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Holy poo poo, curse my optimistic naivety. What the hell are you, Beatrice?! So what now, do we see the October massacre with additional character movements being revealed to us, or is it the Higurashi thing? Actually, don't answer that. But I do wanna say that I'm pretty sure Battler did the right thing by getting the gently caress out of the Ushiromiya family, this isn't healthy for anyone. The only Ushiromiya that isn't treated like poo poo is George, but I don't know how this is affecting him either. At least his dad is relatively chill, all things considered. Jessica doesn't even have the chance to have an honest, normal high-school life because of literally every official family member breathing down her neck. And the servants are dehumanized, which hella sucks for your mental state.
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Oct 21, 2016 17:20
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This should go without saying but just as a reminder: if you think you've found out something new about a character you might want to do a quick reread of some of their earlier scenes
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Oct 21, 2016 17:48
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bman in 2288 posted:Holy poo poo, curse my optimistic naivety. What the hell are you, Beatrice?! She's a witch! Uu--
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Oct 21, 2016 18:04
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resurgam40 posted:Christ Jesus! Oh, Beatrice. You manipulative witch you.  SardonicTyrant posted:+1 ProfessorProf posted:By my count, Kinzo said 'Beatrice' 17 times in Episode 1, and 5 times so far in Episode 2, for a total of 22 Beatrices. Sheesh, I almost forgot how whiny Kinzo was at the beginning of this episode. Though at the rate we're going, any drinking game towards Umineko itself would lead you to alcohol poisoning. How about taking a shot whenever Maria Uu-s? No, that's even worse. Let's just stick to a tally.  Looking forward to any newcomer reaction towards the second installment.
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Oct 21, 2016 18:53
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"Maybe that's true. And furniture has to listen to what people say."
At least Jessica to her credit tried to reject the furniture stuff!
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Demon Kaizoku posted:How about taking a shot whenever Maria Uu-s? What we really need is for Rosa to stop playing this drinking game.
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Oct 21, 2016 18:54
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ProfessorProf posted:What we really need is for Rosa to stop playing this drinking game. Holy poo poo. 
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Oct 21, 2016 19:24
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ProfessorProf posted:What we really need is for Rosa to stop playing this drinking game. drat!!  Anyway, I'm kinda glad that Kanon shut Jessica down; that relationship would have been really weird given their status even without his insistence on his being furniture. It's healthier for both that way, in the long run.
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Oct 21, 2016 22:08
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ProfessorProf posted:What we really need is for Rosa to stop playing this drinking game. I'll say. I mean drat, woman. Get some therapy. 
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Oct 21, 2016 22:24
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Woah Kanon, finally true witch denier Watson to Battler's Sherlock act. Well, even though Kanon believes in the witch's existence I'm sure the fact that he doesn't entertain her games affects her magical powers somewhat negatively. I kinda wanted to believe the witch was trying to undermine the evil parts of this family, but I'm not surprised that this was in fact a ploy to encourage a rise in her supposed "powers". Theoretically if 'love' is everything in the universe, producing love among the people on the island and harvesting it allows the witch to gain a lot of the element that reality is supposedly reducible too. I kinda wish I could post my theories about the first chapter, I made a bad essay. At the same time I don't wanna take away from people who weren't thinking too critically about the events on the island. 'Life's end' track is really interesting!
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Oct 21, 2016 22:26
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So, a glimpse into the near future of the thread: My wrists are still pretty hosed up (tendonitis or something), and it is making things slow-going. I've got a long backlog and don't want to drag out the slower part of this Episode, so I'm gonna continue with the mostly-daily updates through the end of the month, then probably take some time off to build my backlog back up after that. You've been a wonderful audience, and the party's just getting started.
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Oct 22, 2016 04:08
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I understand your pain, I hosed myself up and got a case of tendinitis list year that never fully went away. Hell, I keep my brace next to me when I sleep, just in case. And pills. I really do appreciate the effort you're putting into this, Prof. I just wish i could understand what was truly going on, or at least remember all the subtle character dynamics that are different due to new information being revealed to us.
