[ThereminVox]

The first mention of Titus Andronicus set me on edge in a way I haven't been since the last time an infamous work of fiction started getting referenced in another one of Urobuchi's works.

Titus Andronicus is probably Shakespeare's most brutally violent play, not so much for the death count as for the torturous and stomach-turning nature of the violence, particularly the fate of Titus' daughter, Lavinia. It depicts a vicious spiral of revenge mostly between the titular Roman general Titus, and the Gothic queen he captures and brings to Rome.

Some observations:

- Rikako's direct message user icon appears to be a crab

- Rikako closes her sketchpad when Yoshika enters the art room. The sketch of the girl she was working on looks similar to the fountain "art" piece, which I'm guessing is the missing Satsuki Kuzuhara

- Lavinia, Titus' daughter in Shakespeare's play is raped, has her arms cut off, and her tongue sliced out by the Goth queen's sons. Eventually, she is killed by her own father (out of "duty"), but not before he bakes her tormentors' heads into a pie, and serves it to their unsuspecting mother. At the end of Episode 6, Rikako is sketching a nude portrait of Yoshika with harsh, thick lines cutting through her upper arms and throat

- Yoshika fears her stepfather's intentions towards her. Lavinia pleads for quick death, but more for her chastity from the Goth queen before she is mutilated.


Shakespeare aside, I'd like to add that the scene that raised my eyebrows the most was the drinking scene that Akane had with Kagari. It's yet another moment showing that no matter what the stimuli, it seems like it's almost impossible to compromise Akane's mental state. I wouldn't have guessed that from a girl who shot her own enforcer on her first case, but between this and her friends marveling at her "psychological beauty" in episode 2, this show sure does like to keep giving us reminders that she's a marvel of mental stability. I'm sure this will not come into play later.