#yes a lot of these are richie and ruth

[vilnmelling]

NPMD Digital Ticket details!

Since not every can/can afford to/wants to buy the Digital Ticket for Nerdy Prudes Must Die (and the bonus material that comes with the purchase), for your inclusion purposes, here's a list of fun background details, funny moments and comments made in the track commentary, for you to use however you like!

Ruth doesn't actually need to wear her headgear anymore, but she wears it anyway because it makes her feel safe.

Jeff pitched a Nightmare Time episode about the problematic puppy from Steph's verse of High School Is Killing Me, meaning there is a story there.

In the line, "I learned that at the anti bullying assembly last month, fucknugget!" there's a long pause before "Fucknugget!" which really makes it sound like Max forgot to insult Richie and just threw the word out.

All of the little noises Ruth makes, she makes because she has more she wants to say, but she can't say them (presumably due to anxiety).

In the proshot, you can't see fully how low Richie goes while he and Ruth sneak up on Peter, but Jon is fully crouched down. He then uses Pete's pockets and elbows to climb up like he's climbing a mountain (he mimes using a pick or axe to get good hold).

While Steph is talking, Ruth and Richie try their best to hear through the phone by getting as close as they can to it.

The reason Max and Jason were in the Pasqualli's parking lot is that they were practicing their skateboarding. They do that at Pasqualli's instead of at school/at a skatepark because they don't want the smoke club and skater kids to make them look like noobs. (This was a cut bit from the Pasqualli's scene).

The line, "Some big... dumb... sexy... football star" is expanded. In the Digital Ticket, Grace says, "Some big... dumb... sexy... sweaty... hot... well-spoken... beautifully tall football star."

When they're in the boys bathroom, Steph jumps to see over the stalls.

Richie Naruto runs when they're going to Waylon Hall. Pete slaps his hands down, but after they pause to look at the house, Richie looks over his shoulders at Pete a couple of times before darting away from him, once again Naruto running.

Richie stops in the door at the Waylon Place, so Pete pushes him inside.

Ruth and Richie speak at the same time when they say, "I'm allergic to deodorant" and "I have overactive sweat glands."

Ruth goes straight to Richie to complain after the "pus in my pits" exchange with Steph.

When Steph suggests saying there's a party at the Waylon Place, Pete, Ruth and Richie all react negatively (mostly nervously groaning).

While Grace sings the "He's just a nerd in disguise!" line, Richie can be seen practicing the first move of the Bully the Bully dance.

After Ruth says, "We're gonna cut off his nips!" you can see Steph look confused and ask, "What?"

While Pete and Richie talk in the Waylon Place ("Am I reading as ghost or Lin Manuel Miranda" & "She came all the way out here just for you."), Ruth and Steph discuss and practice Ruth's skeleton moves.

Richie gets stuck in the dangling parts of Pete's costume when he says, "You could just hit it and quit it, bro!" He then aggressively detangles himself.

The line "He's just really fucking brave!" comes from Richie being jealous that he's not that brave.

Richie hypes Ruth up a bit after Max says her skeleton bit was really special.

Grace hides behind Ruth while Max is dying.

Richie rolls his eyes when Grace says "It was an act of god!" (Similarly, Shapiro sighs and looks away in disbelief when Grace later says "It was god's plan!")

Pete gags when Grace says "Hack all his limbs off." Richie can also be seen gagging and holding his stomach several times.

Ruth hands Max's nipples over to Grace after cutting them off.

Jeff Blim is the principal of Hatchetfield High. Not a character of Jeff's, just Jeff himself.

Brenda still seems quite judgmental after the two weeks have passed. She makes a lot of not-quite-friendly faces when the football team's talking about Richie smelling bad.

When Richie struggles to remove the Zeke the Fightin' Nighthawk costume, he accidentally removes his jacket as well, leading to Jon having to put it back on (which he also struggles with) (and which creates a funny situation, since Richie was supposed to go shower).

Richie seems to have hurt his leg by the second fall in Nerdy Prudes Must Die (the song).

After Steph tells Grace to "Leave Ruth alone!" in the principal's office, Ruth tries to grab Steph's hand.

The wig Joey wears when he plays Dan Reynolds isn't Dan's real hair. Dan Reynolds wears a toupée.

Trevor and Angela's drama student encourage each other after they finish rehearsing.

Additional line when Grace is lying to Shapiro: "Suddenly, I remembered a crucial detail that made everything make sense. A picture came flashing into my mind, like I was Enola Holmes!"

"My dad sells women shoe! Shoes!"

Angela misses the chair at Beanie's and falls on her ass, leading to her, Joey and Mariah (mostly Mariah) breaking character.

During The Summoning, Tinky focuses ONLY on Pete. The entire time, he looks like he's restricting himself from lunging out and attacking him. At one point, he points at the Bastard's Box while staring at Pete.

90% of the time during The Summoning, Pokey's staring at his own mask.

Steph facepalms after Max says "That's nasty! ... I like it!"

#yes a lot of these are richie and ruth #im hyperfixating dont mind me #starkid #hatchetfield #hatchetverse #nerdy prudes must die #starkid npmd #npmd #nerdy prudes must die digital ticket #npmd digital ticket #ruth fleming #ruth npmd #max jägerman #max npmd #richie lipschitz #richie npmd #pete spankoffski #pete npmd #steph lauter #steph npmd #jason jepson #jason npmd #grace chasity #grace npmd #detective shapiro #brenda npmd #dan reynolds #trevor lipschitz #trevor npmd #tinky hatchetfield

[angelr-fish]

NPMD characters if they were in percy jackson cabins?

I do this thing where I always end up crossing over my hyperfixations so I NEEDED to do this.

Peter Spankoffski - Child of Athena

Peter is quite obviously a nerd, and while he doesn't come up with many strategies, he does have a some qualities in common with other children of Athena. (he is also the only one to notice that the building was not structurally sound)

Ruth Fleming - Child of Dionysus

Ruth loves theater, so much so that she'll do anything to be around it even though she cant be on stage. he is also the god of fertility which kinda fits yeah

Richard Lipschitz - Child of Hecate

now this one is kind of a stretch, I had a very hard time placing Richie somewhere. I landed on this one because Hecate is the goddess of "magic, witchcraft, the moon, graves, ghosts, necromancy, and sorcery." now while that is a mouthful most of those is what led me to this in the first place. magic and sorcery? that is some anime shit and Richie loves anime shit. now graves, ghosts, and necromancy that one was more of a stretch for me, I mostly chose it because he dies first. yes very big leap. in this little universe I've created for myself there could be a tie to this as to why Richie is the one who interacts with max first idk I'm rambling here.

Stephanie Lauter - Child of Jupiter

we are bringing in the roman gods now. Steph is a child of Jupiter because there is no way she isn't a child of the Big 3. I chose Jupiter specifically because she is often seen leading the group and if i were to chose a character she was similar to it would probably be Thalia. as for the roman thing well its just another way for max to forbid Pete from liking her cause of the camp rivalry. This is quite ironic in the same way it is in the show because....

Grace Chasity - Child of Janus (Huntress of Artemis)

yep grace is also a roman kid, kind of like how she's the exception of being a nerd in the show. I chose Janus specifically because he's the god of "beginnings, gates, transitions, duality, doorways, passages, and endings." Grace is the catalyst to the entire show, she unintentionally causes a lot of the issues that happen so I thought that slightly fit the doorways and passages part cause she kind of leads them through this maze. Grace has A LOT of duality to her. she is a nerdy prude through and through and yet, she does so many things like touching herself and lying to the police! next, she causes the ending of Max Jagerman's life as well as the end of his afterlife so that part fits. as for gates, she just talks about the gates of hell so much and I thought it was kind of funny. being a huntress is kind of self-explanatory though. I mean being abstinent and immortal? sign this girl up!

Max Jagerman - Child of Ares

I really don't even think I need to explain this one. 1. Competitive, its in a Ares kids blood to be competitive, lets be so real right now. 2. Daddy Issues, Every Ares kid has them, I mean why wouldn't they? they are all constantly competing with there siblings for just an ounce of his attention or approval and it just fits in my eyes 3. Bloodlust? have you seen this guy? he killed like 4 people! 4. Fuck Clivesdale

okay that's all I have of the main characters, but I might work on some of the others. or maybe even just Hatchetfield characters in general

#hatchetfield #lautski #starkid #team starkid #npmd #hatchetverse #nerdy prudes must die #npmd spoilers #peter spankoffski #stephanie lauter #richie lipschitz #ruth fleming #crossover #percy jackson #max jagerman #starkid npmd

[myheadphonesareneverloudenough]

Nerdy Prudes Must Die; musical motifs

i have so many thoughts about Nerdy Prudes Must Die and specifically the musical motifs used throughout. so buckle up, i want to talk. (theres a whole breakdown under the cut.)

so, if you didn't know already, Jeff Blim is a musical genius. and in the Hatchetfield universe, theres so many musical motifs that get used in every show. but there's one in particular that i don't know what to call it, but i'm gonna say it's 'the nerds' theme'. it's this one right here;

i've heard some call it Pete's theme, which is wrong. this specific melody is the theme of Pete, Richie, and Ruth's self worth and their inescapable tragedies. when we meet the three friends, it's very obvious that they see themselves at the bottom of the high school food chain. the nerds have accepted that they are worthless and will amount to nothing in school, because that is where society has placed them. it's as simple as Pete's song Cool As I Think I Am. he very literally does not see himself as valuable as the other students. but when that idea shifts from Cool As I Think I Am to Cool As She Thinks I Am, suddenly we have Pete realising his self worth, and the motif shows up;

and right after that, Pete is beat up in a parking lot by Max Jägerman. Pete's own self worth can only go so far when you have people like Max denying it constantly.

so now there's lyrics to this motif, and yes, Pete is the first one to sing it. But that doesn't make it any less Ruth and Richie's.

just like Pete, Richie finds his self worth in the acceptance from others. Once Max is gone and Richie makes friends with the football team, he realises how great it is to be alive. he realises that he deserves to be alive.

when Max comes to kill him, Richie justifies his self worth with the motif that returns for him this time, not Pete;

now they're not his final words, but Richie dies after declaring, "I'm Not A Loser". when he finally gets some self worth, he is murdered and never gets to fulfil that worth.

