Raspberry Witch's Workshop

Chapter I: Speculation on to who activated Monochroids

At first, I thought Monos were activated by Suzumi before leaving to search for Tsuba and I think it is like the most obvious conclusion to go to; however, with the findings made by Yike (shout-outs to the goat), and something that I myself can confirm - I believe that Monos are actually activated by Tsurubami

Rei-kun refers to their creators, Tsubakura and Suzumi, with honorific "-sama". However as it was noted in the wiki, Tsurubami is the only other character who is referred to as "-sama" - and they also accidentally said "go/ご", which might be a part of "ご主人様" - aka master. Given that if we're going to think that Tsurubami is the person who has activated Monos - it makes sense why Rei-kun currently thinks Tsurubami as their master - as they're the current user/exploiter of Monochroids.

Not only that, there are also signs of tampering (with Rei-kun).

Clothes are the most obvious thing as their clothing looks pretty traditional, which is quite unusual not only because those were provided by their "master", but also because overall outsider characters don't look traditional - wearing blouses as opposed hakamas (with exception of Yabusame, but I suppose it's more of a Yabusame thing)

There's a question of Zelo-chan and NiLU since they don't look traditional as well - but remember: Rei-kun was pretty much abandoned early on, they might not even have clothes at all when they were first discovered (besides their hat I think, on it we do have a camera and a flash, suggesting some kind of espionage? But it could be for recognition reasons).

However there are more subtle ones. When Rei-kun gets asked a question that is "forbidden", they get a protection error.

The formatting of such an error is quite intricate, something that you might face when programming, that ends with a comment "Hmm~, Rei-kun doesn't really know~" However, there's also an omitted version of it that just shows that comment. It would be easy to think of it as a mere variation, but it was noted that it happened on TWO (well, not really) occasions:

1. When Rei-kun was asked to elaborate on Xeno a's relationship with them as they did refer to them as their "buddy" (because while Xeno a is an outsider, it was never implied that our outsider group even knows about them)

2. When Rei-kun was asked to elaborate on Tsurubami's life in the outside world

Xeno a as we know is a buddy-buddy with Tsurubami, and I suppose the reason why Rei-kun can't say about their life is because Tsurubami doesn't want to have their image of a powerful dictator crumble to the ground. I think the reason why the error messages were omitted on that front is because Tsurubami tampered with their code to enforce new censorship, and because they deemed long "programming error" formatting too unnecessary

There's also an issue of bird's eyes. At first I thought it was just Tsubakura working with some sort of "energy provider" and it's their way of naming those eyes: however knowing Tsurubami's ability - it actually makes sense for them to give those eyes to Monochroids and thus releasing their potential energy (ha got'em). And it already happens with "???" race units as before they were just some random tools, but now they have the potential to become something much more greater (while not being Tsukumogami who have to age 100 years to even gain life, again they're listed as "???" Race, not "Youkai")

With Rei-kun, they were already quite unfinished, yet required less energy, thus they have only one eye. Zelo-chan however is explicitly stated to be a living weapon, which is already energy consuming - so they have two eyes. And NiLU seems to be more of a trooper character with their attire resembling a regular soldier so maybe they have one eye? Let's wait and see their reveal (eventually)

And given that they're "Goodwill Ambassador of Mugenri", and while Tsubakura did know about the "other world" it's not like they knew its name (having to clarify the name when they were isekai'd by Tsuru)... Gee, that bastard is trying to propagandise Mugenri to the entire world.

And I think that's all for Rei-kun specifically. For Zelo-chan I can't really say much since they don't really speak much and serve more as a companion to Rei-kun...

HO-WE-VER! NiLU refers to Tsurubami as "Tsurubami-san" and Tsurubami is THE ONLY CHARACTER THAT NILU REFERS TO WITH PREFIX (and "-san" is quite respectable prefix too symbolising superiority). They don't use it even on their own deadbeat creator ffs. And their speech has a more softer/nervous feel, not something that is present throughout the game. Sure it's got debunked with the release of Main story mode, but I would argue that Main Story happens before the back issues chronologically; NiLU here is more courteous with Doc Yabusame and Kurohebi (using -hakase and -san respectively) and curious - while in Back Issue they're more curt. Perhaps they're more or less accustomed to the reality of their situation

Plus Tom looks like that "flying snake thing" midboss that was cut with their batty wings and a tail... But given what we saw in MW trailer, it's very debatable; but again, that "snake" didn't have any Bird Eye motif and if you believe what I said about other bird eyes, perhaps Tom is pure energy.

And now onto "NiLU is somehow connected to Shitodos" theory...

