and this is something demonstrably true about the character from her early appearance in the cafeteria back in Chapter One.

Further speculation from the characters will have to wait though, since Gamma is suddenly doubled-over in pain. What's going on? Is he more seriously hurt than previously thought? Did Rei's punch open something up that wasn't noticed? ...Nah, he just hasn't eaten. Thankfully, Verde brought lunch-- a bag from a chain sandwich shop called "Smile's Subs," which is marked with a creepy grinning sandwich-face mascot... This sandwich chain is objectively amazing and I wish that it were real.
Gamma wolfs down the sandwiches meant for Rei and Ella, and makes some odd remarks-- evidently this is his first time eating anything. As in first time eating anything ever. Verde wonders whether that means Gamma is entirely human. Gamma for his part, chimes in with another odd remark, that he's human and they'd know if he wasn't. To clarify, in this setting evidently there are people that aren't human people. Gamma demonstrates by making some shadow puppets. There are beastmen, demons, and of course, plain ol' humans. Gamma's shadow puppets depict a woman with vaguely canine ears and a tail, while the demon he shows is a hulking lizard-beetle-humanoid thing. Interestingly, both wear lab coats. Both beastmen and demons are something forgotten by history and are now regarded as creatures of myth and exist in hiding. Demons can apparently shapeshift into a more human appearance, beastmen rely on magic glamours. What Gamma does emphasize though, is that they're just people.

Our chapter ends with the girls leaving Gamma and Rei promising to bring him more food, at least enough to last him a while. Gamma reflects on this, noting that it's good to have people that he can trust. Yet he expects danger, he hopes that he can push them away before things get bad.

For our closing thoughts, there's a lot more to look at with Gamma in this chapter. His concern that there's something after him doesn't seem unfounded since Red Crystal was after him when he was first found by Rei. His remarks that he's never eaten food before, his distaste for going to a hospital and his depicting his shadow puppets wearing lab coats create a vague sketch of the past that he's escaping. Not only has he spent most of his life in hospitals and/or labs, but it seems like he's been in places like that for so long that he doesn't have any memories of not being in one. So much so that he seems to think that lab coats are just what ordinary people wear. For all we know, maybe he's been in places like that for his entire life.

The only other things I can say about Gamma are speculation. Such as why was he there? It's implied that he was experimented on, but by whom and why? I've considered that ONY is aware of the supernatural and is interested in fighting it, and that Kestrel might be involved in this. It might be that ONY was prodding at Gamma to better understand his shadowmancy in order to develop countermeasures to it.

Come again for Chapter Ten.

[Rater202]

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Okay, I am going to say that "Mancy" is a weird term to use for things that are defined as separate from magic in-setting. No offense, Zodi.

And yeah. "Scary constructs in lab coats" is a huge red flag. Rei should probably avoid hospitals and laboratories for a while, at least until she gets more information.

[DataNinja]

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Okay, I am going to say that "Mancy" is a weird term to use for things that are defined as separate from magic in-setting. No offense, Zodi.

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Believe me when I say that it took a lot of hammering out to get things in a way that wasn't completely confusing when both those terms were involved.

[Mith]

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Okay, I am going to say that "Mancy" is a weird term to use for things that are defined as separate from magic in-setting. No offense, Zodi.

And yeah. "Scary constructs in lab coats" is a huge red flag. Rei should probably avoid hospitals and laboratories for a while, at least until she gets more information.

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-mancy seems to be a suffix for divination via specific means. And divination is the idea of gaining knowledge from the divine through specific means. "Magic" ends up being the base root of the more general practise. So one could argue that Mancers are those that are born with a very specific tool set that they can apply while Magi (wizards) are those that build their own tools.

I could see the distinction arising simply because one is completely inborn, while the other could be taught. We see something like steel as "unnatural" even though it arises from the understanding of manipulations of completely natural processes.

My question is if mancers are the natural version of "magic users" compared to the practise of wizardry, how did the first wizard arise?

I was about to write a crackpot theory about magic, but I think that needs to wait a few chapters.

