Thank you so much for all your love and excitement surrounding Elizabeth's ('Lily's') theme! It's been such a labor of love so far 🫶 I have the updated version for you my loves 🌷😗 I do hope you enjoy!

And yes I've added Piccy's of miss Lily because why not 😌 Also... below the cut is a fun music fact for anyone interested 🫶

Artwork on the left is by @jepao & artwork on the right is by @izaya-art

I've been wanting to delve into the Kalisk's role as a symbol of grief in Predator Badlands but haven't gotten the time to really collect my thoughts about it. By extension I also wanna give Bud some attention because I don't think she gets as much recognition for her role in Dek's healing as other characters.

I kind of want to switch my theme.. Ik its literally so iconic and I basically got all my followers like this but. idk.

Hello, everyone! I never anticipated that my mumbling about Faust would generate so much reaction. Honestly, I'm a bit surprised as I never had so many people liking or reposting my posts, so it is a wonderful surprise!

Anyway, today, we are here to analyze the poem told by Hong Lu at the beginning of each part of Canto 8. This poem heavily resonates with Hong Lu's themes and reflects his own emotions.

Indeed, Zàng Huā Yín translates to "The Lament of the Burial of Flowers" or "Elegy for the Burial of Flowers."

To be more precise:

葬 (Zàng) — to bury (usually used for funerals or burials).

花 (Huā) — flower.

吟 (Yín) — chant, recitation, or poetic lament.

So, Zàng Huā Yín is a poem that reflects themes about lament, mourning and ephemeral and more...

It comes from the novel where Hong Lu comes from originally, the "Dream of the Red Chamber" (DotRC), a Chinese classic novel, written by Cao Xueqin.

To be even more specific, this poem is written by Lin Daiyu inside the book, offering the reader, a look into her bleeding heart, showing us her sorrow, fragility, fears and her eventual fate.

There is a lot of subtleties with the character of Lin Daiyu inside the book but one of her main traits are her intense love for Baoyu and her discomfort living inside Jia's household, she feels left out, and alone despite being well treated. This can be explained that she was allowed to live with the Jia only by Jia Mu, Baoyu's grandmother and that without that, there is no one to truly support her. She also misses her hometown and her dead parents as well...

Lin Daiyu also jumps to conclusions too quickly aa which makes her more miserable and creates major incidents. But one of her other main conflicts lies in the tension of that intense love and be that proper young woman (be the ideal woman sought in the Confucian values)

Anyways, what can we say about this, then? That a part of Hong Lu's character is also based from Lin Daiyu's novel counterpart, not only Jia Baoyu as they are vastly different in terms of personality wise though they still have some similarities, but that's not what we will talk about here.

But yeah, it is important to know that as it explains a lot of things concerning Hong Lu's character and I mean it.

But now, let's start the in-depth analysis of this poem with its first Stanza:

■ First Stanza

So, this stanza, appeared for the first time in Canto 8's trailer and in the first part of Canto 8, at the beginning.

This is an interesting stanza that I am very surprised that no one put more thoughts into it, even though the association is easy to make, it is still very relevant to Hong Lu's character and base.

Anyway, in this first stanza, the first two verses, comes directly from the famous poem:

Flowers fade, petals fall, covering the sky,

Red gone, scent vanished-who will mourn their sigh?

They share and convey the same meaning. Through the allusions of flowers, petals or blossoms wilting, fading and filling the sky, we see that everything fades, everyone will go away and simply die. It is amplified with the uses of color and fragrance for Hong Lu version and crimson and scent for the original version. Those vibrant things, alluding to vibrant life itself will also wilt

It is more prominent in Hong Lu's cases as "colors" also means emotions, those intense, vivid feelings that can be felt whether they are good or bad. But I will come back late to that.

Anyway, those two verses converges into saying that no one will eventually be present, stay to mourn those flowers and petals...

Let's continue with the other two verses next who are similar to two other verses of the original poem:

Hong Lu's version:

To the garden I go, in hand a flower-rake,

Only to pace, lest crushed the scatter 'd blossoms I make.

Orginal:

Holding a flower-spade, through curtains she appears,

Reluctantly stepping among fallen blossoms, eyes filled with tears.

