Thinking again about how there's definitely no way Qifrey's story is going to end with him permanently treeing (though I do think he will temporarily, maybe with a short timeskip) and that he will survive, likely blind but happy and free to live his life to the fullest.
Because not only is it crucial to his own character arc that he find peace and comfort after all the pain and suffering he's endured, and all the struggles he's made to get the life he has, but his happy ending is essential to so many other characters' arcs as well.
I'll leave the biggest ones for last, but for some less overt ones:
Richeh and Agott's stories tie heavily into their need for a dependable adult figure in their life, which they've finally recieved after a harsher upbringing. So it would be kinda...cruel...to have their primary caregiver who they've come to feel secure with just die on them while they're still so young. Like I'm sure that would cause some crazy trauma big enough to uproot whatever resolution they found to their previous trauma. They'd probably never feel secure with an adult again, because not only is there the fear of bad adults exploiting them, but if good adults disappearing on them. Needless to say, that would suck.
I'd like to say something about Tetia as well but we really have no idea what her deal is yet (I'm scared guys. I am so fucking scared.) but needless to say, losing Qifrey would suck ass for her too. That's her dad have you seen how she clings to him.
Now onto Tartah and Coustas.
For Coustas, I think it's more that he needs to find another adult after Dagda who actually cares for his well-being (though I think Luluci may come in for that aspect), and he also needs proof that his Silverwood doesn't necessarily doom him. If Qifrey were to tree out without ever finding solace, what precedent does that set for Coustas? (He'll probably become familiar with it because of Coco later, and she'll most definitely be looking for a solution for them both, so he'd probably hear about it if the other Silverwood host important to her were to die). Coustas has been repeatedly been shown as someone who needs to be guided. He is a child, after all. Guided by Dagda, he led an honest life. They struggled, but they were ultimately content together until the river accident. Misguided by Restys and shown a path of inevitable hopelessness, his resentment was amplified, and he lashed out at others, although his heart was in the right place. Coustas needs to be guided by someone who can show him that there IS hope for someone in his situation, and who better to do that than another Silverwood host?
For Tartah, it's a little more complicated. A lot of Tartah's arc was spurred on by Qifrey's recklessness earlier in the story. After getting called out by Olruggio, Qifrey realized his priorities and fixed some of his more careless behavior, but that can't undo some of the more rash actions he made before. Namely, memory wiping Nolnoa (he lobotomized peepaw D: ) and being one of the key factors for dismantling Tartah's trust in Pointed Hat society. Like Coco said to Qifrey himself, Coustas and Tartah need to know that there are adults they can't trust. However, for Tartah, especially after the Silverwood reveal, it's going to take a lot for him to be able to trust Qifrey, the Lying Liar of all time (I love him I promise but Tartah has gotten the absolute WORST impression of this guy). Qifrey is going to have to make up for the damage he unintentionally caused in Tartah's life, and getting an honest apology and seeing a turnaround from the adult that sparked his mistrust is going to be crucial to Tartah ever trusting Pointed Hats enough to not side with the Brimhats entirely. Prematurely Treeing out removes that responsibility from Qifrey, which I think would be pretty inconsistent with Shirahama's writing, especially with her expression belief of adults being held accountable. Regardless of the situation he was forced into, Qifrey needs to be held accountable by Tartah, and that can't happen if he's busy photosynthesizing
Okay, here come the big guns (though I'd say Tartah's is pretty big too)
Olruggio. I don't even think I need to explain to much here, because pretty much everything we've seen about the deeper aspects of his character ties into his Savior Complex of All Time.
*slaps him like the roof of a car* this baby can fit so much unresolved death-based trauma in him*
that said. I'm assuming we'll see more information regarding Olruggio's childhood trauma and his pov in general in this upcoming arc, but as one of the main cast members, it's pretty much impossible for him NOT to get an important character arc. Especially after whatever the fuck chapters 90-93 were. This madlad has some serious shit to unpack. And, as with every strong character arc, his will need a strong resolution. While I do think there will be a lot of future conflict for Olruggio's main arc, we already have quite a bit to work with thanks to the flashback chapters. Immediately after an event that leaves him with immense survivor's guilt and an insane savior complex, Olruggio makes his first rescue by saving Qifrey from drowning. We can see the desperation as he clings to the idea of being "a witch who can save people" during this event, and he proceeds to center his magic around this specific purpose of warmth and invigoration and light. All thanks to him saving Qifrey. Qifrey probably saved him from drowning in the despair of his failures, becoming a living, breathing example of the fact that he CAN save people. He is the first person Olruggio successfully saved (in more ways than one, even if he doesn't remember it).
So if Olruggio were to lose Qifrey, who may have been his main purpose and spark he needed to have the confidence to make magic that helps others, that would probably set him back pretty far emotionally. Yes, he's built himself a life where he now has constant reminders of his capabilities and assurance that he does in fact help people, but losing Qifrey to something that was right under his nose the whole time would almost definitely gut him and shatter the confidence he's built, whether he learns about the memory wipes or not. The most satisfying conclusion, objectively, would be for Olruggio's story to come full-circle: ultimately succeeding in saving the boy he latched into and so desperately wanted to save after his failure in Noz, the person closest to him. To become the sole reason that Qifrey, his most important person, is still alive, and to LEARN that from Qifrey himself after his Silverwood problem is solved and he can confess, would heal so much of the self-doubt and regret that Olruggio still holds due to his past.
Also, I know shirahama shares the orufrey agenda. I hope. 🙏🙏🙏
okay, that was a big one. Can you tell I'm a little obsessed with Olruggio
ONTO COCO. Our precious daughter. The coconut herself.
I feel like this one is a little self-explanatory. I'm also worn out and on like 2 hours of sleep so I might wrap this up with some shorter points.
First of all: Coco's mom. Her situation parallela Qifrey's as an adult figure in Coco's life who, because of forbidden magic, may cease to be human permanently. If chapter 38 wasn't enough to spell it out, it's clear that saving Qifrey (taking a path to scoop him up) will be Coco's biggest step toward saving her mom. Also, assuming he does tree out for at least a little bit, he'll need to be brought back so he can encourage praise Coco for her final solution, just like she wanted.
Secondly, we have Coco's whole moral dilemma with the Brimhats. It's shown several times that Coco herself equates resorting to forbidden magic as succumbing to despair (again, ch 38. That chapter has SO much narrative weight I cannot stress that enough). If Coco were to lose Qifrey, her guiding light in her pursuit of magic (just as Olruggio was his, and now he carries the torch like he said in ch 94), Coco would have little else to reach out to aside from her alternative mentor, Iguin. And while I do think he will show up more prominently in Coco's life and that they may even have a moment or two of strategic collaboration at some point, I think Coco will ultimately reject them to find her own solution, like Qifrey taught her. And for that, she still needs her teacher.
Okay that's about all for now :)))) I had a lot more to say, but I think I lost like half of it to my sleep deprivation. Thank you if you've read my silly ramblings this far!
