#for Elphaba I am talking about both the book and musical

[lillifaba]

Here's why I'm still unimpressed with the Wicked movie trailer

A while ago I made a post explaining my thoughts on the Wicked teaser trailer. A lot of it was mostly negative due to the poor CGI, acting, lines etc... Well the official trailer dropped and I've got some new thoughts both good and bad. This is going to be way longer than my last post because I'm going to go into detail about why I think this movie won't live up to the musical by comparing it to other movies and musicals. I'll also be talking about some scenes from the featurette.

THIS IS JUST MY OPINION SO FAR ON WHAT WE SEE IF YOU LIKE THE TRAILER OR LIKE ANY OF THE ACTORS THEN DON'T GET YOUR PANTIES IN A TWIST MY WORD ISN'T GOSPEL NOR IS IT MY FINAL OPINION ON THE MOVIE.

Starting off with things I liked:

I'm actually starting to warm up to Cynthia as Elphaba. In my last post I argued I didn't entirely see her as Elphaba mainly because it was obvious she's a thirty seven year old playing an eighteen year old. While I still believe she doesn't pass for younger Elphie and her simple "I am" comeback is weak, hearing more of her lines and performance is actually on point with Elphaba's character. I wouldn't be against her revisiting Elphaba on stage after the movie. Bottom line: I think she's a great singer and am happy a fellow WOC is playing Elphie.

Holy shit that witch cackle gave me goosebumps. It might be the editing and sound in the trailer that makes me feel that way so we'll have to see when it happens in the movie.

Michelle Yeoh???? Like hello? Although she seems more toned down compared to the campy personality MM has on stage, she plays the role of the evil villain quite well. (I'm sad she had to stop using her beautiful Malaysian accent ;_; I hope it was by her choice and not by the choice of the executives.)

Some set designs look quite nice. I'm particularly curious about the scene where The Wizard is dancing around a full size diorama of Oz.

The effects of the grimmerie are quite neat. I despise the new shape of the book, but I think it's cool how instead of going for some floating colorful lights to pass as "look magic oooo", they're going for the spells to be coming out of the pages. Very unique.

And now, on to the negative. This is where I'll be comparing some of the shots and scenes of the trailer to other movies and parts of the musical.

I hate hate hate the CGI. You don't understand I absoultely for forever deeply truly LOATHE the CGI. It cheapens the movie and all that talk and show about how they built up the sets and rainbows showing over their productions goes all out the window when I see those flying monkeys.

Let's talk good CGI vs rushed CGI.

First off I do not blame the VFX artists for this movie looking the way it does so far. VFX artists are one of the most overworked and underpaid workers in the film industry who have to pump out content in a short amount of time. It is also not their fault that audiences are tired of seeing overdone CGI movies every month. It's part of the reason why the Wicked teaser trailer got so much hate when it came out (on top of Ari/🧽, reactionary bros, etc...)

The CGI (mostly in the Emerald City) looks AI generated. Most of my issues with it come from the effects looking poorly rendered. Elphaba flying looks obviously fake. I know they recently touched up some of these scenes but honestly it doesn't make a difference to me at all in quality.

If John Chu and the team behind this movie really cared about this like they insist they do, it wouldn't hurt to take time with the effects. When you do so, you get mind blowing results like this:

Onto other effects: The flying monkeys don't look great. They look poorly rendered along with the rest of the effects. For that I wish they would've stuck to practical effects like Pan's Labyrinth did or literally any character Doug Jones plays like down below.

Heck, even the musical does a better job:

I seriously encourage you to watch B T S footage of Wicked to see how insane and amazing this effect is. Once you see it, you'll realize just how bad the movie fucked up on this.

Bottom line: movies that take their time with CGI effects and utilize other methods like practical effects before leaving everything up to post have better results than your run of the mill CGI Marvel or DC blockbuster.

I'm still not feeling Arianna as Glinda. Before you fans eat me up alive I need to say again I don't hate her and even like some of the stuff she puts out there. This critique is not a reflection on who she is as a person because I don't know her personally. With that out of the way I still cannot stand her Glinda impression. "But Lilli!" You say. "You said you didn't like Ari as Glinda because she's not giving Glinda but she's doing Glinda's voice!" And I stand by that. She's not giving Glinda. She's giving Kristen Chenoweth. You might think that's the whole point of playing Glinda but let me ask you; When you watch Megan Hilty as Glinda, did you think she was imitating KC to the bone? What about Kendra Kassebaum? Ginna Claire Mason or McKenzie Kurtz? Did you think KC was imitating Billie Burke? Or were all of them doing their own interpretations of Glinda that made the character unique to themselves and not a copycat version of the original? Because I argue that's what makes every Glinda special and unique from the previous actress who played her. Doing a copycat rendition of KC makes me believe you have no faith in yourself as an actor and you are incapable of playing character that's been done before without having to copy the source material beat for beat. Because of this, I still cannot seperate Ari the pop star from Glinda The Good.

This point has less to do with Ari as Glinda in the movie and more as what she's doing to promote the movie. I have no idea where else to rant about it but here. I hate hate HATE how Arianna is making this movie and Glinda her ENTIRE personality. She acts like she's part of this fandom yet never interacts with anyone in it (unless its directly involves her) and it all feels so... artificial and money grabbing. Someone please tell me I'm not alone. Like girl please call me when you read and write fanfic on AO3 and get three kudos on your multichap fic lol.

DTL: Again I ask, WHY IS THIS MOVIE SO DARK? DTL is meant to be in a ballroom with tons of bright lights and projections. This ballroom looks so dark and depressing. I'm not thinking "let's dance because dust is what we come to" I'm thinking "turn me into dust already." When I saw Elphaba putting that hat on in the teaser trailer, I thought that was a scene in defying gravity. John Chu failed this scene which makes me angry because I this is my favorite scene in the musical.

Adding on to DTL, we have to talk about the scene where Elphaba and Glinda establish their friendship. If you know this scene in the musical (which duh) you'll know that this is where Glinda realizes that she did a horrible thing to Elphie and wants to make things right, even if it means putting her reputation in the gutter in front of her friends. I know this is an edited trailer so we won't know for sure how the full scene plays out in the final movie, but Glinda immediately going for a hug before they start dancing threw me off guard. At this point, they still aren't best friends because Elphaba doesn't realize that Glinda is sorry for what she did, their relationship is only now starting to build up. Let me ask you, what do you think makes a scene more impactful? Glinda hesitantly and nervously walking up to interupt Elphaba doing a solo dance and then cutting in to make her feel less alone, which eventually leads to all while making them ease up around each other as the song and dance progresses OR Glinda rushing into a bear hug with Elphaba before they even establish them making amends on the dance floor? One seems like a slow burn that tugs at your heartstrings while the other feels like a cheap attempt to get some kind of emotional response from the audience? (Then again not sure how this scene will play in movie but it's not looking good right now)

Final point, why is Elphaba crying during this scene? I get she's just been put through public humiliation and is just now getting an act of kindness from someone but don't you think it's too soon to show her in such a vulnerable position? One of the things about Elphaba in both the musical and books is that she's built a wall of apathy around her because she's been judged her whole life and doesn't care how other people percive her. We don't see her breakdown in the musical until Nessa's death because she's been forced to stay strong her entire life. Maybe at the earliest, we'll see her tear up during defying gravity but I'd argue that's a part of the actress playing her and not the character herself.

I hate how this trailer has been edited to make Arianna look like the protagonist. I get she's bringing in a large audience, but she's playing the secondary character, not the main one. It just pisses me that the protagonist (who is a WOC) has to be in the shadow of the white woman. It almost makes me believe they're doing it because they're more worried people would be offended at the prospect of a POC being a leading role.

The main actors still look way too mature to be playing their characters. I spoke about this already. I don't buy any of these adults (with the exception of Marissa Bode) as college freshmen.

Still hate that riff at the end of defying gravity and that after all the backlash, they're still going with it. I also can't believe some of you are defending it to the death and acting like Cynthia Fucking Erivo can't do a better take than what she gave. (Yes, I know every Elphaba does a different take on the riff and we all have our favorite ones but I'm going to say something that is controversial yet brave: Not every riff that every Elphaba does is great. Some of them are range from underwhelming to straight up bad) Here's a reddit post I found that better explains my gripe with the riff since I'm bad at explaining musical terms:

Costume and makeup design is still atrocious. I'm sorry, but the low effort looking costumes cannot hold up to the extravagance and camp the stage has. They should've brought Susan Hilferty back. Look at Elphaba's act 2 dress and the dress movie Elphaba wears and tell me you're not disappointed.

Adding on, why does everything look modern, including the makeup? Arianna using her brand of makeup in the movie doesn't impress me when she's using a modern day mascara wand over her wispy falsies in a 1900's inspired society when she should be using one of these:

Like... come on? Can you imagine a scene of Glinda doing her makeup while she's ranting to Elphaba about how men (except for darling Fifi of course <3) are so entitled and disrespectful and in the middle of her sentence, she just SPITS on her mascara cake, scrubs the brush like she's scrubbing the floor and does her lashes? Iconic honestly.

Adding on to the makeup looking modernized, I'm not a fan of Elphaba's modernized makeup either. It could be the deaging filter they added on everyone older than thirty but one thing that stood out to me is they used 90's era lip liner on her. I'm much aware if you're darker skinned, you will often times need to use a liner in order to blend in parts around your mouth that are darker in comparison to your lips. Counterpoint however:

They could've easily used a dark lipstick post-Popular like they already do. The 1900's era mostly used a single shade of lip color anyways. And no, I don't want to hear from any of you how none of this matters because Oz is an advanced society or some half assed excuse why it's totally okay they didn't care about the miniscule details while they cared about the number of tulips used in Munchkinland for NMTW. (also note: Oz was considered an advanced society FOR THE TIME IT WAS CREATED. Meaning they weren't envisioning the future items we have now like a mascara wand) If they allowed Arianna to use her own brand of makeup for the movie, they could've allowed an expert on BW's makeup history on set for their main protagonist.

Set design. I've got to say, while some of the sets are impressive, they really don't fit into Wicked or Oz. I mostly blame CGI and lighting, but even then, it can't hold up to the simple, yet brightly colored sets we see on stage. Shiz looks like something out of Hogwarts, which nearly every fantasy academia story looks like these days. Can we please have something original for once?

What I would've enjoyed seeing the movie do is something similar to Melanine Martinez's K-12. They were working on one location on a smaller budget, yet it looks better than the dimly lit and CGI sets we're seeing.

Obviously I'm not saying Wicked should look EXACTLY like K-12 because they have completely different themes and genres, but my point is good lighting, original set designs and color correcting can take you a long way. Wicked is deserving of having the same whimsy look that the WOZ movie had, while still having dark parts where needed.

Some more examples of good use of lighting during dark scenes in movies:

Continuing from not being a fan of the sets, I'm FUMING at the location of Fiyero and Elphaba freeing the lion cub. Why is it in a dark dreary forest?????? Did John Chu mix up the locations between INTG and ALAYM???? The lion cub scene takes place in the poppy field, with a soft orange pinkish lighting that creates a romantic atmosphere and establishes the growing romance between Fiyero and Elphaba (<3) This forest looks too erie and mystical, which should've been used for act 2.

Another hot take: I think the tulip field in Munchkinland looks completely unnecessary. I literally do not care if they planted thousands of rows of them. They look CGI'd because nearly everything in this movie is CGI.

Now onto some things I'm confused about.

God I was so looking forward to Peter Dinklage as the voice for Dr. Dillamond,but from what I heard of his voice acting so far, it just sounds... underwhelming. But I can't complain too much because at least it's not James Corden. I still believe in Peter and hope he will pull through.

Why did they feel the need to change the shape of the grimmerie? It was fine the way it was!

Adding to Dr. D, I'm not sure if I like his new design. I'm guessing they're taking inspiration from the book but if we're discussing live action, I really prefer makeup effects over CGI. One of the things I liked about the Animals in Wicked and in Cats the Musical is they find a perfect balance between blending human features and animal species without it going into the uncanny valley.

I feel underwhelmed by Jeff Goldbulm's acting as The Wizard :( I can't complain too much because he kinda-

On a final note: I think this movie just cannot and will not match up to the excellence of the musical. Will it be a good movie? I don't know yet. I'll still see it in theaters and will give my thoughts.

While brainstorming my thoughts for this trailer, I've really been thinking about why I hate what I'm seeing so far while I enjoy other interpretations of Wicked, especially when it comes to costumes. Then I realized something.

I love non-replica productions of Wicked... So why don't I like the design of this movie?

Part two of my take COMING THANKSGIVING 2025

Not really, give me like a week or two.

