End of the Golden Witch

timeframe: october 1986

reading time: -

• opens with battler and beato in her garden from where they last left off. beato is lifeless, like a living doll; her hair is down and virgilia is brushing it
• battler has been going over and over a chessboard representing her 4 game boards, trying to figure out her perspective and intentions. he's getting nowhere, but monologuing his thought process in the hope she'll stir. she does not
• in the tea/smoke room, lambdabern declare they will take over the game now. battler tries to put up a fight; freddy shows him the fragment of ange being eviscerated. he tries to attack her but cannot
• he returns to beato and almost has tea, but conversation with ronove and virgilia makes him realize that delta is about to defile beato's boards as a whole by constructing a new world "'without love"
• battler dashs back. the two of them are at the end of their game: 1.5 twilights have been carried out. the entire family has cornered natsuhi. suddenly ERIKA calls out that natsuhi is certainly the culprit
• (my laptop froze here because of the opening video codec problem. it was very amusing)

some months before october 1985 (last year's conference)

• the witches wind back time so battler can keep up: gametime: kinzo dies suddenly and peacefully (i doubt its fully peaceful). krauss, natsuhi, kumasawa, nanjo and genji are present
• krauss in a panic confesses to natsuhi that he's in extreme debt, having put up the mansion/island as collateral in a backroom deal with very high ranking business partners. she is appalled; after some running around she reenters the study alone and prays for kinzo's hope
• kinzos soul "appears" before her and gives her guidance: calling forth beatrice. unclear if it's natsuhi realizing it herself and using beato as a like mastermind behind the island's fiction as a whole
• she realizes her plan: she must carry on a fiction that kinzo is still alive, but more unwell and unsocial than ever before. the servants are all in on it
• she plans for the next family conference. she goes on a walk with kanon "and" beato "with" kinzo, discussing her plans
• one of krauss' business ventures will supposedly lead to enough money to cover his vast debts. in trying to emulate kinzo, he falls for unreliable and outright fraudulent investment opportunities...
• (one of krauss' scammers was one "sonezaki")
• they just need to buy enough time so that the inheritance dispute doesn't call krauss' debts into question, nor lead to criminal charges. the plan is to eventually seek out the 7 years wait period to declare kinzo missing, rather than give him the lavish funeral expected
• overlay: delta challenges freddy and battler to figure out how natsuhi is on a walk with a dead man. it's simple and figured out quickly: it's natsuhi perpetuating the fiction. she's presenting a scene containing only pieces that are in on the fiction, so of course it looks as if the fiction is real
• battler and freddy go over knox's commandments for writing a mystery book. she explains that the "unknown x" theory tactic goes compeltely against the mystery genre; battler has been fighting as an anti-fantasy perspective, rather than delta/beato's fantasy and freddy's mystery
• as the blue truth that kinzo's "ghost" is merely a fiction by natsuhi is accepted by referee, the doll-like beato behind the players appears more frail than usual
• battler tries to tend to her; delta goads him for trying to save her from the fate he's pushing upon her. as the illusion of the witch is denied in the game, she will eventually be crushed in purgatorio too. he ponders if this suits his promise (to kill her comfortably so she may rest)
• there's some really good gags about lambdabern squashing down higurashi's premise as if they're very poor quality theories/plotlines
• gametime: after the conference, the relatives leave. baby ange is present but not shown...
• alone with the servants, natsuhi guarantees they will receive bonus pay for keeping up the lie. kumasawa staged a scene of kinzo overhearing the siblings' scheme to inquire about the inheritance, which left them frantic
• but it seems this high maintenance lie is the source of natsuhi's recurring stress headache throughout all episodes
• natsuhi has tea with beato, similar to ep2 shannon. they have sri lankan tea with savory snacks; beato is very passionate about combining teas from different places with their appropriate local traditional snack. as she cannot leave the island, international food is her means of travel
• natsuhi recounts that after getting married, krauss took her around on a lot of travels to show off to her
• on one trip, he excitedly demonstrated how to ingest a betel nut to her; she was repelled (not seriously, it's more meant to show her very strict upbringing and how they aren't super close as a couple)
• on a tour later, she realizes betel nuts are traditionally enjoyed by couples (? unsure if true), and realizes that was his attempt to connect with her. he's embarrassed
• in present time, natsuhi comments that she had fun travelling, but now she feels like beato: locked in a birdcage
• even if beato dies, she's kept in her birdcage (🤔) she wants to be friends with natsuhi as fellow birds. she congratulates natsuhi's tactician skills with the 1985 conference