---

Chapter II: Possible Correlations with Shitodo Siblings?

Obviously, since we have Suzumi as the third protag, naturally it's logical to think that NiLU is based on them, however Tom started acting... Weird, saying that the answer lies in their heart as to why Kuroji is abiliti-less. So let's draw the comparisons

1. The belts, as they correspond to the Shitodo siblings colours (barring Kuroji, but they were always purple). There's also a point to be made with White belt being separate and way higher from the other three, which is pretty much Shitodo dynamic 101

2. The collar being the trademark black with white lining. Of course it could be me farfetching it, but we have Hoojiro, be it her pre- and post- redesign has a drastically different way of styling her collar (could be distancing from Shitodo siblings); hell, her blouse is pretty much THE biggest hint of her connection to Shitodo siblings

3. The attire and general genre of the game. Kuroji is a military strategist; NiLU, judging by their attire, is more of a soldier (i.e. the one who follows the orders), as their design seems to be inspired by Japanese' WW2 soldier outfit (the hat and puttees) + rain cape to conceal the body. Plus well, BotC is a strategy game

4. One of the key words shown in the opening was "Think" spelled with the same Kanji as Kuroji's hat in EE. That's also far-fetched, but still

5. Just... The overall odd focus on Kuroji here, being the one who NiLU should keep a close eye on since they're the closest one to being a human.

6. Suzumi already has a baby in the form of Kurohebi, the oldest baby

Recommend OST: Ashe's Puzzles (via Witch's Heart, dunno the OG name)

Waking up in the morning, I once again visit Sol, hopefully this time she didn't run off.

Going inside the inn, I ask the receptionist for the permission to visit them and he obliges.

*Knock-knock*

"Who is it?"

"It's me, Fortune!"

Oswald opens the door and greets me with a warm smile

"Oh hello Fortune, wanna study together with Sol? She's currently learning the types of magic. I doubt that you know anything about magic, so I think it'll be a fun time."

"Oh?... Uh, sure." Studying? Aren't they on a vacation?

I see Sol writing down something in her notebook diligently and it takes Oswald shaking her shoulder for her to notice me.

"Oh! Fortune! Welcome back!"

"Sol, Fortune wants to study with you. Since Fortune doesn't know too much about magic, could you please tell him all that you've learned. He will be your first listener."

"... Okay!" She smiles and clears her throat

"I'll be asking questions. First of all, what is magic?" Oswald begins and Sol puts on a smart face

"Magic is the innate power of humanity. Every being has it in some shape of form. However, to be able to wield it you have to have strong magical energy, and some, even with all training in the world - they can't develop it, being the seed that can't grow in a desolate soil. And you simply can't make a desolate soil without heavy modification."

"Wow... It must be a sad existence then..."

"Actually, it's a blessing in disguise, as if you're able to wield magic, you can become a magician, but being one has a lot of regulations and rules to follow - as magicians are now technically warriors, i.e. people who are capable of bringing forth destruction. They don't have ordinary lives as a result, their vector being now purely focused on honing their skills as a military combatant. So those who don't have enough magical power, they get to live ordinary lives."

"Hmm... But what if you have high enough magical energy to wield it? How it is like to be a magician or something?" I asked, surprising Oswald, but Sol just simply continues to answer me

"Well, you can become a magician, or you might resign to normal life, or you go through specialist programmes that aren't combat related, such as clergy which specialises in healing people, provided you have the right affinity...

Also! Yeah! Affinity! Everyone goes through what is called Affinity Attunement. Basically a magician goes through every more well known classes of magic to determine which affinity a magician has. After such affinity is determined, they study under a specific programme that their affinity belongs to.

Affinity Attunement usually lasts from first grade to second grade; and those who ended up not having any affinity end up in general classes, as their magic affinity is either too weak to be properly attuned, as this is common with people who have low magical energy, but still want to become magicians, or they have their own unique magic that doesn't fit with typical affinities."

"Essentially, please think of magical energy as a ceiling. Those who have abysmal levels of it are not capable of being a magician in any way. Their level would be "0". Those who have rather low magical energy, but still have just enough to be able to wield it would be "0.5" and they can develop their skills just enough to be comparable to level "1" - the level where a person is considered a true magician." Oswald explains

"... I guess I'm level "0", given that it's too late for me to take the test." I muse, it feels like I uncovered a secret that was hidden from me my entire life...

"Ah, no. Some individuals might have high amounts of magical energy, but may not even realise it due to not being exposed to magic. Who knows, maybe you have something going for you!"

"Hmm... Then how do you figure out how much magical energy there is inside the person...?"

