#holy musical batman is a love story

[marvelmaniac715]

My theory of what the latest Starkid musical is about based on my own deductions and past Starkid productions (huh, that rhymes):

Based on the words in the top left corner and the style of Bryce’s clothing, it is very easy to deduce that this musical will be medieval inspired, but I can dig deeper. Bryce’s outfit does not look as put together as a typical princess gown, so I’m guessing that our protagonist is wearing armour, if I had to nail down a time period I’d say Ancient Greece or Rome, making her a gladiator. That would already be a fascinating musical, but I’m going further, stay with me. As someone very rightly pointed out in a comment/reblog that I can’t quite remember, the text used for the date resembles the 1980s movie Labyrinth, which plays into Starkid’s love of nostalgia… we’re getting close. Starkid’s musicals are filled with nostalgia - classic Disney (Twisted), Harry Potter (AVPM trilogy), Star Wars (Ani), Batman (Holy Musical B@tman), classic video games (Trail To Oregon), classic horror/sci-fi (Hatchetfield series), VHS/classic stories (VHS Christmas Carol) - but what do most of these also have in common? They are, to borrow a word from the latest Hatchetfield musical, ‘nerdy’. So, what do we have here? A team that prizes both nostalgia and nerdiness, creating a musical about a woman in armour, perhaps a gladiator. We also know that Team Starkid are returning to parodies after Hatchetfield, returning to their roots you might say. This has led me to one conclusion… the next musical produced by Team Starkid will be… a DnD parody. Think about it! It’s nerdy, it’s nostalgic, and it’s hot right now because of the recent Honour Among Thieves movie making more people interested in the game, and Stranger Things as well - a Starkid member was in a Stranger Things parody recently (was it Jaime?) so yeah. That’s my best theory, and no matter what this musical is actually about, I’ll love it, and Bryce will rock her first true lead role, she deserves this.

Edit: I just want to date the release of this post just in case my theory is correct so I can show people this post and be like “See? I’m psychic!” So yeah, this post was released on Saturday 23rd March 2024, around 11 pm, and this edit was made on Sunday 24th March at precisely 13:54 pm. Also I want to tag @the-real-team-starkid just in case they see this :).

[dg-outlaw]

"Holy Childhood Trauma, Batman!"

Okay, let's get into it. *spoilers ahead*

X-Men '97: Episode 5 - Remember It

So without boring everyone with yet another recap as every nerd fandom outlet has that covered, I want to highlight all the things that really impacted me with this episode.

The animation team, storyboard artists, and directing for this episode.

I love how this series has captured the essence and style of the original 90s series, but has amped up the actions sequences to an 11, 12, 13, or 20! It's been a hot minute since I saw the original series, but I just don't recall many truly badass anime-esque action sequences from the OG series. And while X-Men has always been more of a socio-political and interpersonal drama, it's always cool to see your favorite characters use their powers in unique ways and this was Gambit's episode. I also love the addition of tears in many of the faces of characters during key moments. It's a minor thing, but emphasizing them just shows the gravity of the emotions the characters are facing. Also, special mention to episode 1 as well with Cyclops' intro and the ending battle in the sentinel graveyard. This series is what we all wanted back in the 90s and honestly, I'd be fine if comic book adaptations were more in animation form than live-action. CGI and VFX can be cool, but having characters do insane, gravity defying things like in this episode without looking janky is so awesome.

The usage and variation of the X-Men theme.

In both these scenes (above) the X-Men theme is played, but in vary different ways and I love when a score or soundtrack can enhance the mood of a scene or just help tell a story or convey a mood/emotion. In the first, we see Gambit and Rogue heading into battle and the score is slowed down and just has this serious tone to it. We're not having fun. This is war and we've got our game faces on. The second is the traditional theme and fits the tone as Gambit is just showing off and being a badass. IDK. I'm not a student of music, but I still love this stuff and how even the same music can be varied to convey different moods.

The impact and stakes.

Without getting too political (even though X-Men is all about politics and social issues), it was hard to not feel an extra impact by this episode's destruction of Genosha given the events taking place overseas in Palestine (as well as so many other countries that don't get as much news coverage). Again, trying to keep this to X-Men, but seeing the mass loss of innocent life (even in a cartoon) in such a quick and brutal way just sent my mind there and it was hard to not tear up thinking about the real loss of innocent life in our world (but without superheroes to intervene). Not to mention, I was already prepared for the loss of Gambit thanks to being on the internet and not watching new content the second it drops.

Honestly, this episode felt like an epic finale given the gut punch of emotions, the action, and the destruction. I know there are many theories that this could/will be reversed or altered via time travel, especially with the presence of the Watcher and Cable's attempt to warn his mother, Madelyne Pryor, but narratively I hope we sit with the weight of what happened in this episode. Selfishly, I want it fixed yesterday but I know that if that were to happen it would minimize the stakes and take away from the emotional weight of this episode. Also, the X-women are going through it this season. First, Storm, then Jean, and now Rogue.

The Ending and Saying Goodbye

So, as mentioned above I had Gambit's death spoiled and while I hate that I still wasn't prepared. As I said, I was already dealing with emotions at seeing the destruction of Genosha, but when it came for Gambit's end I was falling down onto the ground even more. Add in the rest of the X-Men at home, only able to watch from TV, devasted and powerless, and then Rogue's emotional (Death of Superman-style) goodbye as the episode faded to black... I still can't watch this scene or think about it without getting emotional all over again.

That said, to all the kids who thought I was lame for picking to play as Gambit on the playground instead of then fan-favorite Wolverine like everyone else, this episode and his epic goodbye was just amazing. I think anyone wanting to do Gambit justice in a film or solo movie/series should watch this episode and take notes. While most of us hope to die peacefully in our sleep at a ripe old age, I think going out like a total badass hero is a close second and Gambit achieved that. I'm sure it'll get fixed eventually, but I think Genosha (when they rebuild) should have the Magneto and Xavier statues back up, but also have a giant one of Gambit as well.

And speaking of Magneto, having him have flashes of his childhood and embracing the Morlocks (especially Leech) at the end was just more piled on emotional damage... and apparently this is just the tip of the iceberg for this season according to the writer/showrunner. I guess the writers know their audience is probably mostly 80s and 90s kids who grew up with Bambi, Land Before Time, NeverEnding Story, Gremlins, and all the other emotionally damaging "kid" content we were exposed to back in the day. Do I need this level of trauma or PTSD as an adult? No. But I'll keep watching.

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - a new #1 for me from Thailand

Nov 2022 Wk 4

Being a highly subjective assessment of one tiny corner of the interwebs. Organized by which ones (in each category) I’m enjoying the most.

Ongoing Series - Thai

609 Bedtime Story (Fri WeTV) 1&2 of 11 - Apparently VIPs get the next episode early. So I watched both. It’s a good story and a great set up and it opens with one of my favorite under appreciated Thai actors: Plustor (as Vee) in a side bartender romance with younger Game. Sunshine bisexual himbo + older tsundere = YES! Gimme! Main character, Mum, is your bog-standard player. (I weirdly love how they translate clubs & bars as “pub” in Thailand - and yes, I get that it ties to the history of the area.) Kinda fun street fight. NO SINGING. Game is BL’s new bisexual king! I will brook no arguments on this matter. Omg kisses already? This is a well paced story! OhmFluke man, can’t knock the visuals, their eye connection and sympathetic chemistry work is good. I never believe they wanna bone but I do believe them falling in love. ALL HAIL QUEEN MINT. 

Between Us (Sun iQIYI) 4 of 12 - This is such a fantastic show. I’m so glad they got OhmFluke back to play sides and support roles, it’s really making the found family aspect shine, especially in contrast to Win’s real family. This one is very complicated and deep and kind of modern. Very much the opposite of UWMA but in a good way. WATCH ALONG HERE.