Here, the meaning of those two verses are still similar. It's there that we can see Hong Lu and so Lin Daiyu making that burial of flower, right?

Indeed, Hong Lu, like Daiyu did make a burial of Flowers. Most importantly, those flowers and petals symbolizes not only those fleetings things but also the character themself. Originally, Lin Daiyu before coming to the realm of mortal, in the novel, was a flower in the Land beyond the mortal realm. And so in describing those flowers and petals, she describes herself.

It is the same thing for Hong Lu, who has been describing also himself so far. Those flowers wilting away and flowing away, like he now, before the end of Canto 8, is floating, will they be mourned?

To add on, those flowers and scattered petals can also represent Hong Lu's emotional state, which by his trauma, are now scattered, broken and like Lin Daiyu, he seems to be scared of crushing those scattered petals. He is in a way grieving foe those petals and so himself and so buries them so as to be free from himself and those emotions...

And the last three verses which have not counterpart, they only exist in Hong Lu's version:

Thus, in this troubled world I breathe

To shut my eyes

Is my sole reprieve

They goes in line with what we already said so far and now we see clearly Hong Lu's feelings and he explicitly says that to close his eyes, so to simply disappear, to be indifferent, to escape from this troubled world, the material world and this world of suffering where keeping your emotions is futile as they will also fly away, is his sole grace.

It is only by being ignoring himself and become simply empty, that he can save himself for a bit, that he can be free from suffering altogether. He confirms that it is his only peace.

The fact that he wants to shut his eyes, and so in a way to sleep eternally, to simply die in order to escape this world is really sad.

In addition to that, him wanting to shut his eyes can be a direct reference to how he was forced to see all kinds of suffering, forced to see horrible things, and has indeed underwent non-contact csa with Jia Mu forcing him to watch the Cuckoospawns "seizing their nests, forcing their eggs inside… and newborns, tearing their way out to the world through their stomachs"  (Lord Lu uptie story)

Thus, the "shut my eyes" is a reference to the Kong's family massacre, where he was forced to watch when he wanted to simply close his eyes...

To conclude, the first stanza shows to us, Hong Lu's feelings of the futility of life, his grief and how he wants to simply fade away from this world.

Let's keep continue with the second stanza:

■ Second stanza

So, now here is the second stanza, seen at the beginning of the second part of Canto 8. It is interesting said when LCB are in the place where the Kong's family got massacred. As always, some verses are taken from the original verses and some are original one from Hong Lu's version.

So let's see their meanings again by starting with the three first verses:

the garden's sorrow -bearer, lamenter at the flower-funeral

Flower-rake in hand, teardrops in eyes,

You carve bloodstained tears upon branches floral.

Those three verses are similar to those, from the original version:

By the steps, sorrow consumes the flower-burier's face.

Leaning on her spade alone, she secretly cries,

Tears splashed on empty branches turn to blood-red dyes

Though, again, there are some differences, I believe the meaning stays the same.

Indeed, the garden's sorrow-bearer or flower-burier's face, represent Hong Lu/Lin Daiyu and once gain their own sorrow and deep sadness.

Interestingly, another adjective is used in Hong Lu's version, the "Lamenter" to describe him. As we already make the link with Hong Lu and his own emotions representing those flowers, we can understand this first face as Hong Lu attending to his own funerals, or at least to the funerals of his old self.

It is said that he has teardrops in his eyes which again shows that through this poem, he opens his heart completely, showing his grief and tears, his fleetings emotions burried in the funerals of flowers, secretly to us.

Moreover, the use of the 2nd person of singular is interesting in Hong Lu case. It is different from the original version where the third person of singular is use.

The meaning of this is pretty clear. It's Hong Lu, dissociating himself from his own emotions, as if he is talking to someone else and not talking about himself. Generally, "you" is used when talking about to someone else often directly in front of you.

We already said that he is the lamenter, the garden's sorrow bearer. So, he is dissociating from his own emotions and sorrow, as if he is talking to his younger self directly. His sorrow and cries are so intense, that there are "bloodstained tears." Those bloodstained tears are often a way to convey intense emotions.