Ruth's self worth is a little different. she views her worthlessness as unfair. she believes that if she was different, she could be something great. unlike Pete and Richie, Ruth really shows that she has bigger dreams. Ruth wants to be the star of the show. she wishes to be appreciated, and her ungodly horniess can honestly be seen as a metaphor for wanting to be loved. Ruth sings about her self worth in the most Ruth way, with her own number in the BBQ Monologues.

the climax of the song (which Lauren kills, btw) the motif comes back again in the background. This time, it's for Ruth and her self worth;

does the fact that Ruth's version of the motif doesn't include the 'im not a loser' lyrics have to do with Ruth having more belief in herself? that she doesn't need to explain she isn't a loser because she knows she isn't a loser and deserves to have a chance in the spotlight? i sure as hell think so.

but Max kills her immediately after. he stops her from ever living out her big dreams of being a star.

the motif comes back again, obviously, in the reprise of Cool As I Think I Am;

the lyrics change this time around, and Pete sings 'you have to do it', which is him telling Steph that she has to be the one to kill him. despite Pete learning how to have self worth throughout this whole show, he still views himself as expendable. could this be justified with the fact that his two best friends just had their hopes and dreams shattered in death? probably. the point is, at some point during Max's killing spree, the death of his best friends, and the summoning of the Lords in Black, Pete has managed to convince himself that he's worthless again.

now. in the end, it feels like a happy ending due to the nature of The Best of You, but there are still a lot of loose ends to be explored. and on top of all that, the Nerds' motif comes back one last time;

because Grace kept the Black Book and continued to use it, and the Lords in Black are far from fair, i think Pete's torment and tragic narrative is not over by the end of NPMD.

so yeah. Pete, Richie, and Ruth are 'doomed by the narrative', as are most people in Hatchetfield. but these three characters are specifically doomed by their own self worth, and the narrative will never let them truly become their true selves.

and Jeff Blim wrote a banger melody to tell that story.

#im so normal about these 3 nerds #this is totally neurotypical behaviour #nerdy prudes must die #npmd #pete spankoffski #richie lipschitz #ruth fleming #j screams #a lot #hatchetfield #starkid #jeff blim

[affo-gatto-gateau]

I had a random idea for an npmd circus au but I don't really have a plot or story so I figured I might just share it here?

so

Nerdy Prudes Must Die Circus AU?

The nerds are all part of a circus, though no one at school actually knows who they are. The vague idea would be people at school (specifically Max, Grace, and especially Steph) finding out their identities.

Ruth: Walks both tightrope and slackrope, and is being mentored in contortion

Pete: Does aerial stuff, silks primarily but also hoops and trapeze. Sometimes partners with Richie. Mostly so he can throw him.

Richie: Primarily does magic tricks, but also tumbling.

Ted: Contortionist and acrobat.

Paul: Primarily is an animal trainer.

Random ideas:

Ruth's headgear is hidden in her costume by a swirling metal cage of wires as a headdress. She still has a bit of performance anxiety, but it's generally mitigated by the fact that she's so far up from the crowd that no one could see or recognise her.

Ted is afraid of heights. Pete and Ruth tease him about it a lot.

Ted is also the one to mentor Ruth in contortion. He teaches her to use her powers for evil. Checking changing rooms is a necessity, because if you leave even the smallest space unchecked one of them will unfold from it and laugh at you.

Paul is the accountant for the circus. He takes breaks from numbers and goes and chills with the animals. He is also a clown. Not that anything changes about him, he just wanders around and slapstick happens to him. People laugh because he's the only normal guy in a world of madness. So basically as he is in canon.

Richie's sleight of hand is impeccable and he will use it to pickpocket literally anything he can grab. If something goes missing, he is the first person people go to.

The nerds play hide and seek and are absolute menaces at it.

Pete is wayyy stronger than he looks (yes, Steph is very impressed). He can pick up and throw both Richie and Ruth, and often does. This is also how they climb him so easily. They will both hang off him and he just has to drag them around like the dead weights they are

Speaking of climbing, yeah, they can all climb basically anything. Is it a surface? Is it vertical? Yeah they can get up it.

All of them can juggle really well. Somehow Paul's the best.

#nerdy prudes must die #npmd #npmd au #richie lipschitz #ruth fleming #pete spankoffski #paul matthews #ted spankoffski #circus au #note: I have never worked in a circus #nor done anything remotely close to it #so #uhhh #take everything with a grain of salt #just thoughts #headcanon

[rentumblsstuff]

Back to the NPMD x Monster High AU, a couple more things:

I would like to rescind my Werecat Brenda in favor of Nighthawk Harpy Brenda. Yes, I know I made Kyle a werewolf to parallel Brenda being a werecat but I also have a better offer for Kyle too: Yeti, which is why he still holds a grudge against Max for wrecking his dad’s ski-doo.

I have so many thoughts on Vampire Grace. She was born a normie and is a recently turned vampire (maybe even a vampire hunter that failed on an outing and was turned by her prey). She’s having trouble coping with her religion now that she’s a monster and constantly wears turtlenecks like the one she wears in Perky’s Buds to cover up her bite marks. She tried still wearing her cross necklace as a show of rejecting this new form, trying to embrace the pain of having the cross so close because she thought that loving Jesus even when she’s a form of half-demon would make herself better than other Christians, but it hurt way too badly for her to handle so now she just says she wears it underneath her sweater. Jason was born a vampire and wants to help her through her dysphoria but Grace won’t accept anyone treating her like she’s a vampire (even though she is). She does like the part about eating flesh and drinking blood- it’s what Jesus says to do with himself, so in a way, she’s making everyone she eats a little more Christ-like. That’s her thought process, at least. She also still pretends to be human around her parents and normie best friend Gabe. Gabe may or may not know that she’s a vampire though and wants to seduce her so she can turn him too.

In High School is Killing Me, the lyric is now changed to “Fuck you, biteology.”

Max’s Jekyll form is human (Max), but his Hyde form looks like his ghost (The Jagerman).

Stachie is soooo canon because Richie loves swimming but as a werecat Stacy refuses to get in the water and they feel like their romance is especially forbidden because of it. If Richie didn’t love the water so much, he’d wish he was a werecat too because he also wants to be a pretty little kitty meow meow

Ethan, Lex, and Hannah also went there obviously and Ethan was a ghost á la Jonny Spirit and Lex and Hannah are both spider people. You know tf why lol

Ruth is a lot like Frankie Stein in that she flirts with a lot of people but they Do. Not. Flirt. Back. Rather than solid stripes, her sweater looks more like lightning bolts and the mushroom design is a little creepier than just an Amanita.

A lot of the smoke club are also nighthawk harpies (because they like eating the weed) (including Deb) and so a lot of people assume Brenda is also in the smoke club. She isn’t. Monster high typical speciesism mixed with Hatchetfield High typical bullying regardless of social hierarchy.

The Woodwards are flytraps and that’s why Alice doesn’t smoke- plants don’t do that to other plants. This is often a point of contention between Deb and Alice even though they try to pretend it isn’t an issue

Steph’s secretly embarrassed about her decay so she always makes sure her wraps are FRESH, but the rest of her outfit is always her jagged hand-cut crop tops and ripped jeans. Her decay spread to her scalp and forehead and everyone knows better than to say something about the wraps on her forehead or how she always wears a beanie but Pete accidentally tells her he thinks it makes her look even cooler. Swooning ensues because nobody dares address her flaws, much less say she’s cooler for having them.

Steph secretly wishes Pete had a corporeal form because her love language is physical touch and she’s sad she’ll never be able to hold him. (Kind of like how Cleo is sad she’ll never get to look Deuce in the eyes).

Sophia/Spitfire as a background character fire elemental is a MUST.

The janitor is a crazy man who lives in the catacombs under the school and is possessed by what the student body can only assume is a goat demon and Peter Geist feels weirdly like he knows him.

