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#hadestown is also my comfort musical

kpopwinemom · 2 months

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Hadestown and the beauty of retelling

In reference to Hadestown specifically, I want to talk about retelling, and how it specifically handles retelling.

The show specifically is cyclical: it begins with Hermes saying "It’s an old song / It’s an old tale from way back when / It’s an old song / But we’re gonna sing it again", letting you know right away that this is a retelling. And then it ends with his lines "Cause, here’s the thing: / To know how it ends / And still begin to sing it again / As if it might turn out this time / I learned that from a friend of mine"

He tells you right off the bat: this is how the story will end. We will not be changing it. It is a tragedy. But there is magic in this retelling, magic in hoping, maybe, this time he'll get it right. I went in knowing how the story ends, not just from familiarity with a myth I studied in middle school, but from listening to the soundtrack. And yet I still found myself on the edge of my seat throughout, hoping, wishing maybe he'll get it right. Maybe just this time.

There is something to be said for a story that you can enter into, knowing how it ends, and still hope, still wish that things will be different. This also opens space for new meaning: when you know the story, when everyone is comfortable with the framework holding a story together, you can explore different themes in the same storyline. Hadestown explores the subjugation of the working class, about daring to hope for more than your circumstances, about love struggling to bloom in the dark. All these are present in the original myth, in which Eurydice dies because she starves in the winter. But they're highlighted and made more familiar to modern viewers by comparison to the 1930s in set and music and costuming.

This year alone, I've watched myth after myth be retold. I have three different Medusa books alone in the window of the bookstore. Children's stories frequently reshape familiar stories, updating the tales for each new generation.

Online, fanfiction takes films and books and movies and music and changes its shape, adding nuance and layers, changing the ending or changing a meaning or changing a single line. Sometimes if you highlight one word, read a sentence a different way, a whole new story unfolds.

We have so many stories. It's fascinating how so many of them still manage to feel new and fresh and significant so long after their creation.

#retelling #fandom #hadestown #mythology

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nowandforalways · 9 months

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"Never to change, ever to share...": An off-the-rails analysis of "Now And For Always" from the Lord of the Rings musical

Good day to you, my dears.

"Now And For Always" is my favorite song of all time and has been since I first heard it at age 16. With the revival of the musical giving us a ✨whole new arrangement✨ of the song, I decided now would be as good a time as any to analyze it as a whole and take a look at a few of the changes made to see how each version accomplishes exactly what it set out to accomplish with it's storytelling from a musical perspective.

A QUICK NOTE BEFORE WE START: While in the original production of the show, "Now And For Always" is clearly diegetic (that is, the characters in the show are actually singing the song in the world of the show), it's a bit more debatable in the new production. Samwise Gamgee is a wonder, but I find it hard to imagine him schlepping an entire guitar to Mordor - this ain't Hadestown, after all (the "Wait for me"/"And I'm coming with you" thing would require an entirely separate post 😉). Regardless, for the sake of analysis and also my sanity, we are going to say that the song is 100% diegetic in both versions of the show.

Key: NA = new/revival arrangement

OA = old/original arrangement

First lets take a look at what stays the same between both versions (which is most of the song, tbh) and see what can be seen. We're gonna get lightly music-y here.

This song is in 6/8 time signature, which basically just means that it's counted out in two groups of 3 notes each - 123, 456 - with a sort of slope-y feeling to it, like rising up to 3 and falling back down to 6. You can also count it in a very slow 2/2 (1, 2), with each of those being on the 1 beat and then the 4 beat of the 6/8 counting pattern. This time signature has the effect of making it slow and relaxing, but still sound Hobbit-y, in a rather country-ish way. This time signature could technically become a very fast waltz, and it does lean into a natural sort of swaying motion when you listen to it. Perfect for singing around the fire.

The rhythm of the song itself is interesting because it's very speech-like. If you try to speak the words out loud in rhythm, it doesn't actually sound that off from a typical English speaking rhythm. This makes it very easy to learn, and very easy to add your own words to, as its implied Sam and Frodo are doing as they sing it. Lassi Longren, the composer of the song, said that it wanted it to sound like an old song that the Hobbits all know and sing around the fire, and the idea of a song like this with a chorus that everybody knows and then verses that are improvised by individual singers makes a lot of sense (makes me think of, like, "The Campfire Song" from The Lightning Thief - a song that is also in 6/8 and with a very speech-like rhythmic pattern).

The chordal structure also contributes to this homey, comfortable feeling. The song is in the key of D major, which is a fairly middling key (it's the key that most pennywhistles are automatically tuned to!), and is constructed around just 3 chords, with 1 more thrown in there if you want the cadence on "strange and rare" to sound correct. This makes it extreeeeeeemely easy to play - like I can barely play guitar, but I can reasonably play this. For the music nerds, the chords are I, IV, and V, with a little vi for that one cadence I mentioned earlier. This is essentially the most basic group of chords ever created, and it seems very intentional to me - it makes the whole thing feel comfortable and familiar, like it's an old song you know, even if it's your first time hearing it (Fun fact: The Shire theme from the Peter Jackson films uses also uses this chord group!). The only this about the song that might make it tricky to sing along with is its range - it's more than an octave, which can be hard to span if you're not a practiced singer. But you know, sometimes you just gotta have that fun melodic contour. Song gets boring if it stays all within too small of a range. :P

Okay so that's all the basic musical stuff that's the same between both arrangements. Time for the differences.

The most major musical differences in the NA as I can see are: Frodo and Sam switching who is singing the higher vocal part and who has the lower part during the second chorus, different instruments being used for the solo instrumental lines, and the whole of Frodo's solo verse and chorus. These all serve the major thematic change in this moment in the NA, but I'll get to that at the end.

First, the vocal lines in the chorus. You all know how much I looooove that Frodo is always on the lower part in the original show (see this whole post I wrote about it here!), and I equally love Sam getting the higher part in the OA for this song. It fits his character and part in the song very well - he started it off, he's done the improvising bit; after one chorus of unison to make sure that Frodo has a handle on the melody, he can pop off. Young, dreamy, surprisingly poetical Sam, with his love for elves & beauty & all things that grow, gets the chance to soar, while Frodo stays lower, hanging onto the melody. It almost works like foreshadowing for their characters, with Sam audibly choosing to do so much while it seems like Frodo is just there, but Frodo's actually doing the arguably far more important part of carrying the melody.

