Richeh and Euini were both under toxic and abusive masters yet had very different responses to their experiences. While magic is an ability that anyone can harness, witch society's rigid rules and beliefs manage to limit its usage and usefulness. The masters encourage a rigid, inflexible way of thinking and action, which limits both of their apprentices' abilities as they are led to believe that there is one right way to do something and one right answer. Even though magic requires an imaginative and innovative spirit to achieve its desired effects, the two are taught textbook methods of how to complete a task or how to complete a test in Euini's case. The apprentices are treated as blank slates that need to learn everything in a textbook to become what society deems as competent witches, and Euini is heavily affected by this logic.

Euini is a character who is introduced to us as 'incompetent' by his master. He has failed the 2nd test multiple times, never managing to overcome the challenge. This, alongside his masters abusive and degrading behaviour, diminishes Euini's confidence as well as his self-esteem. The repeated abuse leaves Euini also developing a rigid thought process surrounding the test, making him afraid of deviating from the 'correct' path. As a result, Euini struggles significantly once he reaches a part of the test that he isn't fully aware of and deems himself unable to continue. Prior to the test, Euini recognises his own weaknesses and chooses to prepare for them by writing sigils in his book. While these sigils become significantly useful in helping save Agott and Richeh, that really wasn't their intended purpose. Euini isn't able to show his skills and abilities until he overcomes the rigid thought process instilled in him by witch society. There's a tragic irony in Beldaruit encouraging witches to think outside of the box and implement their magic in unique and innovative ways, yet that's not what a lot of these masters preach.

Euini is treated as a blank slate by his master. He is a blank slate who is supposed to be taught the right way of doing things. Any deviation from the traditional way is instantly deemed as wrong. Even when Euini recognises his weaknesses, his master doesn't offer a way to adapt to them but berates him for the existence of those imperfections. However, even in such conditions, Euini adapts. He adds more keystones. He shows us that he is able to think innnovatvely, and that allows him to help save Agott from the Brimcaps. Even when abused and mistreated to a point where Euini doesn't want to be himself but the 'ideal witch,' he still manages to overcome his own weaknesses in his own unique ways with the help of Agott and Richeh. It's these interactions that teach Euini that being himself isn't wrong. There isn't anything wrong with him, and he is worthy of being a witch. He isn't just a blank slate but a child who will make mistakes, fail, and learn: something which witch society frowns upon. He is a child and a witch with feelings, not a creature but someone with the right to explore his abilities and exert autonomy rather than being governed by what's expected of him.

Richeh also experienced abuse under her former master who prohibited her from drawing things that weren't within the textbook or forcing her to learn magic and perform magic she had no interest in. Similar to Euini, she also adapted. She drew tiny sigils all over her pages, making sure that her magic was always present and that it was always there. However, the abuse she experienced also left a deep mental scar, which she couldn't fully overcome until her interactions with Euini (the same also stands for Euini). Richeh is also able to identify her weaknesses like Euini, which ends up being her lack of expertise and knowledge about other spells. I enjoy seeing her overcome her weakness by learning that textbook magic isn't going to rob her of her individuality but that she can still express herself using basic structures of magic. It seems like Richeh and Euini have the opposite issues in how they understand and handle magic, which is something that stems from their own experiences and responses. Richeh strives to be herself and stick to who she is no matter the cost. She is deeply afraid that learning textbook spells would rob her of what makes her and that she will turn into another 'ideal witch'. Although her voice has been suppressed by her former master, she still expresses herself no matter the consequences of her speciality, even centring around the idea.

There's a lot to be said about how Richeh and Euini's storylines and character manage to mirror other characters. Richeh's mistrust of adults and her desperate attempts to cling on to her own individuality no matter the cost reminds me a lot of Tartah. On the other hand, Euini's desire to prove himself and fit into the standards of an ideal witch reminds me a lot of Agott.

It's fine! I don't mind the Tartah glaze. It's quite nice seeing people get really excited about their favourite characters!

I haven't spent a lot of the time in the witch hat atelier fandom, specifically with the manga readers, so I don't know what the general fandom consensus is surrounding a lot of characters. With that being said, I can say that I think theres a lot of things that the fandom doesn't talk about, which I wish to explore in length.

