Things from ep 1:
-Maria is extremely, EXTREMELY gullible - so naturally she would believe if someone, wearing the dress from the portrait, came up to her and told her they were Beatrice

(( one HELL of a sudden scare chord there, wow ))

-Battler made a note about how generous each relative was when it comes to giving money and you could see glimpses of people's personalities and situation there:

-Rosa doesn't give a lot of pocket money to the cousins because she's in a tight financial situation (she was a guarantor for the cad who left her)

-Hideyoshi gives pocket money freely because he's Really A Good Guy. But when you see the parents are negotiating with Krauss for money, he's the one at the forefront (good brains for business)

-Eva is really strict => hint of George's suffocating upbringing

-Battler makes a comment about Natsuhi not being approachable - she's strict and hypercompetent, at the cost of her social skills (I feel you Natsuhi)

also Natsuhi brought out the sawed-off guns... but it's unlikely she has any experience with firearms at all

Genji is loyal to a fault towards Kinzo, which probably means you have to take anything he says with a heaping spoon of salt haha

Natsuhi: hair-trigger temper hahaha, probably not helped by her constant migraine. Her emotional state and tendency to jump to conclusions make her prime for blackmail

George is like the Epitome Of Calm and Stability compared to Natsuhi and Inherited-Her-Temper!Jessica hahaha, must have been Hideyoshi's influence

loving the subtle UI changes, like the arrow turning red because the character is entertaining dark thoughts..

Maria's personality change seems creepy because it kicks in when she gets to talk about her occult interest, but thinking about it, don't all kids act a little more better-than-you when it comes to talking about something they know more than you?

Scorpion Charm: There's really nothing magical about it, but I have this feeling that Culprit-san came into Natsuhi's room, saw the charm on the doorknob and decided to leave her be. Partly to mess with Natsuhi, and probably Culprit-san having some meta fun of their own lol

the talk about Time Running Out: ...it's that bomb...

Maria's father: Wow George specifically used the word "jouhatsu" ie people who vanish without a trace

ahh of course! He 'evaporated' to run away from the debt and left it to his guarantor to clean up his crap

so to a lot of people, Rosa's abuse of Maria might seem like because Maria's existence prevented her from marrying. But it's probably more like Rosa works so much and suffers from so much work+family stress that she takes it out on Maria

either way, it's still the same huh - a part of her kinda resents Maria for preventing her from living her life (be it remarrying or not having to waste away her days trying to clear a debt that's ended up being hers by sheer bad luck)

the cousins and Natsuhi think Rosa hates Maria (because "I can't remarry because of this brat) but I think it's in ep 4 that you see that Rosa works so much overtime that Maria ends up being left alone. Either way, Rosa not being there for her + the influence from Certain People meant Maria turned towards unhealthy interests

I love how the game makes you work out these things on your own. That yeah, there is this situation but does it REALLY look that way? You gotta look deeper!

thinking about Natsuhi's history with Culprit-san, this must have pissed off Culprit-san something fierce lol

oooh shivers

also the lol that is the fantasy bits happening when Battler Is Not There

I'd forgotten there was a letter at this point. So what was in that letter? Beatrice challenging Natsuhi's authority as Ushiromiya representative...or bringing up what happened 17 years ago? (Which would explain why she left without telling anyone)

dun dun DUN

this bit always sends chills down my spine - because no one knows what happens, they could say whatever the hell they wanted... and Ange, the only one left behind, had to endure all the bizarre and unkind tales they'd cooked up of her FAMILY

ep 1 tea party time

CRACKS UP. So Eva-obasan did JUUUST that in ep 3

SSOOOUUU KKAAAA????

Ohara Sayakaaaaa I'm love her

when I think about how things got to Oct 4-5 1986, how desperately 'Beatrice' wants Battler to acknowledge their existence, realise they EXIST... my heart....

GUHHHH TWISTING THE KNIFE FURTHER

omg there's a ???? lmaoooo

so long

such lies and slander, Bernkastel!!

where there is internet drama, Bernkastel will be there

deep

Bernkastel-as-Rika fought for one goal, for her and her friends to escape with their lives intact. But for Yasu/Beatrice, her goal is different (needing Battler to know the truth). No wonder Bern says they're incompatible

hahaha it's funny how this clue is so straightforward and also confusing in how direct it is

ggghhh to think all of this was given in the first ????

Bern has subscribed to The Golden Witch series by Beatrice on Ao3

EP1 DONE