#can I say this is a nerdy prudes must die reference if I have that one Peter song stuck in my head

[hollowaluminumvessel]

i just had a dream about Bolas Rojas. guys im gonna be the first to admit, i might not be as normal as I think I am

[gotta-get-back-to-hatchetfield]

Help! I loved Nerdy Prudes Must Die and am curious about Nightmare Time but don't really have time to commit to watching it all... (a handy guide)

For those of you who don't know Nightmare Time was a series of Hatchetfield one shots that starkid wrote and recorded during lockdown, all of which are of course available for free on YouTube. They go a lot deeper into the lore than the 3 Hatchetfield musicals, including explaining and explore the characters we know and love in more detail, sometimes including shocking revelations.

They also introduce new characters to the Hatchetfield universe, including Stephanie Lauter, Grace Chasity and Pete Spankoffski, who we first met in a Nightmare Time episode.

As they were filmed in lockdown the recording quality is somewhat variable, but Season 2 has a much higher production value than Season 1, and in Season 1 Episode 1 in particular they were very clearly trying to find their feet with it. That being said the actual scripts and content of the episodes is solid throughout.

I've decided to put together this handy guide of which Nightmare Time episodes people might want to check out if they want to learn more about certain things we saw in NPMD.

1) Nibbly - Honey Queen (season 2 episode 1)

If you're curious to learn more about the Lords in Black each of them (bar Wiggly) have an episode of Nightmare Time devoted to them.

For Nibbly, Wiggly's hungriest and pinkest brother that episode is 'Honey Queen' in Season 2 Episode 1.

It explores a very entertaining rivalry between Linda Monroe (from Black Friday) and Zoey (the annoying barista from Beanie's in TGWDLM) that naturally turns very very dark. We also get to meet Linda's husband Gerald who she spends most of Black Friday on the phone to.

As a heads up Nibbly doesn't appear until, shall we say, the end of the episode (with Hatchetfield there's always a twist) and he's not in the super sexy form from NPMD but it's a very strong episode and does give a bit of background to Nibbly's deal.

2) Tinky - Time Bastard (season 1 episode 2 part 2)

If you're curious to learn more about this yellow motherfucker played by Curt then you're in luck because he's in my personal favourite episode and one with a lot of interesting lore surrounding it.

If you're curious about what he means when in NPMD he says 'I could add another Spankoffski to my set', Time Bastard is focused around Pete's brother Ted (from TGWDLM) and the dodgy dealings of CCRP.

It's an extremely clever episode, with lots of really fun twists. It's unfortunately season 1 so has slightly lower production quality, but in terms of raw scripting is just outstanding and has some really interesting reveals about people in the Hatchetfield universe who may not be who we think they are...

Also worth noting that this is in the same episode (Youtube video) as a different Nightmare Time episode 'Forever and Always'. Most episodes work like this where you have two different stories per episode, they absolutely can be watched independently but usually have some sort of thematic link (in this case it's the things we do for love and how they will inevitably be thwarted by CCRP being sketch).

3) Blinky - Watcher World (season 1 episode 1 part 2)

And if you're curious about the one who's always watching you, he's actually the first Lord in Black we meet through Nightmare Time, in the very first episode when Bill and Alice Woodward (TGWDLM) go on an ill fated trip to a spooky theme park.

Again this is from the first episode so production quality is low but it's a really solid episode and a very interesting look into these characters.

While this is our first meeting of a lord in black in Nightmare Time, I don't believe he's actually referred to as such, and the concept of the Lords in Blacks being introduced as Wiggly's brothers comes in at point 5 on this list.

4) Pokey - Yellow Jacket (season 2 episode 4)

You've already met Pokey through TGWDLM (yep that was his blue shit that destroyed the world!), but you won't truly realise how fucking scary he is until you meet his incarnation 'Otho' in Yellow Jacket.

A solid episode exploring Lex, Hannah and Ethan in a lot more detail, and in a world and lives where (at least at the start of the episode) things seem to be a lot more stable for them than in Black Friday.

And yeh as I've already mentioned Pokey is fucking s c a r y in it. Also you remember James Tolbert's character, Charles that gets a little cameo in Hatchetown? Well he's the main human antagonist of this episode!

We also learn a lot of lore about 'the gift', the thing that makes Hannah able to do magic.

5) The concept of the Lords in Black generally - The Witch in the Web (season 2 episode 3 part 2)

If you're curious about why everyone's been posting pictures of those evil teddy bears and now even more confused that you've met them all as fucked up high school students, the Witch in the Web is the episode where we're first introduced to the 'they don't care bears' as a set.

This is a really cool episode, again about Lex and Hannah, but it also exploring Uncle Wiley (from Black Friday) in a lot more detail.

We also first meet two characters called Duke and Miss Holloway who together form the ship Holloduke that if you were following any of Starkid tumblr during lockdown you will definitely have heard of. They're really cool!

Here we also meet Webby, Hannah's imaginary friend in Black Friday, who turns out to be the lord in black's sister: a queen in white. And she's dope.

6) Pete Spankoffski, Stephanie Lauter and Grace Chasity - Abstinence Camp (season 2 episode 2 part 2)

We first meet the now beloved characters of Pete and Steph and the slightly less beloved character of Grace in an evangelical abstinence only camp. The episode centers entirely around these characters and plays excellently with tropes of the horror genre.

It also has the best song in all of Nightmare Time and it's up to you to decide if I'm talking about 'oh my god it's the axe-man' or 'virginity rocks' (it's both, the answer is both).

That's pretty much it in terms of Nightmare Time episodes that cover things from NPMD, but in case you're curious here's a quick run down of what the rest are about:

The Hatchetfield Ape Man - season 1 episode 1 part 1. Hidgens makes Ted pretend to be a Tarzan style half monkey, half man thing to con Angela Giarratanna out of her inheretence.

Watcher World - season 1 episode 1 part 2. See bullet 3 above. Alice and Bill Woodward go to a theme park and shit hits the fan.

Forever and Always - season 2 episode 2 part 1. Paul and Emma get married. Things are not as they seem (there are robots). One of my personal favourites.

Time Bastard - season 2 episode 2 part 2. See bullet 2 above. Ted fucks with time travel and things end very badly for him. Best episode imo.

Jane's a Car - season 2 episode 3 part 1. Turns out the soul of Tom Houston's ex-wife Jane, who died in a car crash, transferred into the car. This somewhat complicates his budding relationship with Becky Barnes.

The Witch in the Web - season 2 episode 3 part 2. See bullet 5 above. Hannah Foster's having nightmares and somehow a witch and Uncle Wiley are involved. Luckily a good witch (Miss Holloway) is there to try and help.

Honey Queen - season 2 episode 1. See bullet 1 above. Linda Monroe and Zoey Chambers compete to win the Hatchetfield honey queen beauty pageant and things spiral wildly out of control. My personal favourite episode from season 2.

Perky's Buds - season 2 episode 2 part 1. Emma's finally achieved her dream of owning her own pot farm. Just her, her non-binary farm hand Ziggs and some very evil birds.