[alphabetatoes]

✨🌈🕷️feel-good wednesday hcs 🕷️🌈✨

a.n.: i binged all of wednesday on tuesday and thus feel responsible to provide some nice lil headcanons for the show bc i miss writing for things and i’m neck deep in the fandom rn. please enjoy! 🖤

wednesday’s first book gets published & she absolutely has enid on the acknowledgements page with the note “For Enid - Who clawed her way into my heart.”

bianca and wednesday become the first fencing duo in nevermore’s history to be undefeated, and rightfully so

enid has a new section of her blog called “here’s the thing^TM”, a spot for Thing to divulge all their inside gossip gained from going undercover at nevermore

bianca is adamant about making a better life and self at nevermore & makes the executive decision to only use her siren song for good. need just a little more convincing on a test you’ve got anxiety about or too scared to ask your crush out? she is here to give you the ultimate pep talk.

the most popular extracurricular this semester is the theatre department, with the musical being wicked! enid practically begs wednesday to audition - but she ends up being first chair cello in the orchestra (still amazing and as talented as ever). bianca is elphaba, enid is glenda, xavier is fiyero, and eugene is boq. ajax 108% does costume design for the show (i am a theatre kid and am legally obligated to include a musical reference)

after the events of the previous semester, wednesday & eugene are both the proud founders of “nevermores never explored” - a club to elaborate on all of nevermores untold secrets (happily sponsored by the nightshades ofc)

to commemorate his and enids (almost) first date, ajax stones himself in front of xavier, xavier draws and creates a physical statue of ajax carved in stone, and ajax presents it as a gift for their 6 month-aversary (enid is very much heart eyes emoji over it)

when there’s ever a particularly low pollination season, xavier will help eugene by sketching out new flowers to pique the bees interest & bringing them to life

[melop-sia]

for @elphabaoftheopera

WOOT WOOOOOT!!! TO CELEBRATE THE FINAL CHAPTER BEING RELEASED, ME AND MYSTIC THOUGHT OF A BUNCH OF QUESTIONS TO ANSWER IN REGARDS TO LFAY!!!!!!!!!!! TO SHOW OUR GRATITUDE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What was your overall experience / journey reading the fic?

esper / melop-sia: when i started reading, i was instantly hooked. i genuinely don't think i have liked a fic this much as this one. i loved it so much that id actively check my gmail inbox every hour or so to see if a new chapter was posted 🥲 the most chapters i read in a row was 6, and that was when i first discovered the fic!!! after, i became a slow reader and soaked up every little description you wrote because i didn't wanna miss anything– thats probably why i noticed so many parallels ����!! doing that also let me take it your writing and it's awesome! even awesome enough to get me back into reading stuff! hell, this fic was a reason why i bought gregory maguire's wicked novel 😅 it lit back a love for reading that i hadn't seen for a few years at least! and back to parallels, they were undoubtedly a key part of enjoyment in my journey with lfay! i always got so excited when i found one and wouldn't hesitate to kick around all energised 🥳🥳 im so glad that you went the extra mile by adding the parallels, it vastly improved my reading experience!

mystic / mystic-oni: Okay I've gotta admit I'm not usually the romantic type but they r so cute omgggggg 🥺

I think if i could change anything about the story or my experience reading it i would leave everything the same. It was just something fun, exciting and immersive i could go to after a rough day and although I am guilty of sometimes having one or two chapters stacked up after forgetting to read 😅, I was never finding myself not wanting to read it unless I was trying to savour it for a time when I would need it most. Plus gave me something extra to talk about with esper/melop-sia 😁😁😁

Especially if we were both reading a chapter at the same time. O ye and the characters are so well done and like the ones we all know so sometimes i just forget i'm reading something fan made because it's that good. I actually sometimes finding myself just melding the two together on accident (i mean thats probably expected considering i'm still somewhat new to the wicked fandom but still it wouldnt be possible if the characters weren't portrayed accurately)!

What about the AU stood out to you (in comparison to the adapted material)?

esper: i think what really stood out to me was how much more you fleshed out each character in comparison to the musical. i loved how you gave everyone another layer of personality along with the ones already set by the musical, yet keeping dialogue and interactions so on point 💓! one thing that is so important to me is a character's personality being accurate. i have so much less enjoyment with a fic when characters are written completely different to their "source", so it was a relief and delight to see the consistent characterisation ⭐️⭐️⭐️!!! a bit off topic but i also really liked how you included some references from the book!

mystic: Well, i've only seen one of the musicals on yt (so far, might read the book cuz esper has it and she said she could lend it to me after they had finished it 😁😁). I really felt though from my experience with wicked (not much but anyways 😅) it really fleshed out more of the characters, like how elphaba has nyctophobia cuz it just added another like, obstacle and really added to her character and existing challenges. Also like the letters were a crucial part of moving this fic away from the original material, im rlly proud of myself because while it was in the part of the story where letters were most important, i noticed a lot of familiarity with something but i couldn't figure out what. Then i remembered i had seen the movie "You've got mail" and it was one of the inspirations which i love and made me enjoy the story even more just because it felt familiar in a way.

What was your favourite chapter? Why?

esper: wooof that is a hard questionn 😯😯 i have a few favourites, but ill try to limit it to one or two...... after a bit of thinking, i think i have to say 11 and 19: each for pretty different reasons admittedly 😅. for one, i loved 19 particularly because of how sweet the fiyeraba date was!!! it was the [infodumping gf] and [polite listening bf] dynamic that i lovee so much 🥺🥺🥺 it was so cuteee!!!! the angst was saddening to say the least, but i really enjoyed how you wrote their dialogue and how they finally came to an agreement.

and. onto 11. that chapter was just insane /pos. it was so good i reread it multiple times and thought about it for a while and, at the same time was utterly speechless. i can say one thing though: the yearning. THE YEARNING!!!!!!!! the yearning was so good dudee!!!!!! i usually don't even like yearning but it was just wild how caught up they were both getting and the suspense was palpable. it was so impactful and therefore one of my favourites. close runner up for most favourites is 9 i loved how it finally broke down the established initial barrier and tension between elphaba and fiyero in an engaging way!! another runner up is 21 for an awesome sequence of scenes that made me feeeellll 🥺 soon to be elaborated on!

mystic: Oke im gonna be honest, in order to answer this question i found myself skimming over a lot of chapters that i had remembered i liked and i cant decide on one because they were all so great or had an important event that i couldn't compare to other chapters. I was planning on going into specifics but since i'm so torn im gonna save it for the moments question 😭

Tysm for the indecisiveness cuz all ur chapters are soo good u should be proud. Also it gave me a reason to look back to try and find my favourite and although i didnt get a clear result it was really refreshing reading the older chapters again.

What was your favourite scene or moment? Why?

esper: I HAVE A FEW FOR THIS ONE TOO!!! the first one that comes to mind is fiyero getting to kick jozsef's ass 😁 i absolutely loved how he got back at him after so long and im just a sucker for people getting what they deserve 🥳!!! it was an awesome inclusion and i was so satisfyed with how that turned out. alsooo i loved fiyeraba's bickering pre-museum break in, it definitely wasnt the first or last time i audibly laughed at something in this fic! and elphaba playing go fish with dorothy was hilarious and not near anything i expected for the last chapter of the main story 😅😅😅 that as well as her warming up to dorothy was simply amazing to me!

onto a more wholesome moment, i loved the dance between fiyero and elphie in the empty ozdust, it was such an intimate and romantic moment between them and i couldn't help but love them more after 🥺 following that, the scene of glinda and elphaba making up with each other and becoming friends again! it was just amazing and all around so pleasant to read!!! another few follow ups, glinda confronting fiyero and forgiving him, as well as starting the party! it was a nice flow of funny to touching and then hopeful!

mystic: oke for me its gotta be those bits where elphie does something cool or funny, like in chapter five when Jozsef was tryna splash her with water and she just dumped it all back on him, like that was pretty badass. Also the petition bit in chapter 7 had me dyinggggggg 💀💀💀 (especially the intimidation and fear, i found it pretty funny and also smart how they used that to get people to support their cause). Also the closet bit in chapter nine was really memorable, and exciting to read and I think most people really liked that part. Just the awkwardness and tensionnnnnn aaaaaaah!!! 😁🥲👏👏👏

Okay, and im sure the Ozdust in chapter 13 had everyone on the edge of their seats (Depending on whether u were sitting 😅) when all the secrets were revealed and the truth was spilled everywhere. Ending with quick escape and a great cliffhanger that kept everyone wondering about the chapters to come. There are so, so, so many more but I end up forgetting where after I try to reread (maybe i should have written notes or something idk 😆). Once again thank you so much for making these truly ✨magical✨ moments for people to enjoy.

Thoughts on the ending / last chapter?

esper: i know i already wrote my thoughts in a comment before, but now we have the epilogue so i can talk about that too!! for one, i don't think i would've had the ending any other way. 34 just had a great balance between presented aspects: it was heart-warming but bittersweet. not to mention such a satisfactory read after keeping up for the last month or two!

honestly im so happy about 35!!! honestly after the roller coaster of the "act 2 chapters" im glad we got a tonn of fluff. it was a wonderful peek into fiyeraba's new life and it was sooo cute 🥺🥺 genuinely loved it so much, another one of my favourite chapters❣️ im glad their story got to continue on into a fulfilling lifestyle for both of them 💗💗💗

mystic: Perfect. I didn't think too much about the last chapter before I read it because i didn't really want to go in with a predetermined idea of what I thought would happen because I just knew it might ruin the experience although I was very excited for it and did ponder for... maybe a minute or two 👀, and I came to the conclusion that I wasn't really sure where they would be next, but the fact they got to be together in the end without disturbance was good enough for me. I feel like the mood and especially the dialogue at the end of the chapter and just everything was more than I could have wanted, it was really good and never did I expect she would still be able to help the animals even after she moved and decided to try and just live a quiet, worry-free and normal life with Fiyero. Also just about the chapters before the epilogue, which i also really enjoyed, like how well Elphie got along with Dorothy, how she ultimately beat her final obstacle - her enemy since the beginning, the dark. Also Glinda in charge and Morrible in prison 😈✨🥳 yayyyyy 🎊

Final thoughts

esper: i thank you so much for this fic, it has really helped me through these few weeks and i commend you for making a fic worth all the praise given and more!!!!! im a little sad to see this journey over now, but im glad i was able to be part of it and get my friend into it too! ill likely be rereading as well as consuming some of your past content in waiting for your next project!! i really hope to experience that too 💖 sending much love and support

mystic: One of the only times that I can't help myself from writing "also" way too much because there are so many things I loved about this. Love, Fae & Yero was an adventure that I really felt apart of, and I hope I'm not too attached to let go of it now 😭😭😭

Me and esper spent a while writing this and they and I really want to thank you for your hard work, we tried to have this finished by a certain time and spent a while thinking of our questions as well as the most important things we should say. Hope we weren't too late 😅

AGAIN THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR WRITING!!!!!

FROM ESPER AND MYSTIC 💚❤💖

[terrainofheartfelt]

Gossip Girl Playlists: Theatre Kid AU edition!—Serena’s

[Blair's] [Dan’s] [Nate’s] 

I don’t even remember exactly how this started, but it’s @strideofpride’s fault. 

The concept began as: if they were in this world, what would be in the GG mains’ MT books? What would be their go-to song? Their 16 bar cut? And then, I got on spotify, and got wayyyy too carried away (typical me), and it sort of morphed into: what are the NJBC’s (plus Daniel’s) senior musical theatre recital programs? And now I have this: a quartet of playlists of repertoire handpicked by me for these fake people, and I am very proud of them. 

All selections based on my very particular taste, honed from a childhood in community theater, an adolescence in high school musicals, and a 4 year degree from a majority musical theatre school

And, as in the tradition of Glee and all plays within a play, the rep reflects something profoundly personal about the character, because you know I love a theme. 

the meta:

So Serena’s type…it’s the same with Nate, too, in that people try to pigeon-hole her into one, but she’s not really into it. She isn’t one for the leading ladies for multiple reasons: a): her personality does not vibe, because the villains and the old ladies (and the overlap of both) is so much more fun to her, b): she’s kind of shut herself out of wanting to be for Blair’s sake, because she doesn’t want to compete with her for the same stuff, and c): she’s as tall/taller than most male leads in her program. 

Her voice: hmmmmmm she IS a belter, or can be one, but it’s not — it’s not this weak sauce, nasal belting, and it isn’t high, like she’s not up in the stratosphere, yk? It’s a little rough and tumble, deeper, rounder, lower. She can get Up There, but it’s not where she lives. (Like S floated Laura Bell Bundy, but her voice is SO high, and rings in a way that’s so specific to her that I don’t really hear it for Serena. It’s a vibe, idk.) 

Oh, and she’s a ~dancer~ like Natie.

References: Bernadette Peters, Jane Krakowski, Kristin Chenoweth (for the Comedy and for that oldies golden-age country crooner kind of belt), and early Idina Menzel, pre-Elphaba pre-let’s write roles that shouldn’t be physiologically possible, and a girl from my voice studio I’ll call Heather, because she looked a bit like Blake Lively and had the voice I’m casting in this playlist. 

the tracklist:

Don’t Tell Mama — Cabaret

It’s just…so perfect. On so many meta-levels

Sally Bowles does not want you to tell her mother about her career change

A Trip to the Library — She Loves Me

Bc S’s au was so SPOT ON with this casting choice, omg. 

The darling, if a little bit ditzy, Ilona is definitely over her ex now, after a meet cute in the library. 

A Cockeyed Optimist — South Pacific

The only leading lady that both Blair and Serena are perfectly suited for. Imagine a plot where they both go out for it, then are double cast, all that delicious blairena drama…

Nellie talks to the dapper Emil, and reveals her personality, unshaken despite literally living in the middle of a world war 

Sonya & Natasha (duet w/ Blair) — Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812

I really think this works best with the duet and solo ballad playing one right after the other. it’s all that stuff all those web weaving posts are about, girls loving with claw marks and teeth and blood but nobody else will love you as fiercely and as loyally. It’s the best friendship of it all.

Natasha’s cousin-but-good-as-sister Sonya discovers and calls her out on her emotional affair with a RAKE to whom she is not engaged. Absolutely brutal girl-best-friend fight ensues. 

Sonya Alone — Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812

When her cousin shuts her out, Sonya remains determined to save her from herself. 

Through the Mountain — Floyd Collins

A hidden gem in a hidden gem of an esoteric kind of musical. But the song is gorgeous (also composed by Richard Rogers’ grandson Adam Guettel, in a genre I’m calling neoromantic bluegrass)

I picked the Audra performance bc I love her, and for the guitar, because musician!Dan my most beloved

While her brother, Floyd, is trapped in an underground cave, Nellie sings this promise to save him. 

Over the Moon — Rent

Like, ~serena the actress~ not doing Maureen is so implausible I cannot entertain the notion. Also, like, just imagine her in a performance—not even the whole show, just her recital or a cabaret—getting the crowd to moo with her. Only thee SVDW could. 

Take It Like a Man (duet w/ Dan) — Legally Blonde

I stand by what I said earlier re: Laura Bell Bundy, and while Serena is not a “so much better” belter, she could so sell this. And with Dan!!! It’s perfect!

