#starkid makes me love straight people

[caleohateclub]

Me when Lauren Lopez face grabs

[justarandombrit]

Okay well as you may know from looking at my blog for five seconds, I saw the matinee for Starkid Innit. During the interval and after the show I wrote down some notes. I tried to get them in chronological order but my memory is dogshit and I definitely missed some stuff, I hope you appreciate it though.

Outside:

. EVERYONE SUNG GRANGER DANGER

. IT WAS SO GOOD (except for the high note lmao)

. EVERYONE SUNG DAYS OF SUMMER

. EVERYONE A SMALL GROUP OF PEOPLE SUNG GOIN' BACK TO HOGWARTS

Act 1:

. The Nightmare Time sting punched me in the face

. The shout-out to the confused parents

. BRIAN + MEREDITH IN TGWDLM IS EVERYTHING TO ME

. High School Is Killing Me, Literal Monster and Nerdy Prudes Must Die all got mashed together!

. Corey!Richie is my Roman Empire

. Jaime in NPMD….

. Jaime had a different line to PJ’s original in Literal Monster. I couldn't hear half of it but it was different

. JEFF!MAX

. THE AUDIENCE SINGING RICHIE'S PART!!!!!! I'M NOT A LOSERRRRRRR

. TOGETHER!!!!!

. OUR DOORS ARE OPEN

. Jaime singing Sami/Harry ABOUT HER DOG (Nori)

. The audience whipping out the phone cameras

. CLARK SINGING I WAS GAVE ME SUCH INTENSE CHILLS

. Joey finally giving the white, male side characters attention

. Joey changing “I know I'm not a star” to “I know I'm not Clark”

. He pointed the mic at the audience for the “DEFINITELY NOT!”

. Joey mistimed his jump 😔😔

. Genuinely his best performance of Sidekick yet

. Joey making fun of Brian for not getting a big solo

. Brian kept pretending to beat him up, it was brilliant

. Not Over Yet is definitely Brian's song, shut up

. Brian accidentally singing the same verse twice (How does he always mess this song up?!?!?)

. My mum took a photo during the “EVIL PLAAAAANSSSS” bit and it was right when Brian was choking Joey

. “So look alive and don't forget”

“FORGET WHAT?”

. FEAST OR FAMINE

. Rogues Are We still goes so hard

. Rogues Medley without Kick It Up A Notch is weird, but Kick It Up A Notch without Dylan would definitely be weirder

Intermission:

. Ice cream :D

Act 2:

. Starting with We Got Work To Do is so iconic

. THERE'S BEEN A CHANGE IN THE CLIMATE, SOMETHING'S IN THE AIR, WE FEEL THE HEAT, NO NEED TO DEFINE IT, WE DON'T REALLY CARE

. MEREDITH REQUESTED BACK ON TOP!!!!!!!! AND IT WAS SO GOOOOD!!!!!!!

. Joey shouted “Draco, get on the floor!” at Lauren

. ALL THE UNDERRATED SONGS

. I love how it was hyped up like it was going to be Boy Toy, and then just straight up wasn't lmaooo

. Brian finally got the slow, sexy Hideous Creatures (Take that, Nick Lang!)

. Okay I'm trying to remember the order of the underrated songs they did

. Hideous Creatures (Lauren)

. Pays To Be an Animal (Corey) (He didn't sit in the spotlight and someone yelled “TO THE LEFT, COREY”)

. Get In My Mouth (Jeff) (He fully sprawled out on the stage it was hilarious)

. Land of the Dicks (Jaime)

. Hermione Can't Draw (Meredith) (She sung it so well I briefly didn't recognise the song)

. THEY MANAGED TO WORK IN LUPIN / BRIAN CAN'T SING YESSSS

. I genuinely cannot remember what Brian sung

. Gotta Find His Dick (Joey, and eventually everyone)

. The entire “Oh you wanna know where I got my shirt?” bit

. Brian, Jaime and Joey got it from Primark, Meredith got it from “Primed-mrak”, Lauren’s was a family heirloom, Corey got it from Gucci and Jeff got it from America, from Pri-mart (He made the guy on the drums do a baddum tsh)

. COREY SINGING SHOW STOPPIN' NUMBER. OH MY GOD. (The entire crowd joined in, also, Jeff and Jaime as Steve and Stu)

. Everyone cheering so loud when Joey and Lauren came on stage, and them claiming we had no idea what they were going to sing, and it was actually a completely new song (it was Granger Danger obviously)

. And them continuing to claim it was new throughout the song

. As I expected, I almost cried during Not Alone. Also apparently Darren thought it was going to be a big hit??? And just begrudgingly let them use it for A Very Potter Musical

. Super Friends!

. So sad Jeff’s mic was so quiet for “I WANNA BE A MODERN DANCER”

. THEY SUNG WANNABE BY THE SPICE GIRLS

. The fakeout of everyone leaving stage, then the band coming back on and playing the start of Goin' Back To Hogwarts

. “Darren's not here”

“I'LL DO IT”

. THE AUDIENCE DID THE FIRST PART OF GOIN' BACK TO HOGWARTS ALL BY OURSELVES

. JEFF DID DYLAN'S PART (but he didn't do “All of you to [city name] :( )

. Jeff pointed at various parts of the audience for “Welcome hotties, nerds and tools!” and then whispered “I'm so sorry” immediately after

. Singing (/ shouting) Goin' Back To Hogwarts along with hundreds of other Starkid fans was so exhilarating, I loved it and I almost cried (also I'm gonna be so hoarse tomorrow)

[cowboylikeyouu]

i always love when people have some kind of "get to know me and my fandoms :)" post pinned on their blog, so here‘s mine:

i‘m a german law student, but i like to ignore that fact bc it‘s kinda depressing lol. my favorite activity is to ignore most of my responsibilities and doomscroll on tumblr & tiktok while listening to the same 5 songs over and over again and drink too much coffee ^^

i watch a lot of movies and sometimes i write stuff, so feel free to follow me on letterboxd and ao3 ;) [and if you speak german maybe check out my fanfiktion.de for my german fics :)]

you can yap to me about literally everything, i love love LOVE talking to random people on the internet about random shit!! but here are some of my favorite fandoms and my fav characters & ships from them if u need inspiration :P

marvel (mcu mostly)

favorite characters: CLINT (comic & fanfic version, literally my favorite character of all time i love him to death), tony, nat, bucky, maria

favorite ships: WINTERHAWK (they’re my everything), stony, nat/maria/pepper, kate/yelena

x-men

favorite characters: wade, charles, storm

favorite ships: poolverine, cherik

harry potter

favorite characters: hermione, remus, harry (especially in post war drarry fics), draco, minerva, sirius, fred & george

favorite ships: drarry, wolfstar, romione, deamus, linny

good omens

favorite characters: crowley

favorite ships: do i really have to answer that?

star wars

favorite characters: luke, han, leia, (i‘m an original trilogy girly i‘m sorry), obi-wan, din djarin (pedro pascal is the literal loml can you blame me??7

favorite ships: dinluke <3333333

IT

favorite characters: richie, beverly

favorite ships: reddie, benverly, mike/stan/bill

sherlock bbc

favorite characters: mycroft

favorite ships: johnlock, mystrade

other stuff i’ve seen and really like:

10 things i hate about you (my fav movie ever), little women, httyd, fight club (i have to mention this bc one of my favorite things ever is to annoy straight men by saying that fight club is the gayest movie to ever exist), how i met your mother (my fav show ever), our flag means death, most pixar & disney movies, starkid musicals!!! especially avpm & co obviously, knives out & glass onion, orange is the new black, grey‘s anatomy, shameless, she-ra, bojack horseman, the last of us, hamilton, cats, and so much more, just ask ^^

i post on here about everything i‘m currently obsessed with bc i really don’t want to make separate blogs for separate fandoms, but if you’re only interested in a specific thing just search my page for some of the tags i tend to use :)))

[thatyoutubereviewer]

Watch "The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals" on YouTube

The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals

Genre: sci-fi horror comedy musical proshot

Date posted: Dec 24, 2018

Closed captioning: very good 👍👍

Runtime: 1:52:36

Youtube description: summary of the show with full credits of cast crew and direction, as well as time stamps for both scenes and songs

Trigger warnings: fake blood and guts, blue shit, smoking, drinking, vulgar language, guns, gunshots, the US government, gaslighting

My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️🌟

Full spoilers free review below vv

What a better video to review than the one that *really* got me sucked into YouTube. Of course, I'd been watching YouTube for years before that, even the same channel. But this musical? Fucking transcendent!

The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals (tgwdlm) pushes the boundaries in every way. From the adult comedy that can't *quite* make it on Broadway, to the suspenseful sci-fi apocalyptic plot you can't find anywhere else, this show is perfect for theater lovers and those wishing to dip their toes into the musical world. A story that takes place over two days, after a meteor hits and people start singing, what will the guy who doesn't like musicals do?

The characters are brilliantly written and all stand apart from each other. Even when an actor is playing another character on stage, you can always tell who they are supposed to be. It's a cast of eight performers onstage, which is wildly impressive to me that it seems like a whole town with only eight people. There is... decent representation, while most of the characters are straight white men, there is one black man with a lesbian daughter. Trust me that Starkid vastly improves their representation if that is something of importance to you.

Jeff Blim's musical writing paired with the cast's talent made a wonderful soundtrack with genres ranging from 80s rock ballad to coffee showtune it'll leave you in whiplash in the best way. All of the songs make sense for the scenes and flow well with the plot. Let's just say I've jammed to this album a few,, several times.

The pacing starts slow, then picks up and doesn't stop. There's so much to chew on, but the show gives you enough time to swallow it. Nick and Matt Lang's writing has always been really good, but a lot of people consider tgwdlm their magnum opus. Tgwdlm is one of three musicals set in the small town Hatchetfield, and if you like this, you'll definitely like those.

Tgwdlm has an active fandom on tumblr and twitter, though I highly recommend you watch all three hatchetfield musicals before you interact for fear of spoilers.

I rated tgwdlm at a 6 out of 5 stars because this show gave me joy and community when I didn't have a lot. It's hard not to fall in love with these characters, songs, and plot. Also, when it first came out, I watched it several times over just because it was so good. I highly recommend to anyone willing to spend their time on something cooky, fun, and a little spooky.

[sarcasticsra]

I cannot stress enough how much everyone should watch Starkid’s A VHS Christmas Carol if you haven’t seen it yet. It’s pretty short, only about 45 minutes, and it’s truly one of the best adaptations of A Christmas Carol that I’ve ever seen.

No, seriously. I think it has even surpassed The Muppets Christmas Carol for me. That has been my favorite Christmas movie since I was a child. My mom and sister and I used to watch it every Christmas Eve. I still love it dearly and it is an amazing adaptation that I’ll defend to my death, but you guys. You guys. A VHS Christmas Carol is just THAT GOOD.

