my favorite flash on the internet, created by deviant Selecthumor, KARLS COTTON EYE JOE.

you know, after coming across this flash i was honestly amazed by it. there are so many things going on in this simple movie.

well, first of all, i'd like to point out how all of the lyrics are Typed Like This. i dont think lyrics are typically typed this way, and theres absolutely nothing wrong with that! I Just Think It's Interesting.

secondly, the lyrics arent even correct! you can see it says "If Hadn't Been" when it should read "If It Hadnt Been". this is a very simple mistake, and as someone who frequently makes spelling mistakes, this isnt nearly as bad as some of mine can be. the other mistake is that it says "I'd Been Merry". this is an obvious misheard lyric, as it should be "I'd Been Married", but this would not make any sense as i dont think karl, a statue, could even marry someone (editors note, i think a statue could marry someone if they really wanted to. i just dont think karl could commit to marriage). despite these mistakes, i think it adds onto the overall experience.

for those unfamiliar with the characters seen in this movie, these are the ocs of deviant unknown-person, from castle of nations. not much is known about the story behind them, especially at the time this flash was made (2008), so everything in this video is a bit random.

karl, the blonde one, is singing about climber, or "Cotton Eye Joe". he seems to be blaming climber for his not being merry or something like that. karl and climber are two characters who seem to be polar opposites, so it wouldnt be surprising if karl disliked him, and its pretty much implied that there may be some bad blood between the two in the round 5 animation for law of talos... but this flash seems like its trying to say that climber did something to karl. theres nothing signifying this in canon (using the term canon very loosely, as im including oct entries despite them not being canon to the castle of nations storyline). so what did climber do to karl in the context of this flash? will we ever know? only time will tell...

the third thing i'd like to point out is in the image with the lyrics "I'd Been Merry Long Time Ago" (another mistake i neglected to mention), we see karl jumping for joy over clarice, a new character, who seems to be dead. this is very strange, as at this time we havent yet gotten any info on karl and clarices relationship, nor do we see karl interact with or even mention clarice. there is absolutely nothing telling us that karl would want to kill clarice, or even knows her.

HOWEVER, clarice is a human, and karl fucking hates humans. this is the only reason i can think of that one would assume he'd kill her if he even knew her. clarice and climber seem to be friends, if not acquaintances, with clarice being a love interest for climber, so perhaps this could also be a reason why karl dislikes climber as well, considering he kinda fucking killed his human girlfriend and became emo or something.

another image that makes me go huh is the one under the lyrics "Where Did You Go?". this shows climber on his merry way to the endzone tournament, which was another oct. this makes no sense.... WHY IS THERE A HUGE SIGN POINTING DIRECTLY TO THE ENDZONE TOURNAMENT???? SHOULDNT IT BE A SIGN TO THE EVERAFTER ASYLUM?? WOULDNT THAT MAKE MORE SENSE???

and last, but certainly not least.... VIOLIN F.T.W.... this is very in character. i can imagine karl pulling out a violin and exclaiming that with such glee. honestly, if castle of nations ever gets released, whether it be a comic or animation, that should be karls catchphrase.

i know you may be wondering to yourself, benny, what is the point of all this? what are you trying to accomplish? WHATS WRONG WITH YOU???

i just.... well i..... you see,.... If it hadn't been for Cotton-Eye Joe I'd been married long time ago Where did you come from, where did you go? Where did you come from, Cotton-Eye Joe? If it hadn't been for Cotton-Eye Joe I'd been married long time ago Where did you come from, where did you go? Where did you come from, Cotton-Eye Joe? If it hadn't been for Cotton-Eye Joe I'd been married long time ago Where did you come from, where did you go? Where did you come from, Cotton-Eye Joe? If it hadn't been for Cotton-Eye Joe I'd been married long time ago Where did you come from, where did you go? Where did you come from, Cotton-Eye Joe? He came to town like a midwinter storm He rode through the fields, so handsome and strong His eyes was his tools and his smile was his gun But all he had come for was having some fun If it hadn't been for Cotton-Eye Joe I'd been married long time ago Where did you come from, where did you go? Where did you come from, Cotton-Eye Joe? If it hadn't been for Cotton-Eye Joe I'd been married long time ago Where did you come from, where did you go? Where did you come from, Cotton-Eye Joe? He brought disaster wherever he went The hearts of the girls was to Hell, broken, sent They all ran away so nobody would know And left only men 'cause of Cotton-Eye Joe If it hadn't been for Cotton-Eye Joe I'd been married long time ago Where did you come from, where did you go? Where did you come from, Cotton-Eye Joe? If it hadn't been for Cotton-Eye Joe I'd been married long time ago Where did you come from, where did you go? Where did you come from, Cotton-Eye Joe? If it hadn't been for Cotton-Eye Joe I'd been married long time ago Where did you come from, where did you go? Where did you come from, Cotton-Eye Joe? If it hadn't been for Cotton-Eye Joe I'd been married long time ago Where did you come from, where did you go? Where did you come from, Cotton-Eye Joe? If it hadn't been for Cotton-Eye Joe I'd been married long time ago Where did you come from, where did you go? Where did you come from, Cotton-Eye Joe?

.... i really like this flash