I can see where the sentiment of Tartah being expected to be loyal to Coco comes from, especially with how he was introduced as one of her first friends alongside the girls in the atelier. On top of that, the manga went ahead with having Tartah develop a one-sided crush on Coco so the sentiment that he would be loyal to her was further solidified by that as many probably expected Tartah to adopt the classic love interest role in the narrative.

However, there's a lot more to be said about the events that transpired a few chapters ago and the queercoding/implications behind coustas x Tartah and Agott x Coco. There's plenty to discuss about what it means for Tartah to willingly join coustas, how that changes his relationship with Coco: transforming it from a one sided crush to more of a friendship as they both drift apart to find their own truths in the messy conflicts of witch society. I feel like many might not be able to come to terms with that just because of how many scenes these two have had, but I wasn't all that surprised when Tartah ended up joining the brimhats. It made sense that his arc would head in such a direction, especially since he was incredibly critical of the witches code. A conflict between him and Coco was brewing ever since chapter 42 when it came to their actions and discussions surrounding Coustas.

I do want to say that what Tartah did to Coco shouldn't be taken lightly or dismissed. That was a violation of her autonomy and agency. The manga will likely explore how this incident fractured both of their relationship as it seems that in the later chapters, Coco avoids addressing what happened with Tartah, and he is presumed missing. I am definitely excited to see their next interaction and how it will unfold after all of this.

Chapters 87 definitely played as a big turning point in their relationship. Before all of this, Tartah viewed Coco as a confidant; he viewed her as someone whom he could trust in expressing his criticisms towards witch society and the witches code. A lot of their relationship consisted of Tartah being more open with Coco telling her about his disability and his thoughts. Coco is a lot more closed off to Tartah, which creates an obvious imbalance that slowly triggers the events of chapter 87 (it's in no way her fault since her previous experiences instilled secrecy within her). I believe that Tartah might feel some jealousy towards Coco after learning that she is an outsider who still became a witches apprentice and got to learn magic. To Tartah, such a thing is unfair. It's unfair that she got to become a witch while no one took him in because of his disability. It's unfair that she got to learn magic while Coustas, who is an outsider like her didn't. Jealousy that stems from injustice of witch society seems very fitting for the development of Coco and Tartah's relationship.

On the flip side, Coco's view of Tartah vastly changes. Coco is a victim of forbidden magic. She has seen many close friends become victims of forbidden magic, so her hatred and wariness of it are understandable. So far, she has been able to overcome challenges and hurdles through innovative thinking that doesn't require her to use forbidden magic, but can that continue? While Tartah and her were united by their love for magic, a desire to help people, and a desire to change the world, they have slowly grown apart as they become increasingly aware about the fractures and corruption of witch society. What once brought them together was naivety and optimism, and what separates them is a need for insight and enlightenment. Tartah now acts as a direct ideological contrast to Coco. As Coco progresses as a character, she becomes increasingly more secretive, indirectly upholding the pointed caps beliefs. On the other hand, Tartah tries to reveal witch society's secrets and gain the truth. There's a lot to be said with how these characters have both left a long-lasting impression on the other. Coco's innovative thinking allowed for Tartah to become a witch through the understanding of herbs, helping him overcome his hurdle. Tartah teaches Coco about magical herbs and items in the beginning, as well as gifting her own customised pen suited for her use, enabling her to excel at drawing sigils. They have both played a key role in shaping the other to become the witches they are, and their ideological conflict will be intriguing to explore, especially when you add Coustas to the equation.

I love the idea that Tartah is a lot like a comet!! Also, your insight about Teita being a nurse and Tartah a possible surgeon is actually really interesting.

The Coco, olruggio, and Tartah parallels are so underrated in this fandom. I have seen a fair share of people point out the parallels between olruggio and Coco, but I have yet to see people discuss the parallels between olruggio and Tartah.

