#cause the requiem series was like that

[strunmah-mah]

[image description: A black woman in a cops uniform holds a gun on a tall muscled white man. He has his back to her as she tries to arrest him.

The man says: You don’t understand! Power comes to me in dreams! I’m to be the God-Scourge of Boston! I’ supposed to wash the streets clean of Blacks and Jews and mongrels and perverts and . . .

The woman interrupts: Yeah, yeah. Everybody’s a god today. You have the right to remain silent.

/description end]

source: Artemis: Requiem #2

Can DC bring back Hank Jessup? It’s criminal that she only every appeared in the one mini series

She was a cop who got fired for abandoning her post guarding a warehouse because she went and stopped a murder nearby instead. Artemis was there, saw what happened and basically went, “You’re boss sucks, I’m kidnapping you to fight demons with me.” And Hank was 100% one board with this

Their friendship was the best part of this series and then Hank never showed up again.

Artemis is one of those characters that needs more friends. And it wouldn’t be that hard to tie Hank into Artemis’s new rebirth backstory of being a mercenary. DC should bring her back.

[projectdestati]

Hi I’m sorry to bother you, but I was wondering if you had that post that’s like “the connecting themes of BBS/KH2/KH game” cause I can’t find it and I need it :c

Oh yea! That's our video series on the youtube channel "Green Requiem". Here's a link to the current 10-video playlist. (KH3 video is still in the works) I recommend the Chi and KH2 videos--those are my favorites

[that-ari-blogger]

"Eda, do you have kids?" (Eda's Requiem)

The Owl House is a series about identity and the freedom to express oneself the way they wish. It explores the ways in which that affects relationships with others and oneself. Self-image, mental health, love, all fall under this bracket. This is partly why I would refer to The Owl House as a queer story rather than just a story with a queer protagonist. It engages with the concept in a nuanced way that I think is interesting.

The Owl House is also about family. The theme was present at the beginning, but it was very much a background thought. However, season two examined this idea in a ton more detail, through the Golden Guard, through Amity, and even through the side characters.

But the single best part of The Owl House is its ability to weave themes together. Family and identity are parts of each other. A family is a group of people with a shared identity, and a persons sense of self is usually defined by their experiences with their family. That is why found family is a part of family, it’s not about blood, it’s about connection.

This duality is directly the cause of my two favourite episodes in the show, Reaching Out, and Eda’s Requiem, the latter of which deals with a crisis of identity and a juxtaposition of past and future.

Let me explain.

SPOILERS AHEAD (The Owl House)

How does Eda define herself?

That is a question that grows more complicated over time. She is the Owl Lady, the most powerful witch in the Boiling Isles, which is a neat thing have while it remains true. However, she stops being that at the end of season one, and still clings to the moniker, why?

“How did you become the Owl Lady with your stage fright?”

It’s a persona, an act that she puts on to impress everyone, including herself. It is an identity that she wears like a mask, and who would know more about wearing masks than Raine Whispers.

I’m going to take a brief moment to talk about my favourite little detail in the series, and I give all credit to @Idlescreee’s video, Names in The Owl House: Breakdown and Analysis, which pointed this out to me.

I am one of those people for whom silence makes my skin crawl, and so I like to put on music or white noise while I work. One of my go to sounds is that of rain, I am literally listening to it as I write this post.

So Raine Whispers is a quiet name about the beauty of nature and the quietness of a natural sound. Perfect for a bard, right?

Well, not exactly. Context gives meaning more than anything else, and Raine’s context is the Boiling Isles, in which the rain is acid, making a hissing sound as it destroys everything in its path. Raine Whispers is a name that refers to the fury of nature. It is quaint at first glance but could destroy you if given the chance. A fitting name for a spy.

In any case, the purpose of Raine in this episode is to provide a contrast to Eda, they are someone from their past who has changed a lot since the two last met. Raine is unconditionally the wisest character in the series, and their ability to read people is unrivalled. So, they can see through any illusion she throws up.

They are also the first named non-binary character in the series, and it is a neat piece of storytelling that a character who’s sense of identity involves not being confined by binary gender would be against a villain who runs on categorising people. It’s not dwelled on, which is a strength of the show’s normalisation, but it’s cool, none the less.

The mirroring of Eda means that the audience can notice the two’s similarities more easily. Most importantly, Eda has also changed, although not as much as she thinks.

I am going to bring back the concept of a lowest common denominator style of character analysis. Essentially, a character can be boiled down to a single concept that cannot be changed for the character to stay the same person. The character can switch up their entire identity, allegiance, or even body in some cases, but it is this attribute that keeps them recognisable.

For example, Hunter is brave. He switches up characterisation almost entirely over the series, going from the Golden Guard to the most precious boi over the course of two seasons, but he keeps the fact that he is, at all times, bone numbingly terrified, and still able to persevere. Hunter is brave.

Eda, meanwhile, is complicated. She is an agent of chaos, but she brings stability to the lives of everyone she is close to. She is against authority, but that is an allegiance rather than a descriptor. So, with the full understanding that this is inaccurate, I will say that Eda is free.

Again, this is inaccurate, and oversimplifying, but it’s the best I can come up with. Eda is unabashedly herself, and the primary conflict of this episode is trying to work out who that is. So… Eda is Eda? That’s unhelpful but hold onto it for a moment.

The episode itself follows an opportunity to live the good old life with an old friend, and Eda jumps on it. She is growing distant from Luz and King, and she doesn’t quite understand why this upsets her as much as it does. She has become a parent without even realising it.

So, she takes the chance to go with Raine, chasing the high of connection and creating the persona of Mama Eda, although that is where the analysis gets weird.

Maternal and paternal behaviours are different across cultures, but they are usually not specifically necessarily reliant on gender. Yes, they are linked by association (it’s part of the words), but it’s not intrinsic.

Case and point, in the culture that I read this story from, Eda is absolutely terrible at being maternal. So she doesn’t try to be, instead, she fills a ton of paternal roles in the lives of those around her. But it’s also inaccurate to read her as entirely paternal. Instead, she fits both roles, leaning further into one, but not entirely.

Essentially, Eda parents in her own way, and struggles when trying to live up to “the right method” of doing things. Eda is Eda. She excels at doing her own thing. Trying to define her as one archetype is reductive and misses the nuance of her character.

What I think is really interesting, is that Eda realises she has become a parent when the story essentially threatens to take her family away, and she is surprised by how she feels.

While I have my opinions on the fake out, it is an effective way to see what the fear of loss does to a person, or rather, the fear of unimportance.

Being a parent is about guiding your children, but its also about letting go. Eventually, every bird will eventually leave the nest. However, that doesn’t mean the relationship is over. People still need guidance, even as adults.

Eda is willing to throw her life away as a last-ditch effort to help her family without having to say goodbye. She doesn’t think they need her anymore, so she is willing to go out with a bang. But she is wrong.

Eda clings to the instrument, even as it kills her. She thinks that love means dying for the people she cares about, but that's not entirely true. You have to live for them as well. I wonder who else in the series could learn that lesson.

A rhapsody is a musical piece associated with strong, enthusiastic emotions. A requiem is about remembrance. Raine’s song is about hope, and the joy of a future yet to be. Eda’s is about a past well lived, and the memory of that love. If you put the two together, you get a song that can bring down a mountain.

“Eda, do you have kids?” “Uh, they're not mine-mine. Well, it doesn't matter. They both have real families to return to.” “I don't know what you're running from, but a great witch once told me... something about punching fears in the face? What I'm trying to say is don't give up so easily. They probably need you more than you realize. We can find another way to stop Belos together.”

Remember what I said about Raine being wise? This is that.

Raine teaches Eda that she is still needed. She lets Eda know that her purpose isn’t gone, its just different. You are different people all throughout your life, you just need to remember what you have seen, and change with the times.

Why is the line read of this girl realising she's back in the conformatorium so heartbreaking?

I also want to point out the fear of insignificance from a found family perspective. Eda thinks that her relationship with Luz is less valuable than their blood relations, but I don’t really believe that. Eda has taught Luz magic and sheltered her from a literal dictator. She has raised King from childhood. I think those are pretty important things for a family member to do, whether through direct relation or not.

In the resolution of this episode, King changes his name to be an official part of Eda’s family, which, sure, that’s how things work in the Boiling Isles.

“Surprise, Eda! Now we're connected for life, and there's nothing you can do about it!”

She’s a parent now, and that relationship is as important to king as finding out who his biological father is. In other words, Eda still has a purpose, and the fact this surprises her means that she has a lot to learn, but she is better at it than she thinks.

One last thing I want to talk about before I go is that Raine is a unique rebel. Usually, in stories about fighting an authoritarian regime, the cost of rebellion comes up. This is the conceit of Andor, but also part of Wicked, and She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. In these stories, the idea that one person must use the tools of their enemy. Not as bad as their opponents by any stretch of the imagination, but sacrificing their own morality in a small way for future generations.

Raine doesn’t do that. Raine is fighting for a better world, and at all times, they will sacrifice their plans to save the individual. Raine has plans in motion that can counteract any single “failure”, but crucially, preserving the world they want to protect is never a failure to them.

So, in summary, found family is just as important as blood family. More important in some cases. Eda has built her identity around being a parent without realising that is what she has been doing, this episode is her confronting that. Raine is cool. Defining people is difficult and takes away from who they are as people. The Owl House is a good show.

A Kikimora is a creature associated with sleep paralysis. So her ability to paralyse people is a neat thing, as well as that "night night" line.

Final Thoughts

This season has a string of episodes that are determined to break me, but I will stay strong. Through The Looking Glass Ruins, Hunting Palismen, and now this. But I’m fine, I’ve got this.