My School President (Fri YT) 1 of 10 - it’s Love Sick + Korea and Japan's influence. Yes, we’ve seen it all before, but this is me: I never met a high school BL I didn’t want to grant a fair shake. At the very start we get self with a whistle and NO SINGING. Yay! Fantastic beginning. Our tiny music club president/idiot is definitely giving me Noh vibes & our suave student president definitely giving me Phun vibes - bonus this time no girlfriends! It moves this out of Love Sick arena, which was all chaos bisexuals, and into just completely gay. I’m happy with that and I like the dancing and the marriage on his mind. New candidates for one braincell friendship group from GMMTV (they love this archetype). Tinn is already pining and so completely gone. On a completely different aside, I really want a lesbian romance between Gun’s maa and the principle. I have a tiny ship sailing off to one side. 

Ai Long Nhai (Mon iQIYI)10 of 12 - holy crumbs outta nowhere, Batman. Lots of relationship chat not enough shirtlessness, but since I’ve been binging Oh! My Sunshine Showering Night it’s no problemo. Also yes, Nahi does look and act a lot like Joanan, Ai totally ended up dating his mother. 

Remember Me (Sun Gaga) 8 of 12 - Champ’s storyline is dull, although I like the actor. Yay, JaFirst got together!! Cute line, “can we skip being friends and just be in love instead?” LOVE THEM. Please can we take Mean out of that wig now? Why are the straight’s so boring? The Name stuff continues to upset me. 

I Will Knock You (Fri Gaga) 3 of 12 - When these two are sweet together, they are really very sweet and I actually kind of like it. I think Noey uses ter because he’s younger, and doesn’t want to use phi. 

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

My Tooth Your Love (Taiwan Fri Viki) 9 of 12 - while 609 and Between Us are v good, this is currently my favorite BL airing by a mile. The conversation between the young one and the bar owner made me hoot with laughter. “Are you trying to speak the language of adults?” probably one of the BL’s best put-downs. All the dialogue really: “Are you gonna make him tie himself in a red bow and send himself to you?“ “That’s nice. Can I choose another color?” It’s so fucking cute. The courting with food, and everybody taking photographs of how happy the dentist is. I can’t even with this show. Add the cutest smiles kisses, this is GREAT. I did in fact clap. 

Choco Milk Shake (Korea Strongberry Tues YT) 9 of 11 - Man, this show really makes me laugh so hard. Especially the cat character. I love how they called out the fact that they actually have customers for a change. Jealous Milk made me cackle so hard it scared the actual cat on my lap. How are they going to end this happy? In Strongberry we trust. Just repeat the mantra ABL, just keep repeating it. 

Eternal Yesterday AKA Eien no Kino (Japan Thurs Gaga) 7 of 8 - It takes me a lot to work up the courage to watch this show on Fridays. It’s so sad and traumatizing. But it’s also so good I can’t stop. I have to watch Tooth on either side of it to comfort myself. All that to say, it’s as we all expect: Michan is holding so hard onto Koichi that he has anchored him from death through shear force of will. Also… SWITCHES? Although, does it count if it’s necrophilia? Asking for a friend. 

Oh! My Assistant (Korea Thurs Viki) 1-2 of 8 - This has a very JBL feel (including the title), don’t get mad if I get confused. Anygay, this is a very silly show that acts like it comes from a very silly yaoi. Out gay younger seme (we stan) pretending to be tsundere is smitten by chaos bi uke puppy. And they gave us a very interesting new take on crash into me. It’s racy but in that way Korean does racy, like Love & Leashes. Cheeky racy. 

Happy Ending Romance (Korea Thurs Gaga) 3-4 of 8 - This is such a complicated show about profession, ego, reputation, safety, and trust, but not much about romance. Maybe it’s because I’m so used to Leo portraying evil (see most of his guest MV’s and half of VIXX’s) but I can’t trust his character, and I’m not sure if I’m meant to. Is that the romance? Or is this a romance about an editor’s love for a writer’s work? Or for the writer himself? And is there a difference? Meanwhile, I’m getting a bad feeling about the ending of this one. And yet... How much did I love the dialogue around love and possession? So much. 

It’s Airing But I’m Not Watching It

War of Y (Thai Gaga) 20 eps - it’s just all too much for me.

2 Moons 3 (Thai Mon ??) 10 eps - Possibly a future binge watch. Rumor is it’s banal.

Love Bill  (Vietnam Sat YT) - Bah Vinh is back but I’m too distracted. Also there’s a lot of fund raising stuff going on. I’ll wait and binge.

The Star Always Follow You (Vietnam YT) - same Team RL peeps we have seen before (Sunshine, Stupid) 

Till the World Ends (Thai YT) 10 eps - ?

Why You... Y Me? (Thai Weds YT) 10 eps - It's not primarily a BL, but another meta show about BL shipping, with side BLs. @heretherebedork is watching it, ask them about it. 

In Case You Missed It

To Sir With Love AKA Khun Chai (16 eps) seems to have ended HAPPY! This is a soap opera so next time I have a day off I may binge and trash watch.

GAP the series (Sat YT) is a classic office set romance. WATCH IT! It’s GL and this studio needs our support! I’m enjoying it but not chronicling my journey. (Also, the stairs are back!)

I decided to binge watch Oh! My Sunshine Showering Night. What a wild ride. 

Next Week Looks Like This:

Dec 9: Semantic Error movie (Viki) - the repackage, rumored to have some added footage

2022 still to come?

Dec 19: Chains of Heart (movie? theaters?) trailer Suspense thriller about a forest ranger, smugglers, memory loss, and lost love. Stars Haii (Cirrus in TT2) and Poppy (Porpla in YYY). Adapted from a Y-novel of the same name by TJ Tommy. I don’t know if this is still releasing or if C19 impacted it. Delayed until Feb 2023.

This Week’s Crimes Against Fashion

Between Us punishing their crumbs. 

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

I LOVE HIM. (609) 

I love them! (Between Us). 

Magic crumbs (Ai Long Nhai) 

Truth (Ai Long Nhai) 

Cats.

Me.

Also me. 

(last week) 

[disastergenius]

Celebrating 15 years of Team Starkid with my (current) ranking of all of their shows and brief thoughts on them.

VHS Christmas Carol

I don't know how this became my favorite. The music is top tier, I've liked every version of it.

I was initially nervous to watch it because I wasn't sold on the original format, but it grew on me.

Also it's the second best adaptation of A Christmas Carol (the best is still the Muppet Christmas Carol)

2. A Very Potter Musical

My first ever Starkid show.

I watched it with my sister on our very old computer. I was in maybe 6th grade and had become quite obsessed with musicals and Harry Potter, so it perfectly combined my interests.

I truly was not totally sold on it just because 6th grade me was not prepared for all the cursing and the dirty jokes (6th grade me was a very different person) but Granger Danger fully hooked me

I still hold that Granger Danger is the best Starkid song, i do not care that it gets (over)played all the time. I also love that they keep having to come up with new ways to perform it (my favorite/the best being the LeakyCon one with Meredith directing the rest of the cast who only half-remember it)

Definitely ranks high just because it was the first and nostalgically I love it so much

3. Trail to Oregon

It's so fun as a concept and one of the few shows I like that really uses audience participation and makes it work.

Joey credited as "Everyone Else" and every shot with Clark in the background

I like the smaller cast, it's such a feat to run a show like that with 6 cast members

4. A Very Potter Sequel

it's ranked 4th but it probably actually ties with Trail to Oregon

I watched it after AVPM (so my second starkid show) and it did not disappoint

I do think it is stronger than AVMP for most of it

I quote Draco a lot

5. Twisted: The Untold Story of a Royal Vizier

Definitely my favorite parody they've done. There's a great video that breaks down why it works so well: they've nailed the style.

