#esther rambling

[esthercore]

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

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

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

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

Just in need of some true unadulterated love.

[crabsnpersimmons]

exam 5 for me... tomorrow!

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

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

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

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

[anxious-witch]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Idk. I just thought it was an interesting pattern

[dead-enby-detective]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[psalm40speakstome]

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

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

[eatyourmaker]

The ocs I previously mentioned

Esther and Estella, the twin stars.

Both are dead, and have been sacrificed to the eyes

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

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

They have a crippling fear of adults though

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

[virgilphobic]

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

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

my thoughts;

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[prickly-paprikash]

Neither the original Castlevania show, nor Castlevania Nocturne are in any way shape or form misogynistic. At the very least, they are light years above their source material.

Both shows however are extremely momphobic. If you are a mom that isn't a part of the main, ensemble cast, then you're dropping dead, sweetheart.

• Lisa Ţepeş (later revived).

• Lydie Belmont (Juste's deceased wife)

• Julia Belmont

• Esther (Annette's mother)

• Tera (Edit added: I should specify that Tera ain't dead. But she is a vampire now, so...)

Honorable Mentions go to:

Trevor's mom.

Hector's mom, whom he murdered.

Sypha's mom.

That one woman in Gresit from the first season who had to wake up to her baby's empty, bloody crib. (Not motherless, but close).

As someone with severe mommy issues, I don't actually know how to feel...

Thanks, Castlevania. I guess.

[reesiereads]

Of course the character I latched onto the most is the fkin astrology bitch who also happens to be a crow

[meraki-yao]

I'm watching Dead Boy Detectives with my sister and

episode 1

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

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

episode 2

*Esther doing witchcraft shit

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

will update this list as we go

[suzyblue0292]

Rewatch - Dead Boy Detectives S1E1 - The Case of Crystal Palace

We are introduced to Edwin guarding Charles or the boys guardian each other

The bickering

They are time cards not library cards.

Does the show often say one thing and show another? REVISIT

“Death will take us” v Death asking Wilfred if he is ready

The boxing scene is interesting given everything we learn about Edwin later - getting out of hell couldn’t have been easy he has to have more skill than Charles gives him credit for - or they want the audience to give him less credit

You are the brawn? - I feel like they want us to doubt the narrative. 

We are presented with Crystal as a good person. (Aside from being American apparently). Again we are being told one thing so we are blindsided by the other. 

The looks on the boys' faces when they observe Crystal. 

We never see them as relaxed looking as they are in the office again. 

Edwin knows how to knit.

Was there a debate over the disguises?

She has her purse and phone. Does the memory loss prevent her from reading her contacts/ID?? 

Charles does not hesitate to call Edwin on his BS - he also knows that Edwin is jealous (just not the exact nature of said jealousy) - but he said it himself during the boxing scene - he knows Edwin hates change - and the very first thing we see him doing in the next scene is defending Edwin to Crystal

This is also how we learn about the “Clerical error” - is this the extent of Charles’ knowledge or the best way he has to explain it?

We start to see the meaner side of Crystal but Charles' good nature still acts a deterrent from following that to a conclusion.

Charles’ admits that part of the reason its so good to talk to Crystal is because she’s living and his age - they probably don’t meet a huge amount of teenage ghosts - although I would guess they might have more unfinished business than most - I have a feeling its the living part that’s the biggest appeal

What is Edwin doing with the coffee??

Why are you warning Edwin about the cleaver, Charles? 

Crystal is carrying a considerable amount of cash - but no cards?

Edwin gets them a clue quickly through mirror travel. - The Cat King and his little bracelet are quite the plot devices. 

Why so rude to the cat Charles?

Also did the Crow not tip off the whole witch thing?

Crystal seems so young and vulnerable when she realizes the girls are staring.

Crystal’s mind is so desolate - all the broken picture frames - empty memories - the three eyeballs should have given it away though - “the third eye”

We know they can travel by mirror, and the normal way, but can ghosts travel through ether? How do they get in front of Crystal?

Poor Charles, no it’s not a competition but Crystal and Edwin are both terrified in their own right.

Every demonic case must be a nightmare for Edwin and now he realizes they didn’t get rid of the demon. He only knows how to express his fear in terms of case work though. 

The flashback: Simon is so clearly reaching out, but Edwin is so clearly expecting to be bullied. And the shot of him marching against the flow of other students, bless.

Its also so heartbreaking that Edwin is terrified BEFORE there is any sign the demon sacrifice will work. God only knows what he thought those boys would do. 

Five other boys died with Edwin and it seems like Sa ’al obliterates their bodies. Was there anything for the school to give the parents to bury? Just ashes? No wonder it was deemed an act of God. Six boys either vanished or reduced to ashes. 

And no wonder the memory drives Edwin to recklessness. 

Jenny laying down the hard truth. 

“I get angry. It's like knowing you have a home but being unable to get there.” Poster child speaks to poster child.

Yeah, I totally thought Niko was going to be the love interest.

Why never tell Edwin? Because he really can’t go home?

