As Agott’s second test draws near, Qifrey intends to thrust Richeh into the spotlight as well. Let’s hope he knows what he’s doing, but I’ve spent all season doubting his methods and intentions. And after his little stunt this week, I see no reason to let up.

Unfortunately, image uploads are still broken on my blog. To make matters worse, WordPress has given me no updates on what they’re doing to resolve the situation.. But in the meantime, I can still do text only posts. The show must go on.

— The episode opens with Agott tracking a pair of scalewolves while also reflecting on Coco. Guess we’re finally turning the corner. I mean, this already started right before Coco passed out, but Agott has definitely changed her mind on the girl. To coincide with that inner change, we see Coco slowly but surely improve in her spellcasting.

— Is it right to call it spellcasting? Doesn’t the casting part imply a spoken component? But spelldrawing also sounds awkward.

— I only ever see Qifrey give Coco 1-on-1 tutelage. Granted, she’s new to this. Everyone else is far ahead of her, but I dunno, they still need guidance too.

— Qifrey encourages Coco by telling her that her specialty lies in drawing straight lines. Y’know, ’cause of her actual tailoring experience? So in the meantime, she can just focus on spells that feature straight lines. Sure, sure, that’s all sensible and everything. But you wanna know what would help with drawing circles? A geometric compass. But lemme guess, you can’t actually cast spells if you don’t draw it completely by hand or some such nonsense.

— Hm, if you get old and your hands start to shake from arthritis, I guess you’re just screwed as a witch. No external help allowed.

— We learned previously that Richeh doesn’t like to feel constrained by what she should draw. In this week’s episode, she gets frustrated with Qifrey trying to tell her to keep an open mind about it. This frustrates her so much that she nearly hurts herself in the process. Hm, so as soon as we solve the Agott problem, we might have a Richeh problem.

— In search of Richeh, Coco stumbles upon… an underground tunnel hidden beneath a cauldron? Do the others really not know about this place? Well, just gotta roll with it. It doesn’t take long before Coco finds Richeh’s little “oasis” in the atelier. It seems cozy, but it’s kinda well-lit, no? Is the light coming from those ribbons alone?

— Coco’s pretty limber. If being a witch doesn’t work out, maybe she could be a yoga instructor.

— I get and kinda don’t get Richeh’s position. For example, I hesitate to read other anime blogs, because I want my thoughts to be purely my own. I don’t want other people’s takes and interpretations to leak into mine. At the same time, however, if you never open yourself up to the discourse out there, how will you ever challenge your own thoughts and opinions? How will you ever grow?

— Sounds novel, especially if you live somewhere cold. I prefer to stay cool when I sleep, though.

— Agott finally gets to take her second test, but we know that the Brimmed Caps are going to use this opportunity to target her. Hmm.

— Oh dear, a painful flashback with Richeh’s now missing brother. I wonder if he’s still alive. Clearly, what these kids need more than anything is a therapist. But all they’ve got is Qifrey, and they’ll just have to make do.

— Hm, practicing every second you can isn’t actually a good idea. You need rest. It sounds like common sense, but lots of people make the mistake of working out too much, or studying too much, etc.

— Bah, this is a terrible attitude. You will pass if you’re good enough. Ain’t got nothing to do with your bloodline.

— Man, the adults suck. Another witch arrives while also badmouthing his apprentice openly. It’s utterly ridiculous. Someone should remove that kid for his own good. Isn’t that what people like Olruggio are for?

— Maybe the kid could draw better spells if he cut his bangs.

— Holy shit, brushbuddies can talk.

— Aw, it’s not a real talking, spell-slinging brushbuddy. It’s just Qifrey’s friend. Boooooo. Boo this show!

— What was her name again? Alaira? Well, we haven’t seen her in months.

— The second test is literally an escort quest. Basically, they have to pretend to be these weird… birds, and make sure no harm comes to them during a migration. Sounds simple on paper, but of course it’s a lot more complicated than you think. The road is all twisted and stuff from forbidden magic, and who knows what lies further in? But really? The birds gotta go through here? Welp, I know I could never become a witch.

— Richeh never intended to take the test, but Qifrey signed her up anyway. Hmm, not a good move to betray one of your apprentice’s trust like this. But I bet she succeeds through her ingenuity, so him strong-arming her into this gets handwaved away later. I just think it’s messed up to lie to a kid like that. Yeah, yeah, white lies are a thing. But this seems bigger than a white lie. Why couldn’t he just convince her with his words? She would say no? That’s why you gotta keep working on it and building trust.

— I don’t think I heard Tetia utter a single world all episode. Coco is also not taking the test for obvious reasons. Guess we’ll be spending a lot of time with Agott and Richeh next week.

— If WordPress ever unfucks my site, then I’ll go back and add the images I guess… They haven’t really unfucked my site, but we have to find workarounds, don’t we?