Comic Book / Orange Crows

I survived five years... through so much pain and suffering. For her, for my family... I was going to make things right. I'm not going to die like this! There's still too much left to do! Bring it on!!

— Cierra Pensblood

Five years ago, the young witch Cierra Pensblood broke the one unforgivable law of Witch Society when she attempted to create her own magic. Her failed experiment destroyed a research lab, scarred Cierra's face, and injured Natalie "Natty" Batsgrave — Cierra's best friend and daughter of the Orange District's Mayor.

As punishment Cierra was declared a "Forsaken" and exiled to the Wilderness: the barren wasteland that stretches between scattered pockets of civilization, crawling with the Witch-devouring horrors known as "Fairies" and ruthless outcasts deemed unfit for society. Having survived the five-year term of her exile, Cierra finds herself ambushed by members of the Special Witch and Warlock Squad, or S.W.S. — an elite team of enforcers who guard the upper echelons of Witch Society — called the "Orange Crows," now headed by her once best friend Natalie. Cierra is offered an ultimatum: return with them and serve the S.W.S., or die by their hand in the Wilderness.

Dragged back to civilization by the Orange Crows and granted the status of a "Restored" citizen, Cierra finds the world she grew up in has changed dramatically in the time she's been gone. On top of that, her one-best-friend Natalie has grown cold and distant, and Cierra has no idea how to make things right. When her first mission with the S.W.S. goes off the rails, she's forced to use a dangerous ability that links her to the terrifying Fairies and compromises her tenuous position. But trouble is brewing beyond the walls of the Orange District — trouble that means Cierra and the Orange Crows will need to use every trick up their sleeves if they want to survive.

With story and character design by James Perry II, and art by Ryo Kawakami (only for the first volume), Orange Crows is an OEL Manga with a first volume originally published in 2009 through Tokyopop. In 2014 Perry self-published the second volume after raising funds through Kickstarter. Volume three was funded through a similar Kickstarter campaign in 2016.

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Tropes found in Orange Crows:

