#hadestown will never let me go I cry

[dismas-n-dismay]

And if I said there’s an irony in Eurydice being reincarnated as Daisy and finally having everything she wanted but Orpheus still being reincarnated as that poor boy with nothing to give her but his heart and her choosing to love him in every universe and incarnation despite that then what.

What if I said there’s a certain cruelty in her never being able to keep Orpheus and Vice Versa as he dies in the pool as Gatsby after spending his whole life trying to get her back.

What if I said the narration of hadestown by Hermes almost perfectly mimics the narration by Nick, just as a recounting of unfortunate events that could not be stopped but that we repeat and retell in hopes things could be different.

[emptymasks]

i got to see hadestown on the west end and all i have to say is AAAA. i liked the original broadway cast so much i didn't think anything else could compare to me, but omg they were all amazing and maybe it's a bias from seeing it live vs seeing broadway through recordings, but i actually enjoyed them so much more. i think what helped is i felt a lot more for donal's orpheus, whereas reeve's never managed to really put at my heartstrings.

okayokay what i have to list out loved (going to try and go through the show chronologically):

la barrie's hermes using no titles and they/them pronouns. the lyrics were changed to reflect this eg "excuse me, hermes" instead of "mister hermes" at the beginning of 'wait for me', and "feathers on their feet" instead of "feathers on his feet" in 'road to hell'.

the cast keeping their own accents. it's not often in uk theatre to hear british regional accents, even if the actor has or had that accent. so hearing a nothern accent from eurydice was aaaa. as a northerner it made me really happy. i'm not sure if that's grace's real accent or not but aa it just made .

donál keeping his irish accent too. and the chemistry between his orpheus and grace's eurydice was adorable.

hermes slowly kissing persephone hand during 'our lady of the underground'.

PERSEPHONE didn't think I could love anyone more than grey but omg. i've never loved "our lady of the underground" but I do now, the way gloria performed it and this one long belting note she did while bending over crazy far backwards aaa. and at one point while dancing she acted like she'd gone too hard and pulled her back and got stuck, but then very smoothly went into leaning down towards the audience and singing directly at people in the front rows.

wasn't 100% sold on hades at first since his voice isn't as deep as what I'm used too (used to listening to page as hades), but after "i conduct the electric city" and the lights went out and when they came back on there was a single silly spotlight on hades was stood leaning against the door checking his nails all sultry like. his acting was so different from what I'm used too, more energetic and more... playful? i'm not sure if that's the right word but i can't think of anything else. and less cold and stern than page but I ended up really enjoying him. i've got two very different versions of hades i love now.

new lyrics in epic three, "what has become of the heart of that man" has been replaced with new lyrics. i think "man with his arms outreached" has reverted back to pre-broadway "man with his hat in his hands" but i'll be honest me memory of what the new lyrics are is not great.

i cried when hades and persephone danced. both of them were crying. and when they finished dancing he sobbed and crumpled into her arms and she stroked his head and back and held him the whole time orpheus and eurydice sang "promises"

hades breaking it down during the dance, doing silly dance moves and making persphone laugh, and then she joins in and does his silly dance moves with him 10/10 people supporting their partners silly dance moves.

hades "i don't know" answer to if orpheus and eurydice can go... i'm used to patrick page's grave, defeated "i don't know" and here instead you could really see the inner conflict and he was holding hands with persephone and when he said it she angrily let go of his hand and he had his little "his kiss the riot" freak out.

orpheus and hades handshake during the wait for me reprise aaaa

[mol1703]

I’m gonna call these posts:

“Huskerdust the Musical”

Where I explain how songs from musicals would work perfectly for Huskerdust and why. And if someone could write full fics about them or create animatics I would actually cry.

For this episode we’re gonna look at:

All I’ve Ever Known from Hadestown

This is a duet so both Angel and Husk will be singing— I would say together but some separated pining would be cute.

ANGEL:

I was alone so long

I didn't even know that I was lonely

Out in the cold so long

I didn’t even know that I was cold

Turned my collar to the wind

This is how it's always been

— Angel is torn up about his past on earth and in hell.

All I've ever known is how to hold my own

All I’ve ever known is how to hold my own

But now I wanna hold you, too

— Basically he’s tired of doing everything alone and finally decides that he wants Husk.

You take me in your arms and

Suddenly there's sunlight all around me

Everything bright and warm

And shining like it never did before

And for a moment I forget

Just how dark and cold it gets

— I’ve seen in a lot of fics how Angel and Husk are in this trope of “the world is less harsh when I am with you” and I think this just works really well with them.

All I've ever known is how to hold my own

All I've ever known is how to hold my own

But now I wanna hold you

Now I wanna hold you, hold you close

I don't wanna ever have to let you go

Now I wanna hold you, hold you tight

I don't wanna go back to the lonely life

HUSK:

I don't know how or why

Or who am I that I should get to hold you

But when I saw you all alone against the sky

It's like I’d known you all along

— I feel as if a majority of Huskerdust nation believes Husk is gonna pull a “I’m a bad person you deserve someone better” card (lol card) so this fits really well here especially if they sing apart from one another.

I knew you before we met

And I don’t even know you yet

All I know is you're someone I have always known

— To me, this hints to them possibly know ing each other on earth, but it could also be seen as Husk finally getting to know the real Angel.

HUSK & ANGEL:

All I know is you’re someone I have always known

And I don't even know you

— They simply bonded over taking care of one another whether after hard days. And they fell for one another, but they also know they have so much more to learn about one another.

Now I wanna hold you, hold you close

I don't wanna ever have to let you go

ANGEL:

Suddenly the sunlight, bright and warm

— Contrasting his previous statement about him being left in the cold.

HUSK:

Suddenly I’m holding the world in my arms

— I can totally see Husk just being love struck whenever he thinks about Angel

ANGEL:

Say that you’ll hold me forever

Say that the wind won't change on us

Say that we'll stay with each other

And it will always be like this

— Angel knows this promise can not be fulfilled cause they will never be able to be completely safe in their current situations.

HUSK:

I'm gonna hold you forever

The wind will never change on us

Long as we stay with each other

— Husk is definitely a pessimist so this line truly shows how he cares about Angel — to make this promise even if it just gives him false hope.

HUSK AND ANGEL:

Then it will always be like this

Love this musical highly recommend it. If you all have any other ideas on what songs would work well for them let me know!

[arbitrarystrawberry]

So yesterday my brother and I got to go to New York and see Hadestown on Broadway, and it was absolutely wonderful, I cried several times. My brother convinced me to spring for good seats (just a few rows back on the right side) and I'm /so/ glad. Here are a few highlights:

one of the Fates made eye contact and grinned at me in the opening song when she and the others were dancing near the front of the stage

when Persephone first asked "Anybody want a drink?" she asked the audience on our side of the stage and my hand shot up

and in Our Lady of the Underground when Persephone sang "C'mere, brother; let me guess: it's the little things you miss" she looked at and sang straight to my brother

I really liked the female Hermes; at one point near the end she called Orpheus "baby" in a very affectionate, grandmotherly way and I thought it was so sweet

when Orpheus first made it to the underworld he came through the audience and he stopped /right by my chair/ before jumping on stage to go to Eurydice

when Hades first looks at Eurydice in Way Down Hadestown, instead of very obviously jumping in front of her with his arms out to block his view like Reeve's Orpheus did, Jordan Fisher kind of edged in between them and took her hand without looking directly at Hades, which was much more subtle, and I liked that acting choice

in I think the Chant reprise Eurydice and Persephone were standing back to back in the center while everything else was going on around them and Persephone laced her fingers through Eurydice's, and I thought it was a really cool sign of solidarity (instead of Persephone being jealous or upset with Eurydice for what her husband did)

the swinging lights in Wait For Me!! GAH!!!!!

it was interesting being close to the ground and not being able to actually see the spinning stage, so it looked like they were just gliding or walking in place