Rosary as Claire Rosary as Claire Rosary as Claire-

Pete has also died recently as one of The Jagerman’s attacks when he was out of control, and he’s new to the school along with Grace. He’s stuck in this dorky outfit he wore so he wouldn’t get bullied and can never change clothes, but at least he’s impossible to punch unless if another spirit tried to attack him. As opposed to Grace in life, he was very interested in the supernatural (one of his special interests) so he knows quite a bit about monster types but is always hungry to learn more about the new world he found himself un-living in

#hatchetfield #hatchetverse #starkid #npmd #NPMD monster high AU #stephanie lauter #peter spankoffski #brenda npmd #kyle clauger #grace chasity #stacy npmd #ruth fleming #max jagerman #vampire Grace Chastity my beloved #my one and only #Lautski #stachie #richie lipschitz #homeless man Starkid #homeless Ted #tnoy karaxis

[chompisgay4mrbeast]

procrastinating so u guys get my hatchetverse hcs!!! (these are going to be a lot of shit i picked up from random posts that i dont remeber the ops of so sorry if u made one of these hcs and i dont credit you i love you sorry) ethan green

probably like 23? 25?

hes actually bi he told me himself

afab he/they boyflux sue me

lex is his first and only gf. he's probably had like one bf before but he loves lex sm more (simp) (malewife to her girlboss basically)

orphan sorry i dont make the rules

his dad left like immedately and his mom passed of old age when he was like 17 idk

hannah is basically his little sister. he'd die 4 her actually.

ted spankoffski

like late 20s early 30s at the most ithink

so painfully thirsty for anyone he has to be pan

amab he/him but doesnt really give a fuck

has never had a partner thats so sad. he makes up for this by constantly acting like everybody wants him. they dont. (exepct for me i love him)

doesnt really have a CRUSH on anyone speific but mark chastity is his fav to tease (sorry im a baby for holy bastard)

him and petes parents love them but theyre kinda like.. oblivious and absent. like theyre always on trips and leaving pete to live w ted

max jagerman

im not gonna list all of the teens' age theyre all 16-18

im assimilating with this one he/she pronouns amab

hes omni he told me himself pref 2 women

everybody wants him he only wants the nerd (hes just like me fr)

he isnt dead shut up shut up sHUT UP HES FINE OKAY

his dad is not good his mom died in childbirth

stephanie lauter

genderqueer. they/she/he in order of pref. also uses xe/xir idc sue me

pan thats cannon she told me xirself

does tiktok dances but really badly on purpose

the biggest simp on earth to her one guy and nobody ese

will fluster the living hell out of pete in public for fun

hates being the mayors daughter, feels alienated bcs of it

pete spankoffski

he/they afab i dont make the rules

bi if you argue youre homophobic (/J)

actually loves his big bro but acts like he doesnt bcsaude is ted hears him looking up ted he'll never hear the end of it

nickname seymour from ruth (bcause lsoh)

ex-brony

richie whateverhislastnameis

afab he/xe/nya/zap he would have so many cool neos. one of those people whos neo list is longer than the bill of rights

gay mlm yes

undertale enjoyer

nge enjoyer

discord mod in an anime server

owns several body pillows

xem and ruth have been friends since pre-k so they know eachother like the back of their hand

ruth whateverherlastnameis

afab she/they

omni large large large pref to girls. likes a few boys sorta

biggest theatre kid ever but sucks at acting and singing (the curse)

got ensemble ONCE and cried at the cast list

fav show is heathers

heather m kin i dont make the rules

grace chastity

afab she/her

bi

liked a girl once and cried for a week str8 abt going 2 hell

i dont have alot of hcs for her but i think she would like fire a large amount

not even arson wise but like

a firebug

tinky

i already made my hcs for all the LiBs' true forms so go find those if you want

all the libs dont give a fuc about pronouns call them whatever

i do he/him tho

tinky is really just a 13 yr old girl freaking out abt one specific guy (ted) and making fucked up fanfics with him (time bastard nmt)

the "youngest" of the siblings

boy jerry

i beleive that every character jon plays is related. boy jerry is pauls fucked up brother. which means hes also richies uncle

#npmd #nerdy prudes must die #ethan green #ted spankoffski #max jagerman #stephanie lauter #peter spankoffski #richie lipschitz #ruth fleming #grace chastity #tinky #boy jerry

[im-not-a-l0ser]

Okay, so inspired by @24-guy 's fic, Car Lights, I'm thinking of writing my own future fic. So here are my career ideas for them? Please give me feedback. They'd be about 25-27 yrs old.

Steph- Architect

Pete- Amature Writer (who feels constant guilt over his wife being the breadwinner and not using his own academic success to get a good job)

Ruth- Aspiring Actress, Camera Operator

Richie- Amateur/Recreational Director, Veterinarian

Max- Former Footballer, Current Daycare Worker

Trevor- Hair/Makeup Artist, Actor

Rudolph- Teacher

Kyle- Construction Worker

Jason- School Councillor

Brenda- Stay-At-Home Mom

Grace- Either House Wife or… uhhhh. Idk, prison? I don't see her leaving her religion, and back when we were hyper-religious, I genuinely can't think of more than maybe two women who had a job. Maybe something with accounting? Let's go with that. Or a receptionist/secretary.

That's all I've got for now. Please let me know if you think these are good, or if there are any I should change. I haven't started writing it yet, I'm just laying it out in my head.

For the record, my original idea for Richie was a Paralegal (which is kind of like a lawyer consultant), having him work with his Gruncle, Gary Goldstein. And that Brenda's decision to be a stay-at-home mom stems from her former job being terribly accommodating toward her pregnancy, and decided to quit.

I just felt like that was important to add. I know that it's enforcing heteronormative stereotypes, but I genuinely like the idea of her realising how much she liked being a mom after having her kid. Like, it was really stressful and tiring at first, but after she quit her job, it really helped a lot of that go away and she began feeling a closer bond with her children.

Children plural bc I'm giving her twins. My only younger siblings are twins, so that's what I have experience with.

Alternatively/Before she was a stay-at-home-mom, I think she'd be a pharmacist. I cannot explain why, I'm sorry, I don't know why.

Also, yes, I forgot Grace originally but shhhh. As you can see, there's a reason she wasn't there originally, I have no ideas.

#nerdy prudes must die #starkid #richie lipschitz #max jagerman #michie #steph lauter #peter spankoffski #pete spankoffski #stephanie lauter #ruth fleming #trevor lipschitz #rudolph npmd #rudolph hans #hans rudolph actually has a better ring to it but yknow #kyle clauger #jason jepson #brenda npmd #grace chasity #grace chastity

[agentravensong]

hello, fellow hatchetfield fans! here are my stray nerdy prudes must die thoughts, which i'm going to try to keep brief (she said, before spending an hour writing this)

the production level of the show as a whole really blew me away. the lighting; demon!max's costume and makeup; even the way it was shot and edited felt even more electric than past shows

this is the only one of the full-length hatchetfield musicals to have one consistent antagonist throughout (black friday has linda but half the leads don't know about her at all until the climax, plus there's wilbur and wiggly). and i gotta say, max's actor really killed it. hilarious, terrifying, and even with moments of nuance. he repeatedly stole the show.

some of the songs are already stuck in my head. off the top of my head i can't think of any that stood out in a bad/unmemorable way (though i could just be forgetting them, lol). ruth's song in particular i think is gonna really stick with me once i listen to it a few more times.

and i love the way the "i'm not a loser" motif gets used throughout the show. the closest any of the songs got me to having the visceral reaction i have to "did you know that i wanted to live with you" in "not your seed" and the bridge + ending of "let it out" ("i've never been happy...") was when richie sings that line right before... well.

speaking of richie: as a paul stan, what this show proved to me more than anything is that when jon matteson plays a sympathetic lead (or side character - hi daniel/stopwatch), he will always break my heart. he's just. really good.

thinking about how in the last of the originally planned 3 hatchetfield shows, initially conceptualized as the first, jon's character is the first one to sing, whereas in the first of those shows, conceptualized as the last, the whole crux of the musical is him refusing to sing, the audience essentially waiting for the moment he breaks and does it. thinking about how the opening of npmd tells us richie is going to die, already dying, already dead, while the opening number of tgwdlm tells us paul is the target, the Doomed Hero, the "star of the show" "destined to go viral" [read: get infected], whose story is going to be told, already written.

thinking about how singing dooms paul, and how richie singing "i'm not a loser", reigniting max's ire, is the final nail in his coffin.