Eda’s Requiem is one of my two favourite episodes in the series. I can’t gush enough about the music, the pacing, the purpose seeking. This is so compelling, and it really works as a piece of storytelling.

The episode does have one flaw, in my opinion, and to me, this is an example of how one weird piece of direction can mess with my suspension of disbelief. The extended syllable whenever anyone says “legally” in this episode is so… off putting. It’s like King is expecting to be cut off, and it’s asking for Eda to misunderstand him. It’s such a small detail, but the episode is almost perfect otherwise, and this sticks out to me like a sore thumb.

The episode is still phenomenal though, and so to balance out my criticism, here’s a small detail I really liked. When Eda punches the guard, his head spins around 360 degrees. First up, the casual worldbuilding that this guy can do that but also the fact that the outfit doesn’t react that much to it means that it has been made especially to fit his anatomy. That’s a cool detail.

Anyway, next week I’ll be looking at Knock, Knock, Knockin’ on Hooty’s Door, which is a Hooty episode. Something fun, and entertaining. I’m sure nothing plot relevant will happen then, right? Right?

Stick around if you want to see my analysis of that chaos.

Previous - Next

[toopimpabutterfly]

making my INTRO!!!!! or this is my intro. ykykyk. (meet my shitty way of designing intros and stuff too,)

HIHI call me Jésus I'm 16 Apache Mexican American. With some other stuff cause yeah. just mentioning that cause. I will say a lot of stuff yk. I'm autistic and scitzohenic but PLEASEEEE I NEED FRIENDS and PEOPLE TO talk to about my current interests!!!

MOVIES

Oh to go. on ABOUT THIS.. here's my letterboxd I fucking love movies.

DOGMA, MOONLIGHT, CLERKS, NATURAL BORN KILLERS, GOOD WILL HUNTING, FIGHT CLUB, NAKED LUNCH, FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS, CONSTANTINE, HELLBBOY, GUMMO, MAD MAX + FURIOSA, GODZILLA, I SAW THE TV GLOW, AVATAR, JACKASS, MID 90S, STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON, I LOVE YOU PHILIP MORRIS, WEEKEND AT BERNIE'S, FRIDAY, THE MATRIX, JAY AND SILENT BOB STRIKE BACK, THIRTEEN, REQUIEM FOR A DREAM, TRAINSPOTTING, THE PEOPLE VS LARRY FLYNT, DUCK TILL DAWN, THE WATERMELON WOMAN, DONT BE A MENACE TO SOUTH CENTRAL, BOYZ IN THE HOOD, 12 MONKEYS, MENACE II SOCIETY, WATCHMEN,MALL RATS, KIDS and a lot more.. coughs.

TV SHOWS

PREACHER, THE BOYS, THE MAXX, ÆON FLUX, THE BOONDOCKS, LOITER SQUAD, CLERKS ANIMATED, AQUA TEEN HUNGER FORCE, BOJACK HORSEMAN, BEVIS AND BUTTHEAD, JACKASS THE SERIES, SMILING FRIENDS, THE ERIC ANDRE SHOW, FUTURAMA, KING OF THE HILL, MORAL OREL, BLACK DYNAMITE, HOME MOVIES, SPACE GHOST COAST TO COAST, THE OBLONGS, and more stuff again. Assume that a lot tbh.

MUSIC

THE BUTTHOLE SURFERS, KENDRICK LAMAR, ICE CUBE, N.W.A, BLACK FLAG, DEAD KENNEDY'S, LEONARD COHEN, NINE INCH NAILS, OUTKAST, TYLER, THE CREATOR, NAS, DR DRE, BONE THUGZ, QUASIMOTO, EAZY-E, KMFDM, ALEX G, WEEN, CHEMLAB, JANE'S ADDICTION, GERMS, ANGRY SAMOANS, NEW ORDER, JOY DIVISION, COWBOY JUNKIES, JESUS LOVES JUNKIES, PIXIES, DINOSAUR JR, HOOTIE AND THE BLOWFISH, THE VELVET UNDERGROUND, THE DEAD MILKMEN, NECROS, CIRCLE JERKS, HOLE, and a lot more. I love hardcore punk, crust, hip-hop, rap, and basically everything tbh.

MISC + FIXATIONS

I love comics like the Punisher, The Maxx, Preacher, Bratpack, the clerk's comic, Watchmen, Hellboy, little things. I like reading, TOO . I LOVE HUNTER S THOMPSON!!! Mostly Fear and Loathing in las Vegas, Hell's Angels, and the Campaign Trail 72, and other books like Revolt of the Cockroach People, Get in The Van. Little books like that sorta. GAMES TOO I like Faith the unholy Trinity, DOOM, POSTAL, GTA, DUSK, and a few others!

I collect DVDS, games, VHS tapes, books, CDs, records, laser discs, literally any piece of physical media . All of it. I like conspiracy theories, civil rights activists, some art history, Malcolm X. I'm a punk I go to local shows and stuff and might sometimes post that when I can. I have a HUGEEE fixation rn on Dogma(1999) and Kendrick Lamar. But I heavily enjoy the viewaskew universe rn and want to interact with more of the little fandom please... my dad got me into the movies and we watched them all together n stuff. I do powerlifting as a hobby and like to go on walks around my town and say nonsense please interact. I will post whatever I want here really tbh.. BYE.

TAGS!!!

#toopimpabutterfly <- tag for everything I post

#TPAB lyric posts <- me lyric postin, nuff said.

#TPAB rants <- mostly vent or ranting about my horrible life. how fun

I got socials too, discords are irlwillhunting MAIN and h0peeradicated as alt. My Instagram is topimpthebutterfly . Spotify is here .

[alicent-vi-britannia]

12 characters, 12 story arcs, 1 theme

A few days ago, I tried to synthesize in a single word the narrative arcs of the Code Geass characters (at least, the ones I know they have) with the intention of extracting the theme of each one. I will briefly explain my conclusions. Or, put another way, what each theme means for each character. I'll leave Lelouch for last because he's the main character and his theme is supposed to be that of the series. We go from bottom to top.

Self-fidelity / Milly: "the girl who learned to be in touch with her own desires and chose to be true to herself to bring out her best version." I think the phrase explains it perfectly. Milly found happiness and she became more mature once she decided to stop serving her family's wishes and focus on herself and what she wanted to be and do.

Confidence / Ohgi: "the man who learned to trust himself to become the leader his organization and his country needed." Ohgi's arc is inspiring, if you take off your toxic fandom glasses and take his journey seriously. It is true that he made certain mistakes, but he always thought of the welfare of his people and his comrades. That was his main motivation and what led him to overcome his personal insecurities. I was going to make a comparison, but you guys won't like it and you'll attack me.

Happiness / Euphemia: "the girl who dreamed of a world in which all people were happy." This is the only arc that was cut short and did not come to fruition for reasons that I don't need to detail. Euphemia was a selfless princess without a purpose until she met her brother again and wanted to restore happiness to him, Nunnally and the rest of the Japanese.

Truth / Nunnally: "the girl who had to discover the truth to grow up to become the empress who could rebuild a new Britannia." She is literally blind and cannot see the world as it is, but as it should be (hence her idealism). She also can't see through her brother's and her friend's lies, until her determination and her circumstances push her to do so. It doesn't seem strange to me that the breaking of the seal coincides with the moment in which she learns the truth and decides to face it.

Justice / Nina: "the girl who had to seek justice for the murder of her beloved and her own acts and thus be a better person." Nina's arc is a revenge arc. Obviously. But the anime gives it a negative treatment, as Nina only gets worse with each new chapter. It's not until she understands all the destruction that her revenge can cause (in a literal sense) that she stops and reconsiders. The Zero Requiem gives Nina the opportunity to redeem herself and give justice to her beloved since the culprit pays for her crime. It's at this point that she begins to heal.

Honor / Jeremiah: "the man who managed to win back his honor after offering his loyalty to his enemy." The entire arc of Jeremiah revolved around honor. He believed that he had failed his empress and his prince, made a fool of himself on a live broadcast, was demoted and fell to the bottom. From there, he only lived to seek revenge. But then again, it wasn't the way. He only redeemed himself by putting himself at the service of a lord worthy of his loyalty: his enemy.

Humanity / Rolo: "the murder weapon that regained humanity from him through love." Another phrase that explains itself. Rolo had been used and manipulated his entire life as a tool. But when he created good memories and a sincere bond with Lelouch, he started to make decisions, think and feel like a human being.

Forgiveness / Shirley: "the girl who learned to forgive thanks to love." We find another arc of revenge. Like Nina, Jeremiah, Suzaku, and Lelouch, Shirley lost someone important to her, was overcome with grief and rage, and was tempted by revenge until she discovered that the killer was the man she loved. In the end, her noble feelings prevail and her love gives her the strength she needs to forgive.

Freedom / Kallen: "the girl who embraced her freedom became a hero who fought to liberate her country and the world." This is going to sound strange, but I barely realized that Kallen is who she is because she is free due to a fanfic that featured an anti-Kallen who was in many ways trapped. Kallen is a free spirit and performs as an autonomous individual. She chooses the friends she wants (be it Britannian or Japanese), she loves the man she wants, she champions the cause she wants, she has the value system she wants. However, there can be no freedom without equality, and Kallen and her people live in a society that promotes inequality. The freedom of some (the Britannians) cannot coerce that of others (the Japanese and even half-blood like her). So Kallen works to change the world to a place where everyone has full freedom. That's her motivation to grow up and become the hero her people and the world need.