In the NA, they are flipped - now Sam stays on the melody while Frodo pops up to the higher part, and it still works just as well. Frodo's actually been on the higher part for the whole show up to this point, cause that's just how Louis Maskell rolls (the one very significant moment where he sings a lower harmony to Sam's melody is right before he leaves at the Grey Havens, which I could probably write a whole 'nother essay about), but it doesn't screw with the character perception in the way I had initially feared. Sam starts the song, Sam's got the guitar, so Sam stays on the melody, to carry the thing through. This now leaves Frodo free to do his thing with Sam's support. And this is where I start heading into headcanon territory, but I can't help but think by the easy way he slipped into it that maybe Frodo has sung this part before. He canonically has a nice voice (the Breelanders like it so much that they make him sing "The Man In The Moon Stayed Up Too Late" twice in the book!), and it would make sense for a naturally talented singer to get enough experience singing that they are able to whip out a higher part just for fun - maybe, if they ever sang this one down at the Ivy Bush, or by the fireplace in the parlor of Bag End, this was Frodo's part. And speaking from the same character perspective, Frodo is also everything I described Sam as before - dreamy, poetical, sweet - he's just older and, at this moment, significantly more tired both mentally and physically. But, he hasn't lost his hope yet, so he can still reach down and bring out a past version of Frodo, one who could sing that part in the song.

Next, the instruments. This is pretty simple; there aren't a lot of changes, but the one significant moment is the use of a harmonica instead of a fiddle for the solo in the middle of the song. Both versions of the show have instruments associated with certain characters (harp for Arwen, whistle for Frodo, concertina for Gollum, etc.) but the NA has the advantage of having all the actors play instruments, so it becomes rather explicit. In this case, the harmonica is being played by and associated with Bilbo, and that's neat, because this is a continuation of a story that he was also a part of. The fiddle in the OA is more representative of hobbits as a whole, so it also works in context.

Aaaaand the last one, the arrangement of Frodo's verse and chorus. This one is a doozy, because this is where we will be involving my theory on the different reasons for Sam starting the song.

So, the first time I heard the NA "Now And For Always", I actually started yelling IRL "IT'S A HYMN" as soon as it got to Frodo's verse+chorus, because, well, it is. Lemme explain. The orchestrations shift from the guitar and strings of the rest of the song so that Frodo is backed primarily by the ensemble singing "Oohs" and some sort of drone bass note underneath that I can't figure out (probably like a cello or something). The tempo suddenly becomes a lot slower and a lot less "bouncy", so to speak - that 6/8 time rising and falling pattern that I described before is significantly downplayed, and there are a lot more complete rests in the music, and that gives the whole thing overall a much straighter feel. This all gives a very hymn-like effect, particularly the "ooh"s, because voices moving between chords like that in a homophonic way (that is to say, everyone changes notes at the same time) is common in chorale-style hymns, and the drone, because having something called a "pedal point" (one note held underneath multiple chords) makes the music sound a lot older and more solemn. This is in contrast to the OA, which has, while not the exact same backing in Frodo's verse+chorus (it does get slower, and more smooth and flowing in the instruments), certainly much less contrast between Frodo's bit and the rest of the song than the NA. They both do this, but the NA just a bit more emphasizes how serious Frodo is about what he's saying. It's also is a texture that we haven't heard yet in the show and won't really hear again, so it kind of demonstrates the changes going on in Frodo by this point, like he's becoming something not quite of the world (sort of like all those comments in the book about him being "clear" or having a light shining through him). From a practical standpoint, it's also because Sam had been playing the guitar this whole time, and now he has gone to bed, so no more guitar. But above all, the vibe that making it sound like a hymn gives it is reverence, and that is important for the next bit.

Hoo boy, it's extrapolation/headcanon time. I've done a lot of actual musical analysis, but there comes a point where you have to take all those things you've gleaned and start spitballing about what they mean when combined all together. Here's what I have landed in: The changes in the NA reflect a change in Sam's motivation for starting the song in the first place.

Lemme explain.

In the scene before "Now And For Always", the boys are discussing Frodo's realization that destroying the Ring means that the elves will leave, and that there will be no more magic in the world. It's as they reflect on these very big changes that Sam starts singing a song about how at least some things stay the same. NOW. In the OA, Sam and Frodo start off the song in much the same place, emotionally - they're both kind of moody and mournful, feeling shaken at the idea of everything changing in such a big way, and missing the days when they believed that stories always ended with things returning to a happy normal. Sam's line "We hobbits only really like stories that end just the way they started, don't we?" is sort of a rueful realization that they are both severely freaked out by all of this because they come from a place that values unchangingness so highly. Sam starts the song as a way to bring them both some comfort by reminding them of home. He then fills in the bit about Frodo during the second verse because Frodo mentioned special folk and great adventures, they're both so tired that everything's funny, and Sam genuinely adores Frodo and knows how brave and important what he's doing is. Frodo's verse about Sam, in turn, is sung almost like a lullaby, which makes sense, as lullabies are often directed at the person falling asleep. So Frodo sings to Sam as he falls asleep about how much he admires him right back, sort of returning the compliment, like in the book. The way he says "it's not me they'll remember, you know" just before he starts singing has this weird sort of regretful tone to it, as if Frodo has kinda always known that his would be a thankless task, and that Sam, taking charge and leading them around and taking care of them, will be the one who goes down in history as being instrumental. He has been seeing this whole time how much Sam has done for him, and he knows that in time, others will too.