Okay I have strong opinions on this but this is actually a perfect, feel-good musical. So many bangers, a genius adaptation of a beloved film, a balance that not many musicals in the same genre strike. (a guy judged me recently for calling it perfect and honestly fuck that guy. anyways).

Elle takes her best law school friend, Emmett, shopping for grownup lawyer clothes for their case. Feelings ensue.

Gorgeous — The Apple Tree: Passionella

Okay so I’ve never seen this show, but this song is basically about a “homely” girl who magically becomes ~sexy~ and she is Living for it — it’s a twist on the Cinderella myth, essentially. It was made famous by KChen in a revival. 

Turn Back, O Man — Godspell

For no other reason than I can imagine Serena having the most fun with it. 

The legendary Stephen Schwartz musical in which the only named characters are Judas and Jesus, it’s a…loose storytelling of the gospel. 

The designated soloist opens Act II with this song, which, for telling people to forswear sin and give up things of this world, it sounds hella sexy. (I chose the revival w/ Morgan James bc she’s one of my fave singers and hoooo. She can wail.)

Hard to Be the Bard — Something Rotten

A gender-bender song because Serena would. And let us never forget Serena, Founder of the Shakespeare Club my beloved. 

Poor ol’ Billy Shakes is struggling with the trappings of fame. 

Changing My Major — Fun Home

Harold. 

College-age Alison wakes up after a night of passion (her very first one) and is adorably and emotionally changed forever. 

The Life of the Party — The Wild Party

It’s Serena (one aspect of her character) wrapped up into one MT song. It’s perfect. 

A musical about a Fitzgerald kind of bacchanal, during which things get truly wild: alcohol, abuse, adultery….murder. Kate, a flapper if there ever was one, opens Act 2 with a salute to the party life. 

If You Ever See Me Talking to a Sailor — The Last Ship

Remember when Sting wrote a musical about some gruff northern english shipbuilders? No? Well, it kind of flopped, BUT I think it’s great. And the music slaps (it’s by Sting, hello) and this song slaps. 

Meg, a badass MILF who’s been hurt one too many times tells everyone in the pub of this seaside town why sailor’s ain’t shit. because her first love ran away on a boat after he (unknowingly) knocked her up? maybe so.

If You Hadn’t But You Did — Two on the Aisle

Written for a 50s Bway revue, KChen revived this into one of her staples on a studio recording. The wronged woman, but make it both deadly AND hilarious. And patter. 

Mamma Mia — Mamma Mia

Because S said it belonged here and she is RIGHT. Like, in a ~serena the Actress~ world, I see her starting off with the Maureens and the comic sexy relief before happily aging into Donna and everything Bernadette Peters ever did. 

Donna, on this, the eve of her daughter’s wedding, discovers that not one, but three of her exes (and all incidentally the possible biological father of said daughter) have been invited. Shenanigans and Abba ensue. 

People — Funny Girl

Idk if I would have her do this whole role, but I think she would love Babs and love this song (and she can absolutely do “Jingle Bells?” as a party trick at holiday gigs). 

Fanny Brice, charismatic comedienne full of ambition sings this number towards the close of act 1, as she begins to fall for Nicky Arnstein. 

Get Happy/Happy Days Are Here Again (duet with Blair) — as performed by Judy and Barbra

It’s about the BEST FRIENDS. And about that gorgeous, full, round, vibratoed belt. 

A mashup duet made famous from Judy Garland and Barbra Streisand’s performance on the Judy Garland show. Judy sings Harold Arlen’s “Get Happy” which she made famous in the movie Summer Stock, and Babs sings Milton Ager’s pop standard “Happy Days,” one of her most famous singles. 

[leo-frognag]

wicked of course

you hopped on that so fucking fast jhdgfhkjsg

blorbo: elphaba. i dont shut up about elphaba. i cant shut up about elphaba. the character of all time. she shares nearly all of my interests and if she were real i think we'd have actual hours-long conversations about animals. and Animals. we need more unhinged scientist rep in media and if i cannot contribute to that irl without being under government surveillance then i will do it through the medium of elphaba. please talk to me about her i will love you forever.

skrunkly: elphaba is also kind of my skrunkly but in the interest of not repeating characters i will say malky (elphaba's cat from the book, for musical-only fans). my little war criminal. glass bones and paper skin. i will kiss his little head as he rats me out to the Wizard.

scrimblo bimblo: DOCTOR FUCKING DILLAMOND this man deserved so much better and the way BOTH canons treat him is fucking unacceptable. ur gonna make a Goat who bonds with elphaba and finally treats her like a human for once, then either 1) kill him off or 2) condemn him to lose his sapience?? i would fight wars for the venerable doctor dillamond. (**HONORABLE MENTION GOES TO TURTLE HEART I ALSO LOVE HIM**)

glup shitto: i know tibbett is like. the less obscure of himself and crope (b/c. uh. tiger things) but i love him and he ALSO didnt deserve what happened to him. see, that's the trend here. he's goofy and wonderful and i hope he gets ghost-married to the man of his dreams.

poor little meow meow: **DISCLAIMER: i am diverting from the "problematic fave" part on this and focusing much more on the "pathetic" part.**

oh this has to be glinda. jesus. girl gets put through the wringer on SUCH a consistent basis it's fucking unreal. she goes from having everything to experiencing like 6 devastating losses and STILL graduates, only to immediately sink into an unhappy marriage (and/or to immediately be exploited by the government), all the while never being given the proper chance to mourn so she fills her life with frivolity to hide her insurmountable grief. she's not in my Top Top Absolute Favorite characters but i do recognize that she's the one with the most depth and i love her for that.

horse plinko: a fastpass to hell would be too kind for madame morrible <3 i want to see her spun in a vortex until the layers of her skin begin to separate and slough off. how dare she attempt to brainwash two 18 year olds and a 15(pretty sure) year old into doing her fucking political bidding. how dare she assume that they would be so fucking feeble-minded. how dare she look upon oz with her stupid fucking smile and preach discrimination to generations upon generations of impressionable young students, fully cognizant of the harm she has brought upon the entire nation. i want her to feel each crunching impact of her body on the plinko pegs while the flames of suffering lap ever-closer at her pulverized heels.

eeby deeby: i'm gonna have to agree with everyone else and say the Wizard gfhdkfg that man just does not deserve rights!! snarky old jackass. calls elphaba stupid b/c he can't live with the fact that he's losing an argument to a teenage girl. like yeah ok you have imposter syndrome but that doesn't justify decades of murder and oppression bro get a GRIP

[contre-qui]

Tag 9 people to learn about their interests.

I was tagged by: @just-a-cup-of-anxietea (I'm sure you already knew, but this just really highlights how indecisive I am!)

MUSIC

Fave genre? Pop rock/pop punk usually (but a little bit of everything)

Fave artist? It's hard to pick one but I really love Patrick Wolf and Dolly Parton

Fave song? Again so hard to pick but probably "The Magic Position" by Patrick Wolf

Most listened song recently? "Coming Home" by Leon Bridges

Song currently stuck in your head? "Rhiannon" by Fleetwood Mac and "Vengo Dalla Luna" by Måneskin

5 fave lyrics? (Why is this so hard???)

Hear the Salvation Army band./Down by the riverside/Bound to be a better ride/Than what/you've got planned./Carry your gun in your hand./Look around,/Leaves are brown,/And the sky is a hazy shade of winter. ("Hazy Shade of Winter" - yes the Gerard Way/Ray Toro version from Umbrella Academy let me live)

I hear her voice in the mornin' hour, she calls me/The radio reminds me of my home far away/Drivin' down the road, I get a feelin'/That I should've been home yesterday ("Take Me Home, Country Roads" by John Denver)

If the children don't grow up,/Our bodies get bigger but our hearts get torn up./We're just a million little gods causin' rain storms, turnin' every good thing to/Rust.I guess we'll just have to adjust ("Wake Up" by Arcade Fire)

Just beyond your limits/Find the new frontier/I live in the darkness/It's dark in here ("Dark In Here" by The Mountain Goats)

radio or your own playlist | solo artists or bands | pop or indie | loud or silent volume I slow or fast songs | music video or lyrics video | speakers or headset | riding a bus in silence or while listening to music | driving in silence or with radio on

BOOKS

Fav book genre? Sci fi/fantasy

Fave writer? Neil Gaiman, Audre Lorde, Ray Bradbury, Lev Grossman, Markus Zusak, Mary Shelley, and probably more but that would take a long list

Fave book? I simply cannot pick a favorite. But a selection includes: Zami: A New Spelling of My Name by Audre Lorde, American Gods by Neil Gaiman, The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury, The Magicians by Lev Grossman, Wicked by Gregory Maguire, An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon, and the list goes on and on and on

Fave book series? The Magicians Trilogy by Lev Grossman

Comfort book? The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

Rainy day book? Probably poetry actually

Fave characters? Julia Wicker from The Magicians, Elphaba Thropp from Wicked, Crowley from Good Omens... Probably some others but I don't really imprint on book characters as much as I do on the books themselves.

5 quotes from your fave books?

"Aye. You gender-malcontent. You otherling," she said [...]. "Me too. I am a boy and a girl and a witch all wrapped into one strange, flimsy, indecisive body. Do you think my body couldn't decide what it wanted to be?"

"I think it doesn't matter because we get to decide what our bodies are or are not, " he answered.

[...] "Is that so? Then I am magic. I say it, therefore it is true," she said. (An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon)

[...] for each of us encounters the Lady on the Grey at the end of our days, and there is no forgetting her. (The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman)

Most people are blind to magic. They move through a blank and empty world. They’re bored with their lives, and there’s nothing they can do about it. They’re eaten alive by longing, and they’re dead before they die. (The Magicians by Lev Grossman)

He lingered at the door, and said, "The Lion wants courage, the Tin Man a heart, and the Scarecrow brains. Dorothy wants to go home. What do you want?" [...]

She couldn't say forgiveness, not to Liir. She started to say "a soldier," to make fun of his mooning affections over the guys in uniform. But realizing even as she said it that he would be hurt, she caught herself halfway, and in the end what came out of her mouth surprised them both.

She said, "A soul-" (Wicked by Gregory Maguire)

Night after night we had talked until dawn in this room about language and poetry and love and the good conduct of living. Yet we were strangers. (Zami: A New Spelling of My Name by Audre Lorde)

hardcover or paperback | buy or rent | standalone novels or book series | ebook or physical copy | reading at night or during the day | reading at home or in nature | listening to music while reading or reading in silence | reading in order or reading the ending first | reliable or unreliable narrator | realism or fantasy | one or multiple POVS | judging by the covers or by the summary | rereading or reading just once

TV AND MOVIES

Fave tv/movie genre? Sci fi/fantasy and comedy

Fave movie? Lord of the Rings or Terry Pratchett's The Hogfather

Comfort movie? The Dark Crystal, The Parent Trap (1998), The Neverending Story, Legally Blonde, The Princess Diaries, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Last Unicorn

Movie you watch every year? Hocus Pocus, The Hogfather, Lord of the Rings (the whole trilogy), and The Muppets' A Christmas Carol

Fave tv show? Doctor Who (earlier reboot seasons specifically)

Comfort tv show? The IT Crowd

Most rewatched tv show? Doctor Who

5 fave characters? Donna Noble (Doctor Who), Chidi Anagonye (The Good Place), Maurice Moss (IT Crowd), Eliot Waugh (The Magicians [the show]), and Susan (The Hogfather)

tv shows or movie | short seasons (8-13 episodes) or full seasons (22 episodes or more) | one episode a week or bingeing | one season or multiple seasons | one part or saga | half hour or one hour long episodes | subtitles on or off | rewatching or watching just once | downloads or watches online

Tagging (no pressure!): @nr-studies @mymessystudyblr @magnusacademia and anyone else who'd like to do this!

[blackdiamondwrites127]

First Meeting (Sibylle's Perspective)

My girlfriend @ellielovesdrawing and I decided to do a collab fanfic about Sibylle and Kath's first meeting! Mine is in Sibylle's perspective while hers is in Kath's perspective which you can find here. Hope you guys like this!

--------------------------------------------------

Sibylle exited her office at exactly noon. She had double saved her work on her laptop and crossed out the 8 am - 12 pm slot on her daily schedule chart. She made sure to lock the office door and put up the sign that read:

'Out to lunch'

She started doing this to avoid anymore stolen ledger incidents. The last this she needs is hunting someone down who took her ledger and throwing her entire schedule off. Sibylle exits through the employee door and makes her way to the theatre cafe next door. She ducks as she enters to avoid hitting her head on the door frame.

'One concussion is enough in both of my lives,' she thought. Adjusting her thick glasses.

She goes over and gets in line. Waits until it was her turn at the counter.

"Hey there, Sibylle. What will it be today?" Arthur Tudor, the cafe owner, and fellow reincarnated historical figure greeted.

"Hi, Art. I'll be having my usual iced coffee and club sandwich. Take away thanks," she said.

"Coming right up."

As Arthur made her order, Sibylle looks at the pastries displayed behind the glass display by the counter.

"Hey Art, do you carry any other pastries aside from cookies and cupcakes?" she asked.

"Sometimes I have slices of cheesecake and a box of cinnamon buns that EB loves," Arthur replied.

"Do you make cakes? My Papabär is coming over to visit tomorrow and he loves cakes. I was thinking of buying one for him."

"My sister baked the pastries that I sell. She owns a bakery across the street and I just buy from her."

"I didn't know you have a sister."

"I have three sisters. The youngest one is the one who owns the bakery. Here's your order."

Arthur comes back to the counter with her take away order and Sibylle pays for it.

"Why don't you go check it out. See if you fancy any of her cakes and other pastries. The bakery's called Tudor Rose Bakery," he suggested while counting her payment and giving her her change.

"I think I will after work. Thanks, Art," she said. She took her to take away and exited the cafe before making her way back to the theatre and in her office.

