#welcome back to another episode of 'otto never knows what tags to use'

[ottonevermore]

Keeping Inventory More Info & Lore

extra words & art info under the cut!

the best part of being a vtuber is i get to have lore >:} its like making an OC but also you get to be the OC

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[randomnotesofmyown]

Urasawa’s Monster (55-56)

Episode 55 - (Or, can I trust you?) 

Temma went into a bar where Eva frequented and asked for her address, then left taking away someone else's coat.

He called the hotel she stayed at, the receptionist put him through Eva's room. No answer. Temma then asked for Eva's room number and got to that in person.

Reichwein and Vardaman in a conversation, during which the counselor asked if the lawyer believed in Temma.

Vardaman's decision to continue representing Temma made his firm a hot target for interviews by reporters. And Lunge even entered his office waiting for him.

Temma went to Eva's room and found that she was no longer there.

Vardaman and Lunge in a conversation. After telling the inspector he had no information on Temma's escape, the lawyer said he had no time to socialize and asked Lunge to leave. Lunge, ignoring Vardaman’s request that he leave, took out that nameless monster picture book and talked about its author, who used many pen names, one of those, Klaus Poppe, was a German name. And Lunge's investigation of that name led him to a discovery that Vardaman's father was an acquaintance of Poppe.

Lunge went on to tell Vardaman his discovery: Poppe would hold meetings with Vardaman's father at the Red Rose Mansion instead of his other usual meeting places, and Poppe used that mansion under the name Franz Bonaparte, a big boss in the secret police force of Czechoslovakia.

Taking Lunge's words as an implication that his father was a spy, Vardaman became agitated. Lunge reiterated that he only wanted to know about Franz Bonaparte, and left.

Vardaman got a call from his wife and was going to pick her up. As the lawyer started his car, Temma entered, pointing a gun at Vardaman and demanded to know where he took Eva and what they had done to her.

Clueless, Vardaman asked Temma what he meant by "you guys". Temma said he knew their plan to kill Eva, he and Baul worked together, and Baul was the person he shot in Munich.

Vardaman stopped the car, and asked if he could trust Temma, he then talked about his father, who was imprisoned for spy charges, got vindicated after he passed away, and turned out to really have been a spy. He found out about that while studying in college. In his father's notebook was all the details that proved his father was a spy, and he was a son of a spy. The details included coded text, records of communication with the Czechoslovakia secret police, and information of people like Franz Bonaparte...

"Did he mention the Red Rose Mansion?" Temma asked.

Temma then guessed Roberto must have wanted the notebook.

Vardaman was ransacked. There was a letter addressed to Temma, asking him to go to the Red Rose Mansion. And Vardaman found the notebook safe inside the sound disc cover and passed it to Temma, saying he no longer needed it.

Outside his home, Vardaman asked if he could trust Temma. The doctor replied, "You shouldn't trust people..."

And he walked away with heavy steps. Vardaman said to himself that he wanted to believe Temma.

Vardaman arrived at the hospital, cuddled his baby and left the hospital with his wife.

End of episode 55

Episode 56 - the never ending journey (Or, blending dark fairy tales with real life)

Temma started reading the notebook. He hitch-hiked a truck and said he wanted to go to Czech border, and the driver agreed to take him. Then he handed Temma a hamburger, saying if he didn't eat it, he wouldn't make it through the long journey. Temma thought to himself, "I need to end this journey already..."

Vardaman told Reichwein he would go to the Red Rose Mansion, and the two decided to get there together.

Nina remained in Prague, still trying to recover the suppressed memories. She walked around, saw a weather vane. Wind blew. 

And she found her way to the Red Rose Mansion.

Together with Dieter, who tagged along, Nina went inside the mansion.

They walked to the room behind that dismantled wall, she pushed the door open. The memory of people died in that room returned.

Vividly.

Nina fainted.

A puppet show on the street. A protagonist killed a demon. No viewer was interested in that show. The man got home, and asked how Nina felt today.

After some casual talks, the man, Mr. Lipsky, said it was time he went to work. Nina said there was something she meant to ask him. Three months ago after she collapsed in the mansion, he found her and took her to a hospital. Why was he there?