In the NA, on the other hand, the vibes of the scene before the song are somewhat different. The lines do not change at all, but the attitude from each of them is different. Here, we have the exact same conversation, but Frodo is audibly more stressed about it (not to mention more audibly exhausted), and Sam, in response, is keeping his tone very neutral, almost lighthearted at times. That general vibe continues into the song, which I thought was weird at first, until I realized what Sam is doing. Frodo is very shaken by all the big changes that he sees coming, so Sam responds by reminding him about the songs that they used to sing the Ivy Bush - the ones where nothing ever really changes. He says the line from above about hobbits liking stories that end the way they started like he's reminding Frodo of a fun fact, which is that despite everything going on around him, there are still plenty of stories about heroes where things are allowed to go back to the way they were. In other words, while the OA of "Now And For Always" is two people trying to comfort themselves by singing something that reminds them of home, the NA is Sam Gamgee Is Going To Cheer Up His Best Buddy Or Die Trying, first by reminding him that plenty of things do stay the same, and then by getting a bit silly and describing Frodo as one of the heroes (who, I will remind you, are allowed to go home unchanged). He goes until he sees a sign that he has succeeded somewhat in his quest - remember my headcanon about Frodo singing the higher part being indicative of his old self shining through? That could certainly be a signal to Sam that his little idea worked. More likely, the fact that Frodo starts waxing poetic about plum cake (which is so valid of him, tbh) when a few minutes ago he had to be ordered to sit down and eat something is also a sign to Sam that Frodo feels better, at least for the moment. So he feels alright to go to sleep. And then Frodo sings his part. And THAT'S why the reverent tone I mentioned earlier is so important. Because it makes it seem like Frodo also realizes, in this moment, what Sam has just been doing, and what Sam has been doing this whole time. The pauses in the music make it seem like he's coming to awareness, step by step, of just how much Sam has done for him, and the only possible emotional response for something that earth-shatteringly loving is reverence. And THAT'S why the NA ending works so gosh darn well - it gets across everything that Frodo is thinking and feeling in this moment with the music as well as the lyrics.

So, yeah. I don't have, like, much of a conclusion for all this. These are just a bunch of things that I observed about these two songs and then my brain running absolutely buckwild with extrapolating conclusions from there. And a lot of this is my own interpretation of what I hear, so if you thought something different, that's totally fine! Also, this is entirely based on only being able to hear what's going on, so if you've seen the show and I got the vibes super off for part of it, please let me know. :)

Thank you for reading, and I hope to see you around! Heyday!

EDIT: The more I think about it and try to feel it in my body, I might call the time signature a very fast 3/4. Regardless, all my points still stand. Just wanna cover all my musical bases. :)

#lotr musical #lotr #lord of the rings musical #frodo baggins #samwise gamgee #now and for always #mary analyzes the lotr musical #i apologize for no cut but i'm only able to go on mobile atm and i really want to just throw this up #if i leave it in my drafts for any long i'll chicken out and never post it #this got a lot more headcanon-filled than i realized #oh well :P #if you saw a typo no you did not #thank you and heyday

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deadstarwalking · 12 days

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Ronnie's intro ﹗

art by missfujoshisad

𓂃 Introduction ﹗

Hello !!! I am the host of a UDD system (we are bodily a minor) !! I go by Ronnie and Julian, and my pronouns are he/hym and shi/hyr!! I am an introject of Veronica (heathers) , Tsukasa (pjsk) and lotsss more, but my source Identification fluctuates quite a bit. I am bigender and abrosexual, and I'm dating my lovely boyfriend in my partner system!! JD and Rui Kamishiro are my biggest comfort characters ever and I'm suuuppppeerrrr fixated on them (We are married btw /s) !! I also run a stimboard account, feel free to check it out here and send in a request if you're interested !!! :D

𓂃 interests ﹗

Biggest hyperfixations & special interests ; Project sekai , Heathers , psychology , animals , musical theatre , OUR PARTNER SYSTEM !!!

Other interests and hyperfixations ; Percy Jackson , Genshin Impact , Honkai Star Rail , Twisted Wonderland , Identity V , Vocaloid , Stardew Valley , Omori , Utaite , Mystic Messenger , Six The Musical , Hadestown , Sanrio + More !!

𓂃 DNI List ﹗

Basic DNI criteria , proshippers , endo "systems" , people bodily over 20 , people bodily under 13 , anti age & pet regression , alter race believers , RuiKasa antis , JDRonica antis , JD antis , JD apologists , people that romanticise the toxicity of JD and Veronica's relationship , people that say "I like (character) more than you" (I'm super sensitive to stuff like this especially with JD and Rui,,,,)

Thank you so much for reading my intro !! If you are interested in becoming our friend, feel free to dm me anytime !! Our dms are always open , thank you for reading !!!! :D

#introduction #intro post #blog intro #heathers #heathers the musical #heathers 1989 #veronica sawyer #jason dean #jdonica #traumagenic system #udd system #system host #introject #fictive #fictive intro #system host intro

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siflshonen · 3 months

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Do you have any romance recommendations? (Books, manga, games, anything.) I'm a crotchety romance snob as well and haven't explored the genre.

My well is pretty empty for this, I must admit. But I guess... hey, you like immersive fandoms, camp, parody, and tongue-in-cheek, I hope?

While the book may be a little too dated for most widespread consumption, I will recommend almost any well-done derivative of Pride and Prejudice or Austen works in general, or even anything that involves it. Enter these with the attitude that everyone is a disaster and the work wants you to hoot and holler at it and treat it like a groundling at a Shakespeare play (that is, like a degenerate.)

Some examples include:

Pride and Prejudice 1995 adaptation - One of the main metrics I use when judging a Pride and Prejudice adaptation is the level of batshit histrionic (complimentary) Elizabeth Bennet's mother acts, and this one is a gold standard (compliments to the actress. I hated her and this is unironically the highest praise I can give in this context).

Pride and Prejudice 2005 (the one with Keira Knightley) - When I first saw this movie, I fucking hated it. My friends took it all too seriously. Then, everything changed when, on the third watch-through, I pointed at Darcy's too-tight (leather?!) pants in the final scene and ripped that poor character a new asshole for being a pathetic, wet man in stupid pants. The next watch-through, I treated each scene's verbal lashings like a WWE wrestling match complete with commentary, and suddenly the entire thing became the best movie in the fucking world. My friends will never watch it with me again, but more fool they because now that I am older I realize that, by doing so, I was the only one engaging with the work in the appropriate spirit even if I lacked the Regency-era class. Austen wrote these to be funny, witty, backhanded, and insightful. When Darcy says, "She isn't handsome enough to tempt ME!", try pointing at him and screaming, "BIIIIITCH!" at the top of your lungs and then see how you feel.