They Danced always makes me cry 😭

still so impressed with how quickly they manage to smear makeup on Orpheus's face while he's being beat up /on stage/ so when he comes back to the front it looks like he has a scraped cheek and a bloody nose

Jordan Fisher's acting was so good, there were a couple times when I could /see/ the shine of tears in his eyes

they changed some of the lines in Epic III, the bit before "where is the treasure inside of your chest?"-- I was going to say I can't remember what the changes were now, but I just found them in a reddit post: https://www.reddit.com/r/hadestown/comments/1biusui/epic_iii_lyric_change_on_broadway/ "I know how it is because he is like me / I know how it is to be left all alone / There’s a hole in his arms where the world used to be / When Persephone’s gone / His work never done, his war never won / Will go on forever, whatever the cost / Cause the thing that he’s building his wall around / Is already lost"

I was dead tired by the end of the day (on the train home I was so exhausted I started to feel a little nauseous), but I'm so glad we got to see the show, it was such an incredible experience

[starrylightseeker]

songs that remind me of LNDS (that's not wide awake by katy perry) cause I'm bored

The ones that specifically remind me of MC's lore will be in pink

So Much (For) Stardust by Fall Out Boy. The stars are the same as ever, but I don't have the guts to keep it together / Stuck in the permafrost, stuck in the permafrost / Life is just a game, maybe / I'm stuck in a lonely loop, my baby

Sacred Oath by Beth Crowley. Fate came in to twist the knife / I got a second chance / Only to lose you twice / Some days I'm so mad, I can't think straight / Plotting the revenge that I won't take

Please Don't Cry by Davichi. It’s just for a while / It will be hard just for a while / Little bit, please wait for, just a little bit / Whenever I think about you who’s more precious than me / I wanna see you so bad, it drives me crazy

The Loneliest by Måneskin. You'll be the saddest part of me / A part of me that will never be mine / It's obvious / Tonight is gonna be the loneliest / You're still the oxygen I breathe / I see your face when I close my eyes / It's torturous

Flowers from Hadestown. I trembled when he laid me out / "You won't feel a thing," he said, "when you go down" / Nothing gonna wake you now / Dreams are sweet, until they're not / Men are kind, until they aren't / Flowers bloom, until they rot, and fall apart

Lighthouse by WayV. I miss you, I miss you / I don’t want to miss you / Each day of separation extends, even my laughter seems like a lie

Nobody by Faith Marie. These chains so complicated / These memories so faded / They say I can't feel nothing

Hunter by Paris Paloma. With so much misery that I could mercifully put end to / For that animal I let slink off into the undergrowth, unscathed / Do I not fear death, but just pretend to?

You Are My Everything by Davichi. Even if you get farther away from me / I will go closer to you / Kiss me, kiss me / You are everything in my life / Here I’m running to you / Wait for me / I miss you so much

Ocean by Lady A. And I've done it outta love is not enough / But God, how I wish it was

^ specifically Rafayel

Ascension by Sarah Kinsley. So, why can't I stay here? / Barely alive, barely awake / In my bed too big / And I stay on my side / Wondering if it was real

Stay With Me by Chanyeol x Punch. I’m still watching over you from far away / Why am I being like this? / Different from the moment I first saw you / This time of fate is passing slowly / My heart was heading towards you

Monsters by joan. 'Cause I want you to hear, want you to know / My heart is yours / No matter where, no matter what shows up

A Million Miles Away from Belle. Come back to me and stay by my side / I feel my heart shake / Come, ease this ache / I'm standing over here, reaching for you / A million miles away, come back and stay

(ง ื▿ ื)ว Bonus song... If Caleb comes back after being dead (mani and I have a theory that he's working with Carter):

Tempting Fate by Beth Crowley. I see the way you've changed / Into someone I don't recognize / A stranger I have to walk behind / Pride goes before the fall / You're going to lose it all / If you let the precious time we borrowed slip away

[kanerallels]

Also if you're looking for Christmas angst, I've been thinking about Gift For an Angel (Also the Hadestown Christmas album) with Kanera.... and crying a lot 😅

Oh the FEELINGS this one gave me are extensive

Also when you see this and go "WHY THE KARK DID SHE POST THIS SO EARLY???" the answer is as a favor to @laughingphoenixleader. Long story lol, enjoy nonetheless!

Hera sat on the ramp of the Ghost, watching the snow drifting down on the prairies of Lothal. Cold weather had never been her favorite, being from a desert planet. Even now, she had a mug of caf clutched in her hands, trying to let the warmth soak into her from the cooling mug.

But Kanan loved the snow. If Hera closed her eyes, she could imagine him next to her, shoulder pressed against her, trying to keep her warm. His blue-green eyes would be sparkling as he teased her or flirted, and they’d be happy.

Hera closed her eyes against tears. Oh, Kanan. I miss you. She hoped that he was at peace. Even if she wished he was here.

Letting a hand rest on her growing belly, she thought, If you were here this year, I would have had the perfect gift for you. She could picture his excitement at the prospect of being a father so clearly.

She let out a long, shaky sigh. Lifting the mug of caf, she said, “Here’s to you, love. Happy Life Day.”

[a-very-sparkly-nerd]

4th and final chapter of my Rayllum Hadestown AU is up!!!

If You Ever Walk This Way…

Rayla reacted before Callum, forcing composure and shoving ahead of him, barely concealing any of his larger frame–she’d missed a growth spurt, she realized sadly. It was the little things she missed the most, but hadn’t even realized.

“Nothing,” she swore. Callum– he had to get out of here. There was no hope left for her, but there was for him. He couldn’t know she’d signed her soul away. The stupid, lovable boy needed to fucking listen to her when she told him to stay away, but of course he didn’t. Rayla couldn’t find it in herself to be upset, just overcome with love and the overwhelming desire to kiss him silly and never let him go again. “He was just leaving.”

“Finnegrin,” Callum started, approaching him and stretching out his hand. He didn’t know Finnegrin wasn’t a man that could be reasoned with, that any attempts were doomed to fail before they even began. “Hi. I’m Prince Callum of Katolis. I’m here to-”

Finnegrin cut him off, voice sharp and unyielding. “You barge into my tower, demand a meeting with me with no prior warning, and then I find you canoodling with my best fighter? By all means, boy, explain yourself. It’s looking spectacular for you.”

Callum wiped his hands on his pants. “I’m here to bring her back. Bring her home. That’s all I want. Please. Let her come home with me.”

Rayla covered her mouth, unsure of whether she’d smile or cry. Probably both.

Finnegrin stared at him for a moment.

Rayla looked to Callum. Callum looked to her, smiling reassuringly like he could just fix things. He took her hands, his own so warm– when was the last time she’d touched someone so warm, so soft and loving and delicate, other than Stella? Yeah, Rayla was definitely about to cry. She barely managed to shove the lump in her throat down.

And Finnegrin burst out laughing.

Callum stepped back, confused, and Rayla clutched his arm. “Callum, you need to go. Leave, right now–”

“No,” he said with finality, squeezing her hand. “I’m never taking my eyes off of you again.”

Rayla couldn’t argue with him, not when he looked at her like that, not when this was the boy she’d give anything for, even with everything that had and would happen. He looked at her as if she was the world, even with all she’d done, and he was home. She wanted to go home so badly it broke her all over again.

In one fluid motion, Finnegrin’d strode over to Callum and hoisted him up by the collar, her mage’s eyes wide and panicked as he kicked the air in surprise.

Leaning in close, Finnegrin growled, “Who the fuck do you think you are? Who the fuck do you think you’re looking at?” He jerked his head to Rayla, and she was suddenly pinned in place by his cold eyes, by the crippling memory of freezing blood. “Go on, girl. Go home.”

Callum glanced from Finnegrin to her, processing her denial for the first time. Realizing that there was a reason she’d insisted he leave. “What’s… What’s going on?” he breathed, eyes fearful and begging her for answers.