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Oct 22, 2016 06:25
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  BGM: Doorway of Summer ...By chance, the inside of the shop had been decorated with Halloween colors, since it was October. It seemed that Maria had been awfully pleased with that. And since then, she had kept on making a fuss inside the train about wanting to have a Halloween festival, without caring that she was attracting the attention of others. Halloween is popular in Europe and America, but people aren't familiar with it at all in Japan. The shopping district was colorfully decorated with orange pumpkins, but the costume parades of children demanding sweets and saying 'trick or treat' were nowhere in sight.   "The family conference isn't for playing. We're going to meet Grandfather, so you have to wear western clothes."While it wasn't completely full inside the train, it was really packed, with almost all of the seats occupied by passengers. Among them, Maria was making a fuss, stomping her feet on the seat while Rosa scowled at her. Since earlier, Rosa had warned her many times to lower her voice, but Maria hadn't obeyed her at all. ...Once Maria gets this way, no matter how much you try to explain the situation or calm her, she doesn't listen. Before, Rosa used to pamper Maria and give in to her at times like this. But, that had probably been a bad thing. When young Maria had complained noisily, her mother had given in, wrongly assuming that Maria had listened to what she had said. Rosa had realized that error with the help of an educational book, and since then, she had turned the part of her heart that wanted to pamper her beloved daughter into a demon. But Rosa managed to get less and less of a mutual understanding with Maria, and started to be discouraged by her own powerlessness little by little...   "I don't have sweets to give you! You just ate breakfast!" "Trick or Treat! Trick or Treat! Uu-uu-uu-!!"A stout old woman, who was sitting nearby as Maria stomped her feet, picked a candy out of her handbag and gave it to Maria.  "Uu-! Got a sweet, got a sweet! Look, look, Mama, Mama! Happy Hallowee~n!" "Hey Maria, you can't just accept sweets from strangers, right?! Return it!!" "It's alright, ho ho ho. She's a lovely young lady. How old is she?"Maybe there was no malice in those words from the old woman... But, it seemed that Rosa had taken that in an extremely humiliating way. "Maria, I'm always telling you to not accept sweets from strangers!!" "Uu-! Uu-!! Maria got that!! Uu-uu-!! No, Maria's!!" "Let go of it! Don't I always tell you to listen to what Mama says?!!" "It's miiine! Miiine! Uu!! Uuu-uuu!!" "Don't I always tell you not to say uu-uu-!!" "Uu-uu-uu-uu-uu-uu-uu-uu-!!!" BGM: None Rosa immediately took the candy from Maria's hand and pushed it back towards the dumbfounded old woman sitting next to them.  "...Please, do not just give sweets to my daughter!" "...I'm... I'm very sorry."Breathing heavily, Rosa once again held the candy out to the old woman. After the old woman grew bewildered about what she should say, perhaps she understood that what she had done may have caused trouble to parent and child, and she accepted the candy back, apologizing. Then, Rosa finally took notice of her surroundings... Her daughter's clothes were all messed up, she was crying and shouting with her nose dripping, and there were many dumbfounded passengers watching them. Except for the sound of the train running, the interior was completely silent. Fortunately, that pitiful silence didn't last more than a short while. However, it was followed by an even more painful atmosphere as everyone whispered. Maria shouted, cried, kicked and stomped her feet as usual, paying no heed to the people sitting around her. Impulsively, Rosa tried to slap her again, but she noticed the cold eyes of the people in the train, and couldn't do that anymore. When the train stopped, Rosa forcibly pulled Maria's arm and got off, almost dragging her daughter along.  BGM: Rose Rosa took her to the end of the platform and hit her cheek again. At the moment she was hit, Maria stopped crying for an instant, but before long, she shouted and cried even more then before. Rosa, whose emotions had exploded, grabbed the nape of Maria's neck and dragged her, tugging at her hair.  "That's why I'm telling you to shut up!! That uu-uu- of yours! I'm telling you to stop that!! That's the reason you can't make friends in class, right?! Get a hold of yourself!! Why are you always a kindergartner inside your head?!! Why can't you obey what Mama says?!! Why!! Why!!!"Along with those severe words, Rosa hit Maria's cheek over and over again. The more Maria cried and shouted, the more Rosa hit her. And the more Maria was hit, the more intensely she cried and shouted...  "Mama, it hurts...! Mama, it hurts...! Mama, save me, Mama, save me...! Uu-uu-uu-uu-!!" "Why can't you stop that uu-uu-!! It's because you're like this that you can't make friends!! It's because you are like this that Papa's business trip doesn't end!! It's because you are like this that I...!!" "Is there something, that you want...?!"The one who timidly called to her was the station attendant. Rosa glared at him with a look that said 'don't cut into the problems of a mother and a child, stranger'. The station attendant surely hadn't wanted to talk to her. However, Rosa had been yelling on the platform for a much longer time than she had imagined. Her emotional scolding had caused the passengers on the platform to advise the station attendant that it would be a good idea to call out to her. Rosa yelled at the station attendant not to worry anymore, since they would get on the next train. And then, finally, or maybe we should say, for the second time... she noticed the passengers on the platform staring at her from the distance. ...Rosa sweat slightly and felt the wind torturing her, making her sweat cold.   ...I've... done it again..."As Rosa recovered from the evil heat inside her head, ...she knew she had surrendered her soul to something bad again. "Mama, Mama! Mama, come back...! Uu-! Uu-uu-uu-uu-!!"Rosa fell to her knees and hugged Maria, whose face was all soggy with tears and mucus.  "...Maria..., I'm sorry..., I'm sorry..." Finally, Maria realized that her mother had turned back to being her mother. Then, she clung to her mother's body and cried, burying her face on her mother's chest. "...Forgive your bad Mama... Forgive your bad Mama... I'm really... sorry...! Please, don't hate your Mama..." "Uu-... Maria is perfectly fine... Won't hate Mama. Mama was only being possessed by an evil witch again... But, Mama came back, so just fine." "Yeah... yeah... Mama was just... being possessed by an evil witch again... I'm sorry... I'm really sorry..."The two of them hugged each other, asking for forgiveness and sending words of forgiveness at each other, for a long time. After a while, the two of them gradually calmed down and separated their faces from one another. Maria's face, Rosa's face, both were deep red after crying their eyes out. "...Do you want to have a Halloween festival, Maria?" "Yeah. I wanted to show the pumpkin marshmallow to George onii-chan and Jessica onee-chan..." It was a fancy sweet that had a big orange marshmallow in the shape of a jack o'lantern attached to the tip of a stick. Maria had wanted that and had insistently pestered for it. Rosa had said that there was no way she would buy such a sweet right after they'd had breakfast, and had rejected it. "...Then, Maria. I don't know if they sell it in this town or not, but let's get off and try searching for it, okay?" "u, ...yeah! Love you so much Mama, love you... Thank you..." "I love you too, Maria..."The truth was that they had no time to waste loitering around at a stopover station. If they missed the airplane, they would fall half a day behind schedule. She should have left home with more time to spare, but she had ended up leaving late after choosing Maria's clothes. Because of that, Rosa had been a bit impatient since the morning. She looked at the clock. They had to get on the next train immediately. But, her daughter firmly joined hands with her to go buy the sweet with her mother, and that hand was warm. To Rosa as she was now, it was more important to regrow her bonds with Maria. To her, Maria was not only a beloved daughter, ...she was everything Rosa had.  Besides, Rosa also couldn't show up with a face swelled from crying. She must fix her make-up.  "Maybe we won't find a marshmallow exactly like that one, but it's alright if there's a similar sweet, right? With that, let's surprise all your cousins together." "Yeah. If it's a sweet I bought together with Mama, anything is fine."The two left the turnstiles of the station in this unknown town. Maria walked across the pedestrian crossing together with her mother, chuckling to herself, as though she was walking in an amusement park. Both faces were still deep red, but the two of them, mother and child, smiled at each other without any restraint, looking warm...  BGM: Sukashiyuri  "Oh, it's you. It's nothing. It's just that this was a pleasant place to think." "...I'm finishing all of today's preparations. For now, shall we relax and wait while drinking tea?" "...Sorry. I'm always pushing all my problems on you." "...Please. Can't you rely on me more? I am your wife." "...Naturally, I'm grateful for you always coming to my aid. For that very reason, I am able to devote myself to my work." "I understand. About your work. And the topic of Father's inheritance, right?" "That has nothing to do with you. It's nothing more than fishing for rotten meat amongst greedy siblings." "...It's alright, dear. Everything will work out. Your work never goes badly." "..."Natsuhi softly cuddled close to Krauss's shoulder.  ...Krauss's project was something like a seesaw where a large amount of money swings. A big investment is linked to large collateral, but with a large-sized seesaw, the swaying is greatly slowed, and it's not something which shows immediate results. At times, you make more investments so that the seesaw inclines faster towards the good side. Naturally, you do that because you have confidence that, in a not so distant future, you'd be able to recover all the investments made. However, the seesaws Krauss chose never turned out as he would have liked them to. His foresight wasn't wrong, but times were slow. They would never catch up with him.  Due to its great popularity, there's always someone playing on it, and even if you wanted to play, you had to wait a long time for your turn. And then, if you found that seesaw vacant on a certain day and were the first one to arrive, you would straddle it and have it all to yourself. However, if nobody got on the opposite side of the seesaw, you couldn't play on it. And no matter how much time passed, nobody would come to the opposite side of the seesaw. The seesaw is a popular piece of playground equipment so, if you waited, a companion would surely show up. Krauss was aware of that. The weather looked like it was getting worse. So, nobody would come outside to play. But the seesaw is a popular piece of playground equipment so, surely someone will come. If he vacated his place because the weather seemed to be getting worse, certainly someone would snatch his place away, and he would end up only longingly gazing at someone having fun playing on the seasaw from a distance again...  "...If only I had a bit more courage, and the self-confidence to believe in my own foresight... I'd never... have failed." "...Yes, that's true. Your foresight is never wrong. You are the only one who inherited Father's quick wits. You inherited an innate disposition that none of the other siblings did." "...Even so, I cannot believe that! I always closed my own projects like a coward. Why can't I believe in myself?! Who would believe in a man who can't believe in himself? Nobody!!" "...I'm always sitting on the seat where the losers must sit... my father, my mother, and my siblings, all of them sneer at me... How long is it going to take for me to be set free of this complex... How long..."...Only Natsuhi knew. She knew of Krauss's anguish. As the eldest son of the Ushiromiya family, who had been forced to shoulder a big responsibility from now on, he couldn't open his pained heart to anyone, and was always compared to his father's great enterprises... "...I'll finish all the preparations, so you can devote yourself to the family conference. I'll handle all of them." "...Sorry. Will there be any problems... with Father?" "No. Genji and Doctor Nanjo are on our side. I'll never allow those greedy siblings to meet Father." BGM: Towering Cloud in Summer In the kitchen, multicolored ingredients were gathered and the preliminary arrangements were promptly being started. Even though it was still morning, the ingredients for dinner were already in saucepans and steaming. Normally, he had to deal with several assorted matters other than cooking, but on the day of the family conference, he could devote himself entirely to cooking. To Gohda, who was originally a chef, this was surely the greatest gala occasion of the whole year.  "Yes, dinner will be an excellent calf steak...! A wonderful cut of meat is already anxiously waiting for tonight in the refrigerator. Please, be sure to look forward to the meal tonight."It was rare for Gohda to be in this good of a mood towards his fellow servants. To Gohda, who bragged about being a chef attached to the Ushiromiya family, being qualified to announce the cooking at the family conference was his greatest honor.  "...Understood. I will leave everything to you... Also, is Kumasawa there?" "Kumasawa-san? I happened to see her earlier, but she is not here. I wonder if she went to make preparations at the guesthouse." "...So she is loafing around again. No, it is fine. Then, I am counting on you from now on." "Yes, leave everything to me, Gohda...!" Genji sighed once again, thinking of Kumasawa, who was probably hiding again even though things were this busy, and the ostentatious Gohda, who only felt like doing anything on a day when he could show off.   "...We received instructions from Milady to make preparations for four people so that the children can stay there, but what shall we do?" "...I hear this year, Battler-sama is coming for the first time in six years. I guess Milady wants the four cousins to stay up until late in the night. Make the preparations. You do not need to tell Madam." "I see. Certainly." "...So tonight, we'll have the late night shift, followed immediately by the morning shift. It looks like these two days will be tiresome." "Speaking of that, the weather forecast is saying a typhoon will strike right over here... Is that alright?" "...As long as the typhoon doesn't go too far astray from its course, and depending on the situation, I believe it will affect the boat trip back for everyone in the family. Maybe the family conference's schedule will be prolonged until around Monday or Tuesday. It will probably be a long journey, but I earnestly ask of you all to not make any blunders." "...Shannon, do not be in a hurry, calm yourself. Kanon, be sure to greet them with courtesy." "...Y, yes. I'll be careful." "...I'll be careful." "Today is a day that an important guest will be coming. See that you do not make any blunders." "...We understand. Any guest who visits here is important." "...Yes." "...Shannon, what's wrong? It seems you have been uneasy about something. Do you have some prior engagement at this time?" "Huh? N, no, it's nothing. My apologies..." "Nee-san. An important guest will be arriving today. Detach yourself from your private life." "I don't... I don't know what you mean by private life..."As Shannon blushed just a bit, she turned her gaze away from the clock. Was it about time for the airplane carrying the family to arrive at Niijima?   BGM: Doorway of Summer Inside a bathroom stall, George was practicing something over and over, taking out a small velvet box hidden in his pocket like a quick-draw desert gunman.  "That's not it... Shannon likes a man with traction. I, it must have a more powerful feel to it...!" "Shannon, put this on your ring finger. Th, that's an order, okay...? Aah, if I don't say properly that it's on the left hand, maybe she'll put on the right hand! N-, no, Shannon isn't that ignorant, aaah but, if there's no free will, that'd be a little, I mean, uuuuuu, nnnnuuuuuuu, muuuuuuuaaaaaaaaahhhh...!!"As he crossed his arms, nodding, someone knocked on the door. George was suddenly brought back to reality.   "Ah, ahahahaha, uncle Rudolf...! It's alright, I'm fine! No need to worry, ahahahahahaha...!" "Really...? That's good then. But you know, you're straining yourself way too much. Your rear end'll burst."Rudolf washed his hands, laughing cheerfully, and left. George knew that the most embarrassing part hasn't been overheard, and he patted his chest, feeling relieved...  "Kyrie, isn't Rosa here yet?"  "Since it seems the weather is changing, it'll be fine. If the schedule had gone on normally, she would've missed the plane. What would she have done then?" "...Rosa-san is an adult now. She'd manage it somehow. No matter how old they get, older brothers always treat their younger sisters like children." "What'd you say? If I'm a child, you're a baby, aren't you? Come on, Battler-chan, up up~!" "Stop it, that tickles, wahahaha, stooop!" "You look more like two bratty friends than a father and son... Look, she's here." "Ohoooooooooh!! If it isn't Rosa-san! Maria, long time no see!!" "Long time no see-! Uu-!"  "Uu-. It's... good to see you again..." "There you go! Well said! I'll give you some as a reward! ...huh? Where'd I put 'em..." "Rosa-san, it's good to see you again. It's good to see you too, Maria-chan." "We have been out of touch, haven't we Kyrie nee-san, Hideyoshi nii-san. And... my, Battler-kun?! You're so big now...!" "No wa~y, hah-hah-haah... It's embarrassing having to hear that every time I meet someone today...!" "Hey, Rosa. You're late. If the airplane was on schedule, you'd barely have made it in time, right...?" "I'm sorry. The train connection didn't go well. What, are we waiting on the weather again?" "Don't complain, don't complain. If our only other option is to be shaken for six hours going by boat, it's much better to spend a mere 20 minutes going by airplane. Even if we were made to wait for one hour more, it'd be much faster." "Is that Maria...? You sure have gotten big... She's at that growing age..." "You last met her six years ago, right? A lot has changed. Women are animals that are born again in only one day when they have a change of heart." "...Uu-?" "Hey, Battler, greet her. The last time you met her was when she was three years old, so this is just like a first meeting." "She wouldn't remember if she was 3! Hey Maria, long time no see. You sure have gotten big!" "Maria. This is Battler onii-chan. Uncle Rudolf's son. ...Understand?" "...Uncle's son is... Uncle's the son..."She was obviously being cautious. After all, it would be no surprise if she found it frightening for a large guy like Battler to suddenly start speaking frankly to her. Battler noticed that as well, and thought of various ways he might approach her. Then, he noticed the sweet she had in her hand. It was the jack o'lantern sweet that Rosa had bought for her.  "I see, it's October, so that must be for Halloween. Ihihihi, trick or treeeat!"If you try to snatch a sweet away from a small child, normally, you'd expect them to cry and start a fuss. The adults thought that method wasn't good, but surprisingly, Maria looked pleased, her face splitting into a wide grin. "Halloween, Halloween!! Look, Mama, Battler also knows about Halloween, look, look!!" "Hey, call him Battler onii-chan! Sorry, Battler-kun." "No, no, don't sweat it. Please call me Battler. Because I'll also call you Maria. Look, Maria, it's Halloween! Trick or treeeeat!!" "Trick or treeeat~!! Kyahahaha, Kyakkya!!" It seemed that Battler accepting it was enough to confirm their friendship. The adults were amazed at how the children had established communication with each other. To Maria, who had been complaining that she wanted to have a Halloween festival, it must have felt like Battler was a friend, since he knew about trick or treat. Her defensive posture from before was completely gone. Now, she was all merry, as though they been friends for decades. "That's right, in Japan, Halloween is a minor event. You oftenly see people marching in costume parades on the news from overseas, but I've never seen it in Japan." "Maria wanted to wear a costume too. Wanted to say 'If you don't give me sweets, I'll play a prank' with all the cousins wearing costumes..." "I see, I see. Next time, let's do it together! What costume Maria would like to march with?"
