#Esther rambles

[esther-on-fire]

predictably, i am absolutely feral about the new sleater-kinney record

[crabsnpersimmons]

exam 5 for me... tomorrow!

honestly have been feeling really nervous for this exam since my classmates have either failed it or just barely passed. and i had less time to study this time around because i rushed to book the exam.

so i drew this little encouragement early cuz i need the reminder that no matter what happens tomorrow, i did what i could and i didn't compromise on my boundaries—and that is its own victory.

and i hope that you'll be reminded to celebrate your own big and small victories too!

"You are nervous and that's okay! You did your best! You set boundaries! You took breaks! We're so proud of you, Starlight! Whatever happens, we'll always be here, cheering you on!"

[dead-enby-detective]

I wonder how much this scene plays a role in Monty choosing to target Edwin over Charles after Esther sends him to befriend the boys and then later how it impacts him falling for Edwin.

Edwin is the first one to enter so he’s the first one Monty sees.

Monty doesn’t crow when Edwin enters the house but waits until Charles enters. Does he already like Edwin better? Did he see Edwin and see something special?

Charles immediately responds to the crowing by telling him to hush. Did Charles’s words stick with him after Esther gave him a human body and mind and feelings? Were his feelings hurt or was he just annoyed by it?

Edwin pulls his gloves off as he passes Monty’s cage, does he think about that after becoming human? The way Edwin takes off a piece of his armor right before going into danger?

After Edwin tell his partner he believes in Charles’s ability to open the lock, Monty crows, and Charles sasses back. Edwin pays him no mind. Does that frustrate him, later when he’s human?

After Charles opens the lock, Edwin is the one who figures out that cabinet is a trick door.

I may not like Esther but she is clever. Was Monty learning from her the entire time he was her familiar? Does he take after her in that way? Always learning, always being wanting to be clever?

Monty, is shown soon after becoming human, to have a vast knowledge of zodiac signs. Did he learn all that in that short time span or was some of it things he’s taken in from Esther over the years? How much had he learned from her, from her spells, her books over the years?

Was he “raised” to appreciate cleverness even as a crow? Did he admire Edwin’s cleverness from the beginning?

Did he become human and immediately think back to when they first entered the house and wonder if Edwin would appreciate cleverness in return? Would appreciate the opportunity to learn something new from him? Hoped that they could be clever together?

There’s just so much to this scene from Monty’s perspective that I think we should consider.

Did he ever wonder if he was clever enough, would it be enough for Edwin to give him a chance?

Like he said, he never asked to be human… did he hope that, when the time came, with all his cleverness, that Edwin would understand that?

That he had never really had a chance in the first place?

[anxious-witch]

Okay, maybe I am way off with this, but doesn't Cat King seem to adhere by very specific set of rules? Which yeah, duh, he is a trickster, but what I mean is, he can't seem to be able to initiate any action?

We know he kept an eye on the boys and Crystal even before he met them, I'd wager even before Edwin leashed his cat. But he didn't approach until Edwin did so, as if Edwin activated it that way. And sure, we could say it was because he messed with one of his subjects and while I am sure there is truth in that, it's a THEME.

He has eyes everywhere. I don't buy it for a second that he didn't immediately know who Monty is. So why not tell Edwin and the rest immediately? Could be to see where this will go, but it doesn't feel that way. Why would he let Monty flirt with Edwin, if he could stop him? Even after Monty kisses Edwin, the Cat King doesn't appear. Why? Because Monty isn't hurting Edwin yet. The kiss, as awkward as it was, does seem to be genuine on Monty's part.

No. The Cat King only gets involved when Monty is actively working to betray Edwin. Only then he can swoop in, give away Monty's secret and steal his kiss as payback.

Generally, it seems he has to somehow mirror the actions taken? A leash for a leash, a kiss for a kiss, a betrayal for a betrayal.

Also, the bit with Esther. He says "magic doesn't work on me", and yet he doesn't try to use magic on Esther in turn. Is it because she cannot use magic on him, he can't as well? Which renders him powerless against her.

She uses a loophole to kill him, aka she kills him by force since she cannot do so by magic. And what does he do? He can't use magic against her but he can give Crystal a secret loophole on how to kill Esther. He can tell her about he deal with Lilith.

Also as this post points out, as much as he gets into Edwin's space, when Edwin moves towards him, he pulls back. Furthermore, the only two times Edwin invades his space (ie in the forest when he tells him "this is all that you are" and in the last episode when he kisses him) Cat King seems almost frozen. As if he is bound to see how far Edwin is going to take the action before he can react.

I wonder if he can kiss him at all, without Edwin initating first. With Monty, he could, because it was payback for stealing Edwin's kiss. But he didn't harm him further. Why? Unless he is somehow bound to some unknown set of rules.

Idk. I just thought it was an interesting pattern

[vizual-static]

I got a comment on crow fic that made me think about Esther’s relationship to Monty as a familiar: In some media (*cough* WBN pod *cough*), a familiar can be a part of a witch’s personality or soul that she chooses to externalize in order to better serve her station or be better at witchcraft. So it’s not just a loyal pet or a little magic animal helper, but an actual manifestation of some part of her.

So now I kinda like the idea that after being betrayed by her husband, Esther chose to remove her desire for love and put it in a familiar so that she herself never has to suffer the hurt again, and she can be more cut-throat and cruel without worrying about feeling shitty over the social ostracization or lack of connection for hundreds of years. (This works well too since crows are social creatures.)