Around five, she saves her work on her laptop, crosses out the 1 pm - 5 pm slot on her daily schedule, and packs up her things in her backpack. She picks up her helmet then shuts the lights before shutting and locking the door. She clocks out and leaves through the employee door. Sibylle goes over to her motorbike parked at the employee parking and hangs her helmet on one of the handlebars before crossing the street.

She walked a few paces until she was standing in front of a small bakery with the sign 'Tudor Rose Bakery' on top. She ducks down a bit as she enters the bakery. The bell above the door rang as she entered. As soon as she was inside, the smell of fresh pastries hit her senses. The bakery was small but the place was beautifully simple with rose themed decorations, mostly murals of roses on the white walls. She smiled a bit when she hears the song 'Popular' playing on a Bluetooth speaker propped onto the counter.

She hums along to the song while looking around the few shelves that carried the packed pastries displayed there and their corresponding prices.

"Welcome to the Tudor Rose Bakery! What can I do you for?" a woman's voice cheerily said behind her.

Sibylle straightened up and turned around to face the owner, greet her back and tell her about her intention in buying a cake but all words, even german words, escaped her when she faced the owner.

The very pretty owner.

The very pretty owner looking up at her with icy blue eyes.

The very pretty owner with freckles decorating her very pretty face.

The very pretty owner that was smiling sweetly at her.

The very pretty own-- okay we get it! You're gay!

"Um...ma'am? Are you okay?"

Sibylle snapped out of her flustered stupor by shaking her head, clearing her throat and adjusting her glasses.

"Uh ja! I was wondering if you have any cakes?" she asked.

She hit herself internally for that ridiculous question. Of course she has cakes! It's a bakery for crying out loud! The owner chuckled and Sibylle got even more flustered upon hearing her laugh.

"Yes I have cakes. My brother, Arthur, told me that you would be coming. Sibylle correct?"

"Yes. Sibylle La Marck."

"I'm Katherine Tudor but just call me 'Kath'. Nice to meet you and you don't happen to be related to Anna, William and Amalia are you?"

Sibylle chuckled. "I am actually. I'm their older sister," she said.

"I can see the resemblance! Anna and William loves to come here every other day and orders everything that's either chocolate coated or chocolate flavoured."

"All four of us loves chocolate everything to be honest."

Kath smiled at her again which almost made her heart skip a beat. "No wonder! Now, would you like to order a custom made cake?" she asked.

"Um no. I would like one that's already made. My father loves cakes and he's coming over to visit tomorrow," she replied.

"Of course! This way please."

She follows Kath to the display counter where several cakes and pastries were on display.

"I have madeira, heavy fruit cakes, light fruitcakes. Heavy sponges. Light sponges. And red velvet," the baker listed off while pointing to the cakes in the glass counter.

Sibylle looks at the wide variety of cakes on display. Contemplating which one to get for Papabär. She herself prefers chocolate but her Papabär loves red velvet.

"Found anything you like?" Kath asked.

"Hmmm...I think I'll take one chocolate cake and one red velvet," Sibylle said.

"Sure! Which one? There are a few to choose from."

"Anything is fine as long as it's chocolate and red velvet."

"Coming right up!"

She goes to the back to get two boxes for the two cakes that Sibylle picked. While she waited for her cakes, she noticed the song playing on the Bluetooth speaker had changed and was now playing 'Defying Gravity' and Kath was quietly singing along to it while she ties neat red ribbons around the boxes.

Should she test the waters?

See if this beautiful baker is a fellow Wicked fan?

Might as well do it then.

"I can't help but notice your playlist consisting of songs from Wicked," Sibylle said. She internally patted herself on the back with that start.

The baker seemed to blush shyly and she decided at that moment that she loved the way she blushes. This thought makes blush a bit in turn.

"Oh! Yeah, I'm a major fan of wicked, I prefer the books to the musical though but the music in the musical is bopping!" Kath said. A big, excited grin on the baker's face.

This made Sibylle have an excited grin of her own.

"Same actually! I love the songs from the musical but the books are my preferred canon! The musical all but removed the political commentary and that's what I loved in the books."

"I know! The political commentary in the books make it much more interesting and in depth! Not to mention the lack of Glinda and Elphaba romance in the musical which was very abundant in the first book."

"I know right!"

She noticed her blue eyes had lit up while geeking out with another Wicked fan. She herself is quite happy to discover that this beautiful woman shares the same interest as her.

"You know, you do kind of remind me of Elphaba," Kath said.

"Oh? How so? Do I have green skin or a water allergy?" Sibylle asked.

"More like tall, lanky, glasses and the long braid."

She blushed a bit and absentmindedly played with the tip of her braid.

"The braid is actually the intentional nod to Elphaba in my appearance. The rest is just...me," she said.

Kath smiled at her and yet again, her heart skipped a beat. She rings up her order and gave her the price to which she paid with a bit of extra.

"Keep the change," She said as Kath started to count her change.

"Are you sure?" the baker asked.

"Ja. It's a tip for having the lovely conversation with me." She smiled at her.

Kath smiles back. "Thank you, Ibby."

"Ibby?"

"Oh sorry! I just thought 'Ibby' would suit you as a nickname."

Sibylle smiled at this. "Funny enough, my Papabär gave me the nickname 'Ibby' when he first met me," she said.

"Oh! Well do you mind if I call you that? Because I kind of want to see you more and get to know you," Kath said.

At this point they were both blushing now. Sibylle more so than Kath.

"I-I would like that," she said.

The baker seemed to lit up more at this. She rushed out back before running back out again and handing her a business card with a number written on the back.

"Here's my number! Let's talk more when you have the time!" she said.

Sibylle smiled and graciously took the card. Putting it in her left pocket where her wedding ring was in.

"I'll text you when I get home then. That way you can save my number," she said.

"I'm looking forward to it!"

"Thank you for the cakes, Kath."

"No problem, Ibby."

With that, Sibylle took her cakes and left the bakery. A small smile remained on her face as she drove home to her flat.

Perhaps she can modify her daily schedule to fit in the new 'Go to the bakery' slot with as much break time as she can fit in there as possible.

Yeah. She would definitely do that.

--------------------------------------------------

Featured/Mentioned Sixtended OCs:

@ellielovesdrawing 's Katherine Tudor

@djts-arts 's Arthur Tudor

@spooner7308 's EB

@pandora-dusk 's Mali von Kleve

@lexartsstuff 's William Jülich-Berg-Cleves

[bolinshipskorrasami]

Like a Comet Pulled From Orbit

Author’s Note: Alright ghouls, gals, and gents. Been working on this fic all week to beat away the angst that AoaW left me with! My first (and probably only?) Lumity fanfic, minimally edited. I honestly have no idea how it turned out, I’ve been staring at it too long. But I hope someone enjoys it!

Read here on ao3 if you prefer!

Summary:  Luz takes Amity to see the musical Wicked in the human world. Conversations about shipping and drawing of fanart ensues, which helps both witches come to some long overdue realizations.

Like a Comet Pulled From Orbit

The winter air was crisp and cold as Luz exited the theater. Her nostrils burned for a moment as she breathed it in and her body adjusted to the difference from the warmth of the building. She glanced over towards Amity who was adjusting her scarf tighter around her neck, just a few steps behind her.

“So, what did you think?” she blurted out excitedly, unable to contain the question. She had been watching Amity’s reactions almost more than the show itself throughout the performance – Luz couldn’t help it. She was excited to share this with the other witch. For one, it was Amity’s first trip to the human world with her, so she wanted it to be a perfect and amazing experience for her friend. For another, Luz herself had seen Wicked on at least two other occasions with her mami. And listened to the soundtrack almost as endlessly as she had read books one through five of Good Witch Azura. Experiencing it through Amity’s reactions was like experiencing it for the first time all over again.

Amity didn’t answer right away, her brow creasing in that cute way Luz noticed it did whenever she was thoughtfully contemplating an answer to one of Luz’s questions. Luz always admired the amount of thought Amity put into her answers, so she always tried to give Amity the patience she needed.

In the meantime, she watched the crowd dispersing in the street and caught a snowflake with her tongue. It had started to flurry while they had been in the theater and a thin coat of snow littered the sidewalk and street around them. The way the snowflakes danced in the glow of the evening streetlights reminded her of her first light spell in the Boiling Isles. Despite being in the human world, Luz felt like tonight held so much magic within it, if only she could read the glyphs around her.

“It was really interesting… The music was so beautiful… you know, we don’t have music like that in the Boiling Isles,” Amity’s voice brought Luz back and she turned to face the green haired girl once more. Snow was starting to stick to the dark blue beanie she had borrowed from Luz to hide her ears – a detail they both might have forgotten, if not for Luz’s mama mentioning it on their way out the door. Luz thought it was a shame Amity had to hide any part of herself – but she did have to admit that her friend looked very adorable in the beanie. She might just have to let her keep it…

“Luz, are you even listening?” Luz’s attention snapped back to find an amused expression on her friend’s face. She returned a sheepish smile. “Sorry! Yes! I was also just thinking, we should find someplace warm to talk!” Okay, not exactly what she had been thinking, but close enough. She did notice Amity’s face was turning pink from the cold. Amity nodded in agreement.

“I think I know the perfect place, c’mon!” and with that, Luz grabbed Amity’s gloved hand and began to pull her down the snowy street.

 ***

 “After you, Miss Blight,” Luz said as she opened the door to the coffee shop with dramatic flair and flourish, giving an overexaggerated bow as she gestured for Amity to enter. Amity, for her part, rolled her eyes but let out a small giggle, which warmed Luz’s stomach more than any coffee probably could.

They approached the counter together, and Luz began going over all the different drinks and giving her recommendations. Amity looked very overwhelmed. Luz gave her usual order of a caramel macchiato (made with almond milk, of course) with extra expresso. When the barista looked to Amity, she simply said “I’ll have one of those, too.”

Luz grinned and took out the cash her mom had given her before they left. Amity took out her own coin purse at the same time. Luz laughed and placed her hand on Amity’s, pushing the bag back down. “My treat! I don’t think they take snails here,” she whispered behind her other hand. She watched as Amity’s cheeks reddened and she mumbled a thanks.

They sat down with their drinks a few minutes later. The coffee shop was fairly empty, which made sense given how late in the evening it was. It felt nice to have Amity’s attention all to herself in such a warm, cozy place, away from the commotion of the Boiling Isles, away from school.

“So, did you have a favorite song?” Luz asked, slurping at her whipped cream.

Amity blinked rapidly, as if she was coming out of a dream. “What?”

“From the show,” Luz added, realizing her mind had probably jumped from point A to point Z as it sometimes did.

Amity’s cheeks glowed as she replied, “Oh, right… Well… all of them were so good, it’s hard to pick a favorite.”

“I know, right?!” Luz agreed, nearly spilling her drink in her excitement. She caught it just in time and Amity’s laughter rang out prettier than sleigh bells. The sound made Luz’s insides squirm and for a moment she wondered if they had put dairy in her drink by accident.

“But… if I had to pick… I really liked that one near the end that Elphaba and Glinda sang together. I thought it was sweet.” Amity looked down at her drink as she finished her thought. She had taken the cover off and was swirling it around, as if she were in the oracle track trying to read a crystal ball or tea leaves maybe. “What… is this exactly?”

“It’s deliciousness in a cup! Try it!” Luz responded, taking another gulp. Amity sipped slowly, with the kind of poise Luz only ever saw in commercials when people drank beverages. How did she do things so gracefully anyway? She watched Amity’s reaction with the anticipation of someone watching their favorite grudgeby team go for a goal.

Amity’s face lit up like the stage lights in the opening number as she let out a drawn out “mmmmmm” of satisfaction. “It’s good, right?” Luz said for confirmation, grinning ear to ear.

“It’s so different from anything on the Boiling Isles!” Amity agreed. They sat in a moment of silence, enjoying their drinks.

“Don’t you find it kind of… sad though?” Amity said suddenly.

Luz tilted her head in confusion. “Did you already finish your drink? I can get you another one –”

Amity shook her head, smiling at Luz’s reaction. “No, I meant the show. I mean, Glinda lost her best friend…”

Luz considered this. “Yeah, I suppose you’re right, that is sad. But I mean, she had still had Fiyero!”

“Yeah, I guess… I don’t know, their relationship seemed kinda of… contrived. I mean, one minute he’s with Glinda about to get married and then he suddenly runs off with Elphaba?”

“No way! He was inspired by her the whole time though. And when they saved that little lion cub together… I mean, talk about romance!”

Amity scoffed, “Yeah, but Elphaba and Glinda had so much more chemistry, even when they were singing about how much they hated each other-”

Luz gasped, genuinely surprised but understanding now. “You’re a Gelphie shipper?!”

Amity looked like she didn’t know whether she should deny this as some sort of insult or defend it to the death. Probably because she had no clue what Luz was talking about. “A what now?”

“You know, Glinda and Elphaba, Gelphie. It’s their ship name!” Luz pulled out her phone and typed furiously until she had several bits of fanart sprawled across her screen. She held it out in front of Amity’s face.

“Oh,” was all her friend replied, her mouth accentuating the syllable as it stayed in place and her golden eyes darted across the screen. She regained her composure after a few moments, blinking rapidly.

“Well… yes. I suppose I am a… Gelphie shipper then,” Amity sat up straighter as she said it but her face held something that was difficult for Luz to read. Funny how she could read magical glyphs from an enchanted island but her friend’s face was, at times, absolutely indecipherable. “Is that… bad?” Amity asked, and Luz realized she hadn’t responded in an appropriate amount of time.

She gave a laugh, hoping to dispel some of the tension. “No! Of course not. I mean, who doesn’t love a good old-fashioned Enemies to Friends to Lovers trope, amiright?” Luz waggled her eyebrows suggestively for emphasis. Amity tried to hide her smile in her coffee cup, but Luz could tell her plan had worked.

The commotion of chairs scraping the floor and being stacked on tables suddenly penetrated their little bubble, reminding Luz how late it was. “We should probably get going – I wanna make one last stop on our way back to my house!” She informed Amity excited, standing and putting her coat back on.

