Arkco

"I'd like to become better friends with her if I can. If she can draw such beautiful magic, then she must have a beautiful heart, too!"

- Coco about Agott, Chapter 5

Arkco is the femslash ship between Agott Arkrome and Coco from the Witch Hat Atelier fandom.

Introduction Arc
Coco is introduced to Agott when the latter witch makes a beautiful landing in their shared room, after telling Coco to move out of the way. Agott is already aware of Coco's situation and expresses pity for her mother, yet she harshly tells the disciple that it was all her fault and that her mother would never be human again. Coco protests that it was because of this that she chose to become a witch, but Agott takes this with a sneer and disbelief. In order for Coco to prove she is a witch to Agott, the black-haired witch demands she take the witch test tomorrow.

First Pentagram Test Arc
Their next fiasco is when Coco is practicing her water magic and over-draws a keystone mark so that when she completes the glyph, water shoots out from the side, drenching Agott. Coco freaks out and frantically tries to console and apologize to Agott, even going as far as to air-dry her papers. Agott puts on an air of forced indifference and offers to correct Coco's spellwork. She teaches Coco the importance of keystone lengths. When Qifrey announces he will be leaving for a few days, Agott takes the chance to immediately push Coco into the witch test. She prepares her with instructions and a few household items, and also unexpectedly obliges with Coco's request for her flying shoes. Finally, Agott sends her on her way with the warning that if she fails, she won't be allowed to be Qifrey's disciple.

Agott justifies her actions to Tetia by saying that a witch who couldn't do magic didn't belong in the atelier. When Coco returns, for the most part, unscathed, Agott says nothing. She just fumes in silence, stalking away when Coco hands her the King's Permission flower.

Draconic Labyrinth Arc
In Karoon, Coco is busy being excited over the amount of magic in the shops, so much that Agott just directly suggests they meet up together later. When Coco is questioned about her relationship with Agott, she expresses her desire to become better friends with her.

After the pen shop, Coco suddenly dashed out to pursue the witch with forbidden magic; Agott is dragged into the chase as well against her wishes.

Facing a dragon, all four girls are terrified. Agott orders Coco to keep looking at it and slowly back up until they've gotten to the corner, but the dragon begins chasing them nearly immediately. Agott protects them for an instant with her fire magic which wows Coco. She pounces on Agott, asking questions about how she did that and if she could see more. Coco notices an odd image on one of the pillars and bumps into Agott, who is drawing a glyph. It messes up her concentration and the ink goes awry. Agott spins on her furiously, her anger flaring up. She doesn't blame Coco for too long though, because her yelling is disrupted by Richeh fixing the spell already.

After they've found the origin of the magical space, Agott immediately gets up to attack the dragon with her fire magic but feels a hand on her sleeve. Coco grabs her, reminding her that the dragon hardly flinched with fire so they should think of another idea. Coco proposes hers—distract the dragon with Tetia's clouds, an idea that Agott actually accepts.

River Rescue Arc
Days later, after the drowning victims of the river have been saved, Olruggio and Qifrey split up to check the status of the river. They depart with Richeh and Tetia, leaving Agott and Coco to distribute medicine. Yet they run into an unexpected problem: the rocks by the river collapse, trapping a boy who had climbed down to retrieve their supplies. Agott calls for Coco but hears no response, realizing that the girl had fallen along with the boulders. Agott is struck by indecision, unsure of what her next phase of plan might be. Coco snaps her out of her trance by encouraging Agott to have Coco help. Agott uses her to scout the surroundings and thinks of a distraction so the stranded witch can do her magic.

Coco floats out of the chasm unharmed and immediately leaps to Agott. She hugs her, expressing how glad she was that the magic worked, nearly tearing up. Agott pushes her away in startlement but applauds Coco's magic nonetheless. They don't celebrate for long, because white binding straps suddenly fly around them, tying the two together.

With Agott's back bound to Coco, she vehemently protests the memory-erasing, trying to get the councilman to listen to what they had to say. She believes that Coco would not be able to cause that much destruction with just a simple spell, and defends her as such.