Abstinence Camp - season 2 episode 2 part 2. See bullet 6 above. Pete, Steph and Grace go to a retreat in the very creepy woods to learn one way or another about the perils of pre-marital sex.

Daddy - season 2 episode 3 part 1. Remember Sherman Young (Jamie's weird creepy guy from Black Friday)? Turns out there's something very weird going on with his mum. We also learn a lot about Frank Pricely (owner of toyzone from Black Friday) in this episode, who turns out to be a very interesting character.

Killer Track - season 2 episode 3 part 2. Miss Holloway must take extreme action to save a young girl and then the whole world against an evil song that kills anyone who listens to it. We learn a lot more about Holloway as a character and she is soooo cool. Another favourite episode of mine.

Yellow Jacket - season 2 episode 4. See bullet point 4. Hannah seeing her sister struggling to provide for them financially decides to find a way of using her power to earn some spare cash.

Hey Melissa - episode aired only on a livestream, type it into youtube and it'll come up. If you've ever found yourself asking 'what if Mariah's secretary character from the start of TGWDLM was really into dom pup play and Paul Matthews was her little pup bitch and she was also a horrific out of control serial killer?' then a) are you Matt Lang because if not I'm concerned? and b) by god this is the episode for you!. I personally really enjoy it I think it's super funny, but obviously heavy trigger warnings for abuse and sexual content warnings (there's a reason they didn't put this in the real series). Fucking excellent tho.

[moonmoonthecrabking]

nerdy prudes must die (the song) is just. banger line after banger line. to keep this short, this post is on the religious allusions!! and that’s literally going to be so long anyway. am i reading to much into these lyrics? yes. and?

the obvious one “crusade”, with the medieval atrocities coming to mind, specifically one that the soldiers in believed was or acted as though it was righteous, when it was just bigotry. max’s is probably more reasonable than the actual crusades, given the nerdy prudes did kill him, but that’s not the point. it's also related to his power trip and intolerance for the school acting outside what he deems fit.

this whole verse actually can lean into this reading. “[the world] needs to be saved”. you know who else came to save the world (this’d be a great youth pastor segue if this were church appropriate). of course, Jesus saving the world was to break away slavery to sin (“you’re too weak to be enslaved” btw), at the cost of his own life, while max is killing people who were/are “too well-behaved” to rid the world of losers in death.

“jagerman will rise”. you know who else rose from the dead, improved beyond original (earthly) form? (seriously it’s so easy it makes me mad i can’t use it) yeah. but it’s twisted because max came back wrong. and Jesus came back right (like heavenly, in christian theology he was and always is God, this is a reference to the disciples not initially recognising him upon the resurrection).

“the jock you demonised” haha, demon, that’s what he is now. not unique to christianity, but there’s something to be said about him bragging about his reputation as a “literal monster” before loathing it. is it possible that he never liked it but he didn’t want to be seen as a loser who can’t take a hit? sure. is it more about how the nerdy prudes caused him to die in such a way that he became Like This? yeah. i don’t have more to say on this one, but i thought it’d be remiss not to acknowledge it.

and ofc, “who will pray for me when i’m gone?” and yeah, this is obviously about legacy and reputation but i’m doing specific words. prayer is not unique to christianity, but this line drew out to me praying for the dead. which is a Biblical context. some denominations believe this to be about purgatory, for others it doesn’t, because they don’t believe in purgatory. but yeah this act of care and intercession which max didn’t receive from his peers or family (he also came back as a ghost), and he forces that loneliness upon richie.

also “is this the eternal dark without a dawn” just goes fucking hard. like you can liken it to some iterations of death or hell, albeit not dante’s version we often default to, but i just think it’s a neat line mate.

[whoareyoueventhough]

hey y'all are we ready for me to be normal about Nerdy Prudes Must Die? Are we ready?

(oh and before you tell me I'm over analyzing, that's the point. I have no clue if these are all intentional or "reading to much into it," but I enjoy reading into it a LOT so if that's too much for you, you don't have to read this)

Hahaha I tricked you!!! I'm not normal actually

so the opening number, high school is killing me, is one of my top songs in the whole show. It opens with a riff very similar to Richie's "I'm not a loser," his last sung words. This whole thing has an emphasis on last words so get ready for that. Anyway, we hear a nod to his last words and then we see his corpse/ghost, and we know he's dead because he tells us: "I'm dead. The blood is all but draining from my head. The nightmare started there, but now has spread. My pulse is certainly droppin', and my life is hangin' on by a thread." So we're gonna take this line by line!

"the blood is all but draining from my head" interesting line, as neither of the police officers spoke about a head injury (other than drowning.)

"the nightmare started there, but now has spread" partnered with the previous line, this foreshadows Max pretty well. The nightmare started with his death (blood draining, there was a lot more blood in his death than Richie's) before spreading (Max comes back, killing people. (spreading death? Like it started with his death and spreads.))

"My pulse is certainly dropping, and my life is hanging on my a thread." I'm dead/my life is hanging on? Sounds like you were dead but now you aren't quite. That's familiar.

Ruth enters! Overlapping with "thread" her first line is "I'm scared," which very obviously ties in with her anxiety and stage fright, however, it also contrasts with Richie's first line "I'm dead," saying she's not dead yet, but she's scared she will be, letting the audience know that the students are aware and terrified of the killer. It also adds a false sense of security for the Ruth fans.

"someone comes for me, I'm unprepared" someone comes for HER specifically, implying she's a target for a reason. She's unprepared, she didn't expect to be a target.

"the wait has got me sweatin', cant cut through all the tension" this line goes up with no resolution, unlike the other lines thus far, emphasizing the feeling of terrifying wait, the inevitable (heh) end to her life.

*"it's hell on earth you know" any line said by the ensemble has a double meaning. There are a few exceptions but this is a good rule of thumb. Here it's "waiting for the killer to find me is hell/high school is hell," a fun little joke that twists your expectations the first time through.

"I'm tweetin all about it" the first hint to the audience that the song is about to get a lot less dark.

"I take it blow by blow, but I'd never scream or shout it-" blow by blow, death by death, missing person by missing person. The hatchetfield high students have to take it all, because there isn't anything they can do about it. They just gotta keep going. I think screaming and shouting may be a reference to Grace telling everyone to remain quiet about the incident instead of telling the cops it was an accident, but that one is definitely a stretch.

"passing period is over, find your seats" the easy part of life (pre Maxs death) is over, find your place in the world.

ok that was the first chunk of lyrics, how are we feeling? Good? Good! This is the intermission of this wall of text, go drink some water

"high school is killing me, got me all out of rhythm and my melody" the obvious double meaning here, I fuckin hate high school/ someone is literally killing me in this high school. Also fourth wall break, it's a musical!

"it's not cool, it's a fallacy. It's a cruel and unusual brutality" 'not cool' is referencing that only nerds get killed, but it's a fallacy because everyone is a nerd in his eyes. It's a cruel and unusual way of killing, swirlies and wedgies and a fuck ton of puns.

*"and I can survive it for only so long" I just really like this line, the harmonies are so cool. Anyway, I can only survive so long before I drop out/ I can only survive so long before he gets me. A good callback to Ruth's wait and tension.