“Lead the way, oh fearless champion,” Amity replied, a more reserved imitation of Luz’s gestures from earlier. Luz smiled and took her hand, leading her out the door. They weren’t even outside completely before Amity’s face was already pink from the cold again.

 ***

 Amity’s heart was beating so fast and hard as she followed Luz through the strange hard and slippery roads of the human world. She wondered for a moment if maybe coffee was poisonous to witches… then again, Luz hadn’t let go of her hand even after they had exited the coffee shop, walking quickly and excitedly chattering as they went. She supposed that could have something to do with it.

Luz pointed out different things that Amity might not be familiar with and normally Amity would be fascinated to learn about this strange new world. But the hand holding was very distracting. And her heart was very loud. And it was all a little overwhelming, but she really didn’t want it to end. She watched Luz as she spoke about human things like cars, traffic lights, and a thing called “Santa” they passed by. He appeared to be some sort of… demon maybe? He rang a bell and smiled too widely and made a strange sort of howling noise. Luz paid him a tribute – perhaps for safe passage across the road? - of the strange papers she carried around that seemed to act as the equivalent to snails in the human world.

“Where are we going?” Amity finally asked as Luz paused her tour guide-like speech to look both ways before tugging her across the road toward a small park they had passed on the way here.

“It’s a surprise! Don’t worry, we’re almost there,” Luz squeezed her hand reassuringly, excitement dancing across her features, making the warm brown of her cheeks glow in the moonlight.

As they entered the park and Amity began to look around, she realized it wsn’t moonlight at all. It was what looked to Amity to be a million different stars – or maybe they were light spells? – glowing in the trees all around them. Some of them sparkled in a kaleidoscope of color – red, green, blue, yellow. It was absolutely dazzling, unlike anything Amity had ever seen.

“Oh wow…” was all Amity could manage to say, staring in awe at the scene around them.

“Pretty cool, huh?” Luz said proudly with a big grin, as if she had personally produced all these little lights for Amity.

“It’s… amazing. What is this place, Luz? I thought you said the human world didn’t have magic?” Amity took her glove off and reached out her hand to hesitantly hover over the enchantment of the trees.

Luz gave a chuckle. “It’s not magic – well, I mean, not like on the Boiling Isles. These are Christmas lights. They use electricity like the streetlights around town.” Luz reached out and placed one in Amity’s hand, as if sensing her uncertainty. Amity pinched the light between her fingers, feeling its fragile little warmth against her skin.

“How strange,” she commented. “Everything here is so wonderfully strange…” Amity’s voice trailed off as she continued to look around her. The collective brightness in the trees lit up the space around them in a hazy glow. It made the whole moment feel more like a dream than reality.

“C’mon, there’s more to see! This path will take us closer to my house, too,” Luz said, breaking Amity out of her trance. Luz grabbed her arm this time, tugging her along.

As they walked, the lights morphed into different shapes and figures. Luz explained this was all for some human holiday and pointed out some of the different symbols for Amity. A candy cane. A reindeer. A gingerbread man (that one she was pretty sure that one was actually a demon from the Boiling Isles, but she didn’t mention it). Amity wasn’t sure what was more beautiful – the glorious and picturesque glow of the lights with the snow falling around them onto the trees; or Luz as she spoke excitedly about each light picture, sometimes elaborating with a story about her mom or growing up in the human world. Amity never wanted it to end.

***

By the time they got back to Luz’s house, it was late and they were both exhausted from all the walking and being in the cold for so long. Luckily, Luz’s mom – Ms. Noceda (who Amity had learned earlier, was not in fact, named Ms. the Human) – had already made up their sleeping arrangements in Luz’s bedroom. She asked them how the show was and while Amity said a few things here and there when asked directly, she mostly let Luz do the talking. Ms. Noceda was very warm and kind to her – which was more than she could probably say for how her parents would ever treat Luz. It made her feel a bit guilty, that she couldn’t return the same favor to Luz. But she tried not to think about that.

Which, as it turned out, was very easy once Ms. Noceda turned in.

“Buenos noches, mija. Good night, Amity. See you both bright and early!” she said as she kissed Luz on the forehead and waved at Amity. They were both in their respective sleeping bags on the floor beside Luz’s bed. When Ms. Noceda flicked the lights off, hundreds of stars lit up the ceiling of Luz’s room. Amity was left alone with the sound of her own obnoxious heartbeat. Where she was expected to sleep. Next to the girl she liked. Why had she agreed to this again?

“I still can’t believe you got your parents to say yes to a sleepover in the human world!” Luz whispered conspiratorially.

“Heh, yeah, I mean, no big deal…” Amity said, glad the lack of light would hide her blush. She may have left out a few details. Like how she had, in fact, used a combination of blackmail and bribery on Edric and Emira in order to get them to produce an illusion copy of herself for bedtime and breakfast. She was going to be doing their chores for a very long time.

“You know, I think this is my first real sleepover,” Luz said. Amity looked at her, surprised. “Really?”

“Well, I mean, there was that one time Willow, Gus, and I used the Moonlight Conjuring to take the Owl House for a drive…” Amity laughed, remembering the look on Boscha’s face when she had seen that on Penstagram. Not that hers had probably looked any different.

“But, I’m not really sure that counts, since we didn’t get much sleep,” Luz continued thoughtfully.

“You didn’t have any sleepovers with any of your human friends?” Amity asked, still somewhat surprised by this revelation.

“Heh… No. I didn’t really… I don’t have any human friends, really,” the tone in Luz’s voice pinched at Amity’s heart a bit. In all the time they’d known each other, she had never really thought to ask about Luz’s life in the human world or her other friends. And now she knew why Luz herself had never mentioned any, either. Instinctively – whether to comfort herself or Luz, she wasn’t quite sure – Amity reached hand out to grasp one of Luz’s.

“Well, I’m glad we’re friends, Luz,” Amity said. She wasn’t sure she’d ever be brave enough to tell Luz everything she felt for her – it felt too big, too fragile. She was too afraid of it breaking. But she needed Luz to know this truth at least. That she mattered. That she was grateful to have her around.

Luz’s eyes widened in surprise at first, but a warm smile quickly followed as she squeezed Amity’s hand back. “Me too. Even if you are going soft on me, Blight,” Luz replied playfully. Amity rolled her eyes and yawned, which made Luz yawn too.

They laid there, eyes drooping heavily as sleep began to take them both. The small part of Amity’s mind that was still conscious enough to have a coherent thought realized that Luz hadn’t let go of her hand, even as her breathing slowed and she began to snore quietly. In that moment, as she let herself drift off to sleep, she decided that even if she had to do Ed and Em’s chores for the rest of eternity, it was totally worth it.

***

The next day, Luz kissed her mama good-bye – she still had a week left of winter vacation and that meant more time at Hexside. That was part of the deal – as long as Luz kept her grades up and didn’t cause too much commotion at human school, her mami had agreed that she could spend vacations learning magic in the Boiling Isles. She and Amity packed up their things from their sleepover and met Eda at the portal. She gave them a ride to school on her staff. Luz was sad to leave the human world behind if only because she had really enjoyed showing Amity around. Amity had seemed so relaxed... Maybe it had been stepping away from the pressures of her life in the Boiling Isles.

School that day was hard to sit through. This wasn’t unusual for Luz, but it didn’t usually happen during her classes at Hexide. Her mind kept drifting away from the lectures and into the magic of last night. Watching Amity take her first sip of coffee, listening to Amity talk about the show, watching her experience Christmas lights for the first time…

“Hello, earth to Luz!” suddenly a hand was waving in her face. She blinked before looking at Gus and Willow.

“Wha- Sorry! What’d I miss?” Luz asked. Gus and Willow exchanged looks.

“You mean besides all of class?” Gus said. He looked down at the paper in front of Luz, which she had been doodling on.

“You better not zone out like that in Magical Plants today. We’re dealing with man-eating mandrakes today!” Willow said with a nudge. “What were you drawing anyway?”

Luz looked down at her latest creation. “Oh, it’s just characters from that musical Amity and I saw last night…” Luz suddenly felt like she wanted to hide it, like it was a private secret she wasn’t quite ready to share with the rest of her friends. Which was… weird. That was probably a weird feeling to have, right? She nonchalantly slipped it into her bag and stood up to move to the next class with her friends. Willow gave her a funny look but didn’t say anything more.

“Well I’ve got High Level Illusions next – what about you guys?” Gus asked as they walked into the hallway.

“I’ve got abomination next,” Luz said excitedly. She swore she saw Gus and Willow exchange another look. Then again, maybe she was reading too much into it.

“We’ll see you and Amity at lunch then?” Willow asked. Luz nodded, high fived Gus, and practically ran down the hallway to her next class, just barely avoiding a hall monitor as she went.

***

Abomination class went by much more quickly than the rest of her day had and she had even managed to pay attention to most of the lesson. There was the occasional distraction, like whenever she looked over to Amity who sometimes chewed on her pencil when she was thinking through an answer. She also must have gotten distracted when mixing her abomination ingredients at some point, because while Amity’s looked absolutely perfect, Luz’s had come out with an extra head and oddly misshapen. It wasn’t a total loss though, since she had managed to get Amity to laugh by trying to get her abomination to reenact one of the scenes from the show from last night.

She walked Amity to her locker after class – Amity’s abomination carried both their books – and they were first to their lunch table. While waiting for Gus and Willow, they talked more about the finer points of the musical.

“So, how was your date in the human world?” Willow asked as she and Gus sat down across from Luz and Amity.

Luz almost choked on whatever mystery meat she was eating for lunch today – she pounded her fist on her chest to clear her throat. “Date?” she choked out. Is that- did Amity think- had she really missed…?

She heard a strangled gasp from beside her and turned to look at Amity, who returned her gaze. Her face was as red as a specific shade of eye shadow she’d seen Eda wear once. She was pretty sure it was called apple blood – or maybe it was vampire blood? In any case, their eyes darted between each other and Willow, both stunned into silence.

Willow’s eyes widened, as if she just realized her mistake. “Oh – I just mean, um-“ whatever excuse she was going to use to save them all from this mortifying moment, Gus put a stop to it just then as he arrived at their table and took his seat next to Willow.

“Hey Luz! Do you have time to stop by after school today and check out some new artifacts I found for the H.A.S.?”

Luz finally swallowed the mouthful she had dislodged from her throat. “Sure!” she said. She then proceeded to shove way more of her lunch into her mouth than she should have, cheeks full as a chipmunk’s before winter.

“I- I just remembered um, I have a meeting with Principal Bump about my class schedule – I gotta go!” Amity stood up abruptly, bumping the table as she went. She disappeared down the hallway with alarming speed. As she moved, something dropped out of her bag, fluttering to the floor.

“Amity wait! You forgot-” Luz tried to call after her, but she was already gone. She bent to pick up the paper – there was a good chance she’d run into her later in the day and she could give it back to her then…

But as Luz looked at the paper in question, it was as if a firecracker went off in her stomach and her mind blanked out, like static on a TV, before the entire picture snapped back on, clearer than it had ever been. “Oh cramity…” she muttered to herself, realization flooding through her.

Gus and Willow, having witnessed all of this, shared a glance with each other. “Are you and Amity okay?” Gus asked, a puzzled look on his face.

“Yeah… I might need to raincheck you on the HAS meeting though, Gus! There’s something I gotta do after school today! I’ll explain later, gotta go!” and with that Luz launched herself from the table, vibrating with excitement and purpose.

As she fled the cafeteria, she heard Gus’s confused reply. “Sure! Good luck! Wait… what’s a raincheck?”

 ***

The school day could not end fast enough for Amity Blight. She needed to get as far away from this ultimate place of humiliation as quickly as possible. She considered skipping out on her afternoon classes altogether – Ed and Em did it all the time, for crying out loud! – but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. Fortunately, she didn’t have any classes with Luz, Willow, or Gus on her schedule for the day, which was a relief. But what about tomorrow? She thought to herself. Maybe she could convince her parents that she was sick with demon flu? Maybe she could just convince them she should transfer schools altogether… that seemed like a perfectly reasonable solution to this whole crush problem, right?

When the last bell finally screamed, signaling dismissal, she didn’t even go to her locker to put her books away. Too much of a risk, running into Luz again. She needed more time to think, figure out what to say. She had acted way too weird when Willow said the D word. Why hadn’t she just played it cool and waved it off?

She didn’t see Luz and co at all as she made her way out the front doors, for which she was thankful. But ofc ourse that luck only stretched so far as Ed and Em came sidling up beside her.

“Mittens! How was your date night with our favorite human? Did you ask for her hand in marriage yet?” Em cut right to the point, looping their arms together.

“Yeah sis, tell us everything!” Edric’s arm fell over her shoulders as they sandwiched her in, leaving no room for escape. “Leave no details out! Well, except for your smooching, we don’t need to hear about-”

Amity could not handle this right now. She felt her face heat up to what could only be described as an unhealthy degree, embarrassment and anger both boiling over.

“QUIT IT!” she shouted, her arms flying outward, knocking the twins away from her. Everything starts feeling like too much and Amity feels pinpricks behind her eyes. She can’t go home, not like this. Not with Em and Ed teasing her the whole way. “I gotta go study at the library, let mom and dad know I’ll be home later,” Amity says quickly, willing her voice to stay steady as she speeds up her pace.

“Oh c’mon Mittens, was it something we said?” Edric shouted after her. She didn’t stop to reply, just kept her eyes forward, determined to get to her destination as quickly as possible.

***

As soon as she walked into the town library, Amity felt a sense of relief wash over her. She took a deep breath, the scent of paper and dust covered books grounding her. The quiet atmosphere settled her nerves. In here, she felt safe. In here, she can breathe and clear her head of the day’s troubles.

She spent some time just wandering through the stacks, keeping an eye out for new additions in her favorite sections. The anxieties of her day begin to shed little by little, clearing her mind enough for her to rethink the events. Maybe things weren’t really as bad as she had initially thought. Afterall, Luz could be pretty oblivious. There was no reason to lose her head about it all – it’s not like Amity herself had called it a date, after all.