Quinn2win fucked around with this message at 04:48 on Oct 31, 2016 |
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Oct 22, 2016 13:46
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Aw, geez.  I was feeling really good today, too- thank goodness for this LP to remind us of lovely things like child abuse in public.Seriously, Rosa and Maria's relationship just ticks all the loving boxes, doesn't it: young, unsure mother, father's gone away, so she errs a little on the side of being indulgent in the early years and only realizes the effects too late when the kid starts freaking out in public, suppresses all her stress until a breaking point (in this case the woman handing the sweet out, and yeah, she shouldn't have, and yeah it's a bad idea to take candy from strangers), and then snap. Hits, screaming, "why can't you be normal?", and then remorse as soon as it cools down, appeasement, and then the whole thing starts again later. The one bright spot (if you can even call it that) is that Maria seems to get that this isn't normal behavior for her mom- even though she rationalizes it in a unique way, "possessed by a bad witch"- and doesn't think her mom actually hates her, or wishes she'd never been born. ProfessorProf posted:
And what's this, now? There's actually a conspiracy to prevent Kinzo from meeting the other kids- one that Genji and Nanjo are in on, or say they are? Why that mysterious biot, and what are they doing? Could Genji be slipping something into the absinthe without Kinzo knowing; could Nanjo be faking the old man's prognosis? Do tell! And this "special guest", that doesn't sound like a family member... were they expecting Beatrice through Kinzo's ritual, or could this be the fabled 19th person on Battlers magical flipping chessboard? So many questions... And one of them is: is there a sort of Higurashi loop going on here, because this scene is different from the first time- it matches the same wide beats, so it could be that Battler is just remembering or perceiving things differently, but there was no pumpkin candy, or talk of Halloween before... nor talk of Beatrice. So the next episode will probably tell us if this is the same event thriough different eyes, or... or whatever.
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Oct 22, 2016 15:39
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It's sad to think of how loving bad Natushi's biological family must be if marrying Krauss is considered an improvement.
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Oct 22, 2016 15:53
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I watched the Rosa and Maria scene in game. If you thought it was uncomfortable reading it. Its even worse listening to it. Also slight mistake I think this is Krauss's line "...I'm always sitting on the seat where the losers must sit... my father, my mother, and my siblings, all of them sneer at me... How long is it going to take for me to be set free of this complex... How long..."
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Oct 22, 2016 18:44
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Confirmed and fixed.
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Oct 22, 2016 18:51
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 BGM: Sukashiyuri  "I'm here 'cause I don't want to be found. At any rate, I'm sure she only wants to scold me, like 'is your appearance alright?' and 'watch your language'." "Hoh-hoh-ho... Without a doubt." "...You know. When the day of the family conference comes, for some reason, I feel uneasy about this witch." "Hoh... Why do you say that again...?" "...Hohoh. Could a relative like that exist...?" "It's Beatrice-sama. Nobody knows her background. Could she be Grandfather's mistress from long ago? Maybe her descendants will unexpectedly appear and tell us to return the gold we were granted or something, right?" "Hoh-hoh-hoh-ho... Krauss-sama and the others will probably have a discussion about the Master's inheritance problem this year too. So, if they get excited with that talk of the witch's gold, it would be just natural if the witch who gave out the gold came soon herself, right?" "Kumasawa-san, you know, you're very busy with retiring and your work and all, but you've been here as long as Genji-san, right? You know more, about Beatrice, don't you?" "...Well, I wonder. Hoh-hoh-ho... Even if I try to remember, this old woman here can't even recall what she had for breakfast this morning..." "Kumasawa-san, you're always escaping with those excuses, but you know something, right? Sometimes you feel kinda devious, like you know something and you're laughing behind our backs, right?" "Hoh-hoh-ho, how harsh. I don't have any secrets. The only thing I can say is that Beatrice-sama is the Golden Witch, and that she is the other master who controls the night of this island." "That's second-hand talk from Grandfather. It must be a pain to go along Grandfather's tales, even though you get paid." "...But, I can say this much." "...What?" "I've also heard that. It's that story about, since there are lots of sunken rocks and shipwrecks around here, the fishermen got afraid and unreasonably didn't approach here, right?" "...Evil spirits settled down in Akujikishima and continued to eat the souls of people since ancient times. There were lots of people related to this island who were dispossessed of their lives." "And then, a traveling mountaineering ascetic or someone built that shrine, reposed the souls and settled them there, wasn't it? What a shady story." "That shrine for the repose of souls was destroyed by an eerie violet thunderbolt this summer, which tore up the darkness of the night..." "Kumasawa-san, you really like those stories. I'll admit that it'd be pretty eerie for a shrine for the repose of souls to disappear with a thunderbolt. But, well, it was all worn out from the start. I wonder if it wasn't just carried away by some large wave. Hahahahaha." "The evil spirits of Akujikishima woke up from their sleep, and summoned Beatrice-sama. If Beatrice-sama happened to come for the family conference..." "If she happened to come...?" When Kumasawa realized she was scaring Jessica with her silence, she grinned broadly. "Well now, I wonder what would happen. Hoh-hoh-hoh-hoh-ho..." BGM: Hope "Isn't it? Isn't it useful for your work to enrich your heart and have an elegant time every once in a while...?" "I think so. The heart and the wallet must be rich. Got it, I'll keep that day open. Please, make the reservations." "Understood. Absolutely." "Yeah, I'm counting on you. I love you, Kyrie."After kissing the receiver, Rudolf hung up.  "I'm sorry for making you wait. Did the contact from America come?" "Yes. It's from the lawyer Dale Watanabe on the external line. I'll transfer it." "...Overall, how do you feel about the situation?" "That is, well... it seems one thing is not favorable. It seems the other party doesn't plan to withdraw from the trial at all." "...Looks like we can't fool 'em after all. Ahaha... Please, transfer it here." "Understood. Immediately."The executive ordered that the external line be transferred to the secretarial office.  It's more clear with the voice acting, but any text in angle brackets is being spoken in English instead of Japanese. "<Hello, President Ushiromiya>. Let's skip the greetings and go right into the main question. I have good news and bad news, which one shall we start with?" "...The bad news can go first. I can't fight if there's no dessert." "Understood. The bad news is that the other party has started preparations to prosecute our party. Just a few days ago, a similar trial resulted in a judicial decision where the plaintiff won. The defendants were also arguing with roughly the same arguments we'll allege, but they were rejected in everything. I'm afraid to say it, but if we face the courtroom as we are now, the probability that our allegations will be rejected is extremely high." "...So that other trial was a disaster. Even though I was thinking that their conditions were more favorable than ours. That's tough, huh. Then, what about the good news?" "I managed to get in contact with the executives of the other party. I explained to the other party the situation we are in, explained that we have no intentions of violating the other party's brand image, and I managed to get their understanding. The other party will offer us conditions in a few days, and if these are carried out, they promised to withdraw from the prosecution. This is their proposal according to the number 2 man on their board of directors." "Your impression?" "Honestly, I expect the conditions will be extremely severe. We assume that changing the company name and the brand name will be inevitable. Where we do have margin in the negotiations is the amount of settlement money, the appearance of a public apology on a major newspaper, and the amount of time needed to carry out those things." "These guys are simply and indirectly telling us to go bankrupt." "The other party, in the recent years, just changed to their second president and the groundwork is not finished yet over there. If we resist until the bitter end, they fear that the forces who want to go against the current president wouldn't hesitate to do some work in favor of the enemy. Hence, it seems the big shots of the other party want to settle this matter as fast as possible too. Hence, for the sake of a quick settlement, maybe we still have enough leeway to pull for some mitigation of the conditions." "At any rate, will an absurd amount of money be necessary?" "You need to be prepared for that. And even so, it would be much cheaper than disciplinary compensation." "Thank you very much. If there's any more progress, please contact me. You have a high salary, so no idle gossiping around. Hahahaha. <Thank you, thank you, goodbye>."Rudolf hung up the phone. It seemed that the executives sitting at the reception seats could guess about the contents of that discussion.  "But, President. The supposed sum for the settlement that Mr. Watanabe indicated is too much. We don't have that much of a margin...!" "When we knew it would become like this, we started the diversifying, didn't we...!" "The calculations were that we could escape the capital crisis if we were able to endure for three years. It can't be, to be stabbed here... really, we're in no position for that...!" "I guess we fell at the 'step' of the 'hop, step, jump'. I could cry." "We have no choice but to draw the money from the main bank." "Banks are no good. They only bet their money on winning horses. The situation is getting better, but we can't show weakness to the banks." "...President. Do we have any funds which are unaccounted for? Funds that are out of our grip?" "Stop that. Do I look like that kind of man? The contents of my wallet are all exposed to you guys, alright? The account books over there show all that our company has." "In that case, we need to raise money. We need a sponsor who can draw in several million for us as soon as possible." "...President! Couldn't something be worked out with one of your associates...?!" "President! President...!" "...Aaaah, calm down, you bastards. I'll find a way to raise the money. You guys maintain the business without making too much noise. The other side is saying that they will forgive us as long as we gather the money. We already have thick pipelines in Asia. Things'll probably be shaky, but we'll be able to maintain transactions. In short, the point is that if we gather the money, we'll be able to settle everything." "Look, I'll settle everything. I won't let you out in the cold. Start feeling like you've gotten on a big boat! When I settle things safely, I'll be rewarding all of you guys with a champagne tower. I promise. So, shut up and come with me. Alright?!!" Rudolf woke up because of that shaking. Since he had woken up early that morning, he had ended up drifting off to sleep while resting in his seat. "...Are you alright? You're still very drowsy, aren't you? Lately, it seems you've been very busy at your work." "Being busy at work is great, isn't it? If I start wasting time, we'll all be out in the cold starting tomorrow." "You're right. Since Battler-kun's come back, it would be a problem if the two of us had to go around begging." When he looked outside the window, he saw that the airplane was already starting to drop in altitude considerably. The fishing boats, which had only looked like black grains until a short while ago had started to become clearly visible. "...If I could borrow ten million at once by prostrating myself before Father, I'd do it a dozen times, but... If I can't, I better hurry and start to hide myself. I've always depended severily on his financial support, and now I'm going for the inheritance. I'm going to hell. I guess Father won't want to meet me like this..." BGM: Witch in Gold Nanjo looked at Kinzo's face, sighing. Kinzo's eyes were rooted to those strange magic books.  "I don't want to join in on the argument of those vultures. They can discuss how they will suck my bones as they wish. They really are foolish." "...My, my. How troublesome..."Nanjo shook his head slightly. To him, children and grandchildren were lovely things. And he believed that their growth was the only enjoyment for old men. To him, Kinzo's words were a very sad thing.  "If the time I must leave this room comes, I will show myself. Just as that one does not show itself."When Kinzo raised his face, in the direction of his gaze was the portrait of the witch, which was respectfully displayed on the wall...  "..." There was only the face of the witch in the oil painting, who didn't smile except inside the portrait... Everybody knew that when Kinzo talked about Beatrice, unnecessarily cutting in would instigate his wrath... "Today, I will... hold a certain ceremony." "Hoh. And what would that be?" "...It would be more accurate to call it a gamble... Because miracles do not dwell in magic that doesn't bear risks."Nanjo already heard that story many times over. You could call it Kinzo's favorite phrase. It seemed that Kinzo believed that magic and miracles could happen by betting your own fate with certain kind of risk and triumphing... "So, Kinzo-san, you who were once called the Golden Gambler, that old man who could go to the other world at any time, I wonder what kind of gamble you will seek... I guess this will be worth seeing..." "Hmph... I see. If the secret ritual I devoted my research to hits you who is not proficient at magic as well, would you call it a gamble? Whatever." "...I believe in miracles and if I win, you will be able to understand clearly that all my research, which probably only appears as vagary in your eyes, did bear fruits in this day. If you win, it will all end as nothing more than the vagary of the old man who can go to the other world at any time, in accordance to what you saw." "Hoh... I wonder what on earth is this gamble you will start... As your friend, in that bet... no, was it a ceremony? I only pray from the bottom of my heart that you can win in that ceremony." "Hmm... I thank you." "...Speaking of that, Kinzo-san. You heard that a longed-for guest will be present at the family meeting this year?" "What...?"Kinzo reacted in a unusual way to Nanjo's words and turned around. "Right, Battler-kun from Rudolf-san's family. I hear he will be coming after six years. I'm sure he has became a splendid boy." "...Oh, Battler? I wouldn't call him 'longed for', a guest who doesn't show up for six years."After hearing Battler's name and showing an ill-humored expression, as though saying that was a let-down, Kinzo turned his back again. "I guess these six years went by in a blink of an eye to you since you began immersing yourself in your research in this room..." "Hmph. Possibly, a truly longed-for guest... will pay us a visit. Everything depends on the results of the roulette. The roulette is already starting to revolve. Rouge, or Noir?" "Tonight, let us enjoy ourselves as we see what kind of miracle the roulette will show us. The payoffs are large. And I don't feel like losing... Beatrice, you can accept my bet..." It seemed that the piercing sound didn't please Kinzo, and he picked up the receiver in order to preserve the silence as much as he could. "...What is it? I'm busy." "Genji speaking. Everyone has arrived." "And what's wrong with that? You can serve them some tea or something." "...Certainly. I'll do that."Kinzo hung up the phone rudely. Looking at that, Nanjo sighed yet again and shifted his attention outside the window. As he is now, Kinzo is probably not interested in any kind of guest. Did a guest exist who would make Kinzo come out when the time came, as he had said? He had someone in mind, but that guest couldn't appear... Nanjo stared at the witch of the portrait, who held a candid facial expression, unable to decide whether she was smiling or sad, and he gazed up at the lead-colored sky...   Video: Endless Torture  BGM: Answer   "Do you have a problem...?" The witch looked at him in challenge while elegantly smoking her pipe. And Battler? He just slovenly shrugged his shoulders as though he didn't really feel like being her opponent. He just couldn't make his eyes meet hers. But that didn't mean he wasn't a match for her. It signified his plain determination to never be taken in by the artifices of this bastard. It was an expression of his powerful determination to fight.  "Don't you tell me you don't have a plan...?" "Since I don't know your moves, I don't have any plan. Feel free to take the initiative." "Hmph... Naturally, I intend to. In what way shall I destroy your defense? With how many moves will I checkmate you? It's an opportunity to display my skills." "...Whatever moves you come at me with, I won't believe you! As long as I stand my ground on that point, I won't lose. And what that means is this. The way this game is made, you cannot win...!" "Maybe you're right. However, you know what? I'll decide how many times we'll repeat this game. It will be repeated over and over again, until I win and you recognize your defeat, okay...?" "In other words, this is torture. It's eternal torture that will continue until you surrender to me...! It will continue eternally, until you recognize me and the existence of the witch!" "...In that case, I'll go along with you endlessly, any number of times, until you run out of patience. I've never lost in such a battle of wills." "Did a witch from somewhere suggest that to you...? *cackle*cackle*, that's just fine!" "I'm tired of listening to your rambling. C'mon, get this started!" "Come, let us begin! I already know your moves far too well. A defense doesn't amount to much if the plan behind it is known! Don't think you'll be able to defy me with the same moves!!" "...Beatrice. I have only one thing to tell you before we start." "What is it...?" "You're free to say anything. However, whether I'll believe you or not, is something・I'll decide・for myself...! No matter how much of this magic you have! My soul won't yield to you. You think this is torture for me? You're wrong!!" "Then, what are you talking about...!" "This is torture for you!!"  
Quinn2win fucked around with this message at 04:48 on Oct 31, 2016 |
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Oct 23, 2016 12:37
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ProfessorProf posted:
Believe this line is Kumasawa instead of Hideyoshi.
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Oct 23, 2016 13:19
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good track
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Oct 23, 2016 13:24
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Daisuke Ono and Sayaka Ohara Scream At Each Other Forever, indeed. So this is a different version of events- a version that might not even be real, but a simulation of events created through illusion to show Battler what happened where. Meaning that these new scenes were shown to Battler to add context and motivation for the characters as to what happened that night? Well, OK, but I don't see why Battler is supposed to believe everything that's said here; she could be lying about events to obscure the truth... in which case, I suppose victory would depend on exposing that lie. drat, I hope Battler knows what he's doing and has something other than determination and denial to fight something like Beatrice...ProfessorProf posted:
Unless Hideyoshi is a secret teleporter, I don't think that photo's right.