Around the same time I first watched Twisted was also around my Wicked phase so that helped a lot.

Dylan Saunders knocks out it out of the park as Ja'far, he puts so much depth into the role. It works as an actor and for the part and helps a lot of the humor since Ja'far is the straight man of the show.

The entire soundtrack slaps including the bonus demos

6. Nerdy Prudes Must Die

The songs are great

The production value on their shows has gone up exponentially, and they make good use of it. The effects are so so good

I've never been more uncomfortable as when the words "dirty girl soup" were first said

7. Black Friday

probably tied with NPMD but

I think plot-wise it is better than NPMD, and overall so are the songs. I think maybe the live version that's on youtube is what makes it slightly below NPMD because everyone was sick so it sounds very different between the live and recorded.

the garland and lights becoming wiggly is peak set design

I think it has some of the most memorable songs

the return of Dylan Saunders and his lovely ballads

Take Me Back is a top tier love song for Starkid

8. Starship

Probably the 3rd Starkid show I saw

Joey Richter absolutely sells the performance (he's not carrying it because the whole cast is great) and is fantastic as the lead

puppets! so many puppets!

9. Holy Musical B@tman

my previous exposure to Batman at this point had been the 60s Adam West TV show so really this is like the spiritual successor of that, so honestly i was totally unfazed by the number of puns, I just assumed that was how Batman media was

Jeff Blim as Sweet Tooth is great, but I also love Joey Richter's in the Apocalyptour

"you got my hopes up so high, then mugged and shot them in an alleyway!" i quote an unreasonable amount

10. The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals

tbh I did not super like the show when I first watched it but it grew on me overtime. I think i really started to enjoy it when I went back to watch it after they announced Black Friday was going to be a sequel

11. A Very Potter Senior Year

it's so long guys

I think Joey Richter is the best part of it, Sidekick was fantastic

i do love that they got basically everyone they could to come back and do it

most of the callbacks work really well and make it fun

12. Ani: A Parody

fully gonna admit I haven't seen the full show itself, but I do really like the music

it is truly in the Star Wars spirit

13. Firebringer

I really wish I liked this show more, I think it's a fun concept and overall was fun

the opening number is really good musically

i think the humor and the unnecessary cursing didn't really work for me

14. Me and My Dick

I just think overall this show isn't to my taste but it's quite fun

[moviebracket]

One group of polls will go up each day and polls will be a week long! Submissions will remain open through the end of the first round, and I'll add some more first round groups depending on submission numbers! Apologies for the brief absence, I had some personal stuff going on.

Movies that lose by smaller margins may have a chance to return to the bracket at the end of Round 1.

Round 1 Group A

Lilo & Stitch (78%) vs Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio (22%)

Pan's Labyrinth (53%) vs Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers (47%)

Legally Blonde (96%) vs The Last Temptation of Christ (4%)

Brother Bear (59%) vs Kubo and the Two Strings (41%)

Round 1 Group B

Stardust (47%) vs Heathers (53%)

The Batman (2022) (47%) vs Moulin Rouge! (53%)

Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (58%) vs Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (42%)

Now You See Me (78%) vs Morbius (22%)

Round 1 Group C

Portrait of a Lady on Fire (29%) vs The Prince of Egypt (71%)

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (32%) vs The Princess Bride (68%)

Rogue One (33%) vs Spirited Away (67%)

Goncharov (90%) vs Love Actually (10%)

Round 1 Group D

A Silent Voice (38%) vs Princess Mononoke (62%)

How to Train Your Dragon (65%) vs The Sound of Music (35%)

Knives Out (43%) vs Howl's Moving Castle (57%)

Little Miss Sunshine (42%) vs The Little Mermaid (1989) (58%)

Round 1 Group E

A Quiet Place (45%) vs Zombieland (55%)

10 Things I Hate About You (72%) vs Lemonade Mouth (28%)

Juno (21%) vs The Addams Family (1991) (79%)

The Parent Trap (1998) (54%) vs Bend It Like Beckham (46%)

Round 1 Goup F

Rent (48%) vs West Side Story (2021) (52%)

Elf (39%) vs The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (61%)

Hairspray (2007) (43%) vs Mamma Mia! (57%)

Clueless (51%) vs Miss Congeniality (49%)

Round 1 Group G

Forrest Gump (50%) vs Kingsman: The Secret Service (50%)

Enchanted (69%) vs Ferris Bueller's Day Off (31%)

Battle Royale (45%) vs High School Musical (55%)

Matilda (1996) (60%) vs Chicago (40%)

Round 1 Group H

Mean Girls (54%) vs School of Rock (46%)

The Hitman's Bodyguard (25%) vs Grease (75%)

The Nightmare Before Christmas (51%) vs Parasite (49%)

The Wizard of Oz (46%) vs Star Wars: A New Hope (54%)

Round 1 Group I

Populaire (13%) vs Labyrinth (87%)

Matilda (2022) (17%) vs Kung Fu Panda (83%)

Superman (1978) (44%) vs The Sixth Sense (56%)

The Martian (65%) vs Trainspotting (35%)

Round 1 Group J

Dune (37%) vs Back to the Future (63%)

Phineas and Ferb: Across the 2nd Dimension (44%) vs The Return of the King (56%)

Home Alone (63%) vs Frozen (37%)

Monty Python and the Holy Grail (59%) vs Meet the Robinsons (41%)

Round 1 Group K

Crazy Rich Asians (68%) vs The Phantom of the Opera (2004) (32%)

Alien (75%) vs Mulholland Drive (25%)

The Imitation Game (39%) vs The Simpsons Movie (61%)

Castle of Cagliostro (59%) vs Once Upon a Time in the West (41%)

Round 1 Group L

North by Northwest (22%) vs Arrietty (78%)

Scream (53%) vs War and Peace (1966/1967) (47%)

Arrival (18%) vs The Rocky Horror Picture Show (82%)

Little Shop of Horrors (1986) (55%) vs Night at the Museum (45%)

Round 1 Group M

Steven Universe: The Movie vs Atlantis: The Lost Empire

Everything Everywhere All at Once vs Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

Rise of the Guardians vs She's the Man

Pacific Rim vs Treasure Planet (2002)

Round 1 Group N

Deadpool vs Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse

Pitch Perfect vs Get Out

The Perks of Being a Wallflower vs Mad Max: Fury Road

Inception vs The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Round 1 Group O

The Princess Diaries vs Paddington

Pride vs Velvet Goldmine

Shrek 2 vs The Devil Wears Prada

Saw vs But I'm a Cheerleader

Round 1 Group P

Evil Dead 2 vs Nope

Whip It vs I Love You Phillip Morris

Jennifer's Body vs Ginger Snaps

Bodies Bodies Bodies vs The Social Network

Round 1 Group Q

The Mummy (1999) vs The Silence of the Lambs

Fight Club vs The History of Future Folk

Cyrano vs Beetlejuice

Die Hard vs While You Were Sleeping

Round 1 Group R

Cocaine Bear vs Boy Meets Girl

Clue vs Dungeons and Dragons: Honour Among Thieves

Coco vs Wendell & Wild

The Lost Boys vs Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

[spyruce]

I’ve been on a binge all yesterday and today. Just watched Solve It Squad, How the Grunch Cribbed Christmas, Holy Musical B@man! and Me and My Dick all for the first time. And I’m dropping my short reviews:

SIS/HTGCC are definitely worth the watch, tons of fun. I feel the need to put Scrags in a jar and shake him around a little bit. Depressed sad little man. (The way my jaw dropped when he explained how Cluebert was a replacement for his absent father HELLO 😭) Esther is great, their whole fucking with Christmas song was great. I thought the drug thing would get old but they find so many ways to keep it interesting. Keith is silly as fuck you go king I hope you get laid one day but please move on from Gwen girlie🙏 And uhh I don’t remember a thing about Gwen whoopsies. I’m working my way through the livestream episodes right now, I adore how cartoony it all is.