Amity finally found herself in front of the romance section and, after looking around her to be sure no one saw, she tugged at “The Lone Witch and the Secret Room.” Yes, everything was going to be just fin-

Amity froze as she entered her sanctuary and the shelf slid shut behind her. Her bag dropped out of her hands and her eyes widened.

“Luz-”

“Hey Amity!-” they both spoke at the same time, their greetings smashing together awkwardly.

“What are you-”

“I wanted to see-” they both started and stopped again. The absurdity of it all helped ease some of Amity tension and she let out a laugh. Luz followed suit, taking a step closer to where Amity stood still by the doorway.

“Amity, hey, I’m sorry I know this is like, your space and everything. I just… I didn’t know where else to look for you after you left during lunch today…” Luz finally broke through to explain. Amity shifted her weight from one leg to the other, feeling a big guilty. So she had noticed her abrupt exit.

“Leave lunch? Oh, yeah, well, you know, I had to uh, I forgot to turn in my abomination assignment, and I didn’t want it to be late, you know-” Amity grasped for any words that would make this scrutiny disappear. Luz simply raised an eyebrow.

“Did you say you had to meet with Principal Bump…” Luz started and Amity felt her heart lodge itself somewhere in the pit of her stomach.

Luz suddenly shook her head, “You know what, nevermind! It doesn’t matter. What matters is, you dropped this.” Luz pulled out a folded piece of paper, moving into Amity’s space even more now.

Amity took the offered paper and while she unfolded it, she couldn’t help but be reminded of the time Grometheus the Fearbringer had taken her most cherished note and ripped it to pieces right in front of her. The paper, when unfolded, revealed her most recent self-indulgent drawing – a picture of Luz in a black hat and matching black robe standing arm-in-arm with a poorer rendition of herself in a huge blue gown and sparkling tiara. Amity was sure her face would explode with the amount of blood that rushed to it in that moment.

“Luz- I – I can explain-” she began to stutter, her hands gripping the paper tightly. Her vision started to blur just a little and she had the horrifying realization that she might just start to cry. How could she have let this happen? Why in the world would she keep this in her bag? Why hadn’t she realized –

“I think it’s some of your best work,” Luz’s voice derailed her bleak train of thought.

“Wait… what?” Amity’s eyes snapped up to look at the human girl in from of her. Her brown eyes twinkled warmly in the dimly lit room.

“Yep! But, I have to say I don’t quite agree with your characterization,” Luz said matter-of-factly.

“Oh,” was all Amity could manage. Her stomach dropped again and she readied herself for the rejection that was surely coming her way. It would be okay, at least Luz seemed like she would still be her friend, and that’s really all she needed anyway. As long as their friendship was still intact, she could handle this, even if it hurt.

Luz pulled out another sheet of paper. “Yeah, as much as I hate to admit it, I really don’t think I’m Elphaba, the most powerful witch in all of Oz,” Luz placed the second paper over the one Amity had been holding to reveal a new, unfamiliar drawing. Two figures faced each other in a somewhat reverent post, hands clasped between them as they stared at each other. This time, Amity was clearly drawn as Elphaba, her green hair poking through the black witch’s hat, her black robe billowing dramatically in what was clearly supposed to be the wind. Across from her was-

“I’m clearly the Fiyero to your Elphaba,” Luz finished, gesturing to her likeness which was dressed in green suspenders and button up with a scarecrow hat upon her head.

“You… think that I’m Elphaba?” Amity asked incredulously. It was not even the most important question to be asking in that moment, but it was the only one her mouth and brain seemed capable of producing together. She was holding a drawing… that Luz had made… of her. Of them together. Oh.

“Well, yeah, it’s that obvious? I mean, you’re a powerful witch, she’s a powerful witch. You both have that cute, goth look going on for you. Plus, she cares about fairness and I know you like to pretend to be indifferent, but I know you secretly care a lot about those things, too.”

Amity continued to stare at the picture, afraid to look away. Her brain continued to short circuit. Did Luz just call her cute?! “And you’re…”

“Fiyero, yeah! I mean, he is kind of her fearless champion and all that. Plus ‘maybe I’m brainless, maybe I’m wise…’ you know, it took him a while to figure it all out, too.”

Amity’s eyes snapped up from the drawing at this. Was Luz saying… what she thought she was saying? Luz smiled and in a perfectly Luz way, continued on a different train of thought.

“Anyway, I took some artistic liberties with the outfit. I liked the suspender outfit better, but thought the hat really tied it all-”

“Luz,” Amity interrupted. “Luz, it’s perfect. Thank you.” Before Amity fully gave her body permission to, she threw her arms around Luz and squeezed her tightly. Luz hugged her back without hesitation, a rumble of a laugh coming from her chest.

“That’s what girlfriends do,” Luz said quietly. Amity pulled back suddenly, still maintaining contact with her hands grasping Luz’s forearms.

“I mean – only if that’s what you want, of course. I didn’t mean to assume, I just meant-” Luz’s face went through about several different emotions so quickly, Amity couldn’t help but double over in a hearty laugh. All the pressure and uncertainly she had been feeling melted away, leaving her feeling like she was light and airy.

“Sorry, it’s just-” Amity tried to reel in her mirth and catch her breath, forcing words out, “-I’ve been trying to tell you all this for the past year and today you just… show up and call me your girlfriend. It’s just so… you, Luz.” Luz grinned self-consciously, blushing for the first time since Amity had entered her secret hideaway.

They stared at each other, this newfound revelation hovering between them, it’s own little spell casting them in silence. Amity was suddenly aware of her heart pounding in her chest again as she watched Luz take a step forward towards her. “Can I…?” Luz asked, in the same soft tone she had used that night in the woods when she had offered to take the weight of Grom off Amity’s shoulders.

Amity nodded slowly as she followed, leaning in to close the gap very slowly, her eyes fluttering as they closed. This was magical, she couldn’t believe she was here, with Luz, and Luz liked her back and they were about to-

“OOOOOH, Mittens in busted!”

All at once, bright light and noise crashed into the room from behind Amity as Ed’s voice broke through he enchanting atmosphere she and Luz had created for themselves. The jarring burst of their bubble caused Amity to jump forward, feet tripping over Luz’s and causing them both to topple to the floor. She landed on top of Luz, her head bumping Luz’s as she did so. “Ow – Luz! I’m so sorry!” Amity exclaimed, rubbing her forehead with one hand while she tried to push herself up with the other.

Luz let out a gasp of breath, “It’s ok! I’m good,” she said as she sat up on her elbows. She raised an eyebrow as she added, “Though I do believe you’ve fallen for me, Blight.” A cheesy grin spread on Luz’s face.

Before Amity had time to respond to that, she heard the sniggers of Em and Ed, still standing in the doorway. She shot up and whirled around on them. She really did need to find a new hideaway, didn’t she?

“YOU TWO, why are you here?! Get out!” She wished she could summon a fire spell without the fear of burning down the whole ancient library.

Emira walked past her and offered a hand to Luz, who was still on the ground. “Now, Mittens, is that anyway to treat your new girlfriend?” Edric for his part threw an arm around Amity’s shoulders and ruffled her hair. “Would we really be good siblings if we didn’t come check on you? After all, you were looking so sour after school! We were worried!”

“Yeah, but it looks like Luz beat us to it! Who knew the human had game,” Emira said, throwing an arm around Luz and giving her a wink. Luz’s cheeks turned pinker than Amity had ever seen them. She glowered at her sister and shoved her brother’s arm off.

“Get. Out. Now. Or I swear, I am going to summon the world’s biggest abomination to kick your-”

“Alright, alright, we’ll give you two love birds a few minutes. But mom really does want us home soon, Mittens,” Emira said, surprising Amity. She and Edric headed towards the doorway again, laughing together as they went. At the door, Ed shouted over his should, “Just remember to save room for-”

Amity took the nearest book she could find and threw it after him. He dodged gleefully and disappeared around the corner. She turned back to see Luz trying to hide her laughter behind her hand. She wasn’t doing a very good job, but the sight made some of Amity’s annoyance fade away.

“You know, I really should be getting back to Eda’s… King gets grumpy when I don’t come home and give him tummy scritches and Eda will probably be worried since I wasn’t at school to get picked up. I’m surprised they haven’t sent a search party out yet…” Luz said apologetically.

Amity sighed, but nodded. “Yeah, I really should get back home, too.”

Luz shifted her bag back over her shoulder, bouncing from one foot to another. “So… I’ll see you tomorrow at school? Maybe afterwards, we can do some Azura Book Club stuff?”

Amity felt herself brighten at the invitation. “Yeah, that sounds grood. I mean, good, uh great! That sounds great!”

“Okay, it’s a date,” Luz said happily. Then she moved forward and wrapped Amity into a big, squeezing hug, practically lifting her feet off the ground in the process. As she set her down and moved back, Amity felt the unmistakable feeling of Luz’s lips brushing against her cheek. The warmth of the contact spread until her whole face was on fire. Luz looked at her and smiled bashfully. “See you tomorrow, Blight,” and with that, she made her way out the door.

Amity stood there, frozen to the spot, her hand coming up to touch her cheek, as if she could catch the sensation before it fluttered away. Wow.

The moment was broken when, 5 seconds later, Luz came rushing back in.

“I almost forgot!” she said as she snatched up the drawings that had been scattered to the floor. She shook the one that Amity had drawn. “Can I keep this? It’s really good!”

Maybe it was the casual compliment or lingering effects of Luz calling her her girlfriend – her girlfriend – or just the adorable way Luz’s face just looked so genuine, but Amity experienced an unexpected surge of confidence. Before she could overthink it, she stepped forward, took hold of front of Luz’s school uniform, and pulled her into a kiss. It was a quick kiss – short, soft, and sweet. But when she pulled back, she felt satisfied to see Luz sufficiently dumbstruck, eyes widened and cheek turning pink.

“Yes. But only if I get to keep yours,” Amity said, plucking the other sketch out of Luz’s hand. Luz blinked slowly.

“Yeah, you can kave it. Keep it. You can have it!” Luz stuttered out her reply.

Amity grabbed her things, slipping the picture carefully into a book before putting it into her bag. She walked over to the doorway before turning back to Luz. “Coming?”

Luz nodded, following her out. They walked hand in hand out of the library and for once, Amity found it easy to ignore the twin’s teasing.

[isitfurbait]

Doctor Dillamond from Wicked? He’s a goat, in case you couldn’t tell.

________

Oh I am aware he is a Goat. The stage adaptation really does Doctor Dillamond dirty. If you want the real goods on Doctor Dillamond, you must read the book, like I have and was when this ask was submitted. I was overjoyed when I got this submission, because it gave me an outlet to talk about the intricacies of certain things in Wicked. In the book, he is obviously more goat-like, and while neither adaptation is rather attractive, it allows a discussion of how a world can live with both anthropomorphism and non-anthropomorphism in animals.

Here’s the illustration of our Goat from the novel. He is significantly more pleasing to the eye than this stage counterpart. Doctor Dillamond is furrybait and I can assure you this kind of post on a public forum would be exactly one of his desires.

And now. Time for the read-more full of a miniature essay on the representation of Animals in Wicked as performed by a white, gay, English student at university who could be doing homework, right now.

In the novel, animal-kind is split into Animal and animal. The former is what a lot of the characters on this blog represent: an animal with some for of anthropomorphism that allows them to have a common ground with humans. Animals with a large A denotes the civility, a topic which could be broken down in the form of racial and post-colonial discourses, and as such, they are the subaltern of Oz.

I apologize quickly that there will be spoilers for the novel in this. Unlike the musical, where Animals are de-domesticated, and forced to not really exist save for a token of desire from Elphaba, the novel murders Doctor DIllamond. In the novel, he is privately tried, charged, and executed for treason against the wizard, These deeds are carried out by a steampunk robot who is owned by Madame Morrible, a name you may recognize if you are familiar with the play. Dr. Dillamond was too close to a breakthrough that would explain physiologically and theologically how Animals came to be, which as a side note is the exact reason I wanted badly to read this book in May. As he came close to this discovery, he was murdered in the night, but as it was performed by a member of the authority of the Wizard, nobody was charged. It especially matters, because this servant of cog and copper was cleared of any wrong doing as it has no moral compass and was simply following orders.

Dr. Dillamond is not a constant echoing memory in our dear Fabala’s mind, as she has more pressing matters in the novel. One of which being that Fiyero was engaged before she met him, and had an affair with him. The musical falls short in this area, too, because it’s just not as necessary for the plot of possible romance. Fiyero is a prince of an entire kingdom within the Land of Oz, and already has threats as a position of power in a country shifting toward fascism under the wizard. His affair with a woman who conspired to kill the aforementioned machine of Morrible allows the Wizard’s secret police, who the musical has Fiyero take charge of, to murder him without any consequence. This weighs on Elphaba’s mind and she must make amends to her lovers’ wife, who never accepts it. Among many things, this does lay waste to create the Wicked Witch of the West’s desire to fight against the tyranny of the wizard.

In many aspects of her life, Elphaba tries to make right and never succeeds. At a point, her own sister, who was born without arms (not without the ability to walk), directs the execution of a few Animals, who at this point have been reduced entirely to animals with the ability to speak, but not the authority to do so. Elphaba’s heart breaks for these Animals and liberates them from their execution. The Animals object to this, because they assume their place in the world that has absolutely no place for them. Elphaba only sees this as an opportunity for activism, having attempted to teach an animal to grow the sensibilities of an Animal. As much as we want Elphaba to succeed in her fight for freedom, she is a tragic hero, and will die by the method we all know she does. The novel ends on her completely distraught and disheveled, refusing to accept her fate, but succumbing to it nonetheless.

The discussion of Animal versus animal that Wicked leads is probably a very strong talking point if applied in furry spheres. I hope to use anthropomorphism as a discussion of racial and post-colonial analogy at one point in my future. I want to mix my fields of interest whether or not they are able to fully combine.