Austenland (view this once you have comfortable familiarity with at least one Austen story. It gets more ridiculous as it goes along, and is all the better for it. Admittedly, I also don't care much for the actual endgame romance in this one either, but the movie is fun even when it's cringe like with... well, you'll see.)

Side note: While I generally look favorably upon Pride and Prejudice adaptations, I do NOT recommend I Love You Because.

Mamma Mia - Do I actually care about any of these couples getting together? Do I ship a damn thing in this show? No, I don't. Their love stories exist only to forward the antics and camp they get into, but it IS a romance. Everything, including the casting choices, is a gag. For example, if you watch the 1995 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice listed below, you will understand why it is funny that Colin Firth is in this movie doing exactly what he does. It opens with all the girlies being like "ohhh wow what a great idea you had to invite these THREE DUDES YOUR MOM HAD A ONE-NIGHT STAND WITH TO YOUR WEDDING" and singing a happy and supportive song about it like a classic optimistic musical, and then all the girlies immediately afterwards being like, "JUST KIDDING you are SO fucking stupid" but still going with it.

Hadestown - For all I bitch about romance............... this is my favorite musical. Before you ask, NO! I DON'T CARE ABOUT THE LOVE STORY OF ORPHEUS AND EURYDICE! I CARE ABOUT THE OTHER ONE!!!! And even then, it's not something I dwell upon as a love story. Admittedly, I have a strong preference for the Live Original Cast Recording rather than the Broadway version (I strongly dislike the changed lyrics for the Epics. However, I am a big fan of Orpheus' added parts in Doubt Comes In), but if you like one, you'll like the other. If you don't like either, well, whatever.

Um, what else... uh, classic anime fandom favorites like Ouran High School Host Club are also fun, but I can also admit to you that I care not for 80% of the romance aspect of it.

Um, d-does Devilman: Crybaby count????

#ask #hadestown #devilman crybaby #pride and prejudice #mamma mia

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stuckasmain · 1 year

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But we sing it anyway

Moulin rouge is a story inspired by the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. You probably know this as ever since finding out about it from my playbill I haven’t shut up about that fact, well? Here’s a concise post. The story is inspired, not exact, however it’s a little bit funny… just how much it ties with Hadestown (a much more direct adaptation of the story).

Moulin rouge is also a timeloop story, while not as overt in its lyrics and presentation as Hadestown it makes no effort to hide this. At the very end of the pre show in fact! Christian comes to raise the sign sending the audience “back in time” alongside him to the prior year. In both cases the men- a more correct statements would be surviving lover- are what initiates the story beginning again. Both shows can be viewed in this way as a song of grief. Orpheus is apart of an old song that’s been replaying for longer than he may know and Christian is writing a love song, their love song, their story- as Satines dying request. He’s keeping her alive this way. They’re always together this way. Moulin rouge is a timeloop in a much more self inflicted way, Is she gone or will she live with every preformance? If he can even get it to be preformed. However unlike the movie we aren’t seeing Christian write the story- we are seeing him as a part of it, talking to us directly. Don’t believe me on the timeloop/living memory? Just watch how he raises the sign- the heavy sigh the love in which he has the whole first act- the excitement and joy like this time- this time is different. Sort of like someone else we know…

Optimistic and naïve, though deeply sad boy with a Godly musical ability X Jaded woman scored one to many times by the harsh realities of life

Both make the other better, they contrast each other, change each other, become each other in some sense or another. In both cases the optimism and lust for “happy endings” comes far too late for the woman and the man has learned how the world is at the cost of the love of his life.

However, in the case of Moulin rouge we do get a glimpse of a much more complicated relationship. While all of the mentioned does happen we also see jealousy, frustration, miscommunication. A more full developed relationship than a metaphorical one (not saying Orpheus and Eurydice are any less of a couple just that in following the myth more closely we loose some time of just them).

Christian follows Satine to hell long before she dies, he jumps headfirst in without even having met her! Momantre- the Paris underworld- he comes in search of it in this version of the story and finds her already there. Trapped by circumstance rather than soul ownership and the “twist” is he doesn’t bring her home. He makes his home there.

In both, the surviving lover is left near catatonic on the stage, rocking themself for some form of comfort or unable to move at all. Their sobs echo through theaters in which a pin could drop. Love doesn’t heal illness, nor does it reverse starvation. It means a lot to those of us alive, to the memory of those loved. But to death?

What gets me is how Satine is actually the one to save Christian! (She stops his suicide attempt) She, like Eurydice, meets her end in the most joyful, hope filled moment. That second where audience and character alike think it will turn out this time… despite full well knowing it’s a tragedy. Christ!!

Conclusion-

All tragedies must now end with a confetti cannon encore. (Moulin rouge nat. Tour you’re getting my therapy bills)

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leighsartworks216 · 2 years

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Papers (Songfic)

Damien/Dark x DA!reader

Requested by Anon:

“I don’t know if requests are open or not, but this is the anon that requested the songfic from Hadestown! After you posted the fic, I wanted to wait a bit before asking for a possible continuation of it based on the song Papers (“You’re not from around here, son…”) from the same musical where Dark finds out the D/A with Mark and he finds out about their deal. Would you want to write something like that?”

I'm so so so sorry this took so long but I love that you keep requesting Hadestown songs bc I love the music. I just have to actually get around to listening to the entire soundtrack at some point lol

Also, this one is laid out a little bit differently than my usual songfics. Basically instead of having the lyrics break up certain paragraphs and stuff, I interlaced them with the dialogue (and some of the "narration" 👀)

Warnings: Actor is an asshole but like we been knew, angst, hurt/no comfort, mentions of some events from WKM

Word Count: 1337 (oh my god I wish this was a lie how tf did I manage that)

Masterlist

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Stage crew dashed to and fro, positioning props to perfection and preparing the set for filming. It was a hive of activity. One person frantically ran around trying to give the right coffee to the right performers. Another brushed makeup on Mark’s cheeks and forehead. You even spied two sneaking off together. Even after so long, it still all made your head spin.

How long had it been since you were set free? Since you made that deal? Everything all felt like a blur.

Mark had indeed taken you to dinner, but it wasn’t exactly what you expected. By the end of your ‘performance’, you were agreeing to a fake proposal and being dragged deeper into the acting world. He promised to show you the ropes; take you under his wing. Perhaps that’s why he came up with another production: A heist.