[Lord Raziere]

Spoiler: Chapter 9:

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Now things are starting to open up.

and yeah, there is a distinction between magic and mancy. I forgot that there is apparently Faunus Beastmen and freaking demons according to Gamma. also shapeshifting and glamours exist in this setting.

I could tell you guys what the practical difference is between mancy and magic, but that is probably spoilers

and yeah, this is when Gamma's backstory starts becoming obvious: he isn't exactly home raised. he knows mystical things, but not basic stuff.

[LaZodiac]

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Okay, I am going to say that "Mancy" is a weird term to use for things that are defined as separate from magic in-setting. No offense, Zodi.

And yeah. "Scary constructs in lab coats" is a huge red flag. Rei should probably avoid hospitals and laboratories for a while, at least until she gets more information.

Spoiler: Chapter 9

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It takes a bit to elucidate on what the structural differences are and why it matters that there is a difference, but for now consider it like a Sorcerer/Wizard dichotomy. That's not fully accurate, but it works as a good shorthand. Both are magical but whereas magic is regimented and studied, mancies are a natural part of you that grows as you do. As said the book goes into it in more detail later. If this is just a minor complaint about the name- there's really no other way I could get it across.

Also, if anyone is curious; the dog woman Gamma shows off is a corgi.

[The Fury]

Spoiler: Chapter 9:

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Now things are starting to open up.

and yeah, there is a distinction between magic and mancy. I forgot that there is apparently Faunus Beastmen and freaking demons according to Gamma. also shapeshifting and glamours exist in this setting.

I could tell you guys what the practical difference is between mancy and magic, but that is probably spoilers

and yeah, this is when Gamma's backstory starts becoming obvious: he isn't exactly home raised. he knows mystical things, but not basic stuff.

Spoiler: Chapter Nine

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This is where Beastmen are confirmed, though one of the articles Rei read mentions a woman in a purple coat with a cat tail. So they're at least foreshadowed early on.

[LaZodiac]

Spoiler: Chapter Nine

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This is where Beastmen are confirmed, though one of the articles Rei read mentions a woman in a purple coat with a cat tail. So they're at least foreshadowed early on.

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Hehe, I was wondering if people would notice that on re-reads/reflection. I love leaving little things like this around the place.

[Rater202]

Spoiler: Setting and Metaphysics

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1: Are their photomancers(Lumenomancers?)

2: Would their powers include being able to make their hands glow with an awsome power?

I am so sorry. I do not really have more to comment on than I have already said.

[Mith]

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Hehe, I was wondering if people would notice that on re-reads/reflection. I love leaving little things like this around the place.

I had missed it, and I have read through the book 3-4 times by now.

[LaZodiac]

Spoiler: Setting and Metaphysics

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1: Are their photomancers(Lumenomancers?)

2: Would their powers include being able to make their hands glow with an awsome power?

I am so sorry. I do not really have more to comment on than I have already said.

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You're not obligated to comment every time, don't worry about it.

It'd be Luxmancy, if there was one. And absolutely yes.

[Lord Raziere]

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Hehe, I was wondering if people would notice that on re-reads/reflection. I love leaving little things like this around the place.

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Oh trust me, I'm getting a lot of that going back and rereading this. there is a certain paragraph of a certain conversation that looks innocent at first glance but takes on a whole new meaning when you realize what its really about that I want to talk about, but haven't gotten to the point where I can.

[The Fury]

Whew. Who knew doing a daily write-up for book chapters would be so tricky? I sort of got caught up in actually reading ahead. But anyway, we're not here for my excuses! We're here to dig into Chapter 10, so let's go!

But first, a quick aside, since a lot of folks seem to be interested in the way the supernatural works in this setting.

Spoiler: metaphysics and stuff

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I wonder if all mancers have weirdly appropriate appearances? Rei is described as having bright red hair, and she's a pyromancer. Gamma has pitch-black hair, light blue eyes and the skin of someone that's never seen sunlight, and he's a shadowmancer.