“Or,” Finnegrin continued, but Rayla cut him off. She owed Callum hearing this from her at the very least.

“I can’t,” she blurted, feeling the lump in her throat return, its size doubled. “I–”

Finnegrin sighed, annoyed. He dropped Callum, and he fell to the ground. In spite of herself, the logical part of her brain, Runaan’s voice, screaming at her not to show Finnegrin just what he meant to her, Rayla rushed to help him up, make sure he was okay. Her heart hurt more than any spell, any blow could compare to.

“She signed the contract,” Finnegrin told him, an evil smile creeping up his face. “She is mine. Her soul is mine.”

Read more on AO3!

[aro-pancake-writes]

@spookyspecterino @fangbangerghoul @bearlytolerant

WIP Wednesday! Let's do it!

This one's living up here, rent free in a triplex, along with Chant from Hadestown.

Ng+ spoilers.

It's just a sketch for a first chapter, but let's go!

Btw, it's about a Starborn that did everything to go back.

Lover everything I do, I do it for the love of you.

I've been travelling for… so long I lost count. Searching, looking, everywhere.

My hands are bloody. My emotions are all but gone. I don't even bother anymore. Not with trying to meet the new versions, with seeing them die.

I tried, I think. Once, long ago, when all of this started. I wanted to move on, to continue with my life, fix the mistakes I couldn't fix before.

But this is the last jump I'll ever take. I'll resign. Find an empty planet and live there the rest of my days. Or end it all before that. I just know that I can't stay in this universe a moment longer.

I close my eyes, remembering him. The reason I jumped in the first place. He told me to. He said, promised, that we'd find eachother again. That he'd love me in every universe.

I laugh at that last one. There's still a scar on my stomach from one of the meetings we had. One that Sam never had Cora. That he still loved Lillian.

I'm broken now. My only guiding light is, was, to find him randomly across the universes. The Unity said he would eventually jump in, he'd come looking for me.

It's been millennia, and I'm no longer sure.

So, one more jump. One last try.

The lights are blinding, and the sights were once mesmerising. They lost their beauty for me so long ago.

I make my way back to New Atlantis. One last time.

There's something hauntingly familiar as I walk through the spaceport to the Lodge. Something that tells me I've been here before. I've been to this version.

I step into the Lodge, waiting to meet Sarah, have her asking me about the artifacts. I prepare myself for Walter snark comments and Matteo's awe.

But that's not what I see.

The first thing I see is a familiar cowboy hat. Sam.

I hold back from jumping at him, no matter how much I want to and it breaks what's left of my heart that I can't. It didn't end up well before.

I watch, patiently, as he turns to face me, removing his hat.

Sam looks older. There are strands of silver on his hair and beard, and wrinkles forming around his eyes. But it's still him.

He's smiling. Arms open and inviting.

I cross my arms, fighting even more the urge to go to him. It's not my Sam. Not the one of my original universe. That I fell in love with. It's another version. Right?

I can't be back. After all this time, to be sent back feels like the Unity is rubbing it off on my face.

“Haven't seen you in a while, love.” Sam says, stepping closer to me. “You're still as beautiful as the day I lost you.”

He touches my face, and I allow him. It's been so long since I felt any kind of warmth, that this feels like it's scorching my skin and I want more.

“Please, don't tease me like this.” I say, remembering the universes I've told him.

“I'm not.” He says, placing a hand on his holster, taking out the pistol there. “This is for you. Saved my ass more than I could count. Time to give it back.”

It's my pistol. I couldn't bring myself to use one like it since the first time I went through. Couldn't keep them.

“It's yours now.” I push his hand back, so he can put it away. “I can't take it away from you.”

His smile dies. It's almost like he sees that I'm not the person who walked through Unity.

“Why would I need it? It was a reminder of you.” He asks, stepping back. “I finally got you back. And I'm not letting you go again.”

Again.

If there was ever any doubt that I'm back, it fades away. I'm home.

I can't resist anymore. Falling into his arms, I allow myself to feel again. I cry, holding on to him.

“How long?” I gather the courage to ask, unsure if I want too know.

“A little over ten years.” There's sorrow as he answers me, running a hand on my back.

I missed so much. Cora is all grown up now. Probably off to college.

And I can rest. Hoping that is not just another bad joke from the Unity. They did it so much by now, with universes where he was already dead, or happy in a different life. Those were the worst for me.

Not really thinking, I kiss him. It's a heavy kiss, where we both show how we missed eachother.

I can't believe we're finally back together. After all this time.

“So,” I lean back, looking into his lovely blue eyes, “what did I miss?”

[thesweetnessofspring]

So I've let it out before that I'm working on a Hunger Games-in-Hadestown AU. This is something that's been in my head for about three years now. It was a few months after TBOSAS came out and I was listening to "All I've Ever Known" when I was like "huh. This is such an Everlark song." And then connections between the two stories, given the new information on the world and characters through TBOSAS especially, kept popping up in my head. A combination of personal life stressors and intimidation by the project delayed its start for years. Now I've been working on it intently for over a month and am nearing the end of Act I. It's been a great creative challenge for me, including days where I listen to the same song on repeat, my bed covered in Working on a Song, TBOSAS, and Mockingjay and my tabs open with all of the albums/bootlegs of the show I could find, and wanting to cry because weaving these two together seemed to stump me. And then getting it figured out once I took a break, lol.

So anyway, here are some things I wanted to share about it:

The title, "a lover's desire is mutiny", comes from the Vermont*** version of Epic III and the full couplet is "cos a lover's desire is mutiny/a lover's desire is a wilderness." And when I read that I went wild thinking about Everlark.

Haymitch is our Hermes. I specifically have Chris Sullivan's performance as Hermes from the New York Theatre Workshop*** version of the show in mind with him.

Lucy Gray is both Persephone and the Fates. This is the aspect that took the most time for me to sort out, but once I accepted I could essentially combine these two roles into Lucy Gray, the rest of the story started to fit together.

While Peeta is mostly Orpheus and Katniss is mostly Eurydice, that won't be strictly followed according to my plans now.

It goes without saying that Snow is Hades, right? But he's still Coriolanus Snow through and through.

The song that "brings the world back into tune" is going to be a song from TBOSAS.

***Like many musicals, Hadestown had a lot of work done before it got to Broadway, including an early community version in Vermont, a concept album, an off-Broadway New York Theatre Workshop (NYTW) version/album, an Edmonton production, and a London production. Additionally, some cut lyrics that never made it on the show is available in the book Working on a Song. I am using all I can find as inspiration, though the earliest versions and Edmonton are hardest to find information on.

[quensty]

tagged by @moondal514 (thanks babe!) to put my spotify on repeat playlist on shuffle and list the first 10 songs. or at least that’s the way i’m doing this 🤷

if u’re wondering why i’m using the rooster emoji that is strictly mexican business go back to ur drinks

🐓 it will come back by hozier: i think abt the lines “don’t let it in with no intention to keep it / jesus christ don’t be kind to it” every single day

🐓 lafayette by orville peck: the first time i listened to this song i was at school and i’d accidentally fallen asleep with my headphones on. i woke up solely to make sure i favorited this song. i think that tells u how severely this song slaps.

