#but within the context of the hatchetfield series

[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!

[pipperoo]

Summary:

Halloween has always been a time of merriment for the Hatchetfield teens as they let loose on the outskirts of the Witchwood. But, when a jock that is disappointed with his lot in life stumbles upon an ancient ritual site deep within the woods, he does more than air his grievances as he accidentally activates it. As the summoned evil begins to descend onto the town, the fate of everyone is thrust into the unwitting hands of Grace, Steph, Max, Richie, Pete, and Ruth. Are they up to task of uncovering the mystery and reversing its effects before the nights end? Or, will the town fall victim to those that feast in the dark?

And, here's my other work that I'm currently working on. Again, fucking forgot to post about it here, but just finished chapter 2. I plan to do weekly updates and hopefully I remember to put it here too. This is also apart of my continuation of "if only there was more time" (the first work in the series) Read through chapter 20 and the homecoming one-shot for full context if you want (its like over 100k words btw). This might work as a standalone, but I don't know. This fic gives me the chance to have the whole gang in a crisis and it has been very fun to write so far!

[noobsomeexagerjunk]

A Hatchetfield AU, or at least I'm calling it that if none of this speculation is correct

To be known as the Bury the Hatchet AU/Timeline/Concept, including connections to Nerdy Prudes Must Die

Edit: Now the basis for my sepelire securi AU; a separate post may be made to clarify the AU

(Can't put a read more thingy--I'm on mobile)

In order to achieve a "hatchet field", wouldn't one have to "bury the hatchet?" To "bury the hatchet" is to cease conflict, which could only be achieved by the highest law to exist.

Love and Strength of the Human Heart, according to General McNamara is the highest law to exist.

Hatchetfield evokes strong storm imagery, and storms represent conflict. Storms are composed of gray clouds; gray is the color between black and white. The black and white have been framed as opposing forces, particularly good and evil, as well as "monsters and men." Storms in Hatchetfield may imply that Hatchetfield is where the black and white meet and become one, or at least interact.

Therefore, burying the hatchet = calming the storm

In a way, this removes the polarization involved in siding either with the black or the white, thus the concept of gray area that of which drives home humanity's inability to either be truly good or truly evil.

(The concept of calming a storm is known to be biblical in origin, famously done by Jesus who is presented in the scripture as a prophet. The concept prophets exist in Black Friday's Hatchetfield. Whoever can stop the conflict must be able to wield powers, with the power in question invoking the higher law of Love and Strength of the Human Heart. Since the biblical calming of the storm could only be done by faith, calming the storm in the Hatchetfield context would require that higher law.)

In relation to Nerdy Prudes Must Die, the title seems to imply a disapproval with nerds and prudes, so the threat may have to combat wisdom and chastity through messing with the deep desires of the Hatchetfield citizens, as demonstrated by Wiggly and the Apotheosis.

This show would most likely criticize deliberate ignorance of facts in favor of traditional yet harmful systems of love and sexuality, potentially invoking criticism of purity culture, sexual abuses AND amatonormativity. The highest law of love and strength of the Human Heart might actually work this time, and it disproves the toxic forms of love being utilized by the threat.

The threat would may likely utilize human desire into the creation of increasingly unhappy life experiences via toxic forms and expressions of love and a poor interpretation of given knowledge that are intended guide others. With strong hints to a predominantly teen character ensemble, being knowledgeable is very important in that context.

The threat would be paranormal, following the P in PEIP, as The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals utilized E as in extraterrestrial and Black Friday I for interdimensional.

There's many ideas for what kind of paranormal threat, but I'm on the ghost bandwagon because we have a lot of possibly dead characters. A character who is dead in both preexisting shows is Jane Perkins, so she may be referenced in some way or even debut here.

Black Friday and The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals reference each other a lot--multiple melodies from TGWDLM are heard in Black Friday, notably that "look what happens, nightmare time" melody from Not Your Seed which is thrown around a lot in TGWDLM and is heard in Black Friday's Made in America, specially when Cross is speaking about the completion of the Wiggly cult. Show Me Your Hands foreshadowed Black Friday within a verse, the one where Sam's on the megaphone. 411 is police code for theft, which is what starts the riots in ToyZone, as started by Curt Mega's ex-factory worker character. The policeman played by James Tolbert that catches Ethan enters with Show Me Your Hands playing, and leaves once he gets informed about the riots in ToyZone. The line "any mall-rats comin' in hot--they'll melt" references the burning of the Lakeside Mall with the cult inside, melting onstage.

I'm going on with the theory that it might be ghosts, as they were uttered by Paul in Inevitable ("Emma, do you believe in ghosts?"), a song whose melody was brought up in Black Friday too, also in Made in America, just directly right before the Not Your Seed melody (and after the America is Great Again one.) When it plays, President Goodman speaks of his failure to stop Wiggly--the same melody that plays in Inevitable occurs when Paul tells Emma that she lost. Ghosts were uttered by Jeff Blim’s Man in a Hurry (“I heard Tom is seeing things,” “only ghosts”) in reference to Tom Houston’s PTSD in the song What Do You Say.

Am I thinking of sexy ghosts? Ghosts who want to fuck? Ghosts who regret having romances? Ghosts whose presences remind the living of poor life choices? Ghosts possessing others to feel alive again? Yeah, I am. Whatever these ghosts do, they have to line up with the criticisms speculated for their horror to work.

(If it is ghosts, I am hoping for Phantom references--in a way it is a horror musical, and the Hatchetfield series has referenced other horror musical pieces like Little Shop of Horrors. We could even have a Phantom-esque arc occur during the show.)

Assuming this musical is about love and sexuality at all, perhaps this show might be even darker due to a more personal nature that it seems to invoke in it's chosen themes.

More speculation here.