#that aragog costume was something else

[my-true-love-insanity]

My neptunic man crush, my beloved, the one, the only Jeffery Robert Blim

[ad-astrah]

Finally Watched Cinderella's Castle Digital Ticket (Twice) and I Gotta Get My Feelings Out Somewhere, Somehow (Part I)

Feel free to light up my DMs to chat about it!

And now, for my personal highlights/live reactions:

immediately I'm drawn in by Nick Lang's silly narrator voice and the way he warns us of what's coming. Especially the "muRrrDder!"

Jeff Blim cut his hair. JEFF BLIM CUT HIS HAIR. Not that I didn't like the long locks, but something about his Aladdin Era short hair gets me, man.

Jeff Blim literally getting to own the stage like the man was born to

Jeff Blim's slutty bard getup with the artfully messy hair and the heavy guyliner. That sinful bastard.

"Let's go." I'll follow you anyway, slutty bard.

Okay 80s rock jam! Hell yes.

idk why but I just love the line "There are tales in those walls, are they true or are they tall?"

THIS SET, THO. 80s vibes. Muppets vibes. Princess Bride vibes. Spooky, ethereal fairytale vibes. I love it! Props to the team who designed and built it.

prance, slutty bard boy, prance around that stage.

Jesus Fuck, I've only seen Joey's puppet but I'm already SOLD. Nick and Matt Lang and whoever else had a hand in making these puppets fucking OUTDID themselves! Did they use the Black Book and resurrect Jim Henson?

Throughout the show, the muppet vibes just absolutely amaze and delight me. Makes me feel like a little kid, spellbound by this fairytale. Except it's much darker, more gruesome, way more explicit, and extremely horny.

Oh look, it's Joey's Jingle/Jangle (whichever elf he was) voice from Black Friday.

Love me some o' dat non-binary representation from Ragweed. Starkid once again screaming GAY RIGHTS bitches.

I'm getting some of Jeff's Aragog from AVPS in this Narrator. Anyone else?

Stupid STUPID butcher!

Jon Matteson's accent. *giggles madly*

Angela IMMEDIATELY having to pause for applause before she finishes her first freaking line. The queen deserves it all, though.

The foreshadowing of the Stepmother cutting off Ella's feet. O_O

"It's furryyyyy and fouuuuul and full o' maGOTTTSSaaaaaggghhhh!"

Angela doing the little spinny finger thing in a guy's face to fluster them just like Max did to her character in Nerdy Prudes. I love these physical running gags. My fave being the Smoke Club, though.

OIIIINK oinkoinkoinkoinkoinkoink

Sir Preston asking for help from the audience. His "ELLAaaaaa....nooooo....."

The lighting in this entire show is SO COOL.

Again, Jeff just louging like a whore about the set like its his bitch. I live for it.

James' COSTUME. He looks SO FUCKING GOOD. Props to the costume folks...and to James' rockin' genes.

"But nothing compares to the juice and the hairs..." Oh no. Ohhhhh no I see where this is going. Don't say it, James, don't-- omg he said it.

er ee er ee er ee *window rolling down*

I thought the Prince drawing bewbies on the frosty window was funny already, and then he goes WAH WAH WAH and pretends to pinch them and I fucking lost it.

The Prince checkin' out DAT AZZZZZZ XD

"I'd wager she's wetter now than when I first found her bobbing in the river." OH MY GOD. PRINCE. THAT'S HER NOT-MOM.

If his highness has had every STD and beaten it, that's so fucked up but also damn, that boy's immune system is killin' it. Literally.

"Poor mad EllaAH"

"This is one thirsty FUCKING house." For real, omg.

"The offer stands firm. Come calling if you are!" *screams*

Jeff miming being crew and pulling the ropes for the curtains.

*audience member sneezes* "Bless you."

Angela's diction is next fucking level. PUNY. PINK. KIND.

The epic troll reveal! The puppets are SO GOOD.