🐓 25 minutes to go by johnny cash: every time i listen to this song i start off super pumped and get increasingly sadder as it continues. it’s two minutes and 56 seconds of pure genius. to tell the story of a man on death row as he counts down the time to his execution. it’s funny and sharp and brutal, but i do think regularly abt these lines cash omitted: “well, my lawyer says he's sorry he missed my case / fifteen minutes to go / yeah, well if you're so sorry, come up and take my place / i got fourteen minutes to go”

🐓 wayfaring stranger by poor man’s poison: i’m abt to admit a ghastly sin but i prefer this version to johnny cash’s 😞 i think it’s the combination of guitar and whatever string instrument they use plus how it gradually crescendos that makes it life changing

🐓 no children by the mountain goats: when i first listened to this song at 13 i couldn’t have possibly known it would change me completely as a person the way it did. omg i just realized it’s been a consistent fave song of mine for nearly ten years … moving on

🐓 babooshka by kate bush: she NEVER misses. kate bush i would die for u

🐓 eat your young by hozier: my brother and i are going to his concert this year and i’m so fucking excited. i’ve missed his music so much. i’m ngl to ya’ll i might cry

🐓 mitchell: epic iii by the cast of hadestown: “and suddenly hades was only a man / with the taste of nectar upon his lips” how am i meant to be normal abt this song fr. hades king of the scythe and the sword who scrapes the sky and scars the earth in love. AND THEN: ”where is ur pleasure? / where is your youth? / where is the man with his head in his hands? / who stands in the garden nothing to lose” gagging

🐓 hasta que te conocí by juan gabriel: i listened to juan gabriel throughout my entire childhood and considered one of the best musicians to ever live. when i found out he was gay, i cried for like an hour out of sheer happiness and emotion. this song is just one of my dozens of favorites of his.

🐓 hungover in jonestown by amigo the devil: i seriously think amigo the devil as a band infiltrated my brain, took note of all the things that make me most ill, and then decided to write music specifically intended to make me foam at the mouth. “i tie the noose but you are the rope … if i am the drunk you are the wheel” JESUS CHRIST

i’m tagging: @cabeswater @youthbleeding @keepoffthetardis @minimyz and whoever else wants to do this! consider urself tagged :) <3

[violentdevotion]

i admit im a very emotional person and theres a lot of things that the thought if alone can make me cry and the ending if never let me go is one if them. but the context of the ending makes the entire novel a tragedy. for my essay the other day i skimmed the first few pages to get a quote for when one if the characters was introduced and reading that made me ugly cry because i know the characters fate. like i love hadestown, but it's wrong. stories aren't cyclical, continuesly bringing characters back to life and dead again instead the second you finish a book, the entire story is haunted by its ending.

[localcryptic]

THE RESULTS ARE IN. I TRICKED YOU ALL.

TRUTH #1… Ripley loves musical theater.

he would kill you if you ever found out. he has a reputation as an edgy bastard to maintain. but he can’t help being a total sap at heart. he’s a sucker for a good ballad. the type of raw, heightened emotion in musicals just gets him every time. god forbid something from hadestown comes on shuffle while he’s on the bus, he has to shut it off or he will cry about it. he would never want to be in a musical, and i doubt he’d even want to go see one live because of the crowds, but he puts those tech-savvy skills to work and has a whole flash drive of bootlegs to watch.

he didn’t think he’d like musicals, but back in the sidestep days, ricardo took him to see the 2012 movie adaptation of Les Miserables (“trust me, it’ll be fun!” <- ricardo, forgetting that it’s the most depressing show in the world) and ripley experienced shrimp emotions the second jean valjean got those goddamn candlesticks. he was IN. this is a rough approximation of how ripley’s first musical experience went

TRUTH #2… Ripley did name himself after Ripley’s Believe It Or Not

this started out as a running joke between me and @b33tlejules saying one of our sidesteps picked out a last name by looking at a random street sign. there is a physical Ripley’s Believe It Or Not museum in Hollywood along the Walk of Fame, right in the heart of all the touristy shit, which has a Giant Stupid T-Rex on the roof looking down at the street below. i know that not many things in the old Los Angeles survived the Big One, but in my heart of hearts, i can only hope that this monstrosity was one of the remaining relics.

you have to imagine. you’re some trans guy, just coming to terms with your identity, exploring what you want to emulate, who you want to be now that you finally have the chance to decide for yourself. also it’s your first time like, going outside on your own. you’re pondering all of this while you weave through crowds, trying to remain unseen, and suddenly, you look up to see THAT. you have to admit. it would be the coolest fucking thing in the world. ripley did in fact see a big ass stupid t-rex and say “yup, i’ll base my entire identity on this.”

i don’t think he even went into the museum.

“but where’d he get Hawthorn from then?” i’m so glad you asked.

which means… our LIE is… 🥁🥁🥁

“Ripley’s apartment belongs on r/malelivingspaces. truly a nightmare”

ripley’s apartment is actually pretty nice! it means a lot to him to have his space be comfortable and organized and feel like his own. he really likes cleaning and decorating, it gives him something in his life he can control. he also likes cooking, even if he’s only average at it. it’s important for him to really feel at home and he puts more effort into it than he’d ever let on. much more effort than he puts into presenting himself, honestly. it’s not the biggest or fanciest apartment possible, but it’s his, and it’s very cozy and well loved :)

thank you all for playing :) this was fun and i’d love to play again

OC two truths and a lie

"choose an OC and make a 24 hour poll with two truths and one lie about them and see if people can guess the lie"

(thank you for tagging me @autumnfangirler >:3)

i shall be exposing my sidestep Ripley Hawthorn's secrets today, since he is so famously open with his emotions (<- lying)

psst. tell me what you voted for and why in the tags/replies if you want

(i challenge @wormonastringtheory , @b33tlejules @eggfullofbees , if y'all want to play :3c)

[pelideswhore]

SONGS FOR HELEN OF TROY

seventeen — marina & the diamonds

Used to be a major scale, but the melody went stale […] Could never tell you what happened the day I turned seventeen. The rise of a king and the fall of a queen. Oh, seventeen, seventeen. Oh, you were embarrassed of me because I used my tongue freely. Bet you wished I couldn’t speak, ‘cause when I do, you know I tell you why you appear weak.

ivy — taylor swift

My pain fits in the palm of your freezing hand, taking mine but it's been promised to another. [...] He's gonna burn this house to the ground. How's one to know? I'd live and die for moments that we stole, on begged and borrowed time. So tell me to run, or dare to sit and watch what we’ll become, and drink my husband’s wine.

all you wanna do — aimee atkinson (six)

I think we can all agree I’m the ten amongst these threes and ever since I was a child, I’d make the boys go wild. […] All you wanna do, baby, is touch me. When will enough be enough? See, all you wanna do, all you wanna do, baby, is squeeze me, don’t care if you don’t please me. Bite my lip and pull my hair as you tell me I’m the fairest of the fair.

easy on me — adele

You can’t deny how hard I’ve tried to put you both first but now I give up. Go easy on me, baby. I was still a child, didn’t get the chance to feel the world around me. I had no time to choose what I chose to do, so go easy on me. I had good intentions and the highest hopes, but I know right now that probably doesn’t even show.

farewell wanderlust — the amazing devil

Goodbye to all my darkness, there’s nothing here but light. Adieu to all the faceless things that sleep with me at night. This here is not make-up, it’s a porcelain tomb, and this here is not singing, it’s just screaming in tune because farewell wanderlust, you’ve been ever so kind. You brought me through this darkness but you left me here behind. So long to the person you begged me to be, he’s down, he’s dead, and now take a good long look at what you’ve done to me.

flowers — eva noblezada (hadestown)

What I wanted was to fall asleep, close my eyes and disappear. Like a petal on the stream, like a feather in the air […] Flowers, I remember fields of flowers, soft beneath my heels. I remember someone, someone by my side—turned his face to mine, and I turned away, into the shade. You, the one I left behind, if you ever walk this way, come and find me, lying in the bed I made.

tango dancer — gelsey bell (ghost quartet)

I used to run in the sand, campfire stars in the distance, and I’d gaze into the darkness, and wonder about the void. And I’m haunted by that memory of who I used to be—so gleeful, so blank, so ready. I was empty then, and I’m empty now, but it’s not the same at all […] I’d stay up all night long and all the boys would fall over, oh, how dazzling I could be. But the magic is gone, my joy got bloated and sick.