You felt out of place navigating your ‘lines’ and actions around actors built to play their roles. These people were professionals, passionate about their jobs and what they’ve been hired to do. You were being suffocated in a situation you couldn’t get out of.

“You remember your lines?” You opened your mouth, but Mark cut you off with an arrogant laugh. You didn’t have any lines. Not spoken ones, anyway. “That’s the spirit! Just follow me and make sure you don’t mess this up. We’re behind schedule on filming enough without you-”

“Quiet on set!”

Mark grumbled as he was cut off by the director. The small bit of satisfaction you felt was quickly washed away with one of his signature grins. He straightened his hair back and prepared himself to act. He really did live for this.

“Alright, aaaaand ACTION!”

Mark pumped his fists excitedly. “Yes! Okay! Awesome! All right, okay. This is gonna be great! And don’t you worry about a thing because our watches are still synchronized, which means that…”

Your mind zoned out as you listened to him go on and on. He loved giving himself long paragraphs to recite. Maybe it was just to show off how brilliant he was. You followed your queue, turning away so Mark could be dragged away and eaten or killed or whatever. You turned back and, yup, there was his flashlight. You looked down the hall he was supposed to go down and-

Wait. This wasn’t in the script.

“Uhm, Mark?”

Your voice echoed in the darkness. There was no more set. There was no more crew. This darkness looked too familiar; too similar to the mirror you were stuck in. But there was no going back.

Lining the walls of the hallway were portraits. It only took a moment to remember who each face belonged to. The chef. The butler. The detective… William. A deep chill ran down your spine, joining the heavy emotions resting at the bottom of your stomach.

All of them were there. You remember the butler, crying over that mess in the cellar. The chef, who threatened you every time you so much as glanced in his direction. Abe, your partner in solving the murder. And William. Your murderer. A pink moustache was crudely painted over his portrait, and nothing in your memories could answer why. But you remembered falling over the banister. The way he reached out to grab you. And then waking up… And…

The final portrait at the end of the hall was of Mark, back when everyone was alive. Back when the only worries you had involved poker and drinking. The paint flaked away and fell to the floor, disintegrating into ash.

“It’s… good to see you, old friend.”

That voice…

You turned to its source. A man in a white suit, rimmed with red and blue. His skin was grey. All of him was grey. Yet even through the strange aura surrounding him, you knew. You knew exactly who this was.

“Damien?”

A blue afterimage of himself glitched to the side at the sound of his name. It was gone as soon as it appeared. His lips formed a tight grin. “I don’t go by that name any more.” The strain in his voice, in his entire body, softened as he fully took you in. “It’s been so long, my dear district attorney. I was so worried about you.”

“I don’t go by that name anymore,” you repeated back to him. Your emotions were laid out on your sleeve. Your face contorted with confusion and sadness and longing and betrayal. You were angry, but you wanted to run into his arms. You were so sad, you missed him so much, but you wanted to stand your ground. You took in a shaky breath. “Why didn’t you come back for me?”

“I did,” he stated. “I did come back for you.”

You shook your head. “No, you didn’t. You left me in the mirror. You stole my body. You left me there for years, Damien.” He flinched at the name, but said nothing. “You have no idea the hell I went through, waiting for you to come back for me.”

“Then let me make it up to you,” he began. He stepped forward, hand outstretched carefully, as if he carried an olive branch. “Let me free you now from Mark’s silly games. You can stop running around in endless circles, making choices that mean nothing. You can be free from the hell he’s putting you through - be truly free, once and for all.”

You frowned at the poor, naive entity before you. “You have no idea, do you?”

A frown took over his own hopeful expression. “What-”

“There you are!” A voice, energetic and irritated, split the darkness. You didn’t need to turn to feel the man’s presence behind you, glaring daggers over your shoulder at not-Damien who did so right back. “What are you doing here?”

Dark’s entire form tensed up. His hands found their place behind his back. Glitches and afterimages shot out from his body. “I’m here to free them,” he growled.

Mark’s laugh, as cocky as ever but laced with menace, sounded next to your ear. You nearly cringed away from it. “Who do you think you are?” Even his voice was interwoven with incredulity. “They couldn’t go anywhere even if they wanted to.”

You turned and placed a firm hand on Mark’s chest. “Stop.” It was weak, pleading. If anything, he was spurred on more by your weakness.

“Stay out of this, dear attorney” he mocked, “the adults are talking.”

The entity snarled, egged on by Mark’s dismissal. “I’m not going back alone,” he threatened. “I came to take them home, and I fully intend to.”

Another raucous laugh. “Oh, you don’t know?” Cold eyes full of amusement looked down at you, as they always have and always would. You avoided his gaze. Another pair of eyes stared at your back, waiting for answers you wished to avoid giving. “When you abandoned them, I gave them a deal to get them out. You weren’t coming back around any time soon to free them, were you?”

Dark grit his teeth.

“They signed the deal themself,” he sing-songed.

“You’re lying.”

“And now,” he spun you back around to face your old friend, arm wrapped around your shoulder to keep you close, “they belong to me.”

“It isn’t true.” Dark eyes met yours, pleading for a different answer, for a different truth. He came back to rescue you; free you from the world Mark trapped you in. But, after all this time, it was still his fault you were here. “What he said-”

“I did,” you cut him off. Your voice was thick. Your eyes burned. You swallowed the lump in your throat. “I do.”

Mark’s sickening grin appeared right over your shoulder, his face pressed right next to yours. You visibly flinched, and oh how Dark longed to rip you away from that son of a bitch. But his feet were glued to the spot. His shoes were filled with lead.

“Now,” the actor began, “go back to where you came from.”

---

Tag List:

@writeawaythepain

@hyperfixat

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significant-ace-nnoyance · 2 years

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hi! i’m kiri :) audhd ace sapphic, constantly sleep deprived and avoiding my life but it’s a good time!!

