“that the teachers who were present (some of whom were regulars during the normal school year while others were only part timers) had decided to coordinate with each other on Tuesdays and Thursdays.” Omg coordination and cooperation happening?? At NRC?? It’s a miracle!! Such a beautiful sight, it’s enough to move one to tears!!
“Today, Mr. Alastair and the other custodians didn’t need her.” I find the way Key phrased her presence not being needed on the custodial staff today very interesting, specifically how rather than phrase it as a manner of not needing her support regarding work, she says they didn’t need her. Maybe I’m looking too deeply into things, but to me this feels like a small glimpse into a deeper element of Keys thinking, and is a continuation of something we’ve seen bits and pieces of before. So far throughout these three chapters we’ve seen that while Key can relax and get mischievous, she also has this deferment to authority, and that she’s also eager to work and to please. When she’s discussing reducing her hours (in order to take on more work from Crowley) she protest a bit about how many hours Alastair is giving her off, and with Crowley we see her arguing on Grims behalf to let him in the school. Key seems to have this desire to work and be useful, perhaps her frantic acceptance of all these task handed to her is in part due to a need to carve out a spot where she is needed in this new world for her survival. But perhaps it’s also more of a subconscious thing, that above all Key has an internal need to prove that she’s useful, not just to those around her, but to herself as well.
“Some of the other custodians who were younger than the senior custodians, but were still at least half a decade older than her, had joked that she would be poached by the Headmage for administrative duties at the school. For them, it was quite obvious that she was quite the favorite.” Oo interesting, so Keys the baby of the group huh. That’s an interesting detail that offers fun moments like the teasing (them calling Key Crowleys first nestling is just too hilarious) but it also creates this unique situation where Keys like, trapped between two words, well more than she already is haha. She’s too young to seamlessly blend into the makeup of the janitorial staff, and yet she’s juuust old enough (combined with her status as staff) to not quite fit in to the students group either. Similar to Key not having Grim on her side, this results in Key being uniquely on her own in terms of social standing, even when surrounded by colleagues or peers her age.
“The Old Crow’s first nestling, they called her. Hah, or worse, his little chick.” Pfft hahahhaha
“There were a few more women who worked at the stables and at the botanical gardens,” women real!!!! Haha no but seriously, not only is it fascinating to hear more about all the types of workers scattered around nrc (you know I love that exploration of how NRC would realistically function and offer all the services it does) but it’s also nice to here that it’s not all men on the campus. While it’s understandable for the students given the whole ‘boys school’ thing, it feels realistic that when it comes to staff theres a little more variation, even if not in an even ratio. I’m glad Key isn’t on her own as the only girl on campus, and that even if the aren’t really close, there are other women staff members. Poor key already stands out so much, I think also being the only female staff member would just be another thing alienating her.
“Key didn’t know what was worse, the fact that she was stuck in a world that was far different to her own and that she was basically an outlier in terms of both knowledge and ability regarding magic or that she was stuck at a school. Out of all the places she could have been drawn to without consent, it had to be a school!” True!! Imagine getting summoned to this whole new world with so much to learn and explore but you’re dumped in a school. A magic school that’s very useful regarding secondhand knowledge sure, but also what a boring familiar place!! But then again, maybe that familiarity is grounding admits all the new things, or maybe seeing something familiar warped to reflect the new environment is strange, who can say!
“Key thought that Night Raven College was familiar. Her memories, while not absent like she had explained to the Headmage and to her senior coworkers, were fuzzy and at times, it took a while for her to recall them. Yet, she could not deny that this—all of this—was reminiscent of something , she just didn’t know what.” 👀👀
“As Key made her way towards the classrooms, she heard one of the doors open, the hinges groaning due to lack of lubrication. Within seconds, she whipped out her notebook and made a note underneath the to-do list that she updated every day that she would have to inform Mr. Alastair or whoever was in charge of this specific wing that they would need to check on the doors and oil them.” Key is very diligent in her work!! This fits that more polite part of her we’ve seen before, but also is great for expanding that characterization as this demonstrates that Key takes her job seriously and doesn’t just react when she has to, but that she also accounts for future issues that need to be brought up. Given that this job was kinda dumped on her, she doesn’t have to work with the fervor she does, so showing her doing that regardless of the circumstances of her employment is a great way to emphasis that Key truly is someone who’s responsible. It’s a great example of show don’t tell.
