u/_Anarchimedes_

Hey, there is a thing I have been wondering about for a while. I always try to connect more to the fan base in real life before or after the shows or concerts, and I find it really difficult, specifically in the last 5 years or so.

People don't seem super interested in meeting up beforehand, I often can gather only a small group of 4-6 people. And at intermission or after the show, I struggle with getting people to engage in conversation. In the end, there are always some willing to chat, but it's a small minority. Most just stick to their groups.

I remember a time when there were long improvised sing-alongs after Starkid shows, and people geeking out with strangers they never met. I met some amazing people that I am still close friends with over Starkid way back.

Am I imagining this? Does anyone else have this experience?

I think it could be cool to share an Airbnb in the city with other Starkid fans that also travel to LA to see the show.

My friend and I are going there for the show Saturday 14th or August, 2:30pm, but we are there for two nights from Friday to Sunday. Anyone interested sharing a downtown accomodation?

Fee free to coordinate in the comments about other dates.

Edit: Ok, so a few comments indicate general distrust in such a situation. I am willing to have a zoom call with potential flatmates :D. You are welcome to test my Starkid knowledge.

Hey lovely people!
hope to get some much-needed advice here! :D

Like so many others, I (M36) really struggle with finding a relationship. I am already 10 years single, and I really want to marry and have kids.

I don't think I am unattractive. People actually pretty consistently tell me that they find me very attractive and are very confused that I struggle with dating. And often when I am not interested in someone, they seem to develop feelings for me after a while.

But whenever I am interested in someone, they aren't. I know who I find romantically attractive pretty quickly, and I am normally very upfront about my thoughts about wanting to date them to find out if we have long-term compatibility. I tell them what I like about them and what my plans for the future are, so to be maximally transparent.

Is that too much too soon? Should I play a game where I strategically create ambiguity to make them more interested? Do I need to engineer some RomCom plot with misunderstandings and drama to make it interesting? I don't really want to do that, why not play with open cards if you know very well what you want?

Maybe it puts too much pressure on them? Am I forcing the decision whether to date me too early? Is it not flirty enough?

But I feel so dishonest if I make excuses to spend time with people when my primary motivation is to gauge romantic potential. I always want to know if that's what's going on. I am not good at reading people, so such subtext is normally lost on me.

I have supported the Kickstarter enough to get a pre-buy if the tickets, but I have no idea when and how long it will be. I am afraid that I miss it and won't get any tickets, even though I already planned my travels to the US.😅

I am really looking forward to Tomb Quest as a longtime RPG enjoyer. 😄

Does anyone know? That would make me much less anxious 🙏🥺

A good reprise in a musical is more than just a repetition of a previous song. It often audibly highlights a development in the plot/character, because we directly compare it to it's previous instance. Good reprises offer a twist on the lyrics, the atmosphere or the character performing the song to either expands on the premise set by the parent song, string together aspects that we didn't connect so far, or to act as stark contrast to a previous situation to show how that plot evolved.

What I consider a reprise: Everything that is obviously based on a previous song and has enough melodic similarity to be musically related. Predominantly lyrical relationship (e.g. The night belongs to us) doesn't qualify. I also don't consider medleys that mix of multiple previous songs (like Inevitable), they kinda belong into their own category for me.

Ok, here is my ranking (I assume you know where these are from, if not, ask)

10. When the world's at stake (Reprise): I think this is a great reprise for the father finally taking things seriously and stepping up to take uncompromising action. It ties him together with his wife who so far carried the responsibility, thus showing him grow as a character. Though I find the idea of the store clerk unexpectedly chiming in very funny, it diminishes the emotional weight of the song somewhat for me. TTO makes this choice of funny over emotionally impactful a couple of times in the show, which I respect, but it doesn't quite hit me for that reason as deep as other Starkid shows (the best managing to do both).