HMB! I probably have to rewatch I was multitasking. But whatever tf Batman and Superman had going on was great. Loved the way Batman and Robin were more of a brothers dynamic than father-son. I am once again amazed by how Joe feels so different in every role. Jeff fucking killed it he was made to be a joker-type beat mf. (tbf I tend to like Jeff a lot I think he’s great). But yeah this was fun. Will probably watch again eventually.

I cannot tell you wtf happened in MAMD but uh????? I am… once again amazed by how Joe feels so different in every role. The whole show was weirdly charming? I was expecting to enjoy the more crass humor since that’s just how I am but yeah the whole story was more captivating than I expected?? I very much enjoyed it. By far the funniest joke was the main guy just being named Joey Richter 😭 one big bullying session fr fr the Heart really went for his ass with his line about the jaw. …Yknow if I had a nickel for every time Joe and Joey played different parts of the same character I’d have two nickels???? Which really isn’t a lot but it’s weird that it happened twice.

With this, I believe the only Starkid/TCB musicals I haven’t seen (not counting side shows or things not staged) are A Very Potter Senior Year and ANI. I’m happy to talk about any other show if anyone would like to discuss but I’m expecting this post to be lost to the void lmfao I just needed to get my thoughts out!

[agentof-chaos]

I'm firmly of the belief that the best Batman adaptation is Starkid's Holy Musical B@man and part of the reason is that it's a parody and therefore doesn't have the problem of taking itself too seriously, but I wanted to elaborate more on that and on some of the other reasons that I think make it better than the more serious Batman adaptations.

In regards to HMB being less serious, the fact that it's satire allows it to feel more genuine than many of these newer live-action adaptations. You'd think that it's the other way around considering how HMB is constantly poking fun not only at the source material but also at the superhero genre as a whole. But the thing about it is that anyone watching HMB can tell that it was made by people who do actually have respect for the source material. Viewers can tell that the show was created through a genuine love of both the source material and the genre it's a part of (nothing's more telling than the fact that characters in the show explicitly state that "superheroes are cool"), and because it's made by fans, for fans, it feels more loving and genuine than the live action adaptations where it's clear the primary goal for the movie makers is to make a profit. Their hearts aren't in it, so it doesn't feel as genuine to fans.

There's also the fact that, with HMB being a parody and refusing to take itself too seriously, it is far more willing to lean into the ridiculousness of the whole thing. Because let's be real, the concept of a man dressed as a bat running around at night and beating up criminals is, objectively speaking, a little ridiculous. Many adaptations ignore this. They refuse to have fun with it. HMB however, fully leans into the ridiculousness of the premise, and by acknowledging it, makes it easier to enjoy, at least in my opinion. I'd rather have these characters knowing exactly how ridiculous it is but still managing to make a compelling narrative regardless. It's not as interesting to me when they just ignore it and insist that everything has to be completely serious all the time. I guess it kinda gives it some realism for me. I can't imagine real people going through these types of situations without cracking some jokes about it.

Then there's the issue of many modern Batman adaptations leaning into the whole grim-dark vibe that makes the story more "realistic." By doing that, they're completely disregarding all the things that make the genre great, in my opinion. Many stories serve as a form of escapism, and the superhero genre is no exception. That's the beauty of the genre--that no matter how bad things get, it's always going to get better. It's meant to inspire, and it's meant to give hope, and it's meant to make people feel better. When you lean too far into the grim-dark you lose that escapism and inspiration that makes superheroes so appealing. Despite having some darker moments, HMB is still able to convey a lot of heart and a lot of the sentiment that makes the superhero genre so great. As I mentioned earlier, there's a clear love for the source material, and despite it being a parody, and satire of the genre as a whole, it still is able to be a compelling story that feels like the truest and most genuine reflection of both Batman and the genre.

Another thing too, is HMB's approach to Batman's whole "I work alone" thing. It pokes fun at that attitude a little, but there's a lot more to how it's handled in the show. Despite the jokes, one of the major plot points throughout the show is Batman working through that mindset, and the ending of the show has him overcoming it completely. A big part of this is, of course, the inclusion of Robin in the show. As far as I'm away, many modern adaptations don't really include Robin, instead choosing to fully lean into the "I work alone" mindset. HMB however, seems to be poking fun not at that being a mindset that Batman actually has, but instead at the modern adaptations that portray Batman in that way. And the inclusion of Robin in HMB, as well as the ending of the show, all seem more truthful to the source material. Because remember, Batman has a very big family due to his adopting issues. He has 7 children (I think that's the number, he has so many it's hard to keep track). The "I work alone" mindset couldn't be farther from the truth. Which is why HMB leaning into that family aspect that is such a big part of who Batman truly is feels so much more genuine. Batman isn't just some scary vigilante beating up criminals. He is so much more than that. He genuinely cares about his city and the people in it and he is desperate to help, and beating up criminals isn't the only way he does this (I believe it's confirmed that he does a lot of charity-type stuff through his Bruce Wayne persona in addition to the Batman stuff).

HMB has heart. It has a respect for the genre, the source material, and the fans that many adaptations lack. It doesn't lean into the grim-dark that destroys the beauty of escapism that the genre has, and instead it leans into what truly makes Batman great. Because it is a parody, but it's not necessarily a parody of the actual source material. It's more a parody of that modern interpretation of Batman that so commonly appears in modern adaptations. And the more genuine aspects of the show are made up of things from the actual source material that isn't in a lot of these adaptations.

Hopefully that all makes sense. I clearly have a lot of thoughts on this and I hope nothing was too confusing. But the point is, HMB is the best Batman adaptation and no one can convince me otherwise.

[ralburry]

OK BUT LIKE, HARLEY!SCARECROW WOULD HAVE A BACKSTORY THAT HAS ELEMENTS TO BOTH HARLEY AND JONATHAN BUT LIKE SLIGHTLY DIFFERENR

Like, had a shitty upbringing in Georgia leading him to some murders (he's still stable but still teetering between edges essentially even after what he'd done here), falling in love with am abusive person in Gotham that lead to horrific heartbreak which triggers him to fall the rabbit hole of becoming his Villain persona (Maybe he doesn't go by Scarecrow in this but not exactly, well, Harley Quinn if that makes sense). He'd debuted before a lot Batman's rogues, one who works alone.

Then, he met Ivy!Riddler. Eddie sorta just balances him out and helped him heal in some ways. Definitely one of the very few people Jonathan allowed himself to trust, even when most of the people in his life broke it a lot. A strong bond is formed between the two.

Whether he'd fall in love with Eddie is a strong possibility but he'd might deny it for a while, to afraid bout allowing himself to be that vulnerable again, which is ironic, since, his theme is making people feel fear (and make them feel his pain). Plus, he's rather content in staying friends (even if his emotions says otherwise at times)

It's only when Eddie tried to sacrifice his life for Jonathan that he'd accepted his feelings and make an advancement, knowing that yeah, this is a person I can fully trust to show, well, just bout everything he hides at that point. Jonathan would help Eddie recover and once he does, Jonathan would ask him out.