Love / CC: "the girl who only until she received love from others was able to love herself." CC's arc ties directly to Lelouch's because they both express a nihilistic philosophy. In short, CC wishes to end herself and the world (through the Ragnarök Connection) because she considers her immortal existence to be meaningless and thus unimportant. Worse still, an immortal life implies eternal pain. Something she can't live with. But she wants to be loved, because all human beings cannot live without love. It is in the nature of the human being to give and receive love. Therefore, love will always prevail in the darkest moments. So, when Lelouch offers his affection to CC, she becomes more human and renews her will to live (see how her arc connects to Rolo's arc). Let's say that she transitions from a negative nihilism to an agathonism (that philosophy that it proposes that you have to enjoy life and help to live a pleasant life).

Peace / Suzaku: "the boy who was able to find peace of mind by creating a peaceful world." Without going any further, the lever that moves Suzaku throughout the series is "guilt". Suzaku feels guilty that he killed his father, he feels guilty that the Japanese are oppressed by the Britannians, he feels guilty that he failed Euphemia in his duty as a knight, he feels guilty that he can't protect everyone… Guilt, guilt, guilt. What is the opposite of guilt? We may all think of different things, but I'm leaving for peace because Suzaku didn't make peace with himself until he got the punishment from him and when did that happen? When he made sure to create a new world with Lelouch with the Zero Requiem, in which all his loved ones could live. No wars, no racism, no terrorism, no hate. In peace.

Will / Lelouch: "the boy who twisted the will of others found the value of the will of the human being and began to dream of tomorrow." It's very ironic. Lelouch's Geass is described as the power capable of bending the wills of others to the mercy of his own. As he progresses on his journey and interacts with other characters, he realizes that human beings actively seek happiness and persist despite adversity. They doesn't give up when they falls, but gets up and continues to fight. That is what it is to be human. Arthur Schopenhauer, in fact, said that the will was the essence of the human being. But I think that the approach of Lelouch and Code Geass goes more for nihilism in its most positive aspect. The one who proposes the destruction of everything to establish new values that allow the übermensch to live in freedom. "Emperor Charles searched for the past, you search for the present. But I search for the future. […]. Because no matter how much time passes, people will continue to search for happiness. People who struggle with sadness, those who seek the future. How everyone keeps wishing for happiness. Human nature is the reason I chose Geass and wearing a mask." This is the key to human survival. This is the meaning of life and what this series wants to teach you.

If you start to examine each of the arcs, you will see that they are all connected in one way or another (after all, they are concepts that appeal to the human condition). And, if you reflect carefully, you'll realize that the arcs of our two main heroes (Lelouch and Suzaku) correlate with the extremist views of Charles and Schneizel respectively (this was something I was planning to address in a discussion on CG antagonistic figures).

I hope you have learned something or found something interesting in this post. If you liked it, don't forget to support me with a comment and/or a reaction. I would really appreciate it as that will help the algorithm.

PS: Don't ask me to come up with an exhaustive analysis of the philosophies raised in this series. Although it may not seem like it, I have a hard time handling philosophy (I don't mind going overboard like I did here).

[shoechoe]

I have a bit of a Jojo worldbuilding headcanon, and it's related to how the outside world is seemingly completely unaware of the existence of Stands. No one but other Stand users bring it up, and almost exclusively to each other. Civilians don't seem to have any awareness of it, despite multiple worldwide or extremely public paranormal events happening throughout the series (even if they can't see Stands, surely two men jumping and destroying things with superhuman strength around Cairo and the whole Silver Chariot Requiem event would cause some investigation?) There doesn't seem to be any well-known documentation of Stands besides word-of-mouth from Stand users, and newly created Stand users always have no idea what Stands are until they're explained by another Stand user.

I don't consider this a series flaw, necessarily. I don't think it's a direly needed story element to have the world be aware of Stands and it's not a prominent enough issue to bother you while reading/watching. Still, though, it does make me think of potential explanations. I would understand if Stand users were a sort of undercover society that attempts to erase Stands from the public eye, but this isn't shown to be the case at all, either. There's no explicit "don't involve non-Stand users in Stand business" rule that Stand users are taught, nor do they really actively attempt to hide it or lie to non-Stand users.

So, that gets me thinking: Since it's a canonical rule that Stand users are "attracted" to one another, as though they are bound by fate, I think it's just as much that Stand users and non-Stand users are "repelled" from each other. This is demonstrated in a lot of ways: When non-Stand users witness a Stand attack, afterwards, they oddly don't report it to the police or try to document or talk much about it- they just continue about their day and it fades from their mind. Stand-caused supernatural events don't get coverage or worldwide panic, and when asked about it, most non-Stand users tend to go "Oh yeah, that happened. Funny day that was." and change the subject. There's no rule to "not involve non-Stand users in Stand business" because they always just seem to do it naturally.

This would probably give new context to other things as well, like how Stand users or Stand-potential people tend to have turbulent lives and unstable relationships with non-Stand users, usually ending with them dying, splitting up (i.e. Jotaro and his wife), or struggling overall with long-term commitment and attachment. As much as they may try, the strings of fate are simply not in favor of Stand users and non-Stand users being happy and intimate with each other for long. It adds a level of tragedy and isolation to it that I enjoy.

[cricketandbooks]

THE BRAINS — Dead Boy Detectives

Edwin Payne: uptight, know-it-all, stagnant, compassionate, determined, and bringer of justice for all those who felt they did not matter

THE BRAWN — Charles' Playlist THE HEART — Niko's Playlist THE EYES — Crystal's Playlist

This playlist follows Edwin Payne (Paine?) through his death and afterlife in chronological order. I hope you enjoy!

Annotations about the songs on the playlist under the cut:

Tracks 1-4: Hell

Track 1: Fear by Clint Mansell, Kronos Quartet

This track is my interpretation of Edwin's experience being sacrificed and sent to hell. Not much is known about Edwin's family and school life before this moment, so to me his story starts here. This instrumental piece builds an atmosphere of slow dread. It culminates into a jarring mess of instrumentals, causing both a feeling of fear and confusion that reflects the experiences of everyone involved in the sacrifice. In the movie that this song is created for, Requiem for a Dream, the characters use drugs to avoid facing reality and their feelings. In Edwin's case, he uses rationalization and dissociation from his reality and feelings to avoid facing them. They both come crashing in as he is sent to hell by the hands of someone who could have truly understood him.

Track 2: Body Terror Song by AJJ

It is my interpretation that Edwin, even before death, hated having a body. A body cannot be completely controlled, and often we are more at mercy to its whims that we can bear. For Edwin, a gay child in a deeply homophobic society, his body presented a lot of danger and anguish to him. He is often seen in the series fully covered, even wearing gloves to avoid being touched by anyone. It is his uniform and serves as a separation of his body from the world, but also from himself as he doesn't have to see or acknowledge it. He also does not mention any sensations that he misses from being alive unlike Charles. However, in hell, this discomfort takes on a whole new meaning.

"I'm so sorry that you have to have a body I'm so sorry that you have to have a body, oh yeah I'm very sorry that you have to have a body One that will hurt you, and be the subject of so much of your fear It will betray you, be used against you, then it'll fail on you my dear But before that, you'll be a doormat, for every vicious narcissist in the world Oh how they'll screw you, all up and over, then feed you silence for dessert"

In the series Edwin mentioned being passed through multiple demons. Each time I imagine them apologizing to him, knowing he wasn't meant to be there. Even in hell, he wasn't truly wanted. And yet, his body was still used to torture him as he was ripped apart and put back together again. While his body didn't get to fail on him via age, he was unable to protect himself from the wrath of his peers as he was never a strong person physically. It also "betrayed" him in that he is attracted to men, and was used against him as a means to scare him by Simon. At this time in the story, he didn't get a true apology from Simon, and his death wasn't investigated. Instead his life and memory was silenced. This fuels his determination to ensure that this never happens to any one else, as well as to dissociate from having a body completely.

Track 3: Anhedonia by Chelsea Wolf, Emma Ruth Rundle

As he is learning about hell and escaping from it, Edwin's resolve to not feeling anything sinks in. After being betrayed and then tossed around like a plaything by demons, his self esteem is slowly draining.

"I know it all comes back times three That human, that demon showed me How it ends when you treat your friends like foes So don't come looking for me I've got my walls up now Protect myself like a fortress And I'm on my own now"

Despite being a potential "friend" to Simon, he was treated like a foe, a vehicle for Simon to put his own insecurities and fears into. In this case, a demon literally showed him the consequences of being viewed this way. Now that he has been shown what could happen when he is vulnerable, he builds his walls to make sure that this never happens again.

"No, I can't sleep, baby And waking up is just a dream My sadness has lost its cause And I'm suffocating So don't come looking for me I've got no joy to lend Protect myself like a fortress Isolating, bridge withdrawing Isolated, I can't take it"

The only thing keeping him going is his strong sense of justice. He knows he doesn't belong where he is, but his feelings of sadness is weighing him down. Even knowing this, he can't shake the trauma of what happened to him, keeping him afraid of change and growth. He felt alone for so long, and this feeling may have been what lead him to come back to the school where his trauma originated. To be surrounded by people in a familiar place while still being able to prove to himself that he had built a fortress around himself that prevents vulnerability.

Track 4: Run Boy Run by Woodkid

While other character's are trapped in their rage or selfishness, Edwin is always running. This constant running makes it so he doesn't truly belong anywhere.

"Run boy run! This world is not made for you Run boy run! They're trying to catch you Run boy run! Running is a victory Run boy run! Beauty lays behind the hills"

This stanza represents his escape from hell, and in this case, running was a victory. It represented his sense of justice and resolve for better.