...i'm normal.

there's a lot of meta jokes and nods of that sort throughout the show. maybe a few too many? like, at a certain point, as a fan, i do feel like i'm being pandered to a bit.

i liked the lords in black's scene, it was a lot of fun! it's always great to see jon get to let loose with crazy characters, and the others were great too. but i do wonder how it plays for people who haven't been following nightmare time stuff. like, i get that in one world this was our introduction to these characters, but even in that world, i wonder if including all five of them with their specific names and allusions to their individual deals is a bit too much for what the plot of this show needs. there's something to be said for not showing all your cards right away.

on the other hand, i feel like the paulkins coffee scene actually fully earned its inclusion: because when pete comes in asking for his hot chocolate, it reads differently when we're coming at it from having followed his perspective up to this point versus having been following paul in tgwdlm, in a way that strengthens both scenes. it's a nice reminder that emma and paul can be... rude, i guess. assholes, even (she really didn't need to spit in it). that idea of perspectives affecting how we categorize people arguably even plays into the themes of this show! how about that.

ah, yes, Themes. there are Themes to be drawn out of this show about the experience of high school, especially in an intertextual comparison to how tom and becky talk about their time in high school in black friday. something about how the two of them see it as this idealistic time they want to go back to, whereas the teens (the nerds/outcasts) in npmd sing that they'll "still despise it when [they're] gone". something about how in ruth's solo number, the fantasy future she imagines for herself (even in the context of it being a performance for an audience of no one) is of a standard, arguably dreary, middle-aged existence. there's definitely stuff there to be dissected.

and also there's arguably a theme of continuing cycles of cruelty, brought into focus by the ending, but also implied with the way the adults failed the kids (see max referencing his dad belittling him).

...but also, i feel like they could have done more with that.

that's my one big thing with this show, and it could very easily just be that the genre of this show isn't as much my jam, but i'll say it anyway: i wanted more from the characters, and more emotional weight in regards to certain things.

like, between this and tgwdlm, i think tgwdlm is still the better written show. there's just, a subtly to the characters there, a grounded human-ness, that i didn't quite get from all of the teens here.

as much as i clearly have a soft spot for richie, that's mostly on jon; as written, there really isn't much there, beyond "anime nerd" and "generally nice kid who wants to be liked". the scene right before he dies is comedic in how obvious it's setting things up, but its obvious-ness also makes it feel kind of cheap in terms of pulling on the heartstrings. similarly, ruth is initially just a gimmick (though hers at least ties into a deeper insecurity) and only gets her real moment of depth right before she dies. neither of them feel like they have much affect / haunting presence on the surviving teens once they're dead, past the initial shock of the reveals of their deaths.

and steph and pete are good, but... idk. i wanted a bit more from each of them. if they got to have a talk like paul and emma before "join us and die" - not even for the sake of the romance, but just for the sake of giving us more on each of them outside of their basic stereotypes and the romance - that would've helped, i think.

grace was great, though, no qualms. initially there was a part of me that was disappointed that the stereotype max was pushing on her about her being secretly repressed and horny was in fact true, but the way it gets used makes up for it, and in between max's death and when that specific thing comes up again in the climax, she gets to do a lot with the two conflicting sides of her personality, wanting to be good but having a capacity and arguable instinct for scheming and ruthlessness.

(also, as i mentioned earlier, max has a surprising amount going on, especially once you get into the Implications)

it could just be that i see those depths in the tgwdlm cast because i've had more time to chew on that cast, and that in time i'll see these teens in the same light. but i don't think it's just that.

i think part of it is how there are so many jokes about the teens being nerdy prudes (really, mostly just nerds). and like, that's part of the point, obviously, that they were being forced into those boxes and that they were still people with the potential to be more. but... i don't know if the show does enough to really make that point. again, richie doesn't really get to be more (and it's not for lack of time - there's a good amount of show before max comes back as the demon and kills for the first time).

in tgwdlm, the mains are all arguably based on stock characters, but they have more depth through their relationships. look at ted, the stock asshole sleazeball, who's shown to feel genuine remorse when he loses people he loves, in a way that contextualizes his bitterness. and there's a lot less highlighting of the stockness of them in their show than there is of the teens in npmd.

and the thing is, i think the cast of npmd at their foundations are more likable than the cast of tgwdlm (see the earlier point about emma and paul being assholes at times). they had a lot of potential. but i don't think enough of it is realized for the majority of them. the edges the tgwdlm cast has are part of what makes them compelling, and it's something the teens (minus grace) are largely missing.

the thing is, i know the fandom is going to see that potential and run with it. i know that they're gonna develop the teens' characterizations and relationships. i know they'll get into the trauma and the implications from everything that happened to them in the show. i know they'll get into... pete's survivor's guilt, and steph losing her dad(!!!), and what richie and ruth could have been, and all that. i know that they'll fill in the gaps. because that's what fans do. i guess i just wish there weren't so many gaps to fill. or, that the gaps wouldn't take so much effort from them to fill.

again, i acknowledge, maybe i'm expecting too much from the genre of show this is. it doesn't need to have A Point, i guess, it can just be fun, a comedic horror slasher in musical form. and it is fun, a lot of fun! ...but, tgwdlm was also a lot of fun. not as bombastic, for sure, but i'd say just as humorous. and it was also incredibly tightly written, and satisfying, with strong character arcs for multiple leads. it had commentary on musicals, on what makes a protagonist and what it means to be one, on conformity and institutions of authority, on romance even (you could do a very interesting aromantic reading of this show, trust me). and with a show that's titled nerdy prudes must die, that is About high school, there's, similarly, a lot you can do. and there's a fair amount of seeds planted there. but i don't think it all quite coheres. and it could've, if they really wanted it to.

...i did not keep that brief. ah well. i might disagree with half of this by the time i wake up tomorrow, i just needed to get it out of me. tl;dr, in my opinion, this show is stronger than black friday, but tgwdlm is still my favorite. all the cast and crew put a lot of love into this production and it really shows. i had a great time! :D but i'm always going to overanalyze things i care about as much as i care about the hatchetfield universe, and hence, here we are.

#starkid #nerdy prudes must die #tgwdlm #npmd spoilers #nerdy prudes spoilers #if people have deeper reads of the teens based on stuff in the show itself that i didn't pick up on #i'd love to hear them! #for reference if anyone's curious: my absolute fav hatchetfield characters are #paul - hannah - lex - and ms halloway

[spigosaur]

VERY new to the Hatchetfield-verse. NPMD was the first ever Starkid musical I’ve seen so I’m trying to learn about the rest of the series

Uhhh lemme see- Headcanons…

Richie having an Asuna body pillow makes me think he’d quote the SAO abridged series. “Take the worst thing you can think of and multiply that by cancer” is something Peter and Ruth hear a lot

Ruth is actually well liked in the theatre program. The actors appreciate all she does and invite her to cast parties. Only reason she’s never gone is cause she thinks it’s some kind of prank (projecting as a former theatre kid—)

Stephanie would be into fanfiction culture. She just has the vibes/pos

Grace described Judas’ betrayal to Ruth and Stephanie once and they described it as “Toxic Yaoi”. She doesn’t tell them Bible lore anymore—

Heyoh!

I'm also kinda new to the fandom. I've watched tgwdlm and Black Friday a few years ago, but I didn't find out about nmt and never interacted with the fandom before npmd. But either way, welcome to hatchetfield and thanks for sending your headcanons!

I don't know if that's what you're referring to but in the show Richie only mentions his body pillows of Rei and Asuka (from Neon Genesis Evangelion) but I don't think that invalidates your hc at all! That obnoxious little disaster of a boy is constantly making references to the weebiest shit and when people don't understand him he calls them uncultured. (Ruth and Pete understand so many anime references because of him without ever having seen any of the media they're from)

Your Ruth hc makes me sad because it makes me think that she's been pranked in that way before and now she doesn't trust anyone who "pretends" to like her anymore :c

Steph I 100% agree with. She has that certain something, the alt style, she's totally a fandom girl. Although most people, even among her friends, don't know that about her. She probably has a tumblr nobody knows about where she yells about her obsessions but irl she never shows that side of herself until she starts hanging out with the nerdy prudes. Seeing them shamelessly gushing over their interests encourages her to let out her inner nerd too. When she eventually starts sharing her fanfics with the others, they're very supportive.

I don't think Grace would know what "toxic yaoi" means so now I'm imagining her being quite happy that her friends reacted so positively to a bible story just for her to look up what that means and. Yes I see why she wouldn't talk to them about bible lore anymore...

