#human sakutarou

[shouta-edits]

Can you make a Moodboard between Human Sakutarou from Umineko and human UU-Tan from Umineko using my design for her with themes of lovesickness hearts patchwork and seams? - @2stregafangirl requested

[electrobiology]

Also on the topic of yorushika i am a little sad they aren’t releasing an album based entirely on literature like i thought but naturally the art book is just as cool... i still hope to somehow see a song based on no longer human though somehow... i probably won’t which isn’t a surprise but it would still be a dream come true

[whenthechickencry]

Umineko EP6. Replay Part 2

Rosa still has conflicted feelings about Maria's dad.... which is quite sad. You are in your entire right to hate him Rosa common, but she hates herself so damaging her is ultimately something she can forgive.

These scenes make me sigh out loud so often. It wasn't a trial of love Rosa. You never deserved it and you are never going to get rewarded for it. It's just so sad to me to see how stuck she is.... but like she says she doesn't have the privilege to just forget. She has Maria and her debt as constant reminders. "If she was able to succeed in paying back the loan, ...he might acknowledge her usefulness as wife" God damn it Rosa aaaaa.....

Rosa talks about how she sees Kyrie as an inspiration... after 18 years of waiting in hell her miracle succeeded. Of course, as we just saw, Kyrie is not in fact remotely happy. I think it's easy when you are in a shitty situation to see someone who is, from your perspective, just doing slightly better than you with jealously or goals, because truly happy people don't trigger admiration, they trigger resentment and sadness, since true happiness seems so impossible to you.

Again, the way the Umineko women always see themselves or other women to blame for their misfortune, and not the actual men literally doing it, is so sad. Rosa would rather see herself at fault and hate herself than put the entire blame on the man who caused this. Rosa then talks about how she feels guilty about dragging Maria to hell with her and wishes she was dead.

Zepar Furfur and co start talking about how winning or dying during love is better than staying in between. In other words, you either get with the person you want or you kill that love or else you will suffer, as Sayo did as well. Also, narration describes her youth as the most blissful part of her life... hahahaahah ahhaa ahahaha..... god damn it that's so sad. Diplomatic Immunity? In other words, Kanon is a fictional character in Mariage Sorciere, so he is not allowed to attack other members of it. I forgot how blatant they were here.

Shannon jumps in and still can't attack Maria directly but just kind of crushes Shannon to death with her barrier. Also she needs permission from Maria and she's like "oh this will fuck with Erika" so it can be read as the fake murder plan being explained to Maria, if taken out of meta, haha. Beatrice chooses Natsuhi monologues about how uh, the misogyny her mom faced gives her strength to face the misogyny from Krauss when Beatrice begins immediately talking about the baby she couldn't bear(....). Narration makes the argument she is choosing this because she thinks she made Battler's life hell but uh, no I think there is a simpler reason. She wants her own answers. Beatrice, the human, possesses a weakness to mirror, meaning that isn't part of the Beatrice mythology, the was before meaning Sayo hates seeing her face in the mirror....

Something about how Natsuhi is wielding the mirror - the representation of Sayo's self-hatred and damaging her with it, and how Natsuhi launched the wheels of fate that eventually ended up with Sayo's own fucked up views about herself.... Beatrice was about to lose in her love trial, the part of Sayo that loved Battler was about to go extinct..... when he suddenly comes at the moment that fills her with the most self-doubt in her head.

Battler realizes grooming is bad, it's at least good to see how fast he realized he was hurting her and changes his behavior compared to the other 5 games of torture.

Hachijo and Ange have a talk about how often love is repeated on the tale and how it almost certainly means something - in other words please don't ignore all of these scenes and look into the deeper reasons, why Kanon can't attack Sakutarou, why only one of Shannon/Kanon/Beatrice can find love, why Beatrice doesn't like mirrors, etc. It is the thickest book of answers by now. Erika was literally sleeping through it which maybe shows why her answers suck and why she's kind of a shitty detective. Erika is stripped of the identity she so treasures in order to go along with Bernkastel's trap to screw Battler over.... something she clearly doesn't want to do but. Ange and Featherine really are giving reading comprehension 101 classes lmfao.

Dlanor and Erika lay it pretty thick that the issue with Erika last game was that she didn't check the corpses, aka they were playing dead, Dlanor warns Erika that her eyes can e fooled now so Erika knows she needs to murder everyone later. Haha, I mean, yeah.

The fact this game wouldn't incorporate Sayo's truth at all and would be pretty easy to see through if Bernkastel and Erika didn't get up to their tricks.... yeah that was definitely an intentional play on Battler's part. It wouldn't be a game to prove that he understood the game if he never played with something that required his knowledge of Beatrice, you know? So the fact that the solution after being 'tricked' by Erika DOES require that.... They were 'culprits' aka co-conspirators in the plan, but still, he probably could have gotten away with that red truth -it would just be a little unfair.

How much the narrative talks about Erika controlling the narrative because of this and that.... it's really funny to think all of them are only listening to her bc they are doing an epic prank on her.

This scene is really tender.... the roles are reversed and Battler is waiting for a miracle, which as we know will happen in this game, actually. So unlike the harrowing versions of this scene that were Beatrice trying to coach Battler it feels a lot more positive and tender. Also sets up that Battler probably did the logic error in order to bet on Beatrice solving it for him...

Bern makes it obvious she really, really, hates Beatrice specifically and starts her fooling Battler plan.

They start acting really obviously when Battler gets into the room, haha, Erika starts playing the poor little victim that just needs some help card, and Bernkastel uh, honestly acts around the same she's being extremely abusive but that's normal for her she's just using harsher words and less mental manipulation.

Dlanor is actually the one that lays down the trap.... which ends up being a trap for Erika and Bernkastel you know but.

Erika: Thank you so much for assisting with my performance

Bernkastel: ...Plus I wasn't acting.

Damn. Bernkastel just like nw i was abusing youf for reals lol, bye. Dlanor berates Battler for such a fatal move... it's very fatal for Erika alright.

Jessica talks about how it would be nice if everyone's love could be fulfilled and Zepar and Furfur mention the Golden Land.... George rejects it harshly and Battler speaks of it on a sort of sad note, it is sad that's what Sayo ended up choosing for herself...

The room splitting begins and Erika walks to her tomb throughout all of this,,, kind of sad to have Battler acknowledge her skills when she's walking into the biggest mistake of her life.

That's uh - flying a little close to the sun Battler! Like yes that's what happened but that's a very big hint!

Erika can't help but start gloating as soon as Battler was forced to say everyone, even when, again, that will be her downfall.... everything she does in this episode is leading to her failure it's kind of sad to see.

Yeah, pieces such as Sayo and her characters.... he's foreshadowing the move he will pretend to be the thing that 'saves' him from the logic error already.

Ange and Featherine start explaining what a Logic Error is. Ange starts freaking out and Featherine can point he can just change the trick... which is what he's going to do after a while, actually, but in a4d chess way. Oh no, she is Lambda, you have far too much faith in her, Battler is betting on Erika to be a smug loser and she absolutely is a smug loser. Lambda kind of shits on him for playing with luck, which he absolutely is, but it's consistent with how Erika acts, so....

Battler denies Battler not being anywhere in the room, that fucks up his trick so of course he is going to force her to look before he says anything. Erika makes the fatal mistake of trying to be smug and leave the closet for last in order to own Battler in a fancy way which is going to be her downfall. Erika gets epically pranked, giving Kanon plenty of time to jump into the room and for Battler to set up his Logic Error-Redemption and be saved by Kanon. Battler confirms he was betting on this exact course of action.....

