#npmd analysis

[vilnmelling]

Things not enough people talk about regarding Richie's death

Sam Sweetly (the same guy who murdered an old woman, kidnapped a six-year-old, shot a man and later stalked and threatened to kill that same man AND HIS FAMILY) vomited upon seeing Richie's body.

We know Max twisted his nipples off and drowned him in the toilet, but no one ever mentions that Corey's officer says "Multiple lacerations to the head and chest." Max did something — something we don't get to see — to Richie's head (and possibly/probably also more to his chest than twisting his nipples off).

We don't see the moment Richie dies. We see Max attack him, and then we cut away, but we know Richie died when he was drowned. Something happened between the cut-away at the end of act 1 and the moment Richie died.

Richie was so close to hope and help. Everyone else was at the big game. Had Richie gotten out of the school building, he would've been, like, one minute's run away from getting help. (Of course, he never had the chance to escape in the first place — what with Max's telekinetic door-shutting abilities).

And finally.

To me, the most horrifying at all.

Max drained enough blood from Richie's body to write this whole thing:

THAT'S NOT SMALL TEXT. THAT'S A FUCK-LOT OF BLOOD — WAY MORE THAN YOU COULD WRITE WITH TWISTED-OFF-NIPPLES AS YOUR ONLY BLOOD SOURCE.

The implications, people. The fucking implications of Richie's death.

Anyway, this has been me teasing the YouTube video I'm working on; an analysis of Richie's death that's looking like it'll be 20-25 minutes long.

[musicalslugs]

Grace and the Lords in Black: an analysis.

Okay, so, this may be obvious; although I haven’t seen anyone mention this as of yet. The link between Grace Chastity and the Lords in Black is clear, I mean we’ve all agreed that she seems to be like that, and Dirty Dudes must Die highlights her “corruption” plainly.

That being said! I think there may be more.

Firstly, the Lords in Black mention/talk to Grace first, before Peter and Stephanie (the arguable proper protagonists of this story).

Sure, Blinky’s motif is obvious, it’s of eyes, of watching and of observation. But to speak to Grace first, even if it seems (on the surface level) that it’s just to flex their omniscience and make her uncomfortable, is a little strange. Especially since they then speak mostly (only) to Steph for the rest of the song [The Summoning].

Secondly, because if that were all this wouldn’t be a very good analysis, we have her (Grace) and Nibbly being echoes of eachother.

“Swallow” and “devour” are synonymous. Both fit into Nibbly’s motif of consumption. Now, Grace could’ve said anything. Absorb, harness, control etc. I think the wording here is particular. Not exactly the same, but clearly within the same ball park.

What is exactly the same though, is Grace Chastity and Wiggly.

This may seem a bit out of left field at first, but hear me out.

In The Summoning, it is said that “Wiggly wants his Wrath”, Wrath is a vice, a sin. It may not be the exact opposite of Chastity, however Chastity is to do with restraint, whereas Wrath is very much, not so. Moreover, Wrath can be defined as ‘a great anger that expresses itself in a desire to punish someone’. Now… who else could be described as wrathful? Obviously Max. And Grace. I mean, her song is called Dirty Dudes must Die. As well as being a direct reflection of Max, it implies that she wants to harm someone. Punish someone though? Well, yes. Grace says “This is the consequence of what you’ve done!” - she must believe that death is a worthy punishment for their actions (being ‘pervs’). Thus, Wrath.

Lastly, and this is where the exactly comes in, Grace and Wiggly both say the same things. (Again, of course, I could write another analysis on how Grace and Max reflect each other beautifully by also saying the same/extremely similar things) The difference between Grace saying similar things to Max, is that she and Wiggly aren’t similar. It’s the same.

Example A) Stephy / Stephie.

Upon rewatching Nerdy Prudes Must Die and listening to the album on repeat, I noticed that no one bar these two call Stephanie: Stephie. I know Grace calls Ruth, Ruthy and Peter, Petey- so her calling Stephanie, Stephie, makes sense linguistically. That doesn’t take from the fact that Wiggly is the only other ‘person’ to use that particular moniker.

Example B) “bloody bits”

A particularly strange phrase that these two say. However, not really. The point of this analysis is to point out the links between the Lords in Black and Grace Chastity, specifically Wiggly and Grace. By pointing out the parallels in their idiolects, I have come to the conclusion that they are not only linked but INCREDIBLY similar.