Spoiler: Chapter Ten

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Our chapter begins with Rei, Verde and Ella leaving the burnt dance club, recovering from the unrealness of the situation they now find themselves in. For Rei's part, she's kind of wiped out. As the three eat lunch go to unwind at Neon City, she's so unfocused that Ella is able to beat her at the Knights of the Stars arcade version. It turns out, Chloe is still on Rei's mind. Specifically that Chloe wasn't quite herself, and maybe mercilessly crushing her in the final round was something wrong. Which... I believe that Rei might still hold onto some feelings for her former friend that she doesn't understand fully. Like I've speculated earlier, I don't think either Chloe or Rei is happy about how their friendship ended. For now though, it's time for Ella to do something cute.

Ella talks to Rei by doing a silly voice for a fluffy plush moth that I guess she got as an arcade prize. We also get the first mention of Ella's last name-- it's Umbra. Get it? Ella's iconic item is her umbrella. So "Ella Umbra"-- "Umbra, Ella"-- "Umbrella?" ...Well, I think it's funny.

Anyway, Ella offers to read Rei's palm, and presumably Chloe's too to do a "love fortune" for the two of them. Rei protests that she isn't in love with Chloe. Ella has a unique perspective on this though. After all, other kinds of love exist. Which is actually an example of why I'm a little hesitant to assume that the feelings, which appear to be somewhat mutual, between Rei and Chloe are necessarily romantic. Maybe the two girls do love each other, it's clear that they're thinking about one another. It might be romantic, but it might not be. In any case, both Verde and Ella encourage Rei to make up with Chloe. For now, Rei heads home as it's getting close to sunset.

At home, Aria is a typical loving and supportive parent. She does send Rei to her room though... Because she got her an early birthday present and that's where it is. Rei seems to assume that it would be the skull mask that she found earlier. It isn't though, it's a journal. This one also comes with a heartfelt note-- Evidently Aria had one too, and wrote down her most cherished memories of meeting her late husband and being Rei's mother. Aria keeping a journal was a blessing, since she can hold onto those memories forever now and hopes that Rei will be able to do it too.

We cut to Chloe sulking outside, near Gold Row, having a smoke. Thinking about what Rei had said to her-- "Tell me what your damn problem is," "Leave me the hell alone." Apparently Rei's words had cut her kind of deep. As for the nature of their falling out... Chloe doesn't seem to fully understand either. In any case she's emotionally distraught enough that her hands are shaking... Doesn't Chloe have friends that she can talk to about this? Well, she does get some texts from her friend group, which come off as kind of vapid. Chloe doesn't get into what she's actually been up to and even lies to her friends. It's pretty clear why she doesn't. What interests she does share with her friends, in this case singing, seems to hold little interest to them.

Chloe does reply in the group chat that she just might make a move on Kestrel, which her friends approve of. Chloe herself doesn't really care that much, evidently trying to get between Kestrel and Rei wasn't even her idea. All of this gives a clearer picture of who Chloe is as a person-- the version of her that showed up to the video game tournament? The version that made a bid to reconnect with an old friend? That's closer to who she really is. The spoiled, vapid mean girl version? That's just someone she's pretending to be.

Speaking of putting the moves on Kestrel, guess who shows up? Yep. It is Kestrel's neighborhood after all, and here he is. True to her word, she does come on a little flirty. Offering to let Kestrel walk her home. Kestrel doesn't seem interested at first, but recognizes her and asks if she's friends with Rei... Wow... that's got to be an awkward question. But Chloe notes that it feels good to say that Rei, in fact is a friend. She even admits that Rei is her best friend, which I can believe since her other friends sound terrible. She even let's Kestrel know that sometimes Rei likes to go to Smile's Subs. (I know I would too.) As Kestrel asks more about Rei, it turns out that Chloe has a lot of kind words to say about her. Even though the idea of Rei and Kestrel dating makes her feel ill.

For his part, Kestrel closes this conversation with something vaguely ominous, "...I can see what you're doing. I'm not oblivious. You and those other harpies want me for something. My eyes are on Rei, and Rei alone. I don't even know who you are."

Now, I've been kind of hard on Kestrel as a character. At times I think of him as brutal and inconsiderate. When I'm feeling more charitable, I think of him as a sort of shy, clueless dolt. This interaction with Chloe seems to throw doubt on the latter interpretation. From this, I gather that he is aware that Rei has feelings for him, he is aware that attending her game tournament would have made her happy. Taken a little further, he's evidently interested in Rei, just not in what she thinks or feels. What's his interest in her? No doubt we'll find out in a later chapter.