9. Cup of poisoned coffee: A great reprise, with contrast between the annoying yet innocent seeming parent song and the now manifestly disturbing reprise. Also the very subtle lyrics change, while basically staying on the coffee topic, but the implications ... Musically, for example the "How do ya do" stays melodically the same, but starts on dimished chord and a sung tritone harmony, which gives a jarring, aggressive tone, and the "do" ends on a Dsus2 (building expectation where it's going) then resolving on "We got a double for YOU" on D minor, thus sad or eerie. That's exactly how a reprise should operate: melodically it's constant thus recognisable, but it has a shift in harmony (thus a tonal contrast). It's also a bop, long enough to get the point across and not longer, awesome!

8. Castle on a Hill (Reprise): Being a reprise of the opening number it ties the whole story together as a fairy tale, giving special weight to the narrator basically opening and closing the book. Compared with the other reprises, it's a stylistic rather than a plot element, but on that level it works very well. And it gives a perspective of the peasantry actually being content with Ella's rule. It think it could be more impactful story-wise if the opening song was about them suffering under the previous rule and this now being contrasted with a better future. But has such an awesome energy and sets the mood so well, that I am not criticising.

7. Watch (Reprise): I almost love the reprise more than the parent song. It has a more driven instrumentalisation and gives off more energy, which makes it a bit more of a bop, though the parent has very nice harmonies. I also like that they mix in "Facade", so it ties together the whole scheming of the trolls, now finally almost at their goal. Great moment!

6. Dirty Dudes must die: This one is just a funny full-circle moment for Grace who is already such a cool character, unexpectedly like an after-credits scene giving a more spicy ending. The full rhyme of "dirty dudes" with "nerdy prudes" also works great. Angela just owned that role!

5. Kick it up a notch: Brian Holden is just insanely hot in this and owns the stage! Is it a necessary reprise to tie the story together? Not really, but it just works so well as a character moment. It's also a bit of a coming-of-age scene for our secondary villain, him finally taking things into his own hands after always off-loading the dirty work to others. It serves as making him intimidating as it connects to the main villain song, which is also one of my all-time favourite Starkid songs.

4. Rogues are we (Reprise): I just love it musically so much, it's such a bop with great energy. It also drives the story forward, giving momentum to the villainy of the usual Gotham evil-doers with their newfound head of the hen house. It's doesn't so much contrast the parent as expand on it and give it a place in the narrative.

3. Finale (A thousand and One Nights Reprise): I love it, because it manifests the full circle of Jafar's character arc: from the love that he sacrificed to improve the life of the citizens to being reunited with her after sacrificing basically everything else. It also gives such a great meaning to the classic "A thousand and one nights" line from the parent song. It's also such an emotional moment in an already very emotional (and my favourite) musical. It's a perfect conclusion and musically connects his happiest moment with his final moment in the show!

2. The Golden Rule (Evil Reprise): This reprise comes directly after the parent song, and it's an absolute blast. It strongly highlights the contrast between the lofty goals of Jafar and the reality of serving as a royal vizier. The wordplay is top notch (though it did originate from Disney's original Aladdin, as I found out today), but it works incredibly well in song form as a reprise. It's fast, it's funny, it moves the plot along. It's great. I am only always a bit confused about the line "The gold that my neighbour may earn through his labour is gold that I'll never see", which I know is about greed/envy, but implies a strange restraint on a corrupt government which I guess could just tax the neighbour our of their earned wealth? If anyone has a good interpretation, please tell me!

1. Bury the Bully: I listened to this so many times, it's absolutely fantastic. Contrasting with "Bully the Bully" it marks the loss of innocence of the protagonists, and the the many parallels in singing and choreography while being so much darker is really funny. It perfectly juxtaposes the harmless prank and the morbid consequences and shows how much the whole story evolved in the time in between. The change from major to minor, the harmonies, the counterpoint by Steph it's great musically as well. It's also funny how Ruth is way too into it and even cuts of his nipples as she whimsically promised in the parent song. This one has everything that a great reprise needs to have. Phenomenal!