[lombredanslaeu]

hourglass | lee jeno

▸angst, fluff i guess??

▸ summary: sometimes, love just ain’t enough.

▸ WARNING: eating disorder, depression, body dysmorphia, starvation. if any of the above triggers you or if you are not comfortable, please refrain from reading the story. 

All your life, you never really cared about your weight. As an engineering student and a part-time musical theatre actor, you never had the reason to be conscious of your body. Engineering required only your brain; no one cared what you wore or what you looked like in class. Musical theatre didn’t have as much standards for appearance than it does with vocals. Your body wasn’t that bad anyway. You were considered skinny by some and many grew envy about how you could eat so much and not gain a pound immediately. However, your perception of your body changed the day you started dating Lee Jeno.

You met Jeno when his company’s CEO decided to treat its artists with tickets to a Wicked show. You got the greatest opportunity of playing Elphaba; with your impeccable vocal talent, it wasn’t an effort to grace the stage and awe the audience. Your production always valued you not only because of your talent, but also because of your warm personality. You first made eye contact with Jeno when his company’s CEO took them backstage to meet the cast after the show. You had time to talk for a while as the CEO became deep in dialogue with the show’s director. It was Taeil who first initiated a conversation with you as the others, especially the youngsters, were too shy to start a conversation with anyone. As everyone warmed up with the other casts, you never failed to notice how Jeno was love-struck with you.

“Wow, your voice is defying the laws of gravity,” another member, Johnny, said to you.

You blushed and shook off the compliment. “Thank you so much. That meant so much to me.”

Everyone scurried off to different areas on the backstage. You were caught off-guard when one of the younger members, Jeno, talked beside you.

“How long have you been performing?” He asked.

“Only just for a year. I wasn’t planning on making this long-term. I only wanted to play a few shows here and there.” You explained. “but, I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity of being Elphaba.”

“That was one of the greatest performance I’ve seen in so long.” He said. “I actually really enjoy musical theatre.”

“Really?” You asked, shocked by his confession. “What’s your favorite musical?”

“It used to be Cats,” He said, smiling shyly. “But I think know it’s Wicked.”

“Oh please,” You chuckled. “Cats is a really good show.”

He looked at you, laughing shyly. “Do you like frozen yogurt?”

“I like frozen yogurt,” You smiled.

It wasn’t long before you found yourself going on secret dates with the heartthrob. You would bond over coffee, books, and broadway musicals. You never knew he liked musicals. There would days where he would help you practice songs for your next show and you would watch him practice a choreography for a comeback. You both found the one thing that kept you closer and closer: the love for performing.

“Seeing the happy faces of my fans is one thing,” He started, staring off into the night. “But the look on my parents’ as they say how proud they are of me, is what keeps me going.”

You stared at his side profile and swallowed a lump in your throat. “They have every reason to be proud of you.”

He turned his head to meet your eyes. His eyes lingered on yours for a while before looking down at your lips. You blushed at the feeling he had over you.

“You’re really pretty.” He started. The statement took you by surprise. Not a lot of people tell you that you’re pretty but, if it comes from Jeno, any other doesn’t matter anymore.

“You’re not so bad yourself,” You chuckled. You’re not lying. Jeno has the looks that could make anyone wrapped around his fingers. “I feel like I don’t deserve to be under your gaze.”

“Of course you deserve to be looked at.” He said, more seriously this time. “I could build a gallery of you but that would give me more competitors so, I won’t do that.”

“Jeno, if you wanna kiss me, just do it.” You said. You wanted to punch yourself for what you just said. Normally, you would freak out and leave from embarrassment. But now, you held your gaze stronger. You had no idea where the courage came from.

And he did. He kissed you like you were the only thing that mattered. It didn’t end there. Later that night, he showed you how beautiful you are.

Sometimes, he would sneak out, with a member or two, to watch one of your shows. He would stare in awe at how people give you their applause. As the spotlight shine down on you, it was like he was seeing a goddess grace everyone with her beauty.

“Dude, if you don’t ask her out, I’m really gonna do it,” His friend, Jaemin, announced beside him.

“I already beat you into it, punk.” He responded boastfully. The shocked look on his friend’s face made him laugh.

Your peaceful relationship was cut short when his boss found out about the thing going on between you two. To say you were shocked by his calm and accepting nature would be an understatement. His company approved of your relationship. It was like the stars have aligned just for the both of you. The news broke out and spread like wildfire on the internet that night. You were too busy rejoicing with your lover that you failed to notice the threats and harsh comments of furious fans until the next morning.

You were supposed to wake up with the bird chirping and the sun shining just for you. However, you found yourself with an unfamiliar feeling in your gut. It was as if you were scared to do anything and go outside. You knew how ugly criticism from fans could be. You understood that many would not approve of your relationship but you accepted that. His company accepted the relationship and his future in NCT is not affected. At the end of the day, the comments would just float around the internet and disappear before you know it.

“You can block off the comments, you know,” He said.

“Yeah, but I think criticism can always help me improve,” You said. You didn’t want him to hate his fans.

“Those aren’t criticisms, Y/N” He replied. “Those are bashful comments.”

“It’s okay, Jeno.” You smiled, pecking his lips. “I can manage.”

 --

Outfits are an important part in musical theatre. They distinguish which character is which, even if the actor is an understudy. You were casted as Regina George in the musical remake of the hit movie, Mean Girls. The director and costume head requested you wear a crop top and skirt for the role and you said yes; after all, you liked really girly outfits. You were looking over your closet and picked out items that might fit the role. You tried on an outfit that you think was a good combination. You looked at yourself in the mirror and felt a slight wave of worry come across your chest. Jeno’s fans might see your show. What would they think if they saw your body was no match to any female idol that Jeno has interacted with? You walked over to your phone and searched up healthy diets for a good figure.

 --

Jeno had a day off and he wanted to see you practice your songs. You both sat at the couch of your small apartment with lyrics sheet in front of you.

“I wanna have pizza for lunch. What kind do you want?” He asked, fishing his phone out of his pocket to order.

“Oh nothing, I’m kinda watching my figure.” You said, looking down to avoid his eyes. You’re still not comfortable in telling people about your diet, especially to Jeno.

“Are you sure? You can burn those off in work outs anyway.” he said, concern washing over his eyes. It worried him that you weren’t eating. Food was one of the things you both bonded over. You had a fancy palette. He thought it was best to trust in you for now.

“I promise. Olivia makes very good hearty meals. I will eat dinner later.” You said.

With so much going on between theatre and your college life, there is only so much you could do in your free time. Working out would take so much of time and with deadlines as the semester is ending, you couldn’t find any time for it. So, you resulted in skipping meals. You only had two more weeks until the Mean Girls show. You just had to make sure your stomach was flat till the end of the production.

“Do you think my cheeks are too full?” You said to Jeno, squishing your face in front of the mirror.

“I think they suit you.” He said before pinching your cheeks. “It’s also really fun to squish.”

“Ouch,” You chuckled before playfully slapping his wrists away.

“You don’t have to worry about them.” He said, wrapping his arms around you. “They make you who you are.”

“That’s very cheesy, babe,” You said while chuckling.

“Y/N, you don’t have to change because other people wants you to.” He replied, more serious this time. “I’ll make sure you believe that you’re the prettiest girl that I’ve ever seen.”

 --

You were stuck with a question on your Physics quiz. You hadn’t eaten anything since you woke up. While you were standing in front of your mirror, you liked how flat your stomach was. The first show happens tomorrow night and you planned on keeping your body that way until then. The lack of food in your system resulted in your brain not working well. You spent many sleepless nights studying for Physics. Usually, you would have solved this problem in under 5 minutes but right now, you only had a minute left in your quiz and you just can’t seem to figure out what to do. On top of that, you were feeling very light-headed. The ding of your professor’s alarm struck a sharp pain from your ears to your head. You winced as you struggled to stand up. Your seatmate looked over to you, checking if you were okay but you smiled it off. You also regretted telling Jeno about your stupid diet because all he did was bug you if you ate already.

jenobear [11:34 am]: babeee, did u eat already??

jenobear [11:34 am]: oops i forgot u have ur quiz. good luck, love <333

jenobear [11:35 am]: make sure u eat, ok?? I love you.

You sighed and typed out an answer. You said you already ate. You hated lying to him but him being overseas made it easier for you somehow. The night of the show came at last. You sat backstage as Olivia helped you with your hair.

“You look pale. Are you okay?” She asked, concerned.

“Yeah, just a bit light-headed.” You replied. “It’s not like I haven’t performed with a headache before.”

“Okay, sure,” She sighed. She knew you too well. You didn’t like to be bugged with questions, especially if you’re preparing for a show. “Wanna eat at that new wings place? Heard it’s really good.”

“Sure, I could need some wings after the show.” You replied. All you needed was to be in shape for a few hours.

The crowd roared their applause as you, and the other casts, bowed as the show reached its end. You felt a migraine creep up your head and you knew its because you haven’t consumed as much food as you needed to lately. It also felt weird that it made you a bit nauseous when your eyes met the spotlight. You were glad bottles of water is all around the backstage. You picked up your phone and smiled to see messages from Jeno and the other members as well.

jenobear [9:30 pm]: never not proud of you. congrats on your show, love. <3

Lee Haechan [9:45 pm]: Y/N!!! Congrats on your show. I’m sure it’s amazing!

Kim Doyoung [9:50 pm]: Sorry I wasn’t able to go, Y/N. I’m sure you did great tonight, Regina George :)

You smiled and thanked them. You decided you wanted to call Jeno but a notification from a social media site distracted you. One of Jeno’s fans came to see the show and posted pictures of you with the caption “Y/N is very talented! I hope to see more of her shows soon~~” You blushed at the compliment. You know you shouldn’t have but you looked at the replies under the post. Your heart fluttered at the sweet compliments. You thought maybe dating an idol isn’t so bad after all. Over the sea of praise come a harsh comment that caught your eye. “I’m sure her vocals are amazing but she should work on her body.” , “Regina George wouldn’t have a match stick figure.” , “she’s kinda bloated. If only she worked on her love handles, I would like her.” You felt a sickly feeling to your stomach. You took each and every word to heart. You scrolled back up to look at the picture the original poster took. You zoomed in on your body and saw what they were talking about. The girls who played Gretchen and Karen, your character’s fellow mean girls, had Barbie doll bodies. Their curves hit at the right places and they had slim legs. You knew that you shouldn’t let this affect you. You have talent, you have personality. But, you also wanted Jeno’s fans to like you. That led you to texting Olivia to cancel your chicken wings plan.

 --

You prepped yourself to see Jeno again after 2 months. He had schedule after schedule and his team went overseas for at least 2 weeks. You limit your diet to soy milk and water. You looked at yourself in the mirror and you could see the changes. Jeno would definitely notice as well but, you liked how you looked. Your jawline was prominent, your waist was thinner, and even your legs got slimmer. It wasn’t easy slipping out of Olivia’s invites for take out and dinner but you managed, somehow. You started to notice how concerned she got each day, especially this morning.

“I grabbed you breakfast, it’s an omurice.” she said, with a warm smile.

“I can’t eat rice, I’m watching my weight.” You said, slurping down the soy milk.

“Since when did you care about your weight?” She asked.

“Since I realized that my body wasn’t in the right shape.” You made sure none of the words came out as bitter or else, she will suspect something was wrong. She didn’t stop bugging you and it started to make you cranky so you just gave in. After consuming the omurice, you couldn’t deny that you felt better. But the guilt started kicking in and the next thing you know, you’re sticking two fingers down your throat in an attempt to vomit what you just consumed. You stared at the mess on the sink and that’s when you knew something was wrong.

 --

“I missed you so much,” Jeno said, as he held you close to his body.

“How are you, my favorite boy?” You stared lovingly to his eyes.

“A bit tired,” He said, taking off his cap and fixing his hair. “But I slept the whole flight.”

“Do you want to just chill here?” You asked. Everyone in the door went to see a movie with the older members. Jeno and Jisung chose to stay behind since they had plans. He snuggled closer to your body. He noticed how your body didn’t feel familiar. He could definitely tell that you were losing weight.

“I am a bit hungry though,” He responded. He wanted to see you eat. It worried him to the core about thin you were looking lately. It wasn’t obvious when you two would FaceTime but it was more apparent in person. He felt you shift slightly at his response. He spoke before you could. “Have you been trying to lose weight?”

“I just wanted to be more fit.” You said, your heart beating faster each time you lie. “I’m working out.”

As someone who works out to maintain his body, Jeno knew well that your body wasn’t a result of working out. But as someone who cares about their appearance, Jeno also knew that he shouldn’t jump into major conclusions yet. He knew how horrible the talk about weight is and he didn’t want to put you through it. Besides, he knew you and he knows that you wouldn’t lie to him.

You felt conflicted as you noticed that Jeno was becoming concerned about how thin you got. To make him believe that you were well, you agreed in eating take-out with him for lunch. You know what to do after, anyway. As you wait for him to finish showering, you decided to check your social media accounts. You tapped on instagram to replied to a comment Olivia wrote on your new post. You laughed silently at how your friends gave funny compliments. Your eyes browsed through the comment sections. Normally, it would be filled with comments about your face, body, and how you didn’t deserve Jeno. This time, it was filled with compliments about how great you look. “I wish I had her body :(“, “Body goals oh my god”, “SKINNY LEGEND QUEEN”. You felt your cheeks blush at the compliments. You realized that the thinner you got, the more you got full of praise. You intend to keep it that way.

 --

Jeno scrolled through his twitter feed and saw an article from a k-pop news page. It was an article about your drastic weight loss. He looked at the pictures included in the article. There were pictures of you from months ago with your old body. Jeno reminisced the first time you met. You looked healthy and happy. You didn’t have the curviest figure, but you were healthy. Following the old pictures were recent pictures of you, both from your recent social media posts and pictures from fans during your latest theatre shows. Your ribs were more prominent and it created a tidal wave of concern to wash over Jeno. He didn’t realize how much he missed the old you. The one who was never scared to try different food. Now, it was like every time he asked you to eat with him, you always refuse. But, he was too kind to base a fight over your appearance.