The two craftsmen who spend a lot of their time making and working with tools. They seem emotionally reserved on the outside compared to their counterparts, but it's revealed that they end up taking larger risks. They both question the witches code and are met with surprise or criticism in olruggio case. Both of them aim to help the common people and understand just how handy magic is in doing so with olruggio making items that benefit the lives of others while Tartah wants to teach Coustas magic. Both of them aim to help Qifrey and Coustas, joining the two where they go. Both of them are observant and intelligent to discover things they aren't supposed to. They also have similar reactions to Coustas and Qifreys silverwood parasite. Olruggio heads to the tower of tombs to gain the truth while Tartah fully brands himself with the truth spell, gaining the truth from Coco. Both Olruggio and Tartah's first interactions with Qifrey and Coustas are them saving them.

It's not an issue of people viewing Tartah and Coustas's characters through the lens of their relationship with Coco, but it's that they expect those two to be undoubtedly loyal to Coco.

Coco plays a significant role in both coustas and Tartah's character. She is our introduction to coustas and Tartah. It's reasonable that a lot of the fan perception of those two comes from Coco's own experiences with Coustas and Tartah because our first impressions of them come from Coco herself. The friendship that Coco develops with Tartah and Coustas further allows us to see those two through her perspective. It allows us to see how Coco relates to these two, how similar or different their experiences are, and the role society plays in the positions they are all in. These 3 are all outsiders in one way shape or form, and while that leads to them bonding, their reactions to the discrimination they face and how they grapple with societal oppression create fractures in their relationship.

Coco, Tartah, and Coustas have all been failed by witch society and suffered from the witches code. However, their suffering is not the same, and the manga makes sure to highlight this clearly through the tense interactions that this trio has. Being an 'outsider' (coco) , having an invisible disability (Tartah), and being both an 'outsider' and having a visible disability (Coustas) are all very different experiences.

There are layers to the systematic injustices that these characters face. As a result, they all bear widely different reactions that lead them to the places they are. All the characters share a theme of being prohibited from education, and this leads to tragedy. Magic isn't a hard tool to master if the resources are available: ink, knowledge of spells, and paper. Anyone can do magic, but the societal frameworks limit this to only a certain kind of people. This limitation results in tragedy for Coco, who loses her mother because she was unaware of the dangers of the spell she cast. While Tartah was born into witch society, he was still unable to learn magic because of how unaccomadating witch society is. In this case, abelism directly forbid Tartah from progressing as a witch even though he had the talent and desire to be one. On the other hand, Coustas's is limited from accessing both magic and rudimentary education due to classism. It's a cruel fate that coustas is aware of and expresses his anger towards in his conversation with Tartah and Coco. Without access to education, all of these characters are significantly hindered. If Coco had access to magical education, then her mother would still be here. She would be able to help her mother even more at their shop. If Tartah had access to magical education, then he could further aid Nolnoa. He could master his craft and learn so much more like the sourcing of ink and the silvertree present at the starry sword. If coustas had access to an education, then he and Dagda wouldn't be so dependent on being minstrels. If coustas had an education, then he would be able to take on less risky jobs. It's classism, which resulted in Dagda's severe injury and later on death.

Coustas's rage and anger against society and inequalities present is refreshing to see. The fact that the author doesn't dismiss his rage or try to demonise it is again very refreshing for me because I have gotten used to narratives that do. I love the consideration taken when it comes to the depictions of Coustas's perspective. While he and Coco share very obvious parallels, it's ironically what they have in life that separates them. Picking up the pen for Coustas came from a place of necessity, a desire to rid himself and Dagda of their horrible fates granted to them by an unjust system.

Coustas, Tartah, and Coco are all friends who found the joy and wonders of magic through one another, with Coco being the one to present said joys to Coustas and Tartah. It's important to note that Coustas and Tartah play active roles in Coco's journey as a witch: Tartah gives Coco her own customised pen and Coustas's branch is used by Coco to complete her spell in chapter 87. Coustas and Tartah become active ideological contrasts to Coco. Coco's trauma from being a victim to forbidden magic, as well as watching others she knows fall victim to it makes her more willing to adapt witch society's customs. Her not telling Coustas about magic or the small child about magic or her calling Tartah out for the study of medicine and magic as well as ruling out any forbidden spell as something to never be done is evidence of that. However, both Tartah and coustas bring up valid points. Magic is simply a tool to be used by the people. It isn't inherently evil, and what spell is performed can both harm or aid people. Coustas's talk with Coco highlights this quite well. Personally, I believe that Coustas and Tartah have valid points, and I am interested to see how Coco's beliefs are challenged later on.