Tropes Present Throughout the Series

• Aerith and Bob:
  • On the Aerith side, there's names like Adinella, Eclair, Whisper, and Three Times.
  • On the Bob side, there's Ahmee (an unusual spelling of Amy), Bianka, Cierra, Jack (though it's short for Jackal), Jessica, and Natalie.
  • Right in the middle there's Sparticus (i.e. Spartacus, the famous Greek gladiator and military general, sort of like naming a kid "Odysseus" or "Tutankhamen"), Siegfried (a medieval German name that stands out among the more modern offerings like "Jack" and "Bianka"), Grim, York, and Clover (a bit unusual for a given name, but similar enough to other plant names like "Daisy" or "Willow").
• All There in the Manual: The full names of most characters never appear in the comics:
  • Bianka's full name is Bianka Raventail, Jack's full name is Jackal Wraithsclaw.
  • Klo, who is introduced in Volume 2, doesn't have a name that appears in print. Her name can only be gleaned from Perry's Deviant Art, or from merchandise featuring her name that was included with the Kickstarters for Volume 2 and Volume 3.
• Bizarre Sexual Dimorphism: Witches and Warlocks at first appear analogous to human women and men, but there are unexplained differences in their physiology:
  • Witches are all-female, born with small, flightless wings on their lower backs. After puberty, a Witch's wings will molt once a month (in what is called a "period"). Only Witches are capable of casting magic (either channeled through a wand, brewed into a potion, or dangerously barehanded) or using magic tools like a flying broomstick.
  • Warlocks are wing-less male humanoids, distinguished only by their Pointy Ears. They can't use magic the way Witches can, but they do have a "craft" individual to each Warlock that appears to augment their body for combat.
• Born Unlucky: Sparticus' various comical misfortunes (spilling hot cups of coffee, having things fall on his head, food orders getting mixed up) are the result of a curse he was born with.
• Bunny-Ears Lawyer: Although all the members of the S.W.S. are quirky, Bianka is the only real Cloudcuckoolander — she's declared herself the Queen of Cats, and has plans to build a 1,000 lb "teapot tank" to rain porcelain destruction down on her enemies. That being said, she's a powerful Witch with impressive reserves of mana (as pointed out by Natalie), naturally talented at high level magic (like making animals talk), an accomplished "sweeper," and capable of casting dangerous offensive magic in combat.
• Citadel City: After a brutal war that only stopped when horrifying magic-devouring Fairies appeared, Witchkind retreated to the safety of walled cities, or "Arx," scattered across the destroyed landscape. The electrical barriers and high walls around those cities are the only things keeping the Fairies at bay, and criminals are punished with banishment to the unprotected wastelands.
• Cool Airship: Alongside Flying Broomsticks, upper-class Witches use airships to travel around within an Arx. It's also the safest way to travel between Arx (so long as pilots can avoid a sudden "arcus" of magically charged air that allows fairies to simulate flight, and roving gangs of marauding forsaken, and the other dangers of the wastelands...).
• Cute Bruiser: Cierra is a Witch that "fights like a Warlock," meaning she'll throw herself into hand-to-hand combat. This takes Jack by surprise when they first meet, as the other Witches in the S.W.S. rely on casting offensive spells from a distance during combat. Cierra also looks like a 12 year old.
• Extremity Extremist: Sparticus' fighting style relies on his powerful kicks.
• Eyepatch of Power: Cierra keeps her left eye bandaged after the accident in the research lab because her eye now has the ability to absorb magic — an ability only the deadly, Witch-eating Fairies wield.
• Facial Markings
  • Natalie and Bianka both have marks on their faces — Natalie's is of a skull at the center of a flower, Bianka's is a grinning cat's face — that appear to be indelible. Natalie's mark existed even in Cierra's flashback to their first meeting five years ago.
  • A background character who appears in a wasteland settlement of Forsaken in Volume 2 has the words "WHY SHY" tattooed above one eye.
  • Three Times, a member of Arx Ceridwen's S.W.S., has the numeral "3" tattooed over his right eye and the letter "X" tattooed underneath it.
  • One of the girls who bullied Natalie after Cierra's exile had a pair of distinct lines tattooed under her eyes. A Witch affiliated with the Free Thinkers appears to have stolen the girl's (still living) face, wearing it alongside other faces on her belt.
• Flying Broomstick: Witches are able to channel their magic through exterior conduits like wands or magical tools, and and the traditional method of flying makes use of broomsticks to soar through the air. There are other long, narrow items that are used for flight as well — Natalie flies on an oversized umbrella, while Bianka's ride looks like a huge lollipop.
• Gender-Restricted Ability: Only the all-female Witches are capable of using magic, while Warlocks have an innate "craft" that augments their physical prowess in battle.
• Idiosyncratic Episode Naming: Chapter numbers are prefaced with the word "Scar." So "Scar 1", "Scar 2", "Scar 3..."
• Invisible Parents: Although Cierra and Jessica's father is mentioned more than once, Mr. Pensblood doesn't make an appearance.
• Living Clothes: Witches from the Orange District keep talking hats as familiars. When the S.W.S. visits another Witch city in Volume 2, their counterparts in magical law enforcement are surprised to see fully sentient living hats being used as familiars.
  • Cierra's familiar is an old, worn-out orange bucket hat called Grim. She picked up Grim while living in the wastelands.