It’s done in the style of 80s music/videos, which is delightful. It’s an opera, so it’s all sung through, which I love. And it’s so good!

Let me enumerate the ways. Spoilers to follow. (Can you spoil A Christmas Carol? Once a story becomes public domain does that exempt it from spoiling? Idk, lol. Spoilers for the show, anyway. Also for Avatar: The Last Airbender. …I promise there’s a path.)

1) Bah Humbug! - Song number one and it goes hard right from the start. It is everything an opening number should be. Dynamic, sets the tone, and an incredible fucking bop. The interactions between Scrooge and Fred and Scrooge and Bob are done so well, too. You so quickly get a sense of their characters. Obviously we know their characters because this is a story that has been told many a time before, but it does it so well that you would immediately get them even if you were an alien who had never in your existence been exposed to A Christmas Carol in any capacity. That’s impressive to me. It’s not relying on the familiarity of the story to do its character work.

2) 3 Spirits - I love the tone of this song. This is a Marley with true regret and pain who is absolutely pleading with Scrooge to take the chance he’s being given. It’s less “scared straight” and more, “I need you to understand this like you’ve never understood anything before.” Marley becomes a character in his own right as opposed to merely a backdrop for Scrooge to react to. That’s a theme with this adaptation. Characters who are pretty flat in a lot of adaptations seem so much more like real people in this one. Also, whoever decided to cast Meredith as Marley here is a fucking genius. She’s so goddamn talented and she really shines here. The emotion, the weight. Gah. Beautiful. The interplay between Marley and Scrooge is incredible as well; these are two insanely talented performers breathing a new life into tried and true characters, and you really feel the relationship between them.

3) I’m The Ghost - Christmas Past is so pointed and snarky and incredible, making Scrooge come to certain realizations. “Huh, little boy left all alone. Oh, your sister died so young. Didn’t she have a son though? Why are the employees so happy, this party didn’t cost much? Thinking of something? Okay, last stop, buckle up, it’s all your own doing.” I love it so much.

4) That Scrooge - You guys. You guys. They’ve done what I assumed was impossible. They’ve done what even the Muppets couldn’t. It’s a Scrooge-Belle breakup song that isn’t the most unbelievably boring and bland thing you’ve ever heard in your life. Belle is a fucking person! She has a personality! She’s very clearly stating her case, that he’s changed and she doesn’t like it and does he have anything to say? No? Okay, bye! THE EMOTION IN THIS SONG. Scrooge starts singing not just with her but to her! All the things he didn’t say before! And then he starts singing angrily about/at his past!self for being an idiot! You actually FEEL THINGS about this relationship. It was a deep love and losing it super fucked him up! I have never before seen Belle/Scrooge done as well as this one (1) song handles it.

5) Christmas Electricity - Get ready to have this song stuck in your head for ten thousand years. This song is, I believe, the standard classical definition of “a fuckin’ bop.” It’s so high energy and exciting, you really can understand how Scrooge gets so caught up in it himself. You also see more of Fred in this song and, again, he’s a person! He has specific motivations for why he keeps reaching out to Scrooge. Corey’s Fred is hands down one of the best performances of this character full stop. He took what is usually a bit, side character and made him a full human with understandable thoughts and feelings. They gave the Fred-Scrooge relationship such incredible emotional weight because of it. I think that’s one of my favorite aspects of this adaptation.

6) Priceless - Here we see the Cratchits enjoying their Christmas with an incredibly sweet song about having little but feeling like they have a lot. I really like the way this song feels a bit cheesy (goes with the whole 80s vibe) but they also feel like a real family with some silliness and some sweetness and Bob’s wife having very strong opinions about Scrooge that he’s too polite for. Also “listen to this key change out of the bridge” goddamn just show off constantly how freaking talented this entire cast is, why don’t you.

7) The Final Ghost - I probably have too much to say about this song. It’s my favorite, which considering this entire show is pitch fucking perfect, is really saying a lot. Dylan Saunders is truly one of the most talented performers I’ve ever seen, and his Scrooge is so, so good. It really shines through here. His interactions with Christmas Future show him mirroring Bob from earlier (he has a line that’s almost an exact quote of a line from Bob in Bah Humbug!), correcting himself, and trying to be respectful/humble. Subtle displays of emotional growth even before he gets to the truly scary parts. The song is of course a darker tone, as is correct for this part of the narrative, perfectly setting up the finale song. We get Scrooge overhearing about a funeral no one cares about, the same man being robbed after death, and this death bringing actual happiness to people. Throughout it all so far Christmas Future only speaks in a wordless melody, as is apt. Scrooge asks for tenderness connected to death and is shown the Cratchits mourning Tiny Tim, which breaks him, and he asks who the dead man was from earlier. Still wordless, Christmas Future leads him to a cemetery, and that wordless melody perfectly transforms into an eerie, ethereal, “Ebenezer Scrooge.” The fucking amount of sheer EMOTION Dylan packs into Scrooge pleading for his soul, that he is changed, and the final bit of narration… fuck, you guys, it’s so good. I love all of the “scene” parts of this song so much. It all builds so perfectly.

7a) The narrator. - This isn’t a specific song, I just want to call out how excellent the narrator is through the whole show and how perfectly the narration ties the whole show together. It’s one of those things where it goes unnoticed because it’s so perfect, but if it were bad you would definitely notice. You need it to be there and understated or a lot a falls apart, but it can be such hard balance to strike. This show nails it.

8) Christmas Day - The finale! And what a finale it is! The energy is a perfect contrast to the song before it as Scrooge delights in being alive and having time to make things right. His joy is palpable as he goes about his day, buying Bob a huge turkey, making an incredible donation to the charity he blew off the day before, and showing up at Fred’s. Guys. This scene. Especially when I watch the live, but even sometimes just via the soundtrack, this scene just fucking perfectly, beautifully guts me. You know how in Avatar: The Last Airbender, Zuko has to go on his whole narrative arc to eventually join the right side, and along the way sort of betrays his Uncle Iroh, aka the only good father figure he’s ever had, because he’s a traumatized teenager, and eventually he meets back up with him and starts stumbling out an apology and Iroh just sweeps him up in a hug without a word, and you sob because it’s perfect? That is the energy present in this, what, 15-second scene, just this incredible emotional buildup and payoff accomplished in a scant 45-minute runtime. It’s truly wondrous. The finale, as all true finales should, calls back musically to previous character beats, and ends on the perfect bookend to the opening number. It’s just so, so immensely satisfying.

Tl;dr - this musical has made me feel more Christmas-y than I have in a long, long time, and I have listened to little else in terms of music since I watched it two weeks ago. (It was literally the only music I had listened to since then until right now, and that’s only because I’m in a van on a road trip to my sister-in-law’s for Christmas. While I would have been perfectly content to listen to this soundtrack on repeat for the entire 8-hour drive, I also recognize that the four other people in this van do not have my particular flavor of hyperfixated ADHD brain and probably would not appreciate that, heh. Thus I played it once and then other music. Compromise!)

But yes. Seriously. It’s so good. Gah. Go watch it!

[prof-ramses]

Why I, as a Serbian Starkid fan, DESPISE the messaging of Black Friday

So, let me get something straight right off the bat, I'm not saying Black Friday is a bad musical, it isn't, but it has a message that, as far as I'm concerned, is outright factually wrong and delivers it an a maddeningly heavy handed way.

The Serbian part comes from the fact that my cultural background also means that I love Capitalism more than life itself, to the point where I starting to non-ironically consider it my religion.

So, the whole idea of Black Friday is what you have doesn't truly impact what makes you happy and ultimately isn't worth nearly as much as society says. The classic "money can't buy happiness" horse shit I'm sick to death of.

No, money doesn't buy you happiness, it's a symbol of the choice that you, as a participant of a Capitalistic system by the way, have in what you own and for what reason. In other words, money is how you get things, which enable you to have a broader range of experiences for both yourself and the people you care about.

Ironically, a plush toy might actually be the best example of why CAN in effect buy happiness. A plushie is something harmless and pleasant that can provide a physical sense of comfort for a child, help them develop when used in play, help build a parent-child bond, and as time passes, it becomes a monument to all the positive experiences had with it.

The second message is a slight undercurrent of "if you don't go out of your way to do good, you're doing bad", sure the show doesn't say it, but the way they handle Linda and Sherman makes this stance clear. This is another example where my upbringing in Serbian culture exposes how wrong the message is, ultimately, your money, time and possessions are yours (so long as you live in a Capitalist system and actually own your property and ability to work) and so long as your staying in the confines of the law, you are doing no wrong and no one has the authority to justify making you feel guilty about it.

That one scene where Becky complains about Linda buying a spot in line makes my blood boil, if I could, I'd jump into Hachetfield and puree the sanctimonious nurse bitch's sanctimonious nurse bitch skull with by bear hands.

The common thread with both these issues is that it assume that the warm tingly feeling ideas are the right ones, but what's nice isn't necessarily good or smart. And as a result of this the characters it uses to represent the stances it disagrees with end up being the ones with more texture to their characters and the ones I get more interested in.

This is why the message of Black Friday amounts to a polished turd, the show does a very good job of presenting it's message, but that doesn't change the fact that said message is just a bad one that doesn't hold up to the scrutiny of being applied in real life.

[hotliljewishgirl]

Post-Jangle Ball Ramblings: Act Two (VHSCC)

I already posted a part one, so here’s my thoughts on VHSCC. Full disclosure – I’m mostly creating these posts for myself, because I am fucking terrified of forgetting even a minute of this show. I have waited too long for this to simply trust my very unreliable hippocampus. But if you enjoy this too, here it is (this post contains spoilers):

I had no idea what to expect for VHSCC. I wasn’t sure if the second act was going to be in costume, if they were going to do it sung through or do little out of character speeches before each song, if they were going to be acting like their characters or just performing their songs, etc. They did do it sung through but they were not in costume and they were mostly in character. I loved how they did it and I have no notes. I got digital tickets in both 2020 and 2021, and this was my favorite rendition of it. They seemed like they were having fun even in the serious moments and enjoying interacting with the audience on top of singing and dancing their faces off. I have nothing to say other than that it was fantastic and I wish I could see it like that again.

Brian as Tiny Tim made me laugh my ass off. Out of costume, a grown man acting like a sickly child is peak comedy. He came in riding piggyback on Joey, and Lauren reprised the thing where Emily is disgusted by Tim and pushes him away when he tries to touch her. Priceless in general was equal parts heartwarming and hilarious, which is exactly how it should be.

