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ZAPPED! AshleyV holds the key to my heart! <3

ZAPPED! AshleyV holds the key to my heart! <3

NutMeg

The Nefarious N.M.G.
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HEART DON'T FAIL ME NOW. Here comes a big one, y'all.....

K, so I'm currently prepping several upcoming zaps (a storm is brewing......), and am getting packages left and right containing stuff I've ordered for said zaps. So when my mom handed me yet another padded envelope, I casually opened it without even looking at the return address - I just assumed it was from eBay or Etsy or Amazon or something...

But lo and behold:

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WHAT??? Someone dared to zap ME???? I quickly snatched the envelope again and looked at the address. All I needed to see was that first name....

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@AshleyV. Why that little.....

After several moments of feeling sufficiently guilty - since this is now her SECOND zap in a row without me returning fire, because I'm STILL taking way too long to finish her RAK which I was *supposed* to send last month, and now I'm losing at zap tag ugh - I caved in and begrudgingly opened the card.

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Ok, right off the bat that's +1 point for the pun. Damn, you know me too well.

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"...thought I remembered (hopefully correctly) that you really liked the 1997 film."
"...thought I remembered (hopefully correctly) that you really liked the 1997 film."

"...thought I remembered (hopefully correctly) that you really liked the 1997 film."
"...thought I remembered (hopefully correctly) that you really liked the 1997 film."
"...thought I remembered (hopefully correctly) that you really liked the 1997 film."


Huh.... *do* I like the film? Hang on...

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...

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(Obligatory Gus photobomb. Because he always has to squeeze his way into my posts somehow.)

Ok first of all, I promise I never handle film without gloves. Don't judge me haha. I just happen to have two separate reels of the Anastasia theatrical trailer (DON'T JUDGE ME, IT'S FOR CRAFTING PURPOSES) and therefore could afford to spare a section of strip for a quick pic.

Also, I'm totally justified in owning all the different editions of the DVD because I need to make sure I have every behind-the-scenes special feature and directors' commentary and everything. I NEED ALL THIS STUFF DON'T JUDGE MEEEEE.

But the piece de resistance of all this.......

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My replica "Together In Paris" necklace from the film. Which I wear EVERY. DAMN. DAY.

Oh, you don't believe me? Hold up, let me quickly scroll through every single photo in my Instagram archive.....

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I always wear this because the film is so very special to my heart, and because it's my ultimate dream to write/direct a live-action adaptation of the film (with elements of the stage musical and my own original concepts mixed in.) Whenever I feel beaten down and like my filmmaking dreams are never going to come true, I can touch the necklace and feel a little more hope.

ANYWAY! I do have a point with all this long-winded gushing and TMI background info, lol. I just feel the need to impart how much this film means to me, and by extension, how much this zap means to me.

I'm sure by now I've sufficiently made myself look like a crazy, over-obsessive fangirl, but honestly, this film helped me a lot as a kid. Without going into even more TMI territory, I grew up in a bad home environment and felt deeply lonely for years. So a story about an isolated young woman, who led an extremely lonely life but was still a survivor, and even found out there was actually something special about her, connected with me in a way I probably didn't even understand.

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One other quick anecdote that I think perhaps is the most powerful thing I could share about this whole thing: Those dolls pictured above are actually from my childhood. After my mom left my dad we had to move around a lot, and we lost a lot of personal mementos in the process. During one particularly difficult move, my mom tried to save as much as possible by renting a storage unit, but because she was a single mom with 3 kids to raise, she understandably missed a payment, and the contents of the unit were auctioned off. She felt so devastated and like she let us kids down (even though I've NEVER felt that way about her. <3 ) Then, a few months later, a woman came by our house. She had purchased a couple boxes from our unit and, realizing the personal nature of the items, actually *tracked us down* to return it all. In one of those boxes were my beloved Anastasia dolls. Like in the movie, she found her way back home... idk, I feel so cheesy typing this, but I'm honestly tearing up just thinking about how magical that moment was, and the kindness of this total stranger.

TL;DR this movie brings up a friggin' reservoir of feelings for me, so my reaction to Ashley's zap was basically the following, except x 1,000:

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(CONTINUED BELOW BECAUSE SERIOUSLY I NEED TO GUSH SO MUCH MORE ABOUT ASHLEY, DEAL WITH IT GUYS.)
 
(CONTINUED FROM ABOVE, IF YOU HAVE THE WILLPOWER TO CONTINUE.....)

Ok, so can we get back to the actual zap itself?? Can we discuss how INCREDIBLY thoughtful this was??? How much EFFORT was put into it??????

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(Seriously, even my mom was super moved as I read her the card lol. She obviously knows what this film means to me, how much I want to see the musical, *and* she still has that totally unnecessary guilty baggage over "losing" my dolls through no real fault of her own, even though I don't blame her at all and omg why are moms like this, GO EASY ON YOURSELVES!! <3 )

So let's go over the facts here, ladies and gentlemen: Ashley traveled all the way across the country to see this show, and is clearly an Anastasia fan herself. It was HER experience to treasure and enjoy. Yet she STILL was thinking of me in the back of her mind, and seemed determined to find SOME way to include me in her experience, to share it with me. And all this just because she had a VAGUE MEMORY of me liking the movie.