"High school is killing me" we aren't going to talk about repeat lines like this one unless they're in a new context.

"I'm so fuckin dead" figuratively/literally. This is also a great callback to Richie's first line, faking out so we might reconsider if he's actually dead.

I have literally nothing to say about Stephanie's verse/ dialogue. It moves the plot and establishes her personality.

"There's nowhere to turn, for the class of twenty twenty one" they can't turn to the cops without confessing to manslaughter. Also it was originally 2026 but got changed, but I don't know why.

"got me all out of rhythm and my melody (my melody, my melody)" despite the addition of lines, the melody stays the same. However, you could say the rhythm has changed because there are more beats.

"A cesspool, faux democracy. It's one hell of a normal abnormality" faux democracy is acting like you actually like Max Jägerman. Hell is foreshadowing his destruction, and a normal (Max bullying nerds) abnormality (he's dead and they're dead)

"I'm so fuckin dead" repeated in the background, emphasizing this line more than Richie saying it at the start of the show

ok here's my favourite part to scream about here we go. This is all speculation I don't know if there's any meat to it but I like to think

"8 o'clock bell ring place my head on my desk" eight: Grace, Peter, Steph, Richie, Ruth, Max, Officer Shapiro, and Mr Lauter. The people involved, who know about the ghost.

"12 o'clock Girl Scout, can't I just get my rest?" Our lovely Girl Scout Grace, the one who came up with the plan and the one who got them in to the Waylon place to begin with. And because she got into the Waylon place, Maxs soul cannot be at rest.

*"3 o'clock countdown, everyday lockdown, classroom arrest! Is god the one giving the test?" My school day ended at three o'clock when I was at school, so I found myself counting down until three pretty often. I feel like a lot of people interpret the "countdown" in this line as a three two one, starting with three, but I think it's a five four three. Three numbers, ending with three. Five nerds, three survivors.

"CHEATERS!!" I just wanted to say that Grace is my favourite and I love her thats all :)

"It's got me all out of rhythm and my melody (my melody, my melody)" this time the melody changes! Wow!

"It's not cool it's a tragedy, I've been thrown to the wolves of this community (*howling*)" Max, people don't think you're cool because you kill people. It's a tragedy. Anyway the fact that the students are howling means they ARE the wolves, everyone thinks that everyone else is out to get them, and the closer they are to Jägerman the truer that sentiment is.

"and I'll still despise it, when I am gone" gone as in graduated/ gone as in dead

"Fuck you biology" the biology that lets you feel pain? The biology that mean you will inevitably die?

*"grace just be cool" "never!" Are your beans not cool, Ms Chastity? Also did I mention I love her

"high school will murder me" getting heavier on the darker implications (you better have been thinking about the implications)...

"Yeah!" ...but lightening it up with a classic "everybody pose" ending! This musical definitely won't take any turns towards horror, look at it! Everybody is posing and saying yeah in unison!

If you read this whole thing please please please reblog it and put something in the tags, I'm obsessed with this musical and would be so happy to know someone read my analysis.

oh and any line with an (*) before it just means I really like that line :)

[forevertrueblue]

If you only watch one Nightmare Time episode before Nerdy Prudes Must Die

Watch The Witch in the Web.

I know everyone is saying you should watch Abstinence Camp. And it's great. It's by far the funniest Hatchetfield story, has great social commentary, and - probably the main reason people are suggesting it - has the same lead characters as Nerdy Prudes Must Die.

But the thing about Abstinence Camp is that it doesn't actually provide any necessary information about these characters that Nerdy Prudes Must Die doesn't. The musical contains a cameo/joke about some other characters from Abstinence Camp and a reference to a connection between one of the NPMD leads and a character from another Hatchetfield musical that was revealed in Abstinence Camp. And there's a joke about someone's bathing habits that might give you a chuckle if you watch it during NPMD. But I think that's pretty much it in terms of lore from Abstinence Camp that's not also covered in the musical.

What Abstinence Camp doesn't contain, though, are certain characters who are important in Nerdy Prudes Must Die that mostly haven't appeared in the other Hatchetfield musicals. They play a key role that leads to a HUGE moment for those who have seen Nightmare Time, possibly the biggest in all of the Hatchetfield stories.

As a general rule, the more Hatchetfield content you've seen, the more special it is. But I know watching two full seasons of a webseries can be intimidating and a lot to ask of people, so if you can only watch one, The Witch in the Web is probably your best bet. It contains all of the characters in question and explains a lot of the lore behind them. Other episodes provide a deeper dive on some of these characters individually, but this is the one that provides some level of explanation about all of them.

If you're open to watching all of Nightmare Time before seeing Nerdy Prudes Must Die, I think you should. It's a great series that contains some of the best Hatchetfield stories, what I consider to be StarKid's best song to date, and some cool lore about the town and its inhabitants. But if you can only see one, it's gotta be The Witch in the Web hands down.

[archivalofsins]

Admittedly I'm in a downer mood- So, we're gonna talk about Mikoto!

I love all the callbacks to MeMe in Double. It's exactly like how in the climax of some musicals they reference back to other songs within them.

The best examples of this I can think of off the top of my head are-

Dirty Dudes Must Die (Nerdy Prudes Must Die Starkid)

Literally the name is a direct reference to the title of the musical and a song previously in it.

Nerdy Prudes Must Die

"Nerdy prudes must die. Nerdy prudes must die. Everybody cool watch those nerds run for their lives. Jaegerman will rise blood will be my prize. Nerdy, nerdy prudes watch me shock and cock you block. The jock you demonized."

Dirty Dudes Must Die: "Dirty dudes must die. Dirty dudes must die. Every dirty dude watch us nerds destroy your kind. Chastity will rise- Your soul will be my prize. Everybody cool watch me score rewrite the lore of the nerds you minimized."

"Everybody cool watch those nerds meet their demise. The cleansing of your kind expose the bloody lie. Nerdy, nerdy prudes watch me spawn and prey upon you anti-socialites."

"Who will pray for me when I'm gone? Or until another Richie comes along-"

Dirty Dudes Must Die: "You think I'd stop with him? You think the time that I was chaste was being waste on a holy mission? I'm the girl you thought you knew- Just keep your hand right on my thing like all the guys who came before you."

"Who will prey for me when I'm gone? Or is this the eternal dark without a dawn? Who will pray for you when your body's gone? This is the consequence for what you've done!"

Dirty Dudes Must Die- "Who will pray for you when your body's gone? This is the consequence for what you've done!

"Or is this the eternal dark without a dawn? " - "I'm not a loser!"

Dirty Dudes Must Die: "If I can finally be cool. I will know that I'm not a loser. And if I finally break the rules I will know of my world I'm the ruler. The darkness will spare my soul."

Cool as I think I am

"What if people see me as someone other than who I am? Cooler than I think I am- Am I cooler than I think I am? If I can finally be cool- I will know that I'm not a loser! And if I finally break the rules- I will know of my world I'm the ruler! But is that who I think am- Is that who I think I am? Who do I think I am? Who do I think I am..."