Idk, just, brain wanted to make a sort story for your character designs cause, again, THEY ARE PHENOMENAL (Also, you are correct to tag them as very hot cause holy- they really are)

holy moly this is so well thought out!!!! who knew thirsting after dilfs would b so well received

for jon, i was definitely thinking that whole thing where he falls in love w some guy who turns out abusive just like his gran EXCEPT in this, he hadn’t killed his gran just up n left one day, so this abuser would b his first murder (no fear torture yet, just something that happens out of fear + adrenaline).

instead of crows n all that scarecrow crap, i was thinking that his gran locked him in the basement up w creepy dolls, would constantly play music boxes (not on purpose, it was just her decorative style) and would beat, whip, whatever herself instead of letting the crows have all the fun. this would lead to the conditioned fear of dolls, the weird music box music (idk what it’s called), but also clowns, mimes, those nutcracker guys, things that look “doll-like” so he would become the harley quinn thing (i also have no idea for a name; i call him The Good Doctor™, but idk if that’s good enough since it literally tells nothing except that he is presumably a doctor). he doesn’t have the split personality thing some interpretations have.

he’d go all out in becoming a psychiatrist, burying the trauma into the depths of his soul w the help of hw and coffee, completely closing himself off to ANY sort of relationship w peers or whoever, and in his studies is where his obsession would start (but, like harley, it would be a more helpful-oriented interest, wanting to give ppl therapy so they would get better [to make himself feel better, i want him to b selfish about this],,, OR another idea: the obsession starts bc he is desperate to rid himself of fear so he doesn’t have to worry about becoming that vulnerable and uncontrollable ever again [when he killed his lover in a panic]). he would graduate the top of his class (bc smart jon is best jon), but his isolation from the students to coworkers would nurture his obsession since he wouldn’t let anyone in enough for them to see this unhealthiness to try to stop it.

this would spiral into Evil bc of his mental decline (uh oh…bottling is not good, who knew?) and the slow progress he is making in rebuilding himself. his focus would go from helping himself to simply bringing others down w him bc he will find it is much easier to break than fix.

HOWEVER in my head, ed is the one who asks first (i love overly confident ed n shy, emotionally constipated jon). i’d like to think his thing is love instead of riddles. he kidnaps loved ones from family, friends, to lovers and (through his awesome hacking and stalking skills) will do some kind of trivia w their deepest darkest secrets to try and break off any love (all broadcasted). he is trying to prove that love is not actually powerful nor is it wise to love at all (abusive dad trauma: used to b a great dad, until mom divorced and dad started drowning in bottles and taking out his despair and anger on little ed).

sorry there is not much on ed, i genuinely don’t know much about his character at all nor do i have the same love/obsession w him that i have w scarecrow…unfortunately, cillian murphy absolutely strangled my senses haha (i also don’t have a name for him either)

ur backstory was super inspiring tho, i don’t think i’ve ever written a backstory in my life before today and it probably shows w how all over the place i am haha

[amazingmsme]

have you ever seen any firebringer tickle fics? And/or would you consider writing one? (LOVE your stuff)

Sadly I haven’t, but I would absolutely be down to write for that! Pretty safe to assume I’d be down to write for basically any Starkid shows, not just Hatchetfield! Mostly Twisted, Firebringer, Holy Musical B@man & Trail To Oregon. Never thought I’d say this but Jafar is a poor little meow meow who needs to be wrecked & I personally would love to see a tickle fight between hmb Batman & Superman.

But long story short, I would LOVE to write for firebringer! Been meaning to rewatch it👀

[nogooddeetz]

i’ve been in a starkid mood so: here’s my personal ranking of the team starkid shows so far before i see nerdy prudes must die, because… why not? (my criteria depends on things like writing just as much as it depends on arbitrary things like what random character/song i imprinted on as a teen.)

anyway here is the list:

1. a very potter musical (it just can’t get better than this - even in today’s climate as they truly made a crackhead out of every one of joanne’s characters and plots and since she had nothing to do with the actual production so… fuck her)

2. the guy who didn’t like musicals (this one is, in my opinion, maybe the strongest show writing-wise they’ve done so far)

3. starship (this one was my absolute favorite when i was a teenager and it still has a special place in my heart - i love a good sci-fi trope plus taz as a character and a couple of the songs just hit so right for me)

4. the trail to oregon (i’m not even sure why but this one just works so well for me; 6 cast members, minimal set, nuclear family at the center of it and it’s just… so fucking funny)

5. a very potter sequel (nothing can quite reach the level of hilarity of the first avpm but this one is not all that far off)

6. firebringer (this has, in my opinion, some of the funniest writing; every one liner seems to hit right and that deserves props from me - plus several of the songs are good even out of context)

7. a very potter senior year (out of the trilogy it’s the most lackluster, which makes sense given the changes in things like cast and venue, but it still has that avpm energy that’s just delightful)

8. black friday (this one again definitely shows how far they’ve come with story-writing, but i just wasn’t as invested in the characters or taken by the songs in this one, with the very important exception of the song black friday! that one i think is one of the best songs they’ve ever written)

9. twisted (i enjoy this one as a whole, as a huge fan of wicked it speaks to me and is funny, i just once again wasn’t as invested in the characters or taken by the songs so it tends to fade into the background compared to some of the other shows on the list; i do want to say dylan saunders performs the shit out of ja’far though)

10. holy musical b@man! (this one is just generally hilarious; the whole vibe of the show is just ridiculous and it’s a fun, light watch with a few banger songs, though i didn’t get that much out of most of the characters - i did almost put it at #9 because of the songs and joe walker’s batman though)

11. me and my dick (i’ve only seen this one once and as it was the one to follow avpm, i think i was just kind of bored in comparison - there were definitely funny moments, but i can’t remember a single song if i’m honest)

12 ani: a parody (again, i’ve only seen this one once and i honestly don’t remember much, but the fact that i haven’t felt the need to rewatch it tells me enough - i think i was a little bored throughout watching it the first time)

(really the only ones i don’t rewatch consistently are the last two, so i like all the other 10 shows a lot and numbers 8-10 could really easily be shuffled around between their spots on the list)

what do you guys think? do you agree (are also correct)? did i piss you off severely? let’s discuss!

[clownandout]

You mentioned that this is the perfect time for a batman musical. As a huge musical nerd i must ask you.. would you rather the musical be something more silly and light-hearted (like holy musical b@tman from starkid) or something more serious ?

I love when they insert humor into musicals, it's basically the birthplace of camp, and it seems almost impossible to remove those sorts of elements from a general Batman story. I think it would work best along the lines of something like the Beetlejuice musical, or the original Into The Woods where there's a ton of dark humor, but the story is just compelling enough to take it seriously and care about the characters and what's going on. (Excuse me while I go off about this.) I know it probably wouldn't happen, but I love musicals with sudden tonal or environmental shifts, and I think a Batman and Joker origin musical would work extremely well. Of course there's other characters, I think it would be remiss to go without Robin, so when I think about it, I imagine it could almost be a two person focused musical that ties up at the end with both characters. On one end maybe Batman learning to start letting people in. (Classic Batman plotline.) But also about him forming and vowing to keep his code. And on the other end, said code, no killing, starting Joker hooked on his obsession. Having him fully in the throws of batbrain at the start would be fun, but maybe seeing the progression from proving a point to batman to proving a point to himself would be an interesting twist on a Joker story. Almost in the vein of Arkham Origins. Maybe have a kidnapping of the sidekick but something goes wrong and he saves the Joker's life anyway, solidifying his ideals and also sinking the nail in the coffin for the Joker's next lifelong goal. Him. So more of an "there's many more things to come" ending than one with a big resolution, because honestly to me that's a lot of what Batman is about. The beginnings. Everything they do hinges on where they came from so you just can't really go wrong with origin adaptations. Of course this is much more fleshed out in my head, and it probably sounds messy in short, here! (Side note, Joker singing a Frank Sinatra inspired number please and thank you.)

[animecat33]

I think it’s really hitting me that the new Batman movie brought in like... new DC fans and like Batman fans specifically who have never seen some of my favourite shit, at least not in full context

If you haven’t please, god PLEASE Watch holy musical B@tman by starkid

It’s free to watch on youtube on their channel

It’s a Parody musical but it’s so fucking funny, and the music actually slaps

And also if you’d like to laugh so hard you stop breathing, watch Batman ‘66, preferably with a friend or a partner, i promise the screenshots you see online are 100% wilder in context no matter what.