Thank heaven, next is Chapter Eleven!

[DataNinja]

Whew. Who knew doing a daily write-up for book chapters would be so tricky? I sort of got caught up in actually reading ahead.

...reading way ahead of what they were supposed to, especially for English Class? Now, who would ever do such a heinous misdeed? >.>

[The Fury]

...reading way ahead of what they were supposed to, especially for English Class? Now, who would ever do such a heinous misdeed? >.>

Fun fact-- I actually did do that in English class. I got in trouble for it too... You'd think I'd learned my lesson. I did not.

[LaZodiac]

Some fun things I can say about Chapter 10!

Spoiler: Chapter 10

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Seeing how people react to seeing Chloe's side of things is one of my favorite parts of her arc in book 1. It's just fun to see, especially if the person starts VERY anti-Chloe, and then hits the tournament and starts suspecting something might be up, and then slams face first into this scene.

The texts are inspired by my sister and her former friend group. Take that as you will.

Heather calling Chloe a trashbag is a sort of in-joke of sorts. One of my earlier beta-readers felt, while she had a decent arc, Chloe was still kind of an awful person in earlier drafts, and called her a trashbag. While writing the Chloe scene as seen here to replace a different, unnecessary scene, working on showing Chloe's depth and why she thinks the way she does, I figured it'd be cute to include that little reference, since making a scene like this was inspired by said beta-reader. It's a good indicator of how deep in Chloe is into this situation, and is a cute reference to boot!

It's also really really sad, if I do say so myself. Poor Chloe...

On a more positive note; Ella went to go play skee-ball, an arcade game, and when we next see her she's with a big plush moth. Turns out she's quite good at skee-ball!

[Rater202]

Fun fact-- I actually did do that in English class. I got in trouble for it too... You'd think I'd learned my lesson. I did not.

I did it so often that I got yelled at for it the one time I didn't.

The story we were set to read in middle school was about something bad happening on someone's birthday. We were asked for examples of what the worst thing that could happen on your birthday was before we read it. I was going to share an anecdote about the time a classmate in elementary school almost got expelled on his birthday becuase an old backpack with his name on it was found in one of the hallways and it was full of empty beer bottles(I have no idea what the full story was) and got as saying "one time in school a teacher found an old—" Before I was yelled at and forced to leave the room so I didn't spoiler and called a liar when I protested that I hadn't read ahead this time and eventually broke down crying. I never received an apology.

Turns out the story was about a teacher finding an old, itchy sweater that nobody claimed and the teacher insisted that it must have belonged to the PoV character who was lying about it not being hers and forced her to put it on and yelled a her and made her cry... And then another student stops spacing out and realizes that the sweater is hers. PoV does not get an apology.

Nobody in my class got the irony. Not even the teacher.

Spoiler: Chapter 10

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I'm gonna be honest, my only thoughts are that Cloe shouldn't be smoking(But cigarettes killed my dad so I'm biased) and that Kestral is obviously gonna turn out to be a villain.

Like, ominous is right.

[Lord Raziere]

Spoiler: On Chapter 10:

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On Chloe:

“She’s a darling. Oh, but you didn’t hear it from me,” Chloe said, momentarily forgetting herself. “She’s cute, and funny, and smart. And so nice, too. She’d never so much as hurt a fly.”
-McHugh, Aya. Initial Sparks (Cursed World Book 1) . Amazon. Kindle Edition.

This line made me only hope for the ChloexRei ship even more. this is textbook in love compliment talk. Mostly because I'm pretty sure Rei would totally angrily and recklessly swat a fly out of the sky if it came with her range.

On Kestral:
What are you guys talking about? Zodi is clearly just subverting the usual male love interest unawareness trope to show that men aren't all dumb idiots who can't see when someone is coming onto them. But boooo this means he ha a chance, he is clearly a death eater anyways standing in the way of ChloexRei!

[DataNinja]

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On a more positive note; Ella went to go play skee-ball, an arcade game, and when we next see her she's with a big plush moth. Turns out she's quite good at skee-ball!