So Much for Stardust (So Much (for) Stardust Fall Out Boy)

Also, funnily enough the album title adds the parenthesis to recontextualize the album title, giving it a double meaning. Just like what's done within the English lyrics of Double. This makes it possible to read the title as So Much Stardust or So Much for Stardust. Simultaneously giving the impression of having a lot and nothing. As to say So much for in English is to go basically so much for that I thought I had it but I didn't.

Titling the album this way directly foreshadows the ending.

"(So much for stardust) We thought we had it all, thought we had it all- Thought we had it all, thought we had it all, thought we had it all."

Love From The Other Side

"I saw you in a bright clear field."

So Much (For) Stardust- "I'm in a winter mood, dreaming of spring now."

"Sending my love from the other side of the apocalypse- And I just about snapped." - "I saw you in a bright clear field. Hurricane heat in my head. The kinda pain you feel to get good in the end, good in the end. Inscribed like stone and faded by the rain. "Give up what you love. Give up what you love before it does you in."

So Much (For) Stardust: "I feel like something bad has stretched out over and over again. Until I'm creased and I'm about to break down the middle. Split me right down the middle, right, right down the middle, yeah."

Heartbreak Feels So Good

"No matter what they tell you. The future's up for grabs and no. No matter what they sell you. Is there a word for bad miracle? Nobody said the road was endless. Nobody said the climb was friendless. But, could we please pretend this-Won't end?" - "We'll cry later or cry now, but baby. Heartbreak feels so good."- "It's open season on blue moods. Light from a screen of messages unsent."

So Much (For) Stardust: "Life is just a game, maybe- I'm stuck in a lonely loop, my baby." - "Another year of possibilities left unwrapped."

"We were a hammer to the statue of David. We were a painting you could never frame and- You were the sunshine of my lifetime. What would you trade the pain for?"

So Much (For) Stardust: "In another life you were my babe. In another life you were the sunshine of my lifetime. What would you trade the pain for? I'm not sure."

Hold Me Like A Grudge

"Thaw out my freezer, burn feelings, for twenty summers."

So Much (For) Stardust: "I'm in a winter mood, dreaming of spring now. I'm burning myself down. Burning myself down, burning." - "The stars are the same as ever I don't have the guts to keep it together. Stuck in the permafrost, stuck in the permafrost."

Goodbye (Inside Bo Burnham)

Don't Wanna Know

"I'd bet I guess the answer but I don't wanna know." -"I'd give away the ending but you don't wanna kn-"

Goodbye: "Wanna guess the ending if it ever does-"

Comedy

"If you wake up in a house that's full of smoke don't panic, call me and I'll tell you a joke."

Goodbye: "If I wake up in a house that's full of smoke- I'll panic so call me up and tell me a joke. When I'm fully irrelevant and totally broken, damn it. Call me up and tell me a joke. Oh shit; you're really joking at a time like this?"

Look Who's Inside Again

"Trying to be funny and stuck in a room. There isn't much more to say about it. Can one be funny when stuck in a room?"

Goodbye- Does anybody want to joke when no one's laughing in the background?

"Well, well- Look who's inside again. Went out to look for a reason to hide again. Well, well- Buddy, you found it."

Goodbye: "So this is how it ends. I promise to never go outside again."- "So long, goodbye. Hey, here's a fun idea. How 'bout I sit on the couch and I watch you next time? I wanna hear you tell a joke when no one's laughing in the background.

And my favorite one

Welcome To The Internet

"Could I interest you in everything? All of the time? A little bit of everything. All of the time. Apathy's a tragedy and boredom is a crime."

Goodbye: Wanna guess the ending? If it ever does; I swear to God that all I've ever wanted was- A little bit of everything, all of the time. A bit of everything, all of the time. Apathy's a tragedy, and boredom is a crime.

"Look at you, you, you- Unstoppable, watchable. Your time is now. Your inside's out. Honey, how you grew. It was always the plan to put the world in your hand."

Goodbye: I'm finished playing, and I'm staying inside.

The same lyrical techniques are applied throughout Double. In more subtle ways. This method of having lyrics that tie back to previous songs to create a consistent narrative isn't just a thing specific to English ones either.

It's something that's been prominent within music for a good while.

Though I see it more within English music simply due to listening to more music in that language. I think it's interesting that this is most overt with Mikoto.

Especially when I haven't noticed this being done as much within the lyrics of other prisoners' songs. This could come from the fact that Mikoto as a character is very referential, and staff has stated this since the beginning.

Thank you @doctorbunny for getting these for me and the translations.

[MeMe Creator's Comment] (Left Image) From here on out its gonna be Hell! I drew the storyboards with that in mind. What a dreadful murderer… I hope you'll keep that feeling in mind (lol) (Right Image) Instead of the usual showy kind of MV, the colours and composition are more like a Western movie with a theatrical elocution full of wit. I love the designs of the tarot cards and T shirt so much I want to wear them myself, I hope you enjoy watching! Director - DMYM

This could come from the fact that Mikoto's character has been openly influenced by western media to an extent. Something I've discussed in other posts. This could impact the way his songs are written as well. Though that's just speculation on my part.

However, the self-referential lyricism is undoubtedly there. So, I'd like to do what I did with those other songs with lyrics within Double. To highlight the consistent narrative being told within Mikoto's trials a bit more. So, people can maybe understand where my thoughts on certain things come from.

While subtle these lines still get the main point across spectacularly.

Let's get into it-

DOUBLE

"I’ve got you, leave it to me."

MeMe

“I” will save "me".

An easy one right out of the gate with that one off the table let's get into the fun stuff.

"All those ridiculous accusations."

Double: "All I did was dream, and that’s what you found GUILTY? “He’s a liar”, you said, and made me out to be a scoundrel, why?"

"Hurting it, holding it down, it doesn’t change anything, does it? Ahhh, it’s the same anywhere I go. It’s like what’s wrong isn’t wrong. I’m already the fake one."

Double: "Keeping things at bay, you’re doing your best “No, I need to do more…”, say what? You’re gonna break. Me, the newborn other you, I’ll take it all on."

"You don’t have to keep it in and hide it away. “I” will save “me”. Snuggle together and say “Good night”. Switch, Shake up that brain."

Double: "Doesn’t matter if you didn’t wish for it, can’t get rid of me now. Just the two of us, relieved, aren’t you? I’ll protect you (us)." - "Welcome home, another day, another day with that hardly barely there of a smile."

"“I” will save “me”. Snuggle together and say “Good night”. Switch, shake up that brain." - "The minus energy that I swallowed hugged me- Maybe it’s ok to try to keep on living split in half, make that heart beat."

Double: "Hey now, I saved you, right? So why in the hell are you crying? Cling to me, hoist me up as your “savior”, stand up and sing out your gratitude, that’d be good."

"So I will NEVER forgive you if this is happening to me even though I’m right. Why, hey why, please let me out of here? Please tell me it’s a mistake, that’s it’s a lie. That I’m right, I’ll forgive you if you tell me now."