I know I already said this but it bears repeating: Dylan stole the damn show. Get that man on Broadway. I believed he was a crotchety old man, even out of costume, and he made me feel for Scrooge. There was not a single moment where his vocals faltered, and out of everyone he was the one who was most engaged with the audience. Seeing him perform live is truly an out of body experience.

Oddly specific, but I want to mention; Jaime’s Christmas Past came off as a little more gentle/kind than it has been in years past. Both versions of Christmas Past really worked, but the less harsh version was nice to see live. It sounded like she genuinely felt sorry for Scrooge on “she can’t hear it”, and she was trying to comfort him during That Scrooge. The nice thing about doing this show every year is that the actors can make tweaks as they see fit and we get to see it evolve. I hope little character choices like that continue to be made and changed.

Speaking of That Scrooge…Janaya. Girl. Stop being so damn talented. Brian, Dylan, and Jaime also killed it and That Scrooge is quickly becoming one of my favorite VHSCC songs (after Priceless and Three Spirits. I’m a sucker for a power ballad, okay?). Seriously, I’m really glad we have Janaya. I used to be scared when new Starkids were introduced, but that stopped after we got Angela because I realized the new faces are equally as incredible as the people I grew up with, and they don’t make it feel any less like a Starkid show (on the contrary, the new Starkids have become some of my favorites). Janaya is no exception.

Christmas Electricity was SO much fun to see live. I still feel like dancing just thinking about it. The energy in that room was indescribable. James has such great stage presence and command of his work, and his take on Christmas Present highlighted how great he is at working a crowd. This is another number that necessitates a mention of the dancing. I think most of the choreo was recycled from last year, which is fine because that choreo is iconic. I was seriously shocked by how incredible the dancing was. I don’t want to repeat myself but. Holy shit. Starkid dancing, guys.

Priceless was even more special live and out of costume. I forgot I was watching a show – it seemed like it was just a loving family vibing for three minutes straight, and I loved it, because the Starkid community does feel like family. The energy was just as high as during Christmas Electricity, but instead of making me want to dance it made me want to hug the person next to me. Also, Everyone’s vocals sounded incredible. I’m not sure if he’s doing it on purpose or if it’s just the way the harmonies worked out, but in every version of VHSCC, Joey has kind of stepped back and let Lauren shine (or maybe I’m just obsessed with Lauren Lopez lol). She killed it (again with the versatility!) and hearing “I’ll toast my hope that he DIEEEESSSSSS” live legitimately changed my brain chemistry. A note on the choreo - Joey and Lauren slow-dancing gave me visions of their wedding and I am the opposite of ok.

Unrelated to the performance, but I just want to give a shout-out to the audience. As someone seeing them live for the first time (and going to the show alone), I wasn’t sure what to expect. But within minutes of getting in line, I caught myself thinking “I’ve found my people”. Everyone was as excited and into it as I was and it made all the difference. Thank you, Starkid fans, for creating such a wonderful, positive, welcoming community.

[tarditzgrade]

guess i should do one of these since i might be making a comeback

welcome to my blog!

call me tarditzgrade, ditz, dtz, or whatever. any pronouns are fine by me. time zone is est.

i do writing and videos mostly. i'm trying to get back into art, but only time will tell. i also do piano kinda sorta.

i'm a lore/world-building enthusiast so i love learning about the little stuff about most games/pieces of media and am always down to talk about any of these things

things i know about and have interest in (in no particular order): pokemon, kirby, (paper) mario, smash bros, fe3h, botw, no straight roads, splatoon, ninjago, twrp (the band), starkid's hatchetfield, mythology (mostly greek, egyptian, and norse, but i'd love to learn about asian mythos one day), and probably more. i will add them when i remember them

ninjago is probably the most prominent one rn, but that doesn't mean i don't love the other things.

i do youtube under tardtzgrade where i cover whatever topics i want. i write on ao3 under tarditzgrade. same deal, just whatever makes it out of the wips goes up there it's tardtzgrade on discord as well the tarditzgrade on insta is me, but since i know people irl over there and website culture is real, i don't post any fandom stuff. im not on twitter and will never be on twitter

asks and reqs are always open but im never obligated to do them

writing is under tarditz writes. asks are under tarditz answers. long posts about who knows what are under tarditz rambles.

idk anything else to say :)

[somedeepmystery]

It’s only the fifth of August! I’m not too late!

But seriously, where did July go? I feel like five minutes ago I was at the lake with my family watching fireworks and hoping none of the idiot men setting them off lost a finger.

I have thrown myself into another round of outlining The Book, current working title: This Time. Things are going well. This whole outlining thing is so new to me, but so is not operating purely on the drive of hyperfixation! I guess we’ll see if it works, and I end up finishing my first every original, novel length story! (Whoa!)

In other adventures, the fam and I went to LA to see Team Starkid’s Cinderella’s Castle, and it was so freaking fun. It has been so long — too fucking long — since I’ve seen a live play! (I’m using too many exclamations, but I promise I feel them all.)

It was a hit-and-run style trip that JUST HAPPENED to be scheduled for the day after Crowdstrike decided to fuck up all our lives. It got a little hairy, we swapped a flight for a straight shot — which can be hard to get where I am. You almost always have to go through Seattle, and I was like, “we will get stuck there.” (sure enough, our original connection in Seattle was canceled so—)

Switching the flight, moved our departure time up several hours, making the trip more stressful. The girls don’t fly often, and I was hectically managing all the liquids for flying carry-on only, but we got where we needed to be. I even got to squeeze in breakfast with a friend the morning of the show.

The show was so good — funny, naughty, exciting — sharing it with M and O made it even more amazing, and hubby — who knows nothing and has no experience with any of it — had such a good attitude about it, I fell in love all over again, but he also enjoyed himself.

Sir Hop-A-Lot was his favorite.

July was hot, hot and more hot, even where I am in Washington State. And I sadly have NOT been to the lake, which is a crime really. We’ve had multiple A/C issues - it’s fine until we pass 100F, then it just shuts off. We will try to change the temp we expect it to keep next time and see if that helps. I know some people don’t have A/C so, I need to be thankful I have it the rest of the time.

Now, it’s August and my current goal is to get through this outline one more time, making sure everything works and lines up, then — writer gods willing — I will start drafting (again.)

Random side note: Stop being afraid of the thesaurus. It can really help you find the word you are trying to remember, and isn’t going to turn you into a fanfic newbie writer who uses it to replace crutch words just by looking at it. Okay? I promise that it’s not just for finding 100$ words to replace the 5$ ones. Lol

(But you can do that too, and sometimes that is also actually okay. All words exist for a reason.)

So, it’s AUGUST, huh? Crazy!

I hope you all are doing well. I know the world is kind of A Lot right now, and I’m sending you my deep hope for the welfare and good health of you and yours.

Love, me

[shaykesqueer]

YAYYY I CAN'T WAIT FOR MY BREAKFASTTTT

I wanna be nosey and ask:

4

6

7

9

10

12

14

15

16

20

22

29

33

You had an essay of my OCs,I shall now annoy you with too many questions<3

Take this as payment<3

4. What is your favorite book?

Can I choose a book series? It’s the Wheel of Time. Shocker, I know :’) I JUST LOVE IT SO MUCH! 

6. AND 7. 5 Male celebrity crushes and 5 Female celebrity crushes

When you say celebrity, you mean like… real people? Does that mean I can’t choose Sweetums and the Crypt Keeper??? I’m putting these two questions together because I’m trying to think but this is difficult! Tobias, OBVIOUSLY, but also I keep thinking Bella Ramsey and they’re nonbinary 😭 OH Jennifer Tilly for sure. Can I just.. Nearly the entire cast of Starkid? Jon, Angela, Kim, Curt, Joey, Lauren? I don’t find a lot of celebrities attractive until they play a certain role, yknow? I never found Brad Pitt attractive until I saw him in Inglorious Basterds and he killed Nazis? Or Nicholas Cage, but then he was Dracula? Hell I’d even say I find Daniel Craig attractive after Knives Out! I like my crushes a little fruity, what can I say? And does a crush just mean you find someone attractive? In which case, the list must be so long! Anyway, rant. Over. Difficult question, I love everyone. Oh and Viggo Mortensen. Because of LOTR and Crimes of the Future. 

9. What do you consider your biggest accomplishment?

Probably that I got top surgery. I could ramble about all the little things that I’m proud of myself for doing that probably don’t seem like much, like feeling generally happy day to day or being able to decide what to have for lunch or knowing my limits and learning how to say no, but that seems small in comparison! 

10. What is a fact about you that nobody would believe?

See this one is difficult because I feel like any “weird” fact about me is very believable? I don’t like watching people kiss. I think it’s gross. 

12. Where is somewhere you'd like to visit?

Knotts Scary Farm at Halloween. 

14. What are your favorite apps besides tumblr?

I’m on instagram a lot! I don’t really post on there a bunch anymore because it’s a black hole for artists, but I still like scrolling! And Pinterest as well! I’m probably on Discord a lot more these days too! 

15. Describe yourself in one sentence.

Adorable but deceptively creepy, like a Cabbage Patch Kid that came to life and grew up. 

16. What do you think makes you attractive?

I have the softest love handles, I make the dumbest jokes, and I kiss real good. 

20. What's a totally random and useless fact that you know?

All pigeons are domesticated. It’s not useless though, it means you could have pigeon friends. That’s my go to, but another one is the average number of skeletons per person on earth is more than one. 

22. What is your most prized possession?

I really want to say it’s some bit of art I’ve made but no, it’s my teddy. It’s Pinky. 

29. Favorite song lyrics right now?

“This dear abomination of a child has many names

Lindworm, king of serpents

Girdle of the realm

This guy has nothing left to prove with size that overwhelms”

From Powersnake by Brothers of Metal

33. What’s a pet peeve you have?

I hate it when people drink straight milk. It’s nasty. And before you say anything, I don’t just mean dairy, I mean any kind of milk. 

Let's hope I got all the right questions this time!!

Thank you for the Ray sugar plum! <3 <3

[intothewickedwood]

Starkid Show Ranking

So, for the last few months I’ve watched one Starkid musical a weekend. Best few months ever! Some I hadn’t seen in years and some I regularly see at least 3 times a year. A few I liked even more than I remembered. So here is my new ranking for which I like best! These are just my personal faves. Not saying which ones are best just putting in order which shows I like best. I think they’re all great!

13) Ani: A Parody

A genuinely good show. I love characters like Obi in it but I just don’t know jack about Star Wars.

11) Black Friday

I love a lot of the music. It has some really great moments.

10) Holy Musical B@man!

I did not give this show a chance all those years ago when I first watched. Maybe because I wasn’t big on batman. I am a huge Superman and DC fan in general though and the last rewatches I’ve had I’ve really enjoyed it! Love Superman and Batman’s dynamic. Really fun show with great music.