"Oh, I actually had a pocket tool precisely for that, but I didn't bring it with me. I frankly didn't expect dealing with potential magicians, that wasn't the plan of my vacation, so there.

By the way, Sol's level would be--" Oswald then starts before Sol interrupts him "No-no-no! I want it to be a secret!"

She then clears her throat once again

"General classes are combat oriented classes, teaching students the basics of magical usage. While they don't expand onto your potential, it is still useful for those who have unique magic and for basic self defense. Those who have affinities stills attend them though alongside their specialised lessons."

"... What is that unique magic?"

"Well... Basically, a person can have high levels of magical energy, but their magic doesn't seem to align with any of the affinities. Hmm... Imagine if you had the power to generate sweets! It wouldn't fit any of the affinities because it's not an element, so there!" It seems she rather struggled with the explanation here.

"There are currently 8 well known affinities:

- Fire;

- Cold;

- Water;

- Earth;

- Nature;

- Air;

- Light;

- Flowing;

Some are self explanatory, but "Flowing" is what is considered magic in its purest form. Those who specialise in healing are also grouped with the Flowing affinity. But whose who do not fit any affinities, are classified as "Unique" - which is considered magic in its impure state, but you shouldn't worry about that stuff."

"Wow... There sure is a lot of stuff about magic." I comment and Sol smiles, looking pretty proud

"Indeed! When I grow up, I'll become a scholar just like my dad! I want the entire world to know how cool it is!" She then looks at me in the eye "... Who do you want to be when you grow up, Fortune?"

Future?... I... Never thought of that. The only thing that was on my mind is to escape my household, but... I never thought about what would I do next. Hell, my jobs were essentially just for the money, not because I particularly enjoyed them...

"... No I haven't thought about it..."

"Then think about it! Without the compass, you'll be sailing aimlessly until you just can't!"

"... Maybe it's nice to have hope for the future." I sigh

"Shall we wrap this up for today? Sol is actually studying for her exams, so you're pretty much the perfect audience for us. But I can imagine this information being kind of overbearing for you. Take a walk, go outside, take a breath. It's nice to refresh your brain once in a while."

"Can Sol join?"

"Uh... No. She's a very diligent girl when it comes to studying, plus it's a very important exam for her, as she's going to move up a grade. What we just told you was the old material."

"I'll be fine, Fortune! I can wait!" Sol looks at me with determined look on her eyes. She's... Pretty precious like that...

"Alright, thanks. I'll be seeing you tomorrow then. I have a job too, I'll too be busy. See you around."

To explain the key words:

DPS - Characters that have the capability of dishing out CONSISTENT damage over the course of battle every turn. They have small-to-no downtime and exert constant pressure on the field. Example is Kurohebi thanks to their favourable matchups against the vast majority of the cast due to their elemental and species' coverage and their high stats that makes them not only formidable attacker, but also a relatively bulky character that can withstand a hit or two

Support - Exactly what it says on the tin. Support characters... Support characters that are either DPS (for heightened damage output), key units or nukes (for maximum burst damage). Example is Tsurubami because of extremely potent "Attack Command" that gives +30% buff to your attack AND their party skill that boosts EE characters' movement range by 1 (which, even by 1, is huge, because that increases THE RADIUS of movement)

Nuke - Characters that charge their turns to dish out huge amounts of damage. While they might seem less useful than DPS due to their downtime: they're great for finishing off or severely crippling the horses of enemies. Nukes are also great for downtiming DPS characters to not burn your MP if you're using active support like Tsurubami. Example is Aoji who has 2 turn charge move "Blue Wind"; which has a nice range of 2x2 (or 3x3 depending on how you look at it) circle, and high multiplier of 410% of S.ATK, coupled with their own damage bonuses

Tank - Admittedly a rather odd class that needs advanced knowledge of the game to use efficiently. Fundamentally, this class DOES NOT WORK due to the hyper-offensive nature of this game and AI having "going for the throat" type of approach, which makes Tanks even more of a burden on your team thanks to their inability to redirect damage; not to mention Range-Play completely invalidates their already pathetic existence. That's where "Tank Tech" comes into play, which manipulates enemies into attacking tanks thanks to the power of positioning. Thanks to the "invasion" system, the furthest character gets to take the most amount of cells, thus not only securing space for their team, but also preventing enemies from acting out of range. Basically place tanks in front of the field as possible, and DPS at the back, but not too back so they couldn't act within their range. Example is Melon!Tenkai, who actually has a way of redirecting damage, albeit heavily flawed thanks to spaghetti code.