Shouldn't that make you remember something? Indeed, Hong Lu's EGO, Tears of the Tarnished Blood:

Where petals, tears, bloody petals and bloodstained tears are present. To be more exact, the lake of blood seen in the EGO represents those bloodstained tears. He is the garden's sorrow bearer.

But let's stop here for now and attack those next 2 verses of this Stanza:

I heard yesternight from the garden a song of grief,

An elegy for a flower and a bird departing,

Those verses seems to also originate from the original one:

But last night, beyond the garden

a grieving song came forth;

I know that it’s the flower spirits

and the bird spirits too.

So, for this 2 verses, it's hard to really see their meaning. It might reference as to Hong Lu grief or if we continue on with the particular use of "you" in the precedent verses and here the use of I in Hong Lu's version, it might be Hong Lu hearing the Elegy made by his other self, his younger self.

We often saw how Hong Lu dissociates himself numerous times, from his child self and so the repressed self burried in the burial of flowers and so from his own emotions and so I think it is the case here.

He is literally hearing the mourning of the depart of himself, to be exact of his younger self, the one who wanted to cry and who wanted to be saved...

In the original version, it is Lin Daiyu hearing this grieving song that she attributes to the spirits of flowers and birds, which can again symbolize the grieving of things slowly leaving and dying.

Finally, we are finishing this stanza with the last two verses:

Availed naught to hold the parting spring,

Surrendered I become, heeding the endless woe sans relief

Those two doesn't seem to have ties with Lin Daiyu's poem. Maybe for the first one, as they are similar verses but that much so I didn't include it.

Anyways, it's that verses that keeps making me think about that dissociation that Hong Lu makes. The reference to the inevitable of "parting spring" is very interesting as spring often symbolizes hope, new beginnings, the beauty of nature where colorful flowers and petals start to bloom. It is also a symbol for youth

So when it is leaving, it reminds us of the ephemeral, that the beauty and youth are leaving and parting, leaving and that it is inevitable. So it speaks about the fleeetings things and impermanence.

The parting spring can also symbolizes, the pain that will come for Hong Lu, that joy and happiness are simply fleeting and that after that he will suffer. That's exactly what the last verse means, alluding to his trauma (Kong's family massacre) and to the endless pain and suffering he had to watch, giving up, surrendering to that suffering and pain without any ways of escaping.

From this stanza, we see Hong Lu that began to dissociate with his own feelings and emotions, with himself. He burried that version of himself who could still feel. He couldn't hold the parting spring, so the joy and happiness he had back then and was forces to simply suffer without relief...

Finally, we attack the last stanza, seen at the last part of Canto 8. It's in that last stanza where we can clearly see Hong Lu's desires and his more explicit thoughts:

■ Last Stanza

So let's start by the first three verses of the stanza:

Let flourish from my back the pinions of flight,

To chase the parting blossoms, their wilting voyage a sky-high plight.

Ah, where at the edge of heaven does it lie, this flower-mound?

So those first three does come from the novel counterpart:

I wish today I could sprout wings to fly,

Following blossoms till the edge of sky.

At heaven's edge, where is their fragrant mound?

They share similar meaning.

So, here Hong Lu clearly expresses the will and desire to fly away so as to chase those petals and blossoms and their ephemeral voyage all up into the sky.

He wishes to have the wings so as to escape from this world, willing to wilt like the blossoms and petals that we already say that they represent a part of himself. He wants to disappear, to cease to exist in this world so as to be free of everything that hurts him.

But he can't find this flower-mound, even at the edge of the sky, and won't find it. The flower-mound, as high up in the sky, they simply disappeared from his sight.

The flower-mound being that part of himself, his emotions and young self, that at the top of the sky (The Tiekan temple), does not exist simply because it is there where indifference and the loss of the self and autonomy exists.

Alright, let's continue with the next 4 verses:

I bury you today, for you have passed on

But when will be buried when l am gone?

I bury the petals, under people's mocking laughter

But who shall be burying me then, in the

thereafter?

They also come from the novel as well:

Today I bury flowers, others mock my grief,

But who knows when my life itself will find relief?