"Run boy run! This ride is a journey to Run boy run! The secret inside of you Run boy run! This race is a prophecy Run boy run! And disappear in the trees"

However, this running becomes an aspect of Edwin's character that holds him back, as he runs from his inner self and desires. He holds secrets and runs from them, failing to confront others and himself. Instead, he chooses to "disappear" into his work and his purpose. This race is a prophecy about his fatal flaw.

Track 5-9: Limbo

Track 5: First Light by Hozier

This song is my interpretation of Edwin's experience when he met Charles, its counterpart is In a Week by Hozier (Feat. Karen Crowly) on Charles' playlist. Freshly escaped from hell, looking for purpose and walled off from the world and himself, meeting Charles and being able to guide him towards a gentle death allows him to find a new purpose: solving mysteries and being the one to bring the closure that people need.

"One bright morning changes all things Soft and easy as your breathing, you wake Your eyes open, at first a thousand miles away But turning, shoot a silver bullet point-blank range And I can scarce believe what I'm believing in Could this be how every day begins?"

As Charles dies, soft and easy to Edwin reading, he wakes into his new existence and chooses to stay. Edwin thinks this moment is all that they will ever have, but Charles then chooses to stay with him. In disbelief, this begins to wake Edwin up from his anhedonia and despair.

"Like I lived my whole life Before the first light (Some bright morning comes) Like I lived my whole life Before the first light (Some bright morning comes)"

Ironically, as Charles dies, the sun is rising and ending the cold night. Death is described as going into the light, but in this case, Charles' death is the trigger that leads both of them away from the blue glow of death and towards a different kind of afterlife. Both of them died before they could truly live and be free of their traumas. But together, they may be able to overcome this injustice and become more than themselves.

Track 6: Fast Car by Tracy Chapman

The first song to appear on both Charles' and Edwin's playlist. To me this song represents the beginning years of the Dead Boy Detective agency. I will be analyzing this song through Edwin's eyes here. Fast Car is them tentatively believing that they could build something that matters while the shadows of the past seek to haunt them and rip them apart.

"You got a fast car I want a ticket to anywhere Maybe we make a deal Maybe together we can get somewhere Any place is better Starting from zero, got nothing to lose Maybe we'll make something Me, myself, I got nothing to prove"

Charles propositions Edwin, they both want to escape the situation they're in, and want to run from death. They started the agency from zero, and built their reputation over time.

"You got a fast car I got a plan to get us out of here I been working at the convenience store Managed to save just a little bit of money Won't have to drive too far Just 'cross the border and into the city You and I can both get jobs And finally see what it means to be living"

Edwin is the planner, the one who sorts the logistics and ensures that everything is in his place. I imagine he worked incredibly hard to be able to plan and set up the office and establish themselves as the boys begin to understand what they truly have together. He does this while constantly being under stress and on the run, a triumph of his mind.

"So I remember we were driving, driving in your car Speed so fast, I felt like I was drunk City lights lay out before us And your arm felt nice wrapped 'round my shoulder And I-I, had a feeling that I belonged I-I had a feeling I could be someone, be someone, be someone"

They lived their lives constantly busy and on the run, with the city of London surrounding them. Edwin feels comforted by Charles, instead of afraid, and finally allows himself to believe that he could matter. In this environment he is in control, and no one can hurt him.

"You got a fast car I got a job that pays all our bills You stay out drinking late at the bar See more of your friends than you do of your kids I'd always hoped for better Thought maybe together you and me would find it I got no plans, I ain't going nowhere So take your fast car and keep on driving"

However, there are cracks in their relationship, and things that they are not honest about to each other. Edwin is incredibly afraid of change and people leaving him. He is set on staying put, while Charles yearns for something more than what he has.

"You got a fast car Is it fast enough so you can fly away? You gotta make a decision Leave tonight or live and die this way"

Even with these continuing tensions, they both continue to make the decision to keep running and leave death together.

Track 7: Working Man by Rush

For the next several decades, Edwin defines himself via his work. The agency has a higher purpose yes, but it is also a vehicle for Edwin to run from his emotions about his past, and from his developing feelings for Charles. Charles's counterpart of this is Post Humorous by Gus Dapperton, detailing his own coping mechanisms during this time. Working Man's repetition of words and verses creates the feeling of monotony, as Edwin's fear of change and obsession with work keeps him trapped in a state of limbo.

"Well, I get up at seven, yeah And I go to work at nine I got no time for livin' Yes, I'm workin' all the time"

As stated above, Edwin is a workaholic. He is constantly redirecting conversations from that of people's feelings to the case at hand. This is particularly salient within "The Case of the Two Dead Dragons" episode, even stating at one point that the case caused way too many feelings, and they should refocus on work. He doesn't have the time for feelings is his rationalization for that fact that he isn't allowing himself to truly thrive, rather to merely survive his continued existence.

"It seems to me I could live my life A lot better than I think I am I guess that's why they call me The workin' man"

People push him to change, and in the first episode Charles is even trying to encourage him to learn self defense. But it wasn't until when the Cat King points out all that he is lacking that he for once is confronted with this fact and cannot deny his stagnation. At this point, he is willing to lose pleasure and joy in exchange for the comfort and safety of repetition and work.

Track 8: Somewhere Only We Know by Keane

The second song to appear on both Edwin and Charles' playlists. Charles and Edwin are each other's safety, best friend, and purpose. They are the only ones during this period that can understand the other's situation and motivation, and through this forged a bond that could last for eternity. However, there are issues threatening to rot their relationship from the inside out.

"I walked across an empty land I knew the pathway like the back of my hand I felt the earth beneath my feet Sat by the river and it made me complete"

They both felt like they new each other like the back of their hands,even though it was revealed throughout the show that they did not. Even though their existence was monotonous, they made each other feel whole and complete. Their relationship grounded each other in their existence.

"Oh, simple thing, where have you gone? I'm getting old, and I need something to rely on So, tell me when you're gonna let me in I'm getting tired, and I need somewhere to begin"

Edwin yearns for things to remain simple, and as he is much older and wearier than Charles, he is looking for someone to rely on to never hurt him like others have in the past. Charles, on the other hand, is getting tired of their existence, and wants something new.

"This could be the end of everything So, why don't we go somewhere only we know? Somewhere only we know Somewhere only we know"

While these tensions in their relationship keep accumulating, it is certain that the boys both love each other and are willing to work out their issues once they finally are able to communicate them.

Tracks 9-13: Purgatory

Track 9: Everybody's Changing by Keane

Back to back Keane. However, this song represents the inevitable change in Edwin's existence, brought into fruition by Crystal joining the agency. He is deeply resistant and afraid of this change, and resentful at Charles for welcoming and encouraging it.

"You say you wander your own land But when I think about it, I don't see how you can You're aching, you're breaking And I can see the pain in your eyes Says everybody's changing and I don't know why"

Edwin cannot comprehend allowing risk into their lives, no matter how much either of them are stifled and hurting. He can't see beyond his own trauma in order to empathize with the reasons why Charles may want a change.

"So little time Try to understand that I'm Trying to make a move just to stay in the game I'm trying to stay awake and remember my name But everybody's changing and I don't feel the same"

Crystal burst into their lives with such force, and Edwin feels like he can't control his environment. In order to outrun death and outrun hell, he is constantly making plans and moves in order to just keep things as they are. He has been working so hard to maintain the status quo that leaving for a new place like Port Townsend with a stranger to save another living person terrifies him.

"You're gone from here, soon, you'll disappear Fading into beautiful light 'Cause everybody's changing and I don't feel right"

Edwin is deeply fearful that Charles and him will be separated, but he is also resentful that while Charles will be greeted with Death's beautiful blue light, he will be damned to hell again.

Track 10: Heather by Conan Grey

Edwin is jealous of Crystal and Charles' relationship, and while he is cognizant on some level that is due to romantic jealousy, he consciously rejects this truth.

"I still remember the third of December, me in your sweater You said it looked better on me than it did you Only if you knew how much I liked you But I watch your eyes as she Walks by What a sight for sore eyes Brighter than the blue sky She's got you mesmerized while I die"

Charles and Edwin have so many memories together, being best friends, but Edwin feels more than that. Witnessing Charles be mesmerized by Crystal cuts him to the core as Charles is willing to even risk Death and afterlife consequences by becoming entangled with the living. The change she brings is sore for both of them, as Edwin feels pain from it, while Charles desperately wanted her to stay.

"Watch as she stands with her, holding your hand Put your arm 'round her shoulder, now I'm getting colder But how could I hate her? She's such an angel But then again, kinda wish she were dead as she Walks by What a sight for sore eyes Brighter than the blue sky She's got you mesmerized while I die"

Edwin suppresses his feelings towards Charles as he watches him and Crystal, continuing to put his walls up. He acknowledges that she is incredibly valuable as a part of the agency, and also begins to care for her in her own right. However, that doesn't stop him from his "illogical" feelings that she should still leave.

Track 11: Why Can't I Fall in Love by Ann King

As Edwin continues to grow closer to Niko and Crystal, he begins to acknowledge his feelings towards men. However, he still can't process his feelings for Charles specifically.

"If you told me last year I never would have believed you London streets, no tears It’s been way too long Different season, same town Lost myself in the hand me downs"

Edwin is acknowledging that he is happier and better due to the changes of his life. His melancholia that he hasn't been acknowledging is beginning to shift, he is beginning to realize that he has been suffocating himself due to his routine in London.