Uuuuh what else

AH! There’s “Batman: Arkham” comics which are like... huge trades where each volume collects stories centered on one specific villain, perfect if like me, you love those fucked up little dudes and you wanna watch them commit atrocities and be sad sometimes, i own my faves in physical copy, but here’s  the ones that exist as far as i know, just be mindful of the pop ups

Uuuuu as the children say, come get your Blorbos under cut

Riddler

Killer Croc

Penguin

Poison Ivy

Clay Face

Two-face

Man-Bat

Scarecrow

Joker’s daughter

Mister Freeze

Victor Zsasz

Black Mask

Ra's Al Ghul

Talia al Ghul 

Each volume goes from oldest to newest, so it’ll usually start around the Golden age of comics and slowly get more modern from there

Pick your crime blorbo and godspeed

[haloburns]

I posted 23,071 times in 2022

204 posts created (1%)

22,867 posts reblogged (99%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@who-is-page

@ruffboijuliaburnsides

@tukoism

@dp-marvel94

@roundaboutnow

I tagged 1,885 of my posts in 2022

#danny phantom - 115 posts

#the world is having more fun than me tonight series - 94 posts

#ecto writes - 91 posts

#ecto fics - 88 posts

#my fics - 72 posts

#my au - 35 posts

#ml spoilers - 31 posts

#the batman 2022 - 26 posts

#strike back spoilers - 26 posts

#my writing - 23 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#nor did the fact that i could already read do me any favors bc i was like immediately singled out and elevated to the 1st grade reading cla

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

You can usually tell a lot about a person by the type of music they listen to. put your favorite playlist on shuffle and list the first ten songs then tag others. No skipping!

thanks for tagging me @roundaboutnow !!

i'm gonna use my invisobang playlist that i can't share the title of yet. it's my fav right now.

1. same direction - hoobastank (honestly hoobastank fucks)

2. getting away with murder - papa roach (a classic)

3. be my escape - relient k (my beloved)

4. make it stop (september's end) - rise against (this song makes me cry)

5. until the day i die - story of the year (a perfect ghost light song, ive had it on all my songs)

6. for you, and your denial - yellowcard (oh this song fucks too. the violin man. the violin.)

7. last night on earth - green day

8. saying sorry - hawthorne heights

9. devil in the mirror - black veil brides (this song is so good for this fic...)

10. give it all - rise against

@redead-red @jadenoryuu @omnicrafts (share those crossover playlists babe!!) @floralflowerpower @bibliophilea and anyone else that wants to join in!

31 notes - Posted June 10, 2022

#4

with every sin, i still wanna be holy

Dan wants to be better. But that means dealing with his past (future?) actions and starting to make amends and acknowledging how he's hurt these people in his life. It's hard than he'd like to admit. Part of the the world is having more fun than me (tonight) series.

Lancer,

I dunno why I’m writing this. It’s stupid. I’m not even gonna send it. You don’t even know who I am! Clockwork did his meddling with time bullshit so you don’t remember me.

No one remembers me

You were my favorite teacher, yknow. You were the only one who actually gave even a little fuck about me. All my other teachers wrote me off as just another dumb lazy kid. No one knew of course.

Oh I guess I should tell you. I’m… Danny Phantom. Sort of. It’s a big mess of things, but Fenton is Phantom. That little punk Weston kid was right. That's why I missed so many assignments and always fell asleep in class. I promise I wasn’t a bad kid, Mr Lancer.

I guess I just needed to tell you who I was. So you would be understanding or some shit. Maybe so I wouldn’t feel like I failed every adult in my life.

Whatever. It’s not like I’m sending this anyway.

Dan

Read more letters on AO3!

40 notes - Posted October 6, 2022

#3

hey look at that! another redraw!

i wanted to work on style and some other things, so i redrew my avatar (again). the first one is literally just the screenshot, and then the second one is Pissed Off Ghost King™ Danny. that one was more to fuck around with ectoblasts and some other stuff. also i designed a crown!

some more stuff below the cut!

here's a version without the blasts bc im vvv proud of how these hands turned out, considering the weird ass proportions of the cartoon. big thanks to @friendly-neighborhood-imbecille for those hand ref sheets 👉🏼👉🏼 u the realest

See the full post

44 notes - Posted January 18, 2022

#2

GUYS

GUYS LOOK

my friend @i-think-in-metaphors did this amazing commission for me!!! i redid the phantom planet statue for my au, and wrote a scene for one of my upcoming works where mateo gets to see it in person. i finally got tired of imagining it and wanted to see it.

and the product. is. GORGEOUS. it's so perfect. i'm in love. i'm gonna cry about this for the next 30 years. LOOK AT HIM.

(click for quality.)

check out her commissions!!

the scene it's based on is below the cut!

Excerpt from quit telling everyone i'm (permanently) dead! (wip)

The black zirconium statue was larger than life. It towered above them on two separate, stepped obsidian pedestals, each about five-feet high. As Mateo moved closer, he could see something glittering in the bases. Danny mumbled something about ectoplasmic ice mixed into it, stronger than diamonds, but Mateo thought they looked like stars. He figured that was the intention. It was gorgeous.

He tilted his head back to take in the actual sculpture. That Danny was twice as large as the one standing next to Mateo. He felt his heart lurch a little at how serious Danny looked, the tight furrow over his brow, the determined set to his jaw. It all made him look so much older than even now, even though Mateo knew he was only sixteen when the statue was made.

The statue’s zirconium white accents were blinding in the late afternoon sunlight, and Mateo found himself shading his eyes as he looked up even higher. The hair on the statue was shorter than Mateo had seen Danny wear his, probably closer to the length it had been when he was in high school. It was swept back heroically, as if moved by an unseen wind, and the sun glinted off its sharp edges. It made the whole statue look as if it were glowing.

Crystalized ectoplasm made Phantom’s eerie green eyes, and they glowed too, though Mateo figured they probably glowed under their own power rather than a trick of the light. The statue’s eyes were trained on the thin, steel-wire Earth he cupped protectively close to his chest; it was a promise as well as a remembrance. The world remembered what Phantom did for them, and he promised them he would do it all over again if necessary.

65 notes - Posted May 5, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

this is the road to ruin (and we started at the end)

IT'S FINALLY HERE!!!!

(click for way better quality)

Sam did this amazing cover for me and I literally can't stop staring at it. I'm making it my phone background like immediately. Here's their post, go give it a reblog!

prologue: without you, there's no reason for my story and chapter one: fading in the afterglow are live right now!

i'll be posting every SATURDAY starting this saturday 9/3! we got seven more chapters to go, lads, so buckle up!

71 notes - Posted August 29, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[poisonouswritings]

Wait r u a starkid fan??? (If not then pls ignore this uwu)

I'm gay and on Tumblr what do you think

No but on a legitimate note I've seen just about every Starkid show (not including the Tin Can Bros stuff because I can't fucking find it on YouTube) except for Ani, and I tried watching that but I'm not into Star Wars so it just fell very flat for me. I got into Starkid because of TGWDLM. I love the Hatchetfield series, Twisted, Trail to Oregon, and Holy Musical Batman. I liked Starship (absolutely loved Dylan's song in that) well enough but the ending was kinda bleh, and I just,, was not a massive fan of Firebringer or MAMD. They're fine enough but I probably wouldn't rewatch them. The Very Potter series was pretty good too but with everything that happened with JK Rowling I kinda distanced myself from it.