Double: "Hey, I just wanted to save you, so why did it come to this? Cling to me, hoist me up as your “savior”, stand up and sing out your gratitude, so why?"

Why, hey why, I’m nowhere to be found?

But he is somewhere to be found in MeMe he hands this card to the other one. The Death card in its upright position a symbol of change- letting things go.

I’ll forgive you If you tell me now.

Mikoto says exactly the same thing to the other as he does to Milgram- If you just tell me I was right that this wasn't too much. If you just show them, I'll let all of this go.

I'll forgive it just-

Come to know me as an honest man, eat your words, gulp them down.

You mistook me for something I'm not made ridiculous accusations said I'm a liar. The least you could do is apologize. We all make mistakes though...

"So I wasn’t forgiven. How cruel, even though I said I didn’t do anything. It’s making me resentful."

You just got the wrong person right go on just say you got the wrong person it's not that difficult to admit.

Double: "I don’t even know, the reason why I’m here “He’s a liar”, you said, and made me out to be a scoundrel, why?"

Mikoto states in his second trial voice lines even though he said he didn't do anything while in the voice drama Mikoto (John) states he doesn't even know what happened.

"I don’t remember a thing, it couldn’t be helped, I’m DOUBLE (MeMe) I was having such a hard time, I was trying so hard."

"If I could laugh- If I could go back, I’d play dead even though I’m alive right? If I could end- If I could stop, how long would this dream go on?" - "If I could break it- If I could change. Can I do it, I wonder from when I started to gave up? If I could lose it- If I could choose, is this selfish? This isn’t too much is it?"

(MeMe) I was having such a hard time, I was trying so hard. - "Ahhh, It’s the same anywhere I go it’s like what’s wrong isn’t wrong!"

Mikoto: [scream] You’re all fucking annoying! I’ll beat you all to death, pieces of shit!!!

Mikoto: AAAHHHHHHHHHH!! DESTROY EVERYTHING. EVERYTHING! EVERYTHING!!

Mikoto: My Life... It wasn't supposed to be this way.

Doesn’t matter if you didn’t wish for it, can’t get rid of me now. - I’m already the fake one. - Me, the newborn other you, I’ll take it all on.

[herearedragons]

…so I watched this musical called nerdy prudes must die and apprarently I have thoughts about it, so I’m just going to compile these thoughts into one post. (there are spoilers)

people have pointed out how cruel it is that Ruth is mocked for her really sincere performance on stage before dying, and it’s even sadder if you remember that in the one(1) positive interaction she had with Max before his death, he acknowledged and complimented her performance as the skele’un? and that it might have been the first time in years that someone appreciated her as a performer in any way?

but also, Ruth is the only victim of Max’s who dies on stage(for Richie, the lights go out before we can actually see him die, but not for her), so in this very twisted meta way she’s once again honored as a performer when she dies? in-universe she dies alone, but the audience is with her, and she remains the center of our attention until the end.

the last Ruth thing I have is that she says she used to tap dance (I think she’s not acting anymore for the last few lines of Just For Once?) and so does Pete, so… were they in tap class together? if so, that’s cute

also, speaking of meta things, the fourth wall breaks in the actual songs? like the townspeople in Hatchet Town acknowledging that by singing they’re giving the killer more time to kill again, but they can’t stop, or Max calling out the audience in Literal Monster and pointing out that it doesn’t matter if you’re judging him because you’ll still keep watching his show. this isn’t a groundbreaking take or anything, but I like these

the “bean school? :O …excellent! :D” line from Bully The Bully gets me every time, it’s just the “we did it, gang! we got to something that sounds like half a coherent thought!” energy. truly THE teen experience

Max references religion and specifically Christianity a lot, but in Literal Monster he does the wrong gesture for “cross your heart”, so… he’s probably not a practicing Christian, or he would know the correct way to cross himself? which makes the constant use of religious imagery in his lines even more interesting, since I’m pretty sure he’s the only one who makes these references other than Grace (alternatively, his “cross your heart” might not be in the “prayer” sense, but in the literal “crossing someone out” sense? but it’s still a cool detail)

[fea-therlight221]

Something I noticed during my rewatch of Nerdy Prudes Must Die is that Grace and Max are more similar than it appeared at first and the conclusion of their storylines is also really nicely foreshadowed.

Both Graxe and Max have a very strong need to have things under control. Both are power hungry (in Grace's case, not only we can see that during the NPMD ending but also in Abstinance Camp, where she also obtains the villain's power and appears pleased to possess it). Both behave in extreme ways due to the ways they were raised. (It's more obvious in Max's case since he's clearly scared of his father, but it's also worth noting how Grace's parents seem strict about their rules, she sounds genuinely afraid of being caught indulging in her fantasies and what she says about how sometimes you have to listen to things people tell you and believe even when it goes against your common sense makes it sound to me like there is more to her fanatic religiousness than just pure faith).

Of course, the main thing that connects them in the story is their desire for each other, and it's interesting how it affects them in opposite ways. Max acts softer around Grace. It's the only time we see him being nice. Even after he gets what he wanted, he's just smiling and actually kicking his feet in the air. He loses because he let his guard down, because Grace is his weak point. Grace's desire for Max brings out the worst in her. She can't accept those feelings as something that comes from her so she blames him, he must be punished, and so she plots her revenge. And then she expresses not only relief but almost happiness that he died. She lusts over him but couldn't care less about him as a person and has no problem using his want for her to kill his ghost version as well.

Speaking of opposites, this also applies to where their characters start out and how they finish. The Grace we first meet is a devout servant of God, and Max is someone who acts like he's god and treats himself this way. At the end, Grace obtains powers of godlike beings and uses it to pass judgments on those she considers to be sinners, even taking over Max's song and making it her own. Meanwhile Max ends up as a plaything for those same beings and his soul belongs to them at the end.

As for the foreshadowing when it comes to these two, I also wanna point out how good the "so you DO know the Bible" scene is when you realize Max has been talking in biblical references the whole show. "Forbidden fruit", "break bread", etc... And speaking of him calling Grace "forbidden fruit", you know how Adam and Eve got exiled from Eden after eating it and became mortal? Well, getting his "forbidden fruit" is literally what ends up killing Max again and afterwards he gets dragged down to Drowsy Town.

Another thing: I think some lyrics of Dirty Girl could be considered foreshadowing as well! I mean, "I'm expecting you to betray me", "one way ticket power trip", "won't you love me like you don't care"? So, I think the whole Max and Grace thing was very well done and I wanted to share all those things I found cool. Very intelligent storytelling.

(Originally posted this on Twitter, in case this sounds familiar to some of you, and just remembered and thought I'd share here as well)

[bachelor-buttons]

Hi, this is my first time hearing about starkid. Do I have to know or watch anything before watching NPMD?