#hatchetfield #hatchetverse #starkid #team starkid #npmd #nerdy prudes must die

[amazingmsme]

do u have any npmd headcanons? ive been obsessed with it the last couple days but the tk fanbase is basically non existent </3

Anon: do you have any tickle hcs for the npmd characters? excited 4 your spankoffski bros fic later this month ❤️

Sorry it took a while, but I finally got around to finishing these! This got a little long because I have a lot of Thoughts about these nerdy prudes (& jock)

Gotta start off with the queen p herself,

Grace Chasity

Even tho she’s an only child, she’s a great babysitter so I think she’s a very silly & playful ler

That said, she’s absolutely the kind of annoying preppy kid who’s way too friendly & thinks you’re close when you’re like, acquaintances at best & will try to tickle you randomly

Steph has actually punched her because she expected it to be Max or another bully. She said she was sorry even tho she wasn’t really that sorry lmao

She thinks that tickling is a wholesome enough activity to allow her peers to engage in it (yes, ALLOW them)

She prefers to give out quick pokes or squeezes rather than outright tickling unless she considers you a close friend

She prefers to be more on the giving end for some particular reason (power trip)

She’s pretty moderately ticklish in all the usual spots, probably a solid 6 out of 10 in total

She associates it with family bonding & her parents tickled her a lot as a kid, so it reminds her of a happy time in her life

Her worst spots are her tummy, neck & feet

Ruth

This poor touch starved baby is so lee you have no idea

She’s definitely more lee than ler mostly because she’s too shy to initiate anything herself

The only ones that are exempt are Peter & Richie because she’s gotta find some way to assert dominance in their group

Her favorite target is Richie because it’s the easiest way to win their playful arguments

The only place that’s off limits are her underarms. She’s way too self conscious to let anyone try to tickle her there & she’s afraid it would hurt because of the blisters, but she’s ticklish in plenty other places so she’s still easily wreckable

She’s absolutely part of this community are you kidding? She has a blog & writes fics & everything. She daydreams about her friends tickling her & cuddling her but she could never bring herself to tell them that she likes it

They know tho, she tries to entice them by stretching a lot & being sassy & it works most of the time. She also never tells them to stop either

Her most ticklish spots are her neck/ears, ribs & back

She gets so excited but also so NERVOUS if she thinks you’re about to tickle her, it’s the cutest thing ever. She stutters a lot & backs up & when she finally tries to make a run for it, she kinda just goes back & forth because she doesn’t know the best escape route & gets caught so easily

Has a really sweet, high pitched giggle that she thinks is embarrassing & she covers her face whenever she’s tickled

She has to work herself up to tickle someone, even if she’s getting revenge

Her first instinct when tickled is to curl up & hide

She gets really flustered when asked if she’s ticklish & it’s obvious that she is even when she insists she “really isn’t guys!”

Richie

He’s got the power of God & anime on his side, & he’ll need it with how ticklish he is!

He’s so jittery & twitchy any time you touch him because he’s used to his friends randomly tickling him because he always has such funny reactions

Flails around & screams before cackling at the top of his lungs

He likes to talk a big game to try & scare you off but as soon as your hands touch his sides he’s crumbling to the ground

Dude always wears shorts no matter the weather so his knees are free real estate

He also wears baggy shirts & hoodies so it’s so easy for Peter & Ruth to slip their hands inside when he’s least expecting it

Gets giggly & panicky right before an attack & desperately tries to bargain for a way out (it never works)

Despite how ticklish he is, he’s usually the one to instigate

It’s his go to method for winning an argument against Ruth, so long as she doesn’t strike first

He likes to deliver rapid pokes or squeezes while acting like he’s not doing anything

When he’s tickling his friends, he just carries on the conversation but he’s talking way louder to be heard over their laughter

He’s not super easily embarrassed because he’s fully aware cringe is dead but if you do get him to blush, he turns BRIGHT red

When he laughs he squints his eyes & leans forward & usually holds onto someone for support

He has a very loud & borderline shrill laugh

His worst spots are his ribs, sides, & knees (specifically the backs but you didn’t hear it from me)

Peter

This poor dude is SO lee coded, sorry I don’t make the rules

He’s the younger brother so Automatic Lee

Ted used to play goofy tickle games with him & now that he’s older he insists he’s “grown out of it” but Ted still instigates their old shenanigans. Sometimes he just gets a lil nostalgic & decides to torment his baby bro

Peter tries to act like he can’t stand them, but secretly he has just as much fun as Ted. It reminds him of when they used to be closer & things weren’t as bad, & it’s a way for them to connect after years of growing apart

That said, he will still fight tooth & nail to get away because he knows how ruthless Ted can be when it comes to him

Wasn’t until he was in high school that Peter really started gunning for revenge

Out of the nerd trio, he’s def the favorite target. He’s got a really adorable, infectious laugh & is kinda uncoordinated with his king gangly limbs, so he’s an easy target

When he tries to be the only reasonable one, they’ll tickle him until he caves in to their demands

He’s so skinny so the boney areas like ribs, hips & knees are gonna be major hot spots, but he’s crazy ticklish pretty much everywhere

He acts annoyed & put out after he’s tickled because he doesn’t want anyone to know he doesn’t really mind it, but he kinda over corrects into the “I’ve been waiting five fucking years” asshole territory

He has a very traditional, dorky laugh that’s high pitched & loud & he snorts a lot & it embarrasses him to no end but once Steph heard it she’s like “no this is the greatest sound I’ve ever heard”

He gets super giggly if you even threaten him with tickles & he starts to protect himself by hugging his arms around his chest but it does NOTHING to help & only gives them a clue as to where he’s ticklish

He either thrashes around like a bull in a china cabinet or curls up like an armadillo, those are your options

His laugh has a wide range from high pitched giggles to loud dorky cackles & it’s the best. He & Ted have a similar laugh

Peter likes to tease him that he got his tickle spots from him & is always forced to take it back

Literally a walking tickle spot, but his worst spots are knees, hips, ribs neck/ears & back. Dude is too ticklish for his own good

Steph

My favorite girlie pop, she tries to act so cool & aloof but she is actually sooo ticklish it’s not even funny (can’t stand the new trend of making all the girl characters unstoppable lers & not very ticklish while giving all the attention to the men. Girl bosses can be ticklish too!)

That said, she can do a pretty good job of hiding it if she doesn’t like the person trying to tickle her. But if her guard is down & she’s in a good mood, she’s a giggly mess in seconds

I think trying to hard to be the cool kid & the mayors daughter puts a lot of stress on her, so she’s pretty willing to let herself laugh & have fun otherwise

She only tickles people she’s close or comfortable with, but she likes to strike when they’re least expecting it

She has long nails & knows how to use them to get the best reactions

Her methods range from lightly dragging her nails over your skin to quick scribbles to ruthless squeezes. Her attacks are sporadic to keep her lee guessing & on the edge of their seat!

When she teases, it’s a lot of compliments & cooing over you & trust me, it’s just as flustering as it sounds

Just because she can hold her own in a tickle fight doesn’t mean she’s not devastatingly ticklish in her own right. She tries to claim she’s not as ticklish as she actually is, but it’s evident by how hard she’s laughing

Her laugh is really sweet & honestly such a bright sound it literally lights up a room. & don’t even get me started on her smile

Before she cracks & laughs she has the widest grin you’ve ever seen because she’s determined to stay tough & strong. It always starts with a giggle & works it’s way up to loud bubbly laughter

She has dimples but only when she’s REALLY smiling so most people don’t know. But you can see them when she’s getting tickled

She’s a squirmer but other than that, doesn’t really fight back aside from normal thrashing

Her most ticklish spots are her thighs, tummy & armpits but her neck & ears are also pretty high up there

Pete is in love with her laugh almost as much as she’s in love with his (when it comes to being a simp my girl takes the cake)

Max

Mean little shit but I know y’all would be disappointed if I didn’t include him (& honestly so would I)

Is a switch at heart but forces himself to be full ler because “only chicks like being tickled” (whatever you say bro)

Has actually used tickling to bully the nerds for a short while after the anti bullying assembly because “it doesn’t count if I don’t hurt them!” But it wore off kinda quick because he just liked hurting them more jxgaakdhf

He’ll still resort to it if he’s in a better mood than normal or wants to embarrass more than maim

Peter & Richie are the usual victims of this kind of torment, but he treats them a lot nicer when he’s tickling them than when he uses other methods

Still an asshole & his teases border more on the lines of bullying because he’s gotta stick to the brand

His normal victims tho are the other jocks. They roughhouse a lot & while he’s asserted his dominance as the top dog at school, during tickle fights his friends aren’t as scared to stand up to him & give him a taste of his own medicine

He gets a little too into it when tickling someone & can get a little rough sometimes. If he realizes he’s hurting rather than tickling he’ll be sure to lighten his touch because that’s not his goal at the moment

When he’s tickled he tries to throw punches so watch out! But if it’s his friends he’ll purposefully miss but try to act like he’s fighting for his life because there’s no way he likes this! It’s not fun, you’re making him laugh against his will!

Spoiler alert he does think it’s fun tho, he just won’t say

Poor Grace is his absolute favorite victim & he will launch surprise attacks on her in the halls when she least expects it. & while she does think it’s fun & wholesome, she knows that he doesn’t see it like that because he’s just a dirty dude! So she gets all flustered & huffy when he does it & he thinks she’s super hot when she’s angry & worked up

She’s got so fed up with his shit she gets in his face like “let’s see how YOU like it!” & his heart’s beating so fast because she’s so close to him & he’s right about to make a move & kiss her but instead screams at the top of his lungs when she digs into his sides

He’s more ticklish than he’s willing to admit & is more sensitive on the more toned parts of his body like abs, thighs & shoulders with his belly being his most ticklish spot

He’s lowkey embarrassed by tickling because he thinks it’s fun & makes him feel all giddy so he tries not to end up of the receiving end. It still happens tho😊

In one of the infinite timelines in Hatchetfield, the nerds’ plan works as planned & Max loves the party so much that he realizes he had them pegged all wrong & starts to hang out with them & is over all nicer to them & he doles out lots of playful tickle attacks on his favorite dorks

That’s all I got for now! Hope y’all enjoy, stay nerdy!