Twin Bottle Arc
A few days later, Coco borrows Agott for a bit to return her ruined soarboots. She apologizes for the amount of time it took to recreate the glyph, but Agott takes all of this with suspicion. She couldn't understand why Coco didn't blame her for the first witch test. After Coco explains, she suddenly collapses in exhaustion. Agott is terrified, and she immediately goes to find Qifrey for help.

Second Pentagram Test Arc
Agott saves Coco and Tetia just as the transformed Euini is about to attack them. She makes a roughly-designed staircase so the girls can get to safety before wolf-Euini catches them, but the steps crumble underneath Coco's feet. Agott grabs her hand just as she slips and pulls her up. The witch looks into her eyes and puts her hands on her shoulders, getting ready to make a statement. For Euini to be saved, the Brimhats wanted Coco to conjure forbidden magic.

Coco stands up and looks down the cliff, supposing that it was a good thing that Euini could be saved, even if it had to be with forbidden magic. Agott is shocked, grabbing onto Coco's hands and beseeching her not to."Yeah. Thank you, Agott. You're worried about me, right?"

- Coco thanking Agott after she shows worry for her, Chapter 28

With Tetia, the two girls try to come up with ideas to return Euini back to his former self. Coco suggests maybe negating the effects with an inverse spell, bringing silence upon the other two witches. Both Agott and Tetia are stunned by the idea but quickly latch onto it, seeing as it wasn't forbidden, yet.

Great Hall Arc
After they've all safely left the Serpentback Cave, Coco notices how glum Agott was looking and asks her what's wrong. Agott knows it's a small thing, but is just disappointed that she couldn't finish the second test on her own. With a smile, Coco reassures her that without Agott's help, she wouldn't have made it through, so she thinks Agott is perfectly capable. Coco extends a hand but is brushed off when Agott enters the portal herself.

In the bath, Agott says with a blush that she wouldn't mind teaching Coco some of her magic due to being impressed by Coco's soarboots. Richeh and Tetia gasp in surprise, deeming the kindness of Agott, "Agaffection" (A play on the name Agathe [Agott] and affection). Both Agott and Coco are reddening now, one out of embarrassment, one out of appreciation.

As Coco is following Sage Beldaruit around for the second day of her test, she encounters Loroga, who asks her if Agott really failed the second test. He warns her to stay away from Agott because she was accused of trying to play off somebody else's magic as her own for her debut. Coco glares at him, not believing a word he says. But at this point, Agott comes upon the two talking, and her face goes white.

She dashes behind the pole she came from, with Coco hot on her heels. When Agott pauses, it's only to confirm if Coco believed in Loroga's words. Coco stays stubborn, unable to accept that Agott would've ever done that, but it only makes Agott angrier. She grabs Coco's cloak and pushes her into the wall, demanding a reason why Coco wouldn't think so."Well... I've seen you so often while you're drawing. I know a lot about the glyphs Agott makes. So... I know. Agott would never forgive herself for doing that. I know."

- Coco displaying her trust in Agott, Chapter 33

Agott stops for a moment, but it doesn't change anything for her. Despite everything, she still wants to become a librarian so her family will take her back. Suddenly, her words light up something in Coco's brain, who grabs onto her in excitement and proceeds to jump off the balcony railing. Agott follows her in confusion, wondering how Coco got from there to figuring out their test.

As Coco is about to tell her plan to Agott, she shushes her, reminding her that it was still a test and should keep it to herself. But Coco doesn't agree with that. With Agott's help, she says, they'll be able to satisfy Sage Beldaruit! Agott is only partially swayed by this, but her determined state is broken down by Tetia and Richeh also agreeing to Coco's plan. Finally, she decides to join in, remarking that she did promise to teach Coco.

Their plan to lure in Sage Beldaruit works and the four girls cheer in unison. Agott remembers how Coco put all of her faith in her and reaches out to say something, but withdraws her hand at the last moment.

Silver Night Festival Prologue Arc
Agott spots Coco asleep at her desk and moves to drape a blanket over her, but at the last moment, she falters, surprised why she would even think of doing something like that. Embarrassed, she frantically folds the blanket back but notices Coco's spellwork at that moment. Curious, she bends over to check and wonders why Coco was still using such elementary spells. Nevertheless, when morning comes, Agott's blanket ends up draped over Coco.