THE FROG FUCKING TURNING AWAY AS SHE ASKED FOR IT TO DO SO SHE COULD KILL IT. CHRIST.

This bayou boogie song of Ella's is an absolute KILLER BOP. Holy shit. And it's SO perfect for Bryce's funky, sassy voice.

Speaking of which, BRYCE'S VOCALS. I'm gonna scream about them for forever and ever and ever. I love her voice SO FUCKING MUCH. I could listen to nothing else for the rest of my days and die a happy little gay.

"ohhhh woah woah waohhh" *flips the bird* She's such a queen for that.

"It needs oregano" WORK BITCH

Bryce's stage presence is fucking INSANE. I dunno how she's not on Broadway, but thank goodness we got her!

SIRE MANY TADPOLES!

GOD I love this absolutely depraved, horny little bastard of a prince.

It's amazing Tadeus hasn't murdered the prince yet. The man deserves a medal for the literal shit he's put up with.

Bugette?! I thought you choked on shit died and were consumed by the Hive Queen?

Rancilda being a typical troll and loving lurking under bridges and telling riddles.

Schuyler Sister vibes from the song with Justine and Lucy. So cute.

Justine and Lucy are SUCH real ones for IMMEDIATELY believing Ella about her family being trolls and for saying "fuck the ball, we're leaving NOW."

Shake dat ass, Mariah!

Lauren's physical comedy as Rancilda is NEXT LEVEL. I'm wheezing over here!

iSNn'tT it A BiiIItTcH?!

I LOOK GOOD IN THIS. What an absolute fucking BANGER. This song is gonna play in my head on repeat for the next decade. What a next level villain song.

Also this gives me some strongass Joan Jett vibes. "I love wearin' the skin of dead girls rock 'n' roll!"

and I hEEeaARr yoU'Re RiiiCCHhH

Seriously, is this the next Top Chart breakup revenge song? It should be.

"I really LIKE that song!" XD Putrice. I love how much of an absolute BIMBO she is.

Rancilda singing the song again. "SHUT UP STUPID BITCH, THE SONG'S OVER." "Okaaaaiiii"

Matt Dahan's ability to riff off the main songs and create motifs is otherworldly.

General MacNamara? Is that you?! Oh wait, nope. Still my slutty, slutty bard.

I LOOOOOOOVE this badass electric guitar intro, holy shit.

Kim Whalen, the queen, getting the bitchin' entrance she deserves.

Starkid is so, so good at their sound design to help immerse you in a scene without blowing a big budget or doing anything elaborate.

...Kim. My girl. Your arms must be tired.

She's just standing there, but Kim's stage presence is still so strong.

I can't get over how Jon's Sir Hops-A-Lot's voice is just a small...ahem. Hop, skip, and a jump away from Wiggly's.

JOEY. THAT ACCENT. You ABSOLUTE genius idiot. I love you for this stupidass voice.

Joey's bowl cut makes me giggle like mad.

I love these two puppets SO much.

GIT IT, KIM.

The call and response bit with Ella and the Goddess reminds me of Hamilton when Washington is dictating his Farewell Address. I know it's gotta be in other musicals, too, but that's the clearest comparison for this nerd at the moment.

Jeff sneaking in the "castle on a hill" song reference in this song.

Kim and Bryce dueting together is just Power incarnate. Holy cow. It's so good.

"You shall be as radiant and terrible as I." Ooooooh. Yes. Gimme.

The Narrator sneaking out from amidst the ensemble to finish off the song was really neat.

That fading spotlight before curtain for intermission with just Ella's face in view is so beautiful and haunting. What an epic close to Act I.

Also, it seems like this was also a strategic way to imply Ella's outfit being transformed there on stage during the song without actually having to do the tricky costume designing quick-change theater miracles of an ACTUAL outfit transformation. Which is really brilliant. Leave the audience to wonder until post-intermission about what Ella's starlight dress will look like.

