DEAR GOD, THERE'S MORE, no, YES:
The entire Witch Hat Kitchen is theoretically canon and takes canon into account - which means that through all that happy fluff - Qifrey was lying and acting, and none of his smiles were genuine....
Okay, so here's a theory: something very bad is happening to Olruggio, and it's most likely caused by the memory "therapy" Qifrey is giving him. 🙃
The memory erasing spell is one of the spells that has survived from before the Pact; nowadays, witches tend to use it only once – erasing the entire memory at once. We know that Qifrey means well and fulfills his friend's will (a promise they made to each other in childhood), but perhaps he doesn't realize the serious consequences this has in the long run.
Olruggio has been a witch of ideas since childhood, eager to help others. It's true that he overworks, but the fact that he's transformed from such an energetic person into someone who doesn't even have time to take care of himself (even shave before a festival – he uses a mask) is a bit disturbing for someone with a good diet, constant fresh air, and access to free healthcare.
And at the festival: it could have been caused by fear and reluctance to kill, but in a moment of danger he would rather hold on to the pen, than drop it - such a momentary "paralysis" of the hand, mid combat, without help, would mean death.
interesting addition: as I write this, I remember chapter 97 with Easthies - he is also unable to take care of himself (and to an even greater extent), the fact that something is unclear and more ambiguous when it comes to the Pact - maybe Easthies is also subjecting himself to partial memory erasure so as not to lose faith in his own beliefs.
Everything I wrote can be reduced to psychological trauma, but a bit of theorycrafting is more interesting 🤗
Now we know that silverwood can be used on humans to heal them.
The heart with tree branches is a typical sign of this (it's chapter 2, great foreshadowing yet again!!)
But Qifrey is talking about the war and the days before the Pact here: I was thinking of experiments, of course, but also that knives are stuck in that heart—the silverwood host as a victim of the war.
Therefore, my theory is (I think) that the Pact also involved restricting magic to the use of ink and drawing—and the fact that the original magic came "naturally" from the person, was erased. After the Pact, those who control ink and the paper control magic—so limiting oneself/magic to coercion of drawing is already a restriction imposed.
This is also related to the fact that human blood and ink are indistinguishable when mixed (witches could, maybe, previously use their own blood or other people's blood for spells - or by voluntarily merging with silverwood) 🤔 I want to notice that the ink mixed with human blood - in this scene (in anime) the heart's blood also has a blue tint
This theory is kinda only based on this single panel, but it's been on my mind for a long time and I wanted to share - everyone says how fantastic and complex the magic system is in this series (and it's true), but from the characters' perspective it's still very limiting than e.g. magic cast through thought.
aaaand... I want the Pact to appear as horrendous as possible _^_
Iguin's appreciation post 👁💗 they might be a fraud, but at least they dress well
https://www.instagram.com/bakenora/
even the cookie version got brain damage 😞
Join brimhats TODAY, free trial of children suffering 👍
I love this type of series where the first thing that comes out of anime onlys is: Is it getting any better/darker?
YES, just wait, like why s1 was so colorful and whimsical for
(I recommend Made in Abyss in the meantime 😊 - it's a totally wholesome series about traveling)
I've seen everything I can about Agott's mother: that brimhat at the meeting with long dark hair under a veil, that she was at the festival next to the King, that she didn't help (we don't really know what she was doing) during the Leech attack, etc. -- various theories
But what about the woman who met Dagda? The foreshadowing in this series is amazing: we don't see her back; it's shown WITH THAT EYE SYMBOL, only in an additional illustration. And she was good, she got out of poverty and now she helps others + what happened later because Dagda happened to find Custas... (another side topic about Custas being PERFECTLY compatible with silverwood)
The design of this lady's outfit and Adina's earring shares common features: eye symbol and 3 hanging tassels.
in Iguin's outfit the eye is the most obvious element, but in the first chapters he also had 3 eyes - besides, they themselves are a kind of symbol: named Sight of the World, The Lidless Eye
Additionally, what Iguin does is a bit inconsistent with other Brims: Coco is called: Iguin's child of hope (others do not consider her as a savior), and even in the manga he got into conflict with Sasaran because of this, because their ideas about convincing people to use forbidden magic didn't match
With could mean nothing... ehm... ^(shadow faction)
Iguin as "brimhat" has no brim 😭 jokes aside: even if he is among those who practice forbidden magic, he could be loyal to someone else and different ideas
additionaly - this's just some doodle of theory: but Qifrey, when teaching magic to Coco, does literally what Iguin (more or less) wants, could the fact that Agott, who is Adina's daughter, is studying with Qifrey be somehow related 🤔
This first spell in this scene used the sigil of water: to manipulate ink (liquid) into various shapes—just as Qifrey created flowers.