Both are characters that use cutesy, almost childish language (“mommy spot” / “belly-well”) to disguise the violence, the wrath that lays beneath the surface. Wiggly (as shown in Black Friday) uses it as a facade. Throughout Black Friday and throughout The Summoning, he expresses himself as non-threatening (“We’re all pally-wals.” etc) before eventually showing what’s beneath the surface (“..deck the fucking halls!” / “We don’t give a shit about your phone!”). Both times are as abrupt as each other, showing that Wiggly has a fairly short temper. Grace doesn’t necessarily have a short temper, instead she has periods of ‘sin’, when stressed: Dirty Girl, calling “God a son of a B-Word”, smoking (after), having sex with Max, the scene of her ordering hot water etc etc. The visage, her carefully constructed facade, slips. Wether it’s because deep down she doesn’t believe in God (possibly shown in her “are you religious?” conversation with Shapiro), or that due to her upbringing she’s being confined, restrained, controlled, and this is when her ‘true self’ begins to peer through the cracks.

Either way, these are two characters who use similar themes (one of childishness, the other of purity/innocence (which can also be linked to childishness)) to cover their violence, their real selves.

Uhhh- anyway, watch Nerdy Prudes must Die on Youtube- it gave me brain worms.

[lilacthebooklover]

what i really like about max's character in npmd is that he fully recognises that he's in his prime at high school ("don't need no one to tell me/ high school will be my peak"), and he's more than willing to "take advantage" of that. he understands that this is as good as it's going to get for him, and that's why he's so reluctant to let go of it. he lets his god complex fester because he has so much power at hatchetfield high, and when he dies, he's able to enforce that even further. he doesn't care that the group "buried and left [him]/ defiled [his] body". like this, he's in his prime forever. he's just angry that his system has been destroyed, that he's clearly lost his power in his death. so he kills richie and ruth to restore that, intimidating them into acting just as they did before his death, even after richie makes new friends and ruth begins to embrace a role as a performer. they've just started to grow further as people and characters, and max puts a stop to it as soon as he can. he goes after pete and steph not beause they killed him, but because they're dating- exactly what he forbid just before his death; by defying him, they take away his power. his goal, as stated, isn't revenge. max views himself as a god, and refuses to let anyone take the little world he's created away from him.

[spillsbury]

a quick lighting analysis of npmd: while we normally associate green lighting with wiggly's influence, i don't think that carries into this show (aside from his appearance). the main palette for this show is blue lighting, but almost every major max moment has red lighting: his verse in "literal monster", his entire sequence for "nerdy prudes must die", his death moment (the red distinctly fades as he dies!), even when he appears near the end of the show to kill mayor lauter. we also see purple and pink mainly used for romance and for pete and steph. we also see a mix of light blue with red for grace's final turn in "dirty dudes must die". all of this to point out the one strange use of green lighting is the "fuck you clivesdale" sequence in "go go nighthawks". i saw a post comparing it to wiggly's light, which brings us to the question: is that wiggly's influence?

probably not, actually! the green is likely used for two reasons: 1) we can't use red for an angry moment like most designers might normally do, because red is associated with max specifically and with the monsters of the show and 2) the colors of the rest of the song (and hatchetfield high) are notably blue and yellow. as a team that came from u of m and as a current umich theatre student, it clearly reads very umich colors! and the green adversaries read as the spartans, michigan state's team (and colors). but why not ohio state's colors, since that is michigan's real rival? cause they use red! and we've already established why we can't use red!

anyways, it's neat how all three hatchetfield mainstages use a specific color to signify their villains: blue for the apotheosis in tgwdlm, green for wiggly in black friday, and red for max/monster grace in npmd!

[galacticleague]

speaking my truth on npmd because im thinking about this alot. i think the reason it falls flatter than tgwdlm and bf as a musical is that tgwdlm and bf have a running theme — want.