And a new challenger enters the ring, Mr.Cam the man Norton!! I’m a huge fan of Cam, he’s such a fun and enjoyable character to watch, and I absolutely love how you introduce him here because it does such a good job of demonstrating his personality and his relationship to Key. Right off the bat the fact that the first thing we here him say is his inquiry if Key got her promotion shows that he’s relatively up to date on the events of Keys life, implying familiarity to some degree. The following antics (haha Cam dodging the fist bump) bring back that sense of mischief and fun we saw in chapter 1, only this time the mischievousness is done by Cameron. This playful attitude the two have really cements that yeah these are people who know each other well, and contrasting Keys reaction here to how she responded to Crowley (someone she understandably isn’t too fond of), Keys active engagement (even if via scolding) helps clarify that this is not a mean sort of teasing, but rather these two are friends :] it also helps that when Cams antics are too much for Key and she asks him to stop, he does, quickly and without complaint. In a situation like Keys, I imagine having your boundaries respected that quickly means a lot.
Also quite note I love how you described Cams voice, I think that also really meshes well with the personality we see him display and is just a great detail to establish.
“When Key looked up, because it seemed like everyone in this world had to be taller than her,” haha, poor Key is gonna be suffering with the tall cast this world hosts.
“Before they could actually touch, however, Key kicked him in the shin. Hard.” Lmao, mischievous Key strikes again!! If her earlier interactions with Cam weren’t enough to imply familiarity and comfort, then this sure does!
“it was probably due to the combined efforts of the gardeners and the fairies that made the fruits look so delightfully luscious.” :D another delightful reference to the other staff members present on campus, as well as a nod to the fairies we’ve heard a bit about!!
Another thing I love about Cam beyond his personality is that he represents a more atypical type of student! In the game most of the students we see (barring Leona and Lilia, and actually does Malleus count too?) depict a more typical type of student and school experience, in that their path to graduation and education is fairly typical and what’s expected. They enter at the expected age, go through each year with no repeats, and graduate, all while staying at the same school. Cam however is a break in that pattern, and not only because he’s a summer student, and a scholarship student, but he’s one who’s leaving. It’s a unique narrative to set up, and in a game where the cast is expected to always be around (if not for story reasons than because of the meta reasons of how gacha games function) it makes him stand out. Cam represents a different path in education, and his worries and reasons make him feel really fleshed out and developed, we know so much of who he is and what he values, and we just met him!
“Without even thinking about it, his lips curled up in a jocular smile, the beginning of a joke just about to materialize from years of repression about to leave his mouth. Before he could impress upon her the makings of a cool, possibly problematic ‘yo mama’ joke” interesting tactic there Cam, introducing humor to a situation to brush off emotional vulnerability 👀 why don’t you have a seat on this nice comfy fainting couch and dive into that a bit. (Also the yo mama joke lmaooo)
Ok but I love the scene where Key calls Cam brave, and what a cool contrast is illustrated about their respective mindsets. When discussing leaving NRC Cam views and discuses it as though it’s a failure, that he’s giving up. However Key refutes this point of view, and instead asserts Cams choice as brave. I love this scene because for one positive reassurance is clearly something Cam needed to hear regarding his decision (while he doesn’t cry over it his general method of referring to is as well as his eagerness to switch the topic once things got too real indicate both a sadness regarding the choice as well as an aversion to emotional confrontation) but also because I think Keys way of viewing this is really healthy. If I had to phrase it, I’d say that Cam is more focused on the ending of this one journey, and viewing it in a negative light, while Key sees that this is really just a continuation of his life, and it’s one that will lead him ultimately to greater happiness and health. It’s easy to get caught up in the sadness of something ending, and being the one choosing to leave (even with good reason) can feel like a defeat. I think being able to view things as continuations and not the end is an incredibly healthy and helpful skill, and one hopefully Cam will take with him thanks to Key.
“Cameron sighed before launching himself right into Key's personal space and giving her the roughest noogie of her lifetime.” :] I really love these twos dynamic so much
“Most of the time, though, the fox beastman preferred to help out the maintenance crew, even going as far as to volunteer on the weekends. If something happened to his scholarship status (at least before he made the decision to transfer to another school), he could at least count on the connections he made with the custodial crew to keep him afloat until graduation.” More lore regarding the specifics of scholarship students! But also, remember that whole thing I typed earlier about how the combo of Keys age and job kinda put her stuck between the two worlds of nrc? Cams role as a scholarship student who also has to take up odd jobs puts him in a more similar position to Key, and while it’s not exactly the same I’m sure the similarities are very reassuring for her, no wonder it’s Cam of all the summer students she bonded with, who else is both her age and doing the work she’s doing.
…Also Lmao love NRC students attitude being acknowledged in universe hahaha
“To be a person his mother would have been proud of.” I need Cameron and Deuce to meet one day idk how and idc I just need them to talk about their goals of making their moms proud.
