question about something ive always wondered about the escape and i thought youd be the best person to ask
did ray cut his ear off during the escape like emma did?
because iirc its said/implied that he used the tracker deactivate device/emma used it on him, but if thats the case how are they able to place his tracker alongside the shirt, hair and meat to fool mama into thinking hes in the fire??
Borrowing a bit from this post, but they do keep it under wraps (literally) for the entirety of the Promised Forest arc
(Chapter 59)
But Ray's the only one who had his tracker cut out from his ear. Emma cut her entire left ear off, and the other thirteen escapees used Ray's deactivator.
(Chapter 34)
This had to be carefully coordinated and done at the exact time the fire was happening because Isabella is notified when trackers are damaged or deactivated, as seen in "The First Shot" bonus chapter where Ray damages his to test his theories about the house.
While we're giving conflicting accounts of this meeting in chapters 28 and 37 that were written years earlier in the manga's run, I think it's safe to assume some amalgam of what we're shown in Isabella's flashback of chapter 37 and what's shown here is what actually happened on January 15, 2040, because damaging the trackers and causing an alert to go out is corroborated by what Krone tells the children in chapter 20.
So Ray put together what was happening at the house, decides to confront Isabella about it while also testing to see what happens when he damages his tracker, and his hypothesis is proven correct in that Isabella came running to find him within a few minutes of his experiment.
(Norman's letter from the live action movie)
Norman stresses they have to outwit Isabella in his letter to Emma, which means somehow physically removing the working, intact trackers from Ray's and Emma's ears to serve as distractions/keep her attention on them while the other escapees are deactivating theirs with the deactivator since it can't be in two locations at once.
(S1 Episode 11 | Chapter 34)
(Chapter 33)
Ray’s tracking device is shown to work outside the body if removed fully intact (along with being able to work within open flames), so it’s not as if Emma couldn’t have removed hers and kept it on her person until Isabella took the bait of putting out the fire. I’m assuming the plan was to have Emma remove Ray’s with the scalpel from the infirmary, and then have him or Thoma and Lanni do the same for hers (or whoever ended up being there).
However, no one accounted for how emotionally distraught Ray would be over using their siblings to facilitate the escape and fully believing his death was the only way to atone for it.
(Chapter 34)
He admitted to what he did prior to this.
(Chapter 15)
But it was in a very detached manner with no emotion assigned to it, so they had no idea about the depth of his guilt and self-loathing.
So when the time comes for him to remove it, he’s disoriented from not only inhaling lighter fluid fumes, but also having his entire plan modified without being aware of it, Thoma and Lannion and apparently all of their other siblings knowing about it and having the mental fortitude to cope and prepare for the escape, and wrestling with the feeling deep in his gut that he should be dead by now because that’s the only way he makes everything right.
(Chapter 33)
It’s important to note that Emma’s scream is what brings Isabella to the dining hall sooner rather than later. (In the anime, she’s marking off the calendar, but we can assume she would have gone patrolling eventually.)
Theoretically, she could have waited a minute or two more. Isabella would have probably checked their rooms first, and even if the kids made a fake bundle of pillows and blankets to mimic Emma’s sleeping form, Ray’s would still be empty, so she’d run off to find him.
But Emma decides in that moment Ray is too distraught to successfully slice out her tracker for her (and I guess she doesn’t trust Thoma or Lanni either despite both of them being adept at making the rockets to launch across the cliffs </3), so she tells the boys to take Ray to where everyone is supposed to meet up and that she’ll handle her own device.
(Chapter 34)
And based on the top right panel not being surround by black for a flashback, they had enough time to quickly bandage Ray’s ear, too, as opposed to Anna doing it when they meet up with her. If they had known what Emma was about to do, I don't think any of the boys present would have gone along with this.
It's why Ray apologizes to Emma later that morning in chapter 38, saying she wouldn't have lost her ear if it wasn't for him, but she had already accepted the consequences of her actions and moved on when she made the decision hours ago, never considering holding it against him.
It's also why Gilda yells at Emma in chapter 48 and why Norman is surprised during their reunion in chapter 119 because nowhere in his plan did he tell her to cut off her entire ear. I can't imagine him ever even conceiving the idea of putting her in the position where she would have to harm herself in such a manner, but the girl lives to surprise people.
Do you think after learning the truth about the farms the cattle children would develop an aversion to pre-prepared meat of any kind (the source of which they haven't seen with their eyes)? And if given the choice avoid it entirely?
[Related poll]
I appreciate the distinction you're making with pre-prepared meat as opposed to meat in general since this is established in chapter 49/S2 episode 2:
And we see the kids hunting/fishing at different points in the series.
(Chapter 59 | Chapter 96 | Chapter 114 Flashback)
Based on what we're shown of the human world in chapter 179 to contrast with the fears the children held about integrating into it in chapter 97, it seems like there would be a fairly robust regulatory body overseeing meat production now that profit isn't the driving force behind the companies involved with it ("Only caring about yourself at the expense of others would no longer work. In order to survive, humanity as a whole needed to be saved.") So for simplicity's sake, all the pre-prepared meat they encounter is likely safely and ethically produced from start to finish, and it comes down to the individual's preference as opposed to a general aversion collectively shared by them.
As noted in the linked poll, I don't have any strong opinions or headcanons for character preferences on this matter, other than believing Ayshe would still eat meat without any reservations, though she'd probably hunt/fish for a decent portion of the meat she consumed.
(Mystic Code Book Chapter 5 Bonus Comic)
But it could be different for cattle children who were only made aware they were part of the farm system after arriving in the human world.
Many thanks to @1000sunnygo for translating the remaining fourth light novel story. 🙏🙏 It's bookended by segments in 2050, but the main portion is set on January 28, 2046.
The ending that was included for this story's rerelease in the light novel is the inspiration for the top two photos in the series' fourth anniversary art:
Which is 🥺🥺🤧
Small smattering of reactions under the cut:
Emma knowing deep in her bones how amazing Don and Gilda are, even without her memories 🤧🤧
REAL FUCKING DON AND GILDA APPRECIATION HOURS HERE 👏 👏
(Chapter 59)
Me, treasuring any crumb of Don and Emma interactions:
They take their responsibility so seriously 🥺🤧 goodest kids
FJLDSFLJEASD Gilda immediately shutting that shit down after what happened with Emma fainting two weeks ago…
…only to come to the conclusion this is exactly the kind of shit the trio would pull, in the same way that's conveniently summarized in "The Chess Proverb" short story:
With the spark of unconventionality that Emma brings and her drive to achieve the seemingly impossible to balance out Ray's wisdom and pragmatism and Norman's cunning and ruthlessness in execution.
They admire the trio so much after all the years they spent looking out for them and they want to do them proud, and then the look on their faces when Emma and Ray choose them to accompany them on the search for Cuvitidala and the Seven Walls without hesitation because of how much trust they have in them after everything they've been through—
Also this is hardcore I'm so proud of these two little ten year olds and how in sync they are throughout this whole thing.
"smiled softly" oh son I'm soft
Also yes you better be heaping praise on them after everything, including making Gilda cry which is a tragedy in its own right
And a little bit of Raydon banter at the end too to complement what we got in "Operation Stormy Night," beautiful. 🖤❤️🙏