Battler begins talking about hoping for the greatest miracle. Just as Beatrice had trapped herself in an endless torture game in order to get Battler to realize an answer, it is time for Battler to set up endless torture on himself to guide Beatrice to the answer....

Lambdadelta can't help but warn Battler against locking himself in endless torture haha.... there's a reason why they get the power of certainty in EP8!

Battler talks about his games with Beatrice and tells Beatrice that believing will bring about a miracle, in other words, Battler is now Beatrice and Beatrice is now Battler. Erika is so fucking Normal in this scene.... she's so scared that there won't be a logic error haha.... she's just fucking squirming here.

We do the fake fanfare with even Ange joining in, and then Bern and Erika cut him out... also we have a monologue of Lambda being impressed by Battler and accepting defeat. Which is kind of funny as 1. it's crashing down 2. the real miracle hasn't been summoned. These guys are playing so many layers of tricks lmfao. Erika reveals she killed everyone after this.

I do think Battler's disgust at this was probably a bit real though - I am not sure he would enjoy his prank game being turned into a real murder case especially since he's probably trying to come to terms with his family as complete people ala what he was doing in EP8 for Ange but for himself. Even if he suspected it was coming.

Erika is cute when she's excited and happy that her murder and torture plan came through.

Battler is prompting Beatrice to create the answer - I don't really believe Battler can't figure this out on his own. If you already understand the logic that Kanon and Shannon can be there while not physically being there due their nature, it's not hard to extend that logic.

Lambda....

Beato swears he will come to save Battler, and Battler has to wait for his thousand years for the miracle.

We get a ton of details on Sayo as a person here, actually, and Lambda is a sweety and can't help but help someone waiting with certainty for the impossible.

"I still believe he will come back"..... obviously, the love trial is currently representing the years in between Battler leaving. Hahaha, yeah, ahahaha.

Faetherine plays the role of R07 to a very annoyed reader-ange. Also, it's kind of impressive how even smaller lines like this work so well. Neither Takano nor Satoko counted the years during their hell. Rika, of course, wasn't the game master of Higurashi.... a lot of this went over my head when I first played because I hadn't played Higurashi before.

They don't have a lot of nice things to say about Hanyuu in this house, it seems.... Hanyuu is a very interesting character with a fucked up relationship to Rika, as well, but that's not really for right now...

This scene is so interesting as an exploration of trauma from all parties.... Erika shoots back at Lambdadelta for this by saying it's not that time spent in hell but the depth of that hell that counts, and that her hell is no less meaningful than hers, their hell was escapable, her hell isn't. She can only accept the truth but can never escape it. She brings up Bernkastel's past to her and she snaps and Erika pities her for having to always be escaping her hell and never being able to accept it....

Erika monologues about how much she will enjoy being the one defiling Battler and Beatrice by getting in between them instead of being the one that is being defiled.... Would suck to hear that if, say, the person you love disappeared entirely from your life, wouldn't it. If Battler isn't coming it's because Sayo doesn't have enough love.

Zepar and Furfur hammer more that the love trial is the hint that we are getting and Shannon and Kanon decide to have the duel, Zepar/Furfur point out that they thought George Jessica would have the duel - but obviously, the one with the body, Sayo, has to make the actual choice. No one else can make that choice for her. God this scene has such a feel.... just the tense feeling leading to the duel, the hints they are dropping such as Sayo's age.... ......

If they both die, both of their loves will be made complete... and it's very sad to think of how Sayo must have felt to reach that answer....

Gaap, Ronnove, and Ronove reconstruct the locked room, and Gaap says "It doesn't matter who's here. We need to find out how to escape" which is.... exactly wrong. We get the red truth confirming that Kanon's room window was in fact intact. They use bureaucracy to dodge Gaap's questioning about Shannon's room window seals, which the answer won't, technically, use.

Featherine blurts out the answer after saying she doesn't have it, ahaha. Featherine points out this solution will reveal the heart to Beatrice's heart and may never be used again.

Bern bets on the fact Erika will win because Battler wouldn't use a trick that reveals so much of Beato's heart and Lambda calls her naive and affirms that Battler will lay her to rest. The fact Battler is being sold off as property and literally being forced to serve Erika until the end of time with the ring exchange is very interesting to me. Zepar and Furfur giving talks about how incredible love is is very ironic here, In other words, Sayo needs to let go of their personas and become one, full person in order to be loved and to love.... the wording of sub-human still makes me sad even if I know what is meant though.

Furfur and Zepar really are hammering the answers though.... The fact Kanon loses of course represents that Sayo had already chosen George over Jessica.... and that Battler fucked things upby coming back. Jessica's cries are so sad.... Chick-Beato was so close to disappearing.... so close to being able to move on.... and yet....Reading Sayo's monologue on why she created Beatrice is so sad "You are to love him in my place, and if fate allows it, be loved by him."

[starswallowingsea]

OK SO. THE RI4 REFERENCES.

• The color of tainted sorrow — Upon The Tainted Sorrow, Chuuya Nakahara

• I shall be a cat — I Am a Cat, Natsume Souseki

• At night on the galactic railroad — Night on the Galactic Railroad, Miyazawa Kenji

• Petit prince — Le Petit Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

• Magi's gift — The Gift of the Magi, O. Henry

• Pining for the moon — Tsuki ni Hoeru, Hagiwara Sakutarou

• Certified human!!!! — No Longer Human, Osamu Dazai

• Sleeping beauty — The fairytale

• Ten nights' dreams! — Ten Nights of Dreams, Natsume Souseki

• Happy Prince — The Happy Prince, Oscar Wilde

• Journey to the west — same name, Wu Cheng'en

• The IF dancer — The Izu Dancer, Kawabata Yasunori

• The catcher in the rhyme — The Catcher in the Rye, J. D. Salinger

• Sen-Li Ichi-Li Monogatari — Arabian Nights

• Summer Break — The Summer Vacation, Nakamura Kou (who's also behind their songs btw!)

• Welcome to the Circus — Same name, Smily mom (it's a japanese picture book, so yeah)

• Maihime — The Dancing Girl, Mori Ougai

• Snow black — Snow White

• Spring and chocolat — Spring and Asura, Miyazawa Kenji

• Barkley and the chocolate factory — Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl

• Adventure king is kind of a mystery and I have never found anyone who gets into an agreement of the origin, it can either come from a manga or from a magazine publisher

• I'm also not sure on White Margaret

sorry for the long list. anyways the tldr is they're silly and also who's letting these girls read fucking osamu dazai in their catholic school

Girls when they ask their book club for song ideas i guess.

[starlitfunkster]

Some weird Corpse Party AU starring my OC's

I literally got bored and did all of this with wheeldecide.com, with varying results of either 'this is fitting' or 'oh no this is fitting'.

Every character is in Read More, enjoy this image if you just want the main 5's results!

(L-R): Jessica (Ayumi Shinozaki), Tameron Ryne (Yoshiki Kishinuma), Maxwell Ink (Satoshi Mochida), Fiona/Fuchsia Robot (Yuka Mochida), Blue Belle (Naomi Nakashimi) Changes: ~Jessica is gothic and is the one that suggests the ritual, easily convincing Tameron to help her with it (because he's a simp). ~Tameron is a bit flirty towards Jessica, and overall nice and calm. He's known as the detective prince in their school! ~Maxwell has a father-daughter relationship with Fiona. Which yes, implies he made Fuchsia Robot in this AU. ~Also because Fiona's a robot, she gets possessed more easily than the others. ~Blue Belle is the redesigned Prim Rose. Being prim and proper, and nervous (especially after Sally dies!). And also like.. the only other animal aside from the Sonic OC's.