  • Bianka's hat is a chainsmoking, cat-eared ushanka called York.
  • Natalie's familiar is a massive black top hat named Siegfried. He has upside down facial features and wears a monocle.
• Magic by Any Other Name: Witches alone can use "magic" to cast spells and alter the world around them. Warlocks have innate abilities called "crafts" that appear to supernaturally alter/ augment their bodies to assist in combat, but it's specifically not called "magic" because magic is a Gender-Restricted Ability.
• Magic Eater: Fairies are monsters that can absorb the magic out of any spell flung at them. They're described as mindless, constantly hungry creatures that will hunt down witches in order to consume their magic.
• Magical Eye: Cierra's eye was affected when her experimental magic backfired, and now has the ability to absorb magic. Only Fairies are known to have this power.
• Marshmallow Hell:
  • In the Yonkoma and gag comics at the end of Volume 1, Natalie prides herself on the glowup she's achieved (growing out her hair, gaining almost a foot in height, and filling out her figure) in the five years since Cierra's banishment. She gleefully prepares to torment her banished best friend from a position of anonymity, but Cierra instantly recognizes "Natty" and dives face-first into the other girl's chest for a hug.
  • This happens again in Volume 2, when Cierra reunites with the forsaken Witch Clover. They had grown close in exile, until they were separated during a fairy attack. Clover pulls Cierra in for a hug, but in their time apart Clover got taller and Cierra... didn't.
• Our Fairies Are Different: Fairies in Orange Crows are Witch-eating monsters that live in the wilderness between civilizations' walled, isolated city-states. They're impervious to spells because they can absorb magic (although it's noted that a particularly strong Warlock might be able to survive combat with a Fairy). Fairies are capable of a sort of teleportation within pockets of magically charged air known as an "arcus", which allows them to simulate flight and attack the Cool Airships Witches use for long distance travel. The only known substance that can repel Fairies is electricity, which is why all inhabited districts are surrounded by a dome of electric energy. According to legend, fairies first appeared when Witches began to attack each other, sent as punishment by the gods for their warmongering.
• Our Mages Are Different: Only the all-female Witches can use magic — any supernatural abilities used by the all-male Warlocks is called a "craft."
• Perpetual Frowner: Even as a child, Natalie was always "scowling" and "squinting" at her peers from behind her glasses. When young Cierra makes a particularly pointed remark about it, Natalie admits she has an eye disease that medical spells can't cure — her glasses are only a stopgap, and she still has to squint to see anything. As an adult she still wears her glasses and squints painfully to be able to focus on anything, giving her a permanently grumpy face.
• Pointy Ears: Warlocks have long, pointed ears. Witches do not.
• Rummage Sale Reject: The overall art style of the series could be described as "Halloween punk", and the fashion appears to be influenced by emo/ punk style, early 2000's anime, gothy Tim Burton fare, and a hefty dose of Rule of Cool:
  • Once Cierra gets back to civilization and is taken on a shopping trip to pick up some new clothes, she chooses to wear a lime green scarf, fur-trimmed purple tank top, mini-skirt, mismatched striped/ fishnet stockings (with fur-trimmed armsocks to match), and horned boots. (Ya know, to match her talking orange bucket hat.)
  • Natalie's outfit of choice includes lowrider bell-bottoms, a punky double-prong grommet belt, a four foot long plaid tie, a navel-baring puffed-sleeve blouse with sailor fuku collar, and a truly massive black top hat that wears a monocle.
  • Bianka wears capris with built-in suspenders under a cropped, fur-trimmed t-shirt that reads "BABY". Accessorized with a chain-smoking ushanka with cat ears.
• Scarf of Asskicking: When Natalie takes Cierra shopping in the upper-class district, Cierra acquires a long scarf. She wears it while brawling with the Forsaken who board the airship the Orange Crows were sent to protect. And when she absorbs too much magic and goes on a rampage, she ends up using the scarf as an extra set of arms in combat. She keeps the scarf after running from the S.W.S., through two outfit changes while she works with the Free Minds, and into battle against Natalie at the end of Volume 2.
• Sky Surfing: A faster, more efficient way of riding a broomstick has emerged in the five years since Cierra's banishment: sweeping. Users stand atop their broomstick and surf through the air as if on a skateboard. Bianka even makes fun of Cierra for riding her broom in the old fashioned way.
• Talking Animal: The spell that can make animals talk is high-level magic that not even Cierra can perform, but Bianka claims it's so easy for her she "thought everyone could do it." As such, Bianka keeps several cats that she's endowed with the power of speech. When the S.W.S. visits the city of Arx Ceridwen in Volume 2, news of Bianka's impressive feats appears to have spread well beyond the Orange District in Arx Crowfield.
• Wings Do Nothing: Witches are born with small wings that grow from their lower back. The wings are incapable of flight, but a myth researched by Cierra describes the small stature of Witches' wings as a punishment for their greed and warlike tendencies after gods granted them the ability to fly.
• Winged Humanoid: Witches are born with small flightless wings that protrude from their lower backs. Cierra has a set of bat wings, while Natalie and Bianka have feathered wings.