• in overlay: battler has asked ronove to make the same tea that game!beato is enjoying. seeing that she can't move at all, he gently helps her drink it
• (...it calls to mind how in ep3 eating ronove's tea and cookies were symbolic of battler "buying into" the fiction; rather than giving her a taste of her own medicine, it's presented as gentle and loving now. ...but i wonder...) (he has a lot of new very cute sprites)
• he tries again to ask her what's wrong. affirms that if this is another ep3 trick, it won't work on him; he's desperate for her to laugh again
• freddy appears, saying beato is a doll-like corpse now: this is battler's side of the mutual endless torture agreement in ep2
• freddy explains that she had saved battler when he gave up in past boards; he vaguely starts to remember. this time around, beato is on a similar verge; delta has shackled her to this state and taken over to perpetuate the game
• battler realizes the only end to this game would be his victory; he's struggling. his one goal now is to kill beato in a way that doesn't prolong her suffering
• freddy goads him for being an immense softie afraid of the truth. she says that when you rip your fingernail off, you better do it in one go so as to not torture yourself (hehehe)
• in red: unless the game is resolved, battler will never be let free
• freddy theorizes that delta's trying to crush battler into a lifeless doll too; battler doesn't care (LOL??)
• battler returns to beato and helps her drink more tea
• back towards the game, in overlay: freddy explains that natsuhi's conversation with beato just now was imaginary, it's the same as how kinzo's ghost "appeared" under delta's direction as the storytelly
• battler retorts that through having love for natsuhi, he's able to interpret the scene through the lens of her hanging out with beatrice... ("without love, it cannot be 'seen'. because love is lacking, it cannot be 'seen'.)
• freddy presses on that natsuhi is alone in this scene; a blue stake wounds beato behind them. battler asks for freddy to not hurt her anymore... he tries to spin it as this isn't the conference dates related to the main mystery, so there's no need to press on and argue about details
• freddy rejects catbox theory (lol) in red: natsuhi is alone
• the game scene semi shatters; natsuhi is now truly alone. in overlay, beato is in anguish; battler is torn
• battler narrates that if in a scene only natsuhi could observe, if she declares something happened, then who is he to deny that truth of hers?
• overlay: battler insists that red text/blade is not used without reason; it should only be for arguing, not shattering personal illusions
• he asks lambdabern to leave him alone; this game is only his and beato's. freddy laughs that she's enjoying herself too, and leaves temporarily
• in overlay with beato: battler notes that the other two witches seem to not be her friends at all... gives her more tea
• gametime: jessica calls battler, excited for his return to rokkenjima this year. natsuhi meets some of krauss' business partners on the island; they need at least 1 more year still for those deals to turn profitable
• in the study, natushi discusses with beato and kinzo how they will perpetuate the myth once more: beato notes the closed study room is a double-edged sword; it can function as an llusion-barricade, but could be easily shattered if too much pressure is applied from doubters
• overlay: as battler starts to think about questioning the scene, beato groans; he holds her hand and recites theories that affirm the natsuhi scene could be true. she feels a bit better
• thus the "illusion of the witch" is maintained; she looks at him tenderly. he says she's mistaken, he won't join the witch side ever (he totally will)
• he wants to understand her
• gametime: the crested servants discuss. kanon tries to get shannon out of being scheduled for the conference by calling her slumsy, but fails
• scene swap; at a restaurant, eva and hideyoshi discuss hideyoshi's theory: the possibility of kinzo having already died (discussion of related gambits in war history)
• scene swap; kyrie suspects krauss has embezzled, relaying it to rudolf (the backdrop might suggest the building ange jumped from is rudolf's company)
• kyrie gets extremely cold, pointing out that extorting krauss is their only option right now; rudolf is too traumatized to want to go against krauss
• kyrie offers a kyoto connection of hers could investigate for them...
• scene swap; rosa receives a sudden call asking for a sibling meeting at a leopold's cafe on sunday at 19.00. she has to call off her delzney land plans with maria for it...
• scene swap; alone in kinzo's study (therefore somewhat illusory), natsuhi is dreading the conferences and wishes the poor weather forecast keeps the family at bay forever
• suddenly, the phone rings; the caller refuses to give their name. it's a young man urging her to remember something, claiming he's her child, on his way to enact revenge for a crime she committed 19 years ago. she yells at him and hangs up, extremely stressed
• (??? is natsuhi battler's mom!!???!??!?)
• overlay: lambdabern are freaks. freddy asks her to repeat in red that the phone conversation truly happened, but delta refuses saying it's more fun with this suspense in place

