#i love bbattler regardless

[batbeato]

I have a lot of headcanons/theories/thoughts about Black Battler but I... usually put a lot of them into my fics and don't really talk about them. Maybe a bit too much "show, don't tell". So here we go.

First thing is: who created Black Battler? Since he was meant to be in Land, he was originally created by Sayo (which is sort of supported by how Beatrice mentions Black Battler being her "piece" and asking him to entertain her in a Golden Fantasia story). But, in forgery no. XX, Black Battler isn't being written by Sayo - he's being written by some unknown forgery author, and it's implied that there are a lot of authors/witches who write him.

There's also Tohya to consider - Black Battler explicitly addresses Tohya in forgery no. XX, and Tohya also seems to worry about Black Battler - or at least, about the possibility that Battler was the culprit. Since Black Battler is an "Ushiromiya Battler who can be the culprit", there's a connection there from Tohya's end too.

In forgery no. XX, Ryukishi invokes the idea of the eternal catbox of Rokkenjima as a cyclical nightmare, where Black Battler lives and continues to act out bloody forgeries ("After all, the eternal catbox truly was in his hands. After all, the recurring nightmare was how he imagined it."). He talks about how Black Battler is given his power by the witches/spectators who want to see a culprit Battler ("Who even called someone like you here?" / "It was the unstoppably huge number of spectators who expect to see me as the culprit, and those nameless conductors who bestow that dream upon me", and "With every forgery that is written, ...and with each story that is spun around Ushiromiya Battler being the culprit, ...the entity called 'me' is growing in power"). We also have other lines in forgery no. xx, like "I will repeat this mad night for eternity... just the way you like it" followed by "Let's fall together to the bottom of that eternal darkness, while we tightly embrace one another" which seem to be directed at Sayo (framing this repetition as a 'romantic' and twisted act) and affirm the idea of Black Battler existing in a catbox of eternal suffering, just as Battler and Beatrice exist in a catbox of eternal happiness. And, just as Black Battler's existence is supported by more and more authors/witches writing about him, Battler and Beatrice's existences and happiness are supported by no one touching their sacred and final tale - a small golden catbox at the bottom of the sea, meant to rest undisturbed for all eternity. In this way, Black Battler is made out to be a lovely foil for Battler, one that I would have loved to see more of in Umineko.

Black Battler expresses concern about whether or not he is 'properly written' (an interesting idea to explore - if you are aware that you are a character, and you have many authors, how do you know if you're really you?), but in the context of "can I commit and take pleasure in violence and murder?". He defines himself by his violence, rather than any other trait, and seems to take enjoyment and pride in it, and its capacity to entertain the witches of the future. However, he also asks people to try and stop him, as he does in forgery no. XX with Tohya, and in his Ougon story with Kanon.

For me, that request - "please stop me" - is reminiscent of Sayo and also implies, to me, that he, in some part, is uncomfortable with his role. If he stopped performing his role, he would stop existing - he is only a separate entity from Battler and has an identity at all as an "Ushiromiya Battler who can be the culprit". He doesn't have a choice as to whether or not he wants to perform his role - and though he does seem to enjoy his role of enacting endless violence for entertainment, he may have more complex feelings about it than he visibly lets on.

My personal interpretation of Black Battler is someone who revels in his violence, whether it's physical or sexual, but also has a capacity for gentleness and kindness that he doesn't often exercise. It may come out veiled with that violence, or "behind the curtains" when he is not in a forgery setting, but never directly and 'publicly'.

I also see him as having a history with Sayo, imagining that they created him to cope with their feelings for Battler and to be an accomplice for them, to bear the burden of the murder. Since the Battler they knew would have been pained by committing such crimes, no matter the reason, Black Battler was made to enjoy them. His cruelty towards Sayo (towards Shannon in Ougon, and Kanon in forgery no. XX) is because Sayo doesn't feel comfortable with creating a self-indulgent kind, loving Battler, or accepting that love. It's easier if Black Battler is abusive and shows his affection in that sort of twisted, toxic way (...not very healthy, Sayo). However, since Land was lost, Black Battler was 'abandoned' by meta-Beatrice, and only has the Sayo who exists alongside him in the catbox/forgeries. While the 'real' Battler is in the Golden Land, Black Battler can never be invited there and has been forgotten about, building resentment.

I also have an AU where Tohya is a system and Black Battler is an alter, to focus more on the idea of Black Battler as Tohya's survivor's guilt and fears of Ushiromiya Battler/identity loss. It's fun to play with Black Battler in different contexts.

If Umineko ever starts receiving more new writing from Ryukishi, I hope Black Battler gets to have a role in it.