#Chill-Line

[musashi]

i want more nuance to be entered into the discussion of the green girl sorority and how differently cynthia plays elphaba in comparison to those who came before her because while a lot of people are rightfully like "why was elphaba not black from the beginning" and celebrating that she is now being played by a black woman, i think we need to be careful in just writing off all the elphabas of the past as Random White Girls when the role was championed (and often followed/succeeded) by a jewish woman

the pop culture archetype of the Wicked Witch has deep roots in antisemitism stretching faaaar far back. there is a level of reclamation happening in casting idina menzel, a jewish woman, to play the Misunderstood and Maligned young girl who is branded as exactly that. and stage!Elphaba is also written and acted with jewish stereotypes in mind--she is loud, aggressive, no-nonsense, blunt. she is quick to advocate for herself and shut down the discrimination she faces. all of this is very intentional! her personality is abrasive from years of abuse, and that makes propagandizing her easy. this is literally the thesis statement of the musical--it's not about aptitude, it's the way you're viewed.

cynthia's performance of elphaba is fucking INSPIRED despite going in a completely different direction. she's much more reserved, analytical, one of her key character traits is how well she can read people (see her calling out Galinda as insecure/putting on airs in their first scene together, clocking that Fiyero is using his party guy persona as a shield for his own depression) elphaba's attempts to blend in and make herself smaller all fail simply because of her existence, if not that then because she feels empathy so strongly she often struggles to hold back from acting, protecting.

personality wise, though, cynthia's elphaba is very quiet and closed-off, not at all the bullet-to-the-face that she is in the stage show, and... she still gets propagandized and maligned. though this seems to contradict the other interpretation, it tells of the other end of the spectrum of propaganda, one that black women watching (and many, MANY other marginalized folks) are sure to identify with--it does not matter how "nice," how reserved, how small a black woman makes herself. a racist society will still scrutinize her every action for a way to parse ill intent from it, brand her as an angry black woman who is dangerous and wicked, and write off any humanity she has in the process.

these two very different interpretations tell of the lie of assimilation. the fact of the matter is, when you are marginalized, there is no way to sand down your edges enough to make the people oppressing you "accept" you. that is why wicked is a tragedy at its core. whether loud and aggressive or quiet and unimposing, there is nothing elphaba could have done to make the people of Oz see her as anything other than a scapegoat to blame all their problems on.

so while i definitely appreciate that people are excited for black girl era elphaba, i would encourage us all to still show appreciation for what came before--that was not white girl era elphaba. that was jewish girl era elphaba. two houses, both alike in dignity, two stories both worth being told.

[raticalshoez]

Was thinking of my post about dream teams and got really invested in whatever Unrequited Hate has going on

[paradox-n-bedrock]

me in big fandoms: oh cool, it's so active and there's so many people to vibe with, this is amaz-

*finds my niche angle that appeals to approximately six people*

me: okay, folks, it's you and me now

[orangechickenpillow]

"Tell them Ellie is the little girl... that BROKE YOUR FUCKING FINGER"

"WHAT TOWNNNN"

I just know that those two lines felt so good to deliver. I just know that Bella and Pedro got those yells from deep in their chests.

[what-am-i-doing-in-this-fandom]

Just rewatched centaurworld with my sister, is this anything?

[wolfram-but-art]

i'm suffering so he suffers with me

[videodrme]

BLACK CHRISTMAS (1974) dir. Bob Clark

[niyana-the-ambiguous-mobian]

This whole scene with Allen talking to Nolan in the prison was so good on its own merit, finally getting to hear how Nolan himself had internalized everything he did back on earth during the S1 finale had not only affected him, but his son as well, and he feels absolutely TERRIBLE about it.

But that last bit of dialogue he says right before the screen cuts to black caught me so off guard, left me speechless for a moment.....

The way JK Simmons delivers the line, it's a line of honesty but of total surprise as well. The way his voice softly quivers and trails off as he starts to realize this, like he wasn't expecting to feel this way, after everything he had said about her and how painful was for Debbie to even hear those words.

After all of that, he still misses her.

Way to go, JK. You are a GOAT for voice work like this.

[moeblob]

You know. I have Thoughts now about Olric.

I originally wanted him added as a romance option (as do many others) and I think I changed my mind! I love him and he's amazing and supportive and he likes rocks but what I think so far that I really super love for him? Is how friendly he is and so far (I'm not far) he has zero romance related lines. Like he's not a romance option, but looking at the other NPCs (the innkeeper/wife, the general store owner/wife, the retired socialite who talks about past flings) I think Olric stands out as possibly the only one I can hope for aroace representation.

Let this guy just exist with the most positive vibes ever because he's just a good guy with positive vibes for everyone.

[iraprince]

okay i am kind of getting tempted to do something on impulse tonight that . will perhaps be a little annoying to people who have been waiting for me to maybe finally pick up the villains win or callist0 again,. but also maybe it will be the opposite. maybe it will just be exciting all around because, hey, you know, a new story,

[tanblaque]

More art under the cut!

Prompt by: @miu-senpaii

[touchlikethesun]

what is the coolest scene in the whole of the mdzs donghua and why is it this one?

[paperiee]

This. Is. Everything.

[notearsnora]

Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande at the Olympics in Paris for Wicked.

[gatorgrumbles]

Finally drew my favorite sassy bitch

[mydirtyvalentine]

and she wants you to tell that voice in your head that my mother-