#asks #anon ask #vampiretickles #hatchetverse #hatchetfield #hatchetfield headcanons #npmd headcanons #nerdy prudes must die #npmd #grace chasity #ruth fleming #richie lipschitz #peter spankoffski #stephanie lauter #max jagerman #npmd tickle headcanons #ticklish!grace #ticklish!ruth #ticklish!richie #ticklish!peter #ticklish!stephanie #ticklish!steph #ticklish!max #a black friday special treat

[starpirateee]

Richie's movie

@lautski-week day 3 - movie

Warnings: none / read on AO3 here

--

Richie's movie came out on Sunday. Pete didn't know what it was actually called, but he knew that Richie was really excited about it. Originally, Pete thought it was his attempt to finally step away from the anime scene, but when he asked about it, Richie had launched into a small ramble about the source material, which just so happened to be one of his favourite light novels.

Pete hadn't been all that interested in watching it originally. But Richie wasn't actually here anymore to watch it for himself.

Maybe he owed it to him to try.

But, there was no way he was going alone.

It was late at night on a Friday when he decided that he owed it to Richie to watch this movie, and the thought had consumed him. He couldn't sleep.

Briefly, he thought about texting Ruth. She would like something like that, wouldn't she?

But he couldn't even do that, could he?

Really, there was only one option, wasn't there?

Pete:

Hey, I cant sleep. You still awake?

He stared at the empty text box for what felt like ages, and then finally, he got a reply:

Steph:

im still up sure, something wrong?

Pete:

Not really. Just thinking

Steph:

thats not good at 1am

whats wrong?

Pete:

That movie that Richie wanted to see came out

Pete: 

And I kinda want to watch it in his honour, y'know?

It sounded stupid, didn't it? He wasn't even interested in the movie itself, he just wanted to feel less alone in this crazy world. He turned over, throwing the sheets over his head. 

Pete:

Sorry. I know how stupid that sounds

Steph:

not at all! you wanna go to the movies for richie?

Pete:

I guess... You wanna come with?

Steph:

sure, sounds fun :)

Steph:

is tomorrow good? i can probably see you there if youve got a time

Pete:

Tomorrow's fine

I can get there maybe after lunch? 2 ish?

Steph:

see you there, pete <3

Even after confirming the date with Steph, and feeling a little more at ease with himself, sleep still didn't come easy to him. He spent ages scribbling in his phone's notes, random ideas that my or may not turn into something some day...

Eventually, the tiredness he felt caught up to him, and he drifted off, thinking about Richie and hoping that there was another side where he was having the time of his life. After everything, that was the least he deserved. 

The next day, the tired sensation was promptly replaced with a deep pit of nervousness, and he couldn't source where it had come from. More likely than not, it was down to the constant stream of thoughts that had all surrounded Richie. This was his day, really, and Pete knew he was going to think of that no matter what else happened. 

Steph had been kind enough to offer to keep him company for the day, but by the time she'd agreed to that, it was close to 1:30 in the morning. Was she still going to show face? Would she even remember?

He had a text. He'd been so caught up in his own rampant thoughts that he hadn't even realised.

Steph:

still up for today?

Once he'd read it and really got into his head that yes, she did want to come, his heart fluttered with relief. 

Pete:

Yeah, I'm still gonna be there

Steph:

okay

dont worry about it, its gonna be okay

Pete:

Thanks, Steph :)

Pete sighed. She said it was going to be okay, but was it? Was it really? The two of them had collectively lost more in the last few weeks more than anyone could comprehend in a few years. With the weight of the world quite literally on their shoulders, who was really left but each other? 

That didn't do an awful lot to lessen his nerves, but it did make counting down the remaining hours a bit easier. Slow as it was, that time did pass, and he set on his headphones to start the walk down. He knew he'd invested in such large ones for a reason... At least that way he could look like he was trying to block out the world.

Steph was already there when he arrived, and waved him over. He braced himself for something he didn't even know, and noticed how much less tense he felt, just by seeing her there.

"Hey, Steph..." He removed his headphones with one hand and managed the most sincere smile he could.

She took his free hand and returned the favour by shooting him a smile that seemed totally reassuring. "How are you?"

"Honestly, I kinda feel sick. No idea why, I've just been dreading the hell out of this since I gave myself the idea.." He knew why he felt like shit, if he was really honest. It was his own fault. A constant stream of thoughts that he thought he could solve by airing out his panic in the shower? That was ridiculous, and he knew it.

Her brow creased. "Why?"

"I don't know! I mean, it's got nothing to do with you, you're great! I love-" he hesitated so subtly that Steph almost didn't notice. "Hanging out with you... I just- I guess it's cos this was supposed to be Richie's movie..."

"Hey, I get it. We don't have to do this if you don't want to..."

"This is for him. I wanna do this... For him."

Steph nodded. "Alright. Which one is it?"

The two of them looked up at the board, and Pete tried to figure out which was the right movie. There were a lot of titles he recognised, and then...

"That one. I remember the name of the book Richie told me about."

"Absolutely no offense to the guy, but that looks like it's gonna be cheesy as shit."

Pete couldn't help but laugh at that. She was right, in all fairness, it did look like it was going to be quite the movie.

#lautski week #stephanie lauter #peter spankoffski #starkid #void offering #i am just incapable of lighthearted things arent i #oh well :)

[ofstoriesandsongs]

My Nerdy Prudes Must Die Thoughts (spoiler warning!)

Just as a disclaimer, I haven’t been keeping up with Starkid much before this came out and I still haven’t watched any of Nightmare Time, so I may be missing some references that other people picked up on.

This fixed some of the issues that I had with Black Friday. Although I still enjoyed it, as I kept revisiting it there were definitely some issues that stood out to me, namely having too many characters without being able to develop them all and relying a bit too much on references to TGWDLM. In NPMD, the characters all felt a lot better defined and were really endearing. I love Peter and Steph as a couple, Grace is fucking hilarious and had a MUCH bigger role in the plot than I was expecting at first, Max makes for a really effective villain, and Ruth and Richie both had their fun moments.

Likewise, the references to previous shows all made sense and felt rewarding for long time fans without being essential for understanding what was going on. Seeing Paul and Emma and Wiggly again was fun.

I like that a lot of songs came back in different forms, when the bully the bully song came back as bury the body I cackled.

I love that each Hatchetfield show has a show within a show, The Barbecue Monologues fucking killed me. Also, it was an excuse to give Lauren Lopez an amazing solo, which I'm always down for.

The second to last song had me thinking, huh this is an awfully upbeat finale for a Hatchetfield show, there's nobody screaming for the audience to help them or implied nuclear war or anything! and THEN the fucking Grace Chasity reveal happened and I thought, ah yes, there it is.

With this, it seems like they’re not really sticking to a strict timeline for what goes down in Hatchetfield, and instead it’s just this weird little town where different apocalypses keep happening.

Also, during the scene when Steph is about to shoot Peter, the blocking keeps putting both of them below this poster on the set, which might not have been intentional, but was very fitting.

#nerdy prudes must die #npmd #starkid #nerdy prudes must die spoilers #npmd spoilers #thoughts

[glitchydyke]

what's hatchetfield ?

it’s a series of musicals by starkid!!!!! there’s three in the series rn: the guy who didn’t like musicals, black friday, and nerdy prudes must die :] (plus a bunch of short stories under the group name nightmare time & nightmare time 2)

each of them is set in a town called hatchetfield, where things r um. kind of fucked. on account of the group of eldritch gods using it as a personal plaything <3 each musical is set in a different iteration of the town though, with the vibes of like either a time loop or parallel universes, where everything is the same but different, a little bit to the left.

spoilers of the plot of each one ahead now !!!!

tgwdlm is the first of the series!! it’s about an average office worker guy named paul (MYYYY <33333333) who. well. hates musicals. and to his dismay becomes the unwilling protagonist in one when hatchetfield is infected by a musical alien parasite via a meteor

bf is the next, about sisters lex and hannah foster and a man called tom houston, who’s emma’s brother-in-law. lex is a worker at toyzone, a toy store selling the new famous toy tickle-me-wiggly. and things get a little bit murdery when the adults in the mall begin to form a cult over the doll, killing each other to obtain one

and the newest one is npmd, which came out abt a week ago!! it’s about a group of teenagers, peter, richie (ALSO MY <333 + played by the same actor as paul), ruth, steph, and grace, who’re haunted and hunted by the demon-ghost of a former classmate who’s intent on killing everyone he’s personally deemed deserves it.

it makes me. fucking insane. the way that things in each version of hatchetfield are different, but there are still some constants; my favourite of which is that paul and emma, the characters from the first musical, will always ALWAYS find each other. in every timeline, they’re destined to find each other, but never destined to have their happy ending. destined to fall in love, to become each other’s light in the darkness, each other’s home, but it’s never built to last.

it’s also really really fucking fascinating to see these characters fight desperately against the gods toying with them, to form such beautiful bonds and relationships, to keep themselves alive as these horrific things happen around them, knowing that… does any of it even matter? this is one timeline out of infinite, one world out of countless, does any of it even matter? does their fight even matter, when at the end of the day, it could all be erased by a bored god snapping his fingers? does their love hold any power against beings that can’t be understood, can’t be reasoned with?

and that’s not even mentioning the fucking music oh my god. my faves are lah dee dah dah day, not your seed, let it out, inevitable, feast or famine, take me back, black friday, what if tomorrow comes, high school is killing me, nerdy prudes must die, if i loved you, and the summoning. yes that’s a lot but FUCKKKK i love these musicals soundtracks good lord.