INTERESTS :D

six of crows duology!! (literally my comfort series omfg if u read can we be friends now) ALSO king of scars duology OH MY GOD DONT GET ME STARTED ON ZOYALAI

percy jackson (my middle school era is BACK BITCHES AND ITS HERE TO STAY BECAUSE THE SHOW IS WHAT DREAMS ARE MADE OF)

seaweed brain podcast (i apologize to everyone i've ever interacted with for constantly referencing it but also no i dont go listen)

lego batman (unironically one of the best animated movies of all time)

magnus chase (the softest silly goofy queer found family book i love them)

arcane ARCANE. ARCANE. GO WATCH IT RIGHT NOW I SWEAR

the dragon prince

six, hadestown, pjo the musical, wicked, epic the musical

newtmas. just newtmas. i barely remember the books ive watched a single movie but BOY DOES THAT SHIP DO SOMETHING TO ME. VISCERAL EMOTIONS. I CONSTANTLY WANT TO THROW UP THINKING ABOUT THEM

TROBED

recently wolfstar and the marauders because im a sucker for crying and self sacrificing and found family apparently

probably more i’m forgetting

dont be an discriminatory idiot people on the internet are not your punching bag <3 thank you pls dni

x kiri

#yippee intro post #also please dont have wrong opinions about my favorite characters . not in front of my salad youll make me cry #jkjk have opinions <3 but also i will bring out my powerpoints if i have to

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austinsmutler · 2 years

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Masterlist

Requests are open! Send me anything and everything- prompts, headcannons, and ideas are just a few of my favourite things.

If you want to be friends, DM me your favourite song lyric (it doesn't have to be Elvis!)

Austin Butler Fics:

Everyday - FLUFF - (Reader has a hard day at work, Austin has a hard day at auditions, so they comfort each other.)

Dancing in the Dark - FLUFF - (Reader is struggling with her mental health, so Austin takes the time to comfort her about it.)

Hating Everything She Tries On - FLUFF - (Reader is struggling to find something to wear for her first post-Elvis date with Austin. Luckily, he's happy to help.)

One for the Money, Two for the Show - SMUT & FLUFF - (Austin wakes up in the middle of the night feeling desperate, anxious and out of control after getting the part in Elvis. You decide to give him something else to focus his frustrations on: your body.)

Wicked Little Woman - SMUT & FLUFF - (Shawn!Austin from the White Elephant SNL sketch. Reader defends him at the company Christmas party and they wind up going back to her place.)

"You Drunk?" - (Austin comes home late after being with friends. Austin’s drunk attitude takes a turn and the reader is trying to help him out, resulting in stubbornness and fluff.)

Austin!Elvis Fics: (Can also be irl Elvis if you want!)

Just Pretend - FLUFF - (Elvis really misses you while he's away touring, so he calls you up to share a sweet moment together. Or at least as together as you can be.)

Young Dreams - SMUT - (Virgin!Elvis is your best friend, but after walking in on him during a private moment you realize he wants way more from you than that.)

A Fool Such as I - FLUFF - (While Elvis is on stage, Hank Snow has a few choice words for you. Elvis finds out after the show and reminds you of what's really important.)

The Wonder of You - SMUT - (Elvis and Reader decide to indulge in some sexy photography while on their honeymoon.)

Thinking About You - FLUFF - (Elvis and Reader grew up together in Memphis, but drifted apart. Now they're both famous singers reunited at an NYC press conference- will the same sparks fly?)

It's Only Love - ANGST & FLUFF - (The Colonel orders security not to let you backstage after a show. Elvis has a thing or two to say about that.)

Big Boss Man - ANGST & FLUFF - (Your boss is a jerk and there's an 11/10 chance Elvis will beat him up for you.)

The Walls Have Ears - SMUT - (Elvis sneaks you into the hall of mirrors for some sexy times.)

Elvistown Pt 1 , Pt 2 - (Basically Hadestown but Elvis is the lead. It's fluffy, fantastical, and shamelessly borrows from the musical.)

I have many more fics planned in the future, so stick around!

#Masterlist #elvis imagine #austin butler x reader #elvis 2022 #elvis the pelvis #austin butler imagine #austin butler fanfic #austin butler fic #austin!elvis x reader #austin!elvis fic #austin!elvis fanfic #austin!elvis fluff #austin!elvis

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autisticempathydaemon · 1 year

Note

Thank you for the opportunity for a Redacted Match-Up! Your questions were too much fun to answer.

I'm fixed on the reprise of "Way Down Hadestown" from Hadestown. The harmonies of the Fates are addicting to hear.

Enneagram Type 8

I don't think I've ever watched a gargantuan Youtube Video Essay, but I'm not sure that would be my flavor. I use youtube for cute animal videos, music, recipes, and comedy videos.

I didn't have an imaginary childhood friend (at least that I recall), but I was imagining stories from a young age.

To fall asleep, I'm a big fan of the "play out scenes/stories you'd like inside your head" method. It's a lot of fun. I think of it as a form of dreaming, especially now that I only rarely ever remember my dreams.

This one is hard because I quite like my name! Hmmm... I like the name Josephine. I think that's the one I'd pick.

"Comforted by Your Feisty Werewolf Boyfriend" is my favorite audio. I like how Milo is so tender with Sweetheart, encouraging them to open up about their day without having to exchange their independence for his comfort.

Guy. For me personally, I feel like there's nothing special about him, like I don't know who he is. All I know is that he's in love with Honey, and that's great, but it's like there's nothing deeper to him, nothing exciting about him.

I could recite The Princess Bride in my sleep.

I would love to be pals with Avior!

I don't know if this counts, but I start to have to search for words when I get extra tired. I'll just "um" and "uh" myself into oblivion, refusing to settle for a substandard synonym even if I can't think of the word I want.

A gas station and drink combo? Is this a regional thing? lol I'm not sure I understand this one. My favorite drink is hot water but I've never ordered it at a gas station. What should I add to it to make it a combo? Ummm... I also like pretzels! So, hot water and pretzels!?

Lots of showtunes to get hyped up!

Stupid, poorly written, predictable Hallmark-esque, made-for-TV holiday movies. I'm not sure why I like them. They are fun and cute and no matter what, you know exactly what's going to happen.

What else? What else?! I need a banger of a fact to end this incredible survey you've crafted... My favorite animal is the zebra.

Thanks again for the offer for a match-up! If you've read through this and none of the Redacted Bois strike you as a good fit (or for whatever reason- I'm sure these are time-consuming to do!), do not worry at all about skipping this one. No problem at all! Hope you are having a great day/night!

