mazily

mostly because that means when he shows up in river city and hears that Marian the Librarian seduced a secure and permanent position out of the elderly town miser, he would think: ah, another creature like me.

(not that “sadder and wiser girl” isn’t a phenomenal song on its own, but it takes on a different tenor if it’s game recognizing game rather than HH just refusing to go after nice, church-going girls.)

plus, leaning into that characterization would mean that marian is sadder and wiser, did in fact befriend (or seduce) specifically to have access to books and then later, to keep accessing them; she’s a con man too, just on a lesser scale due to lack of opportunity.

[Harold Hill gazes meaningfully at Marian, then looks back to Winthrop]

…and the vet was like, “You know the thing with geriatric cats is—” and I was like, “What do you mean, geriatric?! It’s a little baby, look at her!" Kumail Nanjiani: Night Thoughts (2025)

I've gone. Not one for goodbyes, I thought it best to slip out quietly. Love to you all, Giles.

just gotta throw my all-time favourite Giles scene into the mix