But I want to focus more on the second: isn't Coco too small to apply the pressure needed to activate the glowstone?
The spell cast here could have been on her body to increase (temporarily) her weight.
I'm wondering about this because:
All this may be the perspective of a small child's memories, but it's still surprising that she didn't notice it, for example: on everyone else (Mom, why is it glowing for them/you, and not for me?), and she was delighted when it happened.
and I don't think the festival offered her so many attractions that she wouldn't notice something shining under her feet - unless we really want to assume that she considered it normal until Iguin informed her about the existence of magic.
This is all a side note, but: >!remember how the Knights were checking out what was being sold on !<Silvereve, >!and as soon as they saw what the glasses that dude made were for, they attacked him? !<
Based on this, I've seen theories that Coco wasn't special, that Iguin sold a lot of books – but what if those books were just so he could be a legitimate seller allowed into the festival? If the spell in that scene was really just for show, and Coco was the only one – then she was the target from the very beginning.
I was flipping through the manga for the millionth time and came across this panel - does Bel know Iguin?!
This scene is a typical backstory and flashback, even if it's a comparison to Coco - she's NEVER seen that place with the "graves"/stones.
So it's either about Qifrey or Beldaruit himself. This seems more like a exact retrospection scene in Bel's mind
And shaking hands with them (now kinda exaggerating) is some symbol of offer?
it would also fit them when they were children 😅
this may be more of a crack theory, written under the influence of learning about the Queen's condition (just now 😌), but still LOOKS LEGITIMATE:
If King learns magic or Eoleo will be faster - that's one thing
What is old Bel supposed to do when the King announces that his newborn child is a witch - PUBLICLY – have to ignore it or explain it? there's no way.
Politics are on life support 🙏
I think THIS would be the last option for the King - if he really wants to learn magic so badly (have magic in the royal family) that he would give away his own child (still a second-born 😭) as an apprentice.
Custas acted bad/evil and harshly, but he was emotion-driven and exploited in a situation where he was vulnerable.
Ininia had her hands cut off/lost them, replaced by silverwood (we don't know her exact story, but she must also be anxious just to be alive), and she's probably a bit brainwashed - child or not (I'm betting on the child though, because she still has a master, and the way she talks with Coco indicates it)
Beldaruit is still one of the Wise; the future of the entire witch society rests in some of his decisions.
Easthies, ch 97 well, well, well... there's more to it than just "the law is absolute, just because"
The King, just because (he's cool 😀), someone wrote a theory that he cares about the well-being of his subjects/citizens with this: healing magic want. I personally think it's complicated too, but he treats his wife and son well 👍 but he's still on the guilty list, there's a possibility that he's poisoning Beldaruit to keep him in the castle longer.
Iguin is a very complex character. I won't explain all my theories now, but there's more to it than just breaking the Pact. I want to emphasize that they're the only brim witch who straight up doesn't force Coco into forbidden magic - they give her a choice and opportunity to develop. The thought of putting her alone in front of a dragon was a (NOT little, even a LOT) bit crazy - but the way they behaved after the 2nd test made me think.
and finally: WE ALL KNOW WHY QIFREY'S HERE
+
Maybe I'm right, maybe it's all bullshit 😭
you were tricked into brimhat propaganda posting
I might be biased cuz I like Iguin, but fr >!Qifrey's!< future ain't looking so bright...
as for keeping this spell on him 24/7, I think it's for himself, worst case scenario he'll start from 0, which is still better than being a tree.
I'm currently reading Kitchen, the real word was "soup"
if you are already waiting for a new manga chapter or you like anime vibe, this is another series that might interest you:
The Girl from the Other Side: Siúil, a Rún by Nagabe
The teacher is a tragic character. He is rejected by society for being a monster, but he doesn't want to have anything to do with his own kind. He lives in the forest and one day he finds an abandoned child.
The student is a little girl who is the only glimmer of joy in the teacher's life - but her story is even more twisted and dark.
Mythological themes.
Beautiful illustrations!
This series is what led me to discover Witch Hat Atelier - very precise and detailed tree illustrations, similar motifs, lots of metaphors and internal struggles, very good plottwist at the end.
There is already an anime made of this, but it is only a 1h movie, fragment of the story
the manga is finished, 12 volumes - 53 chapters + wholesome side stories