Kisaragi High School: Seiko Shinhara - Sally Snaps (aka Sugarsnap Cookie, but humanized) Mayu Suzumoto - Poppy (also humanized, she's that fan-made Toppin Monster that I made) Sakutarou Morishige - Bow (also humanized, he's like.. from the early point of this blog, apart of the opposite felt) Yui Shishido - Quinn the Kumiho (the only one not randomized, because i wanted to introduce quinn through this way)

Byakudan High School: Yuuya Kizami - Enkah Clipse (aka Eclipse Cookie) (he's a freshmen instead, and is also super into robots.. and also may or may not have been possessed by the real Kizami.) Kensuke Kurosaki - Lost (de-AU'd, so he's a goat that gets killed.) Tohko Kirisaki - Flake Woman (Yes, this is Ice Woman, but redesigned. And also now a DWN!) Emi Urabe - Golden the Hedgehog Mitsuki Yamamoto - Cyprien (also a freshmen, and an android in this AU. she gently put down enkah's crush, but he didn't take that well.. especially after getting pulled into the haunted school.) Masato Fukuroi - Baritone (de-AU'd, basically a wolf who takes his student council president role seriously. way too seriously at times, which gets him 'bullied' by Flake Woman and Golden.) Kai Shimada - Copy (yeah remember that Copy Robot design for Fully Charged? that's him.) Tomohiro Ohkawa - Milo Ryousuke Katayama - Veradae

Musashigawa Girl's Junior High School: Nana Ogasawara - Twisty Teacup Chihaya Yamase - Meddi (yes, it's MHS based) Nari Amatoya - Gianna Peppaire (aka Ghost Pepper Cookie, with no parasite attached to her hair. good thing too!)

Kibiki's Group: Naho Saenoki - Cocoa (who''s also humanized) Kou Kibiki - Archer (humanized) Shougo Taguchi - Pory-Guy (Doesn't talk much, and only points out the basement before... killing himself before he succumbs to the darkening.)

Ghosts: Yoshie Shinozaki - Brione (that old Sonic OC that looks like a Brionne) Sachiko Shinozaki - Sine the Deer

Others: Kokuhaku Akaboji - Ferrum Fruitbat (not a Sonic OC, but intead a major antagonist in Aria's Fruit Farm) Hinoe Shinozaki - Maize (She.. only gets mentioned. In her life, she was Mary, who was Jessica's younger sister before her life was tragically cut short.)

Demons (only listing the species so people can run with it): Original Seiko - Succubus (Do I need to state what this is inspired by? Honestly offended that she was turned into a Succubus.) Original Mayu + Morishige - Futakuchi-Onna (Morishige is the main spirit, whilst Mayu is the mouth on the back of his head. He cannot hear where she is coming from, and he also will never believe she's lying to him. Poor guy thinks Mayu isn't affected by the school's influence..) Original Yui - (She's a Teaching based one, with the wings of an barn owl. She is actively trying to help these characters break free from the cycle.) Original Kizami - Oni (He looks hot, not gonna lie. But man, now he's gonna kill more people now that he was made immortal.) Original Naho - Kuko (She's also malevolent, and was the one that trapped everyone in the cycle. But like.. was she really the maker of the cycle?)

???: Arianna the Lonely Roller - (The young maker of the universe. She's trying to stop the cycle, but someone took the book from her. Now she's fighting to get it back, and is trying her best to hurry.)

[peridhot]

Ookami sama no Ichizu na Bouai by Abuku

“It’s my first time both with a human and a man, but…since it’s become like this, isn’t the only way to calm your heat down would be to have sex?” While humans and beastmen couples are still rare, Sakutarou, an omega with a beastmen fetish, spends his days dreaming of a love with a beastman and continus to take his heat suppressors. Then one day, Sakutarou suddenly gets his heat in the middle of the city. Unexpectedly, an unfamiliar male beastman came to help…!? In front of this man, only by intertwining lewdly can this burning body be soothed.

Read through chapter 7.5

The art was charming and the story was alright, enjoyable. It's an omegaverse story and of course it's always fun to see how different authors handle that topic. The relationship of the main character and his beastman mate was very cute.

[fictionkinfessions]

book recs: if you're into shorter, more fairy tale like stories i recommend kenji miyazawa's works, especially night on the galactic railroad and nighthawk's star. for darker or heavier content, osamu dazai and ryuunosuke akutagawa are easy finds (i especially like no longer human and kappa.) for poetry, chuuya nakahara, sakutarou hagiwara, and shinpei kusano are good reads.

[incorrectuminekoquotes]

Maria, sautéing mushrooms with caramelized onions and garlic:

Sakutarou: [begs]

Maria: silly man….god blessed me with the ability to eat poison……not thou……

Maria: humans can have a little poison

[sealer-of-wenkamui]

I didn’t write anything since the beginning of episode 4 and now A LOT has happened!

With Ange in the mix, things are progressing a bit different from normal now that she’s attacking from 12 years in the future, two points of view to take down the witch~ Oh, and I think it is likely its a cage to keep Battler trapped, especially since people in this story sure like to do that to the people they love, I mean Kinzo, Lamda...... why not Beato too? She’s cruel, but isn’t completely heartless either (that way she was tricked into trying to cheer Battler up?!)

Kyrie is right to avoid her family, Kasumi is scary, and definitely enjoys torture....

And we’re getting a look at her past too, even if Maria is dead, her soul still remains...ahhhh and Sakutarou’s too right, despite what happens......

I heard “blue truths” mentioned sometime before, so this is what they are, and the way to fight with them is to come up with a whole bunch of theories!

Lamda may have been trying to get Ange to further her own goals, but at the same time, she’s probably right that Ange won’t reunite with her family, it seems like.... the same sort of connection Bern and Rika have..... Ange and ANGE Beatrice.... uhhh the whole disappearing because she’s a piece thing though?! And what if Beato is Lamda’s piece...... Hm..... or at least Lamda made her human self a witch and can take it away.....I suppose she was around before the game so its not the same, but Lamda is still in control here. The way she was described made her sound on a different level from Beato.... Lamda is an 8th dimensional being!! OVERSEER LAMDAAAA

I can’t lie, I was thinking I wanted to see those girls saying such horrible things to Ange get killed by the stakes too, though it wouldn’t have helped Ange’s situation in the long rung... but the stakes themselves were trying their best to support her, so to do that to them....and deny Sakutarou too.....no... ;A;

But it seems like she’s already started repairing her relationship with Maria and the sisters, the hotel scene is really nice.... (and I’m glad it was Mammon whose stake remained, they were the closest weren’t they...)

AT2/AT2 NOVEL SPOILERS AHEAD

It did not help that they reminded me of those awful IPDs who said such terrible things to Infel after they learned what was in her heart, though in that case, those IPDs had gotten her girlfriend killed, and Infel actually DOES get to carry out her revenge against them....

END SPOILERS

And if that wasn’t heavy enough.... the story of Maria’s past continued, and ROSA IS ACTUALLY THE WORST!! As if I didn’t already know that, but killing Sakutarou?! And declaring to Maria’s face that he’s dead, what the hell is wrong with her?! Maria is such a sweet and innocent girl.......

