Jonas commented on The Study of Wilder Magic by Ari North
Samara knew about the curse—and the monsters—when she chose to study at Axton. She wasn't …
Content warning 4. Unseen, Unnoticed, Invisible - spoilers
thoughts while reading, originally shared on patreon:
The statue with sword and suitcase - that made me chuckle, nice way to tell us more about the Axton vibe.
Throwing clothes into the incinerator, wow. Didn't sound like the clothes would've been corrupted, so I'm assuming this says more about Samara's character than safety procedures. Does she come from a family that can afford to mindlessly incinerate some clothes? Her dad has a desk job. Looking up the mention of her sister in #2, I notice the considerable age difference - sis was 8 years old when Samara was accepted into Axton, and as a first year Samara is now 21 years old.
For a moment I forgot that Samara already changed into fresh cloths and thought "wait what she's going up to the attic naked?!" (Not a problem in your writing - I was distracted wondering about her family.)
Interesting that mirrors appear to be few and far between in this dorm. (Or am I misreading this? A small mirror for experimenting in her own room would have been sufficient, or in a bathroom on her own floor, but apparently there is none there?)
Nice characterisation, Samara trying to analyze her own magical feat.
I'm laughing about pushing the cat off the table. I like it! The usual trope is cats push something off.
Reading comments by the others, I agree it's entertaining to see Samara's self-image is a bit off, being so curious as to use others without consent for her personal experiments. Looks like you've set up potential developments regarding Samara's character/self-awareness, and regarding her position in the institute, and in the established belief system/theoretical framework around magic. As well as building up to social relations not only to Lovelace but also to fellow students. Feels like a nice, round set-up. I'm excited to follow along!