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Oct 23, 2016 13:29
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I'm amused by Battler saying basically "no matter how many times you magically make me live through those days again, I won't believe in magic. I also won't believe in you, the person I am having this conversation with". Battler is a bit confused about what believing in something means. I guess it works out since Beatrice goes along with it.
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Oct 23, 2016 13:36
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I think in this case it's very important for Beatrice's 'magic' that the people involved in this accept her as reality, even if it's kinda nonsense. Like looking at a blue sky and calling it red, it still matters to Beatrice somehow. At any rate witches don't exist so no doubt Battler is suffering some inner turmoil as real murders happen and is working out the case against his relatives who don't want to blame each other. Or the mystery behind the gold.
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Oct 23, 2016 16:11
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Qrr posted:I'm amused by Battler saying basically "no matter how many times you magically make me live through those days again, I won't believe in magic. I also won't believe in you, the person I am having this conversation with". Magic time travel is nonsense.  Obviously Battler and Beatrice are using their position in Purgatory to peek into an alternate universe. 
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Oct 23, 2016 17:03
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Battler obviously thinks he's either drugged or talking to an alien humanoid that uses technology too advanced for some teens in the 80's to comprehend so they would normally dismiss it as magic.
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Oct 23, 2016 18:17
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I more or less assume that the events taking place up to Beatrice saying the pieces were all set up is the same as last time. We just did not see them happen before.
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Oct 23, 2016 18:32
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I think it's less that Battler doesn't believe in magic so much as Battler doesn't want Beatrice to win. And good job Kinzo, holding back on the  Beatrice this time.
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Oct 23, 2016 18:35
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He did say it once, though, which brings the tally up to 23.
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Oct 23, 2016 18:56
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I've only read the last LP but I always took the Battler vs Beatrice scenes to be on a completely different narrative level from the real world, since they don't make a lick of sense otherwise.
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Oct 23, 2016 20:57
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So sometime help me out with understanding Rudolf here: what did his company do that is forcing their hand so? My eyes glaze over when it comes to business talk, that's why I'm still having difficulties.
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Oct 23, 2016 20:59
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bman in 2288 posted:So sometime help me out with understanding Rudolf here: what did his company do that is forcing their hand so? My eyes glaze over when it comes to business talk, that's why I'm still having difficulties. He's getting sued by a bigger american company. For what does not really matter too much. Appearntly he infringed on their brand or something. Anyway they just got news from their lawyer that another company that was sued under similar pretext as theirs lost their trial using more or less same arguments as they were going to use. This was also not as good as Rudolf felt that other company had a better case then them as well. Anyway the company suing Rudolf is willing to reach a settlement. Appearntly because there was a shakeup in leadership and they want to get a lot of troublesome stuff over quickly to focus on internal matters. The predicted amount for the settlement is high though not as high as it would be if they lost the trial, but Rudolf's company has not yet reached the step were they will be able to get the money easily. Getting the money needed for the settlement is why Rudolf has teamed up with Eva and Rosa to extort money from Krauss.
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Oct 23, 2016 21:10
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Fabulousvillain posted:Battler obviously thinks he's either drugged or talking to an alien humanoid that uses technology too advanced for some teens in the 80's to comprehend so they would normally dismiss it as magic. Battler already takes some inspiration on how to act pervy from comedy anime, so it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to believe he's familiar with sci-fi anime too.
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Oct 23, 2016 21:24
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EagerSleeper posted:Battler already takes some inspiration on how to act pervy from comedy anime, so it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to believe he's familiar with sci-fi anime too. I was really thinking of something like Star Trek when I said that since that is exactly what happens in that show at times. And one of the soundtracks in this had audio from an episode for whatever reason so it just came to mind. But I guess sci-fi anime would come to mind in the 80s as well.
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Oct 23, 2016 21:31
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Prof, Can we get a video of Ohara and Daisuke screaming at each other while Answer plays in the background? I mean it's really the Heart of Umineko, right there.
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Oct 23, 2016 22:31
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oath2order posted:Prof, Can we get a video of Ohara and Daisuke screaming at each other while Answer plays in the background? Request received! I'll record and upload it tonight.
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Oct 23, 2016 22:39
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ProfessorProf posted:He did say it once, though, which brings the tally up to 23.
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Oct 23, 2016 23:10
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MonsterEnvy posted:He's getting sued by a bigger american company. For what does not really matter too much. Appearntly he infringed on their brand or something. Anyway they just got news from their lawyer that another company that was sued under similar pretext as theirs lost their trial using more or less same arguments as they were going to use. This was also not as good as Rudolf felt that other company had a better case then them as well. McRudolf's fast food was not prepared for the American market or courts.
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Oct 23, 2016 23:21
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Mercury Hat posted:McRudolf's fast food was not prepared for the American market or courts. Hey Hideyoshi is the one who owns a restaurant chain.
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Oct 23, 2016 23:58
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Kinzo's BEEEEOOOOTRICHEEEE is nothing compared to the myriad ways in which Battler's name is going to get yelled before this is over
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Oct 24, 2016 01:01
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Rodyle posted:Kinzo's BEEEEOOOOTRICHEEEE is nothing compared to the myriad ways in which Battler's name is going to get yelled before this is over I'm eager to hear Kinzo saying "OOOH, BATTLER!". Wait, not eager, concerned.
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Oct 24, 2016 05:53
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| # ? May 10, 2024 04:00 |
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A new video has been recorded, and will now be added to the previous update.
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Oct 24, 2016 13:28
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