I try to be extra happy for all of us. - Oh Charles.

And now the boy who was dragged to hell learns that Crystal chose her demon. Ouch.

Edwin isn’t just yelling at Crystal. He’s reminding Charles too. “You are sharp and fun, but this isn’t a game.”

They are such vulnerable children, and then so cute as they plot.

Poor Jenny. She doesn’t doesn’t even get paid teacher’s wages for this shit.

Edwin does a good job of actually telling Crystal the stakes with the plastic girl bit. She  might be cottoning on. 

Charles is comforting Crystal, but holding Edwin.

Note that Charles doesn’t roll his eyes or dispute “and we’re punishing you.” After Edwin’s outburst and Crystal’s confession his loyalties seem to have tipped back a bit.

Why doesn’t it trip Edwin that Esther left her kettle on? It worried me from word go.

Again, Charles is the brawn but Edwin is the one checking out the weird witch’s lair.

So many fucking shoes.

I love Esther. I know I shouldn’t but….

Can Charles actually understand the Crow?

Edwin has such poor form, but he does as well as Charles when it comes down to it.

Round 1 of Esther underestimating Crystal

Edwin goes straight to help Crystal, despite his concern for Charles possessing Esther. 

Okay was anyone else expecting that kid to get mowed down crossing the street?

Oh Charles, counting your chickens to soon is a bad idea.

It’s interesting that Charles possessing someone sets off an alarm for them both - this must not be the first time they’ve tangled with the afterlife for them to have a joint file.

[that-fruitier-emo]

Okay okay

And I will not fucking put the cat king in the poll.

He gets done last.

Same with David the demon.

And I love Tragik Mick I'll get to him when I get to him. Honestly he's one of my favorite characters.

[not-equippedforthis]

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

[anxious-witch]

Something something, a cat and a crow both not only falling for Edwin but becoming loyal to him, both (black) cat and a crow as the animals most often associated with witches as their familiars, both betraying an actual witch because their love for Edwin surpassed whatever hold Esther had on them(fear or loyalty both) something something

[terapsina]

Elejah #4

4. ...how many other characters in my opinion see the chemistry of this couple before the couple itself does.

First of all. Rebekah.

Rebekah saw it in two seconds flat. It was the most amazing thing EVER. And I shall treasure that moment for an eternity. Or as certain people like to say it... always and forever.

Second person? Damon. Not as much fun but with the amount of ugly he showed whenever Elena so much as mentioned him? Yeah. He saw.

We can probably add Stefan too just to cover our bases.

And then there's also of course Mrs. Esther "I'll only mention how I'm killing ALL my children AFTER you've already given me your blood to kill specifically Klaus, and also be a dear, go distract Elijah from his suspicions" Mikaelson.

That... would be about it I think. Not because I don't think those two aren't very blatant but because Elijah at least got self-aware pretty quickly himself I think (so quickly in fact I'm not entirely sure that any of these count at all because Elijah might have gotten there first).

[dyne-osaur]

might be rambling this might mean nothing but omg has anyone thought about how a huge thing™ in dead boy detectives is how women were wronged ?? (and also not just women who were wronged but boys who were shitty assholes but in this essay i am focusing on how women were wronged) am i looking too much into it.. (this is prob not intentional and i am overthinking as per usual but like)

spoilers duh

also this got really long i apologize

so in episode 1 we meet crystal who is basically like the catalyst for everything happening right and this is kinda obvious but like the whole kinda happens because her toxic demon ex bf stole her memories (fuck you david) and like? that was a horrible thing to happen to her and he sucks boo >:( and also throughout the whole show she has to deal with his shittiness and whatnot

and also in episode 1 we obviously see becky aspen who is like a child (specifically a little girl) who was kidnapped by esther (who also only goes after girls like hello?) and about to be fed to her giant snake which like ?? hey now,,, and they have to go in and save her and i feel like it's kinda important esp with the last episode ("she killed hundreds of little girls to stay young; who gets justice for them?" or smth) like it's built on the backbone of women who were wronged

in episode 2 with the dandelion sprites we have niko who lost her dad and her mom wants her to just be better and the sprites literally like infected(?) her while she was trying to feel better or smth (prob a bit of a stretch ngl) so we don't rly see much of this in episode 2

in episode 3 the most obvious thing of all is that the devlin guy murdered his entire family (his wife and two daughters) because he was a bitch and hated that they wanted to leave him which like ?? okay fragile male ego (as crystal so eloquently puts it) like these girls felt haunted by him in life and even in death they were stuck in a loop getting killed by him over and over and over because of his fear they would leave them. he was controlling and abusive and a creep and in the end he killed them. (obviously this episode has other important themes like how charles' trauma is reflected in this and his emotional response to devlin and the horror of controlling/abusive family members but i feel like there's smth to be said with how women keep getting wronged in this show idk)

in episode 4 we get crystal who is still dealing with the effects of her lost memories and her desperation to find her mom (we all know how that turned out) and importantly we get the stuff in the gift shop (specifically lillith and ig the washer woman)