(whole thing undercut)

the cast of tgwdlm want human connection - charlotte wants sam to love her, bill wants alice to love him, mr davidson wants his wife to choke him while he jerks off etc etc, and eventually paul goes from 'i want what anyone wants, money, kids, a partner maybe idk' to - to put it simply - wanting emma (putting it very simply, if i went into detail this post would go off the rails). this switch is what makes him vulnerable to the hive and this want to live and to survive and to be happy with emma is satiated by pokey by giving him the connection he craves via hivemind, this is how it works for everyone. they want to be happy, pokey makes them happy by removing any need to want anything in the first place.

similarly, in bf, the adults of hatchetfield are still miserable and they want to be happy, they have this void within them that they feel they need to fill with products and consumerism. if they buy this stupid fucking doll their kids will love them, they will be happy, etc etc. and this want to be happy is similarly satiated by wiggly via the cult - they have something to worship, or - in lindas case - people who worship them. they have purpose, or at least they think they do, but whether their problems have actually been solved or not - they are still content.

but in npmd, this is less solid. theres that bit where they have to sacrifice what they want the most, but this is near the end. its kind of all over the place, and this wobbliness(?) is sort of just emphasised by the fact that there is no specific lord in black, its all of them. now i loved the summoning when i first watched it because im obviously a huge hatchetfield fan so i like. know who these characters are but as ive seen others say, alot of npmd does rely on knowing hatchetfield lore - understanding injokes. and in hindsight it just... isnt great for the cohesion of the plot.

tgwdlm and bf both have specific themes, specific lords in black, they have subplots but they have a solid throughline that is easier to follow. to me, npmd feels like its all over the place and it just feels kind of...mid for lack of a better word.

i think there were some moments that were just kind jarring? i guess? like if i loved you coming directly after ruths death was really strange, tonally. i wish they spent more time on ruths death tbh she deserved better. richie got two songs and an opening scene. anyways i digress- i feel like whenever i think about it im always like. i just wanted More. which is weird cuz its already like 2 hours long but idk. IDK!!! if i loved definitely felt unnecessary to me- like just conflict out of nowhere. i would have liked more build up to it. maybe im just salty that it took up stagetime that could have been used to grieve ruth but. sorry for the random if i loved you slander i think my point here is that some moments and some subplots felt more tropey, injokey or like fanservice??but not in a sexual way?? - is that the right word to use idk - than actual compelling plot moments. tgwdlm is an incredible work of theatre and uses subversions of tropes to communicate a great story, bf is a detailed criticism of american consumerism and how capitalistic societies force people to rely on products to make their lives better, npmd is. high school drama with ghosts. it just doesnt hit as hard on its own.

i dont want to be one of those "im a better writer, and THIS is how i would have done it!!!! im going to fix this!!!" people so im not going to do that but i think something i would have liked to see was focus on just one lord in black, probably nibbly because i feel like he fits the most and has the least preexisting story. i mean for gods sake, why does wiggly have the most speech time out of all the lords in black again!!! he already has an entire musical about him!!! greedy bitch- well i guess thats kind of his thing. i think i just want to see more of nibbly tbh, he has one nmt story and he only shows up at the very end. anyways that was kind of a side rant sorry gang. there isnt a problem with having a story featuring all the lords in black, but i think it just doesnt quite work in npmd for like structural reasons as well as plot cohesion.

i did enjoy npmd, im not pretending i didnt, but narratively it is the weakest hatchetfield musical and i just wanted to put my finger on what it is specifically. please dont take this as like hate or slander, i am a huge starkid fan, but i think it is important to consume media critically.

also i am not a professional i am a teenage drama and english lit student who likes media analysis and narrative design so just. take everything i say with a grain of salt :)

if you read all this, thankyou and if you disagree please lmk what you think(civilly.i do not want discourse in my notes)!! i could be hugely wrong about this and just need to think more about npmd and id love to see others' analyses!

[fun-k-boards]

Even if it's just because Clyvesdale's colours are green, I prefer Wiggly being behind the beef

wait I just realised as soon as “fuck you Clyvesdale go get fucked” starts, everyone is lit green ??