memory — elaine paige (cats)

Memory, all alone in the moonlight. I can smile at the old days, I was beautiful then. I remember the time I knew what happiness was. Let the memory live again. Every street lamp seems to beat, a fatalistic warning […] Daylight, I must wait for the sunrise. I must think of a new life and I mustn’t give in. When the dawn comes, tonight will be a memory too and a new day will begin.

speechless — naomi scott (aladdin)

Here comes a wave meant to wash me away, a tide that is taking me under. Swallowing sand, I’ve got nothing to say, my voice drowned out in the thunder. But I won’t cry, and I won’t start to crumble. Whenever they try to shut me or cut me down, I won’t be silenced. You can’t keep me quiet […] Written in stone, every rule, every word. Centuries old and unbending. ‘Stay in your place, better seen and not heard’, but now that story’s ending.

girls against god — florence + the machine

What a thing to admit, that when somebody looks at me with real love, I don’t like it very much. It kinda feels like I’m being crushed. Is that something you’d like to discuss? […] And in my darkest fantasies, I’m the picture of passivity, waiting for you side of stage, suppressing all my private rage, but as my sister said, I’d probably last six days. […] But it’s good to be alive, crying into cereal at midnight. Oh, God, you’re gonna get it. You’ll be sorry that you messed with us.

exile — taylor swift

I can see you starin’, honey, like he’s just your understudy, like you’d get your knuckles bloody for me. Second, third and hundredth chances. Balancin’ on breaking branches. Those eyes add insult to injury. I think I’ve seen this film before, and I didn’t like the ending. I’m not your problem anymore, so who am i offending now! You were my crown, now I’m in exile seeing you out.

long story short — taylor swift

The knife cuts both ways; if the show fits, walk in it ‘til your high heels break. And I fell from the pedestal, right down the rabbit hole. Long story short, it was a bad time. Pushed from the precipice, clung to the nearest lips. Long story short, it was the wrong guy. Now I’m all about you, I’m all about you. Actually, I always thought I must look better in the rear view [...] Long story short, it was a bad time. Long story short, I survived.

dream girl evil — florence + the machine

Oh, did you miss me? Walk on water just to kiss me? Oh, come and get me, drag me out and destroy me. I’ve been expecting you, I’m ready. Deliver me that bad news, baby. Am I your dream girl? You think of me in bed but you could never hold me and like me better in your head. Make me evil, then I’m an angel instead—at least you’ll sanctify me when I’m dead […] Did I disappoint you? Did mummy make you sad? Do I at least remind you of every girl that made you mad?

broken glass — rachel platten

I’m on a highway full of red lights, I’ve lost so many long nights, felt words that cut like knives. I know they’re gonna say what they wanna […] I have been patient, but I’m not waiting anymore. I’m gonna dance on broken glass, broken glass. I’m gonna make that ceiling crash, that ceiling crash. So what? Still got knives in my back. So what? So I’m tied to the tracks, yeah, I’m gonna dance on broken glass.

trust in me — scarlett johansson (the jungle book)

Shut your eyes, trust in me. You can sleep, safe and sound, knowing I am around. Slip into silent slumber, sail on a silver mist. Slowly but surely, your senses will seize to resist. Just relax, be at rest, like a bird in a nest. Trust in me, just in me.

[novemberrage]

sansa stark playlist (made up of almost entirely taylor swift songs)

blinding by florence and the machine

“Seems that I have been held in some dreaming state

A tourist in the waking world, never quite awake

No kiss, no gentle word could wake me from this slumber.”

this woman's work by maxwell

“All the things we should’ve done. 

We never did. 

All the things that you needed from me. 

All the things I should’ve given”

you were bigger than the whole sky by taylor swift

“No words appear before me in the aftermath

Salt streams out my eyes and into my ears

Every single thing I touch becomes sick with sadness

'Cause it's all over now, all out to sea.”

paradise by coldplay

“When she was just a girl she expected the world

But it flew away from her reach

So she ran away in her sleep”

little bird by the weepies

“Sometimes it's hard to say even one thing true

When all eyes have turned aside, they used to talk to you

And people on the streets seem to disapprove

So you keep moving away

And forget what you wanted to say”

evermore by taylor swift

“I replay my footsteps on each stepping stone

Trying to find the one where I went wrong

Writing letters addressed to the fire

And I couldn't be sure

I had a feeling so peculiar

That this pain would be for evermore”

no plan by hozier

“Why would you make out of words

A cage for your own bird?

When it sings so sweet

The screaming, heaving fuckery of the world?”

between two lungs by florence and the machine

“The sigh that blew me forward

Trapped between two lungs

It was trapped between two lungs

And my running feet could fly

Each breath screaming

"We are all too young to die"

every single night by fiona apple

What'd I say to her?

Why'd I say to her?

What does she think of me?

That I'm not what I ought to be

She by bodie

“And she means everything to me

and I'll be okay

Admiring from afar

Cause even when she's next to me

We could not be more far apart”

crybaby

“You're all on your own and you lost all your friends. 

You told yourself that it's not you, it's them”

high infidelity by taylor swift

“Storm coming, good husband

Bad omen

Dragged my feet right down the aisle

At the house lonely, good money”

winter bird by aurora

“My tears are always frozen

Rest against my pillow like the aging winter sun

Only wake each morning to remember that you're gone

So I drift away again

To winter I belong”

this is me trying

They told me all of my cages were mental

So I got wasted like all my potential…. 

And it's hard to be at a party when I feel like an open wound

It's hard to be anywhere these days.”

mirrorball by taylor swift

“I'm a mirrorball

I can change everything about me to fit in

You are not like the regulars

The masquerade revelers

Drunk as they watch my shattered edges glisten.”

running with the wolves by aurora

“Go row the boat to safer grounds

But we're running out of time

Oh, all the echoes in my mind cry

There's blood on your lies

The sky's open wide.”

you’re on your own, kid by taylor swift

“I looked around in a blood soaked gown

And I saw something they can't take away

Cause there were pages burned with the bridges burned

Everything you lose is a step you take

You’re on your own, kid

You always have been”

from eden by hozier

Babe, there's something tragic about you

Honey, you're familiar like my mirror years ago

Idealism sits in prison, chivalry fell on its sword

Innocence died screaming, oh, ask me I should know”

hoax by taylor swift

“You knew the password, so I let you in the door

You knew you won, so what's the point of keeping score?

You knew it still hurts underneath my scars

From when they pulled me apart

But what you did was just as dark”

flowers by hadestown

“Lily white and poppy red

I trembled when he laid me out

You won’t feel a thing, he said, when you go down

Nothing gonna wake you now

Dreams are sweet, until they’re not

And men are kind, until they aren’t”

wolf by first aid kid

“Wayward winds, the voice that sings

Of a forgotten land

See it fall, child of war, oh

Lend a mending hand

When I run through the deep dark forest long after this begun.”

Will i make it out alive by tommee profitt

“The drums inside my chest

Just can't seem to catch a breath

Gotta get out while you can

Gotta get out while you can

Am I gonna swim, am I gonna sink?

Am I gonna bend, am I gonna break?”

snow on a beach by taylor swift

“Tonight feels impossible

But it's coming down 

Like snow on a beach

No sound, it's all around

I can't speak, afraid to jinx it

but your eyes are flying saucers from another planet

Can this be a real thing? Can it?”

things we lost to the fire by bastille

“Things we lost to the flames

Things we'll never see again

All that we've amassed

Sits before us, shattered into ash”

shrike by hozier

“I couldn’t utter my love when it counted

Ah, but i’m singing like a bird ‘bout it now

I couldn’t whisper when you needed it shouted

Ah, but I’m singing like a bird ‘bout it now

The words hung above but never would form

like a cry at a final breath that is drawn

Remember me love, when I am reborn.”

the archer by taylor swift

All the king's horses, all the king's men 

Couldn't put me together again. 