"Didn’t think I’d make it out Oh, the air feels lighter now But I’m still on my own Why can’t I fall in love ‘Cause I try, but I never feel enough Knew I had to change To find my own way Maybe that’s the price I paid ‘Cause I try, but I never fall in love"

I imagine this song as him telling Niko his feelings about love. He once again acknowledges that he feels lighter and more joyous with his friends in his life, especially Niko. He knew that in coming from his traumatic past he had to build himself up and put himself back together, but potentially at the cost of bodily desire.

"Sun came back around The grass is greener now The storm left me stronger So let the rain fall down I lеarned to love clouds With my feet on the ground I don’t havе any regret I’m happy where I am at"

Being able to go on date with Monty via Niko's encouragement, he doesn't understand why even after opening himself up and taking this first huge step, he can't feel what he is meant to feel. He is becoming happier in other aspects of his life, not regretting letting Niko and Crystal in, but that isn't enough, and he still can't seem to fall in love.

Track 12: Jenny (Acoustic Cover) by Studio Killers

After his conversation with Monty, Edwin is finally able to acknowledge his true feelings. I chose the acoustic cover for this playlist as I feel it better matches Edwin's demeanor/vibe.

"I wanna ruin our friendship We should be lovers instead I don't know how to say this 'Cause you're really my dearest friend"

Edwin acknowledging his feelings for Charles sets himself up to lose a lot. Charles is his best friend and intertwined with his purpose for existing. Their bond means everything to him.

"Jenny, take my hand 'Cause we are more than friends I will follow you until the end Jenny, take my hand I cannot pretend Why I never like your new boyfriends"

Able to understand his reasons beyond fear of change that he disliked Crystal and Charles together, Edwin gains more insight into himself.

"I wanna ruin our friendship We should be lovers instead I don't know how to say this 'Cause you're really my dearest friend Oh, your love for them won't last long We should be lovers instead Oh, your love for them won't last long 'Cause you really are my dearest friend"

This song represents Edwin's potentially selfish desires to have Charles all to himself, but by being able to acknowledge these feelings, Edwin begins the process of dealing with them healthily.

Tracks 13-17: The Earthly Paradise

Track 13: Meltdown by Clint Mansell, Kronos Quartet

Ironically, Edwin's first step to release himself from purgatory and reach towards self actualization is to be sent back to hell. I once again chose a song from the Requiem for a Dream soundtrack. In this case, I chose it mostly because when I was younger, I heard this song and thought "this is what hell sounds like". The horrendous clanging, the discordant sounds. This song doesn't have a slow build up, Edwin is immediately thrust into his worst nightmare, the very thing that he has been running from this whole time. This song also has a frenetic energy that makes me feel like prey being hunted, with the climax being one's body being ripped apart. However, there are multiple times where the music reaches that terrible bang, indicating that Edwin must undergo this torture again and again.

Track 14: Re: Stacks by Bon Iver

Edwin is able to unpack all the change and new revelations about himself as his worst fears are realized. He learns a lot about himself surrounded by books, which are sometimes referred to as "stacks", but for once it wasn't the information that the books contained that helped him overcome his trauma. Rather, it was the connection—however brief— that he formed with Simon within them.

"This my excavation and to– –day is Kumran Everything that happens is from now on This is pouring rain, this is paralyzed"

Edwin has been forced to see parts of himself that he is deeply uncomfortable with. His feelings for Charles, the fact that his reasons for doing detective work aren't entirely pure. Now in hell, all of these bad memories, as well as the endless terror falls on him like pouring rain. However, he is unable to leave or do anything to escape this fate, being paralyzed. And for once, he cannot run.

"I've been twisting to the sun I needed to replace And the fountain in the front yard is rusted out All my love was down in a frozen ground"

Edwin has been fighting against the inevitable change that comes with being in the world and not in the afterlife, realizing he has been denying himself love and keeping himself "frozen". Through his new friendships, he realizes he needs to make some changes within himself too. Niko was instrumental in allowing him to acknowledge this.

"There's a black crow sitting across from me His wiry legs are crossed And he's dangling my keys, he even fakes a toss Whatever could it be that has brought me to this loss?"

However, growth isn't always linear, and things don't always work how you want them too. Monty betrayed him, dangling a potential new relationship and path for growth. Simon appears before him, dangling before him all his most ugly vindictive impulses, and Edwin cannot save him.

"This is not the sound of a new man Or crispy realization It's the sound of the unlocking and the lift away Your love will be safe with me"

Despite all this, Edwin is able to acknowledge that he has been building walls for an incredibly long time. After meeting Simon he realizes he has also been in a hell of his own creation through his inflexibility, control, and fear. However, he is willing to let down his walls and let other people in, and to let life in as well. He is finally ready to tell Charles the truth. As such, all of Crystal's, Niko's, and Charles' love will truly be safe with him as he finally decides to face all the load that has been holding him back all these years.

Track 15: The Scientist by Coldplay

The first non-homophobic gay hell confession.

Come up to meet you, tell you I'm sorry You don't know how lovely you are I had to find you, tell you I need you Tell you I set you apart

Edwin positions himself below Charles at first during his confession, unable to go any further and staying even deeper in hell. This could be due to his believe that his feelings are "wrong", as he is apologetic about them. But, it is also incredible growth as he is willing to remain in his worst fears and not willing to run away in order to be honest and true to himself. He is able to say plainly for the first time that he loves Charles, finds him beautiful and that he holds him in his heart more deeply than he ever imagined he could.

Tell me your secrets and ask me your questions Oh, let's go back to the start Running in circles, coming up tails Heads on a science apart

Edwin acknowledges the secrets he's been keeping from Charles, holding themselves back from fully knowing each other. From the Cat King and onward, he is now willing to be completely honest. He also acknowledges that his fear of both his past and his future has been part of what kept them trapped in a circular path, unable to both grow and change.

I was just guessing at numbers and figures Pulling the puzzles apart Questions of science, science and progress Do not speak as loud as my heart But tell me you love me, come back and haunt me Oh and I rush to the start

Edwin used logic and work to keep himself from fully thriving, but now his feelings can't be ignored. He is able to admit to the person he cares about most that he wants to be loved, that he wants them to be together even though this is the most terrifying thing for him.

Nobody said it was easy Oh, it's such a shame for us to part Nobody said it was easy No one ever said it would be so hard I'm going back to the start

Now that he has spoken allowed his feelings and got his answer, Edwin is finally free to process his feelings and begin to move on to new love and new live, with his best friend by his side.

Track 16: That's What Friends Are For by Dionne Warwick, Elton John, Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight

After all that he has been through, Edwin finally feels prepared to be fully himself, with his friends supporting him. He has finally stopped running from himself and is prepared to embrace his future and the change it will bring.

And I never thought I'd feel this way And as far as I'm concerned I'm glad I got the chance to say That I do believe I love you And if I should ever go away Well, then close your eyes and try To feel the way we do today And then if you can remember

In the beginning, Edwin went out of his way to be prickly and rude to both Niko and Crystal, as well as to the idea of Port Townsend itself. But now he is able to acknowledge his love for them and the happiness they bring him. They aren't his work colleagues, but beloved friends.

Well, you came and opened me And now there's so much more I see And so by the way I thank you Oh and then for the times when we're apart Well, then close your eyes and know These words are coming from my heart And then if you can remember

Niko and Crystal changed his life forever, and both in their own ways beginning to thaw him from the ice and dissociation that was keeping him miserable. Despite fighting against it so hard, he is grateful to them and the community that they have created together that allows him to be so happy and free.

Keep smilin', keep shinin' Knowing you can always count on me for sure That's what friends are for For good times and bad times I'll be on your side forever more That's what friends are for

Usually stoic and stiff, Edwin is able to allow himself the use of his body to express his emotions for the first time. He is an incredibly loyal person and now that he loves them, will stand by the group forever.

Track 17: The Foundations of Decay by My Chemical Romance

This song is found on all Charles, Crystal, and Edwin's playlists. This song discusses where the characters will go after Niko's death, and reflecting on what they've all learned so far.

See the man who stands upon the hill He dreams of all the battles won But fate had left its scars upon his face With all the damage they had done

All of the characters have been hurt and traumatized by their past, and sometimes it is not so easily healed. Their scars also kept them from truly connecting and communicating with each other. Niko was the one who united them all with her firm believe in love and hope, as well as her ability to listen to their deepest fears. For Edwin in particular, Niko's friendship was incredible important to him as her unconditional acceptance was so crucial in letting himself open up and face his feelings.

Let our bodies lay, mark our hearts with shame Let our blood in vain, you find God in pain Now, if your convictions were a passing phase May your ashes feed the river in the morning rays And as the vermin crawls, we lay in the foundations of decay

All of the characters were rotting in their own ways before they met each other. Charles was rotting in a silent rage, unable to truly confront his death and all that he lost, alongside how his parents continued on happy without him while causing him so much suffering. Niko was trapped in her room unable to connect with others in the world not just due to her sprites, but through her unhealed grief and fear. Crystal was suffocating in her selfishness and inability to love and be loved, as well as the abusive and neglectful relationships in her life. Edwin was rotting from his inability to accept change, letting the fear of his past control his life. His denial of himself and his desires lead him to be unable to grow and held him back from truly thriving in the existence he fought so hard for.

You must fix your heart And you must build an altar where it swells When the storm, it gains and the sky, it rains Let it flood, let it flood, let it wash away And as you stumble through your last crusade Will you welcome your extinction in the morning rays? And as the swarm it calls, we lay in the foundations

I believe the thesis of the Dead Boy Detectives, as well as this song, is the lyric "you must fix your heart". By allowing your old self to rot, you are able to confront your trauma and begin to heal and grow again. As the characters continue to confront their decay, they will hopefully continue to become more self actualized and healed.