Lipsky muttered something along the line he went there to get ideas for his puppet shows and then left.

After work, Lipsky was in his room making a new puppet. Nina knocked and walked in. She asked Lipsky what his puppet show was about.

"It's the story of a devil. A devil who leaves to find the dragon that threatens to destroy this world but almost dies in the middle of his journey. A young man passing by saves his life, though. When the young man learns the true identity of the one he saved, he goes after the devil. And at the end of his journey, the young man finds the devil, and with a knife in his hand, slays the devil."

Nina voiced her thoughts about what she would do and that she wouldn't let him do that. As a human, one would save the devil, she said.

Lipsky said he thought the story would be deemed interesting by him. The author of the picture books on his shelf.

Lipsky mentioned the name Franz Bonaparte and Nina had a flashback:

Lipsky continued talking. He mentioned the book readings at the mansion. Bonaparte would read a book to children, like, "'A deal! Let's make a deal!' said the devil. 'No! Absolutely not!' said the man with big eyes. 'Yes! Let's make a deal!' said the man with a big mouth. The man with a big mouth's yard became a flower garden. The man with big eyes became destitute and starved. The man with a big mouth was cheerful every day. He was full from all his ripened fruit. That is why he did not notice his flower garden was wilting away. In the garden where no flower would ever bloom again, the man with a big mouth cried and muttered, 'I should never have made a deal with the devil.' The man with big eyes was so hungry that he thought he would die. Shedding tears, he muttered, 'I should have made a deal with the devil.' 'A deal! Let's make a deal!' said the devil. --The man with big eyes, the man with a big mouth, by Jakub Farobek."

The book readings took place every Friday, Lipsky went on. And after finished reading a book to the children gathered there, Bonaparte would ask them if they understood the meaning of the story.

After the children got it, Bonaparte would take out another book, a book titled The God of Peace by Klaus Poppe, and said "Let's read this next".

Johan got inside the mansion and went into that room, saying to himself that all the memories came together and there he disposed of his disguise as Anna.

Lipsky continued reading The God of Peace. "The God of Peace is always busy. He is too busy to look in a mirror, and blows his horn every day. The God of Peace's horn makes everyone happy. The God of Peace is always busy. He is too busy to look in a mirror and scatter magical water. The magical water creates green mountains, ripens crops, and makes flower gardens grow. The God of Peace is always busy. He is too busy to look in a mirror, and gives everyone a name. 'Your name is Otto.' 'Your name is Hans.' 'Your name is Thomas' 'Your name is Johan.' Johan gave his hat to the god as a gift in return. The god was very happy. Because he wanted to see himself wearing the hat, he stood in front of a mirror for the first time. However, what he saw in the mirror was a devil. The devil spoke to him. 'I am you, and you are me.' 'Oh no! No one can live in peace with a devil like this! What should I do? What should I do?' So the troubled God..."

"I figured that out."

In a turtleneck (he wore one when he killed Junkers and again when Richard Braun died), Johan stood in front of the oil painting of his mother and said, "We finally meet. I'm home. Welcome back. It's me, mother. I don't think even you could have told us apart, mother. I am her, and she is me. I am you, and you are me. I understand everything now. Where we came from, and where we are heading. The weather outside is wonderful, mother."

He poured gasoline onto the floor, and lit a match. 

Fire started. He left the mansion.

Nina replied to Lipsky's question. "I understood. The god...pointed the gun at his forehead!"

Flashback of Johan pointing at his forehead.

"Shoot me."

End of episode 56.

Comment. Can't really think of anything to comment on episode 55, some rough thoughts for episode 56 though.

Johan deemed himself not worthy of living, and became so fixated with this thought that he would burn down the places he once was, and kill the people who knew him, except Anna and Dr. Temma.

And it seemed that his way of thinking was heavily influenced by the picture books Bonaparte read to him. Questions for this 56th episode, what was the relationship between Johan's mother and Bonaparte? What made her decide to flee? Did she find those dark fairy tales too creepy and she wanted her children free from that world view?

For some reasons, this character of Johan increasingly reminds me of the Andreas Lubitz, the pilot who committed suicide by crashing a plane into a mountain, taking with him the lives of 144 passengers and 6 crew members.