IS WIGGLY BEHIND THE HATCHETFIELD/CLYVESDALE BEEF

[automaticheartcrusade]

When people analyze Grace Chasity, they always talk about how the adults in her life failed her, which is great and true! But nobody mentions how GOD failed her as well, which is an important part for her character when it comes to NPMD. All Grace wanted to do was pull a prank on the school bully to get over her lust for him, and when he dies she at first says that it was part of God’s plan. But then Ruth and Richie get killed, and the cops are closing in on Grace. It goes from bad to worse, and she breaks down saying that God is “leaving her out to dry”, cursing and begging him to do something. But he doesn’t. Grace is the one who had to save the day, Grace is the one who had to take action, who had to give up her virginity, an important part of herself, her innocence, her identity…all to save the world. She tried to do everything right and look where it got her. In a way, five evil eldritch gods did more for her, gave more to her than God ever did. When you take that interpretation into consideration, it makes sense why Grace went nuts and turned to the Lords in Black. Either she feels like everything she ever knew about god was a lie and he betrayed her, or she betrayed him already by losing her virginity, so what’s the point in looking to him for anything anymore? What’s the point in giving her faith to him when he made her give up what she didn’t want to? What’s the point in praying to God when she now has the power to destroy what she deems bad at her fingertips, all thanks to the Lords in Black?

[rockrosethistle]

Explaining All The Hatchetfield Lore:

(disclaimer: all lot of this is based on context clues and expositional monologues, so it is my best guess and could be wrong. But I'm pretty sure it's right.)

We start in the 1820's, on an island in Lake Michigan. Now, there's three main families you need to know about here, and those are Muckwabs, the Metzgers, and the Waylons. Remember those because they're important.

So around 1824, Willabella Muckwab discovers the eldritch entities known as the Lords in Black (LiB). She becomes a devoted follower of them, and writes a book out of children's blood, which details their history, how to summon them, spells, prophecies, etc. This book is called the Abominable Tome, but it is most often referred to as the Black Book.

Well maybe the town doesn't like the fact that their children are disappearing, or maybe they discover the book, we don't know exactly what happened. But Willabella Muckwab is tried as a witch and hung. This doesn't kill off the Muckwab family, however, because Willabella had a daughter. That will be important later.

So basically, Willabella is hung by the Metzger family (remember them?) who are often referred to as the Hatchetmen. She is buried in the woods, the black book is lost, but her soul lives on, because of her connection to the Lords in Black. Well this isn't good, so the Hatchetmen begin killing anyone else who shows signs of having magic, burying them around the woods so they can grow into trees, their magic trapping Willabella in a 'web.' All of these magic tree-people form a forest, which is called the Witchwood. The Witchwood has special properties, because of all the magic. It affects the soil and the way things grow, but most importantly, it traps Willabella, who's is known as The Witch in The Web.

Jump ahead to 1827, it's been a couple years since Willabella's death, and that island is now known as the town of Hatchetfield. That's when the the Waylons show up (remember them?) Well, the Agatha and Mathias Waylon find the Black Book, rediscovering the Lords In Black. And isn't this just a super cool religion? Let's get everyone else involved! The Waylon's form a cult, called the Church of The Starry Children, who worship the LiB. They have a ton of people on board, and with the LiB, they offer sacrifices get rich and stay forever young. The Waylon family also sets up 5 Dark Altars around town, which coincides to the 5 Lords in Black. These altars are the Old School House, Waylon hall, the Old Mill, the Hatchetfield Gazette, and the Starlight Theater. All of these are places where somebody could summon the Lords in Black, with very little knowledge or power.

So the Church of The Starry Children has been doing very well for quite a while. In 1945, they begin the Honey Queen festival, a tradition where they elect one woman per year to sacrifice to the Lord in Black, Nibblenephim. They're very good at hiding in plain sight. However, they can't stay hidden forever. In 1975, they are meeting in Waylon Hall, when they are ambushed by the Metzgers, also known as the Hatchetmen. The Hatchetmen massacre the Starry Children, and once again, the Black Book is lost.

I hope you're enjoying this lore because it's only just getting interesting. That was all pretty straight foreword, and people generally don't argue about it. So for a recap, we have Willabella who wrote basically an evil bible for the Lords in Black, and who was murdered by the Hatchetmen. Then you have the Church of the Starry children, who worshipped the Lords in Black, also murdered by the Hatchetmen. Those are our three families. What if I told you that after all this happened, three other characters were up to some wacky hijinks? This is where things get muddy.

Now introducing our three new parties of interest: Willabella's daughter, the PEIP organization, and a mysterious woman only known as Miss Holloway. Here's what's up with those guys.