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...man, now I want a big plush moth. Thanks for putting these random cravings in my head, Zodi.

[Mystic Muse]

Coming back for a moment from my self-imposed exile to say how happy I am that people are enjoying LaZodiac's book.

For everyone who finishes the book and likes it, please give it a positive review on Amazon. Somebody review-bombed it, and I obviously don't want people driven off because of someone with some sort of vendetta against new authors.

[The Fury]

I did it so often that I got yelled at for it the one time I didn't.

The story we were set to read in middle school was about something bad happening on someone's birthday. We were asked for examples of what the worst thing that could happen on your birthday was before we read it. I was going to share an anecdote about the time a classmate in elementary school almost got expelled on his birthday becuase an old backpack with his name on it was found in one of the hallways and it was full of empty beer bottles(I have no idea what the full story was) and got as saying "one time in school a teacher found an old—" Before I was yelled at and forced to leave the room so I didn't spoiler and called a liar when I protested that I hadn't read ahead this time and eventually broke down crying. I never received an apology.

Turns out the story was about a teacher finding an old, itchy sweater that nobody claimed and the teacher insisted that it must have belonged to the PoV character who was lying about it not being hers and forced her to put it on and yelled a her and made her cry... And then another student stops spacing out and realizes that the sweater is hers. PoV does not get an apology.

Nobody in my class got the irony. Not even the teacher.

Nah. Nobody knows what irony is in a grade-school English class. Though I would be interested in knowing how beer bottles got into a kid's backpack.

Spoiler: Chapter 10

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I'm gonna be honest, my only thoughts are that Cloe shouldn't be smoking(But cigarettes killed my dad so I'm biased) and that Kestral is obviously gonna turn out to be a villain.

Like, ominous is right.

Spoiler: Chapter Ten

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As a former smoker, I agree. Chloe should not be smoking. (Sorry to hear about your dad, by the way.) I'm not sure if Kestrel is going to be a straight up villain, but his dialogue here does make him come off as a good deal less sympathetic and a little bit more threatening.

Spoiler: On Chapter 10:

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On Kestral:
What are you guys talking about? Zodi is clearly just subverting the usual male love interest unawareness trope to show that men aren't all dumb idiots who can't see when someone is coming onto them. But boooo this means he ha a chance, he is clearly a death eater anyways standing in the way of ChloexRei!

Spoiler: Chapter 10

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Sure. Though if Kestrel were shy or clueless that might excuse a lot of his previous behavior. His interaction with Chloe seems to suggest that he's neither. He's assertive enough to tell Chloe off, and insightful enough to notice that Rei's crushing on him. Hopefully Rei will catch on to this.

This does serve to make the Chloe/Rei ship look better in comparison. Like a lot better. Chloe at least seems to like Rei for who she is as a person. Kestrel though... he doesn't know anything about Rei's personality and doesn't seem to care to.

Coming back for a moment from my self-imposed exile to say how happy I am that people are enjoying LaZodiac's book.

For everyone who finishes the book and likes it, please give it a positive review on Amazon. Somebody review-bombed it, and I obviously don't want people driven off because of someone with some sort of vendetta against new authors.

I'm actually really glad that you're here. Please feel free to join the discussion at any time. If you want to of course. No pressure or anything.

As for the review... I'm aware of it. The review itself generally sucks and seems to suggest that the writer didn't engage with the material honestly, if at all. I'll make an effort to add my own review, though I think I should wait until I've finished the book. Especially since Zodi loves her some planting and payoff, I feel like any insights I can offer would be incomplete at this point.

[LaZodiac]

I did it so often that I got yelled at for it the one time I didn't.

The story we were set to read in middle school was about something bad happening on someone's birthday. We were asked for examples of what the worst thing that could happen on your birthday was before we read it. I was going to share an anecdote about the time a classmate in elementary school almost got expelled on his birthday becuase an old backpack with his name on it was found in one of the hallways and it was full of empty beer bottles(I have no idea what the full story was) and got as saying "one time in school a teacher found an old—" Before I was yelled at and forced to leave the room so I didn't spoiler and called a liar when I protested that I hadn't read ahead this time and eventually broke down crying. I never received an apology.