Sniper - Unique class within BotC which classifies units that perform better at farthest ranges, be it thanks to their toolkit or their fragility that disallows them from acting at middle-to-vanguard altogether. Example is Tsubakura thanks to Abrasive Jet/Monochrome Ray AND their obnoxious fragility that makes their time at vanguard a death wish

While back way then, people tried to disprove me, by saying "you're just seeing this", the paid post pretty much proves this observation by having deer antlers to fit with whole Christmas aesthetic (obviously censored because I don't want JynX to get mad at me)

1&5. RMI/BotC!RMI - Kitty Ear

Given that we just woke up Shion who was sleeping like a baby, and cats well, sleep a lot - obviously. Though if you think hard enough, that could also serve as a bit of a metaphor, given that cats are expert hunters and have proven themselves to hunt some species to extinction thanks to their deadly prowess. Oh and Yabu loves kitties, I forgor

2. Boss!BPoHC - Mouse/Bear Ear???

Honestly I have no correlations to build off of, but it is an animal ear. Like beyond "Suzumi is a rat" connection, I have no idea

3. Playable!BPoHC - Dog(?) Ear

Honestly I thought that was a bow for the longest time lmao. But anyway, if it is a dog eat, that makes perfect sense. Shion is a pet, who goes on a walk with their owners, and who is searching for treasure (and sniffing out 'em souls) - so dog is a perfect fit, plus dogs ARE more domesticated than cats

(the outline is based off of a paid post, which obviously can't show)

4. 8th CrAnni - Deer Antler

Obviously Christmas and something that proves there is a connection between animal parts and Shion... Or the fact Shion HAS animal parts on them.

5. BotC!RMI - More pronounced Kitty Ear

Given the more clear outlining and the position of the ear... Yeah that's a cat here

Alright, let's start with Suzumi, the one who started this whole theory in my head

Suzumi acts like a psycho ex-girlfriend to our Tsubakura and to us, it is a mystery as to why exactly they act this way. However, I have an inkling as to why they act this way

Their children

To those who are unaware, Suzumi and Tsubakura have at least 4 confirmed children, that being Kurohebi, Rei-kun, Zelo-chan and NiLU

However, almost all of them are deviant from Suzumi

1. Rei-kun might be the closest we have to the actual TsubaSuzu child since Rei-kun is based on Tsubakura themselves, plus they have their signature laugh; but they got abandoned pretty early and got swiped away by Tsurubami(?)

2. Zelo-chan is based on Yabusame and is made with Yabusame's preferences in mind (they like cats). So Suzumi got NTR'd by Yabusame once again (+ Shion is also YabuTsuba child, so that's a double NTR)

3. NiLU is heavily implied to be based on Shitodo Siblings/Kuroji; and given how close Shitodo siblings are to Tsubakura (especially Hoojiro and Kuroji), Suzumi gets NTR'd really hard here given how Hoojiro is fawning over Tsuba and Kuroji is all Tsundere about it (NiLU even ships them)

4. Kurohebi while is a more direct child of Suzu, their new field of work - being an investigator - is more of a Haru thing given that she is a detective (and she is at least very acquainted with Tsuba) + this is literally the opposite of what they were supposed to do. So even their baby is a result of NTR

And given how MANY characters are fawning over Tsuba: Yabusame, Shitodo Siblings, especially Hoojiro and Kuroji and Haru (arguably, she also seems like an ex, unless she's confirmed to be Tsubakura's relative) and possibly more; who can blame Suzumi for being the way they are? They get cucked 5-6 times

However there's more:

1. Kurohebi is an investigator of infidelity cases, so that's a thing (prolly stemmed from Tsuba being a f-boy)

2. Literally the whole Fujiwara fiasco, you should've kept it in your pants Mr. Emperor Fujiwara or else one of your numerous bastard children will end you

3. There's seriously no way there wasn't cheating involved in Shitodo Household, given that literally EVERY sibling looks nothing alike. Hell, even the supposed "bastard" family is more uniform than the skittles sibs

4. Literally Souko

5. Poor Tenkai probably gets NTR'd themselves given that Tsuru hangs out with Xeno-a a bit too much

6. Kujiru wants to NTR Shou and take them away from Jun (luckily Shou is a gigachad who won't leave Jun)

So yeah, Len'en is just a hate-letter to NTR genre from JynX, there I solved the plot

Also-also, hot take: I usually hate the whole "Daijin is Tsubakura's parent" schtick (I either headcanon him as either distant relative who has fuck-all to do with Enraku drama; or Tsurubami's current civilian identity)