Silver Eve Arc
When Agott hears that Coco's suggestion to sell her spell isn't accepted, she breathes out a sigh of relief—but then suddenly catches herself, wondering why she could've thought that. She sits by with a book in hand, seeing Coco run off and wondering why she seemed eager to sell something.

A day later, Agott wakes up at night to find Coco mumbling to herself from the bed nearby. She creeps out and lifts the cover, seeing Coco hunched over some papers, trying to draw something. Upon hearing Agott, Coco reveals the stack of white papers on her bed and desperately asks Agott what to do if she can't draw magic anymore. Agott listens to her rant in distress, slowly understanding a bit of what Coco means. But when Coco wonders aloud if she might not really be a witch anymore, Agott reaches out to say something comforting. She stops herself awkwardly and just decides to go back to bed. She suggests that Coco do the same, too. Lying down, Agott consoles herself by assuring herself that it was Coco's personal problem and she had nothing to do with it.

Her train of thought goes in two different directions; in one, she is thinking about how beneficial it will be for her if Coco drops out of the competition, however, on the other hand, Agott buries her face into her pillow when she seemingly realizes something about her feelings towards Coco, despite how much she tries to reject them. She's struck by indecision over why she feels an inclination to help her, even when she should be jealous of the young girl's skills."Coco always catches my eye, no matter what she does. She can still only use easy magic, and hasn't done anything particularly difficult yet. But she can still come up with things that I can't, even when I've wanted to. If she's crushed by her worries, and disappears from my sight, then I'm sure I won't have to worry so much. And my heart won't be so uneasy."

- Agott's thoughts about Coco, Chapter 58

Even her best attempts at logical reasoning fail. Agott can't stand it anymore and jerks the blanket off her head. She decides to help Coco, going against her own thoughts and demanding that the witch listens to her—all the while shouting angry insults at herself for not staying out of Coco's problems. In an angrily reassuring way, Agott shouts that Coco's magic-block problem happened to all of them, surprising Coco. Agott lists a multitude of reasons why she might experience it, before finally stopping, out of breath and red-faced. Faced with Agott's outburst, Coco is shocked but continues to listen to the black-haired witch rant. Agott, avoiding Coco's eyes, reassures her that it happens to all of them, attributing the magic-block as "that".

Coco laughs a little, wiping tears from her eyes as she tells Agott that she should say more uplifting words or else she won't understand what Agott is trying to say. She thanks Agott for her advice, saying that it made her feel a bit better. Agott spots Tetia's foot slide down from above Coco's bunk bed and suggests that they go outside for a bit so as to not wake up the other students.

As they sit on a bridge overlooking the city, Agott asks Coco why she suddenly planned on joining the Silver Night Procession. Agott learns that Coco is doing the magic for someone else, and points out to herself how they're opposites in that way; Coco draws for others, and Agott draws for herself. Agott recommends Coco try drawing magic just for herself, bringing out her own notebook of favorite magic glyphs. She activates the glyph and they lean in, watching as a flower of light blooms from the paper. Coco reminisces about Qifrey's water flower, and then Agott reminds her that she splashed her with water right afterward.

Agott apologizes at last for the mean things she said to Coco and her mother on the first day, promising to never do that again. Coco takes that a little apathetically, but accepts her apology and talks about the things that Agott has taught her in turn. She asks if Agott would mind teaching her some of the fun glyphs, which Agott eagerly agrees to do.

Together, they laugh over the magic that they draw, bonding finally, over the things that bring them together.

The day after, Agott finds Coco working seriously on her magic and feels a chill wash over her. Despite everything she said last night, she was still a bit jealous of what Coco could do. But even so, she would try her hardest to win because Coco helped make her a better person.

When Agott and Coco encounter Loroga again, Coco intensely defends Agott from the older boy's accusations of her cheating. She calls Agott's magic amazing and other positive adjectives, causing the black-haired girl to blush. Coco defiantly tells Loroga off, even going into Agott's more private matters to prove that she's no different from any other hard-working witch. Agott flushes furiously, realizing that Coco watched her all the time."But it's fine now. Coco believes in me, so I can believe in my own power."

