#wha meta

[joshuallyman]

love how olly's back pats for the girls are a little rough, but still encouraging.

and then when it comes to qifrey he just smacks him as hard as he can lmfao. enough to make qifrey stumble and olly isn't even a little bit sorry.

he's not sorry and he's ready to smack qifrey again if needed

[glamaphonic]

obsessed with how qifrey walks around with the aura of a huge slut but in reality it's just an expression of him being an adult virgin constantly consumed by unslaked lust for his not-husband with whom he lives a pleasant cottagecore life raising four daughters

[mariberrypie]

Tetia, why do you have the same frame design as Qifrey and Iguin, Tetia?

Why does the plant in the frame resemble the plant that Shirahama said symbolizes "memory of the past," Tetia?

Right image: WHA Reproduction Selection translation by LetoPridet

Why are your motivation and themes revolve around remembering and being remembered, Tetia?

What happened/what is going to happen to you, Tetia??

[purelovemechanism]

tartah and coco’s relationship is fascinating and i really adore tarco but i feel like the most recent chapters make it very clear they’ve chosen custas and agott over each other which just further substantiates their respective queer coding. tarco begin their relationship developing a bond of mutual ignorance, bliss, and “normalcy” [read: heteronormativity], but as the story progresses tartah’s world is completely expanded by custas, and he sacrifices coco’s trust in him to chase after custas in parallel to oluruggio/qifrey (who are also very queer). coco chooses to stay with agott rather than follow him.

it’s also interesting bc custas and coco are deliberate parallels and sort of an “andrew in drag” situation for tartah who clearly has a crush on coco and also had his relationship with custas open with a classic “do you like me or something?” at the same time you have agott who is pretty clearly meant to be a lesbian—even just from basic narrative coding, coco, tetia, and richeh all have young boys they’re positioned opposite of to explore what young crushes look like, whereas agott only has that with coco.

i feel like tarco were so necessary for advancing each other’s character arcs, but i do think shirahama sort of deliberately pulled off a bait and switch with them. tartah has a crush on coco, and maybe coco reciprocates, but it’s that sort of “first love” that comes with a lot of idolization and isn’t necessarily realistic. as both characters begin to understand the reality of the witching world, they drift further apart. as they realize the falsehood of “normalcy” they’re pushed further towards custas and agott. i still love them a lot bc they’re the first they know to ever really understand each other. and yet, it’s through understanding each other they come to understand their respective selves and this ironically develops them beyond the other.

[arrowwanders]

I can't stop thinking about how anxiety management was depicted in the latest WHA episode, so I'm going to yap about it here.

As Euini has an anxiety attack, he is surrounded by three people who approach his anxiety differently.

Agott highlights his positive qualities and his strengths. She urges Euini to face a stressful situation head on and gets frustrated when he can't. This is how Agott manages stress and anxiety- she is hyper-competent and constantly pushing herself. From a therapeutic lens, this is closely aligned with CBT and ERP strategies for managing anxiety- reframe thoughts and face anxiety directly.

Richeh tells him that he can move forward and encourages him to be "alone". She is urging him to prioritize a sense of safety. This is how Richeh operates- she prioritizes her own sense of safety by being highly protective of her autonomy, which has been threatened in the past. Again, from a therapeutic perspective, this approach is reminiscent of trauma-informed strategies- build skills to support safety and stability in order to function through triggering situations.

Alaira doesn't say a word to him. She kneels down next to him. She witnesses and doesn't try to fix. She is concerned yet calm. Because she is the test proctor, she is limited in how much she can intervene, but like a good teacher, she is a quiet, reassuring presence. Alaira's approach reflects the importance of co-regulation- it is healing to have another person witness and hold space for pain with compassion and empathy.

Euini benefits from a combination of all three strategies. He takes in the supportive presence of the group around him. He realizes that his assumptions are false- no one is ridiculing him. If anything, they are quietly concerned for him. He gains awareness of his own negative self talk and learns to doubt the accuracy of it (he isn't quite ready to reframe negative thoughts into positive, but doubting is an important step). He takes steps to foster a sense of safety- turning the cloak into a cloak of borrowshade to hide. That's what really allows him to move forward with the test.

Most media would have a struggle like Euini's be resolved the Agott way- push through and suddenly find courage to face anxiety. That's not wrong, but it isn't realistic for every person. Safety and support from others can be essential for managing anxiety, and I'm so glad this episode depicted that.

[somepinkthing]

Unpopular opinion: I don't think its a problem that olly doesn't want to be a teacher, nor do I take issue with him knowing he would prioritize qifrey over anyone else. The discovery that actually teaching is his passion and that he cares greatly about the children under him, perhaps more than anything else in his life? That's qifrey's character arc, not olruggio's. Teaching children is something olly likes helping out with but his passion? His passion is in his own work, qifrey, and this life they've built for themselves.

I don't think any of that lessens olly's affection for the current girls—they're important to him! But they're important to him partially because they're important to qifrey. He clearly now also loves them as individuals, but they wouldn't be in his life had qifrey not wanted them. And would he remove them for their own safety? Yes, but I don't believe he'd then choose to be their mentor—I think he'd find them a good place then ultimately return to qifrey's side. That's not a strike against olly's character, he just has different priorities than his partner and that's just how life goes sometimes

[jaynovz]

I can't stop thinking about the fuckin spectacles yall. Olruggio and his acts of service. The intimacy in the way he holds them, delicate and careful but also competent, assessing. The proxy. The aching tenderness inherent in the action of repairing them, the worry, the feeling of helplessness, the "let me help let me help let him be okay please please" of it all, and how again and again that instinct is what leads Olly to key clues, to discovering the truth. To their continuous tragedy and doom!! He loves that man CRAZYYYYYY. HE'S SOOOOO GONEZOOOO.