Miss Holloway was a pop star, rising to fame in the 1980's. We don't know a lot about her backstory, but it is assumed that she witnessed a tragedy, because she sought the help of the Lords in Black. They made her a deal that would allow her to have the power to help those in need, but in return, she would have to give up what she cherished most. (We don't know if those were the exact terms of the deal, but it seems to be the standard deal when it comes to the Lords in Black, so we go with that.) So Miss Holloway takes the deal. She gives up the ability to be remembered: no one knows who she is, and anytime she tries to tell anybody her story, it is immediately erased from their memory. In return, the Lords in Black make her the keeper of the Black Book, as well as magic such as hypnosis, and the ability to regenerate her body. She is able to die, but she always comes back. There is only one thing that can kill her, and that is a dagger known as the Black Blade, which she used to kill a man who made a similar deal, named Wilbur Cross.

But who is Wilbur Cross? To explain that, we have to explain Paranormal, Extraterrestrial, Inter-dimensional Phenomena, or the government agency known as PEIP. Wilbur Cross was an army Colonel, and very high-ranking in PEIP. In 2005, PEIP constructed an inter-dimensional portal to a place outside of time and space known as the Black and White. They didn't know that the B&W was home to the Lords in Black. On October 5, 2005, they sent Wilbur Cross through that portal, where he encountered the Lords in Black and pledged his allegiance to them. He was also gifted powers and immortality, but to serve the Lords in Black, which meant that he used it for evil. He stepped back out of the portal, appearing to the remaking PEIP agents, before disappearing to Hatchetfield, where he murdered Sheriff Douglas Keane.

Remember Willabella's daughter? Well, she had a daughter, who had a daughter, etc. The family tree continued until October 5, 2005, when a couple of things happened simultaneously. The portal was opened to the Black and White at the same time Hannah Foster, the descendant of Willabella Muckwab, was born. This caused a few events to occur, most notably that the timeline was shattered. Until that point, there was only one universe, but on that day, when Hannah was born and Wilbur stepped through the portal, infinite universes were created, branching off from that moment.

As a descendant of Willabella Muckwab, Hannah (as well as her older sister, Lex) was born with powers, also known as "the Gift." Her powers gave her a close connection to the Black and White, and even more so to Webby, who is not a Lord in Black, but is their sister. Webby is a spider-like goddess who embodies light and love, the antithesis of the Lords in Black. She is in a constant feud with them to gain control of the many realities, and to protect Hannah from her brothers and their minions, such as Wilbur Cross.

Now, Hannah's powers were stronger than anybody else's. She is clearly the strongest out of all the other children with a touch of the gift, and has been able to speak with Webby since she was young. I believe that this is a result of her being born at the moment that the divide between reality and The Black And White was weakest. Hannah is basically a cosmic trump card. Whoever controls Hannah controls the universe, so Webby and the Lords in Black are in a constant battle over her. The LiB want her dead, and Webby wants her alive, so that could mean that her power could be the thing to reconnect all the realities.

In present day, we have a couple of things playing out at once. Everybody's still in a competition over Hannah, with Lex determined to protect her. Miss Holloway uses her powers to help children, alongside Duke Keane, who she is falling in love with, and whose father was murdered by Wilbur Cross. Wilbur Cross does Wiggly's bidding. Some members or the Church of the Starry Children live on, those descended from or related to (by blood or marriage) the original members, and still indulge in the LiB's power and riches. Waylon Hall is cursed so that nothing may truly die there. As the Witchwood is cut down, little by little, its hold on Willabella weakens. And the Black Altars still remain, where anyone with the Black Book may summon the Lords in Black. In realities where Miss Holloway is murdered, the Black Book is kept safe by Solomon Lauter, mayor of Hatchetfield. Also, the Lords in a lack seem to have favourite humans to torture across multiple realities. The Spankoffski family is often a target of T'noy Karaxis, as an example.

So yup, that's where we're at. That's the baseline understanding of events that we as a fandom all seem to have, yet don't write down because that a lot of writing. Good thing I like writing!

Oh, and there's one thing I missed. We hate Clivesdale. Fuck Clivesdale.

[tiredandoptimistic]

My favorite thing about Max Jagerman's (absolutely baller) ghost design is how the blue veins go from his hands onto the sleeves of his letterman jacket; implying that the jacket itself is a part of his flesh.