OKAY ALL IN ALL. it’s a series of horror-comedy musicals set in the fictional town of hatchetfield, each surrounding a different group of civilians as they fight to survive against some sort of horror brought about by an eldritch god. they’re v v good and the official pro-shots are all on the starkid youtube channel, along w the nightmare time stories!!!! would absolutely recommend them they r both so fun and sillay and also make me physically ill to analyse i cannot dress this enough. life and death and fate and choice and love and hatred and trying to stay together even as the universe rips you apart

#this got a little bit long sorry. trying sooo hard 2 be normal 🫶 #PAUL AND EMMA AND RITCHIE ☹️☹️☹️☹️ #hey. you shld watch them. hey. it won’t even take long. hey #asks

[disregardcanon]

Toh npmd au for my own personal amusement

First thing’s first: character assignments 

Amity as Steph 

Luz as Pete 

Willow and Gus as Ruth and Richie

Boscha as Max 

Hunter as Grace 

Odalia and Belos both as parts of Mayor Lauter

Setting details: it’s still in Gravesfield, CT which still has its same Puritan vs witches branding. The mascot is a pilgrim and that IS Gus in the suit. Who has more school spirit than Augustus Porter? (No one.) 

So a few changes I’m making to make the toh cast slot a bit easier into the framework 

Belos is a fundamentalist preacher who’s raising his “niece”. Yes he DID kill Caleb and Charlotte. No one knows tho. It was lords in black related. Does that make it better? eh

Hunter is trans masc and a TOTAL egg. Right now, he’s a very enthusiastic little warrior for purity culture. Yes, he’s trying to get the dance canceled, YES he’s bullied a lot for being a “nerdy prude”. Not gonna dead name him but. He wouldn’t realize he’s a guy until significantly after the events of this musical 

Luz has NOT been in amity’s class since the 1st grade. She only moved here a year ago

Amity is still the mayor’s daughter and she and Boscha used to date. Amity’s stopped actively bullying people after they broke up and she’s felt like, guilty about it, but she’s never seen how much more.. Physical? Boscha’s bullying got than hers did. Sure, Amity was a queen of psychological warfare, but she never beat people up in the parking lot. 

Luz moves to Gravesfield during her junior year of high school. Amity and Boscha on the cusp of breaking up, so things are changing in their social hierarchy. For one, Amity is backing away from bullying and the spotlight and for two Boscha is getting WORSE. She when Luz moves in and aligns herself with “half-a-woman Willow” and Steve Urkel.. She’s thrown to the bottom of the school hierarchy immediately. Looney Lulu is what comes to mind first. 

Enter Boscha: literal monster, best quarterback in the school’s history and the first girl (she works that angle as hard as she can), and QUEEN of the school. She’s amity’s ex and like… mainly over her. 

Okay, who are we kidding? She’s not over her. Not at all. Boscha decides to put all her “trying to make amity jealous and take me back” energy into seducing amity’s least favorite student: local nerdy prude, preacher’s “niece” wittebane. 

Hunter and amity do NOT get along. At all. They’re duking it out for the valedictorian spot, their respective guardians are pitting them against each other, and they both just find the other… insufferable. 

So trying to bag the “girl” who’s the forbidden fruit and maybe making amity mad enough to take her back with it too? It’s worth a try, at least. 

Amity, meanwhile, is failing theater. She’s getting very frustrated and flustered and asks luz to be her scene partner so maybe she doesn’t fall on her ass. Luz is nervous because this is Amity Blight, super cool girl who used to be very mean to willow and now isn’t really a bully but is just? Way cooler than they are? Amity’s able to talk her into it. 

The teacher heaps a LOT of praise onto them and their chemistry and promises them good grades in the future if they keep working with each other. This leads to amity calling luz and trying to set up the pasqualli’s date. 

Boscha, meanwhile, is cornering hunter near the gym where he’s protesting the concept of dancing. He gets freaked out when boscha starts getting very very flirty and he gets really flustered because? Girl? Girl flirt with me? Also a girl? Hahahaha NO I AM NOT GAY I AM NOT- and he’s having a little sexuality crisis. Willow, who’s done putting up with boscha’s shit right here in the school building, hurls a waterbottle across the room in between them. 

Hunter SPRINTS away because OH BOY I WAS EXPERIENCING SOMETHING STRANGE AND UNWELCOME NO THANK YOU NO THANK YOU- and then he finds out that newly buff and gaining more confidence willow is the one who saved him. And she’s just like oh yeah anytime. No one should corner other people like that. And his little heart is going bEEPBEEPBEEEP BEEEEEEEEEEPPP and the rest of his body is not calming down either, ya know? 

Unwanted sexual attractions experienced by local nerdy prude today: 2. Fantasies experienced in the bathtub: 2 very, very different ones in a single sequence. 

Luz gets the shit kicked out of her at pasqualli’s because she runs into boscha before she finds amity and she’s like no i’m not gonna cower AMITY BLIGHT INVITED ME HERE! And. that. DOES NOT GO WELL 

Willow is ready to go to war over this when they get to school the next morning because she WARNED luz that amity wasn’t to be trusted and look? Look what happened! And luz is like yeah you also said i should stand up for myself- and willow’s like husssshhh. 

They plan a prank in the bathroom that goes very poorly. Hunter writes gus a detention slip for being in the girls’ bathroom (he should have written himself one too!) and then they prank the shit out of Boscha. 

To the point she. You know. Dies. then they have to dismember her at hunter’s urging! Hooray!!!!

Cue peace and love at the high school :) until poor gus dies. I’m sorry dude! You’re the mascot you were cursed. Of course the quarterback was going after you first. 

Boscha goes after luz second because she’s the dweeb who thought that she could steal boscha’s girl. Luckily for luz and amity both, they were together at this point and they RUN as fast as they can. Luz demands they go find willow because she’s probably the next victim, and they find her mid-boscha kill. She lost an arm because boscha was trying to take the “half-a-” thing to its logical, puny extreme. They rush her off to the hospital. The police come to question them. 

And then pastor wittebane comes with hunter in tow. He pulls something with the police about the parks wanting him to perform a protestant equivalent of anointing of the sick on their ailing daughter. 

Pastor wittebane very clearly knows what happened. 

“I thought you were gonna keep the beans cool!” Amity demands. 

“I couldn’t,” hunter tells her. 

“Fucking useless, wittebane,” amity mutters. 

Pastor wittebane glares at all of them. “You are going to get in my car and come with me.” 

“That sounds bad,” luz says, “my mom told me to never be one on one with religious officials.” 

“Fine,” he says, “if you’d like to be the next victim, be my guest.” 

They all get in the car, except Willow, who’s bed-bound. (Luckily, since she’s already in the hospital, boscha thinks of her as less of a kill count priority.) 

Belos takes them out ot the middle of the woods and makes them dig up the black book. Then boscha kills him! We DO get boscha killing belos, so i think that’s a win. They flee the scene, run into some cops, then make it to the high school to complete the ritual. 

We’ve got amity, luz, and hunter on the floor of the gym summoning the evil teletubbies. The evil teletubbies REALLY want amity to kill luz. They get to have their cool as i think i am reprise <3 and then the bullet leaves the gun and boscha catches it. Because she is very, very excited to do luz in personally. She’s still debating whether or not she’s gonna end amity, but luz IS going to die. In front of amity. For absolutely certain. 

Boscha’s getting ready to take care of another nerdy prude when hunter bursts out like HELLO YES! I AM READY TO HAVE THE SEXUAL INTERCOURSE! And boscha’s just like… whut? And then he gets very flirty and goes along with the stuff that she was saying earlier, and he’s.. Legit into it. Sure, flirting with hunter was half to spite amity, but she’s still very turned on by the idea of corrupting the perfect angel church girl into having hot and heavy sex with her on the football field. And making amity watch? That’s a bonus. Maybe she’ll get a threesome out of it. 

Hunter sends boscha to hell with the power of his jesus freak virginity, luz and amity have sixteen different crises, and willow lives to hear the whole crazy tale. Luz and willow mourn gus, hunter goes through the weird process of mourning his uncle while also realizing he’s glad that the guy’s gone and gets to know the shoulder ANGEL part of the shoulder angel and shoulder devil fantasy he was experiencing, and amity hides the book away in her own personal safe to try to keep it away from bad actors. 

It doesn’t keep it safe from mayor odalia blight, but… that’s not going to be that big of a deal.. Right? RIGHT?!?!?!

#toh aus #lumity #huntlow #npmd

[snarky-wallflower]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

@amethystunarmed tagged me for this!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

I've currently got 25 works on there.

2. What’s your total word count?

161, 391! which...wow, that number hits me every time I look at it. I can’t believe I’ve written a whole novel’s length of fanfic this year.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Mostly Hatchetfield and Deltarune, but especially Hatchetfield. The silly little horror-comedy musicals (especially the LiB and Paul) have grabbed me and won’t let go. To the detriment of my WIPs in other fandoms. Oh, and I’ve also written a decent amount of fic for Spiderverse and Dracula! (Our good friend Jonathan Harker, after all.)