[pivotttt]

Olruggio of the Torch (Witch Hat Atelier Spoilers Ch92)

A torch has two main goals: to light up a path and bring warmth. In this post, I will go over how Olruggio is the perfect embodiment of the torch from the very beginning of the story.

The Torch for Coco

Olruggio's more cold personality in his very introduction is quite the deception. It is still not long before we see the core of his whole personality when he uses his magic to warm up Coco.

Then, we learn Olruggio's cobblestone spell is the first instance of magic that Coco has ever encountered.

This is one of the sweetest moments in the manga, and Olruggio's embarrassed reaction is just gold. However, Coco's lines in the two bottom panels hint at something more somber. The next time she mentions the magic she felt from the cobblestone path is in her monologue in ch62.

Growing up without her father left Coco feeling lost and directionless. Encountering magic gave her hope to latch on. She imagined all the fantastical things she could do with magic; but above all, it gave her the tiniest hope that she could meet her father. Even though this goal was unattainable, Olruggio's magic lit something foundational in her soul. A light that Agott could see so clearly, which is why Agott asks Coco to reflect on her love of magic in ch62.

The Torch for the Cursed

Ch24, where Coco and Tetia encounter the cursed people of Romonon, is the groundwork for the most important theme in Witch Hat Atelier.

After a failed attempt to beat them with physical force, Coco and Tetia reach out to understand the people of Romonon. What they find is that their cruelty is the result of so, so many years without the feeling of comfort.

Coco's solution is to bring out the most comforting magic she knows: Olly's. The people of Romonon immediately see a path with the snugstone. A path that leads them to finally rest.

It's a choice that Coco protests and despairs over, but in the end, it's the path that they found through Olruggio's magic. Once again, it does not only have a physical warmth to it, but it acts as a guide that helps others make choices.

The foreshadowing of Qifrey's character in this chapter is also important to note: he knows the answer to the riddle is 'comfort' immediately, and he also stops Coco from trying to interfere with the end they chose. All of these details are so much heavier now that we know that Qifrey is someone who is Cursed as well. A snugstone was given to Qifrey; but with what we know now, is he able to even use it?

The Torch for Himself

In the bonus chapter for volume 11, Olruggio is almost entirely by himself. Struggling with an artblock for his work, he produces a purely decorative spell in order to "clear his mind."

These animals he composes are torchstags, which we know because Agott shows Coco her own decorative animal spells in ch58. Perhaps it was Olruggio that partly inspired her to do so after seeing how all the girls enjoyed this display of magic.

Even without others, it's in Olruggio's nature to produce magic with a guiding light. He naturally dazzles others even when it's magic for himself, but he still notes the effect of his magic on Coco.

This page directly connects to the theme of Olly igniting Coco's light; though, reminds the audience that the hope comes from the witch's deception. The magic itself may be a lie, but the strength it gives to others is true.

Indeed, Olly has always had a torch for himself. Ch76 has the youngest sighting we have of Olly. He proudly stands in front of his warming contraption.

However, it's the incident in Noz that leaves him feeling more lost than ever. He doesn't believe in the warmth of his light anymore. That is, until he encountered...

The Torch for The Silverwood Maiden

ch89's flashback opens with a despondent Olly following what he deemed as his greatest failure. The chief assures him that he won't have to worry about saving people down here; ironically, he immediately finds someone that needs saving.

Unsurprisingly, it's a drying spell to keep Qifrey warm that Olly uses. Yet somehow, saving his life will be far from the only gift that Olly brings him. It's with Qifrey that we first see him wave the torch of knowledge. He teaches him to use magic to solve his problems instead of charging in unprepared.

Olly teaches him how to lie. How to put on a friendly smile.

He even teaches Qifrey how to cook, another very important part of Qifrey's future personality. He kept showing Qifrey more and more. Even when Qifrey pushed him away, he is always there.

He was above Qifrey with a helping hand even when he shut himself away in the darkness.

Olruggio isn't just a torch for Qifrey.

When sailors are surrounded by the discomfort of endless seas and in the darkest of nights, they look to the unwavering stars to navigate. And Olruggio is...

This brings us back to the Silverwood maiden Tale in ch47.

There are endless things to pour over in this tale. For this post's sake, I will focus on the aspect mentioned in ch92: that boats sail on the night sky. This reinforces the idea that the sea and sky mirror each other. The star messenger was lost before meeting the silvermaiden, just as Olly was lost before meeting Qifrey. They have too many distinctions to mirror each other exactly, but there's a sort of balance to them. Olly leaves Qifrey a guiding torch to give him hope, but it's because of Qifrey that Olly has a direction to confidently 'sail' in.

I've gone through the many things that Olly has done for Qifrey, but it would be have to be another post to talk more about what exactly Qifrey has done that has made Olly so attached to him--how much of it is because of olly's savior complex, qifrey's nature, etc. All of that is true, and yet there is also a simpler answer to his ceaseless attachment to Qifrey.