Type Eights are truly some of my favorites types of people. There’s a confidence and strength and determination that comes with an Eight, that I think pairs well and is wonderfully tempered by the easygoing charm of a Type 9w8 like Asher.

That’s why David picked Asher as his Beta and why I think he’d be a lovely match for you. Where you and David and any Eight might think that you’ve got to do everything or it won’t get done right, Asher is a lovely reminder that other people, that he can be depended on and that you don’t need to fix everything alone.

Also, none of the Redacted bois- except for Guy- strike me as musical theatre kids, but Asher is definitely the most open-minded to getting in the car for a road trip and listening to the Ride the Cyclone album in order.

Song:

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 wanted to be original and find a cool, obscure showtune that you definitely didn’t already know, but this one just fits too well! The vulnerability and insecurity and joy of loving and being loved by a boy as sweet, warm, and giving as sunshine- it’s also one of my favorite duets~

Runner-Ups:

David was a thunker as a second, because I think he’s a Six, and Sixes and Eights can have this lovely “us against the world” strength and mentality I really admire. Geordi, who I headcanon as a Type Two, would really benefit from your presence and good influence in his life and would also love to watch your Hallmark movies with you.

Note: I would never skip you 💖

Want a match-up of your own? Read this post, and tell me about yourself! 💌

#redactedasmr #redactedverse #redacted asmr #redactedaudio #redacted audio #redacted #busybee matches

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inkofamethyst · 1 month

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April 2, 2024

daylist: reading orchestra tuesday afternoon (unwinding, zen, composer, atmospheric, film score)

2024 Early Year Bops!

god I've discovered so much new music these past couple of weeks, but there are def some standouts

Full Moon - Avi Kaplan

Sun I Will Rise - Dune Moss

Stampede - Bitter Ruin

The Old Witch Sleep and the Good Man Grace - The Amazing Devil

Fire with Fire - AlicebanD

From the Start - Laufey

Oh My - Ava Swan, Christian Dias

Wait for Me - Hadestown

Blood Upon the Snow - Hozier, Bear McCreary

Lament of Orpheus - Darren Korb, Ashley Barret

And some instrumentals/vgm <3

The City Must Survive - Piotr Musial

Havet - Joel Bille

Mountain Banjo - Rhiannon Giddens

One (somewhat facetious) question though, how will I be able to properly appreciate each song if I discover like ten new favorites a week? Like there's so much music out there to enjoy and I'm having a bit of trouble conceptualizing how I'm going to go about doing that effectively (read, the way I've been doing for years). Well.. I don't want to be so closed off to new music anymore, I don't think. So something's going to have to change. We'll see how long it lasts.

I really can be such a child sometimes.

I listened through Cowboy Carter with my literature-, cello-, and photo-friend over the weekend. A really really great album, and it was actually a lot of fun (though at times tedious) to discuss each song individually (had to actively not compare myself to my literature-friend who was obviously going to have more poignant thoughts because she literally studied how to do exactly that for four years while I was measuring bones and centrifuging bovine serum albumin). It had something to say and took risks (well, as much of a risk as you can take as an uber-successful artist who could live after a flop). Initial favorites include Protector, Daughter, Riverdance.

Was thinking about how to best go about learning the bass to make it the most conducive to improvisation and ~jamming~. I get so in my head when I improvise on flute and sax that I simply can't, and I don't want to be like that on my the bass. Right now, I'm wondering about minimizing the importance of note names and instead focusing on making the instrument feel like an extension of my body is the way to go. Because after learning my way around the neck, I imagine that associating note names to frets should be a quick memorization task. Not neglecting scales, but maybe just not emphasizing their names (C, Bb, F, etc) as much as their modes(?) (chromatic, major, pentatonic, etc) and getting comfortable with the feeling across the neck + playing by ear.

Today I'm thankful that Southwest announced a sale just as I was thinking about buying tickets to go home sometime this summer! I bought a trip for early July (specifically due to a dentist appointment lol) but am thinking that I might also buy a late August trip too since they're fairly low right now and I wouldn't lose money if I happened to have to cancel/swap. Also thankful for the "tax return" which has meant that I don't have to dig into savings for this.

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themirokai · 6 months

Note

✨️When you get this ask you have to put 5 songs you listen to, post it, then send this ask to 10 of your favorite followers (positive vibes are cool)🎶✨️

Hello there friend! @mashumaru also sent me this very lovely ask and I keep failing to answer that one so I hope it’s okay that I do a 2 for 1 (1 for 2?…. whatever).

1. Barrel of a Gun by Guster. Guster was my high school obsession. I’ve seen them live 4 times, including once convincing my friends to drive 2+ hours to go to a free show in a parking lot with me. This song features percussion played on a typewriter and I love it.

2. Learning to Fly by Tom Petty. Tom Petty is like ultimate comfort music for me and this song is one of my faves.

3. The Origin of Love from Hedwig and the Angry Inch. The lyrics are so good, it’s so beautiful. My only fic to use a song lyric for a title is from this: Lonely Two-Legged Creatures. Wait, I have to evangelize about this a little. Please watch this:

youtube

Sandman people, that’s John Cameron Mitchell looking absolutely stunning and giving adolescent Miro Feelings that it would take me a long time to understand.

4. Wait for Me from Hadestown. I got to see Hadestown this year after being obsessed with the soundtrack for a while, and it broke my brain it was so good. So now in addition to being a phenomenal song, I have this incredible memory of the show when I listen to it.

5. Sweet Child O’ Mine by Guns N’ Roses. Surfski and I walked down the aisle to a piano version of this at our wedding.

Thank you both for the asks! ❤️❤️

#miro does asks #lovely people #music #seriously I’m begging you to watch the video

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sandersgrey · 11 months

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I was washing the dishes and thinking about how it used to be that my mental health was so bad, you could tell when a depressive episode was gonna hit because I always started playing Hadestown on repeat.

And now whenever I have that comfort musical on loop Im just. Genuinely enjoying it. My mental health is no longer that bad anymore! Which is huge!