And not even Beato can revive him.... And with that wish to Beato to take revenge.... I think this might be where the other Maria (the one that goes kihihihihi) came from, and even that she could be behind the Rokkenjima game, together with Beato.... The message bottles contain what seems to be a description of the games is in Beato’s handwriting, but signed “Maria”. Beato is good at making magical documents, and that signature could really be Maria’s, like how Virgilia signed the document to acknowledge Sakutarou. The thing I couldn’t understand at the time was why Maria would sign something like that, but after this....... and that other Maria seemed to know what was going on, not to mention the comments in the first game seeming to be from her perspective (Rosa’s even says she’ll get to see her again, so she won’t be lonely)

And in the end, everyone is revived in the Golden Land... what is the Golden Land.... a dream like world where everyone can live happily? (...maybe something like Sublimation..?) Escaping to a dreamlike world after going through what she did HMHMMM

And to how Kinzo fits in, they could just be taking advantage of the ceremony he created, and with the risk of the epitaph being solved, they get the power to create miracles...or something.....

....I should probably sit down and come up with a more solid idea once I finish episode 4, before starting the answer arcs......

[minifiction]

our mistakes make us human

Fandom: Bungou Stray Dogs (+ some Bungou to Alchemist

Characters/Pairings: Atsushi, Dazai (+Muroo, Hagiwara); light Dazai/Atsushi

Genre: Angst

Rating: PG-13

Summary: Dazai is never wrong, Atsushi says, and then is proven otherwise.

Flowers are blooming outside of the Agency’s headquarters.  Every day, it seems, a new tree or bush has sparkled into color.  In the middle of the city, there aren’t all that many trees to begin with, but they light up the street better than any streetlamp.

Atsushi is sitting on the steps and admiring the paulownia tree across from the agency when Dazai emerges from the door behind him.  He starts to say something about how beautiful the season is, but Dazai holds a finger to his lips.

Confused, Atsushi nonetheless shuts his mouth.  He watches Dazai cross the street and rest a hand on the tree, whose flowers instantly disappear into nothing.

“The Port Mafia’s reconnaissance squad leader,” Dazai says, returning to Atsushi’s side and plopping down on the steps.  “I don’t know why he thought I wouldn’t remember his ability and how he uses it.  Or recognize that that’s a camphor tree.”

“It wasn’t a very smart idea,” Atsushi says with a half-smile.  “You’re never wrong about anything, Dazai.”

“I know,” Dazai says, grinning.  “Any~way~, now that we’re not being eavesdropped on, you should know Kunikida’s holding a meeting!”

Atsushi stands.  When Dazai doesn’t, Atsushi asks, “Did you come out here to tell me or just to avoid doing work?”

“You wound me.  Why can’t it be both?”

The meeting is about an explosion at an orchestra hall.  The building was empty and no one was hurt, but the damage is enough that it’ll have to be entirely torn down and rebuilt, if the owner can afford to rebuild it.

“Why would anyone want to blow up a music hall?” Atsushi asks, looking over the before and after pictures.  “Were there any safes in there?”

“Just cash registers, some of which were mostly intact and unlooted.”  Kunikida flips through the case files.  “Someone reported seeing a figure moving around that night, but she didn’t investigate closely, and her description is only ‘short and probably a man’.”

The first short man to jump to mind is…  “Chuuya?”

“C4 residue was found on the scene.”  Finally, Dazai sticks his head through the doorway.  “If the hatrack wanted to destroy a building, he wouldn’t bother with a high explosive.”

Insulting nicknames aside, Dazai’s statement on Chuuya can be considered reliable.  Atsushi rubs his forehead.  “Then, do you know who might have done it?”

Dazai gives an exaggerated shrug.  “No clue!”

When Atsushi goes to check out the scene, he finds Dazai already there, munching on a bag of popcorn.

“Are you imitating Ranpo today?” he asks, snagging a piece from Dazai’s bag.

“Maybe~  If I channel him, I’ll become a great detective too, don’t you think?” Dazai doesn’t look terribly hurt when Atsushi snorts with laughter.

While he’s stealing popcorn from Dazai, Atsushi observes the scene.  ‘Keep out’ tape is everywhere, and police steer away anyone who gets too close… which is a lot of people.

“Do you think the culprit will come back?” he asks.

“Almost certainly,” Dazai replies, with food in his mouth.  “But people are frequently drawn to crime scenes even if they had nothing to do with it, just to stare.  There will be plenty of people who fit the description of the culprit; we’ll narrow things down from there.”

Atsushi watches, and notes things down when a short man appears.  But the exchanges between passerby and police are so short and so similar that he can’t help but let his eyes wander.  The wreckage of the building against the backdrop of flowering trees would make for a beautiful picture…

Wait.

“Dazai, are those paulownia trees?”

Dazai follows Atsushi’s gaze to a few flower-covered trees not far from the building, and frowns like walking over there is a chore he didn’t want to deal with.  “I can’t tell just by looks... fine, I’ll go see.”

He weaves around the ‘keep out’ tape in order to reach the trees, and taps on the trunk of one.  The flowers stay on, and Dazai returns.

“Ah… sorry, I guess I was just thinking of it since this morning…”  Atsushi looks away, then startles when Dazai pats him on the head.

“Keeping your enemy’s abilities in mind even when they aren’t there is a sign you’re becoming a better detective.”  The moment would be sweeter if Dazai didn’t immediately toss another piece of popcorn in his mouth.

The two of them watch for a few hours, and a number of short men appear, but none of their behavior seems out of the ordinary.  Atsushi returns to the agency with pages of notes and nothing conclusive.

In the early morning, Atsushi is woken by the yowling of a cat.

Rubbing his eyes, Atsushi pulls himself out of bed.  Haruno would understand if he scolded her cat for screaming before the sun is even up.  Anyway, it’s not like he would be mean about it?

He sticks his head out of his doorway, expecting to see a tabby cat yelling about nothing.  Instead he spots that tabby cat chasing after a blue cat.

Atsushi can’t say he’s an expert on cats despite sometimes turning into one, but he’s pretty sure that normal cats aren’t blue.

He doesn’t have time to change out of his pajamas.  He barely remembers to grab his phone before giving chase.  The most likely person to be awake at this hour is Dazai of the incredibly unhealthy sleep schedule, so that’s who he texts about the situation without taking his eyes off of the cat.

Another member of the mafia’s recon squad, Dazai answers.  If he’s bold enough to send his ability this close to the agency there’s something wrong.  Follow it.

The cat runs all the way to the destroyed orchestra hall, and so does Atsushi.  There are two figures there, both young men.

The darker-haired one catches his cat as it leaps into his arms.  The cat disappears, and he fixes Atsushi with a nervous gaze.  “H…hello.”

The other one, the shortest redhead Atsushi’s seen besides Chuuya, steps in front of the other.  “Back off.  You don’t want to pick a fight with me.”

“I didn’t say anything about a fight,” Atsushi says.  He doesn’t come closer, but he doesn’t back off either.

“Sai, it’s okay,” says the one, peeking out behind his friend’s back.  “We can just go back, you don’t have to do any more for me…”

‘Sai’ only glowers more.  “He’ll tell everyone and they’ll take you into custody.  I won’t let them have you!”

Atsushi’s phone is still in his hand.  It pings with a new text from Dazai: Muroo Saisei and Hagiwara Sakutarou both have noncombat abilities and self-preservation.  Just show off your strength a little and they’ll back off.

Dazai is never wrong, so Atsushi transforms his arm - the one not holding the phone, it’s hard to hold much with tiger paws.  “You’d better come quietly,” he says, proud of how his voice doesn’t waver.  “We can do this the easy way or the hard way.”

Hagiwara whimpers and steps back.  “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean for anyone to get hurt-”

Muroo steps back, but his expression is nothing but anger.  He reaches into his pocket.