Hey!! I'm so glad you asked. Nerdy Prudes Must Die is part of what is currently a trilogy of musicals taking place in the mysterious Michigan town of Hatchetfield. I would say generally Nerdy Prudes Must die is 100% fine to watch if you haven't watched any of the other musicals that take place in Hatchetfield. (The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals and Black Friday are the main musicals, and then Starkid did a more episodic series about Hatchetfield called Nightmare Time as well) While there are a few references to previous musicals in NPMD, and I would absolutely suggest watching the musicals in the order they came out (TGWDLM, BF, then NPMD) just so you can catch the audience's hype for some of the callback moments, NPMD is fine to watch without any previous knowledge if you want to jump right in, since the references don't have much bearing on the overall story.

[editor-the-benjamin]

starkidobsessedgiantgremin-> editor-the-benjamin

You can call me Beetlejuice or Benjamin. Nicknames are encouraged. :]So far I have Beej, BJ, and Ben. Any pronouns but I prefer It/they (in that order) and any titles (Mr. ,Ms., Mx, Lord, Captain, etc) are fine as well :)). I’m probably one of the most annoying theater kids you’ve ever met. All I think about currently is Starcanwrecked so I’ll be nonstop making references and such, because it’s probably in my blood stream at this point. Nerdy Prudes Must Die was the first Starkid show I watched, and by objectively quality, my favorite, but my comfort musical, what what I say is my favorite, is Starship

I am the founder of

Tea with Poison (Charlotte Brontë (Poe Party) x Zoey Chambers (Hatchetfield)

DMOrin (the deadliest man alive (saf) x Orin Scrivello (lsoh)

Dream Bard (Doug Simon (Gutenberg) x (Willam Shakespeare (Something Rotten!)

Radiostory (Narrator (Pulp Musicals) x The Narrator (Cinderella’s Castle))

And the cofounder of

Sweet Smoke (Sweet Tooth (hmb) x McDoon (tto) x Junior (Starship))

(not technically cofounder but also please ask me about Royal Sweet Smoke (Sweet Smoke + The Prince (Cinderella’s Castle)))

so please please ask me about them they mean so much to me My vent tag is- the demon who isn’t there

So feel free to block that

i own these rp blogs please please interact with them <3: @miss-izzy @axel-not-axle @g1rl-1n-blu3

Green is the best color. No debate. Just green.

I am the self proclaimed number one fan of Junior Space-Claw. I timed myself recently, I can draw a full body sketch of him (with clothing) in under forty five seconds. I made neon pink sun glasses (out of paper) that I keep in my pocket for whenever I want to quote him (never got to use them yet :(() and whenever I look at his Tumblr tag, it literally just feels like I’ve blacked out and reblogged everything.

My favorite song currently changes every seventeen seconds, so the song currently suck in my head is Peanuts! From Nightmare Time. Definitely not my favorite right now, but it’s good. I literally don’t listen to music that’s not musical theater, don’t quiz me on music trivia.

I technically write fanfiction. I have two posted, but I never find motivation to write more, so don’t count on more fanfic.

Basic dni (homophobes, transphobes, zionists, etc)

Emotionally stable? Not.

Funny? Debatable.

God is dead? When you see him in hell tell him Junior sent you.

Hotel? Trivago.

[warnerswilsons]

Assigning the YDKJ hosts my favorite Starkid musicals.

Starting off, I’m assigning Nate The Trail to Oregon. I feel like many of the hosts have the same energy as the Father, but Nate just sticks out to me, probably partly due to being the original host. I can see him liking the opening number especially, and I think the fact that the audience gets to choose the characters’ names like in the original game definitely played into why I chose this show. (Also I kind of want to make an au now-. That sure would be fun)

The show I assigned to Buzz was also pretty easy to decide on. I feel like he’d be a fan of Twisted. Based on his reputation, and how he was treated during The Ride, I think he’d connect with that version of Ja’far. On top of that, I think he’d really like the title number of the show, as well as the many references throughout it overall.

Cookie’s getting The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals. The musical alien hivemind that keeps expanding in the show does seem like it would be familiar to him. Like, this one is less so about favorite musicals, and more about experiences, and Binjpipe’s role in Full Stream reminded me of the Apotheosis when thinking about this. So, I guess that would make Cookie fill Paul’s role?

Schmitty’s getting Holy Musical B@man. It’s been a few years since I watched the proshot, but from what I remember of the plot, and after rereading the synopsis, it feels very fitting. Batman’s quest to find a friend on top of the clever jokes and portrayals of the villains and various supporting characters also played into this decision. Also, revisiting the plot made me think of Schmitty and Cookie filling Batman and Superman’s dynamic in the show, but that’s for another time.

Guy’s was probably the hardest for me to choose. I’ve been going back and forth between Starship and Nerdy Prudes Must Die, but I think I’m going to go with the former. I just think he’d like the plot and the characters, and the songs are just a lot of fun to listen to. I don’t have much else to say, because like Holy Musical B@man, it has been a while since I’ve listened to the Starship soundtrack.

And I guess that’s it! I enjoy making posts like this, so maybe there will be more to come!

[its-to-the-death]

Bracket G thoughts:

The poop song makes me viscerally uncomfortable. Uggggggh.

"Other Friends" remains an earwormy bop.

"The Hammer" focuses a bit too much on the sports part and not enough on the villainy, whereas "Evil Food Eater Conchita" has fucking cannibalism galore.

Either "How Bad Can I Be?" is worse than I remembered, or it's just really suffering by having "Biggering" in the same competition to be compared to.

OH MY GOD EVERYONE VOTE FOR "NERDY PRUDES MUST DIE." THE GHOST COSTUMING. WILL BRANNER'S VOCALS. THOSE STUPID LITTLE DANCES (AFFECTIONATE). THE SMOKE CLUB REFERENCE. THE "NIGHTMARE TIME" LEITMOTIF. THE "COOL AS I THINK I AM" REPRISE BUILDING UP TO "I'M NOT A LOSER." THE ENCAPSULATION OF HOW THE OPPRESSIVE SYSTEM OF BULLYING IS ARBITRARY AND ULTIMATELY BASED ON THE BULLY'S DESIRE FOR POWER. LIKE--RICHIE'S NOT A PRUDE, AND HE'S NOT A LOSER, BUT MAX DOESN'T CARE. THE ADVICE ADULTS GIVE FOR DEALING WITH BULLYING IS UNHELPFUL BECAUSE IT FUNDAMENTALLY MISUNDERSTANDS HOW BULLIES WORK AND PUTS THE IMPETUS ON THE VICTIM TO STAND UP FOR THEMSELVES EVEN THOUGH THAT DOESN'T HELP. VOTE FOR THIS SONG NOW.

Damn, Philip Quast knocks "Stars" out of the park. Also, I definitely think Javert qualifies for this competition, because he is an antagonist and a cop.

"Kick It Up A Notch" has Dylan Saunders doing a wonderful performance of basically "Poor Unfortunate Souls" in space while manipulating a kickass puppet, and also Jaime Lynn Beatty belting her heart out. What more do you want.

Holy shit why does that One Piece song go so hard.

I don't even think "Little Priest" is that spectacular, but it's not equivocating racist colonizers with the people they're doing imperialism to, so...

I didn't really care about the Sarazanmai vs Promised Neverland one but the premise of the former sounds so squicky that I decided to just vote for the second.