9) Twisted: The Untold Story of a Royal Vizier

Love the Wicked vibes. Never really been an Aladdin fan but I really like this show. Jafar and his wife’s story breaks my heart every time.

8) The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals

I love the fact it’s a horror comedy. The music is so good. It makes me laugh and cry. Great introduction to the Hatchetfield series.

7) Firebringer

This show has a very special place in my heart. It was my mum’s first introduction to Starkid and she’s been the one person I’ve got who’s been watching Starkid with me ever since. We make so many references and it’s all thanks to this show! We watched it about 20 times the year it came out. The music is phenomenal, the family aspect of the show makes it feel like home.

6) Trail To Oregon!

So my Nanna forced us to watch Little House and the Prairie with her for many years and this show has strong lhotp vibes. I feel such a warm feeling when watching this chaotic family and the musical is awesome! I cannot express how much I love the mother especially.

5) Starship

This show is freaking hilarious. The characters are great and the story is beautiful. It was one I didn’t give a chance at first, given the space theme but I wish I’d done so earlier on because it’s really awesome.

4) Me and My Dick

I loooove this show. It’s hilarious and heartfelt. It gives me such nostalgia. I love all the characters with all my heart. I love saying lines from this show and confusing people.

3) A Very Potter Senior Year

Another heartfelt musical. I just cry at the end. I just love it so much.

2) A Very Potter Musical

This was my first introduction ever to Harry Potter! And this trilogy was all I knew of Harry Potter for many years after. I now love hp and the starkid version but the starkid version of characters and Hogwarts will always be the real characters and Hogwarts to me. I was so confused when I first watched the movies and then the book. Some stuff I thought starkid had straight up made up. It was one of my first Starkid shows and will always have a special place in my heart. I love the characters so much it makes me emotional. They mean so much to me and a lot of them are my all time favourite characters in anything ever. I just want them to be happy! It’s hilarious and the songs are amazing.

1) A Very Potter Sequel

Love this show so so much. I cry with laughter every time as I do with all the trilogy but especially this one. It’s one of my favourite things in the world and is in the top 4 musicals ever for this musical theatre nerd right here. The music is beyond totally awesome. I can’t express how much I love this show and this musical trilogy.

[cc-tinslebee]

Okay, so, about a month ago, my brain just conjured up probably the most random au possible: Legally Blonde Adam Banks/banksway au.

Believe me, it's as chaotic as it sounds, but lowkey, I'm kind of in love with it.

Adam never joins the Ducks because there aren't any Ducks to join. Bombay never had to do community service with District Five so there was no one to realise that Adam was on the wrong team all along. He continues to play for the Hawks and, eventually, the Eden Hall Warriors, never getting the chance to become the well-rounded individual we know him as because he's never known anything other than his rich privilege and the "win at all costs" mentality. He ends up going to college on a hockey scholarship and not straight to the NHL or the AHL (shocking, I know). While he's unsure of his major and where his life is heading, he finds solace in the fraternity he joins, which, by some sheer twist of fate, Jesse and Guy have also miraculously joined.

And his life is perfect for a while. He's the star player on yet another school's hockey team, all of his fraternity brothers adore him (though, it took a bit for Jesse to warm up to him), and his secret, not-really-official thing with his former teammate is going swimmingly. (Not to slander my boy, but I was picturing Larson for the role of Warner, purely because the alternative seems to be Rick Riley and that's kind of an unsettling image-- though, maybe that's the point?)

But then his secret boyfriend breaks up with him because, with his high aspirations in life, he needs to be "more serious." And dating Adam Banks, a guy in a stereotypical fraternity who only really knows hockey, in 2001 isn't exactly the white-picket-fence life he's looking for if he's going to be a politician.

And since this non-Duck Adam clearly doesn't have the braincells that canon Adam does, in his devastation, he decides it's a brilliant idea to prove that he is serious by applying to Harvard Law. His parents try to talk him out of it, since they want him to pursue his dreams of hockey, but being a lawyer is a respectable career so they can't exactly argue with him.

He gets accepted thanks to Jesse, Guy, and the rest of his fraternity helping him study for the LSAT and keeping him on track. He's trying his darndest when he gets to Harvard, but (despite his struggle not being as significant as Elle Woods'), not a lot of people take him seriously as an aspiring lawyer, considering him a meathead jock who only got in because of daddy's money.

And that's about the time he meets Linda, who he vaguely remembers from his time at Eden Hall. What he doesn't remember is her being so competitive, because she's deliberately beating him at every turn, just trying (and kind of succeeding) at making him look like a fool. To make matters worse, all of the sudden, she's engaged to his ex-boyfriend, who is very adamant about never telling anyone that he and Adam were more than friends (because, you know, early 2000s homophobia and such).

But things get a little brighter for Adam when he meets Charlie, an undergrad teacher's assistant who gives him all sorts of advice about surviving the school. He introduces him to Professor Bombay, who Charlie claims is the only reason he survived his first year and quickly becomes Adam's favourite teacher, and Charlie's childhood friend Connie, who aspires to be a state senator one day. Charlie's charismatic and even if he's not the most well-liked person at Harvard, Adam feels a weight lifted off his shoulders once he becomes friends with him and Connie. Things become a little easier.

Just before he and Charlie start getting really close, Adam meets Casey at a local diner on a day he's feeling particularly upset and alone, and the two start bonding almost immediately. (He bullshits his way into scaring an ex-husband of hers with legal repercussions he has no idea about and she basically adopts him in return.) It takes him an embarrassing amount of time to realise that it's not just a coincidence that Casey and Charlie share the same last name, which results in poor Adam feeling extremely embarrassed for not connecting the dots sooner while Charlie's having the time of his life teasing him for it. Eventually, when the dust of that settles, Charlie and Adam join forces to set Casey and Bombay up, their schemes borderline ridiculous at times, but they'rere not exactly failing.

And after realising he isn't the Warriors moron she thought he was for going on five years, Linda starts warming up to Adam, which is surprisingly nice? She figures out on her own that there used to be something between him and her fiancé, and is more understanding of Adam than she is mad. Linda actually spills to him the lengths Adam's ex had to go through to actually get into Harvard, aligning more with the rumours about Adam's acceptance being bought than having the aptitude for the law that Linda and Adam share. (This may be me saying Linda and Adam friendship rights, what of it-- /lh)

To make things all the better, Bombay chooses Adam, Linda, Connie, Charlie, and Adam's ex to be on his legal team for a murder case he's responsible for (and while he knows about Adam and Charlie's ploys to hook him up with Charlie's mom, they're his favourites, so he doesn't say anything).

And this is just so much better than anything he had before. After all the initial unpleasantness, Linda and Connie become some of the most genuine friends he's ever had. He misses Guy and Jesse, of course, and he'd never take them for granted, but back when he was with them at the fraternity, a part of him was still being as superficial as he had been in middle and high school. Being authentic for once in his life is liberating.

And Charlie's just about the most considerate person Adam's ever met. Adam doesn't even mind when Charlie teases him over his absurd and juvenile insults because he's just this source of light for Adam, supporting him and always pushing him to be the best version of himself. His ex hardly even exists when Charlie's around because his energy is just so contagious that Adam starts falling for him long before he even realises it. (And when Jesse and Guy come to visit, there's a moment where it all clicks and the four of them realise their history together, however brief. I strongly maintain that they'd be that Starkid meme: "Fucking Hawks? We hated you guys!" "We hated ourselves!" But it does make Adam realise how much better off he would've been if he had Charlie and his team when he was little instead of the Hawks, and it just further makes him understand that people like Larson and Rick Riley just aren't worth it.)

But there's also another revelation Adam goes through. Between helping Casey, his rigorous studies, and his position working with/for Bombay, something just clicks for Adam. He likes being able to help people, fighting for the good guys who may not have the resources they need to be properly defended. Practicing law calls to him in the same way hockey did; it's the feeling of knowing this is what he's meant to do. He still loves hockey, he always will, but it helps him finally grasp that there's a world for him outside of it; when hockey ends for him, there's something equally as rewarding that he can pursue, which was something he never thought he would have.

I haven't a single coherent thought about this au past that point except for these little inklings of an ending--

There's absolutely no SA scene like the movie had; Bombay's just Adam and Charlie's favourite teacher and those are his boys, so he's going to make sure they succeed as if his life depends on it.

With that said, Bombay believes in them both enough to let them finish the case because with their joined determination/stubbornness (and Adam's in with the defendant), Adam and Charlie are a force to be reckoned with and he knows it.

After a handful of comedic failures, they do end up succeeding at their attempts to set Casey and Bombay up, and they start living together sometime during the kids' Junior year :) (All I'm asking is for one (1) story with a Casey/Gordon endgame-- I just think they're neat--)

Linda dumps her fiancé (as she should) and goes on to live her best wlw life as a successful lawyer. (If I'm not mistaken, Linda's actress actually is a lawyer, which is a pretty cool fun fact!!)

Adam and Linda's ex gets the Warner ending because, man, screw that guy /lh (rip to Larson if this is him, I'm sure you'll get a nice endgame in some other universe, king)

Honorary mention for Connie, who was going long distance with Guy this entire time to everyone but Jesse's shock, and they get their Game Changers endgame of State Senator Connie Moreau and stay-at-home dad Guy Germaine with their seven -- sorry, three -- children :)

Adam's an absolute bundle of nerves after graduation, which definitely concerns Charlie. So, when he asks if he's okay, Adam starts nervously monologuing about their time together until he runs out of breath. He ends it by proposing to him, and Charlie smiles so surely at him when he says yes. They both become damn good public defenders and stay engaged until the point they can legally get married, but they're practically husbands long before that happens.

Also, if I did my math right (which I should’ve, it’s my entire basis for my Share Your Address series), the Ducks’ would have the same graduating class year as Elle Woods anyway (2004), which is pretty neat!

Thank you once again for listening to me ramble :)

[gotta-get-back-to-hatchetfield]

Doing the starkid 30 days challenge thing recently posted by starkid-heritage-posts

(but in one day because this is more of a boredom thing)

Q1: Fave Starkid production

This is hard but I think it's AVPM. A lot of that is down to nostalgia but I also personally think it’s their funniest show (which I don’t think is an unreasonable opinion, I did howl for 3 full hours when I first saw it) and I'm a simple creature who just wants to laugh. Twisted and TGWDLM are obviously close second, but Firebringer is my favourite soundtrack.