Atsushi has only a moment to consider whether there might still be more explosives around here before everything turns to pain, and then to black.

When Atsushi comes to, he’s in the agency’s infirmary.  Dazai is sitting by his bedside, a grim expression on his face.

“…Dazai…?”  Even with the tiger’s regeneration ability in full effect, when Atsushi sits up he winces with pain.  Whatever damage he took, it’s taking a while to fix all of it.  “What happened?”

“You took a direct hit from an explosive.”  Dazai doesn’t look at him.  “If you didn’t have the tiger’s ability you would be dead now.  If you had taken more damage to your brain instead of just your limbs, even with your ability you would be dead now.”

Atsushi tries to imagine what state he was in after that and immediately decides he doesn’t want to.  He’ll deal with any amount of pain if it means having all his limbs.  “…That wasn’t part of your plan.”

“I messed up.  You were right about the trees, I just didn’t bother to check all of them to find the one that was fake - Kitahara’s changed his tactics since I left the mafia and I assumed he hadn’t.  Muroo didn’t come to the scene because we told his squad leader we thought he’d be there.  Two noncombants fighting you is stupid and they know better than that, but I didn’t realize how many stupid things Muroo would do to people who made Hagiwara upset even when it puts himself at risk.  If I’d realized that I would have suspected him in the first place for attacking the orchestra hall where Hagiwara was kicked out ages ago.  If I’d realized that…”  Dazai rubs the heels of his hands against his eyes.  “You wouldn’t have almost died.”

The sight of Dazai cursing himself for screwing up and putting Atsushi in danger is surreal enough that Atsushi wonders if he’s still unconscious and dreaming it up.  But, no: this entire case was mistake after mistake for Dazai.

“…I’m kind of glad,” Atsushi says.

Dazai looks up, his eyes wide and red.

“That you make mistakes.  It means you’re human.”  Atsushi’s smile is pained, but it’s a smile nonetheless.  “You don’t seem so unreachable anymore.  So… I’m happy about that.”

With effort, he holds out his hand.  Dazai only hesitates a moment before taking it in his own.

“…Kyouka’s going to kill you when she finds out what happened, though.  I don’t think I can stop her, even if I try.”

“I thought she would.  At least I’m still right about something.”

[ramblingsofthegoldenwitch]

I've thinking in something very weird and funny, i'm hope don't bother you, but, Do you think Battler and Sayo would liked watched Scooby-Doo mysteries? even i thought if umineko characters would went to an adventure like Scooby and his friends, who would be each what member of Mysteries S.A.? (Sakuratou definitely should been Scooby :) ) Is a weird question, don't answer me if you don't want

If you’re talking about...

...Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporatedthe series was released much after Rokkenjima tragedy so I don’t think they know it exists (though it’s up to speculation what people in the meta know about the present/future).In regard to one of the 9 series released prior to the tragedy... the only problem I can see is that I can’t find any info about them being released in Japan.

If it had been I don’t see why they shouldn’t enjoy it... though probably Umineko would rename it in a slightly different manner for copyright reasons.

I wouldn’t know who could be who as I remember the characters of the old series of Scooby-doo as pretty different from out Umineko cast (LOL, those were among my childhood favourites...) but, what’s more, they were 4 humans and a dog. If we have Sakutarou playing the role of Scooby either we cut Maria or Sayo or Jessica out of the group and it would be sad.

[shouta-edits]

Can you make a pride flag for the ship between Human Sakutarou from Umineko and human UU-Tan from Umineko using my design for her?

[whenthechickencry]

Umineko EP4. Replay Part 6

She figured out the Epitaph all the way down to the church at least? Damn... Golden Witch Kumasawa. I wouldn't be surprised if she figured it out before Sayo and Genji was like. No.

This man's gonna be SO fucking traumatized from the Amakusa massacre damn.

I was kind of thinking re: trick ending if dude was actually involved but it really doesn't seem like he is. Amakusa is hearing all this and snickering in his heart I guess.

Ange starts freaking out about mass-produced Sakutarous. Forgot she realized here, tbh.

He sounds a lot more scared and is asking Sayo for more prompts here, so I think people have started dying by now.

Gaap gets added to the pantheon of characters that represent Sayo's stream of thoughts.

"I'm sure that one day, somebody will love us. Need us." Sayo....

Lol what Kyrie and 'Kinzo' said barely match up. Wrt to this challenge and Kyrie's odd words, you can definitely tell Kyrie is one of the accomplices. She uses this idea on her actual murder plan so I am pretty sure she is the one that gave this idea to Sayo. Having similar, but not exact, situations happen is how r07 gave answers to Higurashi, too, so I am pretty sure he was hinting at at Kyrie's extra involvement here. And Kyrie wouldn't say this to Battler because she doesn't believe that lol. So I think she's trying to market herself as a Good Accomplice to buy her survival.

YOU WILL FUCK UP OUR PLAN IF YOU GO TO THE DINING HALL. DON'T.

It's funny how George answers 'correctly' based on what Kinzo would choose but no one is spared. Almost like Kinzo is not the one in charge of this test!

Hmm? Jessica thinks the choices in her life would lead to eventual disappointment to everyone around them, especially their love, so the only option she can see where she ends satisfied is ending their own life? Getting a kick out of putting people in your situation, Sayo?

It's interesting to think of this as the perspective of Tohya writing it, too... This fragment is one where everyone asserts that Sayo is undoubtedly treasured in their lives, one where Jessica acknowledges the way she harmed her..., and one where the one who fails to do that is only Battler himself...

To be honest, I am sure that similarity to Kinzo is part of the reason Sayo was never able to truly trust George. Even in this scenario the word "Shannon" has barely escaped his mouth, he is just choosing what is better for him. He really likes the *idea* of Shannon but has barely bothered to know the real Shannon. Doesn't help his idea of her is based partly on something she physically can't do, ie birth his children.

Ok, I shat on George I will shit on Jessica a bit too, to be fair. Her kind of flip-flopping on answers and ending up choosing based on process of elimination is, I think, a reflection of how she chose to be in love with Kanon, at least from a pessimistic perspective. Jessica wanted to fall in love with a boy after seeing Shannon and Jessica together. Considering Kanon's boy status is debated on the first place, that's not something Sayo would be too keen on, I would imagine. It feels like she chose him from a process of elimination from Kanon being the one guy she constantly hangs with that isn't a relative (well) I think Jessica showed more interest in trying to understand who Sayo is, really, than Shannon did. But sometimes was quite forceful and gave advise without knowing the full situation and ended up hurting her all the same.

"She knew that her father, in order to protect his family, was even now bluffing and fighting a solitary fight"..... like, about Kinzo being alive?

Again, though, this whole section feels like a love letter towards Sayo, a posthumous love letter sadly, but.... Shannon begging to be forgotten because she isn't worth loving and George rebuking that feels like kindness being given to Sayo.

Man if you just stopped at You are not furniture....

The words reaching Shkannon and them affirming they are human gets a little sad once you think that the reality of what is happening rn.... This would be when Jessica and George get blackmailed and threatened by Sayo. It's not a coincidence that the part that was probably the hardest for Sayo to get herself to do is the one shown in the meta-narrative as Shannon and Kanon resisting against.

Hahaha.... are they Virgilia?

They even have fake flashbacks to the previous episodes of the goats life I forgot how funny this scene was.

The image of Jessica being forced to read off Sayo's script before getting shot in the head mid call is very hard to think about.... I wonder if they had the gun to her head the entire time or if they convinced her this was all a game, either way....