[eddiebrock]

harry potter!!!!

YOU ARE THE BEST, THANK U

Top 5 favourite characters: Ginny Weasley, Hermione Granger, Lily (Evans) Potter, Sirius Black, Harry Potter, Minerva McGonagall (that’s six but fuck it)Other characters you like: Dorcas freaking Meadowes (who is actually a favorite but since she’s literally only mentioned once I felt weird putting her in the Top 5 but I want all of u to know that I would die for Doe), James FREAKING Potter, Hagrid, Luna Lovegood, Remus Lupin, Newt Scamander, Tina Goldstein, Narcissa Malfoy, Alice Longbottom, Kingsley Shacklebolt, and the Weasley TwinsLeast favourite characters: Umbridge, Snape, fucking Vernon & Petunia, Dudley, Otps: JILY, Hinny, Tedromeda!!!!!!!, Newt/Tina, Dorcas/Reginald (the rarest of all rarepairs lmao), Fralice, Jacob/QueenieNotps: please don’t send me any anon hate for this lmao i can’t deal, Dra*mione, Dra*rry, Wolf*star (I HAVE MY REASONS), SNILY, apparently snamione and snarry are a thing???? so that’s fucking gross, Regulus/Sirius, CarrowcestFavourite friendships: Ron and Harry, Harry and Hermione, Ginny and Hermione!!!!!!!!!!, Luna and Ginny, James and Sirius, Lily and Remus, Newt and Jacob, Dorcas and Mary, Dorcas and Alice, Ginny and Neville, Neville and Luna, Kingsley and Remus, and like way 2 many more

