#raw thoughts

The focus on love, unconditional, with no caveats, past and present is beautiful.

Their confessions to one another demonstrate a deep understanding of one another and it just feels like them so much that it made me cry in joy.

I know a lot of people are focused on the quotes from the People interview, but this quote from their interview with Variety sums up what I think is the most obvious writing choice here: Jonathan and Nancy need to separate themselves from their shared trauma to have any of hope of a relationship in the future.

To me, this makes it obvious that the plan is for them to chase their dreams after the final battle while loving and supporting each other in the way they can by doing what they need to on their own before coming back to one another, knowing what who they are and what they want without the pressure of shared trauma feeling like it’s forcing their hand, and then having a “I know what I want now, I want us, I choose us.” Moment.

Because that was the most in love, hopeful break up I’ve ever witnessed. And that’s not for nothing.

I don’t think I’m the easiest audience for musicals. I grew up listening to South Asian music, and to me, it almost always sounds richer, more textured than typical Broadway or West End styles. And with Western music in general, I usually need time (multiple listens) before it really clicks. So I walked into this with excitement, but also a bit of fear.

And yet… something worked immediately for me ! The gospel, jazz, and folk influences in the production created an atmosphere that felt alive and immersive. There was something raw and grounded about the music that made it easier for me to connect, even without that usual “familiarity” I tend to need.

Also, I come from a theatre background in Belgium, so I’m used to more text-based, interpretive performances. And I think that’s why Hadestown really spoke to me, not just as a musical, but as a piece of political storytelling.

What struck me the most is how the myth is used to critique capitalism. Hadestown is a world where industrialization, forced labor, and obedience are normalized — even glorified. People stop questioning, stop feeling, stop imagining. And in contrast, everything Persephone represents (spring, joy, nature, movement) is slowly erased. It’s not surprising that she ends up deeply unhappy. She feels like the embodiment of a world that is being suffocated.

I also really loved the contrast between Eurydice and Orpheus. Eurydice is grounded in material needs : survival, food, safety. Orpheus is a dreamer, almost disconnected from reality at times. Their love feels unexpected but also, opposite attracts.

The London casting added another layer that I found incredibly powerful. As of March 2026, the cast featured Marley Fenton as Orpheus, Bethany Antonia as Eurydice, Rachel Adedeji as Persephone, Alastair Parker as Hades, and Clive Rowe as Hermes, with the Fates played by Spike Maxwell, Melanie Bright, and Lauran Rae.

In the version I saw, most of the characters were Black, except Hades, who was played by a white actor. I don’t know if this was an intentional political choice, but visually, it created a striking dynamic. A system of labor and control embodied by racialized bodies, with power concentrated in a white figure. It added a whole new reading of the story, tying capitalism and racial structures together.

And Orpheus turning back… To me, it felt like something very intimate: self-doubt, fragile mental health, the inability to fully trust that you’re safe, that the person you love will be there, that things can actually work out. It’s that moment where fear wins over hope.

The ending's message that the story repeats itself again and again felt like a kind of infernal cycle. Domething that’s very hard to escape. It made me think of capitalism not just as a system, but as something we keep reproducing, even when we know it’s hurting us.

Endless, however, is my baby. It was the first album I had ever heard that had lines with a man loving another man. I wouldn't say my mind was blown at first, but I remember thinking—being uncomfortable. It was like I was at church being talked about, but my name was never mentioned.

It's not the gayest album ever, but me being in the closet and hearing someone be bisexual—how I always wanted to be—did something to me.

I remember hating how I couldn't fully connect with an artist ’cause they weren't queer. Frank was such an easy cop-out for me, but in return, he helped me find so much of myself.

Thank you, Frank, for helping me confirm something in myself and helping me feel.

there’s this moment when it clicks. when you realize you’ve been pouring way too much into a friendship that never really pours back. you’re the one checking in even though they seldom check in on you; trying to plan a trip but no one in the group chat actually responds; remembering the little details, and making sure they feel seen by listening to their rants. and at first, you convince yourself it’s fine, it’s just who you are. you’re the “caring” friend. but after a while, it starts to get tiring.

it’s a weird kind of loneliness—being surrounded by people you call friends, but still feeling like the effort is like a one-way street. it’s not supposed to feel like you’re auditioning for a role in someone’s life, right? and yet, there you are—burning your energy, your time, your heart—just to keep a connection alive that maybe they wouldn’t even notice if it drifted away. it’s like, when it’s their turn… it’s never quite the same…

and it’s not anger that hits you, not even bitterness, not really. it’s more like a quiet disappointment. a slow, steady ache when you realize they don’t chat back the way you chat them, they don’t show up the way you show up, they don’t think of you the way you think of them. it makes you wonder if maybe the love you carried in your heart for them was never equal to what they carried for you.

it’s funny… how giving so much can make you feel invisible at the same time.

Aedion Ashryver is an absolute emotional and moral powerhouse of the entire series.

The guy:

is loyal to the point of pain – literally and emotionally. In "QoS" when he knew he would be sentenced to death but still he wanted to die on his own terms and damn it, he almost succeeded! His determination to die with dignity, on his own terms, without mercy, without self-pity, without begging – THAT'S CHARACTER. He knew he had broken the rules of Adarlan. And seriously – he was one step away from leaving with such a bang that only Aelin could stop him at the last moment and change the course of history. And Aelin entered this scene. He had already accepted his fate. He wanted to die like a hero, but he is still alive and our beloved S J Maas allows him to be ridden even more. Now he has to live, fight, love, fail, torment himself… and grow as a human being. Because life is a harder road than death.

Carries tons of trauma with pride and jokes on his lips. 14 years old taking part in a historic battle? Put on his CV. Orphanhood and loss of family? No problem. Despite this, he still listened to others and acted for his beloved cousin even though he didn't know if she was alive at all, he was willing to die for her even before he knew she was alive,

created an internal, silent resistance movement before it was fashionable: LOSS

didn't have time to enjoy time his beloved cousin who definitly will makes his hair turn gray

lost his Blood Oath, Aelin,unknowingly, deprived him of the only dream he had for himself and despite everything he was proud to fight alongside Rowan, even though Aedion himself is a fucking legend

turns out that his mixed heritage is not just a part of his blood but actually half of it! And that from a warrior he's a fan of

met his Old Man, one of the last people connected to him by blood but hated him for leaving his Mother

unconscious humiliation by his beloved Aelin at the end of "EoS" That wasn't a plan. It was a continuation of his trauma - dressed up as "reason". And that with a woman he started to feel something for. Because let's be clear: he didn't want to be the "solution". He wanted to be loved. And what did he get? Duty. Again.

He deserves his own whole trilogy. He wanted to be loved unconditionally and once again he became a sword.

Kabhi khud se poochta hoon, kya meri koi galti thi, ya kuch aisa tha jo main badal sakta tha, par samajh hi nahi paaya.

Kabhi lagta hai move on kyun nahi ho raha, kya main itna hi nikamma hoon.

Phir yaad aata hai, kisi ka yaad aana kamzori nahi, yeh bas is baat ka saboot hai ke main bhi insaan hoon.

Sach kahun toh, shayad itna farq bhi nahi padta, shayad kuch dosti sirf ek mod tak likhi hoti hain, manzil tak nahi.

Par phir bhi, kabhi kabhi soch leta hoon, kya pata, waqt ko kab kya manzoor ho, kya badal jaye.

Par phir dheere dheere samajh aata hai, ke har cheez ko theek karna meri zimmedaari nahi hoti.

Kuch log yaadein ban kar reh jaate hain, saath ban kar nahi.