You can tell how much this was Sayo;s script though, haha, DON'T THINK ABOUT WHO IS BEHIND THIS is one last attempt from Sayo to force him to think about exactly that.

Sayo probably can't get herself to exist without being drunk as shit anymore, she drops a millionth hints to Battler and he misses all of them.

She realizes she let her true feelings about being Kinzo's captive come through and immediately corrects herself.

Haha.... yeah she's very bitter and drunk.... This scene's kind of hard to read, Sayo is at her absolute worse and drunk as shit, it's kind of painful to see her like this. She also is showing she fucking hates Kinzo,

There's the faint chance, isn't there?

Jesus.... again this scene is just hard to watch.

She's really dropping hint after hint here for Battler.

This focus on Battler's lineage can seem a bit odd because it's not something Sayo cares about too much, per se. Obviously part of the reason is red herring, but once you think about how Sayo was a Ushiromiya who was never allowed that name until it was forced violently on her, and Battler was someone who threw that name on a whim... Of course the other, more immediate and obvious reason why she's bringing it up is because in doing that he also completely threw her away for years, and then forgot about her.

[kyuu-rereads-umineko]

Ep6, Chapter 5 & 6 (Part 1)

So, yeah, the Steam version of Chiru’s out, but for the time being, I’m gonna stick to making my posts off of the original Witch Hunt/UmiTweak release, the main reason being that I’m already partway through Ep6. There’s also the voice acting, which I think adds a great deal to the story.

Once I get to Ep7, I’ll probably switch to the Steam release. Hopefully that doesn’t take too long, especially since I want to keep up with Rokkenjima’s Chiru Tea Parties alongside this, but... We’ll see, I guess!

Anyways. If I recall correctly, these chapters feature Erika wasting her time arguing with a 9-year-old and being even more dense than Battler used to be? Fun times inbound!

The chapter opens with Shannon talking about how she used to be “a bit of a klutz” “back then” - forgetting where she left something, or forgetting to lock a door/cabinet/whatever. It’s funny - despite how relatively insignificant this information is (especially since we’ve seen Shannon being a bit clumsy in earlier Eps), it’s good at strengthening the connection between Yasu in her story in Ep7 and what Shannon was like when she was younger.

that sentence was kind of a mess but i hope you understand what i mean

Battler asks her how she got over her forgetfulness, and Shannon explains that she got in the habit of taking notes about where she put things and such. Again, pretty minor, but it brings to mind Yasu tying a string around her keyring...

Erika interrupts, asking flat-out if she’s seen Beatrice or not. Shannon says, “I didn’t see her directly, but... umm... some very strange things did happen...”

The narrative mentions that she’s thinking of “a certain summer night,” and then jumps to the two Beatos wandering the mansion at night. “From Shannon’s perspective, it was a ghost story. From the witch’s perspective... it was just the story of a little summer’s night prank...”

Elder explains the concept of “anti-magic toxin” to Chick. She says something interesting here, and I’m not entirely sure how to parse it - “One thing we do have in our favour is the fact that our existence is still extremely weak. Because of that, the toxin does not affect us greatly.”

In magic terms, I think what she means is that it can’t cause the two of them as much pain as it’s shown to cause for, say, characters like the Stakes or Sakutarou in Ep4. In mundane terms... hmm. Maybe that, since the ghost stories about the witch haven’t really taken hold yet, people are less desperate to argue against them? I’m really not sure.

“[Chick] had thought that she wasn’t a witch because she couldn’t use magic, but apparently, she was still a witch nonetheless.”

Elder mentions that not only being seen, but “being heard or sensed can also result in contact with the toxin.” Basically, any cause for suspicion that “the witch’s actions” have a “human culprit” is damaging.

Chick wonders internally why she wasn’t burnt by Battler’s toxin. Meta gonna meta? The anti-magic toxin’s never really seemed to be “a thing” in the Meta-World - it’s more of a gameboard construct.

“Simply put, as we are now, we can only exist when humans aren’t around...”

Elder is awestruck at the idea of being able to appear openly in front of humans. “Is that what we will eventually become?”

Pretty reflective of how Yasu would’ve felt, I imagine. When she started with her little witch pranks, I doubt she could’ve imagined them growing to encompass the entire island the way they did.

“Hmmm, how inspiring. If that is our future, it means that all of our hard work will have been worth the effort.” okay that one hurts

And then Chick asks how those efforts relate to what they’re currently doing - unlocking windows behind the mansion’s servants, lol. Elder explains that the fact the window was unlocked even though “there’s no one in the hallway” is proof of their existence, and of their magic.

“Of course, it wasn’t just small pranks like opening a window. She could also smash windows and vases, or leave behind strange fires and mysterious scribbles.” YASU WHAT ARE YOU DOING

“One day, I will... no, we will become a single witch and control all of Rokkenjima... When that time comes, we will gain complete freedom and will be capable of stretching our wings as we please.”

And Chick realizes the reason she could appear in front of Battler so openly is because at this point, he fully believes in the witch’s existence and doesn’t have any anti-magic toxin to speak of. HOW THE TABLES HAVE TURNED

In Featherine’s study, meanwhile, Ange and Featherine discuss the Beatos’ logic. It basically comes down to the fact that they’ve - Yasu’s - created an atmosphere where anything strange happening on the island is blamed on the witch.

“The servants might have forgotten to lock [the window], or one of the family might have opened it after the servants had locked up and forgotten to shut it again, or maybe someone had played a prank. In the same way that none of those possibilities could be denied... it was also impossible to deny the possibility that a witch really had opened a window to enjoy the night breeze...”

“That’s one of the foundations of magic. Decorating... the process.”

Ange acknowledges that “good magic” really does exist. Featherine says, “The power to repel evil magic may be necessary for a child of man. However, it is the nature of love in the human world that it does not burn away and defile love-filled magic.”

Ange concludes that “Beatrice” isn’t a person’s name, but the name of a phenomenon - that anything strange that happens at night is blamed on the witch. “That all piles up until we reach 1986... This is the veil that the true culprit is hiding behind. And the person hiding behind it is, without a doubt, a human.”

Featherine contends that she can’t stick to that argument “to fight all the way through 1986,” and Ange doesn’t have a response. The narrative jumps back to the gameboard, where presumably Shannon’s just detailed the window being unlocked on that night.

...And Erika, being Erika, says that it was just because someone forgot to lock the window.

Shannon mentions that it happened many times over (which she’d know, of course), and Erika calls her an idiot. I really can’t stand her in this episode, I’m sorry...

Everyone else chimes in to support Shannon, but Erika turns to pointing the finger at the servants as a group. THE IRONY......

She concludes with, “Of course there’s no way Beatrice exists,” and “This delusion of a Golden Witch Beatrice [...] is completely impossible,” which angers Maria. here we fuckin go

Maria states that she’s met Beato (which she has), and that Beato shows her magic all the time. Erika asks her to explain in detail. Seriously, this girl...

The other cousins try calming the situation down, but Erika throws out all pretenses of being polite (again) to challenge Maria. Meta breaks in, and Maria appears in her witch outfit.

Erika invites her to reproduce the magic, and Dlanor appears to tell her, “This battle is not worth FIGHTING.” AT LEAST ONE OF YOU HAS A GOOD HEAD ON YOUR SHOULDERS

At any rate, ridiculous red/blue truth battle ensues. I really don’t have a lot to say about this and formatting the text colours is a pain, so...

During it, though, Erika says, “All truths are nothing more than claims! So, I’ll make a claim separate from yours and smash right through yours!! That is the detective’s duty, and the time we shine the mooooost!!” I think this is a good line to use to reflect on why I don’t like Erika in this episode.

