What An Empty Epitaph That Is

I'm Courtney, 31, she/her, ace, and the coolest librarian in the Midwest! Some things I love: StarKid, Stranger Things, Percy Jackson, Steven Universe, The Hunger Games, Futurama, Animaniacs, The Legend of Zelda, A:TLA/Korra, Star Wars, LOTR. My librarian sideblog is libraryofthemuses

[setzappersto-pew]

Hatchetfield Music: Songs and Score

Hatchetfield Music: Songs and Score

An analysis of the songs and score of StarKid's Hatchetfield Universe

I spent too much time hyperfocusing on the music of StarKid's Hatchetfield series, and now you can too! I thought I'd share this Google doc I started awhile ago that details and analyzes every song and every bit of music in The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals, Black Friday, Nightmare Time, Nerdy Prudes Must Die, and Workin' Boys! Jeff Blim and Matt Dahan blew it out of the water, and I sing their praises thoroughly here. Hope you take a look!

Additionally, I made an analysis post for a StarKid rewatch on here on Tumblr that discusses Jeff's experimentation with musical genre and how he uses diegetic vs non-diegetic music. Check it out for more of my thoughts!

EDIT: As of April 27th 2024, when the Cinderella's Castle Kickstarter reached $425,000, Workin' Boys became available for all on YouTube instead of only for the 10nniversary backers, so I feel better having the timestamps and potential spoilers!

[autumn0689]

MK! I love her!

[tedspankoffski]

x

[hipsternumbertwo]

More Miss Halloween BTS

[dusteves]

Idk if this is a hot take or whatever but I think part of the reason Robin's coming out scene is so effective is actually because we as the viewer are put in the same position as steve of misreading their interactions and subsequently being totally fucking blindsided by the reveal.

If you're going into the season completely blind with no prior knowledge that Robin is a lesbian, like most of us did when it came out in 2019, the you're already sort of primed by narrative conventions to root for Robin and Steve to end up together, or at least expect them to. By s3 we know that steve is a Good Guy, and therefore he deserves a girlfriend. But we're not supposed to root for steve and nancy anymore, because nancy is with Jonathan now and Jonathan is also a Good Guy. So enter Robin, who is paired exclusively with steve for the entire season, and the solution becomes obvious.

And the thing is, they do seem to hit all the standard tropes for a romance arc. They have chemistry! They act like they don't like each other but they have funny banter. They hold hands during a tense moment. Dustin repeatedly encourages steve to go after her. Robin admits that she was obsessed with him in high school.

And then the reveal comes and it turns out there actually is a platonic explanation for everything, at least on robin's side. And even as a queer woman myself, when I watched it for the first time I was almost disappointed for a second, because I love steve and want good things for him.

And that's part of why it works so well for me, because it did piss people off (not everyone - iirc it was actually pretty well received at the time, but there were definitely factions of both shippers and reddit bros who hated it, some of which still remain in denial to this day) and because it works as a sort of meta commentary on what it's like to be a gay woman in real life even forty years later. Because unless you're openly and visibly queer, people will assume that you're available to any guy that's interested and jump to conclusions about your relationships with close male friends. Straight is automatically assumed as the default, and by keeping the audience in the dark about Robin's sexuality until the crucial moment, our own subconscious biases are exposed. There's nothing to suggest that she's gay before she says it, but equally there's nothing to suggest that she's straight, it's just the conclusion we jump to because that's what we've been trained to expect.

And with her coming out it's like she's telling us that actually she is her own character and she's not just here to be a love interest, and imo both Robin as a character and her relationship with steve are made all the stronger for it.

[smilychi]

[literallyidontwannadothis]

Joe Keery widening his stance unnaturally to lessen the height difference between him and Gaten and putting Dustin right at heart level on Steve is so important to me actually

Tell me that Dustin isn’t listening Steve’s heartbeat and then apologize because you’re wrong

[yenvengerberg]

NATALIA DYER as NANCY WHEELER Stranger Things, Season 5 Volume I

[slashergirlnancy]

Flamethrowers are best left to professionals. Or Nancy Wheeler.

[share-the-damn-bed]

JANCY + yelling in unison at steve

[scintss]

THE Steve Harrington face™

[cinematicnomad]

STRANGER THINGS ▸ 2.01 chapter one: MADMAX

[arip8228]

ANGELA IN MISS HOLLOWEEN CONFIRMED

[quirrelmorts]

[hipsternumbertwo]

Name a more iconic pair

[daily-starkid-girlies]

day 118. estelle from this could be on broadway

[daily-starkid-girlies]

day 117. charlotte brontë from edgar allan poe's murder mystery dinner party

[daily-starkid-girlies]

day 116. max jägerman from npmd (headcanon)

a headcanon submission from anon