Q2: Fave male starkid

I don't know I don't really have one. I'm not at all judging people that do, but I've never personally been very good at liking celebrities or real people who I don't know in my life. I think they're all very talented and have opinions on their skills but I don't really have 'favourites' as it were

Q3: Fave female starkid

Diane

Q4: Fave AVPM/AVPS character

Cheating by interpreting this as two sub questions. AVPM is Voldemort and AVPS is Lupin

Q5: Fave Starkid song

Fuck, this is even harder than favourite show. I'm going to say Twisted from Twisted but this can and will change on a monthly basis

Q6: Fave picture of Darren

This screenshot I just took of AVPM act 1 part 1 because it makes me feel the full spectrum of human emotion

I am literally having heart palpitations just looking at it

Q7: Fave Joe (Inc Joey)

Joe mama

Q8: Fave line from MAMD

Okay I have 3:

1) "Joey Richter you cannot touch me with your penis"

2) "That's because our hearts are waltzing to a song in 4/4"

3) "SOMEONE TELL HIM WHERE HIS DICK IS"

Q9: Fave line from AVPM

I have way more than 3 so I'm just going to settle on the Pigfarts monologue

Q10: Fave line from LWL

"I'm not pooping"

Q11: Fave episode of potion masters corner

Either Darren Criss or Brian Holden unless we're counting live ones in which case the time at geeky con when Joe Walker just straight up picks Joe Moses up with his hips and walks around with him hanging off his body for a bit

Q12: Which starkid show would you like to be made into a movie?

Starship. Not because it's my favourite show or anything I just think it would work really well as an animated movie and more so than others has a lot of potential that would seriously benefit from the opportunity to make some changes. I think the style of comedy from most of the other shows wouldn’t necessarily translate well to the screen

Q13: Favourite Lang brother?

Valentine

Q14: Which Starkid would you marry?

Valentine but only for tax reasons

Q15: AVPM or AVPS?

Unpopular opinion I know, but its AVPM

While I do believe that the first 45 minutes of AVPS are among the greatest of any Starkid show, imo the plot of act 2 is too messy and convoluted for it to rank above the first. I think if they'd cut either Umbridge or Peter Pettigrew and just had the remaining one and Lucius as the only two villains it would have been a lot more streamlined. Also quirrelmort is just so beautiful

But I do absolutely love AVPS tho so no shade

Q16: Joe Walker as Voldemort or Umbdridge

Voldemort (my beloved)

Q17: If there was to be a third part to AVPM what do you think should happen?

I don't know but I sure hope it involves Gilderoy Lockhart wanting to fuck a mouse

Q18: Why do you love starkid?

I think their style is just so unique and entertaining. Even in my less favourite shows I'm never bored while watching (and rewatching) them, they’re all just so enjoyable and effortlessly watchable. While there are definitely similarities and inspirations to and from other works, I don't think theres anything that puts it together in quite the way starkid does.

I also just think it's so impressive that they're an entirely grass roots, crowd funded company who are providing high quality theatre for free. They really are so unique in how they operate and help theatre reach a wider audience and I think that's why people get sooo unreasonably into starkid because it really is such a wholesome idea to get behind and we really feel invested in their success as a community.

Q19: Do you call them starkid or dikrats?

I honestly call them dikrats in my personal life and files but I tend to call them starkid when interacting with other people because it's alas no longer 2012

Q20: Dumbledore or rumbleroar?

I'd like to see Rumbleroar sing 'welcome' for 40 whole seconds

Q21: What do you think of LWL?

There are clearly ways in which it's not perfect but given how young they were when they made it it's shockingly good. Its definitely something that when you start watching you can't stop which is not true of a lot of very high budget web series I've seen recently. They also do a good job of adding laugh out loud comedy moments to a not-primarily-comedic live-action show which is actually incredibly difficult to do (although I mainly think this is because they got bored halfway through making it so started goofing around)

Q22: Brian Holden. Care to comment?

He's probably one of my favourite comedy actors in starkid, I think lupin, superman, flopsy and junior are just so effortlessly funny and I think he was a big part of a lot of the early starkid 'jokes that shouldn't be funny but are definitely hilarious'

Q23: Funniest AVPM character?

Malfoy although every single one of them is extremely hilarious, I don't think I've ever seen a better designed set of comedy characters

Q24: Fave starkid line?

I don't even a little bit know where to begin with this one. "Okay is wonderful" maybe?

Q25: A starkid gif

You can tell this was an old quiz because it was made in a time when Tumblr had a functioning gif library

Q26: Did you expect Dobby to be Draco's father?

If anyone says yes to this take note because they are Nick Lang in a trench coat

Q27: Do you apply any starkid references in your life?

The most humiliating thing about getting back into starkid was realising how many of my 'ashleyisms' were just starkid quotes. "Hot dog not hamburger" "I thought I was your best friend" "he's got bear hands" and so many more that I cant remember off the top of my head are just sentences that I say which I didn't realise I had fully plagiarised from starkid. Maybe I am the Lego batman movie

Q28: Thoughts on red vines?

They are my favourite colour vine other than green

Q29: Fave photo of Joey?

It's probably something else but for now I have also chosen this screenshot I just took of his entrance into avpm act 1 part 1. Again soooooo many emotions

(I also really like his current headshot, I think the moustache and long hair suit him)

Q30: If you could ask any starkid a question who would it be and what would you ask?

I would track down Corey Lubowich and with a gun to his head ask him to explain the vertices on the nmt hexagon puzzle

[reginaofdoctorwho]

if anyone wants to recommend musicals to me I would fucking adore that. Until then, here are some suggestions:

Love in Hate Nation-- LET’S GO LESBIANS! 1960s sapphic love story taking place in a girls’ reformatory. Also, trans girl played by trans actress!!! Some of the amazing songs are “I Hope” and “Oh Well”. Susannah Son wants to be a singer, her performative activist boyfriend is gross and also wants her to marry him so he’ll have better options politically. Sheila Nail is so fucking cool and I love everyone in this. My brain cuts out about this I’m so sorry babes. There is not a cast recording but there IS an original cast bootleg on youtube.

Holy Musical B@man!-- If you liked the goofiness of 1960s Batman and Robin, but think “man, these guys should’ve been able to swear! And also should have had a candy themed villain!” this is the musical for you. Also if you’ve heard of the very queer Harry Potter musical that JK herself tried to sue over, it’s made by the same group <3. As usual with Team Starkid, whole thing is up for free on youtube by the creators.

Firebringer-- Speaking of the same group... Cave people sapphics who I think are bi or pan. I love them and they’re all so dumb. Also, if you’ve seen the “I don’t really wanna do the work today” vine, that comes from this. I do not remember any of the second half other than one of them taking the ring the other is proposing with... to propose. And the “*blows kiss*” “fuck no, Zazz” “duly noted”. Kind of like a shitpost musical. Once again, free by creators. Actually, check out any of their musicals.

The Prom-- In Indiana, Emma just wants to take her girlfriend to the prom, and in response, the PTA cancels it. With some help from some broadway actors looking for good publicity, they manage to pull it off. So, to summarize, teen lesbian gets gay uncle who knows what she’s going through!! This musical makes me cry every goddamn time. There is a movie now, and I’m very happy about that because *high profile gay rep on netflix*, but I personally did not like the direction they took with it. They put a weird amount of emphasis on biological rather than found family in the movie, and were a little too forgiving when it came to trauma from family for being gay. Also, they took away Emma being butch. This was sadly (loosely) based on a recent true story from I think 2012. Also, was the first gay kiss in the Macy’s parade. You know those movie musicals the straight girls in theater like? The music is similar, but gayer, and for some reason that makes me so fuckng happy. I think it’s because non-queer people have had musicals for so long, and those normally have a 60s vibe, and the music in this does too and it feels more classic?? Sapphic promposal song (het at the beginning). “Unruly Heart” and the end of Act 1 will break you. Please ignore the bad wigs.

Spies Are Forever-- GAY SPIES GAY SPIES GAY SPIES!! Curt Mega (played by... Curt Mega) lost his partner Owen during a mission. Now, he’s just trying to get back into spying like Owen would want. I fucking weep every time. Also, a song about comphet (at 6:36)!! And here is a video essay on how it relates to the Lavender Scare. I want you all to know that everyone also headcanons the femme fatale spy in it as either a lesbian or aroace, which uh, makes sense. Also high quality videos put up by creators. They had Jewish people making fun of Nazis while writing this, but “Not so Bad” is... kinda bad. “Torture Tango” has so much goddamn sexual tension and becomes devastating.

Hadestown--  If you know the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, it’s like that, except capitalism part 1. Orpheus is a poor musician, Eurydice dies, just like the myth. Except, the Great Depression post-apocalyptic setting that works better than it probably should. There are actually 3 soundtracks: the concept album, off-Broadway, and Broadway. I personally don’t like the concept album purely based on vibe. Off-Broadway has an absolutely gorgeous sounding Orpheus, and if you’ve heard of the disaster that was Spiderman: Turn Out the Dark, then you’ve heard of surprisingly amazing Broadway Orpheus Reeve Carney. The Fates are gorgeous and I’ve decided they’re queer. Tony’s performance link here. Explores relationships, with Hades and Persephone’s aging relationship mirrored by Orpheus and Eurydice’s relatively new one. Anyway, unionize.

Jasper in Deadland-- If you know the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, it’s like that, except capitalism part 2. Jasper is a teen who’s best friend Agnes is pretty much the one good thing left in his life. His mom left, he got kicked off the swim team (he’s manic pixie dream boy in this, especially for swimming), and Agnes dies at the beginning trying to show Jasper that she’s brave and he should be too. So, he bravely ventures into Deadland to find her, meeting Gretchen the tour guide along the way. He also finds out that since he’s still living, he can bring memories back to the dead. Songs like “Stroke by Stroke” (he’s uh, definitely a teen, guys) and “Living Dead” (I shared a prinxiety animatic of that on here a while ago).They blend Greek, Norse, Egyptian, Christian, and whatever Dante’s Inferno counts as together to create Deadland. Story’s kinda hard to follow from the soundtrack, so if u wanna learn how it all ties together message me.

Death Note Musical-- Okay babes, here’s where it gets tough. It was written originally in English, and there is a spectacular English concept album, but the only productions have been in South Korea, Japan, and I think Taiwan. Listen to it anyways, find a bootleg of it with english subtitles. It has so much gay tension and also a truly ethereal character who seems to be a lesbian who is also either demisexual or demiromantic. If any of y’all saw the anime like me, it kind of cuts out the arc after episode 26. I personally thought it was actually a better story for it.

Alice by Heart-- Okay, this one makes me fucking cry every goddamn time. In WW2, these poor goddamn kids are all alone in the Tube System (is that what y’all call it? genuinely asking here) with none of their parents but still some grownups. Alice’s best friend Alfred is dying of tuberculosis, and to try to have one last thing together they start reading Alice in Wonderland, only for Nurse Hart to rip it apart to try to separate healthy Alice from dying-from-TB Alfred. It doesn’t work, and Alice proclaims she “knows it all by heart”, She tries to linger in the story with Alfred to have more time with him, he keeps trying to move it along because he’s dying and wants to finish it one last time. Themes are growing up and grief I guess.