“Her eyes were wide and unblinking, yet she felt no pain as she focused on the sun floating in what she assumed was a blue, cloudless sky.” This image of Key is so intriguing, this somber and still seriousness really speaks to how much she means what she says. Key is a character who isn’t exactly super loud, but she has this presence to her. Even when she’s being quiet and more polite there’s still this nervous energy buzzing around her, she speaks up and makes her voice heard and bites back when provoked. So to see her present such an unemotional face, with (might be projecting here but these r the vibes I’m getting) an almost flat voice, it’s strange, it feels wrong. It’s like Key is forcing back all those emotions because if she doesn’t she’ll cry.
Also Key omg don’t look into the sun that’s bad for your eyes, it’s interesting she describes the sky as less colorful than her world too 👀
“looked back at her with heartbreakingly familiar brotherly irritation that masked the barely present concern.” 😭😭
“‘I’ll miss you when you’re gone.’” 😭😭😭 me too Key.
“She, of course, was well acquainted with the common areas like the cafeteria and the multitude of classrooms, but what about the lore behind the school? Were there any rooms without ghosts? What about the paintings? Could they move between paintings or were they stuck in one frame for eternity?” Key is asking all the right questions!!!
“He had asked Emilio and Zahur about Key and her apparent lack of knowledge concerning the world, but the custodians only reiterated what they had been told by the Headmage and the Little Bird herself. It was confusing, perhaps even a little mystifying, but at the end of the day, Cameron decided that it wasn’t his place to pry.” :D!! Aa I’m so happy to see that you’re continuing to have the people around Key notice how odd she is! Not like personality wise, but like the circumstances around her. I think I talked a bit about this last time, but I find it fascinating to see the characters who live in twisted wonderland being the ones confused and intrigued when it comes to Yuu/Key/Whoever’s Isekaied. Not only is it a fun change of pace, but for Key who interactions with so many members of the world (and not just students, but staff too) and is around a lot more people who take a lot more notice of her, it makes sense that things like her lack of knowledge and reaction to magic would be noticed.
“Why was she so nosy?” Haha
“And this was the most concerning—and by that, he meant that he would rather not understand why he felt certain things when he thought relatively hard on this—why did she always look so… sad? Lost?” Local NRC student shocked and horrified to find himself feeling care and concern towards another living being, more news at 9. No but seriously this is adorable, while we just met Cam his actions this chapter give off the impression of someone who doesn’t prefer to dawdle in more serious topics, and who isn’t super concerned with the lives of everyone around him, so seeing him worry over Key is nice, and of course does a great job to further illustrate the depth of their dynamic. Keys been through a lot and it’s only chapter 3, she deserves to be worried over.
“Like most other Night Raven College students, Cameron had once been mystified by the abandoned building in the midst of the prestigious educational grounds.” :O!! :D!! And here I was worried Ramshackle wouldn’t get it’s time in the sun with Key being employed and having the janitorial dorm to stay in.
“The tower itself was old, almost as dilapidated looking as the abandoned building here, but for some odd reason, it reeked of old potions and strong magic. There had been dares and hazing rituals in the past (before some of the professors from a couple decades back had put a stop to that practice) that included going into the tower and seeing how far up you could walk up the winding staircase inside before going mad.” 😀 what an interesting hazing ritual! No but seriously I love the use of the many (so far) unidentified buildings found around NRC on the games map. It’s very interesting, and again (say it with me now) is a great expansion of the school which makes it feel more developed and realistic :D
“Apparently, there were at least a dozen poltergeists screaming into the dead of night, using their unholy powers to shake the earth and cause debilitating misfortune. Those who wanted to graffiti the walls or explore the tainted halls were effectively cursed.” A dozen huh! That’s quite a bit more than who we see in the game, I wonder if there are truly that many lurking in there, or if perhaps it’s just the three that we see in game and they’re just overachievers haha.
“His dormmates weren’t too bad, but there were a few that got on his nerves. One of them tried to coerce him into a few shady ‘business deals’ wherein Cameron wouldn’t have to worry about his scholarship.” PFFT HAHA, Azul you certainly have left quite the impression on your poor dorm mates. Nah but seriously, I love this whole little bit about Cams take on Octanivelle haha! Not only is it a great way to expand upon some basic info for Cam, but it’s done in such a fun and instantly recognizable way haha! And it’s again that thing of showing characters outside our main cast’s (in game) reaction to big events that occurred, only this time were a little closer to the action with Cam being a student of the dorm. His reactions to his shady housewarden (well not initially, with this being a recap of freshmen year and all) is so funny, though omg of course Azul would try and get a scholarship student in his debt, good on Cam for not giving in!
