Dare to be Brave ?

They ALMOST HAD ME. For a second I thought Strawberry wasn't going to come. I thought she got World Exploration Episodes 17 and 18ed and written off.

After all, we ended the last episode with Strawberry being the most hesitant of going to the Witch's Hut because well, that's kinda just how she is. That place traumatized her and mostly likely shaped her into the individual she currently is.

Her fear was kinda shot down.

I get it, it has to be done, we have to go to the hut but DAMN. AGAIN? That is diabolical. Is this going to be the new World Exploration Episode 10, what is it with the game dismissing Strawberry's trauma.

And I've heard that it was frankly kinda out of character on Gingerbrave's part to sort of brush her off which... yeah. He cares about his friends, Strawberry in particular so you would think he would at least talk to her. Especially when you factor in that he already brushed off when she told him cookies being made to be eaten.

But you're starting to see a slight shift in his character where he's starting to care more so about the greater good (a few of my friends compared it to Pure Vanilla's philosophy of the great good above individual good and I thought that was interesting, Pure Vanilla's morals are bleeding into Brave's). Gingerbrave recognizes that the journey to the First Oven, to the hut must be done. Brave has always been good aligned, but now the stakes are higher than ever.

So, by the time we started off with Gingerbrave, Wizard, Pure Vanilla, and then Madeleine with no Strawberry in Episode 3, I was concerned.

Until she spoke up.

-> Side point: These vas had rent due oh my God, Strawberry being sick and scared made ME feel sick and scared.

She was quiet for a hot minute when it started, she didn't even greet Madeleine. Then when she does speak, she's already scared but still wary to speak her mind.

Strawberry's hesitance to go to the hut was talked down this time. She was also actually kinda comforted which was nice to see.

But in the end, it didn't really go anywhere. This isn't the type of conversation that is one and done, one conversation won't be enough to tackle this.

Similarly, I find it odd because Gingerbrave and Wizard seem a bit too eager to return. But to be fair, they were never confirmed to have seen the Witch eat a cookie and they have separate reasons to make the trip. I don't doubt the experience wasn't traumatizing for them as well, especially considering Brave's later hallucination because of the fog but you would think they'd be a little more sympathetic.

I also thought there would be more fanfare about Bravetrio being baked by Witches but there wasn't.

Luckily (for me, not her), Strawberry does end up going but not before earning some really concerning remarks.

For starters, out of everyone currently on this expedition, she's being mentally and physically affected by it the most. She's pale, practically ill, and she talks about her head hurting just yikes all around. And she was already pale before they even reached the sea. Like imagine the trip over here, likely days steadily building up her anxiety and it just kicks in full force.

For a bit, they make it seem in the story that Strawberry is just scared since that's just in her nature but let's be honest...

...She saw the Witch eat a cookie. And unless they retcon that- which I actually wouldn't have any words for- that's obviously awfully traumatizing. We saw a tiny glimpse of her fear during Beast Yeast Episode 15 when she saw Dark Enchantress (because y'know battlefield on fire with cookie bodies and jam and a Witch looking thing calling cookies snacks is gonna bring back memories) but it's here where it REALLY starts to become apparent.

She is also one of three- two. Oh. Two, she's now one of two with the firsthand experience of witnessing a Witch eat a cookie. And as far as she knows, the only one.

Let's tie this back to previous episodes, it's very likely Strawberry thought she was never going to return to the hut. So, imagine how she felt when it was declared her friends were going back to the hut in the previous episode. Immediately. From her point of view, they don't even look scared, in fact they are extremely willing to return.

Which when you're someone like Strawberry who is constantly anxious, it's not a stretch to think "Hey, maybe they didn't believe me when I said the Witch ate a cookie." Especially when you're not holding a conversation about the topic for more than a couple lines with other cookies and they don't seem nearly as concerned as you are.

Overall, I like how they acknowledged that Strawberry was scared, I was praying they were going to carry it over (it would be ooc otherwise in my humble opinion) and thank goodness they did, but this isn't something you tackle so briefly.

Also, no one cared about Witches eating cookies?

I am not going to lie, I was shocked when this was dropped so casually.

Were the beans spilled off screen? Like both cans? Can 1 being cookies being eaten and Can 2 being Bravetrio was baked by a Witch as common knowledge (which from what I remember was in Strawberry's affection chat logs but that's REALLY obscure). I thought we worshipped those Witch guys? At the very least, I thought that cookies being made to be eaten forbidden knowledge? Did that not make Dark Enchantress? That's... I feel like that all deserved to be on screen. Also, Dark Enchantress told Pure Vanilla about cookies being eaten during the Prologue so is he now realizing she was telling the truth?

I guess he owes her a talk now hahaha- oh.

Plus, considering the last cookie who saw a cookie be eaten drove Arc 1 I would be caring. Do they want a White Lily 2 Electric Boogaloo?

They do comfort her though, but they also tell her there's nothing to fear and that they're going to be okay since they're together. And she apologizes for being scared.

Which kinda makes me feel really sad. She's sorry that she was traumatized? She's not being a 'scaredy-cat,' she's having a valid reaction to trauma. She's pale, her head hurts, she feels sick because of that fear, but she doesn't know what to do. She's being rational if anything, there is definitely something to fear and they may not be able to power of friendship their way out of this one.

Thankfully, what is continuation to me is that she doesn't have to go but she still is. She's there for her friends. Wizard wants answers, Brave wants to help the Light, however Strawberry stands to gain nothing but lose everything (her friends).

With Gingerbrave having his whole dynamic with the Light and Wizard's search for answers driving them both to want to go back the hut, it places Strawberry on the opposing side of that goal. Because she's actively TERRIFIED. She doesn't want to go back, she's here for her friends.

Will they do anything with it?

...EH-

Me when I'm in a getting the short end of the stick competition and my opponent is Strawberry.

This is a lose-lose scenario for her if anything. She has the option to stay back but be so real, how would she feel leaving her friends who are going back to the Witch's hut?

...Oh someone's gonna die. Jokes aside, Strawberry's anxious, rightfully so because there is no way this trip is gonna end well. And even if she stayed back, she would have no idea how her friends are faring. Imagine if one of them DIED on that trip, that would destroy her.

Also, this new image they released for the SCOOP website is so funny to me, everyone's looking at the screen and she's just terrified. A true encapsulation of her life right now.

Final things:

Still working on asks.

Still working on The Brave, The Smart, and The Cautious.

-> Which fun fact specifically stated the Witch's Hut was not by a seaside to explain one thing. ...WHAT THE FLIP FLOP DEVSISTERS.

Real fast analysis btw, there's a lot more I can dig into but I'm on a trip tomorrow. Normally, these take a bit longer but I had to rush it ):