Favourite family: The Potters and the Weasleys!!!Favourite episodes moment: ‘Humph,’ snorted Professor McGonagall. ‘It’s high time your grandmother learned to be proud of the grandson she’s got, rather than the one she thinks she ought to have – particularly after what happened at the Ministry.’Favourite season/book/movie: I think the third book was probably my favorite book, but Deathly Hallows Pt. 2 my favorite movie (despite some stupid shit that happened)Favourite quotes: i have way, way, WAY too many favorite quotes to list them all, so i’m just gonna put down my favorite under-appreciated quote because i’ve never seen anyone talk about it, but in the cursed child when draco is like “mY sOn Is MiSsInG” and ginny fucking potter gets up in his face and screams “SO IS MINE” and i just???? ugh, man. S O    I S    M I N E. ginny is the bestBest musical moment: Dumbledore’s Farewell & S T A T U E S are two of the most powerful music moments in the entire franchise, sue me, and the only reason i say statues and not Courtyard Apocalypse is because of the absolute masterful cinematography that went along with the song Statues and how the sound was really MADE for that moment, i will fight everyone on thisMoment that made you fangirl/boy the hardest: returning back to statues scene because honestly, ‘Hogwarts is threatened!’ shouted Professor McGonagall. ‘Man the boundaries, protect us, do your duty to our school!’ gets me EVERY TIMEWhen it really disappointed you: not a single canonical bisexual Saddest moment: “Does it hurt?“ The childish question had escaped Harry’s lips before he could stop it. “Dying? Not at all,” said Sirius. “Quicker and easier than falling asleep.” / harry listening to his own parents die during the cursed child Most well done character death: fuck dude, definitely fred’s because till my dying fucking day i will never forget the phrase “the ghost of his last laugh still etched upon his face”Favourite guest star: Dorcas Meadowes counts as a guest star because she’s only mentioned one (1) time and I literally named my dog after herFavourite cast member: Emma Watson (but also Daniel Radcliffe)Character you wish was still alive: Sirius Black One thing you hope really happens: I want Seraphina Piquery to get 100000x more screentime, she is a badass bitch and I could really use some woc American presidentst in my life, also make her BISEXUALMost shocking twist: honestly, snape killing dumbledore. like i know that’s a big joke now like SNAPE KILLS DUMBLEDORE, but man, i remember reading it and just about shitting myself because i could not fucking believe it. also the whole “the elder wanda ctually belonged to draco but then i disarmed draco so it belonged to me but voldemort thought it belonged to snape so,” was WILDWhen did you start watching/reading?: a little over 10 yrs ago or somethingBest animal/creature: B O W T R U C K L E SFavourite location: godric’s hollow, and it’s because of the way it was staged for the cursed child (i talk more about it later on in this massive meme answer lol)Trope you wish they would stop using: it’s not a trope but i’m gonna harp on this again, there is not a single canon bisexual One thing this show/book/film does better than others: fucks up my entire world in less than a second. but in all seriousness, this whole franchise has such a way of touching that piece of nostalgia, and family and love and all these wonderful things that make me and many others feel so warm and safe. it has such an important and underlying positive message to it and i really just don’t think anything else in the world has touched so many people in such a massive and important way like harry potter has. plus, according to an actual scientific study, people who have read harry potter tend to be better human beings, so there’s that, tooFunniest moments: “There’s no need to call me sir, professor.” / “Have a biscuit, Potter.”Couple you would like to see: Newt and Tina!!! Seraphina and another woman!!!!!!Actor/Actress you want to join the cast: Imogen Poots!!!!!!!!!! but that has a 0% chance of happening, so Maisie Williams and Natalie DormerFavourite outfit: seraphina’s crazy cool outfits and hermione’s sweater in the woods in deathly hallows pt. 1 (but in the books, hermione’s perriwinkle yule ball gown)Favourite item: the invisibility cloak for sure, but also harry’s glassesDo you own anything related to this show/book/film?: the sheer audacity of this question…….. the ability to even list it all is……….. unfathomableWhat house/team/group/friendship group/family/race etc would you be in?: GRYFFINDORMost boring plotline: the entire lavender/ron stint Most laughably bad moment: voldemort trying to hug draco lolBest flashback/flashfoward if any: it’s not really a flashback, but in the cursed child, when they go back in time to the night james and lily died, i can’t remember if the script talked about this but on stage, lily (WHO WAS APPROPRIATELY AGED) took baby harry in a stroller out of the house and there were pumpkins and all sorts of cute halloween decorations all around, and it was peaceful and quiet and when they got out the door she was cooing and talking to harry and making all these cute funny faces at him, and i literally could not keep it together. shortly thereafter, when harry’s gone back in time too, on stage they’re all standing there as voldemort walks off the stage and harry’s forced to listen to his parents die. i’ve never wept so much in my entire life. it was so good. Most layered character: i think narcissa malfoy, probably, if not albus dumbledore, who isn’t the most popular character around but face it, the guy’s got layersMost one dimensional character: umbridge, her only dimension is Evil and i’m ok with it staying that wayScariest moment: fucking basiliskGrossest moment: fucking aragogBest looking male: percival graves probably lmao colin farrell is fine as fuckBest looking female: obviously hermione grangerWho you’re crushing on (if any): i always have a crush on ginny and hermioneFavourite cast moment: that time when they’re wrapping up the final movie, and they’re watching this memories video while they were all still in costume, and emma started crying and daniel hugged her and it was just the cutest thing i’ve ever seen and i still cry, also all of them crying and hugging jk rowling at the premiere of dhp2Favourite transportation: definitely broomsticksMost beautiful scene (scenery/shot wise): deathly hallows part 2 where they’re putting up the protective spells over hogwarts, and it’s got all the colours in that enormous shield and it just brings tears to my eyesUnanswered question/continuity issue/plot error that bugs you: WHY ARE JAMES AND LILY PORTRAYED BY REASONABLY PARENTAL-AGED PEOPLE??? THEY DIED WHEN THEY WERE 21 AND EVERYONE DESERVESTO KNOW HOW FUCKING SAD THAT IS, also what the fuck happened to the real percival graves??? is he dead??? do i get to see colin farrell come back as a good guy at any point????Best promo: i will never forget the day that the audio from the SDCC trailer for deathly hallows part 1 came out, and all you could hear was kingsley shacklebolt saying “the ministry has fallen. the minister of magic is dead. they are coming.” and i just remember sitting at my old desk and whispering “oh my god!!!!! oh my god!!!!!!” and playing the audio over and over again and that was like. magicalAt what point did you fall in love with this show/book: “Mr and Mrs Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.”