Last I checked, there is a bootleg for all of these on youtube. Have fun!

[youremyonlyhope]

MAMD

Ok seeing all the rewatchers1000 posts has inspired me to rewatch Me and My Dick too.

It’s literally been a decade since I last watched this. I definitely was in high school. I think I’ve only watched this musical twice maybe 3 times, though I do genuinely love it.

It’s so strange that as a completely naive teenager whose introduction to most sexual jokes came from this musical, and is now greysexual, that the musical still managed to take hold of SUCH a special place in my heart.

Now let’s see if the Old Snatch is still my favorite character or not. I know I used to adore her.

Aww Joey’s a BABY. Oof the sound quality. I don’t know why I had my volume so low. “I love you more than anything... my Dick.”  Joe’s a baby too. “Never even seen a booby” why did that line just kill me. “Good grief” aww. The head tilt! I’ve listened the Apocalyptour soundtrack so many times over the years, that I’m not used to them actually finishing the sentence “It’s me and my dick!” Tell me why I’m singing along to Dick’s lines and not Joey’s? Awwww little baby Jaime. “And if we’re late for class, well I guess that’s ok!” “Is she gone?” “Yeah! I’m gone!” Oh my god she’s a salad. I can’t remember, did we make that into an insult like we did for toaster...

I’m also drinking a hard pear cider that I discovered my bodega sells earlier this week. It’s delicious.

Aww there’s a bit of the trumpet from Listen to Your Heart in the scene transition! The audience reaction to Miss Cooter’s name. Yesssss Ready to Go. Legitimately one of the best StarKid songs to this day. “AgNOooo3″ Aww Ali. Literally a baby. She was the reigning youngest StarKid for so long. “...and it’s only when the Silver and the Nitrogen find all THREE Oxygens that they finally solve the case!” “...Calm down.” Amazing.

God I forgot how short some of these parts were back when YouTube didn’t let you post more than 10 minutes.

Oh shoot how did I only just noticed the “This video is for big StarKids only!” in the description. That’s so cute. They tried. They did not succeed in keeping away the little StarKids.

Ok wait one more interruption before I press play on Part 3. I just noticed that the video says 12 years ago. I just gagged. Ok moving on.

Alle-Faye! She’s so good. Yessssssss The Old Snatch and Flopsy.  “Wide Receiver” I can’t. God I’m so used to the SPACE version that I nearly went straight into Flopsy’s verse after the Old Snatch’s. “What, I ain’t!” Brolden your voice. “Whiles, we’s, waits to be delivered, go ahead cry me a river, we agree that there’s no quid pro quo” That line has always been my favorite for some reason. I just love the jazzy rhythm. The whole jazzy vibe of the show is amazing. “Save your tears for lubrication!” Amazing.  “I know there’s so much more to what I think I see” I keep singing the new soprano line they used in Homecoming. “TOTES JUST TOTED!” amazing. God. That’s such a good song. It’d be the perfect opening number for the show, if Me and My Dick wasn’t the title number and needed in order to explain the concept of the show. Also I never realized that Corey, Arielle, Lily, and Richard are the only “ensemble” in the show. I don’t think I ever realized there were only 12 people in this entire cast... how many were in AVPM... now I gotta check. There were 17. Also there’s 13 in the cast, AJ just isn’t in Ready to Go. Also, Nicholas Joseph Strauss-Matathia. Fave.

“I heard Joey Richter ate his poop because his Dick told him to” What. “He looks like an old lesbian!” I forgot that joke. “I WANNA HAVE CARIBBEAN STUDY WITH YOU!” Iconic. Oh wait. It just hit me that of the 4 (or 8 if you count the genitalia) main characters, 3 (6) are women. Though of course, 2 vaginas are played by men, so it does come out to 4 and 4 for actors, but character-wise, it’s 6 and 2. That’s fun. Somehow this managed to be the most woman-dominant show other than Firebringer, in a way. “Thank you so much, for giving all that up, so I can have that with Vanessa and not with you” Amazing. I forgot that Devin has an operatic voice in this song. This song now makes me think of the time StarKid had a fan join Joe in singing this song at LeakyCon a few years ago. Purposefully to prank a fan with having to sing the least-well-known StarKid song. I will admit it is forgettable. Also the fan somewhat knew the song and stumbled through it pretty well, so all the StarKids were like “That went so much better than we though! We wanted to make a joke but you did it!” at the end. I love that Richard’s entire point in this show is just to make fun of Joey.

Aww. Every StarKid show needs an outdated reference. This time, it’s “I thought you’d go all Britney on me and have a spaz attack.” The sword of Gryffindor is in there. “A stiff outer lip” That probably went over my head as a teen. “Don’t be a stranger” “Never!” Love her. The slow building laugh at “She’s got long, beautiful, flowing hair.” Oh my god sorry I can’t get over how young Joey is, he’s a baby. “Are you nuts?” “A little” adorable. “We’re like Batman and Robin, or Superman... and his dick!” Amazing.

”And by pecker I assume you’re referring to a p-p-p-p-p-p... a cock” Nick my god. Knowing that Devin and Nick were really close friends in college (if I remember the story correctly, he coined “devdevnumnums” at orientation when they met and that was her tumblr url back in the day) makes this song even funner to me. God I love the Old Snatch. Oh my god the pearl necklaces. A costume piece that went over my head. ”Oh you must really be wet... behind the ears! With naiveté!” Lines that went over my head. OH MY GOD. TIFFANY HAS A RED ENV2! I HAD A RED ENV2 IN 2009! Oh my god just squeaked. What a throwback. Aww the Old Snatch.

I haven’t mentioned the blue headband yet, but I love the blue headband so much. “Don’t worry, no one’s gonna have sex with you while I’m here” *sincere nodding* Amazing. I forgot that line until about 2 seconds before it happened. “Do you want me to give you a back scratch?” “No we’re fine.” “No thanks.” I’m dead. THE TEXTBOOK. “She wants to have sex with us.” “She does?” “Yeah.” “Nice I did it!” Amazing. Oh the camerawork when Dick looks to his left for someone else. I’m glad they thought ahead with the camerawork even for their second show. AHHHH THE SOCK. I JUST SCREAMED. LIGHTING A MATCH?? I remembered Flopsy coming out like a monster about a second before it happened. “I’m not gonna fucking sing with you!” Another line that came back to me only just before it happened. Also, Brian looks really pretty with the make-up and the wig. I remember watching that entire scene when I was 14 and PRAYING my parents wouldn’t walk in and ask what I was watching. I was cringing the entire time, but this time it’s funny (and still made me cringe a bit because it’s meant to be awkward).

Awww here we go. The first scene of MAMD I ever saw because I wanted to know why everyone loved AJ so much. “I wish I was born without a dick. Or as a girl or something.” 2009 StarKid is accidentally sort of trans-inclusive for that one line. Sort of. I remember being SO confused seeing Dick run away out of context when I watched only this scene. And In context it’s still shocking. Aww the heartbeat. “Why hello there Joey.” AJ’S A BABY!!! HE’S SO YOUNG!! HE’S A BABY! I literally just squeaked. Oh my god he’s so young. “Wow the nine of hearts!” “That’s right the king of hearts!” “Ew!” “Read this. It’s a Jane Austen novel Joey.” Oh my god I was just talking to one of my coworkers about how obsessed I am with Jane Austen. Why did StarKid stop referencing her in their musicals?  Oh it’s Sense and Sensibility. So is Vanessa the Willoughby and Sally is the Colonel Brandon? Am I overthinking this? Am I slightly tipsy from 2 ciders because I have no alcohol tolerance? I’m gonna go with: they’re trying to draw a parallel there with the Marianne love triangle but making it Joey. I think it works. To my half asleep slightly tipsy mind. “Sometimes, your one true love turns out to be the person you initially... disliked.” Yes definitely, I forgot that line, but I caught on to that parallel correctly. I am SO HAPPY. “When did Jane Austen say that?” In half her novels Joey. Why specifically 223%? I cannot get over how little AJ is! He’s such a baby! He’s so young. Oh my god. So cute. I can’t. BRB gotta see if I can find an example of one of those old AJ Holmes Appreciate Day posts from like 2012 oh my god.

Ok so way back in 2011 and 2012, when a whole bunch of us had our own little group that posted constantly on the StarKidPotter FB wall (before FB introduced Timeline and messed up our system of posting), we used to do an AJ Holmes Appreciation Day and just post things about how awesome AJ was, but in like Chuck Norris 2010s style jokes. I just went back in my Facebook activity to see, and I wrote things like “Apple Juice is only firetrucking delicious because its initials are A.J.” and “AJ Holmes dares to disturb Goyle’s slumber!”

But the one that is relevant and I think I’m probably most proud of: “AJ Holmes doesn’t listen to his heart, his heart listens to him.”

Ok that’s my StarKid fandom history/walk down memory lane/intermission done. On to Act 2!

WAIT A SECOND. I am not done. I had posted “JK Rowling didn’t come up with the idea of Harry Potter, AJ Holmes whispered it into her ear.” and basically, did I accidentally predict A Very Potter Senior Year in 2011... StarKid, should I ask for royalties? (I’m kidding)

OK NOW I’m done and going on to Act 2. Also I have a headache now, which means I shouldn’t have drunk that second cider, I should have saved it for another time. Oh well. I’ll power through.

Oh my god. Dick on the street. Oh my god Nick saying “Fuck you!” over and over. I’m DEAD. Darren’s cameo oh my god. Corey and Arielle are amazing. “Wait that’s just a curtain” Oh, the 4th wall breaks. “Ever since I rescued Weenie from a bird” A BIRD. I FORGOT THE BIRD. Do we get to see the bird? The Land of the Dicks is such a great jazz song. Also flashback to me talking to some girls on the StarKid Takes Manhattan line who were younger than me and them saying “I’m worried they’ll sing a song from MAMD. My mom’s going to come to the concert, and she doesn’t know about that show.” and I said “Don’t worry. They only do Ready to Go or Listen to your Heart live. I mean, it’s not like they’re gonna sing Land of the Dicks. Hahaha” And then Lauren sang the Land of the Dicks. Which was AMAZING, but I remember turning to one of them when the opening started and mouthing “I am so sorry...” God Land of the Dicks is genuinely SUCH a good song oh my god. I hope AJ and Carlos are proud of it. Also oh my god. I gotta throw out some appreciation for Corey. Who honestly did not get the appreciation he deserved from the fandom until we started the Hatchetfield musicals. But I loved him so much in this show. Also Arielle is always such a pleasant surprise. I always forget how prominent she is in this show. I wish she did more things with StarKid. Was she even at Homecoming...