Tropes in Volume 1

• Boxed Crook: Zig-Zagged — When her term of exile is up, Cierra is given the choice to return to the Orange District and partake in a trial to determine whether she can re-integrate into society, or to refuse to return and be killed. After spending a day in a holding cell waiting for the trial to begin she's suddenly informed that the trial is over, her citizenship is restored, and that she's been remanded to the custody of the S.W.S.
  Natalie: Forsaken Witch Cierra, I'm here to inform you that your exile has ended. You are to be escorted back to the Orange District in order to partake in the reassessment trial. This trial will determine if you are fit to rejoin society as a contributing member. There will be no 2nd exile period. If you fail this trial, then you will be put to death. Do you accept these conditions?
  Cierra: ...
  Natalie: Do you accept or not? Forsaken exile Cierra, if you do not give an answer then we'll be forced to assume you refuse the conditions. You have five seconds to comply.
  Sparticus: Look, I shouldn't be telling you this, but if you don't accept our orders are to kill you on the spot. So, you need to give her an answer.
  Cierra: I... of course I accept. What other choice do I have?
• Clothing Combat: After her Magical Eye absorbs too much magic and she transforms into a Fairy-like creature, Cierra is able to control her scarf like an extra set of arms. She uses it to battle the Forsaken attacking the airship... and Jack, who attacks her when he determines that she must be the One Eyed Demon that killed his brother.
• Expository Hairstyle Change: When Cierra and Natalie first become friends, Cierra keeps her hair long and loose, while Natalie's hair is trimmed short. When they meet five years after Cierra's banishment it seems they've swapped hairstyles — Cierra's hair is chopped short after living in the wastelands, while Natalie's hair has grown so long it nearly sweeps the floor.
• Eyepatch After Timeskip: The first three pages take place "Five Years Ago", showing Cierra injure her eye when her experiment blows up in her face. When the narrative catches up to the present, she's wearing a bandage eyepatch.
• Follow in My Footsteps: Cierra's mother was a magical researcher who never made time for her children. When she died, she left Cierra her research notes and personal laboratory (and apparently left Jessica nothing). Cierra interpreted the inheritance as her mother's wish that she should continue the research.
  Cierra: It was strange. She left all of her research material to me, including the laboratory she had set up at home. Why did she do such a thing? Why would she all of a sudden leave her most precious possessions to me? Was this her way of saying... that she really did love me? That day I decided in front of my mom's grave that I would somehow finish what she'd started. I would prove my worth.
• Missing Mom: Cierra's mother died when Cierra was a teenager, leaving Cierra a treasure trove of research notes and access to her personal lab as a sort of parting gift. It was Cierra's desire to complete her mother's research on untested healing spells that drove her to perform the fateful experiment that transformed her eye and destroyed one of Natalie's wings.
• Mythopoeia: While deciphering her mother's research on healing magic Cierra reads the "Myth of Wings"; a legend describing how Witch society was formed, where Fairies came from, and why Witches are born with flightless wings.
  There was a legend that witches had a great desire to fly, and therefore the gods bestowed magnificent wings upon them. They learned to what great heights they could climb, and realized there was no limit to where they could reach.
  From the greatest heights in the world, the witches peered down on the vast land below them and were awestruck by its immenseness. Each tribe wanted to possess it all, and none were willing to share. Thus, a war broke out that shook the land and caused great destruction.
  As punishment for their greediness, the gods decreased the size of the witches wings, stripping away their ability to fly. The witches did not learn their lesson, and continued to destroy each other. The gods then sent the demonic Fairies, who feasted on the souls of witches. There was much pain and anguish, and many suffered. But hope was not completely lost.
  A poor witch child from a small, nameless tribe rose from the bloodstained lands and lent her knowledge and wisdom. This witch child, later to be known as the first Queen Witch, united the quarreling tribes against the flightless black beasts, pushing them back.
  She created order and returned peace, but our wings were never restored to their previous splendor by the gods. This devastating loss was the price of our greed and selfishness.
  This is why witches have wings. We are reminded of the mistakes our ancestors made through these beautiful yet useless things.

  Myth of Wings, Tome of History, Chapter 757
• No Periods, Period: Double Subverted — Jack (a Warlock) tells the horrified Cierra, Natalie, and Bianka that Warlock school is now teaching their all-male student body about Witch biology, including information about their periods. In this case, "period" means the time of the month when a post-pubescent Witch's wings molt — and it's treated just like a real-world period, with the embarrassed girls insisting that it's "totally natural" and that they were "born that way."
  Jack: School made it a requirement a few years back. They said we can protect Witches easier by knowing more about them. We even learned some gross stuff.
  Cierra: Huh? Like what?
  Jack: Like your periods. Glad we weren't born Witches, you know?
  Sparticus: Heh heh. You and me both.
  Cierra: Shut up!
  Natalie: H-how DARE you?!
  Bianka: It's just how we are... i-idiots.
• Phlebotinum Overload: Cierra's Magical Eye grants her the ability to absorb magic the way Fairies can, but she has a limit. When she absorbs the magic out of a Combination Attack spell powered by multiple Forsaken witches, Cierra transforms into a superpowered Fairy-like creature that attacks the Forsaken and the Orange Crows.
• Stranger in a Familiar Land: More than once Cierra comments on how she can't believe how much the Orange district has changed since her banishment — and it doesn't help that on her arrival she's restricted to the living quarters of the S.W.S., which are in the ultra luxurious high class area of the Orange District. Cierra's family wasn't poor, but they certainly weren't high class like the Batsgrave family.
  Cierra: As I peered through the window at the district, I was awestruck by the change. I felt like a time traveler who had jumped into a distant and unfamiliar future. Actually... it was a pretty lonely feeling.
• When You Coming Home, Dad?: Mrs. Pensblood was a magical researcher who died when Cierra was a young teen. In Cierra's memories, her mother was always too busy working to spend time with her children.
  Cierra: I... never really knew my mother. She constantly worked on researching new magic. My mom, she... was determined to advance our society. Because of that, she didn't even have time for her own daughter. I wasn't important enough to earn her attention... her love.