[kintailscape]

The Muggle Ball

The Friends of the Arlington Public Library hosted a Muggle Ball last night, and more than a dozen DADA members were in attendance. There was trivia, a costume contest, hors d’oeuvres and desert, themed drinks, a jazz band, and raffle baskets.

I was blown away by how many people showed up at the event. The staff did an amazing job of decorating, from a photo wall with standees (including Edward Cullen in a Hufflepuff tie) to amazing center pieces.

My night started with an hour-long drive there (yay, rush hour traffic!) after which I managed to find one of the three nearby garages I had researched that morning at 1am. And my first surprise was finding that the garage charged $4 for the night instead of the $10 I thought. And it was only a block and a half away. So I got there exactly at 7pm.

After checking in, I, thankfully, ran into two of my friends, who had already snagged a table up front. One was wearing a dress I thought about buying for the event, so I’m glad I didn’t. She wore it beautifully, with matching bowtie and earrings as well! I dropped my coat, checked out the raffle items, and then worked on the scavenger hunt with two other friends.

Some questions were easy: Q. What are the names of the Marauders? My answer: James Potter, Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew, and (the best!) Remus Lupin Some questions were hard: What was Ron’s second wand made of? My answer: Wood and a magical core (which is not, technically incorrect…) And some questions were confusing: What are the maiden names of Harry’s mother and aunt? My answer: Names PLURAL? Evans… Lily Evans and Petunia Evans… what do you mean by maiden names plural, it’s the same, because they’re sisters. By the end, I was going with funny, in hope of making someone laugh and earn bonus points. Question: What charm did Hermione use on her bag to allow it to hold so much? My answer: An expanding charm, so that it’s larger on the inside, just like the TARDIS!

We also had to take a selfie with a member of Dumbledore’s Army or the Order of the Phoenix. This was NOT an easy task for three Hufflepuffs to undertake! We made a pass around the venue and didn’t see any likely candidates to approach. I saw one person who had a potted plant and thought he might be Neville (but he turned out later to be a Hairy Potter), but he was engaged in discussions with his friends. We spotted a great Mad-eye Moody and had our phone out, about to make our request, when he turned and moved in to kiss Trelawney. We aborted immediately! Finally, we spotted a Luna. And she kindly posed for a photo. Though, afterward, we realized perhaps she wasn’t Luna after all, because her robes were Gryffindor, not Ravenclaw. Oh well. They still accepted it. In fact, they barely looked at our answers and awarded us each a free raffle ticket!

I bought 12 other raffle tickets from a staff member who said to me “you don’t look familiar to me.” Which is kind of an odd way to start a conversation, but there it was! She asked if I went to the Arlington library often and I said no, I’m from Fairfax. And she said “You came all the way from FAIRFAX?!” which, yes, is an hour away in rush hour traffic but only about 17 miles away. Not really a long journey, you know? She handed me a $5 off book sale coupon and told me that they had an AMAZING book sale coming up. “At the end of April?” I asked, having just seen it the night before on their website. She told me I had to check it out. I’m certain I will. $5 in free books is never something I’d turn down.

Not a lot of raffle items caught my eye (jewelry, spa treatments, and wine are not my thing). And the glass bowl for the center piece raffle items was empty, so I put a ticket in there; I figured that there are more than a handful of those on tables, so my odds of winning one was pretty good even if other people put tickets in there as well. Then I made the rounds and put tickets in for a few other items.