Joey’s face at nincompoop amazing. “Too bad you’ll never be a leading man because of that JAW of yours.” AWWWW. NOOOO WE LOVE THE JAW. “You’re forgetting the most important prop!” 4th wall breaks. “The hour is nigh!” Oh my god. “I don’t wanna see or be seen by anyone today.” Wow. Far too relatable. “THAT IS WAY TOO OVERWHELMING FOR A TUESDAY” the number of times over the last 11 years that I’ve thought of that line... The flower in the shoe and Old Snatch’s “Hows romantic.” I can’t. Oh my god. I just remembered “Raise my children!” “Sometime the best thing to say... is a kiss.” “Good line Joey!” “What?” “The fuck!?” That was the FUNNIEST line to me. “Did everybody hear that? Joey Richter has a limp little dick!” Oh Richard. “Oh my props.” Old Snatch oh my god. “Tiffany, doll, I love ya. But you are the dumbest fucking person, I have ever met, in my entire life” I love that line. And I love that the audience is laughing so hard they drown Nick out before he even finishes. I love the Old Snatch so much.

“Sex sex sex pussy pussy sex pussy sex pussy sex.” “Pussy. Sex.” I’m dead. This whole “pussy time” speech in insane. And so the incel movement began. “The president of the United States can’t even order out for some pussy or else he’s gonna get impeached.” “LEWINSKY.” Oh my god. I definitely did not know who Monica Lewinsky was when I was 14. Amazing. Actually maybe I learned who she was from MAMD... honestly, that’s a very real possibility. “What’s a pussy gotta do when she wants a dick? She just says ‘dick please?’ and the sun is blocked out by dicks.” I remembered sun blocked out line only seconds before it happened, and I was already laughing so hard. Also the caption says *indiscernible, it’s just too funny* for the next line Corey says since it’s completely drowned out by laughter and lost to history. Oof the “sex change” joke didn’t really age well. “Let’s go do jazz squares.” I love how Corey hits Arielle’s head with his hat so hard her beanie flies off.

“You’re a fatty. Joey look at me when you cry, you’re fatty.” “And what a poor choice of shirt.” “It’s the only one I have.” Oh my god Ali taking the tickets. Ahhh the caption says *wind carrying away all of Joey’s hopes and dreams* I’m dead. “Can the choir class come into the room yet?” “Because Joey Richter is CUH-RYING IN HERE.” oh my god. I thought about that line a few weeks ago for the first time in years and it killed me. And “I think he needs to be picked up” adorable. I can’t handle it. “Um, Joey, I love you.” “Thanks friend, I love you too.” Ahhhh help. Oh the audio got so much clearer suddenly for Sally’s confession. “I want all of you, Joey Richter. And all I can give in return is myself. I wish I could give you more.” Awwwwwwwww. That line. “But I... there’s a... wait I....... Shit.” The “shit” on cue with the music, amazing. Ahhh I forgot how cute of a song Even Though is. Hey, StarKid, why cut the parts mid-way through the song!? Stupid YouTube...

“Maybe she is the person who we initially disliked!” Hey we got there. “Listen to your heart.” “NO. You screwed everything up last time.” “And I could very well screw it up this time!” Lily as Sally’s Heart. Adorable. That little curtsy at “and now twenty-first century!” is so cute. I’m glad StarKid didn’t do the usual take-off-her-glasses-and-she’s-pretty route for Sally. “Well that’s probably because our hearts are dancing a waltz to a song in 4/4 time.” I love that joke and oh my god the caption says (Everyone appreciates the joke) amazing. Also I love that the Hearts are like... grasping and letting go of their hands in beat to the heartbeat. Miss Cooter coming out from between her legs oh my god. Joey kissing Miss Cooter. More things that initially went over my head. AHHHH THE WAY SHE PUSHES HER BACK DOWN THROUGH THE LEGS. I SCREAMED. “And that is not the man I see lying in a heap below me.” Yesssss Alle-Faye! Yes AJ! Nick in the background with just a sweatshirt over his Snatch dress, I can’t. “Someone tell him where his dick is” “He’s out to find his dick” That is the most ridiculous number in the show, and somehow it’s the only one that doesn’t have dancing genitalia in it.

“Take a douche, cutie.” “You eat until you are as fat as you are ugly.” “That’ll take forever.” Awww noooooo. “I know there’s someone out there who still thinks you’re beautiful.” “...Mom?” “No, she doesn’t think that” Ahh my heart. “Yeah it’s me, the Old Snatch!” I love her. There are some awkward cuts in this scene that make me wonder if lines were cut, or if it’s just how they edited the two camera angles. I remember singing this song on the street once while explaining MAMD to a friend. It didn’t help explain it. I love Lily as the High Council Pussy. “Pussies from the West are bringing snacks.” Such a fun song.

Oh my god. I will not repeat what the caption just called the High Council Pussy. I will instead call her what the lyrics in the description said, the High Council Pussy. Oh my god. “Rabble rabble rabble” StarKid should bring that back. “I’s dos! The Old Snatch” “The Old Snatch?” “Yeah that’s right, the Old Snatch.” I love her. I can’t handle the caption putting her name for every single line. Oh my god. I’m gonna just call her the Grand Pussy. I cannot. Ok so the Old Snatch says her name out loud. I do not remember that. And that word definitely went over my head as a 14 year old. Oh my god. “Love! My esteemed colleagues. LOVE!... For a dick.” I’m dead. The flopping with the rabbles, I’m dead. “She’s wasting our pussy time” Bringing back that joke. The Old Snatch has Snatch Scouts? Can we hear more about them?? “Because if I’m wrong and a dick can love, what does that say about you?” OH NO. OH NOOO. NO DON’T HURT MY GIRL LIKE THIS. “A dick won’t set foot in there twice.” NO. NO OLD SNATCH YOU’RE PERFECT. “Elder Vag” Ok see, I much prefer that title. Ok the Old Snatch taking off her wig... made me want to make a joke... but I can’t remember the word I’m thinking of and I don’t feel like googling it. I figured out that the word was merkin. The caption said (Flopsy queefs) and I died. “I’s woulds” “The Old Snatch!” “That’s right. The Old Snatch.” Best running joke. Best character. “Hey you, Old Snatch.” “That’s me. The Old Snatch.” I die every time. I forgot that Flopsy’s real name is Myrtle. “We’s gots works to do.” I’m not gonna make the joke. The Flight of the Pussies. I cannot. Also yesss Alle-Faye’s vocalizations (I’m 95% sure it’s Alle-Faye singing the high part).

“He has a dick, it’s not his dick!” Oh Joey. “I got a picture of him, you wanna see it? I take pictures of him.” Oh my god Joey. “There’s a big singing, dancing dick in front of you Joey. I think anything’s possible.” I mean. He really has a point. Ah Corey’s so good. This whole song is SO good. Dick stiff-arming Weenie is amazing. “Get that sad bishop out of here.” Yessss Corey. Awww there’s a gentle instrumental reprise of Me and My Dick playing in the background as Joey tried to get Dick back. Oh I forgot they actually reprise the song!

TIE HIM TO A CACTUS!??!?!? I literally couldn’t remember if the bird comes back, it does. Aww the ba-dum-tss at the Heart pun. “That’s the only way we can work it out. And if we’re all in this together, you can bet on it that we’re breaking free.” “Fabulous!” “Looks like the boys are back!” Will people understand how amazing that joke is in 20 years? Is this another doomed to be outdated joke? I remember when I did Kiss Me Kate in high school, someone had to outline all the 40s jokes so we’d know why they were funny, will someone one day make an outline of all the StarKid jokes from the 2010s to explain them? “Cause I’m just a little boy and you’re all walking pussies.” Amazing. “Today I’ve seen dicks and pussies, walking and talking and flying around.” “You Old Snatch.” “I am the Old Snatch” Love her. I never noticed Joey wiping his hands. “Guys follow me, I’ll take you back to our dimension.” Amazing. “And I want more than that, no. I deserve more.” Yes you do, you Old Snatch. I sort of need to know the backstory now of Big T’s old person and how they ended up being Tiffany’s first time. Tobias and Gladys?? I forgot their names. Ali flying back in with the tickets. Amazing. See I know the audience is laughing, and StarKid probably intended that last little Me and My Dick reprise to be funny between Big T and the Old Snatch, but it’s genuinely sweet. I’m really happy that the Old Snatch gets a happy ending.

”Miss Cooter did you just come in through the window?” “No you’re crazy, go back to sleep.” I don’t love Heaven on Earth as a song, but it’s still fun. Oh my god. I just screamed “JOE” out loud. Because all show I’ve been like “Don’t we see Rick’s dick at some point? Who plays Rick’s dick?” And just now I was doing a mental tally of the 12 13 cast members and I’m like “None of them can play Rick’s dick, they have their own roles to play in this finale. But I KNOW we saw that dick... who was it...” And then JoMo walked onstage. I really just screamed “JOE” out loud when I saw him. Oh my god. Once again the pearl necklace joke went over my head as a 14 year old. I love the audience reaction though, they finally all notice the necklaces at that moment if they didn’t notice them already. Ok I never understood the Palace of Auburn Hills joke. I assumed it was something going over my head when I was younger, but I just googled it and it’s actually just a Michigan joke. Also does JoMo come onstage and then immediately just go off? He’s gone. ”HYOOO!” so cute.

Aww and the Darren version of Ready to Go for the credits.

“And Joey Richter as himself” amazing.

Aww, Darren’s version of Even Though for the rest of the credits.

Ok so the Old Snatch is still the literal best character that StarKid has ever made. I love her so much and I love how Nick plays her. She is my favorite character in any StarKid show I think to this day.

CLARK WAS ON KEYBOARD?!?!?!?!?! WHAT?!?!?!?! CLARK!?!?!?!? YOU WERE HERE THIS EARLY?!?!?!?!?! oh my god. I legit just screamed “CLARK!?” seeing his name.

Also I think I always knew Darren was playing Guitar in the show, especially if he was there to do the cameo, but for some reason it didn’t really hit me until I saw his name just now. That’s so fun.

And Carlos! Yay! I wish Carlos had been able to do more stuff with StarKid.

Sorry, I’m still reeling from finding out that Clark has been in their bands for this long, for basically the entire time. I really thought he didn’t show up until around Starship. I am also ashamed that the fandom didn’t even truly know of his existence until SPACE Tour when he stole all our hearts in the Jim and Povolos section. And even then he wasn’t appreciated until Firebringer.

(Update a few weeks later: I found an old post of mine from 2012 where I acknowledge that Clark has been around since at least MAMD, so I guess at some point over the last decade I forgot that I already knew he’d been around this long.)