Tropes in Volume 2

• Affectionate Nickname: Clover calls Cierra "Pup" as a sign of affection, and as an indication of her mentoring relationship with Cierra. It's also an early indicator that she considers Cierra to be little more than an asset in the fight against the Arx, like a loyal attack dog.
• Antiquated Linguistics: Arx Ceridwen's S.W.S. Silver Spines division agent Klo randomly peppers "-eth", "-est", and "thee", "thou", "thine", and "thy" into her speech. No one else from Arx Ceridwen is written with the same accent, but other characters point out that she occasionally uses homophones for words she means to use ("configuration" for "complication," "walk" for "talk"), so her unique speech pattern might be an attempt at coming across more sophisticated or intelligent than she really is.
  Klo: The opportunity hath not arisen to inquire this before. But as we grant audiences to a mere head garment, it begs the question— why does thou use sentient hats as familiars in thy Arx?
• Clueless Chick-Magnet: Both Whisper and Klo make it obvious that they're interested in Sparticus, with Klo going so far as to teleport herself into his lap during lunch and openly invite him to "ogle her wings," while Whisper invites him back to her personal quarters for an intimate (and under dressed) conversation. His popularity with the ladies of Arx Ceridwen seems to confuse Sparticus as much as it aggravates Bianka (who's miffed that her favorite punching bag is spending so much time with others) and Jack (who's jealous of the romantic attentions Sparticus is receiving from the attractive ladies of the Arx Ceridwen's S.W.S.).
• Face Stealer: One of the Forsaken Witches working with the Free Minds keeps a belt of still-living faces around her waist, and is able to take on the appearance and mannerisms of those who she's collected. She assumes the face of one of the bullies who appeared in Natalie's flashback nightmare, and the face of the waitress who served Natalie, Jack, and Sparticus in Arx Ceridwen.
  Unnamed Face Stealer: You just don't understand the value of true friendship, Adinella. If you let me wear you, then I'm sure you would understand.
• Flower Motifs: At the Free Minds encampment, Clover and Cierra discuss the meaning of the skull bloom before Clover tucks one behind Cierra's ear. Notably, this is the flower on Natalie's cheek.
• Funetik Aksent: Volume 2 introduces a slew of new characters with inexplicable accents.
  • Clover's southern accent is played up with lots of "y'all's" and drawled-out words.
    Clover: All right, y'all! Let's saddle up and get the heck outta here! There's a camp about a day's travel from here!
  • Lushiyana, or Lu, is a Mer-Witch with a Russian accent full of W's turning into V's.
    Lu: Vat a funny face! Vhy are you making such a silly face?!
  • Adinella has a thick Scottish brogue.
    Adinella: Ya expect me ta be believin' that flimsy excuse?! How 'bout we deepen yer bond 'tween me candlestick an' yer head!
    Ahmee: Aw Nella, you always know how to treat me! Hit me, again!
    Adinella: Will ye calm down, ye half wit?! 'Tis no way te treat yer master! Hey, are ye listenin'?
• He Who Must Not Be Heard: Whisper's voice is imbued with dangerous magic. When she wants to speak in conversation, she uses a phonograph with several enchanted records that can convey what she wants to say. The records each have a different voice and her speech bubbles from the phonograph are surrounding by musical notes.
• Healthcare Motivation: Whisper was born a "commoncraft" or "simplecraft" Witch in the poor, socially disadvantaged Agricultural Hearth district of Arx Ceridwen, and was raised by her grandparents after her parents died. When her grandfather became ill she learned the only medication that could cure him was reserved for the "chosencraft" upper classes — so she studied hard and earned her way into the ranks of the chosencraft to acquire the medicine. Her grandmother was furious, accusing Whisper of abandoning the family when her grandfather was dying. After he died, her grandmother fell ill, and Whisper learned that the Arx Ceridwen's laws prevented the medicine she studied so hard to earn access to from being used on her commoncraft relatives.
• Height Angst: Played for Laughs with gag characters Dr. Lowe and Dr. Highe, who appear in one scene in Arx Ceridwen. Dr. Lowe is short and bathophobic, with a fear of "low places" — they can be seen perched on a tall cauldron. Dr. Highe is tall and acrophobic, with a fear of high places. She suffers bouts of nausea due to her stature and often has to lie down until the vertigo abates.