On a different note, I love how you can see how all these three characters challenge and alter eachothers world views, specifically Coustas and Tartah. Coustas's worldview is changed by Tartah, who helped teach him letters and medicine. Tartah's worldview is altered by Coustas, who helped him see and understand just how inaccessible society is for those in need of motor aids. The knowledge about the silvertree changes how Tartah viewed the silvertree at the starry sword, and it altered Coustas's life as he became a vessel of it.

another age swap au!

this time with coco, tartah, and custas

another age swap au!

this time with coco, tartah, and custas

Brimhat apprentices with their faces obscured by panels. Coco’s face obscured by words. Tetia pulling Coco out of the darkness to the pointy hats while Tartah looks at Custas’s mobility aids.

A triptych looking thing

Left panel of brimhat apprentices. Custas is the only person with his face fully obscured. Tartah is divided in the middle with Coco and Agott. But more of him is on the left, facing the brims.

Coco is the only one fully in the center, she is facing the pointy hats on the right.

Agott is looking at Coco. She is divided between the middle with more of her on the right panel with her fellow pointy hat peers.

Chapter 86 Spoilers

Very special to me that when Qifrey is interacting with the kids, his range of expressions is <8D through to 'mild concern' and then you put him in a room with Beldaruit and he makes the EXACT same bitchy faces he did as a 10yo

In chapter 73, there is a woman who tells Tetia to be careful of those who try to control her. But something many people miss is that on the next page, this woman says something that feels awfully unneeded, unless it was foreshadowing for future events.

I don't think it is that much of a stretch to say that this is most likely foreshadowing for Prince Eoleo and how he will gain control of Tetia. Especially seeing how attached he already is to her.

He wants Tetia to be his right-hand woman. He wants the magic she can offer him, and considering he has been taught that:

He will try to find a way to "obtain" her. (Important thing to note, he doesn't want to own Tetia yandere style. He has always wanted to be a witch and use magic, and in his eyes, Tetia is offering that chance up on a silver platter.) Eoleo has not being taught that there should be limits to what he should grasp for.

Eoleo is talking about magic here. He isn't referring to Tetia as an "it." The problem is that he is seeing Tetia and magic (or at least, knowing magic) as the same thing.

Tetia is quickly becoming a tool Eoleo wants because of his love for magic. And that mindset is reinforced by their interactions, which are always because of magic. Their first meeting was Tetia hiding Eoleo from being found by his bodyguards using her magic tent, and their second meeting was Eoleo using her magic tent to give the refugees a place of temporary safety. From the instant they met, Tetia was someone who could give the prince what he wanted/needed.

Now, that doesn't mean Eoleo is an evil child who is purposely manipulating Tetia for his own means. Eoleo wants to be genuine friends with Tetia. When Tetia said that they were already friends, he made it known how happy he was to hear that.

In Tetia, Eoleo sees a dream that was previously thought impossible. Just like Coco, he always wanted to use magic, but his dreams were crushed by reality. My only hope is that Eoleo does not let his desperation to use magic make him become a worse person and hurt Tetia. After all, he has demonstrated how sweet a kid he can be when he helps Riliphin deal with his anxiety and validates his fears (chapter 70). One of the reasons why he wants magic so badly is because he has a strong desire to help people. Unfortunately, his goodwill is a double-edged sword. It gives him two powerful motivations to want magic. A personal want because of his great love of magic, and a national one of his great love for his people.

If Tetia gets too involved with Eoleo, there is a strong possibility of her getting used and manipulated.

and i have been going insane about it ever since! kamome shirahama your attention to details will be the death of me /pos

hands are the most expressive non-verbal tool humans have, and since it's also quite literally the tool that gives the witches their magic, watching hands in witch hat atelier is beyond important. implied spoilers up to ch93 under cut! [don't mind the language of half the screenshots, that's beside the point]