Turns out the story was about a teacher finding an old, itchy sweater that nobody claimed and the teacher insisted that it must have belonged to the PoV character who was lying about it not being hers and forced her to put it on and yelled a her and made her cry... And then another student stops spacing out and realizes that the sweater is hers. PoV does not get an apology.

Nobody in my class got the irony. Not even the teacher.

Spoiler: Chapter 10

Show

I'm gonna be honest, my only thoughts are that Cloe shouldn't be smoking(But cigarettes killed my dad so I'm biased) and that Kestral is obviously gonna turn out to be a villain.

Like, ominous is right.

Forgot to respond to the actual bulk of this; wow **** your teachers that is awful.

Nah. Nobody knows what irony is in a grade-school English class. Though I would be interested in knowing how beer bottles got into a kid's backpack.

Spoiler: Chapter Ten

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As a former smoker, I agree. Chloe should not be smoking. (Sorry to hear about your dad, by the way.) I'm not sure if Kestrel is going to be a straight up villain, but his dialogue here does make him come off as a good deal less sympathetic and a little bit more threatening.

Spoiler: Chapter 10

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Sure. Though if Kestrel were shy or clueless that might excuse a lot of his previous behavior. His interaction with Chloe seems to suggest that he's neither. He's assertive enough to tell Chloe off, and insightful enough to notice that Rei's crushing on him. Hopefully Rei will catch on to this.

This does serve to make the Chloe/Rei ship look better in comparison. Like a lot better. Chloe at least seems to like Rei for who she is as a person. Kestrel though... he doesn't know anything about Rei's personality and doesn't seem to care to.

I'm actually really glad that you're here. Please feel free to join the discussion at any time. If you want to of course. No pressure or anything.

As for the review... I'm aware of it. The review itself generally sucks and seems to suggest that the writer didn't engage with the material honestly, if at all. I'll make an effort to add my own review, though I think I should wait until I've finished the book. Especially since Zodi loves her some planting and payoff, I feel like any insights I can offer would be incomplete at this point.

Spoiler: Chapter 10

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Chloe should not be smoking for a variety of reasons.

Also yeah, best to wait until you're done the book. I wanna see it all unfold before me~

[Rater202]

Forgot to respond to the actual bulk of this; wow **** your teachers that is awful.

Yeah. School was pretty much hell until around the end of high school. College was much better. If there is a hypocrisy in the school system, I've been on the receiving end of it.

Coincidentally*, my Highschool had a thing where the teachers would put flags outside their classrooms to show what school or schools they got their credentials from. All of the ones who weren't asshats and actually knew what the hell they were doing instead of just regurgitating the text book and punishing you if you knew something was wrong or outdated** came from my Alma Mater. I'd been planning to go there since childhood becuase it's where all of the college-going relatives on my mother's side had gone but seeing that the caring teachers all learned from there at some point clinched it.

*I don't actually think it's a coincidence.
**Marconi's patent on the Radio was overturned in the 1930s becuase of it being proven that Tesla invented it first and had a pre-existing patent on it. Guess who didn't get credit for his invention when someone else did in my high school history texts.

Spoiler: Chapter 10

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But yeah, Kestral pumping Chloe for information on Rei and and then making an ominous statement like that...

Coupled with the hints that he's some kind of monster hunter?

Methinks he's hunting witches mancers and Rei is in his sights.

[The Fury]

Spoiler: Chapter 10

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But yeah, Kestral pumping Chloe for information on Rei and and then making an ominous statement like that...

Coupled with the hints that he's some kind of monster hunter?

Methinks he's hunting witches mancers and Rei is in his sights.

Spoiler: Chapter Ten

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I'm leaning towards that as well. There's other interpretations that make Kestrel look... not great, but less dangerous? I mean, being very interested in a person, just not in who they are... is in any case, kind of a red flag.

But hey... know what time it is? Time to read Chapter Eleven!

Spoiler: Chapter Eleven

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Our Chapter opens with Rei having made a decision-- She's going to ask Gamma to train her. Makes sense. Gamma seems to have a firm grasp on his powers while Rei... her powers seem a bit flaky at the moment. For now, it's time to meet up with Verde and Ella. Who as Rei notes are rarely apart... The two mostly laugh it off as they both live close together so meeting up is easy, and the two do so often.

