IM NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO NOTICED—

I’m 12 years late to it but let’s ramble about Scylla

Of course it took the Wisdom Saga nearly dropping for me to finally finish this

This may be a collective organized rant or it’s (more likely) gonna be a super-ramble nonsense jumble pile of me trying to words

A bit of background- I got into Epic right around the time the Ocean Saga released; I quickly got obsessed (as one does) and have watched a bunch of Jorge’s older shorts on the making of different songs, including just about everything I could find on Scylla’s song. I was enamored by the vocals Jorge teased us with and as the Thunder Saga drew nearer, Scylla was hands-down the song I was most hyped for.

And BY GOLLY I WAS NOT DISAPPOINTED. I was blown away by Scylla on the livestream. Everything- the vocals, the instrumentals, the visuals- came together beautifully and I’m gonna ramble about it

But to really see Odysseus through this we gotta start with Suffering (which is an absolute bop); specifically when the siren tells Odysseus about Scylla. When she first says Scylla, Odysseus is repellent of that option, judging by his immediate “no”. He isn’t immediately on board. He doesn’t want to sacrifice his crew. And (even though we all knew this was coming) it takes the rest of Suffering and Different Beast before we finally see that he’s willing to go through with it in the opening of Scylla (what with him saying “this is our only way home” and all that).

Parts of Scylla sound like a waltz!! I haven’t noticed anyone else mention that yet. Maybe it’s just me. But in the first section during the “deep down”s and Ody/Eury dialogue the chords all sound waltz-y to me.

Odysseus only has a few lines in this song as well as some interesting parts when he doesn’t speak.

His very first lines- “the lair of Scylla… this is our only way home” aren’t in the same harsh tone as Different Beast. To me it sounds like he’s trying to justify his decision to himself. He has to go through with this. It’s the only way that he’ll get back to Ithica.

Contrast this with his tone as he speaks to Eurylochus- “not much to say”. It’s back to being rough and hard. He’s closing himself off to the rest of his crew, including Eurylochus. He’s becoming the monster to them. (Rawr rawr rawr)

The confession scene- THE CONFESSION SCENE MY GOODNESS. Honestly I wasn’t exactly expecting Eurylochus to have opened the bag but I’m not surprised either. It was a very “ahhh” moment for me. And Scylla’s words-

I’ve seen a few posts talking about how they believed Scylla’s words were directed to Eurylochus in this scene, but I never thought that was the case. I think Jay deliberately created the parallel there, but Eurylochus doesn’t seem like he’s *hearing* Scylla yet. (Remember- later on, he says “something approaches” as if that’s the first he’s seeing/hearing of Scylla.) No, these lyrics are meant for Odysseus, and what he’s about to do. Not to say there isn’t any relevance to Eurylochus here- “you hide a reason for shame … leaving them feeling betrayed / breaking the bonds that you’ve made” alternate with Eurylochus’s apology, as they shed light on what Eurylochus *had* done as well as what Odysseus was *going* to do. There is a strong parallel here- but it’s not Eurylochus Scylla is talking to. (This is also supported by the lyrics “you know that we are the same” and “we both know what it takes to survive”, neither of which have much relevance to Eurylochus here.) The lyric “you know that we are the same” is an interesting one, but I’ll get back to it later.

So Odysseus basically ghosts Eurylochus- and yes he’s probably furious about the wind bag incident but I think another reason for his silence is because he’s been hearing Scylla. Odysseus can’t forgive nor blame Eurylochus because he’s about to betray Eurylochus right back. Maybe he just can’t face speaking to Eurylochus with what he’s about to do.

Did anyone else at this point realize the sole purpose of the song “Full Speed Ahead” was for nothing more than to create a motif to be used absolutely everywhere

Then we get to Odysseus’s first words to Eurylochus! When first listening I could feel my heart dropping, as did likely everyone else who knew about Scylla from the Odyssey. But the DELIVERY. The simple DELIVERY of those CONDEMNING LINES- Eurylochus doesn’t even react to this order. This is really how you know that he- and the rest of the crew- don’t know where they’re headed. (I’ve seen plenty of people talk about Eurylochus’s thoughts during this scene and afterward so I’m not gonna tread over that same ground.) All I can say is my heart sank.

Did anyone else think about the lack of a “danger is near” motif in this song? I’ve heard a possible modified version in the song (1:14 if anyone wants to listen for it), but it doesn’t fully fit, and nowhere else is a hint of this theme shown. And there’s clearly about to be danger in this song- for six of Odysseus’s crew, that is. I think the reason we can’t hear a “danger is near” motif in this song because there isn’t a danger for Odysseus, and that’s who the danger is near motif is for. After all, the motif was present in “Mutiny”, right *after* they got through the danger of Scylla. Just another something cool I’ve found that I haven’t seen anyone else comment on before.

“Captain, something approaches”

“Hello.”

The DRUMS ON EACH BEAT, the VIOLIN RUNS, all with the background SHEPARD TONES falling and then rising, the SUSPENSE- THE ***SUSPENSE***

Before Scylla came out, I repeatedly watched the Scylla audition call video Jay put out, and from that I had the thought that the buildup section would be much shorter. Boy was that not the case and boy was that such a good decision the more I think about it. You really feel the suspense gradually build like it does for the crew, first seeing the vague shapes of Scylla and slowly having more and more revealed in the torchlight before the heads pounce.

Not to mention Scylla’s voice actor is amazing. She does a wonderful job of the smooth, almost angelic voice at the beginning and end, but in the chorus?! Jay’s videos on it didn’t do this justice! The MONSTROUS way she growls, the HARMONIES that come in in the second chorus- not to mention the crazy drums and other music in the background adding to the chaos.

