#an-yfu

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Richie and Paul are 100% cousins. they're firstly both madly autistic, they look the same for some reason (wonder why that is /sarc) and Paul just has the vibes of being one of the oldest cousins and Richie has baby cousin vibes

they'd vibe in the corner at family gatherings and Paul would lovingly sit there in silence and listen to Richie talk about attack on titan (much more preferable than joining the rest of the family to watch the 2006 hit film mamma mia!)

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My favourite parts of TGWDLM:R Part 4: Inevitable

This is the moment Emma realises. When Paul is holding her close, like when he did when he'd just saved her from an alien. In a position that should make her feel at ease, and she's in the most danger she's ever been in. The serenity is clear on Paul's face - he has her now, she is safe, she'll be a part of the hivemind soon and they'll be happy together. And Emma looks Fucking. Terrified.

Paul is happy now, he's blowing her a kiss! Isn't that what Emma wanted? She wanted her to kiss him! And yet as she's being blown down, she's recoiling away in abject terror - this is not her Paul. This is not what she wants.

Her Paul would hold her gently, not grab her arms and force her to dance. I feel like this is Pokey kind of preparing Emma to be the puppet she's about to become, but she's the one who got away and so just needs to be tortured a tad before she becomes a part of the hivemind.

In a world this could be seen as very romantic - the stereotypical lean back at the end of the dance and kiss. This situation just flips it on it's head as being murdered and your body being zombiefied as part of a muscial alien hivemind is the antithesis of romance.

Now this is horrifying. Paul is walking towards Emma with a stance and gait that can only be described as predatory. He looks so determined and downright evil. Pokey really comes through here - Emma is the last survivor, his last prey, and he just got to have her. And so his possession of Paul to walk towards the woman he has/had feelings for in such an angry, dominating and predatory way just removes any last shred of hope for Emma. In another universe, they could be happy. In this one, he is her murderer.

shit that was serious why am I writing an essay

I saw a comment on a YouTube video this monring about how Emma is not seeing the audience when the spotlight comes on, but Blinky. Who else would be watching Pokey's performance? It makes a lot of sense to me, but then so does her seeing the audience. Anyway the way the spotlight comes on and Lauren's guttural screams are unmatched and portray Emma's horror so, so well.

It's Paul's face here for me. He looks so eerily happy. And of course he does, it's not Paul. Paul is dead. And what is left of him is a part of a hivemind that forces him to be happy and sing and dance. It's so creepy.

I have so much admiration for everyone who worked on this!! IT'S SO GOOD!! Also Jon sounds SO. GOOD. in Let It Out and Inevitable, he's improved so much since 2018!!

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My favourite parts of TGWDLM:R Part 3: Let It Out

This is by far my favourite song, both in the 2018 and 2025 versions

Just the fact that the meteor is Pokey's face

The way that Paul is starting to join in with the choreo, and how just after this he is trying to shake himself out of this - he has to constantly remind himself of how much he hates this and doesn't want it because if he doesn't Pokey will get to him.

I just love the way his eyes are so wide here, and how the shock and disgust at himself is so prevalent

I think the way Paul's movements become the choreography for the rest of the hivemind is just so well and creepily done. Paul is just trying to walk and get this alien out of him, and yet the hivemind copying him and turning a simple act into the thing he hates the most is just so creepy

NEW LYRICS NEW LYRICS!!!! I think they fit so well here, and both Jon and Mariah sound incredible here (well I mean they all do but they're the two I can hear the best here). I think the addition of the lyrics adds to the emphasis of how creepy this entire situation is, especially as Paul is singing them

This is honestly one of my favourite shots in the entire thing. The lighting, the camera work, THE ACTING??? Jon manages to perfectly encapsulate how desperate and afraid Paul is, and yet the way Pokey is affecting him is giving him this very strange sense of curiosity that just comes across in this moment. Would the world be better if the hivemind took over? Would Paul be at peace? Is this peace, this serenity, what he wants?

Perfect move from Starkid to make this the Hatchetfield/Nightmare Time theme. 10/10 no notes

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My favourite parts of TGWDLM:R Part 2: Beginning of Act 2 - America's Great Again

The absolute pain Paul is going through as his best friend dies in his arms IS SO WELL PORTRAYED by Jon Matteson!! He does so well here. I was unable to get a good screenshot of it but his face as Bill is shot and falls onto him is SO GOOD. And the audience is so silent and it's just so, so impactful.

BACK TO SILLY this entire bit is so funny. Emma and Ted are just trying their best and Hidgens is just a creature

Just the little hip bounce as the cymbals clash

I saw the west end production and I am forever glad that the proshot has the same impact when the lights come on at the beginning of workin' boys IT IS SO PERFECT

perfection still

I'm a little sad that the 'that's what she said' bit from the west end production wasn't here but idc cos I still found it really funny

i could go on for ages about this. THIS. IS. TERRIFYING. idk how Joey did it but this is just incredible, it so perfectly encapsulates the horror of the hive mind - Ted wasn't a great guy before, but his corpse and whatever that is left of him is evil now and he gets absolutly no say in this, and the way Joey moves so robotically in Ted's first moments as part of the hivemind just show how much control Pokey now has. This is also one of the moments where the lighting is just unrivalled. Perfection.

The slo mo is also just incredible. And the fact it's Ted between Emma and Paul? Ted is still wanting Paul to be his friend and so he's taking him away from Emma, a woman who he doesn't like and doesn't know, and who he makes uncomfortable. It just adds an extra layer of 'oh shit' when you think about the implications. The army may be tearing them apart, but it's Ted, someone that they know, who is keeping them apart.

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My favourite parts of TGWDLM:R Part 1: Act 1

I am doing this in multiple parts to make it easier for myself

THE SPINNY CHAIRS!!!

The way Ted rolls in I personally think is absolute GOLD

I love that Greenpeace Girl (Harmony Jones) and Homeless Man share this part of La dee dah dah day, idk why it just tickles my brain

PAUL'S FACE. He looks like he's either dissociated or trying not to throw up

I didn't forget :(

I didn't notice this at first but just the way Hidgens goes BLEH at the mention of Clivesdale (fuck 'em)

The absolute horror on Paul's face as Hidgens slaps the blue shit on his shoulder. I adore how Hidgens just does not give one. "OH i can probably get some more blue shit out of Sam's brain nevermind"

Just Paul's face here

The absolute power move of using your own intestines as an air guitar

MAKE THEM KISS MAKE THEM KISS

Honourable mention: "join us and die BYE BYE"

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nick and charlie are arthur and merlin reincarnate except nick was able to take an am I gay quiz and accept his bisexuality whereas arthur couldn't cos he didn't have the internet

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happy pride month to my role models