I ended up leaving the fandom for a bit because of the whole Robert Manion thing that I'm actually still not sure what exactly happened??? My mental health just could not deal with it at the time. But idk it sounds like stuff got resolved so ?? Idk. I know he got removed from NT2 to 'rebuild trust with the team/cast member in question' but apparently people are saying he's gonna come back for NPMD? If he does come back then I hope it's because everyone - including and especially the person he harassed - has agreed that they feel safe with him. I try to be optimistic in general and he did seem genuinely remorseful about what happened so,,, idk I'm not up to date enough to really have an opinion on all of that. It was a dark time for everyone for sure but I hope things are better.

Also I've been thinking about writing some Hatchetfield stuff and maybe messing with a Last Legacy/Hatchetfield crossover. You can throw some ideas at me if you want.

Anyways when NPMD comes out I will become a fucking monster and I apologize ahead of time.

Rant/Spoilers for Black Friday below because I have a lot of feelings about it:

Okay first and foremost I love Dylan Saunders and I love Kim Whalen but the Tom/Becky relationship was so whatever to me that I just,, didn't care about them tbh. The basic idea of it was sweet but idk!! I think the difference between them and Paul/Emma in TGWDLM (who I love) is that Paul and Emma kinda fell in love throughout the story whereas Tom and Becky kept bringing the plot to a complete grinding halt to do their shit. Take Me Back was just lackluster imo.

I loved Jeff Blim (as I always do lol) He is In A Hurry and him?? As fuckin uh??? Mister John McNamara????? ouGH I LOVE HIM 07. He makes me wanna take a solemn vow to become my best self now. I openly simp for him. He's just a fuckin spectral agent in the Black and White now and I hope he's fucking Wiley's shit up.

Also the way that Joey Richter's voice got all gruff when he said 'a gob of fucking lust'??? orz.

As a neurodivergent younger sibling with a well-meaning-but-sometimes-not-the-best-but-still-trying older sister and an abusive mother, Lex and Hannah hit me right in the chest. Especially because when we were younger my sister always talked about leaving home together. Absolutely loved Ethan but why can Robert Manion never survive the fucking show. Reversed!Ethan killed me and my heart broke for Hannah so bad.

My biggest gripe is that tOM SPENT THE ENTIRE FUCKING SHOW BEING LIKE 'OH I HAVE TO GET THIS DOLL FOR MY SON' AND THEN PAUL AND EMMA SHOW UP AT THE END LIKE 'HEY SHIT IS GOING CRAZY AND WE WERE GONNA RUN TO THE BUNKER BUT TIM REFUSED TO LEAVE YOU' AND INSTEAD OF GOING TO HIS SON (since Tim couldn't be in the group because yeah obviously Hannah needed to be there) (yes Tom would have missed the final number but it would have made way more narrative sense to the fucking character arc he'd been going through) HE STAYS AND GETS NUKED AND TIM DIES IN THAT FUCKING CAR ALL ALONE HAVING NEVER SEEN HIS DAD AGAIN AND I AM FROTHING AT THE FUCKING MOUTH. 'IF I FAIL YOU' GUESS WHAT TOM YOU FUCKING DID

[pinkiepiebones]

So what is your favorite and least favorite Zsasz comics? (Barring his first appearance because of course he’s aces in that~) And bonus round, are there any of his movie/show appearances that you care for? :3c

The Arkham Games Zsasz is best Zsasz... maybe not, like, image-wise (every dude in those games is fucking chiseled; Zsasz is supposed to be lithe and lanky), but his voice is what 10000000% sold me on him as a character and the tiny writing details that established how he'll stalk people to gauge if they are "worthy" of "salvation" is just chef kiss emoji. I will always credit/blame Danny Jacobs for making Zsasz into a living, breathing, multi-faceted character. His performance wavers between "flirtatious, breathy madman," "grieving child giving in to delusions," and "broken man all too aware of the bullshit justifications he's constructed," with all of this nuance one would just not anticipate from a character who's shtick is "kill and then cut self." I love Danny Jacobs' Zsasz.

I would also love to put Tim Booth's Zsasz from "Batman Begins" on some kinda list if only because, waaaaaaay back there, I talked to Booth several times on Twitter about his Zsasz and he seemed to genuinely like the character and was really sad that his big fight scene with Christian Bale that he trained with the choreographers for went unfilmed. He also provided Zsasz voicework for the BB tie-in game, audio of which took me 700 years to find. Booth imbues his Zsasz with more of a coy, calculating creepiness, very quiet, like someone trying to coax a frightened animal out of hiding. Booth's music is also really cool, so yeah.

Worst comic Zsasz appearance is a LOT of them actually. Any story where Zsasz is dressed like a fucking skinhead or collects physical trophies (like driver's licenses) or works with other villains or demonstrates a henchman-level intelligence or uses guns or demonstrates a pattern is woefully misunderstanding who/what Zsasz is. Here, I'll break it down:

-the skinhead outfit bullshit: Zsasz kills without any hatred towards any people group. A guy with a shaved head =/= n**i. qed. I swear somewhere I have a comic where, in the background, you can see Zsasz vehemently turning down an invitation to join some prison skinheads.

-physical trophies. THAT'S WHAT HIS TALLY MARKS ARE FOR. Why the fuck would he need to swipe a zombie's paraphernalia when he'll always carry a momento of them on his body?

-working with others... I just. Other than using the unnamed "friend" in Arkham City to rig up the phone signal bouncer, there's no- Zsasz sees everyone as a potential tally mark, you know? And frankly, no other rogue should be willing to work with him (with the exceptions of Ivy and Croc; due to Zsasz's self-imposed "zombie vision" I can see and like to imagine scenarios where he doesn't regard those two as "zombies" in need of "salvation"). This is also why I detest the Zsasz in the Gotham series and vehemently LOATHE Streets of Gotham.* Any media that paints Zsasz as a knife- or, let's face it, gun- for hire should just fucking create a new character.

-henchmen intelligence. Zsasz was created to be Gotham City's answer to Hannibal Lecter. He's a constantly calculating, philosophical, sometimes verbose, dramatic son of a bitch. There was one comic some years back, during that whole "court of owls" shit, where Zsasz was reduced to calling Penguin "little bird man" and yes I'm still mad about it; it wasn't him being sardonic or disdainful, in that comic Zsasz was literally a drooling stereotype of "crazy guy." I bought that shit because I was promised "holy fuck Zsasz got infected with the Man-Bat serum BAT ZSASZ!" and that was, like, two pages. Garbage.

-guns. In his DEBUT ISSUE Zsasz notes how much he hates using guns due to the noise and smell and will ONLY use them if no other weapon is immediately available. For Zsasz a gun is and should be written as an absolute last resort. This is the same fucker who can choke someone to death with one hand; there's no reason he should be just another gun-toting mook.

-pattern. He literally has no pattern. We are all potential targets of his "salvation." That's a nitpick I have with the first game wherein the first doctor in the patient interview tapes states Zsasz "killed over twenty young women," implying that that is a target demographic. Again, debut issue counters that. And g-d I fucking hate Streets of Gotham so much for making Zsasz go full "I hired men to kidnap children, specifically children, to fight to the death for gamblers, and I get to fight the champion child" or whatever the fuck that stupid story was I tried to purge it from my mind.

*The only, ONLY positive feedback I will give to Streets of Gotham is 1) Dustin Nguyen's watercolour covers are really pretty and 2) the three or four panels of "zombie vision" that show the reader how Zsasz sees the world but man I'm thinking about it and just remembered the page where Zsasz talks to Penguin like it's no big deal and a panel where Zsasz says "I like to hurt people" just fucking create a different chatacter bruce timm that is not Zsasz you are bad at writing Zsasz!!!

... Anyway. Also BoP Zsasz wasn't perfect by a fucking long mile- stop making Zsasz a henchman!!!- but I really liked the tiny inclusion of the metal teeth placed exactly where Zsasz lost teeth after being brained by Batman in his debut run so.