It feels like a symbol for how, in life he showed the potential to grow and acknowledge the humanity of the nerds, but in death he is forever frozen in the role of the bully; unable to remove the jacket and explore who he is when he's not being Hatchetfield High's star quarterback.

[rbvcdeluxe]

something something max's main color being red with blue highlights something something grace's main color being blue with red highlights something something motivations something something alive and dead something something

[vilnmelling]

ANALYSIS VIDEO IS UP!

As teased and promised, I've now made and published the analysis of Richie's death (as well as a couple of other things).

If you're interested, head on over and give it a like and a comment! And if you enjoy, you'll be glad to hear that I've got several other Hatchetfield analyses planned for the future >:)

[gingerhastoomanyobsessions]

the lords in black are so interesting to me because. they’re so us. we’re watching the citizens of hatchetfield suffer for our own entertainment just as much as they are. we’re their accomplices in all of it

pokotho made hatchetfield into a musical because musicals are entertaining. and we ate that shit up! it’s soooo fun watching a little man scramble as the world around him bursts into song. the musical genre is satirized because pokey knows how the genre conventions work just as well as we do. we like watching musicals so much that black friday and npmd are musicals, too, even though they don’t revolve around pokotho’s plans as much as tgwdlm. we want them to sing. pokotho does too.

bliklotep is the audience and the audience is bliklotep. trail to oregon calls the audience “the watcher with one thousand eyes” and that’s not all, in watcher world blinky seems to be able to see through the eyes of anyone and everyone who loves spectacle. he wants to see the characters go through angst because WE love angst. it’s fun to watch alice and bill express their buried frustrations. blinky wants it to end in bloodshed because he loves tragedy, and let’s face it, so do we. it’s like that one post about how hamlet is aware of the audience and is angry that we don’t do anything to intervene because we want to see how it plays out. personally, I think blinky could have stopped the woodwards if he really wanted (he’s an elder god, after all) but alice shooting him shifted the narrative so that the emotional payoff would be more fulfilling if they escaped. and blinky loves a good story.

t’noy karaxis has blorbos. we joke about it, but that’s really what it is, isn’t it? he’s the fan who watches the movie again and again and again and again to see his favorite character’s dramatic death scene. he’s the guy who writes and reads angst fics by the hundreds because he likes to see his faves cry. he’s the hatchetfield enjoyer who’s on the edge of their seat waiting to see how ted kicks the bucket this time. the bastard’s box is pretty much just an ao3 account filled with whump and hurt no comfort. he’s sadistic AND he genuinely adores ted, because we fans are often cruelest to the characters we love the most. he puts ted through character growth— the realization that his life went the way it did because of his own mistakes, his inability to be vulnerable with jenny before it was too late— and he does that by writing a 56-chapter angst fic that’s still updating to this day

nibblenephim is the fan who voraciously devours every scrap of content that a creator produces and demands more, more, more. let’s face it, the fandom will never let starkid rest until we see this story through to its end. and then someone will demand a sequel series. nibbly is hungry because we will never stop yearning for more stories. he’s simple because that desire itself is simple— as humans, we need creativity like we need air to breathe. nibbly wants more because we want more. and we will never be satiated.

wiggog y’rath is the ruler and the king because he’s the self-inserting writer. I think jon matteson plays paul *and* wiggly for a reason— wiggly is the only lord in black to be played by the same actor in every single show, and that actor also plays the protagonist of tgwdlm. wiggly wants to be the protagonist. he tries to force himself into the human world of hatchetfield because he wants to participate, dammit! he wants to be the bestest ruler that the earth has ever seen! everyone has to love him because he’s going to be their bestest fwiend! when he appears in human form he’s gonna be the prom king! he’s the ebony dark’ness dementia raven way of the hatchetfield multiverse. he wants every human character to bend to his whims and to love him and to put him at the tippy-top of planet earth because he’s the writer and the writer’s main character, you fuckheads, and he can make whatever story he wants, whether the other characters like it or not! if you’ve ever written a self-insert story? congratulations! you’ve been wiggog y’rath.

and the funny thing? I don’t think the lords know that they, too, are as fictional as anyone else in hatchetfield. maybe blinky knows— he sees through the audience’s eyes, after all— but I don’t think the others do. if they did, maybe they’d be a little less tyrannical. a little bit nicer.

but then the starkid writers wouldn’t have much of a story to tell, would they?