IT IS TIME...TO DIEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

Both "Say My Name" and "Under Our Spell" are very good, so this one was personal preference. I picked the former.

The puppetry on Audrey II is really damn good, wow.

...Is "I Want It All" even that villainous??? Anyway I liked the Tohou song more.

I started listening to "Versus," heard the autotune, and decided to spare myself the pain. Yeeegh.

Talk about coughing baby vs hydrogen bomb, damn. But vote for "Hellfire" anyway.

Hellfire really is the hydrogen bomb of this tournament

[lab-trash]

hi!! aplogies if this is pushing but i really really really love your michie fic titled “H̶e̶r̶” and i was wondering if you’re planning on updating it at some point?? no pressure i just love the premise a lot and i am HOOKED

[also i really hope i have the right blog lol]

Okay, so first off. Right blog? Yes and no? I am the person who wrote Her, but this is more of my... sci-fi, supernatural blog? Which I suppose NPMD could key into, but it's much more sitcoms and movies. (Also just my personal rants, vents and other bullshit)

That being said, I've gotten a confused person looking for my musical theatre blog enough times that I definitely should create a pinned post including my other blogs.

My musical theatre blog, for future reference, is @im-not-a-l0ser . Very fitting if you ask me ^-^

Anyway! About your question! I do plan on updating it at some point, I just don't know when that point will be. Something that keeps me on top of my stories is writing chapters in advance so I don't get burnout. Example, I'm writing Beanies right now and there are nine chapters posted. Chapter 10 is complete, but I haven't yet finished chapter 11, so I'm not posting Chapter 10, and Chapter 11 won't be out until Chapter 12 is complete. (This also allows me to double-post chapters when I'm finishing a book, although this has not actually happened yet.)

I did not start doing this until after starting Her. I'm stuck with Her, because I don't know what direction I'm going into, and I don't know where to start. Also doesn't help that my parents were never formally divorced (they have 6 kids and had been married for over 20 years by the time they separated; can't blame them) so I really don't know anything about the process. I know it's long and gruelling and stuff, but I don't know how quickly I'd be able to just gloss over it. But I suppose maybe Gary Goldstein (Attorney At Law) is a good enough lawyer to get it wrapped up real quick lol.

I understand that Her is more of an angst and trans-comfort gold mine, but feel free to take a peak into my other books, which are updated slightly more frequently, such as Beanies or Zeek: The Fighting Nighthawk. Beanies is more building friendship secretly between them, while Zeek: The Fighting Nighthawk has them becoming friends with one under false identity (obviously, that's Zeek.) Beanies does also include the same character being trans, but it's not a major plot/talking point (yet). I really appreciate the support, I'm just going to be very busy between planning for pride and writing for Beanies (I have a trio of chapters coming out that I want to get out of the way before I pick up something else; I don't want burnt out on this before I even finish the pride event stories.)

If you want something of mine that's complete, I have a handful of one-shots, such as Dance with Death (spoilers for Workin' Boys and Abstinence Camp), Max Jagerman's Socks, r/TrueOffMyChest (you can actually find some backstory for that on my blog under an ask @/24-guy sent in), and Max Jagerman's Private Story.

I also have an ongoing porn saga but we're not gonna talk about that right now

Hi! If you follow me for LREF, Stranger Things, It, etc. and you for some reason read this whole thing. You should totally go watch the Hatchetfield musicals! If you like musicals (some people don't lmao)

If you're interested, they have a rich lore, many meta-jokes, and a currently active fandom which you might enjoy (looking at you LREF fandom. That is to say, like six people.)

If you are interested, it's The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals, Black Friday, and Nerdy Prudes Must Die. They're all free on YouTube, recorded by the creators and they're all absolutely fantastic IMO. Watch them in that order though! If you don't, you'll be really confused! This is a trilogy (kinda), the world is the same (kinda), the previous shows give context for world building and jokes.

If you do watch them, please please come talk to me about it over on @im-not-a-l0ser . I do highly recommend blocking the tags though before you've finished them. Spoilers can happen really easily, and when it comes to Hatchetfield, something that might seem small or insignificant (or maybe just extremely confusing) probably means something pretty big overall.

(Ps, there's also a 'mini series' called Nightmare Time. It definitely gives some context and it expands upon Hatchetfield as a whole, but it's not technically necessary to watch. I'm not gonna force anyone to watch it, just because there's so goddamn much of it.)

[nutria--oscura]

I have Henry (raccoon plush), Nick Jr (mouse plush), Lark, Sparrow and Birdie (3 plants of the same species [cannot remember the name]) and a Pick Up choco bar by my side and to quote Nerdy Prudes Must Die: "I'm scared-"

~spoilers for S2 Ep46 below~

"student of the blade, master of the blade pose" oh fun fun

I'm sorry Matt? What?

Also I just read the description - "a new PUPPET dictator"

ALSO THE EP NAME???? LINK WHAT DID YOU DO???

"Cassandra Swift has done nothing wrong" Hell yea Will

WILL

the energy in the room today- NOT AGAIN MATT PLEASE

the OTHER TIME he ran a country- oh? no, yeah, that adds up

BETH

GUYS- i am loving this energy (if i gaslight myself into positivity now, i won't be devastated later! <- lies)

MATT

scamster becoming a thing cause Scam thought it would be funny is so real actually

ah yes, the 2 genders: the blade pose and the Katherine Zeta Jones entrapment pose

third person to be king? HERMIE

Lincoln is going to get Lincoln

love this plan so far

HERMIEEEEEEEE! YAY THEY REMEMBERED HIM!

"deep within Taylor there's an impulse of 'can I bet on this fight?'" glad to see the Close blood is still strong-

Normal: speech about how they have to go liberate hell. Link and Scary: "but I wanna see if you die or not" "yea"

OHHHHHH is the ep title cause of Abraham Lincoln? oh ok!

NAT 20 ABE LINCOLN

NORMAL MY BOY NO-

"the whole lay on hands" "the whole hand" "all 10 fingies" such a goofy podcast y'all, what are we worried about?

Normal is NOT getting out of there

oh yEAH THE ADULTS ARE HERE

guys i'm half way through the ep and its only been goofy to far. I AM SCARED

JEZZ BALLLL FUCK YEAHHHH (i was telling my friends about it and they could not believe me that this game exists)

this is NOT the time to learn Jezzball

NORMAL NOOO-

oh? the kiddads being useful for once?

LINK NO

boop on the snoop!

"Link, a true narc, knows when someone is gonna narc"

YES LINK, THREATEN THE FBI!!!

RON!

glad to see Taylor hasn't changed <3

rip Abe (part 2)

NEW SATAN! the guy who's name i cannot remember!

Normal finally got to be spider boy! AND HE LOST THE MUSTACHE!

Will with the Hamilton reference

"Grant has the possibility to do the funniest thing" HAH YEA-

3/4 into the ep and: 1) nothing ouch so far + 2) not a single Anthony quote written here yet = i'm gonna be devastated soon aren't i?