4. Top 5 fics by kudos

pas de masque - a pre-canon Spiderverse fic focusing on Gwen's terrible experiences in the Spider-Society, and just what it's like to learn you're doomed in every other universe, and that no one will let you stop it.

The Show Must Go On - a fun little theatre AU for Deltarune, where Susie's been arrested, and the only way for her to not be arrested is to join a club. She chooses theatre, which Noelle is coincidentally the director of. Romance, friendship, and theatre chaos ensues. (also, I LOVE writing Kris in this fic.) It's the fic I've been working on the longest.

what is a god? - my exploration of the Lords in Black, and how they think and treat Hatchetfield and their puppets, written at 12 am after finishing Nerdy Prudes Must Die. Despite that, I’m still pretty proud of it!

used to think about you (everywhere i go) - a post-canon Nimona (movie-verse) fic, in which Nimona gets to work out her complex feelings about Gloreth by standing at her grave. Sometimes therapy is yelling at your ex-bestie's grave, more at 11.

one hell of a normal abnormality - a fic where I wrote Pete actually seeming to care that Ruth and Richie weren't there at Homecoming, with a decent exploration of grief and feeling guilty. Also, I think I was the first one to use the green-hair-after-being-touched-by-Wiggly headcanon.

5. Do you respond to comments?

Yes, of course! I love comments - you read my whole chapter/fic, and you liked it enough to post your reaction! Amazing, I love you, I would literally die for some commentors.

6. What’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Oh, this is hard. Most of the fic I write is angst, so tough to pick. I'd say the real competition is between life underground (it's over now) and always be my favourite ghost. But if I had to choose, it would be the first one, because that ends with Chara literally ripping up their adoption certificate, and thinking they’ll never be a part of the Dreemurr family. And we all know what happens next. :(

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Oh, this one’s pretty easy. like real people do. It’s a short, canon divergent one shot I wrote for a podcast, Monstrous Agonies that I was super into - even submitted a couple of letters to the podcast I was pretty proud of. It ends with the characters sort-of rekindling their relationship, after accidentally broadcasting them kissing through the radio. It actually managed to predict a decent amount of the actual finale, too!

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Thankfully, I haven't gotten any yet. Hoping that that streak continues.

9. Do you write smut?

Ha! No. And it's probably not going to happen for a long time, if ever. I'm apparently a bit of a nerdy prude myself. I have written at least one fic that's only plot was two characters kissing, though.

10. Do you write crossovers?

I haven’t yet! Maybe someday.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Also, no. Benefits of being a smaller fic writer, I guess.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope! But if that ever happens to me, I'm gonna scream

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Not yet! I was thinking of co-writing a Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes fic with a friend in real life, though. It was a really good movie, but I haven't made a lot of progress on it.

14. What’s your all-time favorite ship?

You know, I'm really not sure? I mostly read gen fic, but for shipping? I'd have to say probably Noelle/Susie, or Paul Matthews/Emma Perkins? It really depends on the day - I'll read a lot of ships.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you will?

None so far! My WIPs currently are probably going to take a long time, but I plan to finish all of them. Outlines may be bad, but I am determined!

16. What are your writing strengths?

I think I'm really good at internal monologues. And along with that, characterization! I get a lot of really sweet comments about it, and I do like writing character-focused pieces! Which is kind of ironic, given that worrying about writing characters wrong was a pretty big reason I didn’t start writing again until this year.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Dialogue. Oh my god, every time I try to write snappy dialogue, I have new appreciation for comedians and dialogue-heavy writers. Those people are so talented. Sometimes I act out dialogue I’ve written and I want to throw myself into the sun.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language?

Look. I took French for five years. But every time I try to speak French, one of my best friends looks like she wants to fight me. I am not great at languages other than English. I am positive that if I tried to write dialogue by myself, I would just resort to DeepL, or Google Translate, and nobody wants that. If I have to write in another language, I'm going to try and get a translator.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Are we counting works posted to ao3, or first fic ever? Because the first fic I ever posted to ao3 was for a podcast, Spirit Box Radio, that I should really relisten to at some point. But my first fandom I ever wrote for was Gravity Falls - the fic's still posted to Quotev, and I have reread it recently. It was a next-generation fic.

...At least younger me was having fun?

20. Favorite fic you’ve ever written?

How dare you ask me to pick? But seriously, probably pas de masque. I know it's cliche to say my most kudos'd fic, but I am super proud of my characterization of Gwen there, and getting to play with pre-canon Spider-Society and what it's like for someone to know they're doomed by the narrative in every other universe.

Okay, who do I know? @acaciapines, @nonbinarycollector, @sherbetflowers, @littlesilentrebel, @am-i-lie, @lilacthebooklover, @noelle-holi-gay, @marvelmaniac715! Please don't feel pressured to respond if you don't want to!

#snarky speaks #writing #ao3 #fanfic #spiderverse #hatchetfield #deltarune

[andie-cake]

fuck it *uncryptids your neferata* (aka, rehabilitated!neffie's character sheet)

Neferata Hidgens, formerly known as The Witchwood Bat-Child

17 years old

Still doesn't fully care about pronouns, but generally goes by she/her anyways

Once an infamous town menace that wreaked havoc on the streets of Hatchetfield at night, HFPD officers Sweetly and Bailey finally succeeded in capturing the Bat-Child. Unsure weather it'd be more appropriate to hand her off to a doctor or a vet, they enlisted the help of local kooky reclusive biology professor Henry Hidgens, figuring he'd just put her down for them. Instead, the professor saw a money-making opportunity, and offered to take her in with hopes that he could make a lucrative tourist trap out of charging people to get a glimpse of her. Instead, she starting picking up on his speech and taking a shine to his music (his one weak spot), and he abandoned his initial tourist trap idea in favor of raising the girl into a functioning member of society. Surely he can still gain fame and recognition from that, right? (putting the rest under a cut bc this bitch got long as shit)

Neffie's relationship with Hidgens is tough to pin down. Neffie sees him as something of a father figure, and Hidgens definitely does care about her. He keeps her healthy and tries to ensure that her education is up to snuff, and they bond over him playing music for her. But there's still a big part of him that strongly wants to make a profit off of her somehow, though he's never said as much out loud to her. But if someone wealthy approached him with a hefty offer for her, like say, enough money to fund a musical, he likely wouldn't be able to turn it down.

The big two things Neffie picked up from being rehabilitated by Hidgens are his speech patterns/mannerisms and his passion for musical theatre. This gothy bat girl speaks almost identically to Hidgens sometimes, namely when she's excited or impassioned over something. Very dramatic, very bombastic. And while her taste in musicals is definitely more diverse than Hidgens' (for one thing, she's actually willing to check out shows written after 1993), she definitely shares a lot of her favorites with him. Though her all-time fave is 42nd Street.

It's this appreciation for theatre that drives Neffie to try and audition for the Spring musical after being enrolled in Hatchetfield High (a decision wholeheartedly supported by Hidgens), and although she isn't cast, she is placed in charge of the soundboard. Which in turn, places her in the booth, in the company of one Ruth Flemming. They're awkward around each other at first, but once Neffie genuinely compliments Ruth's knowledge of the light stuff and calls her headgear cool (it's a big metal thing that fixes your teeth!!!), they become fast friends. Neffie is also pals with Richie and Pete through Ruth, but she still considers Ruth her number one best friend. They have sleepovers and listen to cast albums together :)

On the subject of high school, Neffie being enrolled in HF High ended up garnering a lot of attention. There had already been theories floating around about the Witchwood Bat-Child being in human custody, but her being enrolled into school fully confirmed them all and folks were divided. Some were scared, some were fascinated. The HFPD was pissed that Hidgens didn't just put her down, but they were also the ones who let Hidge keep her in the first place, so they have no one but themselves to blame for that one. Generally, Neffie is regarded with cautious optimism by most folks. She's not a town menace anymore and she's genuinely a pretty sweet kid, if a bit quirky. But like, she's still kinda scary-looking, and no one's quite sure if she still drinks blood.

The answer to that is yes, by the way, she absolutely still does have to consume blood to survive. She can generally get by fine for a time by eating red meat, but Hidgens still has to prick his fingers a lot to keep her nourished. It's not particularly efficient, but it's enough.

At least, it's enough for Neffie. Not so much for Nibblenephim, whom Neffie's deceased birth parents sold their souls to to become vampires. During her feral days living in the Witchwood, Neffie was a very passive servant of Nibbly's, her natural drive to drink blood being enough to keep him satisfied. But now that Neffie's going out of her way to drink blood as infrequently as possible, Nibbly is not happy with her. And well, Neffie belongs to him. Her soul has been in his possession from the second she was born. So if he wants to ramp up her blood cravings, compel her to attack people and drink their blood like in the old days, try and intimidate her via nightmares and visions, he can very well do that.

#this version of neffie only exists in SOME timelines btw #every other dimension she remains her normal cryptid self for all eternity #andie's hf ocs