Cause all of my enemies started out friends 

Help me hold on to you"

every single night by fiona apple

“What'd I say to her?

Why'd I say to her?

What does she think of me?

That I'm not what I ought to be

Then brother, get back, 'cause my breast's gonna bust open

The rib is the shell and the heart is the yolk

I just made a meal for us both to choke on”

death by a thousand cuts by taylor swift

“Our country, guess it was a lawless land

Quiet my fears with the touch of your hand

Papercut stings from a paper thin plans

My time, my wine, my spirit, my trust

Tryna find a part of me you didn't take up

Gave you so much, but it wasn’t enough”

peace by taylor swift

“If your cascade ocean wave blues come

All these people think love's for show

But I would die for you in secret

The devil's in the details, but you got a friend in me

Would it be enough if I could never give you peace?”

the great war by taylor swift

“My knuckles were bruised like violets

Sucker punching walls, cursed you as I sleep-talked

Spineless in my tomb of silence

Tore your banners down, took the battle underground

And maybe it was egos swinging

Maybe it was her

Flashes of the battle come back to me in a blur”

karma by taylor swift

“You're terrified to look down

'Cause if you dare, you'll see the glare

Of everyone you burned just to get there

It's coming back around

Ask me what i learned from all those years

Ask me what I earned from all those tears

Ask me why so many fade, but I’m still here”

exile by taylor swift

“I can see you starin', honey

like you’d get your knuckles bloody for me

Second, third and hundredth chances

Balancin' on breaking branches

Those eyes add insult to injury

You’re not my homeland anymore,

so what am i defending now?”

would’ve, could’ve, should’ve by taylor swift

“And now that I'm grown, I'm scared of ghosts

Memories feel like weapons

God rest my soul

I miss who I used to be

The tomb won't close

Stained glass windows in my mind”

closure by taylor swift

“It's been a long time

And seeing the shape of your name

Still spells out pain

It wasn't right

The way it all went down

Looks like you know that now

Yes, I got your letter

Yes, I’m doing better

I don’t need your closure

up the wolves by the mountain goats

“there's bound to be a ghost at the back of your closet

no matter where you live

there'll always be few things maybe several things

that you're going to find really difficult to forgive.

there's gonna come a day when you'll feel better,

and you'll rise up free and easy on that day”

long story short by taylor swift

“I tried to pick my battles 'til the battle picked me

And I fell from the pedestal right down the rabbit hole

Pushed from the precipice, climbed right back up the cliff

Past me,

I wanna tell you not to get lost in these petty things

Your nemeses will defeat themselves before

you get the chance to swing

Long story short, it was a bad time

Long story short, I survived”

[smidgen-of-hotboy]

Jay's Thoughts: Extended Cut

Every time you use the phrase “way down” a part of me gets so excited

OH OH OH- okokok. Nyx i think was the one to point it out in your post yesterday with the sneak peek, smth about Eurydice dying in some versions because she was bit by a rattlesnake and drawing the parallels of that to the feeling in Juno’s stomach and yeahhhhhhh. YEAHHHHHHHH- kisses kisses kisses ya’ll are so smart Also the mental image you’ve created in my head of juno walking “shirt soaked through with sweat”- like, he’s miserable buttttt…. Also… beating myself back so i don’t say something i later regret

THE RUSH I’M GETTING RN IS THE SAME AS THE RUSH I GOT LISTENING TO THE CLEAN BREAK PART 2 FOR THE FIRST TIME OOOOUUUGHGHGGHHGHGH- THIS COULD ONLY BE MADE BETTER IF JUNO MENTIONED THE SMELL 

“...and a wall around his heart. [stopSTOPPPP-] His overalls were covered in muc and brick dust, [lack of care for his appearance which is very important usually to Nureyev] his glasses were broken, and his eyes looked hollow and weary. [MY HEART!!] But, gods, he might as well have had a gilded halo around his head for the way Juno wanted to fall down at his feet weeping and praying.” [IDOLISM SPOTTED!! DEIFICATION SPOTTED!! ANGEL NUREYEV SPOTTED!! MUSE! WORSHIP! RELIGIOUS IMAGERY! GAHHH- this has everything in it that I want and love and its only the beginning….]

“Blesses Saint Peter of the Workers.” OH WE DOING THIS HUH ZEPH??!! OKAY! OKAY THEN- Saint Peter is an actual Saint, he holds the keys to the gates of heaven and is referenced in the song “Sixteen Tons”. A different Saint Peter is accounted as “the wonderworker” for his acts of wonder working in 920 (organizing famine relief and ransom for captives and treating the ill). The Wonderworker was called a Thaumaturgy, someone who performs miracles (which, actually fits the narrative Kabert have built for Nureyev and the Dokana group…)

Oh boy, nothing can go wrong now that Juno has found him! I STAND CORRECTED HE ISN’T RESPONDING TO HIS NAME! AAAAAGGGGHHHHH-

OH THE RATTLESNAKE IS STILL HERE

“Nothing. Just that steady Hadestown rhythm of breathe, strike, lift. Breathe. Strike. Lift.” So even Juno can hear it…

“He wasn’t alive now. The poorly sutured gash in his neck was evidence enough of that.” I’m crying. I’m actually crying. I’m coming down from my high writing that Angel of Brahma thing and now this and I’m crying. 

“Juno was nearly crying now [NO SHIT JUNO HERE I GOT YOU BABE, I GOT YOU BABY GIRL, I’LL CRY ENOUGH FOR BOTH OF US], scared and desperate, the world going blurry through the tears stuck in his lashes. The rattlesnake hidden in his stomach was letting out another steady hiss, it’s teeth bared in warning once more.” [Rattlesnakes hissing and rattling their tail is indeed a warning sign. This is all a big red flag Juno. You gotta run while you can.]

“I’m here to take you home.” THIS ISN’T FUCKING FAIR-

“And then something strangely extraordinary happened. Peter blinked. And it was like a miracle.” NOT FUCKING FAIR- Buddy is rioting back home. She is pissed, beyond pissed, and IT’S NOT FAIR! NONE OF IT IS FUCKING FAIR!! AGGG- I got something good to share after this, something real good. 

“And a grin more blinding than the sun snuck on to his face, chasing away the despair and melancholy.” I feel like there’s a line you wrote before that is similar to this… I might just be thinking though of how you describe Juno’s singing and his song.

“He looked at Juno, wonder and surprise and love in his eyes, and mouthed a single word. Juno!” OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH- I’m dry heaving this is too fucking sweet.

Describing hugs and embraces will never not strike me in the gut. So precious, sacred, vulnerable… THE SMELL! Or at least it’s A Smell. Either way I called it I’m complete. And the fact that Juno felt whole again with Nureyev. Like- he was halved when he lost Ben. He was so lost and desperate and lonely, and losing Nureyev reopened that wound, but now that he has Nureyev back in his arms (no matter how temporary) he feels whole again. Speaking levels.

Zeph I am raising my hand in the air for a big ass high five, low five, mid five- all the hand slaps right now. I LOVE getting to incorporate sign language into my writing, it’s a lot of fun. In some of my earlier attempts, I wrote American Sign up as if it were Glossed, and now a couple of years later I’ve turned to treating it like spoken dialogue. It is a very real experience for someone who is not a native signer to have to switch my brain from English to Sign and struggle to do so so quickly. I am very used to asking people to SIGN SLOW PLEASE LEARNING Makes me curious though why Juno knows sign…

Juno hastily explaining “Jet’s a psychopomp whatever that means” = Juno explaining what the fuck the Ruby7 is

“And then when I got to the wall… I just. I sang.” Something something- original mythos, Orpheus sang to Cerberus and subdued the dog with his sad song. He sang to Charon and got free passage across the Styx because he was that sad. This imagery though is reminding me of that one Adventure Time episode where Magic Man steals Finn, Jake, Princess Bubblegum, BMO, and Marceline’s stuff. And the only way to get it back is to sing a true song from the heart. 