[awigglycultist]

Pt 1 of The Guide: Starkid/Team Starkid/Starkid Productions (SK). I can't really think of much to say about them as whole. They make musicals and few webseries. I love them. They got started off in 2009 in college thanks to Harry Potter. I'll get into the more later.

Little White Lie (LWL). This is a webseries not a musical but it has plenty of songs in it. This was actually made before AVPM though it wasn't uploaded until after. It absolutely screams early 2000s. Everything about it is very early 2000s. Will probably give you the same vibes as Zoey101 if you watched that show. Ends on a cliff hanger, they were gonna make a season 2 but never did, tho there is a summary of how it would've gone. Its pretty short. It's good, it was one of the first things they made so not 10/10 but it's certainly not bad. It's Dear Evan Hansen but better.

Summary: Brother and Sister Duder and Sami Reese are a band that suck. After someone else gets into an accident they decide to lie and steal all their music to make it big.

A Very Potter Musical (AVPM). Was the first musical of theirs to go on youtube (bc it was cheaper than making DVDs for their family), and launched Starkid bc it went viral in the Harry Potter fandom, and thanks to this they kept making musicals and putting them on youtube. Made back in college, it's simple, funny, especially if you like Harry Potter, not amazing quality, and that goes for several of their early musicals, but hey it was 2009, it's kinda a mix of a few of the books and doesn't really take place durning a set year of school. Have you that hufflepuffs are particularly good finders? Or heard the audio "did someone say Draco Malfoy!?" both of those come from this. Also btw there's three Very Potter musicals and together their knows as A Very Potter Trilogy (AVPT). Also, Starkid hate JKR so dw about if you'd be supporting ppl who support her.

Summary: Uhm I'm honestly not really sure how to explain the plot to it. Ginny tries to get with Harry, Harry tries to get with Cho Chang, the tri wizard tournament happens, Quirrell has Voldemort attached to him and Voldemort plans on destroying Hogwarts.

Me and My Dick (MAMD). Ppl have anthropomorphic genitals. It's pretty sexual. But also funny and honestly a pretty sweet and cute story when get past the innuendos.

Summary: This dude named Joey is best friends with his dick (named Dick). He has a crush on this hot popular girl. Meanwhile his friend Sally has a crush on him. Joey and Dick get into an argument and quite literally Dick like unattaches himself and runs away.

A Very Potter Sequel (AVPS). Takes place in their first year of school. It's probably the most liked of AVPT, and it's definitely my favorite of AVPT. Warning the depiction of Umbridge in this is a bit transphobic but they've apologized for this.

Summary: Lucius Malfoy wants to get rid of Harry Potter once for all, so he travels back in time to Harry's first year at Hogwarts to do so.

Starship. Quite long. Imagine The Little Mermaid but instead of Mermaids it's a planet of huge bugs and instead of ppl on a boat it's astronauts. Or maybe imagine the Bee Movie but space. It's great. Theres also a subplot romance of a robot and one of the human astronauts. It's hilarious, it's fun, it's a good story, it's a long one, definitely one of my faves. Not gonna explain the plot bc it really is very similar to the plot of The Little Mermaid, but also it has more characters and is better (sorry Little Mermaid, space bugs are better and cooler).

Holy Musical B@man. A Batman parody. It's more like Lego Batman then any other Batman movie. It's a parody, it's not serious, it's just stupid and silly and fun. Lots of puns. It's ridiculous in a good way. My dad likes this one. Have you heard "I wanna be a modern dancer!"

Summary: Batman is sad and lonely. Superman is a jerk. Alfred finds Robin and is like "hey Batman check out this orphan kid!" in an attempt to get him a friend. They ofc become best friends. Sweet Tooth (basically The Joker) wrangles all the villains together to properly take over Gotham for once and for all.

A Very Potter Senior Year (AVPSY). Sorta fan fair, and it's a sweet ending to the trilogy. A lot of ppl are put off by the stage and the fact they're holding scripts, but: they performed this at a convention, and they only had two days to rehearse. So if you can look past that it's good (at least imo). Takes place in their last year. Long.

Summary: Gildroy Lockhart is a new professor at Hogwarts and everyone's lost interest in Harry and only cares about Gildroy and Harry is not happy about it, until he find out that Voldemort has returned.

Twisted: The Untold Story of a Royal Vizier (or just Twisted). It's like Wicked but for Aladdin. It's amazing and awesome and fantastic and the best. An amazing mix of humor and seriousness. Amazing music. Amazing story. Amazing acting. Literally everything is amazing.

Summary: Aladdin but Jafar is the protagonist/hero. Trailer

ANI: A Parody (or just ANI). It's a parody of Star Wars. Also makes Darth Vadar the good guy for the most part but not really inspired by Wicked like Twisted is, in Twisted the point is that Ja'far is the good guy, in this its not the point. A lot of ppl don't like ANI bc they find it not very funny and the way the music is done strange. It's not a typical musical, the actors on stage aren't the ones singing, they still have choreo to the songs tho. Personally it's definitely not my favorite but it has some really funny characters in it though I'm sure it's best enjoyed if you actually know Star Wars.

Summary: Anakin is a little loser man and no one likes him but he used to pod race and he now he's gotta prove that he still has it in him and pod race once again. Trailer

The Trail To Oregon (TTO). It's a parody of the game The Oregon Trail. It's got quite a bit of potty humour, well particularly the ending, but overall it's still very funny. It's, I believe, the shortest SK musical. My dad likes this one a lot too.

Summary: Follows a dysfunctional family and their journey down the Oregon Trail. The dad is an idiot. The mom is overbearing but also the only one with sense. The son is a 7 yr old boy so ofc he's stupid too. The daughter is a typical teen girl. And the grandfather hates the dad (his stepson). The daughter falls in love with this mysterious cool man who then kidnaps her! Oh no he evil! The family breaks apart but then ofc has to bands together to save their daughter. You also get to pick the ending you want, it's all really the same ending you're just changing who sings and getting to hear a couple different jokes. Trailer (skip to 1:23)

Firebringer. The dawn of humanity. Dumb cave people. Dumb gay cave women. Like ANI it's not the funniest as a whole to me or to most people, but it does have one of the funniest characters, it does also have some really cool music. But it is a really fun and great story. Have you ever seen the "I don't really wanna do the work today?" vine/meme? Or heard the "what if I tried something new and it-" "backfired!" audio? Both of those come from this.

Summary: Zazzalil invents the spear but Jemilla is like "no that's dangerous!" the whole thing is kinda about safety vs innovation. Also Jemilla is the leader of the tribe. Then Zazzalil accidentally discovers fire and kicks Jemilla out and becomes the new leader. Turns out fire is very dangerous oopsie! Also there's this big saber toothed tiger thing that everyone's afraid and they decide to go kill, Also the ending is VERY suprising and unexpected (although the writers somehow thought everyone would except it) Trailer

Movies Musicals and Me (MM&M). It's a short webseries wheres there's no real plot exactly. It's just an excuse really to make parody songs for fake musicals. It follows a guy whose been in all of these musicals and is iconic and stuff but he's also super egotistical and the series has him going through singing different songs for the musicals he's been in and talking a bit about them along with others who were in those musicals with him or directed or produced or are a fan or something also taking about him and how Great™ he is. Trailer (which explains the series better than I did I feel like)

VHS Christmas Carol (VHSCC). It's they're shortest musical, being only one act, and unlike their other musicals it's 100% songs. It's easily one of my favorite Starkid shows and I could watch it a million times in a row. It has some the best songs of all their shows, it's so hard to choose a favorite.

It's the classic Charles Dickens tale A Christmas Carol but a musical and in the 80s! Originally it was done in 2020 with everyone in front of greenscreens and edited together to give it an 80's vhs tape vibe. In 2021 they a did a short live run of the show still with an 80's vhs background and 80's clothes, this is the version that's on youtube. Trailers: first, second