Alright, Chapter 5 is barely 24 hours old, so I apologize if these takes turn out to be lukewarm or obvious in hindsight, but I need to throw this out there or I'm gonna explode.
I wanna talk about Flowery.
Everyone fucking hates Flowery. Why?
Everyone is comparing his reveal to Tenna's, but those circumstances could not be more different in terms of narrative. Tenna is, from the jump, supposed to be light-hearted and fun. He is the personification of the Fun Gang letting loose and having a good time. This is what makes his eventual reveal that he's working with the Knight into an actual betrayal. If we didn't trust Tenna, that moment wouldn't work.
With Flowery, the vibes are rancid from the moment he's revealed. He's charming and charismatic, but something is off. Not to mention that Ralsei absolutely despises him.
So, why make Flowery unlikable? What's the point?
Well, the point is that Flowery is the exact opposite of Tenna.
With Tenna, we like him, but he's wrong.
With Flowery, we hate him, but he's right.
Everything that Flowery does to Asgore is an exact mirror to what Ralsei did with Kris and Susie at the beginning of the game. In fact, the entire chapter is a complete mirror of Chapter 1's dark world!
Flowery gives Asgore a home, gives him friends, tells him that he's special. And yet, we spend the entire chapter trying to get Asgore out of that situation, with the understanding that it's dangerous.
But what about it is dangerous? The denial of reality? Because Susie is now living in a dark world. The exact thing that Asgore gave an entire heartwarming speech about not doing.
When Flowery tells us that we could close Castle Town instead of his dark world and we would be no closer to the Roaring, we hate him because he's right. When he says that all the flowers want is to live and a chance to make Asgore as happy as he's made them, we hate him because he's right.
And, at the end of the chapter, he tries to defeat us with the power of friendship. The other flowers never turn on him. He uses a mercy attack against us, and Kris responds by hitting him with a sword.
Y'all, were supposed to hate Flowery. And we're supposed to feel uncomfortable about why we do.
Not me just realising ‘I hear the walls repeating, the fallin’ of my feet and it sounds like drumming’ is Orpheus literally hearing his previous attempts to save Eurydice
The walls aren’t echoing his voice back like an sound chamber, he is hearing his past attempts to save her.
As for the drumming, hes been walking that road over and over, so much that his footsteps are now loud enough to sound like drums
Okay so time for me to dump my thoughts on the Underworld Saga because I am going insane and tbh I'm not sure how coherent this will be because my brain is mostly keyboard smashing.
The Shades: "When does a man become a monster? 558 men who died under your command. CAPTAIN! CAPTAIN! CAPTAIN! CAPTAIN! Why would you let the cyclops live when ruthlessness is mercy?"
Okay so the harmonies of the Shades are amazing! But also this whole bit is just so... haunting. The call back to Just a Man and Ruthlessness does something to me. Could you imagine being screamed at by the ghosts of everyone you've failed? Also Jay confirmed that the shades in this song are just repeating their final thoughts in life. They drowned begging for their Captain to help them and died wondering why he failed them. This probably fucked Odysseus UP.
Odysseus: "I keep thinking of the infant from that night. I keep thinking of the infant from that night."
I swear I can hear the PTSD in his voice holy shit. Also Astyanax's music box motif being played in church bells in the back. I never would have noticed it if not for Jay's behind the scenes videos but knowing it's there makes this bit so much better.
Odysseus: "Polities..."
I was not nearly as wrecked at this bit until I saw this post mentioning that Odysseus quiet little "Polities..." is a mirror of Polities strangled "Captain..." when he died and now I will never be the same.
Odysseus' Mom
I am not exaggerating when I say I cried during the watch party. Everything about this is heartbreaking. His mom was thinking about him in her final moments. "Odyssues when you come home I'll be waiting" except she wont be. The shocked defeat in Odysseus' voice with "I took too long...". He's right there in front of her, but her shade just doesn't register him. They are so close physically yet still separated by death. Also the fact that Jay's mom voices her that is so sweet omg.
The change from "Here in the Underworld the past seems close behind" to "But in the Underworld your past is always close behind."
STTAGKDUKFUTAATUFOUCOUXGJXG
THE STRINGS!!!!! AND THE PIANO!!!!
Tiresias' voice is so haunting omg
Mason absolutely NAILED prophet who is constantly being shown everything all the time at one I love it sm.
The lyrics in this song are just.... so good. And the foreshadowing is top notch
Jay's voice acting for Odysseus' is also great in this.
The distress and frustration in "We've suffered and sailed through the toughest of hells. Now you tell us ur efforts are for NOTHING?!" and the absolute anger in "WHO!?!?!" (Its you, Ody. See your about to go through a complete change in morals about 5 minutes from now and become a completely different person).
THE DESCENDING ORGAN FOR THE SECOND CHORUS MY JAW DROPPED
Jorge don't think I didn't notice the Hunchback of Notre Dame, Hellfire, vibes at the end I see you.
This is my favorite song released in Epic so far and I am not normal about it at all.
The GUITAR! THE ELECTRIC GUITAR!
For those unfamiliar and being dragged along this nonsense post, Odysseues character is associated with the guitar. The acoustic guitar is when he is softer, kinder, and more "human" while the electric guitar represents him at his most brutal, ruthless, and "monsterous". This song is his turning point to which he is done being merciful. He will do ANYHTING to get home.
"Oh Ruthlessness is mercy upon ourselves..."
Really taking Poseidon's lesson to heart there.
Odysseus: "AND IF I GOTTA DROP ANOTHER INFANT FROM A WALL IN AN INSTANT SO WE ALL DON'T DIE? THEN I'LL BECOME THE MONSTER! I WILL DEAL THE BLOW!... SO WHAT IF I'M THE MONSTER?"
“And if I gotta drop another infant from a wall in an instant so we all don’t DIE -“
There is NO hesitation here. There’s not even hesitation to breathe. He says it in one breath. And he says it with grit. With power. With certainty. His voice is sharp. His voice is strong. His voice is rough. His voice is quick. His words are short, crisp and clear. He is not singing. This line is not meant to be “pretty” (to me, many of Ody’s lines, thanks to Jay’s softer vocals, are pretty sounding). The lyrics on their own reflect this too, because he says he would drop the infant in an INSTANT.
This is not the Odysseus who would sing an entire lullaby full of guilt to an infant. This is not the Odysseus who would offer to raise a child to avoid fate. This is not the Odysseus that would attempt to soothe a baby, who would compare the infant to his own son, who would hold it, and cradle it, before making a heart wrenching choice to throw it over a wall - after bargaining with Zeus for ANY other option. This is not the Odysseus that would enter the Underworld “thinking of the infant from that night” even, from only two songs before.
This is an Odysseus no one knows, not even himself.
“So WHAT if I’m the monster?”
This Odysseus does not CARE. He is getting home. He is going to do whatever he has to. Whatever it takes. No matter how cruel, how merciless. He’s daring others to doubt him and his choices. So WHAT if he’s the monster? He has to be. He is getting his remaining men home. He is getting himself home, above all else.
Fantasy/Fairy Tale AU. The nightmare King Morpheus wins the battle and marries Hob to guarantee peace and unification of the kingdoms. It's hard for Robert to come to terms with this situation... at first
*they are both immortal
I don't think it's a comic book, more like a series of illustrations.
- Don't worry. I'm not a rapist and I won't touch you unless you want me to
- Let it happen, I'll come back to you anyway. Kiss me, my lord
English is not my native language, I have hay fever I am very tired