This Juno is very close to S2 Canon Juno. Destructive and hasn’t learned his lesson yet. And now he sort of is but… not really… He called your name before he went. Guess you didn’t hear it….

“Soft like a magnolia petal in early spring with the kind of tenderness and care that only a very deep-rooted love can produce.” MAGNOLIA PETAL??? Language of flowers meaning NOBILITY… hmmm… Rex Glass alias is King Glass… Slip Jackson is King of Hadestown… hmmm….

“growing through the cracks of Nureyev’s walls” LIKE TEH WALLS TO HADESTOWN OOUGGGHH!

And Juno babe- love the optimism. Love the “My name is Juno Steel, and I always get my man” type attitude you’ve brought with you, but that won’t work! Try Again! :D

“You’re not from around here, are you?” OH NO OH SHIT RUN JUNO STEEL, RUN!!

Anndddd Nureyev’s blue screened, he’s hit flight or fight and he chose FREEZE!

“And who the hell are you?” he sounds like a literal child in my head rn lol

“An old friend of Petyas’. [OH SHIT OH SHIT OH SHIT ITS THE SLIPPY BOY-] And the man who owns this city. You can call me Slip. You’d best be going, though. This city doesn’t take kindly to strays.” [OHHHHH!!]

Juno Steel, “I always get my man” = Juno Steel, “I’m not leaving without him”

“He hasn’t told you, has he?” I can hear how fucking smug he is rn

“a sick feeling beginning to snake back into his gut. ‘Tell me what, Peter?’” FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK ABORT- ABORTT!! RUN NUREYE!!!!

“I told you I own this city, and that includes the people in it. My darling Petya [OH OH OH THIS MAKES ME WANNA BITE HIM, HIT HIM, FIGHT HIM- NO ONE OWNS PETER NUREYEV- NO ONE!!! Smth smth “everyone who’s called me Pete wants to be my parent”] I was initially going to keep him from having to work out here, but since he decided he would rather keep company with my workers than me, [yeahhhh- i wonder why.] I decided to let him do some of the work himself,’ Slip shrugged, walking forward and resting a hand on Peter’s shoulder.” [the jarring gap between Slip calling him Petya, calling him My Darling Petya, and Juno still thinking of him as Peter… it’s fucking with my head in the best way.]

“It isn’t true… it can’t be true. Tell me it isn’t true.” my brain says this is a reference to “Is it True?” and i’m getting sense of a rebellion? Of the workers turning on Slip and demanding that he give Peter and Juno a chance? Hmmmm? I have hope. I believe. 

“Executives? Would you mind showing this young man here what we do with trespassers?” OH FUCK- not even a “young lady” but a “young man” OH FUCK- Slip’s boutta catch some hands“Suddenly, two large, identical men dressed in brown coats appeared behind Juno. Before he could say a word or move in defense, there was movement, a sharp pain radiating through his skull, and then Juno Steel knew no more.” Huh. huh. HUH! HUH?! WHAT?! He can’t be dead- he can’t be! …right? Mmm- S1 reference on the horizon maybe? Reference to Juno being thrown in Miasma’s tomb? OR SEASON 4 REFERENCE TO PALOMINE CORRECTIONS??? HMMM!!! I’m excited for whatever is to come :)

SONG FOR A CAGED LOVEBIRD: PART 13

this took. a while!! life has been busy recently lol. i feel it is important to note that this part 13 also cashed in at 1,666 words. this was not intentional, but uh. definitely has got some evil undertones.

reading some of the stuff peter says might get a lil confusing- just remember he is signing all of this!! i didn't want to write the word "signed" three million times and sign language is literally a language, just not a spoken one, so i used "said" instead

I SUMMON THEE TPP CREW: @smidgen-of-hotboy @ceaseless-watchers-special-girl @urjover @one-joe-spoopy @waters-and-the-wilde @demonic-panini @the-private-eye

Way down deep in the pit of Juno’s stomach, a scaly rattlesnake of dread curled up and bared its fangs.

His muscles ached and his shirt was soaked through with sweat, and every few steps came with a cough from the horrible, black-dust air. He’d been searching the walls for hours now, looking for any sign of the tall, knife-thin figure that had sliced his world in half from the moment he walked into it. 

He’d seen a lot of workers. It took a lot of effort for him to not cringe at the sight of them. A hundred thousand faces, laying brick and chipping away at stone, each one looking as bone-tired and hopeless as the next. Some even looked vaguely familiar, distorted into someone he recognized through the dream-like haze in the air. But he hadn’t found anything of Peter Nureyev yet.

The rattlesnake shivered out a tense hiss. He was beginning to question everything. Had Rita remembered what had happened correctly? Maybe he’d missed him somewhere? Was Peter even here?

And suddenly all of Juno’s fear melted away.

There he was. A lone figure against the harsh lava glow of the factories behind him.

Just like he had the first time, he looked tired and disheveled, dirt on his face and a wall around his heart. His overalls were covered in mud and brick dust, his glasses were broken, and his eyes looked hollow and weary. But, gods, he might as well have had a gilded halo around his head for the way Juno wanted to fall down at his feet weeping and praying.

Blessed Saint Peter of the Workers.

Juno broke into a sprint.

“Nureyev?! Nureyev!!”

There was no answer. Peter just kept hacking away at the rock with his pickaxe, head bowed to the ground.

Juno scrambled up the rickety wooden ramp to the top of the wall as the rattlesnake slithered back into his gut. Peter barely noticed him. “Nureyev. Nureyev, please. Peter, please look at me!”

Nothing. Just that steady Hadestown rhythm of breathe, strike, lift. Breathe. Strike. Lift.

Juno grabbed him by the shoulders and spun him around. Peter’s eyes were completely empty, like the work here had sucked every last ounce of life out of him. Flashes of memory sped by in Juno’s mind. 

Peter laughing. Peter working out logic problems with Buddy. Peter telling stories with Rita. Peter fixing up the bar with Jet. Peter looking at him in wonder. Peter being alive.

He wasn’t alive now. The poorly sutured gash in his neck was evidence enough of that.

Juno was nearly crying now, scared and desperate, the world going blurry through the tears stuck in his lashes. The rattlesnake hidden in his stomach was letting out another steady hiss, it’s teeth bared in warning once more.

“Peter, please, you gotta remember me,” Juno whispered, pulling Peter’s head down to his. “I’m here to take you home.”

And then something strangely extraordinary happened.

Peter blinked. And it was like a miracle.

The hollowness cleared from his eyes in an instant. He squinted slightly through the dim light and broken glasses, and then recognition sparked in his eyes, and a grin more blinding than the sun snuck onto his face, chasing away the despair and melancholy. He looked at Juno, wonder and surprise and love in his eyes, and mouthed a single word.

Juno!

And then they were in each other's arms, holding each other like it was the only thing in the world that existed. Juno realized he was fully crying now, and Peter was crying too. His fist was clenched in Peter’s shirt that smelled like coal dust and sweat and fear but he didn’t care. He didn’t care. All that mattered was that they were here now, and they were holding each other, and he felt whole again. And it was like the world released a breath it barely knew it was holding back.

They stayed like that for a long time, crying and hugging and gently rocking back and forth, until both of them could breathe normally, like the sheer fact of the other’s presence could fix every problem they had ever known.

Juno pulled away from the hug first and kissed Peter hard. “You absolute DUMBASS. What the hell were you thinking, Nureyev? Getting yourself tangled up in the underworld?”

Peter made a slightly sour face and began signing something at Juno, too fast for him to understand.

“Wait, wait, wait. Slow down a minute. It’s been a while since I had to interpret sign, babe. You’re gonna have to sign slower than that.”

Peter sighed dramatically and rolled his eyes, but planted a sweet kiss on Juno’s cheek before signing again, slower this time.