And in the background you can *hear* when each man is scooped up, when each man is being devoured. Once again you’re right there with the crew, hearing your fellow friends get eaten. It’s not something I would expect to hear in the official song when their deaths aren’t the main focus during the chorus (the main focus being Scylla herself), but props to Jay for adding that detail.

One thing I noticed in the amazing animatic done for this section that I haven’t noticed many people specifically point out yet, is how Eurylochus doesn’t seem to catch on it’s the torches that are signaling to Scylla which men to eat until *after* he passes his own on. You can see it in the horror on his face as he looks at the second-to-last torch drop, then as he turns to the final man, the man he’d given his torch to (as he presumably went to try and help someone else from getting eaten? That’s how I interpret him leaving the torch with the final guy, like a “I need both hands for this” kind of thing).

Then the END- after the rampage- the final “We must do what it takes to survive”- it quiets down, the waltzy pattern comes back out, and the final line- “We are the same, you and I”

Back to that previous lyric I mentioned, “you know that we are the same”. Near the beginning of the song when I heard it, the lyric recalled to my mind that villain trope of “we’re not so different” (I think that’s a trope). And here at the end of the song that sentiment is repeated- and Odysseus SINGS WIRH HER. He AGREES. Up until now Odysseus hasn’t acknowledged Scylla talking to him, but here he’s given into the thought that yes, now he *is* the monster - to both his enemies *and* his crew. (Rawr rawr rawr)

And that’s how Scylla’s become one of my absolute favorite songs from Epic

I think we all need a little reminder of this every day

Hey you know that thing you're good at? That thing you think makes you valuable? The way you are, or the thing you do, etc?

You can be and deserve to be and will be loved and cherished even without it.

You're not worthwhile because you help, or you are good at making your art, or your skills at your job. You're worthwhile inherently, as a person, even without all that.

And I want you to internalize that because otherwise there might come a day where you can't do The Thing You Think Makes You Valuable. You'll get sick and can't draw, you'll burn out and can't do your job, you'll be emotionally unable to do your regular helpfulness for whatever reason, and you'll start to feel like you have no worth anymore.

But that's not true. You have worth, you deserve comfort and companionship and happiness, and that's not a conditional thing. You deserve that, even if you can't be Useful and Productive and all that shit.

It's an easy trap to fall into to justify yourself as "well, at least I help/make art/work hard" and have that be entirely too much of your self-esteem. Being proud of your work is fine. Being proud of yourself solely through your productivity is not, because you're making it conditional. And conditional on something that can change for reasons completely outside your control!

You gotta stop thinking about it like you gotta justify the space you take up on the planet. It's great if all those things make you happy: just make sure they're not the only things that make you feel like you are justifying your existence, or you'll crater if they get taken away.

You are lovable and likable and you have value as a person and a member of society, even if you never can be productive again. You are enough.

In light of recent events with the Ithica Saga stream, I’d like to share this song of encouragement for us all.

Spotify

We'll Be Fine

2024 Wrapped

Jeez I hope this link works the preview keeps showing my wrapped

My mom and I were going to watch the stream together but since it didn’t happen, we started watching the Wisdom Saga stream instead. And when it got to We’ll be Fine, I thought “huh, this is a good message for us right now.” Hope if you see this it gives you some encouragement ❤️ and Happy Holidays!

“My brain is rotting from the Wisdom Saga” has got to be some sort of paradox hasn’t it

Days 12-14 of my snarky sarcastic side speaking quotes from my page-a-day calendar!!

“Your breath is as bad as your personality.”

“Every second you’re alive is one less second that you will be alive.”

The calendar is taking quotes from the @ unspirational Instagram account by Elan Gale.

WHOOF. This weekend has been something. And judging by how the past few days have gone with my posts and doodles, I think it’s safe to say I’m going to start making weekly posts of these quote doodles. It’ll be less stress on me to make a post every day and also give me leeway if I fall behind a day but catch up the next.

Anyways, enough of my ramblings- enjoy my snarky gal! She looks so happy in the second one, I don’t know whether to be amused or concerned

Me: *listening to Love In Paradise in the car*

Calypso: “Oh handsome, you may try~ but last I checked, goddesses can’t die!”

Me: *turns car off* “Are you sure about that Calypso” >:3

NOOO YOU’RE GONNA MAKE ME CRY

Are Penelope, Telemachus and Laertes in the band AU

yeah of course they are!

This is beautiful

I feel like there's something there. like I'm onto something. please fill this in

HOW DID I NOT KNOW UNTIL NOW (in the MIDDLE of the Wisdom Saga stream) THAT IT WAS STRATEGIES AND NOT TRAGEDIES

AM I THE ONLY ONE WHO THOUGHT THAT

Days 22-28 of my snarky sarcastic side speaking quotes from my page-a-day calendar!!

The calendar is taking quotes from the @ unspirational Instagram account by Elan Gale.

Also I SWEAR I had everything doodled well before this hour I just had other stuff happen and then I forgot ._.

Jan. 22:

“It looks like I’m trying to help, but I’m actually pushing the “close door” button as fast as I can.”

Jan. 23:

“Save the planet.

Stop making people.”

Jan. 24:

“Everyone remembers every dumb thing you’ve ever done.”

Jan. 25:

“You are entitled to your opinion, just like we are entitled to ignore it.”

Jan. 26:

“Positivity are for people who don’t know better.”

Jan. 27/28:

“Strength is an admirable quality.

Consider getting some.”

Another WHOOF of a week. But I do quite like how most of these turned out! I’m on the home stretch now- I’ve decided I’m going to keep making these daily doodles until January ends, and then I’ll be cutting back on them. More about that in that post probably.

These quotes were a lot of fun. I personally feel the elevator one- that is me every single time, even when there’s nobody there. xD