But I can let that slide for this

Alright, so, not really? There were hints in the trailers that it was going to take a darker turn, such as in its first trailer where it gave a big focus on the number "zero" and it had Suzumi's leitmotif playing in the background during the ending part. But to be fair, we did just face Suzumi, the literal jumpscare in Len'en, so it was hardly surprising at the time. And when FEOhebi and DocSame appeared, sure it was unnerving (especially FEOhebi), but we didn't know what to expect from them

Plus Alpha and Beta versions were unassuming. Those didn't go spooky-spooky mode (aside from title theme, jesus christ, that's why I play BotC on silent mode) on you and besides possible Tsurubami connection to Monochroids link, there was barely anything to build off of

But then the BotC full version dropped and it hit us with a very eerie prologue. We're only presented with the silhouette of NiLU and the flickering, which uses WHITE text box, and if you played BotC, you know how out of the ordinary the usage of colour here is. We don't know anything, and the words are oddly cryptic yet melancholic and poetic - perhaps we do hold infinite possibilities in our hands...

And then we get to the silly shit in the tutorial. Len'en would NOT be Len'en without the silly

So everything is fine and dandy, right?! Wrong, because JUST AS WE ENTER THE FIRST STAGE OF THE FIRST CHAPTER, we're hit with something truly... Wrong. Everything is distorted. The backgrounds and the music. You would think that the setting will be in Grid World or whatever; nope, welcome to the glitch hell baby (that could be said for the entirety of BotC...)! And here we're introduced to something truly horrific - the memory pitfalls. One wrong step and your entire existence... Erased. Just like that. And having "dissociative amnesia" being said blatantly in text is unnerving once you know what it means.

Dissociative Amnesia is caused by either stress or *trauma* and is characterised by having a "gap" in your memory, something that you can't remember no matter how much you try. It's like how NiLU described: "Can you really forget something so specific? Or rather, why can I remember the rest so vividly?"

As a person who had experienced this on numerous occasions (such as completely forgetting my time at the hospital, specifically during behavioural modification) it's a scary thing to experience or even think about. Just how awful my time was here to completely erase everything from my memory? And it makes me even more scared for NiLU, just how much this Monochroid went through to have its memory all jumbled up? Sure, NiLU is a MonoCHROID, a MACHINE, so tampering with their memories is a piece of cake, but still...

Later we find glitchy Doc Yabusame and they're actually a very decent person! They're soft spoken, if a little self-deprecating peep. They can't fight, so they have to rely on our heroes to reach the source of the light. They, just like NiLU, had forgotten everything about themselves and want to recover their memories. That rubs NiLU the wrong way, as... Doc Yabusame is born from cloudy memories and is NOT a replica of Yabusame we all know and love. That made NiLU doubt not only the "legitimacy" of Doc, but also themselves: who knows if the way they act today is the replica of their original persona? Again, a loss of your entire identity is a scary concept to think about

And then they die

Sure, their death wasn't played as the big deal in-game, just our heroes remarking how careless and stupid they are + their fate is ambiguous at the end of the day: but consider this. DocSame... Is dead, and they died in a very awful way too. This is unlike Shion who got revived just after they got killed. This is unlike Suzumi who can die whenever they want and be fine. Sure, Yabusame is after all a figment of memory, but Jesus. Seeing perhaps one of the most defenceless characters in the entire series, having their life taken over a sheer desire to protect someone is heartbreaking and terrifying to think about. Their life was snuffed in a matter of seconds

And then we meet FEOhebi... They're looking even more f'd up than Doc and speaking in a very screwed up way that somehow outmatches Hamee... HAMEE! And that's not all, they're pretty much SEEKING to SLAUGHTER people, pulling an innocent facade just to kill those who fell for their charms. And now I'm realising that Doc is doomed either way. Either they die to a pit or they die at the hands of a homicidal maniac (undertale). AND THAT'S NOT ALL! It turns out that NiLU's memories are being tampered with right now by a third party (likely Suzumi, because Suzumi). After questioning the culprit's motives...

NiLU snaps.

They start questioning... Everything.

What will happen after they'll recover their memories?

Why Tom helps NiLU?

What. Are. They?

And to the questions asked by NiLU, Tom says "key" phrases:

"Our days at that Cafe" "You are NiLU"

And NiLU snaps back to reality (oop, there goes--), but not without questions still lingering on their mind

It's a very powerful opening, reeling you into the mystery as to who NiLU is and who and why someone is tampering with their memory. Hell, even when not understanding Japanese at all (I sure don't), the sheer whiplash from NiLU "breaking down" is astonishing, especially when you're used to their aloof, at times smug aura that they exude

Too bad JynX was dilly-dallying around and never got to even crap out the second chapter. But at least the fandom is finally free from its shackles and can look forward to much more cooler stuff like Monochrome World or that 3D game that was teased