DAY 1: afternoon

• gametime: battler chats in the rose garden. the cousins are sad ange couldn't come; battler explains she has ibs (my warrior)
• (.... there's a sudden emphasis on calling battler 18 years old, hmmmmm)
• through the window, natsuhi is very stressed out by the view of the cousins hanging out
• (i went back and found the scene of natsuhi cradling battler in ep1.....)
• the siblings wound up starting their pressure on krauss very soon; natsuhi steps out to discuss with the servants. in semi overlay, beatrice presents her furniture ronove and gaap as helpful for the circumstance
• overlay: battler tries to ask to be excused until the murders begin LOL but the girlies tell him there's mysteries in the gameboard that exist outside the conference/twilights
• gametime: rosa falls asleep after the inheritance arguments; it starts to rain and maria is still in the garden
• genji informs krauss and natsuhi that an unexpected guest has suddenly crashed on the island
• shortly after, she appears in the parlor to greet everyone: it's erika furudo. she fell off of a luxury boat wearing nothing but a swimsuit and lifejacket, then drifted onto the island (found on the beach? the lady servants helped her while nanjo ensured her health)
• her name is written unusually (also katakana name = witch-y)
• she's borrowing jessica's old formal clothes; erika's a bit younger than jessica
• she's properly royal, befitting the family better than jessica
• overlay: battler interjects. freddy explains that she's introduced herself as a new piece as a solution to piece!battler's utter incompetence
• delta says it's fine as it's still a closed circle. freddy affirms erika is the detective. the detective cannot be the culprit and needs no proof
• repeated in red: erika had no influence in/on beato's game boards, the island population is still 18
• gametime: erika seems mechanical, but slowly opens up
• at dinner soon after, erika has the lowest rank at the table but masterfully entertains everyone with her perfect manners and dignified sense of humor (lmfaaaooo)
• one by one all the siblings consider her a way better jessica. jessica is humiliated
• the inheritance discussion is put on pause because of how amazing erika is LMFAO
• everyone converges in the questhouse; erika is to stay with the cousins' side in her own room. in the meantime, she wants to discuss the riddle
• she points out that the epitaph riddle's mere existence is proof that it can serve as a means to inherit the headship and gold. jessica protests based on her pride for krauss
• overlay: freddy explains it only took her a few hundred fragments to solve the riddle. battler protests etc
• suddenly, the girlies grab battler and hurl him into the sea of fragments !!!!
• there, they instruct him to ground himself with his sense of self or else he'll be lost forever. he can invent gravity to walk beside the voyager witches
• delta comments that fragments arent crystallized memories, they're pieces of worlds
• freddy complains that kinzo's hometown is never mentioned in any fragment; freddy retorts that that would be giving too much information away, then that this comment in and of itself gives too much away (she wrote the epitaph, not beato?)
• freddy starts to weave a series of fragments that can solve the epitaph: the solution is a passcode (the logic is explained a bit, its very convoluted)
• gametime: battler + erika discuss the puzzle with the siblings: based on considering the twilight "kills" to be removing a character from a longer passcode, they conclude theres 11-13 total characters to the reduced/final passcode word/phrase
• overlay: battler comments that freddy made her version of him as a piece really smart
• gametime: erika retreats to rest. battler lingers back with rosa to do the dishes and discuss
• rosa comments that he's on the path to solve it and asks for a cut of the gold jokingly (he gets blushy. uhh)
• on his way back to the cousins room, he spots erika unlocking a room; it's a library-storehouse like the one ep3 eva entered
• they team up. erika proclaims she has no interest in any prizes, she only cares for the puzzle