Ok, so she goes to the merch shop and picks out something truly beautiful for me, so that I would have my OWN souvenir from HER trip. (Girl, YOU BETTA have bought yourself something too, I swear...)

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The picture really doesn't do it justice; it's so pretty! Heck, even the backing card is super pretty! I fear that wearing my Together In Paris necklace *and* this necklace may push me over the edge as a full-fledged Anastasia nut job (although we may be past that at this point tbh), so I think I'm going to adjust the chain and wear it as a charm bracelet, which I think would look super cute. And no, I don't already have this, so good call!! In fact, they don't even have this for sale on the online shop!!! (I know because that's where I bought my key chain.)

Oh, AND add another bonus point since there's sort of a pun involved here, too! :p The Eiffel Tower, a key, a heart... GET IT??? xD This also happens to be one of my favorite scenes! The animation is gorgeous (the backgrounds are stylized as French Impressionism paintings!!!), there's a Josephine Baker cameo, a super romantic Dimitri moment, and did I mention the animation...?

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Finally, the Playbill... oh, the Playbill...

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As someone who is a total musical theatre nerd and has waited at stage doors to get autographs several times, I really need to emphasize what a freakin' pain in the *** this can be. It's often super crowded (I assume it's especially insane at Anastasia!!!), and people tend to be... not super nice. People are pretty sneaky about cutting in line, monopolizing the actors' time, or straight up pushing you around. It's usually either freezing cold or stifling hot (especially when it's cramped), and sometimes, well, it's just plain stanky - again, due to the crowds (or if you're in an alley, which is often the case.) You sometimes have to wait ages for the actors to come out, and there's always a big element of unpredictability in who will actually venture outside. Or maybe you can't even squeeze your way out of the packed theatre fast enough to catch whoever you're hoping to meet (which was probably the case with Christy, since she's a total sweetheart and from what I've heard is always very prompt about going to greet fans. And of course Ashley had to stop by the merch shop for me first. ;) )

All of this is to say, the mere fact that Ashley even endured this often super uncomfortable endeavor for lil ole me is just incredibly touching in itself. I seriously can't emphasize that enough. And while I completely adore Christy Altomare (not that I've actually seen her perform as Anya... I def don't watch Broadway bootlegs... nope... I'm just *assuming* she's probably pretty talented and was perhaps robbed of a Tony but who knows, definitely NOT me...), I am absolutely THRILLED to have Lyrica's autograph and am 100% framing this!!! I kinda sorta stalk the whole cast on Instagram (totally not in a weird way or anything hahahaha I'M NORMAL) and am def a fan of her as well. Also, FYI, she's not *just* Odette in the Swan Lake scene, she's Olga Romanov as well - duh! ;P Hehe, jk. But yeah, her dancing is pretty good I guess...

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So Ashley... what else can I possibly say? When words fail, just use reaction gifs:

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I mean, I probably won't even get to see this show myself anytime soon, since I can't afford to go see it on Broadway, and the announced dates for the entire first year of the national tour don't include Seattle *or* LA. :( And it simply isn't the same to buy Playbills or autographs or in-store merch online... so to know that you were actually there in person and thinking of me, idk, it makes me feel a little like I did get to experience it in some way after all. :)

Sorry, guys, for such a long and sappy post!!! But Ashley, you are seriously the sweetest and I don't know what I possibly did to deserve you as a friend.

And I'm sorry, but now you're gonna have to wait even longer to receive my RAK, because girl... this just got real. I ain't playin' around anymore. You don't even know what you're in for.

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P.S.: I hope this post doesn't violate the rules of the zap section. I know Anastasia isn't technically a Disney movie, but a) Disney's acquisition of 20th Century Fox was just approved a few days ago and will likely be finalized soon, which means they *will* eventually own Anastasia, so I think there's a little wiggle room there, and b) more importantly, Ashley seriously blew this zap out of the water, so how can I *not* publicly acknowledge it?? <3

P.P.S.: Yeaahhh... I have to.

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Okay, I did *not* know that whole backstory, and now I'm crying. SARAH. Girl. I'm just happy I could bring you back a little piece of the show, and if I could have taken you with me to NYC to see it for yourself I would have! (Btw... it is coming to San Francisco next year. Which isn't all that far away from L.A. Just saying.) I was sitting in the theater thinking about shows that mean that much to me (Newsies is my Anastasia, but it's been off Broadway & tour for years now) and how thrilled I would have been to get something from them, and hoped that I could create that same feeling for you! And I did make sure to double-check at intermission that you had posted about Anastasia, too, because I would have felt like an idiot if my intuition had been off and I sent a bunch of Anastasia memorabilia to someone who didn't even like it.

But it's so, so special to hear how much this story means to you and how significant of a role it's played in your life, and your super-sweet post is totally undeserved by me. I'm just happy you're happy. And I can't wait to see the bracelet you fashion out of the necklace! <3
 
What a roller coaster of a post to wake up to! I’m not crying; it’s just the onions I’m cutting in bed haha

Congrats on the super sweet zap! Great job @AshleyV and hope you had a great time in nyc!


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