Not to say that Monty doesn’t get to be a like, an autonomous character. But I do think his relationship to Esther, whether maternal/ familial or having started as a piece of her, colors everything else about his character.

[psalm40speakstome]

Dongfang Qingcang: my emotions are dead, I can use hellfire, I feel nothing ever

Also Dongfang Qingcang: gave Orchid back her hair within minutes of meeting her because she was crying

[eatyourmaker]

The ocs I previously mentioned

Esther and Estella, the twin stars.

Both are dead, and have been sacrificed to the eyes

Now they cast a haunting presence over the town, mainly the old mansion on the hill, the forest and Skid's house.

They were traumatized in their death, and so often end up scaring people in accident by lashing out and causing some serious hauntings. But they're good girls at the end of the day and would get along well with Skid and Pump.

They have a crippling fear of adults though

I don't even have to state the source of inspiration for these two, y'all already know 😭

[chialattea]

so, pentiment! great game. very normal about it. why the fuck didnt i get the option to elope with esther.

[meraki-yao]

I'm watching Dead Boy Detectives with my sister and

episode 1

Esther the Witch: "MONTY!!! JESUS!!! I'm trying to threaten some kids"

My sister: "Oh I genuinely forgot that Jesus was an exclamation and thought there was another bird named Jesus"

episode 2

*Esther doing witchcraft shit

My sister: "she gives me the vibes of a wine aunt who went to jail"

will update this list as we go

[esthercore]

Aventurine is the most tainted, insecure, broken, pathetic, suicidal, and mentally fucked bitch in the entire cast, lol. This man was meant for angst, not happy endings, never, he's my token hurt no/minimal comfort man,

Similarly, Sunday is just meant to be a yandere, i can never imagine this man to be normal, he to is fucked in head but in a more obsessive way. His need for power and control seeps in every aspect of his life. He needs everything to be perfect to be able to sleep at night, especially his relationship. Hence even in the most normal/non yandere coded scenario, he still remains borderline controlling, obsessive and demanding.

But, despite their differences both are the type to latch on the person they love, growing heavily dependent. Perhaps it be due the lack of a normal/healthy parental figure in their childhood or the lack of a normal family and companionship that's dependent on feelings and connections rather than merely transactional.

In the end they are both boys that craved to be genuinely loved and not be taken advantage of, and to be appreciated for who they truly are and not their facades.

Just in need of some true unadulterated love.

[raphs-rhapsody]

dbd promptober day 4 ~ light

[esther-on-fire]

wait WHAT-- imagine what could have been! goddamn it cis people

[aceinacloset]

wait you’re in the cuphead fandom?! :D who’s your favorite boss/character? :3

Wiped out my Cupsona for this, hope y'all like her.

Well, move from the DLC backward...

Esther Windcheater, something about her design and boss fight, just struck a cord with me, and I became obsessed. I also am just a sucker for Cow girls.

.

Chalice was so silly and fun in the DLC. I love her.

.

Cala Maria, I love sea creature characters, madusa, my beloved. Love Cala, I love her battle, so fun.

.

Werner Werman, silly rat German in a can.

.

Baroness von bon bon, she's insane, I love her. Candy esthetic and pink.

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Grim Matchstick, he's just a little guy, but his fight is a total bitch.

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Hilda berg, I love her fight and her design.

Fun fact: It took me half a day to beat her expert mode fight the first time I played Cuphead.

.

Love mugman, love player 2 characters

[virgilphobic]

DEAD BOY DETECTIVES SPOILERS AHEAD GO AWAY NOW IF YOU HAVENT FINISHED IT !!!

why does edwin’s voice change on his confession to charles?

my thoughts;

the simultaneous pitch change and voice crack in edwin’s confession of “charles i love you. as more than a friend, i’m afraid.” is a clear tell of edwin’s emotional turmoil.

edwin doesn’t lose his footing while speaking. ever. even when in the presence of the cat king, his tone is clear and concise. one could say that it does slip from a more confident standpoint to a less confident one, but that is entirely different from the raw, heart wrenching vulnerability edwin is giving out to charles. charles is edwin’s rock. his grounding force. we don’t see edwin’s speech falter any other time in the series besides when he is in hell. he keeps his wits about him and doesn’t show much emotion at all in his speech. (besides the ‘we didn’t matter, he and i.’ scene.)

i think he faltered because he knew that he wasn’t ready to say it, but he needed to because he didn’t know if he would be guaranteed to make it back to say it to charles later.

there is a clear desperate and scared tone to his voice, and he cracks while getting the sentence out. he also retreats his voice a bit, showing that he genuinely was scared. he was horrified. but he would rather charles know than have him not.

looking at edwin’s character interacting and talking to literally anyone else, (niko, monty, crystal, esther, mick, etc.) he has a sharp tone to his voice. a resonance that is both clear and confident. this is a complete 180 from the edwin we see on those stairs in ep 7, and i don’t think people are paying just as much attention to it as they should be.

edwin’s voice is his shield, and he lowered it for charles.

imagine you are in battle. would you lower your shield/armor for the person you love to tell them your feelings you might never get to act upon?

for edwin, that answer was a yes. even if it was one of the hardest things that boy has ever done.

[sweetpea-sprite]

[not-equippedforthis]

adore rudyard being just....endearing to animals, for some reason (excluding esther here...unless). his best friend is a mouse called madeleine. he manages to win over chapman's dog without the slightest meaning to. type of person to meet a cat and it trails behind him for 5 blocks and hes like why are you FOLLOWING ME