#and of course the avpm gifs

[starkid-innit]

Starkid Innit Setlist Discussion (firebringer)

Single digit days to go omg... right time to chat about firebringer. Here's the links to the previous discussion posts:

avpm | mamd | avps | starship | hmb | avpsy | twisted | ani | tto

General thoughts on firebringer: not one of my faves tbh HOWEVER the soundtrack is absolutely stellar and I love all the percussion!! This show has such a cool and unique sound and I love that for her <3

What would be your absolute top choice 'it probably won't happen but I will go feral if they perform this' song?

Probably together? I really love that song but I remember meredith and lauren talking about how difficult it was to perform so it's probably a lost cause... makes sense though I run out of breath literally every time I sing that song

Also it's not a song but..... MEREDITH ON THE BONGOS PLEASE I AM BEGGING YOU!!! It doesn't even need to be firebringer just add the bongos to any song you fancy I just need to see the queen in action

2. What would be your realistic top choice? Like you'd love to see this song AND you think they might actually perform it?

CLIMATE CHANGE!!! I adore this song and they performed it at jangle ball so there's definitely a chance we'll get to see it

And those harmonies?? Incredible

3. Which songs from firebringer do you think will actually make it on the setlist?

Like I said, climate change is a definite possibility

What if would also be my personal pick for a Lauren solo but in my tto post I said she might sing naked in a lake so I'm really contradicting myself here

Jemilla's lament maybe? Coolest girl is probably more likely for meredith but they might decide to mix it up. I think I'd cry at that song though

Oh and of course it's p likely we'll get a shoutout to the iconic meme queens

[the-gotham-city]

Lauren Lopez in StarKid Productions

[hatchetfieldtheories]

Religion in Black Friday - Part 1: Christology

So a while back I received this ask regarding Wiggly stating he was being “born” at Christmas, which is a neat little story element in itself, but it did get me thinking more about the way religion is used in Black Friday. This is an unfortunate side effect from having a degree in Religions and Theology that never gets used.

Though I’ll admit while other people on my course did their essays on considerably more serious topics, such as Sacred Spaces, or religion and gender, I did a lot of assignments on religion in popular culture, Harry Potter as a Christian allegory, religion in Doctor Who, using an episode of the Monkees as a comparison to evolving Catholic values in the UK... you know... the usual!

“And we all know, that God, is a...”

Starkid shows have always been very blatant about making fun of the concept of god or religion in their shows. In the AVPM series, referring to the Wizard God; in Starship referring to Dead God, and in The Trail to Oregon - “Oh, so this is God’s fault!” But it does go a bit further in BF. Not only do they refer to Wiggly as “a god”, we see the use of other, notably Christian themes running throughout.

This post isn’t to share anything new or revolutionary about Hatchetfield or Wiggly, this is not a theory, nor a commentary on Starkid’s relationship with religion. This is just a self-indulgent analysis of just how theological Black Friday gets, that I know a few people were keen on.

Disclaimer 1: It’s been quite a while since I have written anything like this, so I hope this at least ends up interesting and legible!

Disclaimer 2: As much as I would love it that this was all in Starkid's heads as they wrote Black Friday, I can't really imagine it is, they're not writing an allegory of any kind. They certainly did use a lot of theological imagery, but there will be cases where I am probably pushing the boat out a little. I hope that while it may not all be an accurate reading of what Starkid intended, it is still interesting!

Christology

Wiggly exists in a void, outside of our reality, and is able to influence and interact with the people of Hatchetfield. Whilst he himself is in the Black and White, he uses his effigy to create chaos around the world. Though we learn from Xander that the Wiggly doll isn’t merely a tool of communication, nor a minion like the Sniggles. No, the doll is Wiggly himself.

Now, I know when I initially posted my idea of doing a “religion in Black Friday” post, I was told there was interest especially from those who don’t really have a background in religion. Because of this, I am going to do a bit of explaining of some key concepts in Christian theology, so if you already know these - please bear with.

Not all Christian faiths see Jesus the same way, and while this isn’t the space to go into all of them (there are many), I am going to focus on probably the oldest debate amongst Christian theologians, is Jesus and God one and the same?

A long time ago, Constantine the First decided that there needed to be an official consensus on whether Jesus was God, and so the First Council of Nicea was born. This is Christology, and is one of the beliefs that became representative of the differences in Christian denominations.

The crux of it came down to two arguments:

1 - Jesus is divine in the same way God is, and is in essence God himself, co-eternal. (Alexander’s argument)

2 - God’s divinity is of a superior nature, as Jesus has a beginning, and is granted Godship. (Arius’s argument)

The outcome of the Council was that Jesus is co-eternal and divine, one with the Father. Of the same substance, or “consubstantial”.

There was also a third side to the debate which would involve looking deeper at old greek words that were difficult to determine even then, but can very generally be described as “Jesus is of a similar substance to God.”

Back to Black Friday, and it is evident through some of the language used in the show, that if we were to have a “Council of Hatchetfield” the outcome would likely be the same. Linda refers to the Wiggly doll as a vessel of wiggly’s essence, so that which is inside the dolls is made of the same substance. Xander takes this further as we saw above, and outright says the Father is of the Son and the Son is of the Father. They are one and the same, the Wiggly Doll is consubstantial with Wiggly.