While rereading this post, it suddenly hit me that whenever people would ask what my StarKid dream role is, I’d always say Sally’s Heart. Honestly, it still is one I’d love to play.

I’m glad I rewatched it. It definitely is different now as an adult, especially an adult who’s older than all the StarKids were when they did the show. Some parts did not age well in the slightest, but it’s still very funny and the music is incredible thanks to AJ and Carlos (and Darren).

[ordinaryschmuck]

Starkid Musicals Ranked from Worst to Best

Salutations to you, random people on the internet who most certainly won’t read this. I am an Ordinary Schmuck. I write stories and reviews and draw comics and cartoons.

Welp. I finally did it. I've watched the entire Starkid musical library, and I must say, most of these plays fit my writing style perfectly:

Humor that is cynical yet random

Leaning in with comedy while sprinkling in some well-executed drama

An understanding that any type of story works as long as the cast of varying personalities of characters is dynamic enough to result in some phenomenal chemistry.

This is in almost all of their plays, excelled through fantastic writing and stellar performances driving the overall quality. And it inspired me not only to review each musical, but also ranking them all from worst to best. Or, more accurately, least good to most good. Because even at their "worst," Starkid still provides a funny, enjoyable experience that will keep you laughing with its comedy and your toes tapping with its catchy music. So strap in as I go in-depth into how Starkid proves how they are the masters of humor and melody.

(I'll also provide links to each musical, which is all for free on YouTube, so you can check them out yourselves. Just know that their early work is impossible to enjoy without subtitles, so you might want to have Closed Captions on when watching.)

#12-Holy Musical B@man-Everything about this play makes it seem like it's the weakest to me. The jokes, songs, and characters in Holy Musical B@tman just don't hit as hard as Starkid's other plays. It's still good, but compared to their best, the cracks show a lot more. That is, except for the ending. Not only is there a great speech that shows what makes superheroes so beloved, but "Super Friends" might just be my favorite finale song Starkid has ever put out. Holy Musical B@tman may not be the best, but it's at least worth the time.

#11-Firebringer-This was stupid. Really stupid. Funny as f**k, but still pretty stupid. Although I will give credit to one of the central pairings being LGBTQA+...Even though it makes little to no sense based on the characters' previous interactions. But in fairness, Starkid really sucks at writing good romantic relationships, so at least Firebringer has the benefit of being gay. And as we all know: The gayer, the better. The play is still stupid, though.

#10-Me and My Dick-The world in this musical makes little to no sense. Penises and vaginas are sentient and can communicate with their humans. And yet the penises and vaginas can also talk with each other, form relationships, leave their humans, and reinsert themselves into others--Yeah, it makes no sense...But, DAMN, is it funny! Every joke and innuendo Me and My Dick has about human anatomy works, and I could not stop laughing at each of them. Especially the names that were given to the vaginas, which are just...I mean, I'm laughing just by thinking about them. That should tell you how funny they are. This play might be illogical in every way, but if you turn your brain off and watch it for the humor, you'll definitely be in for something fun.

#9-ANI: A Parody-What's weird about ANI is that its best qualities are also weaknesses. A good chunk of the jokes are hilarious and expertly delivered. The issue is that most of them are about taking potshots at the Star Wars prequels, which might be the laziest jokes to make in a Star Wars parody. Then there's the soundtrack, having several songs that are a bop to listen to. The problem is that ANI suffers from the same issues as Tarzan and Brother Bear: Yes, technically, it is a musical, but it's one where none of the characters sing, and some people in the background do all the singing instead. It's all an odd balancing act of quality content made through questionable choices. ANI is still an entertaining play, but the force isn't as strong with this one.

#8-Black Friday-This might be the least funny play that Starkid has ever put out. Not just because it leans extra hard into drama, which was pretty effective during certain scenes. It's just when there are jokes in Black Friday, they tend to fall flatter more here than they did in other plays. Also, the plot of Black Friday might not be the best one to play straight. The serious moments work best when focusing on the characters and their personal struggles, but through the big bad that's supposed to be threatening? Not so much. Even if it was meant to be funny, well, I wasn't laughing. And believe it or not, I consider that to be the best judge of whether or not something is funny. That being said, while Black Friday isn't the most humorous Starkid musical, it's still pretty good. The characters are excellent, the songs are awesome, and the story is somewhat easy to follow. I would have appreciated a few more laughs, but I can respect these talented people wanting to challenge their strengths.

#7-Starship-This play feels very...Disney. It follows a familiar formula we've seen several times: The main character wants more than what he has in his crappy life, miraculously gets the exact thing he wants, falls in love with a girl in a short amount of time, faces off against a campy/over the top villain, realizes the hand he's been dealt isn't so bad, and in the end, gets what he wants anyway. Starship is still pretty entertaining through its jokes, characters, and songs, but it also feels weird that Starkid leans into these tropes when they would eventually make a much better play by making fun of them. The end result is not bad in the slightest, but it's also nowhere near their best.

#6-A Very Potter Musical-Starkid's first production, and boy, what a start to something wonderful. Every one of their gimmicks and motifs is present in A Very Potter Musical. The use of parody to playfully mock characters and stories they love, making songs that are as funny as they are emotional, and creating characters that work because of their lines and the actors' performances. Oh, and also, it's funny. And it’s not just through a parody angle, like making Cedric be a perfect boy who's always smiling. It's also funny through its jokes that work, even if you ignore the fact that it’s a parody altogether. Case in point, there are these two bits, one involving Voldemort and Beatrix with the other involving Ron and Hermoine, that are written and delivered so well that I was in tears much more than with any other Starkid play. When watching A Very Potter Musical, you'll not only understand how parody works, but you'll also gain an understanding of why Starkid turned out as successful as they did.

#5-The Trail to Oregon-What can I say? I'm a sucker for comedic dysfunctional families. And seeing a family of idiots make their way to Oregon via The Oregon Trail parody? Yeah, that's a win for me. The play may be another family road trip narrative, which some people might get sick of at this point. But because the dynamics and comedic chemistry everyone has with each other are on point, the end result proves that you don't need an original story to tell an entertaining one. Although I will say that out of all of Starkid's productions, The Trail to Oregon has by far the worst ending. Without giving anything away, the play spends way too much time on this one stupid joke that any of the characters could make. Comedy is defined by personalities, as are most things, so making the joke work for anyone is a bad move when this one, in particular, doesn't fit as well for some characters as it would for others. Plus, the finale song "Naked in a Lake" is a really poor choice to cap off this musical. It's catchy, but to me, a finale song should encapsulate everything about the story, characters, and themes. Not paying off a joke that I honestly wouldn't want the payoff for. So while the ending could have used a lot more polish, that doesn't change how The Trail to Oregon is a pretty funny play that I won't mind revisiting when I have the chance.

#4-A Very Potter Sequel-Hey, sometimes a sequel is better than the original. Sure some jokes don't land, and some story beats aren't as impactful as they thought they were (Serious Black's introduction, for example), but there are far more improvements to this play than the last one. The performances are stronger, the jokes are funnier, the music is catchier, and the characters are much more entertaining in this play than in A Very Potter Musical. Especially new additions like Lupin and Lucious Malfoy, who provide great comedy and sublime drama at times. And Umbridge. Sweet Mother of all that is holy, Umbridge. While A Very Potter Sequel never made me laugh to tears as the first play did, twice, Professor Umbridge carries the comedy so well that she surpasses all of that. Plus, on top of it all, this play nails its ending through a bittersweet note that really captures what makes Hogwarts so special to these characters. I always feel like Starkid's plays tend to lose steam during the last few minutes, but A Very Potter Sequel is one of the few instances that it just builds and builds to a perfect ending. A Very Potter Sequel might not always hit the right marks, but the results are just magical when it does get it right.

#3-The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals-This one is pretty clever. The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals is one of those stories that manages to be explicitly hilarious yet implicitly disturbing. For instance, people suddenly bursting into perfectly choreographed musical numbers in a world where songs are exclusively diegetic is pretty funny (especially through the characters' reactions to it). However, knowing what happens to these people and why they sing and dance so expertly helps make the whole situation pretty dire. It's an excellent balancing act that not many stories can accomplish. And while The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals leans one way or the other at times, it's still all handled really well. Oh, and also, you know how most people say the villain song is the best one in any musical? Well, technically speaking, nearly every song in The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals is the villain song. Including the finale, which is just too brilliant for me not to give a round of applause. If you're a person who unfortunately doesn't like musicals either, I'd say be more than willing to give this one a chance. It's funny, catchy, and if you think of the implications, pretty damn disturbing.

#2-A Very Potter Senior Year-...You know how Avengers: Endgame is a bit of a mess, yet people still love it for how much of a perfect (sort of) finale it is? It's the same regard with A Very Potter Senior Year in my eyes. It's far from a masterpiece, but the many, many solid scenes that cap off this series help make me willing to overlook the mistakes. The characters, callbacks, and overall message about how things end was done so expertly well that I physically can’t hate this one. I can understand how it's more of an ok play when compared to the rest of Starkid's productions, but sometimes, ok is wonderful.

#1-Twisted: An Untold Story of a Royal Vizier-...It's Twisted. Everyone loves Twisted! And how could they not? Everything about this play just screams Starkid at their best. The comedy is uproarious, added with the fantastic delivery of the actors and the characters' personalities. Everyone feels as though they have one step in reality and the other in insanity. This, to me, seems like the best type of character work when going for the parody angle. Parody is about giving slight yet snide remarks toward the work you're mocking, which I feel works best when characters drop the suspension of disbelief audiences have when enjoying such a story. And Twisted definitely nails its satire in not only poking fun at Aladdin but also making jokes towards Disney as a brand. From their movies to their inside jokes to their formulas to even their corporate dealings with Pixar, nothing about Disney is sacred in Twisted. But on top of being funny, Twisted might just be the most successful Starkid has been with telling some really compelling drama. The jokes allow themselves to take a back seat to let serious moments play out, and even comedy is added, it provides more for the experience rather than taking anything away. You see this not only through the actors giving it their all but even through some really gorgeous and heart wrenching musical numbers. Oh, and also, Twisted has the best Starkid soundtrack, featuring songs that are epic, funny, and, as I said, heartbreaking. You cannot get better than this and, if you want to get a friend interested in Starkid as a whole, this might be the play for them. Scheherazade may have a thousand tales, but his one is a tale I wouldn't mind hearing for a thousand nights.

And that's about how I feel about Starkid and each and every one of their plays. Odds are your ranking would be much different from mine, and I'm all for that differing opinions. Feel free to make your own ranking if you want because I'm honestly curious where fans would place these plays above or below others. I'm relatively new to enjoying their work, so I have no idea what the consensus is. I do know one thing, though: If Starkid can still be incredibly entertaining through over ten years of content, then I am excited to see what they can accomplish next in another ten years.