[hardylettuce]

Who's up for a crackpot Metalocalypse theory?

Brendon Small said in an interview, "there's one song on the record that I think kind of embodies what the future would be. I don't know if it would be as mystical or as crazy, but it would be funny."

I believe the song is Gardener of Vengeance.

The thing that sticks out to me most about the quote is that he thinks the future is "funny," which is saying something in a comedy series. I assume that means it's something that contrasts the show we've seen thus far. Brendon has another quote about Metalocalypse and AOTD where he said, "part of why I really had to finish this is because that to me was the arc from the beginning— selfish to selfless. Alone to together. That’s the big arc in the series." So if we assume the next chapter would continue that arc, it has to be something that continues the theme of growth and togetherness.

Let's think about where the series ended. Dethklok has stopped the apocalypse, but they haven't really saved the world. Metal rained from the sky, a lot of cities were destroyed. Even before that, it's probably it's safe to assume climate change existed in the show, but think of all the ways Dethklok themselves have made it worse: The environmental destruction caused by the liquid recording technology, raising the sea level in Doublebookedclock, destroying a chunk of the rainforest in Dethcarraldo, etc. The world is trashed, and a lot of that is Dethklok's doing.

So then we look at Gardener of Vengeance's lyrics. It's a song about the planet and nature, which is already notable for the "go into the water" band to be writing a song about the land. It describes the "punisher of industry" who is doling out "retribution for the toxic station." The earth is getting revenge on the people who abused it, either literally (some sort of nature spirit hunting people down) or figuratively (the planet no longer supporting human life).

Remember how the last song on Galaktikon II was called Rebuilding a Planet? My theory is that a season 5 or another movie would be about how Dethklok, being the most respected figures in the world, now has to do just that. And it's not metal to try to convince the world to lower their carbon emissions, or plant more trees, or even give up some of the things they think are fun because they realize how harmful they are. But it's what has to happen for the planet to have a future, and Dethklok's finally mature enough to care about the future.

This is even more speculative, but I think that could also be a theme: Living past the point where you thought it would be over. For the characters, that's having survived the Metalocalypse. But the show itself overcame death by getting a movie ten years after a very brutal cancellation. And I think it's a very human emotion a lot of adults deal with. Maybe you have a health condition or struggle with your mental health, and assumed you wouldn't live past a certain age. Or maybe you're just a teenager who can't imagine being 30. But then miraculously, one day you wake up, and it's your 40th birthday. Now what? What do you do with this time you never really thought you'd get?

In any case, I think the future of Dethklok would involve reconciling being both a death metal band and a symbol of hope for the world. It would be about taking responsibility for their past actions, and having to keep showing up and doing the right thing every day, instead of having short-term objectives like in Requiem or AOTD. It's not glamorous, but maybe it's fulfilling to be … Givin' Back? To the environment this time?

[mouldymp3rotations]

0924-013

Part V of my 20th anniversary series !

Part I Part II Part III Part IV

As usual : Song titles link to individual mp3 file download

All 5 songs can also be downloaded together, in a zip file, from the link at the bottom

This month rotation's funny cause they were pretty much my leftovers (so it's gonna be a bit all over the place), but i put my hand on both pierrot's and inugami circus dan's discography, recently, so i've been listening to "a lot" of that, lately ("a lot" because ngl that's inbetween the 48907593879485 genre of goth music im actually listening to a lot, lately lol)

Ok, here we go !!

Dué le quartz - 自殺願望 (jisatsu ganbou)

ok, ok i hesitated between this and manji karame and ngl the only reason i didn't go with manji karame is because of how that spells in kanji and i didn't wanna deal with potential uuuuh.... problems coming from that lol So i guess this is my second favourite dlq song x)

Jisatsu ganbou was on the 自殺願望 (jisatsu ganbou) mini-album, released in 2001

(again here's me being emotional because i haven't seen this in hd ever ;^; )

犬神サーカス団 (inugami circus dan) - ほんとにほんとに御苦労さん (hontou ni hontou ni gokurou-san)

This song is a classic, at this point, but this is another song I did not realize was brand new, at the time (like i thought this was already a classic back in 2005, which it was imo lol) I was gonna say that is you've heard of inugami circus dan, this song is most likely why, though, nowadays, I don't really hear much about them (even though they are still pretty much active !)

hontou ni hontou ni gokurou-san was released on the 都合のいい女・ほんとにほんとにご苦労さん (tsugou no ii onna - hontou ni hontou ni gokurou-san) maxi-single, released in 2004

(I just wanna point out that this is just ONE long shot ???!!!)

オルゴール (orgel) - Juliet~永遠に美しく~ (Juliet ~eien ni utsukushiku~)

fuck, that song is so good T-T/♥ This is another one of these bands that i didn't realize how indie they were, at the time lmao

Juliet was released on the 妄想とレクイエム (mousou to requiem) single, in 2000

PIERROT - Creature

I was in my "the heavier, the better" phase, when i discovered Pierrot, so for kind of a very long time, Creature was the only song i would listen from them lol.

Creature was found on the album PRIVATE ENEMY, released in 2000, and which is worth listening in its entirety !!

(you know what, i don't think i had seen this before...)

Psycho le Cému - インドラの矢 (indora no ya)

Ngl their band page on vk.gy jumpscared me, i didnt know they were active again lmao

Also, for some reason, my original mp3 for this, that i had since back then, had the title translated to english, so i've been knowing that song as "indra's arrow" forever lol

i could also say the same about that song as i said about the pierrot one loloups

indora no ya was on the second disc of the a trip to the Arcadia maxi-single (if im reading this right lol), released in 2004

All five songs in a zip file

H E R E ♥

[twistedtummies2]

Requiem of the Rose King

I'm taking a brief break from kinky things, because I just want to briefly spotlight an anime I only just recently discovered and binged through. It's a fairly new series, having only completed it's run I think two years ago; I'm sort of surprised I didn't know about it sooner.

The series is entitled "Requiem of the Rose King." It is a reimagining of Shakespeare's "War of the Roses" saga, with the first season being inspired by the three-part play of "Henry VI" (with just the tiniest amount of "Richard II" thrown in), and the second season being based on the climactic finish of the saga, and one of my personal favorite plays in the Shakespeare canon, "Richard III." While these plays are of course dramas inspired by historical events, Shakespeare already takes liberties with history, and this anime even more so; therefore, I won't be considering historical detail at all. This will be solely looked at from the perspective of fiction and with relation to Shakespeare's work.

"Requiem" focuses primarily on Richard III; instead of his historical and Shakespearean scoliosis, Richard's infamous "deformity" is instead reimagined to him being an intersex male. This is only the first of many, MANY things that are reimagined from Shakespeare's stories. While the series is done with modern lingo for the most part, it not only contains multiple quotes and paraphrases from the Bard throughout, but also includes some original dialogue written in iambic pentameter, much as Shakespeare would have written it. So while a lot of things in here - from the language to the issues involved - are exceptionally modern day, the DNA of its classical theatre roots can still be easily found.

While the series carries over the basic plotline and most fundamental character relationships from the plays, what really changes are the motivations behind the characters and events, and the details of how things go down. For example: in "Richard III," the Duke of Buckingham is Richard's second-in-command, who eventually turns against Richard, and is depicted as being just as scheming and devious as Richard himself, if not even more so. All this is still true in "Requiem," but now there's the added wrinkle of the pair forming a romantic relationship, and it's their feelings for each other that ultimately lead to their conflict.

Richard, himself, is a highly complicated figure; it's hard to say what he is. I wouldn't say he's a misunderstood hero, nor would I say he's an anti-hero. I would like to say he's a sympathetic villain protagonist, but considering his enemies are often just as bad as he is, if not arguably worse, even that feels somewhat inaccurate. He still does many of the despicable things Richard does in the plays: he has his own brother murdered, personally slays Henry VI, captures and imprisons his nephews in the Tower of London, manipulates Lady Anne, and more. Even things he's NOT actually responsible for he either indirectly causes, or willingly takes the blame for reasons all his own. However, once you know the reasons why he does these things, and who the people he hurts really are, it becomes difficult to categorize him into any particular alignment. This ambiguity extends to the way his story ends, which I won't give away here, but seems fittingly uncertain for a character who is steeped in uncertainty throughout the show: from his personal identity to his goals to his purposes, Richard constantly questions himself and others, and every time he thinks he has an answer and can find order, something new comes along to thrust his life into further and further chaos.

