Witch Hat Atelier

Episode 10

Not everyone sees the world the same way, and Tartah's right to be frustrated with that truth. If you're at all neurodivergent or otherwise not fitting into society's norm, it's incredibly frustrating and irritating that people can act like there's something specifically wrong with you just because you're not like everyone else. Neurological or physiological differences don't make you “wrong”; they just make you different, but getting neurotypical people to understand that can feel like an uphill battle. Like Tartah, I spent years believing that there were things I couldn't do; I, in fact, just this year decided to try to do some of them anyway and found that I can. Am I good at them? Nope! But all of those people were still wrong.

Tartah's figuring out that he's not beholden to what others (read: adults) say he can't do a whole lot earlier. Qifrey remarked before that witch society isn't accepting of those with disabilities or differences, and Tartah's the living proof of it. Because of his colorblindness, or rather, his silverwash, which is a bit different, he's been told that he can't be a witch. His inability to see colors means that he can't do advanced spells or mix pigments as a magic stationer. He's got the pointed cap, but the fact that he plays with Outsiders and doesn't wear the hat consistently indicates that he feels removed from witch culture. It's something that eats at him quietly, visible in the little details of his life, but not otherwise advertised. He's frustrated when Coco knocks over the jars, but he also assumes there's no real solution to the problem.

Things change this week when Coco's hospitalized and no doctors are around to help. Tartah feels that he's the only one who can bring his friend's fever down, and once he comes to this realization, he starts to find that there are, in fact, ways for him to work around his problem. He can't see colors, sure, but he can recognize plants, and he can use small magics. All he needs is Coco's innovation to help him with the final step, and even then, he only needs help because magic spells appear to have been deliberately withheld from him. Once Coco reverses a pulverizing spell and Tartah redraws it symmetrically, his entire world opens up. It's less that he needed Coco's skill and more that he needed her to believe in his ability to do something.

Systems of belief can be fraught things, whether we're talking about cultures, religions, or just little everyday issues. Tartah has been systematically repressed because of his perceived disability, and that taught him that he wasn't worth believing in. Coco was kept from magic because of a cataclysmic cultural shift. Agott feels worthless because of her family's lack of belief in her. In all cases, it was a single person's steadfast belief that helped to break them free. Granted, Coco's initial person was the Brimmed Cap, so the jury's still out on whether or not that was ultimately a good thing; I think right now we have to view it as neutral because both good and bad have come of it. But Coco has played that part for both Tartah and Agott, and in at least Tartah's case, has turned his life around. There's more to drawing magic than being able to see color; his draftsmanship training arguably makes him more suited to spellcrafting than most of the other apprentices we've seen. Your worth is not tied to how “normal” you are.

Although it's not the focus this week, the idea of healing magic having been eliminated is still around, forming a layer underneath Tartah's story. When he's asked if he has any interest in becoming a doctor, the question is quickly withdrawn once the doctor sees his pointed cap, as if “healing” and “witches” can't go together. Mention of medicines also acknowledges the loss of the twinned jar spell, as each medication must now be made as needed, and Coco's illness perhaps could have been cured more efficiently with medical magic. But we also see how Outsiders might have treated witch healers, as the owner of a bar that catches fire begins ordering Qifrey around as if it's his right and witches' only role is to serve. How much of a factor might this have been in forming the Pact?

I'm not sure we'll get many answers about that next week, when Agott goes to take her test. But another Brimmed Cap, who may be using invisibility magic, is stepping up to meddle with Qifrey's apprentices. Clearly, the Brimmed Caps have a network of their own. Will Agott be swayed by what they might offer?

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