They laugh now as foolish I appear,

Yet who will bury me in a future unclear?

Well to be more exact, it is the last three verses...

But yeah, the meaning is pretty clear here. Hong Lu is talking about the flower-mound, that he burries, so younger self and his emotions like we explained throughout this analysis but also asks who will bury his actual self, when he will be gone.

He wonders if by distancing and becoming indifferent to all, people would still remember him? Or they would forget him?

Once again, there is Hong Lu burying his petals, his heart, under people's mocking. The original version is more precise and say that those people are mocking Daiyu's grief.

You know who did mock his grief and sorrow while he tried to save them? The residents of people who were in the place where occurred the Kong's family massacre. He tried everything in his power to save them, to save those people despite feeling powerlessness and useless in doing so and yet everyone he tried to warn, mocked him and simply rejected his warning.

And so, people being indifferent to his grief and sorrow, no one ultimately cared and so he once asks again who will bury him...

Finally, the last verses of the stanza:

No one will cry at my burial-mound

For, as morning springs die and blossoms wilt

They all float away and turn to silt.

I'll use the last verses of the original poem as though they are different they still hold the same meaning:

See spring fading, blossoms falling day by day,

So too fades youth and beauty, both quietly decay.

Once spring ends, youth departs with a sigh,

When blossoms fade and people perish, none knows how or vhy

He affirms and is sure now that no one will mourn or cry for him as he is alone, surrendered to himself and is pain, detaching himself from the world and people.

Interestingly, the petals here symbolizes people, at least that's what I think so the

"morning springs die and blossoms wilt

They all float away and turn to silt."

,once again references to fleetings things and that everything will end once again, like himself and those people.

It is similar to the original version, where Lin Daiyu speaks about once again (yes) the ephemerality of life, that at the end, lies death for everyone and everything like those blossoms fading away...

■ Conclusion

As we can see through this analysis of this poem, the character of Hong Lu not only incorporated his novel counterpart but also a part of Lin Daiyu's novel counterpart, about her solitude, mourning and sorrow. About how they will eventually wilt and disappear without having anyone to truly cry for them at the end....

As the title says, guys. I finally have 2 songs for every member of the main cast (that means Lenore's group and Annabel's group).

I know it's been very long since I started this and many may have lost interest in this ideea but I'm really sorry I couldn't post it earlier (you know, life n stuff) 🥺

Anyway, let's get to the KEY (aka which song is for who)

Nevermore students - Nevermore - RWBY and The Ballad of Jane Doe - the Ride the Cyclone musical

Lenore X Annabel - Music Box of Fate - Ironmouse

Lenore's group - How 2 get away with murder - South Arcade

Annabel's group - Oh No! - Marina

Lenore - Redondo beach and Gloria - Patti Smith

Annabel Lee - Love song for a vampire Annie Lennox and Weight of the World - Shayfer James

Duke - Vehicle - The Ides of March and Bones - Imagine Dragons

Pluto - Run Boy Run - Woodkid and Renegades - X Ambassadors

Eulalie - Dream weaver - Gary Wright and dumb dumb - mazie

Berenice - Maneater - Nelly Furtado and Heads will Roll - Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Morella - rises the moon - Liana Flores and Lunchbox friends - Melanie Martinez

Montresor - Hell's comin with me - Poor Man's Poison and Arsonist - Halsey

Will - Maybe later dance - Jhariah and dopamine - Nxdia

Ada - Touch-a Touch-a Touch Me - The Rocky Horror Show and Coming Down - Halsey

Prospero - a facade of memories - grac and Grace Manuyag and Hand in glove - The Smiths

Spectres (in general) - Calling all the monsters - China Anne McClain (this one is for a funny final touch ;))) )

If you still want to give more suggestions for these characters or other ones feel free to tell me :)

❕🍀Many thanks to everyone who contributed to this (people on Tumblr and/or Reddit): @m1xieup, @genimas, @colorfulwording, NiceLittleTown2001, ArtemisyaKalahari, SeiraPh1m, @sparesomeserotonin, @sandalwood-and-puffed-sleeves @amethystdragon33, @lostmotivation2draw, @astray-arlo, @chilethesilly

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