Ultimately, "Requiem of the Rose King" is a tragic story: though thoroughly modern in its approach, it has a lot of the motifs and ideas present not only in Shakespeare's "War of the Roses" saga, but in the Bard's work in general. It's a unique tribute to arguably the greatest English playwright of all time (certainly the most famous), while also being an intriguing story in its own right. It probably won't be for everyone, given some of the themes involved and its loose treatment of both history AND the classical source materials, but if you have an open enough mind, I think you'll find a lot to enjoy here. I certainly did. Also, for anybody wondering if there are any characters worth "kink-ifying" in here...honestly, I still haven't made up my mind there. Time and tastes will tell. XD Oh, and in case you're all wondering, I chose to watch the English Dub of this series, for various reasons, and I can vouch for it and say it's an extremely good one. If, however, you prefer subs all the time, anytime, I imagine they won't be difficult to track down. :P

[gallavich-gunk]

List of time fiona cries in Shameless(US):

Season 1 episode 8 "its time to kill the turtle" fiona is forced to work at a sports bar where she is objectified

Season 1 episode 9 "but at last came a knock" fiona is confronted with the first return of Monica and makes the point she was left to mother her children when she needed a mother herself

Season 2 episode 4 "a beautiful mess" goes to toilet after Craig heissener and wife come to the Gallaghers, not fully clear why she cries maybe as she's sad she let Debbie down with her party or she feels bad about sleeping with a married man

Season 2 episode 10 "a great cause"

She was relying on Monica to help with the family while she got her GED and started doing things for herself but realising after Monica crashed a car and stole the squirrel fund this wasn't going to work

Season 2 episode 12 "fiona interrupted" the fallout of Monica trying to kill herself

Season 3 episode 5 "the sins of my caretaker" Jimmy and fiona got into a fight because Jimmy got so upset his dad was gay and kept complaining while fiona had to dig up a body and then Jimmy left

Season 3 episode 6 "cascading failures"

The kids have been taken by dcfs

Season 3 episode 12 "survival of the fittest" Steve has left her and she just had to tell Frank he was dying because of alcohol and needs to keep himself alive for his kids

Season 4 episode 5 "there's the rub"

Fiona was just arrested after Liam got into her coke

Season 4 episode 6 "iron city"

Fiona is checked in at prison and again when on phone to lip about how Liam was harmed in the overdose

Season 4 episode 8 "hope springs paternal" everyone has left fiona alone in the house as she pissed everyone off especially lip who blames her for what happened to liam

Season 4 episode 9 "legend of bonnie and carl" fiona struggles to get a job and after being rejected by the cuppers goes and blames that dickhead brother guy

Season 4 episode 10 "Liver I hardly know her" fiona got stuck in sheboiagain and feels bad for fucking things up

Season 5 episode 6 "crazy love" had a long run of no tears but then Jimmy Steve returns and she cheats on husband gus with him

Season 6 episode 3 "the F word" fiona cries several times due to hormones but also dealing with a lot of family drama, dealing with the fallout of her marriage and navigating shawn having come off the wagon

Season 6 episode 9 "a yurt of ones own" after Shawn's son finds Carl's gun and he potentially loses custody he blames it on fiona and they temporarily break up

Season 6 episode 12 "familia supra gallegorious omnia!" Frank reveals shawn is still using heroine at fiona and Shawn's wedding and then shawn walks out on her

Season 7 episode 8 "you sold me the laundromat, remember?" Fiona has a hysterical breakdown whilst trying to fix the laundromat and everything going wrong at once

Season 7 episode 11 "happily ever after" fiona has to put etta in assisted living (honestly RIP Etta so was such a great character)

Season 7 episode 12 "requiem for a slut" She tears up a bit at Monica's funeral

Season 8 episode 6/7 "face it youre gorgeous"/"going down like the titanic" probably one of fionas biggest breakdowns of the whole series, she doesn't have lunch money, basically ford's a dickhead she looses all her money, her car and her apartment building and misses Ian going into prison

Then she leaves in the next few episodes and probably cries then too? If she does I missed it lol

Also please appreciate this data I gathered for no reason other than I wanted to✨️

[mdhwrites]

TOH’s Cast: Generally Good and Generally Boring For It

So when I say good here, it’s not actually quite an alignment call or a quality call. It is literally just me talking about what their character is. The longer the series goes on, the more they just become good people.

I do want to quickly specify that this problem is much more a problem with the show as it goes on than when it begins. S1 has the characters at their most distinct. Is it always well done? Not really but at least you have more of a proper cast.

Now, is there anything wrong with being a good person? No. Is it wrong for an entire group of characters to be only good people? That’s not the point either. It is that the best way for me to describe all of them, to get across their personalities, how they do things, etc. like that... Is that they’re good people. They’re not good rogues who will opt for subterfuge. They aren’t good paladins, loyal to their codes and their actions and personalities are dictated by those codes. They aren’t good wizards, using their magic in odd and strange ways to get a job done with the least amount of damage. They aren’t even good superheroes with their quips and the like, though that may have more to do with the fact that no one ever talks during combat which is probably its own, albeit shorter, blog.

They are good people. Their modus operandi when confronted with most problems, for the ENTIRETY of the cast, is to just confront it in the most direct and effective way possible. A great example of this is how when Gus fights, we don’t get poses out of his clones. There is no ‘pizzazz’ to his illusion magic despite the show claiming that that’s why he likes that style of magic. Instead, he makes very brute force movements and his clones are usually in functional poses that aren’t trying to mock or anything but are just... there.

Escaping Expulsion has one of the best and clearest moments of this with Amity, Willow and Gus. Gus actually does manage a suggestion that is in his personality, using illusions for a silly trick/subterfuge, but that’s it. Amity, the thinker of this trio in theory, suggest pure brute force. Meanwhile, Willow, the person who almost always is the most straightforward in her actions and most vocal against trickery and subterfuge, suggests tunneling underground and getting around the guards. They’re literally flipped.

That moment also shows off how... This isn’t just an adventuring problem either. It’s also in TOH’s comedy. After all, when Gus suggests his moment, if anyone is going to mock him, it’s Amity. Her and Gus have NO RELATIONSHIP and she’s the smart one so if anyone is to get upset at trying to use a trope, it’s her. Instead, it’s Willow, Gus’ BEST FRIEND, who yells at him about this not being a cartoon in the fifties.

S3 REALLY suffers from this with stuff like Amity’s clumsiness or the fish out of water jokes. Literally, Willow and Amity have to ignore the conversation that is happening in front of them, anything Vee said off screen, to be able to destroy the alarm clock because they think it’s a bomb. However... When have either of those two been that trigger happy with their magic or that purely destructive with it?

Even Eda starts falling into this as her plans for the emperor, or lack there of, doesn’t take into account her having been a criminal for so long. The closest we get is Eda knowing escape routes for wild witches in Eda’s Requiem but she doesn’t ask for anything back out of it, doesn’t see it as a new thrill or anything like that. It’s just a favor for her ex/excuse to get close to them again that’s done with minimal personality on her part outside of the trope that they’re doing. Swap her knowing it because she used to be a criminal to her being able to get blueprints from the library to help plan routes and not much changes.

It causes the cast to feel entirely interchangeable. That you could replace them all with a single master mage who can do all their styles and lose next to nothing. So rarely do their contrasting or complimentary personalities matter for fights, for comedy, for plot for... anything.

Because they’re just generally good people. Really boring, good people without much else to define them besides what magic they use and for a fantasy setting? Let alone an adventure?

Well... You shouldn’t fail at making even a single D&D party in those genres and yet TOH did.

[mask131]

Have you thought of looking at the lore of the World of Darkness? It is the overarching world of Vampire the Masquerade amd Werewolf the Apocalypse, with a lot of unique takes on traditional folklore, religion, and mythology. I'd like to see what you think of it

Unfortunately you wouldn't see much what I think" about it because when it comes to World of Darkness I usually gobble things up and loses most critical thought X)

I am a HUGE, HUGE Changeling the Lost fan, and I also do enjoy a lot the Vampire the Masquerade lore. I only have a vague knowledge of the Vampire the Requiem remake, and I need to get into it in more details one of those days - and from what I understood and saw Changeling the Dreaming was indeed a bad game that Changeling the Lost surpassed in all ways. I did take a plunge into Werewolf the Apocalypse - especially because of the big evil company led by eldritch entities of chaos (that was my jam), though I have no knowledge of its remake - and I also did plan earlier to take a look at the two Mage games (but never could for now).

All in all I am a sucker for most World of Darkness/Chronicles of Darkness products - in terms of lore however cause I can't play them, but from what I udnerstood a LOT of people are just here for the lore and if they have to play they use the Vampire video games.

Though if you want my opinion for the actual over-arching world - I will confess, I actually do not care. I enjoy the lore and worldbuilding and twists of each games on its own, but when it comes to tying them all together into one universe I surprisingly find it the most boring part. Unless it is very well made, I tend to skip all the sections of books about crossovers.

As for "WoD vs CoD", I am a man who likes both and thinks they complement each other. WoD was the original, the start of the trend, ad it had this distinctive feel that you can't recreate anymore of the 90s/2000s Gothic and horror and dark urban fantasy - even though it also aged badly in some aspect, and alongside its best-sellers and masterpieces it had some really bad and flat instalments. CoD learns from its mistakes, takes new fresh twists, and brings a whole new ground of thought, inspiration and art to the table - and I will be forever thankful for Changeling the Lost. But I have to admit that several CoD games also lose a bit of the specific feel and specialty that made Wod special, resulting in several instalments either feeling too generic, too simplified, or just making them look pale and weak compared to their predecessors.

So overall it is a mixed bag.

If I ever made World of Darkness posts, it would be exposition posts where I just collect all info and shoot them back again X) Not much personal critical thought. But if people dig this up, why not? My original "creepy media" posts for the spooky season were the Magic the Gathring ones - but they are not doing quite well, so I can switch to posts about World of Darkness if that's what my audience wants! I just need to conclude the series of post for Dark Ascension that is stored in my drafts, and then I could switch to the White Wolf games

[capsarcastica]

Alien: Romulus Review

The longer the movie goes on, the worse it gets. It has promise, and the trailers certainly sold it. But it reminds me of the two worst Alien movies. Like Alien Resurrection, it's technically well done and has all the elements that should work but don't. Like Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem, it's a collection of remade scenes from better Alien movies that comes across like a well-made fan film.

There is stuff to like. The visuals are amazing. The shots of space are the best in the series. There's a lot of extra attention paid to the ship drifting through space, the station, and the planetary rings. The sets are gorgeous, perfectly capturing the classic look and feel of the original film using old school tech. The practical alien effects mostly look good. It balances that fine line between audiences already knowing what they look like and keeping them mysterious and creepy.