"How the hell did you get down here?"

“Jet led me. Apparently he used to work for Hadestown as a psychopomp or something. He wouldn’t go into it too much, though.”

"No, no, no," Peter said, snapping his fingers closed in slight frustration. "How did you get past the wall? No one gets in unless they come by train."

“Ah. Well, that’s interesting. There’s a backroad that I went down. And then when I got to the wall… I just. I sang. I asked it to let me in, said I needed to find you, and the stones just moved aside. I don’t know how.”

There was a pause. Peter was chewing on his lip now, looking at Juno with some emotion akin to reproach on his face. “What’s the matter, babe?”

"I called your name before I… left. And you never came for me."

Juno sucked in a pained breath through his teeth and looked at the rough-hewn ground. “You…. you did. I know.” 

Peter’s expression was rapidly approaching one that looked like it might burst into tears. "You knew? You heard me?"

“No, I didn’t know. Rita saw all of it. She…. she told me the story.” Juno sighed deeply, ran his hands over his face, and squatted down to the ground. “I’m so sorry, Nureyev. All of this is my fault. I should have been paying more attention to you, because you told me that you were hungry and I thought it would be fine, I just didn’t listen, and if I had listened, you wouldn’t be in this mess-”

Juno broke off as he felt Peter’s fingers under his chin, forcing him to look up. 

"Listen to me. This is not your fault," he said gently before giving Juno another kiss. His face had such a soft expression on it, soft like a magnolia petal in early spring with the kind of tenderness and care that only a very deep-rooted love can produce. 

Juno looked at that softness growing through the cracks of Nureyev’s walls and found himself falling in love with him all over again.

“It’s okay, though. I can fix this. I came to bring you home again. I can just sing the song again and the stones will let us back out- what’s the matter?”

Peter had begun shaking his head slowly. "Won’t work," he said, jaw clenched tight and face painted with varying shades of regret.

“What do you mean, it won’t work? It’ll work, I promise, Peter, I can get us out of-”

“You’re not from around here, are you?” 

A booming voice echoed across the wall in response, and Juno watched Nureyev go completely still, eyes wide and face stark white with fear and panic. Juno wasn’t sure who the man in the neat suit walking towards them was, but Peter’s reaction to his voice was enough to set Juno on edge in his defense.

He stood, back straight and eyes narrowed with as much confidence and menace as he could manage. “And who the hell are you?”

The man grinned, and something about his smile made Juno want to punch him. “An old friend of Petya’s. And the man who owns this city. You can call me Slip. You’d best be going, though. This city doesn’t take kindly to strays.”

Juno didn’t move a muscle. The man stared at him, eyes cold and clean and razor sharp.

“I said, you need to leave this city. Now.” 

“I’m not leaving without him.”

Nureyev stood then and turned to face the man, Slip, with a tension Juno had never seen in him before, and began shooting angry words in his direction. His hands were moving too fast for Juno to catch anything more than a few words: “alone,” “deal,” “my voice,” “take,” and “let him go”. Slip’s grin only widened.

“He hasn’t told you, has he?” he asked, leaning slightly to see Juno’s face.

Juno looked at Peter, a sick feeling beginning to snake back into his gut. “Tell me what, Peter?”

Peter looked at him painfully before staring wide-eyed at the ground and chewing on his lip.

The rattlesnake buzzed out a tremor of fear. “Peter, what did you do?”

“I told you I own this city, and that includes the people in it. My darling Petya here signed a contract for a job, and now he belongs to me. I was initially going to keep him from having to work out here, but since he decided he would rather keep company with my workers than me, I decided to let him do some of the work himself,” Slip shrugged, walking forward and resting a hand on Peter’s shoulder.

It was like the world was collapsing in on itself.

“It isn’t true,” Juno breathed, eyes widening. “It can’t be true. Tell me it isn’t true.”

Peter wouldn’t meet his eyes. He simply nodded and said nothing else.

The rattlesnake’s hiss crescendoed. Juno felt like he might throw up.

“Executives? Would you mind showing this young man here what we do with trespassers?” Slip called.

Suddenly, two large, identical men dressed in brown coats appeared behind Juno. Before he could say a word or move in defense, there was movement, a sharp pain radiating through his skull, and then Juno Steel knew no more.

[merotwst]

I don't know if you've seen Hadestown (there's a couple reccordings on youtube, it's really good) but I have had this idea stuck in my head of...just...Mc putting on a play in Twisted Wonderland, maybe during their second year when they no longer have to deal with the overblots, and kidnappings and cleaning ramshackle. And Jamil gets the part of Orpheus because his voive is just *chef's kiss* and I know he can play the guitar even if he denies it I KNOW HE CAN

Just Jamil singing the most beautiful love songs in a play about freedom, mending ones relationships, love and hope? Please I'm on my knees at the image of him getting the main part, getting to show his true talents to an audience and be recognized all while his crush is singing alongside him and he's never been happier??? It has me on a chokehold

OK LET ME BE HONEST

the reason i took too long to respond to this was bcs i had to listen to the musical. i finished it and UWOOOGH I FELL MADLY IN LOVE FUCK IT'S SO GOOD ANON THANK U I LOVE U FOR THIS

as for the jamil brainrot

YES?!?!?!?!? OH MY FUCKING GOD

no, i can see myself becoming absolutely mesmerized when he plays this poor boy who keeps his heart on his sleeve

LAAAALALALALALAAAAAAAA

ok but also

hear me out.......

i feel like he'd be so fitting as a hades....

AAAAAAAHHHHHHH BECAUSE HE'S SO GOOD WITH PAIN(?) IDK IF U GET IT BUT THE MELANCHOLY OF HADES WOULD BE SUCH A PRETTY COLOR ON HIM

and then imagine him slowly slowly learning to fall in love with his persephone again

THE SILENT ANGER AND RESENTMENT EVENTUALLY MELTING INTO LOVE ONCE AGAIN IT WOULD BE SO PERFECT PLEASE

imagine him looking at you with the coldest of glares (fans face and flutters eyelashes) and then soon, sooner when jamil hades remembers how much he loves you, the way everything becomes clear to him. what happened to you both? what has he done? he loves you. please say you'll try again with him

SCREAMING SCREAMING CRYING BLUSHING PLS I WOULD PROBABLY GIGGLE DURING REHEARSALS AND HE'D GET ANNOYED "LIZ, STOP THIS IS THE FIFTH TIME"

NO URE TOO BABYGIRL I CANT HELP IT

i wanna play persephone someday UGH HER GROWLY VOCALS

THE BELT in lady of the underground was EVERYTHING I ALWAYS WANTED TO BE EVER SINCE I WAS A FETUS I WANT TO BE THAT BELT HOW DO I BECOME THAT

i love love love persephone

ahhhh he'd be so excited if his crush got cast as his persephone pls imagine ure dancing with jamil in the end ure in love ure happy again he wants u to be happy go back and bring sunlight into the world once again and he will wait for you in his darkness. he'll keep ur memory of light in his heart until you return to him and ure in his arms again for the other half of the year im tearing up hold on

kalim would be orpheus

he'd be perfect as orpheus with his sunny personality it would br so natural. i dont wanna hear his bird screeching though cuz like apprently in the game people thing his voice sounds good bro idk bitch wher he's constantly SCREAMING. THAT'S NOT IT. ok sorry for the kalim slander i love him lemme squish his cheeks squish squish little bitch boy that i adore smooches forehead

and jamil would definitely be the type make his life more complicated by forbidding him to look back lmao anyways

BECAUSE WOW I DONT WANNA PUT JAMS IN ORPHEUS' AND EURYDICE'S TRAGEDY EITHER

he deserves a happy ending

he is the perfect hades idk if his voice would fit but we can make it work

i know because i was cast as persephone i was there i saw jamil he was perfect

the perfect babygirl for hades