In Episode 5, she has very apparent narrative functions - she’s a detective like Battler is, but ultimately, she’s very much an antithesis of him. She’s a ruthless deconstruction of the mystery/detective fiction genre in general, and she’s a guide on “what not to do” to solve the mystery. She’s also, ultimately, the metaphorical kick in the pants Battler needs to really try solving Beato’s riddle properly, and a parody of the Mary Sue character, by way of literally being Bern’s self-insert. She fulfills all of these purposes quite well, while being an entertaining character at the same time.

In Ep6, though? True, she still functions as a deconstruction of the genre, and as an example of how ignoring the heart of the story leaves you unable to solve it, but... I feel like the former’s kinda old hat at this point, and the latter isn’t done particularly well? Ryukishi (and Battler, I suppose) kinda smack us over the head with that point in this episode, with Erika just shrugging off the love duel getting so much attention and Battler flat-out asking her what her problem is.

On top of that, we’ve got the contrast between her being an absolutely horrible person like she was in Ep5 with an attempt at humanizing her by giving her some sort of tragic backstory involving a cheating boyfriend (that doesn’t really make much sense for a 14-year-old girl, but I digress). I realize the two sides of her match with Umineko’s theme of contradictory options both being true (the culprit being a witch or a human, for instance), but in this case, they don’t mesh well for me at all. Her cruelty is too dramatically overblown for me to take her seriously as anything but either Bern’s self-insert or a parody of the genre, but Ep6 tries using her as a character to convey an important point - her spiel about love making people “see things that aren’t there.”

On top of that, she’s painted as being a “rival” to Battler, when... I never really felt like that was the case? Sure, in Ep5, they do kinda feel that way, but ultimately, Beato is still his rival, and strictly speaking, Erika’s not his “main enemy,” either - Bernkastel and Lambdadelta are. Even though Erika’s given a focus, I don’t feel like that changes in Ep6, either - Bern is the one throwing a fit about losing, while Erika is just kinda going “Yes, master!” the whole time. She feels... more like a device than a character to me, sometimes, y’know?

That’s not to say that her presence is meritless, though. She provides some top quality humour and memeing, and the ending of the episode is phenomenal. Just, overall, I don’t really care for her here.

Anyways. Erika and Maria continue yelling at each other, yada yada yada.

“Let it be known that this fight has no point...” gertrude is on point

Erika does the magic, screeches about how Maria’s a moron, etc. etc.

“...Sheesh!! Just one more step and I’d have been able to take a heart as innocent as the smooth sand just after a wave has pulled back and tear it to bits. ...What a shame. This isn’t fun anymore.” She also gives the most insincere apology ever for “tearing a kid’s dreams apart.” 

Back on the board, she gives another “apology” of “I’m still just a kid.” Maybe I’m guilty of not looking at her with love, but fucking hell this girl.

Maria stops crying and starts cackling instead, proclaiming herself as Beatrice’s apprentice. Erika says, “Let’s fight in a more satisfying game next time.” Maria says sure.

The cousins and Shannon leave, heading upstairs to play cards, and then Kumasawa enters. Erika asks her about the stories of Akujikishima and the witch of the forest, offering to get her a drink as well. With that, the chapter ends.

The next chapter opens on George and Shannon in the rose garden arbour, where George comments that he “can’t seem to get along well with kids these days,” about Erika. don’t worry jooji you are not the only one

“I think kids around Erika-san’s age have a really hard time accepting themselves,” says Shannon. This is... oddly painful, considering that Shannon’s given age is 16, meaning she “would’ve been 14” when Yasu solved the epitaph...

George comments that when he was around that age, “I was a weak, deplorable man who didn’t deserve any respect.” ouch

Y’know, I think it’s fair to say that my opinion of George has changed a lot in the 2 years or so since I started this blog. I think he genuinely tries to be a good person, even if he’s passive-aggressive and self-centred - I honestly don’t think he realizes it a lot of the time. To be clear, I don’t mean his twisting of the knife when young Yasu was in tears over Battler leaving - that was intentional and pretty fucking gross on his part. I mean his behaviour in/around 1986 - his focus on what his relationship with Shannon does for him, him shrugging off her concerns and talk about magic... I don’t think there’s any “intent” there (though whether or not that makes it better or worse is debatable) - I think the effects of it just slip right under his radar.

It still makes me kind of ill to see how he responds to Shannon’s furniture complex, but, again - I don’t think it’s because he “doesn’t care” or anything like that; I think his thinking is that if it were something really, truly serious, Shannon would be up-front about it.

That’s absolutely not to put the onus on Yasu for not explaining her situation to him - considering the weight of everything she had on her shoulders, from her identity issues to her body to her blood, I don’t feel comfortable at all with blaming her for not speaking up. It’s been a while since I read the Ep8 manga scans, but I seem to recall that George and Jessica express that sentiment at one point in the Golden Land, too.

I think, ultimately, George’s chief sin is the same as Battler’s - he just doesn’t really think about how what he says or does is impacting the woman closest to him. The key differences are that 1) since we follow Meta-Battler throughout the series, we’re able to see his character develop, from angrily refusing to see things from Beato’s perspective to eventually throwing his life away for her, whereas with George, we... don’t, and 2) even on first read-through, Beato is a lot more... inscrutable, if you will, than Shannon is. Even if we don’t know the depth of what Shannon’s trouble about, it’s easy to tell that something about George’s family talk bothers her, whereas with Beato (in part because the story’s usually told from Battler’s perspective), a lot of her reactions only really make sense in hindsight, even when she’s clearly upset (e.g. Battler rejecting her presentation of Beatrice II’s story in Ep3, and her reaction to Battler’s failed confession in Ep4).

Maybe I’m just stating the obvious here, who knows! Point is, while George definitely grates on my nerves at times, I don’t really hate the guy. He’s just as human as the rest of the cast, and as one of Yasu’s main male love interests, his flaws are often quite visible.

Anyways! At Shannon’s questioning, George admits that the reason he resolved to grow up and become a “splendid adult” wasn’t just because of love for Shannon. He starts going into some of his insecurities, about how he used to be “afraid” of “interacting with women,” and how he didn’t even recognize them at the time.

Huh, Shannon’s oddly confident during this exchange again. She makes a comment about understanding how George felt when it comes to trying to get noticed by the opposite sex, and when he prods her for details, instead of clamming up and blushing like we’d expect, she smiles and says “Of course.” I’m not quite sure how to word it beyond this, but I can really feel Tohya’s love for Yasu coming through here... quite strongly, at that.

And George admits that the turning point for him was how envious he was of Battler and how close he was to Shannon. George prepares to confess...

...And Ange breaks in to throw a jab at Featherine for watching the two of them. lol

“Stories of love are truly timeless. I never tire of them... However, I do find that expression of virgin disgust on your face even more charming...” LOL

At any rate, George admits to looking down on Battler and Jessica when they were younger, and thinking that they’d never be able to find a partner because of how brash they are, as well as using that thinking to distract himself from his own inability to find a girlfriend. Featherine cuts in, commenting that Battler and Jessica “have the power to interact without worrying about their sexes.”

Ange says, “People like Onii-chan and Jessica onee-chan can get along with anyone whether that person’s a boy or a girl... I hate to say it, but I find guys who act too polite... a bit creepy. It’s like they’re virgins trying too hard or something...” ange has 0 chill

George says that at one of the family conferences, he realized that the servant girls - particularly Shannon - were getting along with Battler and Jessica a lot better than with him. “Sickening, isn’t it? ...I just assumed that you liked me, and even had some childish fantasy that we might end up dating. I felt as though my girlfriend had been stolen from me and let myself feel hurt.”