“All of Cameron’s fur stood on end, especially when his esteemed ‘coworkers’ happened to be within earshot.” Hahaha, and of course no Azul slander is complete without a nod to the tweels! It’s so funny how coworkers is in quotation marks haha, Cam really isn’t these guys fan huh!
“As soon as the first semester examinations were over, at least two hundred students were missing aspects of their magic or some of their prized possessions. Again, no judgment, but Cameron was glad to have kept his distance.” Ok but I like that Cam specifically notes no judgment when it comes to Azuls scam empire. Now whether that’s the truth if it’s a no judgment (secret judgment) either way I find it fascinating because it reminds the reader that ‘oh yeah Cam is an NRC student.’ That meaning that while he might not be found of Azul he’s also not gonna start sobbing and shaking over the questionable (very questionable) morality of Azuls actions, his main concern is how it impacts him.
“‘Setting fire to the place would be a better alternative to whatever you think you’re doing.’” Ajhcjsns, yeah Ramshackles quite the character, I guess not everyone can look past the 592748 health code violations and see the potential lying far far far underneath the rotting wood the buildings made up of.
Coordination and cooperation! I think most of the lack of cooperation is definitely from the point of view of the students rather than the teachers, hehehe. I mean, here's to hoping that at least most of the staff aren't alumni from NRC or maybe some of their past regarding their statuses in the school might cloud their judgment. :D
Ohhhh, love how you singled out that one particular sentence! That wasn't how I intended it, it was simply just a sentence about how she didn't have work to do, but that phrase certainly explains a lot of what she is dealing with and how she contends with the fact that she's not supposed to be in NRC. The internal need to be useful is definitely something that is ingrained in Key's personality--it's who she is. Hopefully, we'll get to see more of that in the future!
Key being baby will be brought up again and again :D Also, love the fact that you mentioned that it was like she was caught between two worlds. She's the youngest female custodian, but she's also older than most of the studenst at NRC (and still a girl). It's also interesting because she's now in twst and still doesn't know when or if she will ever get back to her old world.
Soon, we will have Grim at her side! She just needs to establish herself first!
Again, Key wants to be seen as useful, be useful, so that's why she works with such fervor. How she'll continue that level of dedication for the rest of the year... I wonder if she'll ever burn out? Really hope not...
Yay! Cam!!! Reading your analysis is really interesting because wow.... That's a lot of information you extrapolated! I had no idea that you would instantly understand just how close Cam and Key are, how playful he is when interacting with Key, and how he respects Key's boundaries! Small details that I have not accounted for, but felt natural when I was writing!
Key and mischief will forever be intertwined. OTP material :D
Atypicality in students! As much as I love how uniform the cast is with regards to their enrollment status, it's interesting to note how others fall outside of a clear cut category. Cam represents how fleeting it can be to learn in a competitive school like NRC--he's exactly like the summer term. Short and outside the boundaries of the normal students. In a way, both Key and Cam are sort of the same, they are in between and outside of the norms of NRC.
Absolutely tearing up at what you're saying about Cam here. Contrasting Cam and Key's reaction when it comes to leaving, it really hits home for me. Yes, Cam needs reassurance, but in the long run, he's also doing a good thing for himself. It's not the end, but it's certainly a step in his lifelong journey.
Noogies are wonderful. Everyone should give Key a noogie and then she'll definitely reward them with hard kicks to the shin :D
Yes, and their similarities are definitely one of the reasons why they're friends.
“Her eyes were wide and unblinking, yet she felt no pain as she focused on the sun floating in what she assumed was a blue, cloudless sky.” This image of Key is so intriguing, this somber and still seriousness really speaks to how much she means what she says. Key is a character who isn’t exactly super loud, but she has this presence to her. Even when she’s being quiet and more polite there’s still this nervous energy buzzing around her, she speaks up and makes her voice heard and bites back when provoked. So to see her present such an unemotional face, with (might be projecting here but these r the vibes I’m getting) an almost flat voice, it’s strange, it feels wrong. It’s like Key is forcing back all those emotions because if she doesn’t she’ll cry.--> Ohhhh, the things to come. :D
Key's interactions and her thoughts being viewed by others outside of who knows will always be a fun thing to write. Especially since Key isn't always sure what will tip others off to how she "others" herself from her lack of knowledge.
Cam caring for Key even when he doesn't admit it equals *chef's kiss*
Hehehe, Cam going no judgment to Azul. Very Octavinelle of him, if I may so myself. :D
As always, thank you so much for your kind words and support! Thank you again and I hope that you have a wonderful day! :D
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MissLottie on Chapter 3 Thu 28 Sep 2023 10:35AM UTC
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MissLottie on Chapter 3 Thu 28 Sep 2023 10:36AM UTC
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