[lilacthebooklover]

from the sounds of the intro, max toyed with richie before his death. let him run and chased after him, really embraced the role of the predator. i wonder how long it took before richie finally died.

[defendinggracechasityofallpeople]

I genuinely think Grace usally has good intentions. The problems arise because she has to see herself as good, perfect, all the time. When she makes mistakes, or does things she would consider immoral, she lies to herself (and others), which leads to her spiraling as she continues to excuse worse and worse behaviour.

Her sexual fantasies have to be 100% Max's fault, because she would never actually think those things

If she accepted that Max's death was accident, that would mean she messed up, she wasn't perfect, and she can't believe that. So she calls it an act of God.

She believes it because she has to believe it. It's a coping mechanism

[jellyfilledeyes]

Something I noticed in NPMD I don't think anyone has noticed

Now Peter's line from cool as I think I am "if I can finally be cool I will know that I'm not a loser " is repeated over and over again in the whole show. Not only is it the first note you hear in the first song but is a line that comes up in all the losers song BUT THATS NOT ALL THERE'S A PATTERN

in as cool as I think I am obviously is the first time we officially hear when Peter is trying to convince himself he's not just a dork but at the end he goes " but is that who I think I am?" And before he can process it he's interpreted by max. And while nerdy prudes must die isn't Ricky's song technically it still follows something similar when Max is taught Ricky he has a moment of bravery and straight sings along with the chorus "I'm not a loser" before max interrupts him and later kills him. Then in just for one Ruth doesn't actually sing "I'm not a loser" but when she's singing the high notes at the end you can hear the melody of "I'm not a loser" playing before she stops in shock at herself and refusing to go that high again. And finally in dirty dudes must die the chorus sings in the back as grace goes fucking insane

BUT THATS WHEN THE PATTERN IS BROKEN the way it goes it usually just stops at I'm not a loser but not with grace SHE GETS THE SECOND VERSE GOING 'I AM THE RULER' BECAUSE THATS WHAT SHE IS NOW

She's in the exact same position max was in everyone lives in her hand,the power of the Lord's in black, she's a god now

She is THE ruler

[coloredlion]

Okay so I’m just now seeing posts about people claiming that Grace brought Max to the house with the intent to murder him bc she has the bleach and hatchet and tape during Bury the Bully…and..no..just no.

LET ME EXPLAIN HEAR ME OUT

Grace has NEVER started out in any story with the intent to harm anyone, that wouldn’t be very good Christian girl of her. The whole point of her character is that she’s pretty innocent and naive until power falls into her hands, in which she’s easily corrupted and moldable bc of her own strong sense of morality. For example, she very much disagrees with the counselors decision to lock Steph away as punishment, because then she wouldn’t be actively learning anything. Grace doesn’t want people to get hurt, she genuinely wants to help others in what her own definition of helping is. It’s not until Lumber Axe gives her the axe that she realizes that power can be used for her own gain to “help” others. Paralleling Jägerman, she likes the control.

Grace genuinely did just want to scare Jägerman, bc that’s all her mind was capable of thinking as a good “revenge” at the time. When Max falls through the floor she’s just as shocked as everyone else (and we all know how bad she is at lying..I mean come on she sucks at it). When he dies, she GENUINELY sees it as an act of god, not something she went seeking out.

I think what people aren’t realizing is that Bury the Bully could easily be jumping through time. It’s a musical, and they don’t have the time to show them going to the store and buying the materials to dismember a body. It’s there for the shock value and the comedy of how quickly the situation did a 180.

Grace has always taken what’s thrown at her and gone with it, she’s not much of a planning ahead kind of person, let alone plotting an entire murder.

To me, if you believe she HAD planned out Max’s murder, it almost ruins her entire character arc and wouldn’t match up with her arcs during the Nightmare Time episodes. It’s all about her falling into corruption, not her already being “corrupted” secretly from the beginning. It’s something she’s capable of that she has to unlock through the consequences of her environment.

HOLY YAP,, sorry I just love Grace let me know if any of this makes any sense at all