He admits to trying to emulate Battler and Jessica by "joking around and speaking rudely.” That’s... an interesting mental image, and Shannon says as much!

“The reason I had no charm was because of my cowardice. Under the pretense of respecting people and acting to fit in with the general atmosphere... I was always running away. [...] ...I made an oath. This time, I would really make you take notice of me, and I would be reflected in your eyes... Actually, that’s the first thing I felt when I fell in love with you.”

I have to give George credit here - confessing to something like that takes a lot of guts. I don’t think it’s something many people could do very easily, even in private like this. Having said that, and I hate to be critical of him now of all times, I think that this is really the core of most of his problems.

He was so dedicated to “being reborn,” and takes such pride in “succeeding,” that I don’t think he’s capable of taking a look at himself and realizing he’s still got a lot of growing to do on his own. I don’t think that’s something specific to him, either - I think just about everyone has a period like that at some point. The unfortunate thing about George, though, is that he’s surrounded by people who don’t encourage him to take a critical look at himself - Eva and Hideyoshi, I think, are too close to him and too proud of him to realize it, while Shannon, if anything, usually ends up enabling him to keep acting the way he does. The result is that he never really gets a chance to move past that.

“...Sounds pretty... complicated.” lol shannon

“On that day, my desire for revenge against the two of you who ignored me and played together... no, against you alone... suddenly transformed into true love.” Even already knowing how he really felt about Battler leaving the family six years ago, George admitting to resenting Shannon like that sends a shiver down my spine - not because of how gross of an emotion that is (I think, while it’s certainly not pretty, it’s a very human response, in a way), but because he’s able to confess to it. Again, even if he’s pretty rough around the edges at times... George really is strong, in his own way.

“However, I swear this to God. Even though that was the reason I first started to take you seriously... there are no lies in the way I feel about you now. I swear to love you for all my life. I will not lie about that for anyone or anything. And I am prepared to take you as my wife, even if it means having the entire world as my enemy.”

I can only imagine how precious hearing that must be for Yasu...

George starts to say something about how he lied about Shannon being his “first love,” and she forcefully interrupts him. “Is there some rule saying that people can’t get together just because they weren’t each other’s first love? Is it betrayal to forget the first person you fell in love with...?”

“Love... isn’t that simple. Well... it might be simple... After all, love is easy. ...Always, whatever you feel now... only the honest feelings you feel now can tell you the right answer. So, things of the past or how our relationship started aren’t important at all.”

George thanks her, saying, “I was only able to become who I am because of you.” Shannon replies likewise, and asks him to describe the “kind of future we will build together.”

He starts out talking about how he wants to succeed as a businessman, then says it right-out: “Let’s have some kids.”

Shannon’s reaction here is markedly different from any other episode - she laughs, and says, “Yes, my husband.” He paints a vivid picture of a big family, “surrounded by many children and grandchildren.”

I hate to say it, but... I really can’t parse this scene from the perspective of something that actually happened on the board. Even if Battler gave her a new lease on life like I speculated, the weight of everything Yasu was dealing with... I can’t see her responding so readily to George’s family talk like this. I mean, I guess Shannon as a character might, but any other time it’s brought up, Yasu’s terrified of what might happen when George finds out the truth.

At any rate, George gives her the ring... and says, “I swear to resolutely stand against any fate which may attempt to get in the way of our future.”

He talks about how he’s ready to leave the family if worst comes to worst, and Shannon repeats his sentiments about standing against fate. Hmmm...

And then meta breaks in again, and Erika asks Battler when the murders are going to start. He just tells her to shut up and watch. lmao

Really though, right now she’s even worse than Battler used to be in the first four Episodes. While he might’ve shrugged off a lot of Beato’s fantasy scenes in a similar manner, he was rarely this rudely dismissive of them, and he at least recognized that he’d upset Beato somehow when he was (Beatrice II’s backstory in Ep3). erika is a 0/10 detective

Erika realizes that Battler’s pitying her for whatever reason, and asks him to shut the fuck up when he calls her “sad”.

“I can’t understand you at all right now. What on Earth did you figure out? Weren’t you and Beato always insulting and trying to kill each other? ...What kind of truth could you have reached to make you change your emotions regarding her? ...Please don’t tell me that feelings of true love have sprouted from your murderous rivalry or anything like that, okay?”

As much as I still can’t stand Erika in this episode, I can’t help but read her as a standin for some readers here. Battler’s sudden shift in attitude at the end of Ep5 was incredibly baffling on first read-through, and I found myself wondering the same thing as she is here (though not as coldly as this).

Back on the board, Shannon returns to the servant room in the guesthouse. Kanon immediately notices the ring on her finger.

“...So, it’s my turn next.” ooooo

[starlitfunkster]

And then I finished up the main school's cast.

Congrats to me! I guess.

(L-R): Sally Snaps (Seiko Shinhara), Poppy (Mayu Suzumoto), Beu Longe (Sakutarou Morishige), Quinn the Kumiho (Yui Shishido)

Changes: ~Sally in general is a lot less horny than Seiko. And also has a friendship with Blue Belle that is just friendship. Wouldn't want people saying that I'm promoting bestiality. ~Poppy is also gonna leave the high school, but it's actually because she's graduating. She's also the class president, with the role passing onto her friend Fiona after her death. ~Beu is a Japanese foreign exchange student that's.. well a dick. He's good at archery, and can speak in both English and Japanese. But because he's a dick, he typically just speaks in Japanese just to troll his classmates.. except for Poppy. He never gets to confess before she's gone. ~Quinn is their teacher! And acutely aware that her students and the staff members know she's a yokai. She's actually a Senko, so she's sort of a spirit. When she died, she just returned back to the spiritual plane. But she is never to return back to her students ever again..

TW under Read More (Death)

Sally - Cause of Death : Forcefully hung by the spirits. Presumably done by herself, due to succumbing to the darkening. Poppy - Cause of Death : Slammed against the walls of the hallways at in-human speeds. Beu - Cause of Death : Slit throat, murdered others before getting killed himself. Cause of insanity likely linked to the darkening and a photo of Poppy's corpse. Quinn - Cause of Death : Blood loss, left ear and tails cut off. Throat was slit to finish her off. Because she is a spirit, she just returned to life, perfectly fine in her home. But she became a Tenko due to her good deeds, and could not return to her students due to having tasks serving her Goddess.

[downtroddendeity]

I stayed up too late last night finishing Umineko EP4, which resulted in me thinking too much about it while trying to get to sleep, so, late-night Uminekobservation: (Josh don’t look)

The Power of the Endless Witch is, essentially, the power of fanfiction.

Magic is about control of the narrative. Beatrice’s magic is the ability to revive someone endlessly; or, to put it another way, to create an endless number of narratives of their lives. Note the succession of her power in EP3: from Kumasawa, the island storyteller who spread the legend of the ghost/witch, to Sayo, who established the narrative of the witch with the message bottles, to Eva, who could have told her story, but refused, to Ange, who sets out to come to terms with the final truth of the incident. Each of them had the power to revise how the story was understood, whether they actually did or not.

Beatrice can’t use the Magic of Origins- that’s why all of her furniture are based on existing people and demons from the Ars Goetia. She can take Maria‘s completely original characters and change or expand on them (giving Sakutarou his human form), but she can’t invent a new person completely out of whole cloth. Maria has the power to write a completely original story; Beatrice has the power to riff endlessly on what’s already there.