• Magic Music: During a flashback to Natalie's time in the hospital after Cierra's failed experiment, the nurses at her bedside discuss the limitations of medical magic. They report that they've had healers singing the "Song of Soothing" for three days straight, but it's curative properties are not strong enough to save Natalie's damaged wing from amputation.
• My Nayme Is: Ahmee is a creative way to spell "Amy."
• Names to Run Away from Really Fast: Cierra and Natalie picked up Red Baron nicknames in the five years they've been apart, but Cierra's is a little spookier. She claims responsibility for "The Black Mourning," a Fairy attack that summoned dozens of Fairies and killed forsaken and citizen Witches alike.
• Navel Outline/ Navel Window: At the end of Volume 2, Natalie dons a long pinstripe dress with a sheer cut-out over her navel.
• Out-of-Character Moment: Bianka spent the majority of her and Cierra's brief acquaintance in Volume 1 either attacking or making fun of Cierra. It seems odd that Bianka would express concern for Ceirra's wellbeing after the fight where Cierra's fairy-like abilities were revealed and she ran from the S.W.S. — but Bianka is the only one to wonder aloud why Natalie isn't more invested in recovering her former best friend. Bianka also becomes visibly upset when she and Sparticus discuss Cierra's escape back into the deadly Wilderness.
• Power Tattoo:
  • Forsaken witch Eclair (who appeared during the raid on the airship in Volume 1) has stylized spider tattoos/ markings on her palms and on her tongue that allow her to summon a powerful creature to fight in her stead.
  • Sparticus reveals to Whisper that the runes tattooed across his body are also tattooed across his "soul," working to absorb the negative energy of his curse and keep it from affecting those around him.
• Premiseville: Arx Ceridwen shares a name with Ceridwen, an enchantress who appears in Welsh mythology. The mythological Ceridwen was famed for brewing a powerful potion in her magical cauldron — the first three drops would grant poetic inspiration and peerless wisdom, while the rest of the brew would prove a fatal poison. Arx Ceridwen is at the forefront of magical research, having earned the title of "The Queen's Cauldron" for their production of magical medicines and potions. It was chosen from among all other Witch settlements to produce the mysterious and powerful Crythium Brew for the Witch Queen.
• Punny Name: Dr. Lowe (who is afraid of low places, and can be seen crouched like a gargoyle on the edge of a tall cauldron) and Dr. Highe (who is afraid of heights, and frequently suffers bouts of nausea due to her tall stature) are a pair of minor characters who work in the research lab in Arx Ceridwen.
• Red Baron: Natalie reveals the name she gained with the S.W.S., while Cierra reveals the nickname she picked up in the wastelands — "Viridescent Wildfire" and "The Black Mourning", respectively. Cierra is shocked to realize that the dangerous and deadly Viridescent Wildfire could be her childhood best friend. Cierra's revelation comes at the end of the last chapter of Volume 2, so Natalie's reaction to the confession isn't made clear.
• Too Kinky to Torture: Ahmee openly enjoy the punishments that Adinella metes out when the Ahmee acts inappropriately towards Cierra, including getting whacked over the head with an oversized candlestick and having her hair set on fire. She even begs Adinella to hit her again.
• Verbal Tic: Eclair, whose magic and mode of dress are spider-themed, shuffles the word "web" to her sentences.
  Eclair: Still, I do have some words to share with you, web. Please, web you lend me your ear?
• Would Hurt a Child: Sparticus's flashback reveals that after his childhood curse diagnosis (and after testing confirmed that no one else in his family carried the same curse), the authorities of Arx Crowsfield were willing to have him exiled — a punishment reserved for society's worst criminals — over the uncontrollable nature of the curse. It was only the intervention of a researcher who wanted to use him as an experimental subject that kept the young boy from being thrown out into the wilderness to fend for himself.

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