- Agott about to go on stage, Chapter 60

Coco trips onstage with her water-purifying invention and is about to fall into hopelessness when, she hears her name called. Agott has jumped out of the windowway early, just to cheer on Coco. She takes her hand and pushes her to do better, to work past the failure. Coco realizes this just as well and grabs Agott's hand. With their hands intertwined between them, Agott tells Coco of a plan she has. Immediately, Coco begs to hear it. Agott remarks that Coco is the type of person who can genuinely ask for advice even on a such a large stage, unlike herself.

Agott proclaims Coco a witch because she always drew magic for the sake of others, likening Coco's magic-less self to the unknowings that watched them on the ground. With a vibrant smile, she lets go of the jar and takes ahold of Coco's hand, bringing her up so she can see Agott's magic in work. Agott's flying fish made from the purified water encircle them and Coco gasps in astonishment.

Coco realizes that she needed to acknowledge all the people that used magic, as well as the ones that used magic, like her and Agott. The Arkrome girl nods, content to be able to teach Coco the importance of making magic for herself as well as others. She gladly takes on the challenge of sharing that state of mind, for she has much selfishness to give away.

Moments

 * Coco felt bad about ruining Agott's soarboots so she fixed them up on her own time. Tetia remarks that her handiwork is so impressive that they look brand-new.
 * When Coco asks if she can just watch over the apprentice witches as they construct the cloud spell, Agotte agrees, to a lot of frenzied happiness from Coco.
 * Coco watches Agott in order to learn how to make perfect circles.
 * Coco thinks of Agott when the rain has cleared up, wanting to invite her to the picnic as well.
 * Agott travels to the fields on her own and ends up thinking about Coco's situation.
 * Qifrey tells Coco that Agott is still using the soarboots that she returned, despite them being extremely fast and slightly off-kilter. Coco is delighted to find that Agott finds them interesting.
 * Agott tries to protect Coco and herself by pretending that Coco had already had her memory wiped and sent back home.
 * Agott compliments Coco's spellwork and guesses that Qifrey will surely enjoy it.
 * Agott cuts Coco and Tartah's conversation short when they are getting too close.
 * Olruggio mentions that he's never seen Agott laugh as hard except when she was with Coco.
 * Right before the Silver Night Procession, both Coco and Agott are worried about how their invention will be taken.

Quotes
"I apologize. I swear, I will never harass you like that again."

- Agott apologizing to Coco, Chapter 58

"But now, Coco is drawing magic for herself, not for anyone else. And I'm not drawing for myself, but for Coco. When you think of the other person's smile, it comes naturally."

- Agott's thoughts, Chapter 58

"I'm envious, unsympathetic, and horribly dazzled, by Coco, who has found a breakthrough. But even so, I can't help but think that if she weren't here, I'd be an even worse version of myself. I won't lose, either."

- Agott about Coco, Chapter 59

"Agott's magic is amazing! It's because she worries a lot, and works so hard at drawing! And because she thinks a lot, studies a lot, suffers, and puts in so much effort!"

- Coco defending Agott, Chapter 60

Fanon
It's one of the most popular ships in the fandom alongside Orufrey. Its het ship counterpart would be Tarcoco, but it is also commonly shipped alongside Coustah. It's very well-liked because of how Agott blushes frequently whenever Coco turns her attention on her and how Coco admires Agott's skill in drawing magic. They started out as not-quite-rivals, but because of Coco's dedication to becoming friends, Agott warmed up to her and now they have a friendly relationship with each other. Their preferred uses of magic are opposites, as Coco prefers to draw her magic in order to help other people, while Agott's magic is mainly drawn for herself. But they each help the other open up to new ideas and fittingly play off their current knowledge.

A popular headcanon for Agott is that she is lesbian, as she hasn't shown any indication to like anybody else. Her actions towards Coco are much less harsh than how she usually acts to others, which is even noticed by Richeh and Tetia who deem it "Agaffection". The way that Coco didn't seem to recuperate Tartah's feelings when he asks her if she felt the same way is also a hint that many fans take to mean that she might like someone else (or just not like Tartah).

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