Not to go down too deep a rabbit hole as far as shippy stuff is concerned, but it's been confirmed in text that Verde isn't into girls and Ella is ace. However, what sort of romantic leanings Ella has are more implicit rather than explicit. As for Verde... I don't think her sexual or romantic preferences are made clear beyond "not into girls." It's not certain that she likes boys either. So I guess the Ella/Verde ship is built, but doesn't seem seaworthy if you get my meaning. The two seem to have developed a close platonic bond though, which I do love.

The trio head off to go shopping for Gamma. Dude needs some supplies especially since it's getting very cold. Ella's also brought some geography textbooks so Gamma can get a better sense of where he is. So it's off to the burnt dance club to see Gamma, which with food and some lighting from candles is starting to look more homey. Rei even suggests getting furniture. Gamma doesn't know what that is. Evidently he grew up in a tube. Now that he's got some canned ravioli, he can cook up a nice meal for himself. Except he'd rather have Smile's Subs again. I guess those were some tasty sandwiches. Rei is at least willing to indulge him and heads out.

At Smile's Subs, Rei meets Kestrel. Because of course she does. Kestrel did find out that she might go there, and he is "interested" in her. Orders are backed up at Smile's so the two have some time to catch up. Rei is cute and awkward and Kestrel... he lets some of his personality show beyond the usual "Training! Jogging! Staying in shape!" As it turns out Smile's Subs does a pretty legit shawarma that reminds him of home. Kestrel's father would sometimes treat his family after a particularly good day. Kestrel's parents often stuck to cheaper food, thinking that it helped with their marketing job, understanding the buying habits of consumers. Kestrel also occasionally sees Rei out with her friends, but doesn't approach them for fear of appearing rude. Which... OK, I've been giving Kestrel the side-eye for a bit. This last point he makes though? It's weirdly relatable.

Speaking of friends, Kestrel takes this chance to ask Rei about hers. He already knows about how she met Ella, he was there after all. But Verde? How did Rei meet her? Rei was in a pretty bad spot five years ago, not really able to recall why. Verde transferred to Rei's school around that time. Verde approached Rei during recess, hugged her and asked if she was OK. They've been friends ever since. While Rei might not recall what she was feeling to put her in such a bad spot, I have a thought-- five years ago was when Rei and Chloe had their falling out. Whether Verde showing up was before or after this happened isn't clear at this point, but whatever was going on was probably related.

Kestrel also takes this opportunity to say "yes" to a date with Rei. The day before her birthday, and he's invited to that too! For now, Rei can't agree to the day before her birthday for reasons she can't get into. Probably Gamma-related reasons. In any case, she has his number and is all set to see him on her birthday! Woo! Now to be clear, I'm not sure what Kestrel's planning. His conversation with Chloe seems to imply that his intentions with Rei are... not wholesome. Rei, of course has little reason to be suspicious of him and leaves with her sandwiches and a spring in her step.

Back at the burnt dance club, Rei shares her excitement over having a date for her birthday. We get a little more of Gamma's oddly sheltered upbringing-- he apparently doesn't know what a birthday or a date is, but he does know that a kestrel is a bird of prey. Gamma's knowledge is mostly in biology. Specifically, how to properly tear people apart. Gamma also gets into how magic is done, which is cool, because up until now the text has only said what magic isn't. That is, what Rei and Gamma can do is not magic, and what Ella can do might not even be supernatural. Magic is evidently also real and can be done through ritual and is fueled by stamina. Basically, it's a skill which can be learned. Yeah, I know that Zodi already clarified this but it hasn't actually been made clear in the actual text of the book up until now. Verde for her part is very interested and is furiously scribbling down notes. Rei asked what her interest in magic is, Verde brushes the question off but Rei chooses not to press the matter. For now it's agreed that Verde can help Gamma fill the gaps in his knowledge and in return, he can help Rei get a better handle on her powers. And that is where our chapter ends.