I ran into some more DADA friends as well, then sampled the food. There were a few nice vegetarian options. However, one of the servers told us something was vegetarian and it absolutely wasn’t (which we discovered after eating some of it, UGH!). Every so often, they would bring out a cart of something and people would swarm! When the cookies came out (that was apparently desert) I moved from line to line, trying to figure out which lines were actually being served. Finally, I got to a cart. “Chocolate chip!” a man said, and thrust a plate with a cookie at me. A woman next to me said “Sure, fine!” and grabbed it. The server tried again, and I took the cookie. I’m not opposed to chocolate chip, though chocolate isn’t my favorite. When I got back to the table, however, I discovered it was oatmeal raisin, my favorite! Another lovely surprise!

The jazz band was great, and a nice reference to the Fantastic Beasts era. And it was nice to be able to just relax and spend time with friends. It was also nice to be welcome at such an event The centerpiece at our table had Draco & Harry pop pens, and a number of us took photos of them, enjoying the Drarry-ness of it all. The table also had golden snitches, keys, and letters for Draco, Bill Weasley, Neville, and others. The DADA organizers and I only had a few handfuls of group cards on hand, so we decided to slip them into the centerpieces, so the winners would find them. And if one of us won a centerpiece, we decided we’d give the card to one of the cosplayers.

I completely fail at getting good photos, but the costumes were amazing. The winners were amazing, including a fur-covered Monster Book of Monsters (at a BOOK charity event! So clever!) and a couple’s costume of the Whomping Willow and the Flying Ford.

Then they gave out raffle prizes. I’ve had a pretty bad track record with raffles during the past decade or two, Wincon not withstanding. I was also checking a friend’s raffle tickets, as she had to leave early. I didn’t know what she put tickets in for, so I had to pay close attention to every item. Which is why it didn’t even register itself when a number in my ticket range was called. I checked and double-checked, not quite believing it. Then I grabbed the ticket and had to show it to them because I still wasn’t sure I had it right. LOL I won the doggie basket. My parents’ pup is going to be pretty happy! There’s also a nice Harry Potter ceramic mug set that I’ll enjoy for myself.

When it came time for the center pieces, someone came around and grabbed them off the tables. We said goodbye to ours and laughed to ourselves about the DADA cards we snuck into each one. Apparently, there were seven centerpieces, one for each book. As ours had a spider in it, we assumed ours was for Book 2 and felt silly for not realizing it was book-themed. They read off raffle winners, one by one. And, suddenly, they were calling out my number again. That very first ticket, the one I’d put in the centerpiece raffle bowl before anybody else at the whole event, had just been called! So I went up and claimed the centerpiece for Book 6. As I walked back to the table, I realized it was the one from our table! Everyone got a good laugh about my winning our centerpiece back. But then I had to give the DADA card to someone. I ended up giving it to the Whomping Willow & Flying Ford (so we get two potential members instead of just one).

I headed back to the parking garage without incident (apart from some rude comments made by drunk men in bars/cars I passed along the way). And when I got home, I took a closer look at the centerpiece items. It was so clever!

Here’s my best guess for the Book 6 items. Let me know if you have other ideas!

Harry & Draco pens- in honor of Harry’s growing obsession with Draco during this book

Jelly beans- Dumbledore-related? At first I thought it was Weasley Wizard Wheezes-related, but this is candy, not jokes

Felix Felicis- The potion brewed during this book

Candied pineapple- Slughorn’s favorite

Spider finger puppet- Aragog’s funeral

Hogwarts snow globe- Harry on his broom, the last time Harry plays Quidditch at Hogwarts

Gold coins- Erm… maybe the DA coins that they used to gather DA members when the Death Eaters attacked Hogwarts? Or maybe Ron visiting his brother’s shop and them charging him for items?

Lighting up wand- honoring Dumbledore

The Muggle Ball was originally published on The Fangirl Project