Between this and 2022's Prey, it's disappointing that Disney's 20th Century Studios is just rehashing the original stories rather than give something new. Almost everything has a sense of been there, done that. The story is basically the same as the original. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. But this feels more like rehashing rather than homage. It's like a Greatest Hits collection by a cover band. It works, but why bother when the original stuff is so readily available and done so much better. They even threw in the "Get away from her…" line from Aliens. Throwbacks worked in the cheesy AvP movies but not in something trying to be serious.

There's really only two truly original moments worth noting. The first is when the characters try to get through a room full of facehuggers without being noticed. The reasoning behind this is dubious at best, but it is suspenseful. Except for the fact that the facehuggers look like the kind of animatronics that would appear in a Disneyland line queue. The other is the Zero-G sequence. I wish this had more than just the act one set up and third act pay off, since it's really an inventive idea. It throws the aliens off giving the characters an advantage, and getting through a tunnel filled with floating acid would be suspenseful. Except that the CGI in this one scene looks really fake.

I do like how they connected the events of Prometheus and Alien: Covenant to the original Alien. Given the lackluster reception to the last two, it would've been easy to just ignore them and move on. This at least provides some closure on Ridley Scott's last two for those who did like them. And it connects to why the company wants the alien beyond just a bioweapon.

There's only one character that's interesting, Andy the defective android. He starts off mentally handicapped who is nice but is upgraded with the local science officer's chip making him effective yet part of the corporate machine. It's an interesting dynamic having the characters decide between the good but broken and the evil but effective versions. Rain is the main character, but the blandest heroine this series has produced. She's literally only there cause the others need Andy. The rest are basically characters straight out of an 80s slasher film. The dull heroic type, the jerk who just makes things worse, the pregnant girl who has no personality, and the Asian cannon fodder girl. The first three did a good job developing the cast so it was shocking when one died. But here it's pretty obvious who isn't making it.

The biggest problem with the cast is that none of them are really believable. The series, aside from AVP:R, has always featured more mature characters who generally made smart decisions. It's hard to buy this cast as a bunch of grizzled miners who have worked 1400+ hours. And they make really dumb Friday the 13th level decisions. Like in the finale when Rain goes back into the alien nest just to save someone who should be dead when she was in the clear. It's trying to have its Aliens finale without understanding what went into it. The actors are serviceable, but never portray the sheer terror that's needed for this series.

The legacy character cameo is, like the movie, technically well done but a terrible bit of story. Resurrecting Ian Holm seems like an interesting idea, and would have if it had been just a cameo. But he becomes central to the plot and is featured far too much. Beyond nostalgia bait, there's no reason not to just use another actor to be an entirely new android. The animatronics used for the puppet looks really good, and Daniel Betts does a near perfect job recreating the voice. It's like the Dr. Loomis cameo in Halloween Kills.

Then there's the other legacy cameo, the original alien. This has the unfortunate side effect of rendering everything Ripley did pointless. It then raises a bunch of questions the movie doesn't bother to address. Why is the Nostromo still so intact? How did the alien go from being vaporized in the shuttle's engines to being cocooned? How did the station get eggs from a single drone? Why is there now a pupae stage? How long is the development cycle? Stuff like this makes it seem like the script was a collection of moments that where later tied together.

And finally there's the horrible ending. It's the ending that really makes or breaks a film. For all the grief fans give Alien 3, it's hard not to find the last scene poignant with Ripley giving her life to end the alien threat once and for all. Instead of doing anything interesting, this film goes for a nearly beat-for-beat remake of the finale to Alien Resurrection. The absolute worst of the series. The one that fans remember more for Sigourney Weaver making a basketball shot than anything else in the film. They could have stole an ending from literally anything. But they chose to give us another alien-human hybrid that is just as dumb and somehow looks even worse.

I was really looking forward to this. Fede Alvarez's Evil Dead is an amazing reboot and I was hoping this would follow suit. But like James Mangold's Indiana Jones, there's just something lost when a great director tries to make lightning strike twice under Disney's leadership.

[iincogneeto]

What does violin breathing do?

Also hiiii I really admire your art!!!!!

Hello!!! :D (thank you sm!!)

I don’t really know how exactly to explain, but I’ll try my best!! :-)

Violin breathing is designed to utilize sound and vibrations as powerful tools in combat! :D Xiaocheng kinda uses his breathing technique like a speaker sometimes and makes his violin SUPER loud lmfao

1. First Form: Resonance Slash

- **Description:** Xiaocheng plays a strong, resonant note that sends a wave of sharp sound vibrations forward, slicing through anything in its path.

- **Technique:** The bow’s movement mimics a powerful, deliberate stroke, creating a straight-line attack that can cut through obstacles and enemies with precision.

2. Second Form: Harmonic Echo

- **Description:** A series of rapid, high-pitched notes create an echoing effect, disorienting the enemy and making it difficult for them to pinpoint Xiaocheng’s location.

- **Technique:** By alternating between different notes, Xiaocheng generates a confusing array of sounds that seem to come from multiple directions, masking his movements.

3. Third Form: Serenade of Silence

- **Description:** A soft, tranquil melody is played, inducing a temporary state of calm and paralysis in weaker demons or distracting stronger ones.

- **Technique:** The soothing notes have a hypnotic effect, momentarily pacifying enemies and giving Xiaocheng an opportunity to strike or escape.

4. Fourth Form: Crescendo Blade

- **Description:** Xiaocheng plays an ascending scale, building energy with each note until it culminates in a powerful sonic blast.

- **Technique:** The final note releases a concentrated burst of sound waves that can cause physical damage and push back or stun enemies caught in its path.

5. Fifth Form: Vibrato Shield

- **Description:** Using a rapid, vibrating motion, Xiaocheng creates a barrier of sound waves that can deflect projectiles and dampen incoming attacks.

- **Technique:** The rapid oscillation of the bow produces a shield-like effect, distorting the air and creating a protective buffer against physical attacks.

6. Sixth Form: String Requiem

- **Description:** Xiaocheng plays a melancholic, yet beautiful piece that summons an array of cutting sound blades, each attack varying in direction and intensity.

- **Technique:** The haunting melody draws out multiple attacks in a single sequence, overwhelming the enemy with a barrage of sharp, slicing sound waves.

7. Seventh Form: Symphony of the Night

- **Description:** An elaborate and complex composition that utilizes the full range of the violin's notes, creating a large-scale, multi-directional assault that envelops the battlefield.

- **Technique:** This form combines elements of all previous forms, producing a symphony of attacks that can target multiple enemies at once, creating a mesmerizing yet deadly display of sound and light.

Thanks for the question! :D

[luzswonderland]

Thoughts on “Watching and Dreaming” Part 2

I cannot stress how much I value Eda and Raine’s relationship ❤️

Raine whistling Eda’s Requiem while they were trapped was so sweet🥹

I’m happy that Raine was able to join in on the final battle. It really does show that Raine is officially apart of the Clawthorne unit😊

“NOW EAT THIS SUCKA!” 📢

The callback to Azura’s quote in the first episode really did it for me. I teared up🥹

“Don’t you want to make peace, Luz?”

Oh please, what a loser lmao 🙄

I love how Luz just stands there in silence and let’s nature take it’s course. She realizes that this is not her fight anymore

Sweet justice is served 🙌🏾👏🏾 😊😭

“Well, we ain’t!”

“That was extremely satisfying.”

You could say that again lol

And it’s finally over 😌

The Hunter, Darius and Eberwolf moment ❤️

I’m glad the other coven heads were put in their place lol. Was kind of worried about that before the finale.

Lol at the one coven head trying to touch the throne anyway tho

This is bliss 😌🥰

I was waiting for this moment for so long OMG! 😭🤗😩

I’m glad the Collector found their way 🥹

I’m going to miss Luz doing magic through drawing glyphs. It made her unique in the Boiling Isles. At least she has Stringbean now to help her do magic though

I can’t tell you how much I appreciate the epilogue at the end. They could have just ended the series with Luz overlooking the Boiling Isles, but they gave us more😭

Luz enrolling in a magic university 👏🏾

Look! All the adventures we did and didn’t get to see

I’m really curious about the Hooty one with Luz and Amity lmao

“Luz, you saw them last week.” 😐

Loved that she maintained the balance of her life on Earth and the Boiling Isles

Things I loved in the montage ❤️:

The Nocedas buying the abandoned sack

Hunter making Palsimen

This Moment 😊

Flapjack’s gravestone🥹

Lilith’s haircut

Amity’s entire new character design

Success in eliminating coven branding

Gus’ hairstyle 👏🏾

THIS MOMENT!!!

From former criminal of the Isles to headmaster of an educational institution. You love to see it😄

The chaos that Luz, King and Eda will cause now lol

Also, Vee’s family was saved 🙌🏾

King’s necklace too❤️🥹

Luz spending her past four birthdays rebuilding the Isles demonstrates so much about her character. She never slowed down in the past four years.

The attempt at the Quinceanera was sweet? 

Gotta appreciate the effort at least😅

King doing glyph magic opens up a new range of possibilities

Potentially for a spin-off?!!

The four year time skip is such a breath of fresh air😤

The world building for this show is so good!

My favorite shot in the episode 🥹

I love how the series ends with Luz thanking Eda and King for being there for her when things were confusing in her life. She found them at a time where she needed the most support and I love that for her. Not a lot of shows come full circle like this.

Love the collective “BYYYEEE!!!” at the end 😄🥹

It has been a pleasure doing these “Thoughts” on episodes over the past few years, I hope to one day I get a chance to do these again for The Owl House 😊🤗 BYYYYEEEE!!!!👋🏾👋🏾