the washer woman is washing away the blood of humanity yadda yadda (she's a rly interesting character i love her) and like when she and crystal are left alone crystal is desperately trying to find how she can have her lost memories and past back and the washer woman gives her that riddle to help her smth smth (basically crystal's memories)

lillith is more introduced here as the goddess of wronged women (and blood magic) (this is self-explanatory i hope)

in episode 5 (this one i feel is also obvious) we get those charming-but-actually-really-shitty jocks who died because maren (brad's gf) murdered them because they were being really horrible. we get shelby who killed herself because they drugged her and ruined her entire life and her future and everything and even in death the boys (though i love them, this was a fault of theirs) were skeptical because the jocks were just so charming

and then we get maren who invites crystal over because of her fear that she would get caught when she was trying to protect herself and she made a(n albeit huge) mistake. brad sent her nudes to his bff richie and they never thought they were in the wrong like hello? i was like wtf but anyways they practically ruined the lives of these girls (maybe not maren because they never fully got out but they could've and either way she ended up turning herself in from her guilt and stuff)

(also note: crystal says "we all lost our lives to boys who went too far" and like.. a big thing™ from my perspective is also how men/boys go too far e.g. the schoolboys (edwin and charlies) and david (crystal) and also the jocks and devlin and later esther's husband and arguably the cat king (don't come at me i actually love him towards the end but for more info check out this post i love their take on him) etc. there's probably more i just can't think of them atm)

in this episode we also meet maxine for like a second(?) time (first being devlin murders in ep 3) where she obviously wronged jenny by stalking her and she doesn't see what's wrong with what she did when she literally tried to murder her, she stalked her, she's apparently done this MULTIPLE times (smth ab this happening "again" which ? oml) and jenny feels horrible about this because she put herself out there for once and she got hurt. and at the end of this episode we see them all hang out and of course david comes back because crystal can't catch a break but back to the topic jenny was almost killed by maxine who did a horrible thing to her

episode 6 we finally hear tragic mick's story. sedna was literally a girl who got sacrificed by her dad because he thought it would help. she was a woman wronged out of the many women wronged on this show and she became a goddess for her trauma yay?? but at the core of that backstory was sedna who was a woman wronged by her father. (and ofc tragic mick and how he became human POOR GUY)

we also have crystal who finally has a way to get david out of her head (did anyone notice it doesn't break till she says "i just wish i could be normal" or smth which is prob kinda why she lost her powers?) all of this has been culminating since the beginning and then later he comes back and he's taunting her and yelling at her for giving up "the one thing that made you special" (come on man :|) she does get her powers back later though yippie (and sees her badass ancestors)

and jenny who is still dealing with the trauma is obviously upset throughout the episode because yk maxine was crazy

episode 7 we have the boys in hell but to keep in theme we have crystal who feels horrible that charles won't let her help and she just goes out to get david to open a gate and jenny follows. jenny then gets violated as david literally possesses her and we get kinda the climax and then the resolution of david and crystal as she realizes her power and takes her memories back and buries him because he was a horrible horrible person to her (and also the comments he made were so creepy like "i want to get back inside you" "let me back in" WHAT THE HELL no way that wasn't intentionally creepy)

and then jenny (poor jenny) has to deal with the fact that she has now been possessed and has to deal with all this creepy shit like can homegirl catch a break goddamn (and speaking of jenny we see maxine on the stairs still clueless to what she did wrong MAXINE OPEN YOUR EYES)

crystal eats her memories

episode 8 she finds out she was a horrible person and her past was not as great as she thought it would be. she treated her friends and strangers badly and she wakes up and she feels horrid. and she thinks it will get better and she calls her mom and her parents did her dirty. they neglected her (didn't even REALIZE she was MISSING) and didn't do shit for her and she probably acted out for attention (in horrible ways i am in no way defending what she did btw but she can be a horrible person and changed as a person crystal they could never make me hate you) and she swallows the rest of her memories and finds out that she was not the person she wanted to be

in episode 8 we also find out esther's backstory. the big bad of it all and i think a huge point in the story is how at the core of it all was a woman who was wronged and turned horrible for it. her husband cheated on her and she killed him but then she couldn't get enough and just wow. just to me the fact that at the core of the story is a woman who was horribly treated and as a result turned into a horrible person (and kind of parallel to crystal who was horribly treated (by her parents and by david) and she finds she can still turn things around and be good) and esther is too far gone as she yk decides to continue being evil

in episode 8, the end of it all, we see that turning point where crystal goes into esther's head and summons lillith. the goddess of wronged women. we see her as crystal yells that esther has been tormenting girls, WRONGING WOMEN, for decades (centuries?). we see the rage in lillith's face as she turns her stare on esther for skewing the gift that lillith gave to a woman scorned. we see lillith drag esther out of the house screaming and AGH i love that so much idk

but yeah those are my thoughts on the amount of women i just saw wronged and this could all mean nothing and i could be very insane and crazy but ! whatever !