Final thoughts-- while it's deliberately not answered why Verde is interested in magic, I have guess. Rei has her pyromancy, Ella has her fortune-telling, Verde has... a big fluffy green sweater? I think Verde is quietly frustrated that she wants to help her friends but is poorly equipped to do so. If magic is a skill which can be learned, that might change. Do your best, Verde!

Next time we delve into Chapter Twelve!

[Lord Raziere]

Spoiler: Chapter 11

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See? you don't know, Kestral could be just awkward.

as for Gamma and magic, we have more metaphysics stuff!

now we properly talk about magic, and not just mancies! yes, its done through ritual and cast through stamina, and always done by drawing a circle on anything with anything. basically its like FMA alchemy or naruto fuinjutsu in that respect, and the effects when done improperly are interesting. mancies in contrast are more like a bender or a quirk user: they're born with what they have but still need to train it up.

the metaphysical implication of this magic system however, imply that its not the materials that are important, but the symbol of magical ritual itself that is what matters to casting it. which speaks a lot about the universe, because a physical uncaring universe like our modern physics doesn't care about symbols. symbols only have importance in the minds of people.

so this strongly swings the theories to more ideal/thought based universes over physical ones, or at least both shadowmancy and magic having access to another thought-based realm that its tapping into, but the fact that magic draws upon one's own stamina possibly speaks against this: if another thought based realm with magical reality-warping power is there, why would you need to fuel the spell? it could be possible that the stamina is there to make sure its materialized in the real world at all.

the other possibility is that this universe is thought based and that the rituals are like codes you enter for reality to respond to, implying that reality is like a mind or a computer simulation: depending on your mastery you might even be able to make permanent changes and that the backlash are just glitches or the wrong spell cast.

of course its possible that the rituals known are just one type of code/language possible if that is the case and its possible there are other codes capable of casting magic.

and yeah Verde wanting to learn magic is great.

[Rater202]

Spoiler: Chapter 11

Show

See? you don't know, Kestral could be just awkward.

as for Gamma and magic, we have more metaphysics stuff!

now we properly talk about magic, and not just mancies! yes, its done through ritual and cast through stamina, and always done by drawing a circle on anything with anything. basically its like FMA alchemy or naruto fuinjutsu in that respect, and the effects when done improperly are interesting. mancies in contrast are more like a bender or a quirk user: they're born with what they have but still need to train it up.

the metaphysical implication of this magic system however, imply that its not the materials that are important, but the symbol of magical ritual itself that is what matters to casting it. which speaks a lot about the universe, because a physical uncaring universe like our modern physics doesn't care about symbols. symbols only have importance in the minds of people.

so this strongly swings the theories to more ideal/thought based universes over physical ones, or at least both shadowmancy and magic having access to another thought-based realm that its tapping into, but the fact that magic draws upon one's own stamina possibly speaks against this: if another thought based realm with magical reality-warping power is there, why would you need to fuel the spell? it could be possible that the stamina is there to make sure its materialized in the real world at all.

the other possibility is that this universe is thought based and that the rituals are like codes you enter for reality to respond to, implying that reality is like a mind or a computer simulation: depending on your mastery you might even be able to make permanent changes and that the backlash are just glitches or the wrong spell cast.

of course its possible that the rituals known are just one type of code/language possible if that is the case and its possible there are other codes capable of casting magic.

and yeah Verde wanting to learn magic is great.

Spoiler: Metaphysics

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Naruto Fuinjutsu is a bad comparison. Fuinjutsu includes everything that binds or contains someone or something. Storage Scrolls and Jinchuriki are Fuinjutsu... But so are the chains that Kushina and Karin can project from their bodies. And Juinjutsu, the subset involves controlling people's actions is translated as "curse mark techniques" but doesn't actually require a mark on the body.

There are Jutsu that use written formulas or generate written formulas when preformed, but not all of those are Fuinjutsu and not all Fuinjutsu use written formulas. Summoning techniques, paper bombs, the Flying Thundergod technique, and so on are all techniques that use formulaic seals but that aren't Fuinjutsu.

It's a problem that comes up becuase there are multiple terms in Naruto that are most accurately translated as "seal" but that are presented in different contexts. The written formulas used for summoning and some Fuinjutsu are more an alternative to Hand Seals than a category of Fuinjutsu.