This either ends with Mustard dying or Maggie going even more around the bend because the story is demanding she kill her sister when she doesn’t REALLY want to.
Which just goes to show. Whoever Mustard WAS once…. everything she did does matter. She mattered for someone. She did make herself the hero she was trying to replace, even if it was just this once. (Presumably she did a lot more good then this, but this is what we’re seein rn)
I get the feeling Mcbell is about to go do something irrevocable and/or stupid as well. Unless she already knows she’s delivering this soliloquy as ironic juxtaposition to Mustard’s fate (in which case what the heck, Mcbell?), why else spend this much time on a confession she could deliver in person?
Sorry for the wall of text, but honestly? The more impending character death death tropes get pinned on Mustard, the less I think she’s going to die.
Because Echo is dead certain* that between herself, Mustard, and McBell, at least one of the three is going to kill at least one other. Every fourth-wall-breaking bone** in her genre-savvy body is screaming this at her.
But why does she believe it? Because she thinks a happy ending is passe. A clown? Being happy? How trite. No, she very explicitly says to Mustard, a clown’s story should end in tears. She is, to put it simply, irony-poisoned. Her whole schtick is that she takes other clowns’ routines and throws a twisted version back in their faces. She is the ironic Echo.***
But if she’s right that the story isn’t heading for a cliché, then she’s definitely wrong about the tears. Chronologically-ambiguous setting notwithstanding, for us, on the side of the fourth wall that Echo thinks she understands so well, that irony is well over a decade out of fashion. “But doctor, I am Pagliacci” is so old that even memeing on it is dated. Sincerity is what’s now new and refreshing.
And sincerity is something Mustard and McBell have in spades. They’ve worked long and hard to earn it.
* Pun not intended but I’m keeping it.
** That one was intended
*** That’s gonna come across a whole lot less dramatic if I’m not allowed to use HTML.
Part of me thinks that might be the case. I didn’t consider it on that deep a level but part of me thought the series must be setting up some subversion on the death flags trope with all these death flags. Add to that the alt text returning and maggie just might be wrong afterall.
It’s also kinda rude to keep pinning all these death flags on me, McBell.”
That hat of Mustard’s getting bigger with each passing Art Evolution.
At this point she’s competing with Phantasy Star Online’s FOnewearl and FOnewm for “biggest clown hat” – and I think she might be winning.
Well if I was unsure before not anymore. Mustard’s definitely gonna die now! Geez.
Alt text for mobile readers:
“Then a lady dressed like Pikachu showed up and said she was my lawyer. No it wasn’t a dream, stop asking that.”
I don’t see the resemblance, myself. Too much red in her outfit.
It’s the big red dots on the cheeks mostly, I think.
If McBell’s one of the two extremely genre-aware characters in this, how does she not realize this sort of talk is basically ensuring Mustard’s death?
(To be fair, she still has non-meta motivation for her actions, like Maggie apparently doesn’t.)
“Whoops, accidentally made a one panel death montage of my mentor.”
This either ends with Mustard dying or Maggie going even more around the bend because the story is demanding she kill her sister when she doesn’t REALLY want to.
I keep forgetting just how awesome that hat is!
Also, this is a really LONG answering machine message!
Now I’m just getting more and more convinced Mustard is going to die and McBell’s gonna become Binky’s new cop buddy… :'(
One of these two is gonna die, but I’m not sure which
My angel in grease paint
Oh my god Mustard is going to die. Shes so dead.
I need that hat.
Which just goes to show. Whoever Mustard WAS once…. everything she did does matter. She mattered for someone. She did make herself the hero she was trying to replace, even if it was just this once. (Presumably she did a lot more good then this, but this is what we’re seein rn)
That’s so true. She was a bad person. Now she’s a hero. And her own sister couldn’t see that. But mcbell could.
I get the feeling Mcbell is about to go do something irrevocable and/or stupid as well. Unless she already knows she’s delivering this soliloquy as ironic juxtaposition to Mustard’s fate (in which case what the heck, Mcbell?), why else spend this much time on a confession she could deliver in person?
Or maybe it’s all catharsis.
Sorry for the wall of text, but honestly? The more impending character death death tropes get pinned on Mustard, the less I think she’s going to die.
Because Echo is dead certain* that between herself, Mustard, and McBell, at least one of the three is going to kill at least one other. Every fourth-wall-breaking bone** in her genre-savvy body is screaming this at her.
But why does she believe it? Because she thinks a happy ending is passe. A clown? Being happy? How trite. No, she very explicitly says to Mustard, a clown’s story should end in tears. She is, to put it simply, irony-poisoned. Her whole schtick is that she takes other clowns’ routines and throws a twisted version back in their faces. She is the ironic Echo.***
But if she’s right that the story isn’t heading for a cliché, then she’s definitely wrong about the tears. Chronologically-ambiguous setting notwithstanding, for us, on the side of the fourth wall that Echo thinks she understands so well, that irony is well over a decade out of fashion. “But doctor, I am Pagliacci” is so old that even memeing on it is dated. Sincerity is what’s now new and refreshing.
And sincerity is something Mustard and McBell have in spades. They’ve worked long and hard to earn it.
* Pun not intended but I’m keeping it.
** That one was intended
*** That’s gonna come across a whole lot less dramatic if I’m not allowed to use HTML.
Part of me thinks that might be the case. I didn’t consider it on that deep a level but part of me thought the series must be setting up some subversion on the death flags trope with all these death flags. Add to that the alt text returning and maggie just might be wrong afterall.
Part of me also thinks that maybe the irony poisoning came from plat sr. Since before she seemed pretty sincere.
The hero of the story remembers Mustard as a hero. The villain of the story remmebers Mustard as a villain. Who’s the real Mustard?
Oh no, she’s doing the anime closed eyes smile. Someone’s going to die for real.
McBell understands the meta, what if she removes herself from the equation before Echo can cause something irreversible to happen to Mustard?