• scene swap; natsuhi discusses with her furniture in the study. a last minute plan is hatched to allow kinzo to roam to dispel the siblings' doubts about his existence; natsuhi is indignant but decides to place her trust in beato
• krauss went to be early, leaving natsuhi to fend for herself. she curses him, crying
• gaap jokes about having stolen some of beato's magical artifacts
• scene swap: erika and battler wander around somewhere and make progress on the puzzle (their full explanation/path is not shown)
• battler doesn't particularly want to be the successor and would split the gold evenly
• erika is suddenly very intent on making jessica and her branch suffer; she calls herself an "intellectual rapist" who's only interested in revealing people's darkest secrets and solving puzzles. battler is upset, realizing his position as the new successor may strain his relationship to jessica, the defacto successor until now
• kinzo appears before battler, ushering him towards a certain direction. he goes (with erika). kinzo is very amused that battler could solve the epitaph
• they enter the golden bedroom
• overlay: delta calls this battler "bern-battler"; she intentionally hid the actual solution from being onscreen
• in red: the gold is fully real, there's no tricks. in blue: battler did not literally meet kinzo, it was an illusion or hallucination born of his excitement
• gametime: battler celebrates the money while erika celebrates how much discord this will sow
• he narrates that puzzles must be the same perversion to erika as exposing peoples' secrets. he muses she's the true storm to hit the island (im laughing)
• scene swap; the family insistedly tries to enter kinzo's study, where natsuhi is crying. she gets a warning call from krauss; he arrives up to dissipate the crowd somewhat, giving natsuhi the chance to exit the room
• they try to insist kinzo has ordered to never be disturbed after going to sleep, but it doesn't work very well
• in semi overlay, kinzo proclaims battler is the new heir. as the epitaph has been solved, beato's ceremony will not carry out. she decides to continue serving natsuhi for now
• battler directs the siblings to the gold, they're astonished etc. erika gives speeches; she declares battler deserves full credit, all she did was help and she isn't interested in the family wealth etc
• natushi and krauss suddenly argue that the solving the epitaph was never officially posited as a means of gaining the headship. they all start arguing
• battler is really offput by witnessing how nasty the siblings get during the actual conference
• they all head back. battler is left with complicated feelings, and is a bit glaring at erika for having an easy out compared to him
• overlay: battler discusses with virgilia about beato's motivations. in red: beato has nothing to gain from the epitaph being solved or not, the gold is already hers
• he muses that there's three motivations for committing serial murders in mystery novels: i missed these
plot-driven murders, where the sleuthing process somehow benefits the true culprit, so they manipulate all involved towards a specific thought process; shot down by the fact this is only applicable to the game pieces, not the overlay players
"unmotivated" coincidental murders, where the sleuthing process creates nonexistant connections; where the similarities between the murders and the epitaph guidelines are a red herring. unlikely due to beato's open declarations
murders committed specifically to install fear or send a specific message; beato stirs a bit in response
• he muses it must be the same intent as "his favorite character in this novel he likes": to one by one kill all of someone's loved ones as part of torturing them, only relenting and killing them once there's no ammo left (SHION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
• (WHAT????????????????????)
• battler thinks about it: he wonders why beato has even set up the game in the first place. he realizes he's consistently the sole survivor in beato's boards, which is statistically impossible; his survival must be the whole point to her; she's trying to instill fear in him specifically
• in red: battler is never the killer, beato's goal is not revenge
• he presses on;
•