But also I was jokingly telling myself "ah, yes, dark times," and my brain just went "this too will be dark times one day"

Which. Feels Way more comforting than it sounds

Like yeah. This isnt the best I can get. I will get better enough that, eventually, when I look back at this period of my life, it WILL have been dark times.

#alex wont shut up

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fiddler-sticks · 4 months

Note

what's the music situation like at your service. will there be like a choir or like will you rickroll your mourners

I WILL ABSOLUTELY RICKROLL MY MOURNERS. Just gotta find a good string quartet version of it or something.

Okay, so first of all, I want fuckin amazing organist and my funeral should be in a church that has a pipe organ, or at least a hybrid with some pipes. I want every hymn to be full-out with 32ft stops and everything. Also a pump/reed would be nice for Behold A Host.

As for the hymns, I want all of these (they're not in order). I don't care how many sequence hymns you have to throw in, I want all of them. I've linked arrangements I like to some of them. (Please ignore the shitty perfect singing of the CPH demonstration choir. I hate them)

Lo, How A Rose E'er Blooming (EN IST EIN ROS Rhythmic) (I want a string quartet playing with this one)

Now All The Vault of Heav'n Resounds (LASST UNS ERFREUEN)

Thy Strong Word (EBENEZER)

Water, Blood, and Spirit Crying (FILTER)

What Is This Bread? (PREPARATION)

At The Lamb's High Feast We Sing (SONNE DER GERECHTIGKEIT)

A Mighty Fortress Is Our God (EIN FESTE BURG Rhythmic) (prelude & hymn accompaniment)

Behold A Host Arrayed In White (DEN STORE HVIDE FLOK) (really the only funeral hymn on my list)

Praise The One Who Breaks The Darkness (BEACH SPRING)

I also like this combo of WBSC and AMF for prelude

Also, if I die before Lost and Found dies, I want them to sing their song Reflection. If I die after them, I want it played over amazing speakers

As for secular music for like, the dinner afterwards (there's gonna be a separate room for listening to music, because I hate it when people talk over songs I wanna show them), one song I HAVE to have is Epic III Instrumental from Hadestown. The playlist under the cut is also good to play

I would also like to swap the tunes of things in the funeral service and maybe extend it to a full service, maybe even with communion since I want a communion hymn.

My only regret is not being alive to hear all this...

#thanks for the ask :))#berry's funeral

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thedvilsinthedetails · 4 months

Note

favorite musical?

ahhh my friend you should not have asked me that because this is a whole ass list ok:

so I also included my dream role in every one bc like…why not

Hamilton - this was one of the very first musicals I had like a proper obsession with and it’s sort of the reason I got into musical theatre + Angelica schuyler dream role obvi

Jesus Christ Superstar - I’m obsessed with this musical also the best album of it is the 1996 London cast remastered 2005 one and Judas dream role

Beetlejuice - fuck I love this musical so much it can’t even be comprehended like this is my comfort musical and just ugh perfection. Alex Brightman is an absolute icon. (Also my fav Lydia so far I think might have been Presley if anyone’s curious) and just beetlejuice dream role ofc

Anastasia - ahhhh Christy Altomare I think has the most beautiful voice and I just love this musical so much it’s so lovely + dream role Anastasia maybe (not so sure about this one idk I don’t think I’d be a good fit for any of the parts but also I’d love to sing Journey to the past so)

Les Miz - call me basic but this is arguably one of the greatest musicals ever created and I will never not love it. Also when I went to see it live the éponine I saw was jaw droppingly good (Nathania Ong if you wanna search her up idk) + dream role Éponine

Hadestown - just this whole musical is so fucking amazing and I’m so excited to see it live like ahhhhh and I’ve watched the slime tutorials over and over it’s not even funny how I have the whole show memorised + Persephone dream role bc like…just yeah

there’s more (mean girls, heathers, Jekyll and Hyde, Six etc but the list is getting a bit too long I think and these are like my all time favs)

#jamie answers asks

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itsfairly · 5 months

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Hiya, I just came across your tea themed ask game. Idk how old it is but I wanted to participate:

Palm tree, nutmeg and papyrus

🧚🏾‍♀️ I feel like I should use this emoji bc of your @. On a completely different note, baby talk has me thinking of dad nanami so thank you for making it hard to focus on anything else 🙇🏾‍♀️ I have to work in 2 hrs too!

Sincerely 🦋 Jade

hi jade! thank you for calling!

first things first, im glad you liked baby talk. i think its my first fanfic i've written about nanami and i honestly want to write more about papamin. so trust and believe i am planning to talk about him because nanami as a dad? yeah, that doesn't really leave my mind either. i might use the fairy emoji a bit more haha, i didn't really though much about its relation to my url until now!

palm tree ⇢ do you have a fictional villain you shouldn’t like but love regardless?

i dont think i do. but if i had to mention one, i would go with the fates from hadestown. i know they are more of anti-hero, neutral character, but the way they are portrayed comes across as playful and even daring when pushing the other characters to their limit is soooo fun. their songs in the musical are so good as well. i know they aren’t villains, but they also seem pretty shameless with their behavior, so that’s why I’m mentioning them!

nutmeg ⇢ how’s your room/home decorated? do you have a specific theme or style going on?

i dont have a specific aesthetic in my room. if anything, i just try to make it look and be cozy as well as having bits of me around it. i feel that if you were to look around it, you would know a little more about me: my favorite colors, my hobbies, my music tastes, etc. actually, the main colors on my page (the brown and blue) are the main colors, each being the base and accent respectively. i do put a a lot of stuff in my wall—pictures, drawings, stickers, places i've been too, and such.

i try to make my room look as close as to who i feel i am to be comfortable in it.

papyrus ⇢ if you put your ‘on repeat’ playlist on shuffle, what’s the first song that comes up? what do you like about it / associate it with?

I got i bet on losing dogs by Mitski. I'm a sucker for sad songs and Mitski knows how to write them. this song specifically makes me think about wanting to stick to something just because you are familiar to it or you're not quite ready to let go of it even if you know its doing you no good. in a way, it comforts me because it makes me thinks on the things i am still holding on and that i could live without. besides that, i mostly associated it with friendships I've had in the past that i didn't feel but stuck with because if not i would feel alone.

hope your shift went well!

get-to-know-me ask game (heres the voicemail)

#voicemail #ask games

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