Normal in death saves part 3

"Dood, it might be time to, y'know, be a bad girl" Dood proceeds to get a Nat 20. FUCK YEAHHHHHHH

9 MINUTES LEFT GUYS- WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN I AM TERRIFIED NOW- WHERE'S HERMIE???

"is 'no trick pony' a saying?" hAH-

HERMIE! YAY!

WQAIT WHY'RE THEY LIMPING?

7 MINUTES LEFT, HELP-

who?

HERMIE! NO!

"a sucking wound in his chest" "yea it does suck" OUCH

THAT'S WHY HE WAS LIMPINGH

NORMAL'S STIL IN DEATH SA- HERMIE CAN'T BE IN DEATH SAVES??? NO

HIS HEART????? NO

NO NO NO NON NO N O-

"and he says 'Normal, i like you too,' and then he slumps over" HEY ANTHONY FUCK YOU

HEY THE OUTRO SAYING "its just a matter of time till we make it out alive" HAH HA HA AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

NORMAL ROLLED A NATTY 1 ON SENSE MOTIVE OH SHIGT

"yea you'll never know if he was telling the truth or not" WHAT IF I DIE?

In conclusion: Anthony said Hermie was gonna suffer, that oakworthy wouldn't become canon. fuck me for not heeding the warning i guess oh geez oh fuck-

[justasmallbloginabigklainefandom]

Nerdy Prudes must die thoughts, written 10 minutes after I first watched the show

Not gonna lie, I don’t know if I liked it that much. It was fine. But also one thing that Hatchetfield has taught me that it gets better the more I watch it, because on the first watch it’s always an overwhelming experience

My aroace ass will probably never watch some of the more sexual scenes ever again, but whatever. It’s not for me, and that is fine. It is for other people, also fine.

I loved the group of nerds: Steph, Grace, Richie, Ruth and Peter.

That being said I didn’t really get invested in the love relationship between Steph and Peter. I just didn’t feel it.

I also didn’t really care for Grace and Max, but it sure was interesting, especially since Grace giving up “her chastity” worked so well. Huh, good thing I didn’t skip through the whole bathtub scene. It was uncomfortable to watch for me, but it did establish that Grace did want him. She wanted it and it took Max down. Grace choosing her sexual agency to save the day was great.

MAX JAGERMAN IS ONE OF THE BEST STARKID VILLAINS

A lot was happening. Again, it was overwhelming. It all tied up nicely in the end, cause in the first act there were some moments that made me go “uh... why?” and I was glad all got wrapped up

Don’t really have anything to say about the songs.

BBQ MONOLOGUES. It isn’t a Hatchetfield musical without a show within the show and I love that Starkid knows this.

I like the small references to other Hatchetfield parts. I unfortunately seem to gave missed a Boy Jerry moment, but Paul and Emma! The hot chocolate! Fuck Clivesdale! The music! I loved the audience’s reaction to the Nightmare Time theme at the end of act 1 cause same.

ALSO THE WAY THE AUDIENCE GASPED WHEN IT WAS DARK ON STAGE AND THEN YOU ONLY HEARD WIGGLY’S VOICE

The whole Lords in Black sequence was STELLAR. I’ve already watched it twice. It was so fucking good.

I do wonder how watchable the show is for someone who has no prior knowledge of the lore. As in, this maybe isn’t the best Starkid musical for beginners, because if you don’t know the history of the Lords in Black, then the mayor suddenly talking about this must be very out of nowhere.

I am obsessed with the ending of Grace being evil. I don’t know if she was changed or if this has woken something within her. It has shown in Abstinence Camp that she can go far, same here when she stole the gun. I think it works as a more open-ended ending, but I do have questions. Is this the Christian guilt manifesting? She chose her own pleasure and her repression cannot handle that? Or was this all part of a bigger plan that started formulating once she met the Lords? Nice ending.

The tech was also cool. I loved seeing Starkid on a bigger stage.

[forevertrueblue]

My Ideal Nightmare Time 3

Even though I know some people are getting burnt out on Hatchetfield (and I am hoping the next stage musical besides VHSCC is something else) I'm still looking forward to Workin' Boys, the finale of the whole thing (I hope they actually do it at some point), and hopefully a third season of Nightmare Time.

There are definitely some characters I'd like to see further explored in the Hatchetfield multiverse, so here's what my ideal Nightmare Time Season 3 would look like. I'd love to hear what others think about all of this as well as what they've been hoping for.

Minor spoilers for Nerdy Prudes Must Die will be discussed, but not until close to the end and I will provide a clear warning when they're about to come up.

I'm assuming this hypothetical third season once again has six stories, just like the previous two, so with that being said...

Becky Barnes Finally Climbs the Damn Tree: Look, they've been teasing us for years about this particular story. We know they have a song ready for it. And while it could end up just being a thing that's referred to but context is never given, I think this is the most likely story to end up in Nightmare Time, and it's the one the fandom seems to want the most as well.

A Story at the HFPD: The two most surprising omissions from the list of characters who have gotten a Nightmare Time story about them are Charlotte and Sam, and really, we haven't seen much of their relationship in general. I think it'd be interesting to explore that while doing a story involving one of their workplaces, and since CCRP has been featured in multiple Hatchetfield projects already, I'd love to see the inner workings of the HFPD. It'd be especially fun since we now have characters like Detective Shapiro added to the canon, and I can see her butting heads with Sam.

A Deeper Dive Into PIEP: Something else I'm surprised we haven't seen much of in Nightmare Time so far is PIEP. MacNamara seems to be a fan-favorite character so I'm sure we'd all love to see more of his life, like his husband and characters like Xander Lee (who also appears to be a favorite of many for some reason?). I could see this being the season finale, since the Black and White seems to be the be all, end all, of Hatchetfield's troubles.

Deb Has Her Own Drama: So far, all we've seen of and heard about Deb has centered on Alice and been tinged largely by her perspective. I'd like to learn more about Deb firsthand. That's not me saying Alice can't also be in the story (in fact, I'd really enjoy that) but I know in at least one timeline it seems they broke up so I could see StarKid exploring a post-split Deb and what she does with her life next. I'd also love to see Ziggs come back for this story since we know they have some sort of relationship as well. THERE WILL BE MINOR SPOILERS FOR NPMD FROM HERE ON OUT

Ritchie and Ruth (and Possibly Max/other Football Players?): Several of the main NPMD characters have already made their Nightmare Time debuts, and I think if another season were to happen it'd be likely for the others to get theirs. Not sure what the story would be, but it'd be interesting to see a scenario kind of like we started to see near the end of NPMD's first act, with something happening to make the two sides (nerds and jocks) get along. It would probably be whatever the horror scenario is making them reluctantly work together and then find respect for each other by the end (at least, whoever survives the ordeal).

Fuck It, Holloway and Duke Again: In my mind, it wouldn't be a Nightmare Time season without these two coming to save the day in some form or another. Maybe it could be after Holloway changed to Holiday and she has to deal with reinventing herself (likely not for the first time), but probably in a different timeline than Season 2's. Yeah they've already had two episodes as leads/major supporting players, but they still haven't appeared onstage (even though most of us thought they would in NPMD) so this can maybe make up for that disappointment. :)