Equally, when they discuss the use of the dolls for bringing about ‘his reign of terror’, two important phrases are used:

“Stop the birth of a god”

“When Wiggly comes”

Whatever is coming through the portal is not a being of merely similar substance to Wiggly, nor is it one that has a beginning, granted his divine favour. No, it is Wiggly. Linda Monroe and her new exciting religion she just started definitely subscribe to the Alexandrian school of thought regarding Wiggly’s essence.

Next time - on Tazzy’s Tin Foil Hat Hour: Religion edition - Linda Monroe’s motherhood and visitation from a frightening messenger!

[wormtitty]

holy shit. first of all, i am so lucky to have a wonderful best friend with me on this trip across the country! i drove with her all around the city, stopping first at the new HP themed coffee shop and then to the famed Santa Monica pier!

and then it was time to see Starkid, and the cast of A Very Potter Musical on their 10 year reunion show. words cannot describe the way i am feeling right now. i’ve loved the story of Harry Potter since i was 8 years old - and when i discovered AVPM at age 12, my life changed! that musical renewed my love for comedy, music, and the HP franchise. i watched that show constantly, and spent hours making DVDs with every clip on them so i could watch it any time.

the following musicals only made me love Starkid more. they’re silly shows, but the messages are so good: you’re not alone, true friends stick with you, working together is better than going alone, and the most important one - everything ends.

i’m now close to 22, and i just got to see the people i grew up watching on YouTube in person. dreams really do come true! their voices are amazing and of course the show was fantastic (also dylan saunders grabbed my hand on the way by me so that was awesome)! the Harry Potter musicals will always ALWAYS be something i cherish and i can’t believe that i got to watch the cast perform the songs live.

[antisocial-wings]

Meeting the Solve It Squad cast (aka the coolest days of my life)

*note: I went two different days to two different shows hence why I’m wearing different clothes in some of these pics.  Also sorry for some of the photos being a little grainy, it was kind of dark so I had to do a lot of editing*

Ashley Clements: I know we all thrive off of Ashley’s sass on social media but she is also so so so sweet.  She complimented not one but both of my outfits both show days (”well you’re just a little fashionista aren’t you!”) and despite feeling a little under the weather she put on a FANTASTIC performance.  Just all around the most delightful person ever.  Also, how is she so pretty I’d like to know.  EDIT: I don’t know how I forgot to mention this but after the first show we saw, my friend and I were standing on the street outside the theater comparing pictures and the cast walked right by us and Ashley pointed at some discarded bagels laying in the street and said “ooh free snacks??” and I think I’ll never forget that

Brian Rosenthal: I know everybody talks about how good he is with playing like five different characters at the same time but holy shit how does he do it.  Also he’s an incredibly nice dude (which I’m sure doesn’t come as a surprise).  When I went to take a picture with him I had to shift all my stuff into my other hand and I was like “sorry I’m a mess” and he was like “it’s okay, I too am a mess” like okay you super nice talented person thank you for the validation

Gabe Greenspan: THE NICEST YOUNG MAN EVER.  He took the time to ask me my name and introduce himself to me properly before our conversation.  He was really flattered by all the compliments.  He spent a lot of time gushing about how he started off just a fan of these people (Team Starkid that is, specifically AVPM) and just how incredible it is to be able to work with some of them now and how unreal it all still is for him.  He’s still as much a fan as the rest of us and I love him for it.  Also, everything about this dude in the show - his physical comedy, his timing, his line delivery - is so fucking funny.  Seriously I was laughing so hard I was close to tears pretty much every time this man opened his mouth.

Corey Lubowich: Alright Corey is way too underrated in this fandom.  I didn’t see a lot of fans talking to him or taking pictures even though he did a fantastic job directing this show.  Not to mention he’s an incredibly nice guy, even though I only got to have a quick conversation with him the first show night I was there.

Lauren Lopez: I was intimidated as hell to meet her because like, it’s Lauren Lopez.  But it’s easy to loosen up after you meet her because she’s just so chill.  She was really nice and made sure to take the time to talk to everyone that wanted to talk to her even though she seemed a little tired (she was in high demand because again, she’s Lauren).  Super kind and down to earth lady.  After we’d finished wishing her luck on the final show and she was starting to walk away we mentioned how soon she would get to go home and see Diane and she swiveled back around immediately and her eyes lit up with so much excitement and anticipation like what a loving devoted mother

Joey Richter: Alright listen, we all know Joey’s the biggest ray of sunshine this world has ever seen but I cannot stress enough that he is the BIGGEST RAY OF SUNSHINE THIS WORLD HAS EVER SEEN.  Seriously he was swamped with fans trying to meet him but he made sure to take plenty of time with every single one of them.  He’s so very genuine and kind like holy fuck dude how are you so wonderful.  For the second show I was in the front row and during Scrags’ sandwich trick he accidentally flung sliced cheese at my feet and had to crawl under my legs to retrieve it.  After the show he was apologizing to me for it but like dude it was a delight feel free to throw cheese at me anytime.  Also, if you can’t tell by the gif he gives the WORLD’S BEST HUGS LIKE OF COURSE HE DOES