 --

You sat across the couch with Olivia. You two decided to watch the latest season of The Office.

“Wait, let me use the bathroom for a while” She announced. While she did her business, a phone on the coffee table in front of you lit up. Your phone was laid beside hers so you looked over to see it was her phone that had the notification. What you didn’t expect was who sent her the message.

You have one new message from Lee Jeno.

You didn’t know what to think. It would be immature of you to accuse them of being unfaithful when you don’t know what the message contained. But why would she text him? Why would he text her? As in on cue, Olivia came back from the bathroom.

“Uhm, Liv” You started. “Why are you texting Jeno?”

She stared at you. She knew what you would think but she promised Jeno she wouldn’t tell you about what they were talking about.

“Oh, you know what?” You said suddenly. “It doesn’t matter. You two can be friends and I trust both of you.” You tried so hard not to sound jealous because you weren’t. Olivia is like a sister to you.

You knew well that she wouldn’t betray you like that. She smiled slightly and offered you the popcorn. You shook your head and she snapped.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake, Y/N” She said. You were caught off guard by her outburst. “You wanna know why I’m texting Jeno?”

You gulped, maybe you don’t want to know why. You changed so much of yourself to please him, his fans, and his management. If they betrayed you like this, you wouldn’t know what to do.

“You’re starving yourself, haven’t you?” She asked, her eyes burning holes into your skull.

“I-I’m not…” You stuttered. You thought you were good at lying but apparently, you’re not.

“Really?” She said. “Ever since you started dating Jeno, all you cared about was your weight. We don’t eat out anymore. We don’t cook anymore. What bothered you? Is it him? Is it the fans?”

You know you could never blame anyone, but yourself. It wasn’t their fault you turned out this way. It was one thing to hear about your weight loss from concerned fans, but it was another when it’s coming out of your best friend’s mouth. You didn’t realize that tears were falling out. The moment Olivia wrapped her arms around you, everything collapsed. All the pressure, the frustration that built up inside of you for so long. The urge of wanting to eat, to feel what it was like to taste again. The anger you felt for yourself for letting it become this bad. It all collapsed and fell from your eyes.

 --

“Here, there isn’t a lot of sugar in that,” Jeno offered you some cookies. You decided to visit him in the recording studio. You were doing so well. You decided to enrol yourself in a support group, as well, and you’ve never missed a single meeting. But you knew you were only forcing it. You saw Olivia and Jeno cry over your situation. It was unfair that you bring them into your mess. Maybe if you say you’re fine loud enough, you’ll believe it.

“I’m proud of you.” His eyes sparkled as he said those word to you.

“I love you.” You responded, before leaning in for his lips.

It took everything in Jeno to let you know how much he loves you. By the way his lips merge with yours and how his hands worshiped every crevice of your body. Each touch symbolizes that you are the most beautiful person he had ever laid his eyes on. You knew that; but, you wish you could believe it. With every praise that heat your cheeks, comes a wave of hate that consumes it all. Will a beautiful body make it all better for you?  

You hurried to your bathroom the second you got home. Olivia was out to her boyfriend’s night, leaving you alone with your habits. As your fingers hit the spot on your throat, you felt the hot bile rise from your stomach. It burned and left a sour taste to the back of your mouth; and you loved it. You missed the sensation of your stomach being empty. You never knew how much you liked the feeling of being empty until you felt it again.

 --

“Am I not enough for you” Jeno spoke, his eyes attached to his hands that are clasped in front of him.

“What are you saying, babe?” You asked. You tried to see where this was going. You made you sure every lie that came out of your mouth was believable; why is he saying those things?

“I try so hard to make sure everything I do for you is enough,” He said. It was obvious in his demeanor that he was tired. “I worry about you all the time. The members try so hard to cover up for me every time I needed to tend to you.”

You chuckled, “So what is this? You’re telling me I’m a pity party?”

“No,” He shook his head, not believing the attitude you’re giving him. Frustration was starting to let itself be known on his features. “What else could you possibly want? I give you love, I give you space. I get tired as well, you know.”

That’s when it dawned on you. Love is not enough. Love won’t come magically and heal everything. Jeno could give you all the love in the world but it won’t be the remedy. Love doesn’t fix everything. You can’t just go up to a broken person and expect romance would suddenly want them to dance on their grave. It doesn’t work that way. You never had the courage to tell him that. In retrospect, you wish you had it in you to say it.

“You’re enough for me, Jeno.” You said quitely. You didn’t know what else to say. All this time, you never blamed him. But here he is now, throwing it all back at you. You still won’t blame him though, he doesn’t know what it feels like; you’re glad he doesn’t know how it feels like.

“I don’t know how to help you if you can’t help yourself.” He said, sighing as if he has given up. Maybe he has given up. The people who left you before has taught you to swallow every plead to make them stay. That’s the only think you could stomach to swallow right now - the words to make him fight a little longer. You didn’t know how much long it would be for you to be okay, or if you could actually be okay. But, you knew better than to run after others when you can’t even stand for yourself. Some nights, you feel yourself drown in cold sweat. Your body felt like it could give up on you any minute. You laid still and wait; but it never came. You wondered how much longer.

Jeno has a bright future ahead of him. The news of him being single again gave him new schedules that would give him exposure to different opportunities. He didn’t regret leaving. He still occasionally see your musical shows just to check how you are. You will never know this but he hopes it’s always sunny wherever you are.

a/n: i hope you liked this. this hit close to home. i would like to remind you that if you are experiencing symptoms of any mental illness, please check with a professional. mental health is a topic that i hold deeply in my heart since i have experience from mental illnesses. i would also like to remind everyone to always be kind to others - whether it would be our friends, people we don’t like, and even idols. let’s not contribute to anything that could affect them negatively. as always, feedback and requests are always appreciated. love u all <33

[professorofcrimeratigan]

Petition Town Board for something! A new business? A new law? Anything!

Petition: To Rename “Yellow Brick Road” 

PETITIONER: Pedram Ratigan

OTHER SIGNERS: 

PETITION: 

To the members of the Swynlake Board and to anyone else to which this may concern, 

This petition is in regards to the street that has been named, “Yellow Brick Road,” running parallel to Main Street on the southwest side of town and leads from Everafter Boulevard out to the farmlands. I am suggesting that this street be named something more apt. 

From my understanding the name is derived from the saying that was originally used in the fictional work of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, an American author that was then turned into a movie by MGM in 1939 under the title The Wizard of Oz. The phrase then became popular and has been used in various forms of popular culture, such as the musical the town performed this past summer (2020) of Wicked. 

To my understanding, Swynlake has always been a welcoming place for Magicks. It is well known as being the only place within Great Britain that is openly friendly to the kind. This town takes great pride in this fact and the people within its community often cite it for why they have decided to live here at all. So why have we allowed this town to name a street from a phrase that comes from a piece of media that is not friendly to Magicks? 

Within the book and the more well known and popular movie version of this story, the depiction of witches is abysmal, as they often are in media. They play to the stereotypes that have accumulated around sorceresses and allowing the term witch that has been turned into some sort of insult when discrediting and persecuting these women. Depictions such as the Wicked Witch of the West are harmful as they reinforce stereotypes that reinforce Mundus-Magick inequality and marginalize sorceresses. Not only that, but the young sorceress who have had to listen to the Mundus tourists walk down that road singing the song from The Wizard of Oz are reminded that even within a town they thought they were safe in, the town itself is still capitalizing on these hurtful depictions of them within popular media and have done nothing to amend this. Stereotypes do not evolve out of thin air, they have a history. Sorceress who no longer served purpose to men having become widows when their husbands died as they could no longer perform their duties as a wife, and having grown old in age which would not allow them to produce any offspring, were considered evil. Without a man’s word to protect them from these allegations they were prosecuted and punished for these signs of wickedness. The depiction of witches seen in literature, art, and media were once point interpretations of how witches looked. They gave physical attributions that correspond with age, socioeconomic status, or deviance were used as tools to incriminate these women who fit into those categories. 

Also within this story a Mundus man is depicted as pretending to be a powerful sorcerer known at The Wizard. This is another harmful character to for Magicks as this character is shown to lie and con his way to a place of power. When he is found out to be a Mundus with no powers he is not punished, he is only given a stern talking to by the main protagonists before proceeds to give the characters the things they asked of him by presenting them with ordinary gifts with the message that what they wanted, they had the whole time. This is a harmful message to send to Mundus who could potentially be using false claims to earn them a place of power. It also must be disheartening to Magicks to see a character that they supposedly had something in common with in a place of power, only to find out that it was a Mundus the whole time in a time period when they do not get to see themselves in such places due to legislation. 

One could argue that the town is using the phrase to take back The Wizard of Oz and claim it for Magicks. The summer musical took the more Magick friendly version of the story that was told from Elphaba’s point of view, adapted from the books. Already this is a step in the right direction as they have bothered to giver her a name instead of referencing her by her horrid given title. The books use the same inversion but both offer different experiences as their forms of storytelling is not the same just as the time in which they were written was not the same. Neither of which are perfect forms of media that depict Magicks either, but one could argue it has better purpose than its counterpart. But I find that the reference to the yellow brick road would bring up the latter rather than the former for most people, including Mundus who are probably more aware of the story in The Wizard of Oz than they are the story of Wicked. 

A name of a street may not seem like a big deal. Perhaps it isn’t. But if Swynlake is going to continue to promote itself as a beacon of light for Magicks and Mundus to live together in harmony then we should rename the street to something else. Using a phrase for one of our main roads that is derived from a piece of media that has popularized the stereotype of the wicked witch and a Mundus calling themselves a Magick to claim power for himself when it could be used to commemorate something else is a missed opportunity. 

I would suggest that the Board put out a call to the community for new names for Yellow Brick Road. The Board can then chose its top picks and allow the community to vote on these until a winner is found. 

Thank you, 

Dr. Pedram Ratigan

BUDGET: Whatever it takes to legally change a street name, put up new signs, and rename everything on maps.

(this came from me reading Jean’s hc post about people singing on the street so this petition could be alternatively titled “Ratigan has had enough of listening to bitches sing this movie/musical’s songs due to that street and wants to put an end to it.”) 

[jessmalia]

Hermione Granger, Luna Lovegood, Hedwig & Lily Potter for the HP ask!

Hermione Granger: What is your favorite book, how many times have you read it, and why do you love it?

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. 

This only became my favorite very recently (it used to be the Half-blood Prince), so I haven’t read it as many times as the other ones. I even think it’s one of the HP books I’ve read the least. Probably 3-4 times.

I could literally go on forever about why I like it so much, so I’ll just list a couple of reasons so this doesn’t turn into a freaking essay. 

The Triwizard Tournament gives it a unique structure that none of the other books have. Waiting for the tasks is really exciting so it’s easier to follow. 

Cedric Diggory. 

The fact that this book is basically the Ronarry shipper’s holy scripture. 

Cedric Diggory.

Lots of Romione too. 

Cedric Diggory. 

I think the mystery and twist part is the best in the whole HP series. Though the movies completely ruined it, so the mystery there is one of the worst. 

Cedric Diggory. 

Sirius being a good godfather. 

Cedric Diggory. 

Dragons. 

Luna Lovegood: One thing that makes you different from everyone else. 

That’s a really tough question to answer. I mean, everyone’s unique in their own ways, but at the same time, there’s always gonna be people who relate to everything about you. It’s not like there’s stuff about me that no one else shares.

I guess I could talk about the thing I feel most alone about in my day to day life, which is my genuine interest and mostly knowledge of storytelling. I’ll discuss a book/movie/musical with someone, and I have a lot of thoughts, analyzing the theme and talking about plot-holes and shit like that, and the conversation is very one-sided. Because no one I know is really interested in it like I am (it’s ironic to talk about it here on Tumblr because here literally the opposite is true).

And sometimes it’s really frustrating, not only because I have no one to really discuss it with, but because I feel something I love isn’t being appreciated enough because most people just don’t know enough about storytelling to get how great it is. 

For example, this one time I found out this girl and one of the priests at the church that I go to (yes I go to church, I’m Christian but I’m not catholic, I’m protestant) also loves the musical Wicked. And I got really excited because finally, I have people to talk to about this thing I love with. But to my disappointment, I quickly realized they didn’t love it for the same reason I do. You see, they both really liked music. So they just liked the musical for having well-written songs. So when we discussed our favorite song from the musical, and they both said Defying Gravity (of course), then got really confused when I said my favorite song was Thank Goodness. I tried explaining to them that I loved the song because of it’s relevance to the plot and theme, and how they explore Glinda’s dilemma in a really good way. How I think that her arc is the best thing about the musical and it’s what makes it unique from other stories about good and evil. That without Glinda, the story would actually be really conventional, bad and uninteresting, and wouldn’t say anything accurate about the topic of good and evil. And they’re both still like: ????. 

Now, I totally get it, they and everyone else have all their right to just like musicals because of the music, and everyone has a right to enjoy media without thinking of a deeper meaning or message. But sometimes it’s just really frustrating that I have all of these thoughts about something I like but I’m surrounded by people who won’t even think about the story enough to realize that Glinda and Elphaba were in love (I understand why the priest didn’t, because she’s a 50-year-old straight woman, but the girl I was talking about is literally a bisexual activist, I’m still a little mad at her about that). 

But in the fall I’m gonna start film school, so hopefully, it will get better then. 

I promise I’ll stop ranting now. I always give asks way too long answers and then wonder why I don’t get any asks. I guess I just like talking about myself. 

Hedwig: If you went to Hogwarts, what kind of pet would you bring?

A black cat. I know a lot of people say you’re stupid if you don’t pick an owl (cause they have the letter delivery advantage), but I don’t agree. I’ll just borrow a school-owl from the owlry. Nothing will go against my love of cats, they’re my favorite animal. (Plus, if I discover that I’m a witch I’m gonna commit fully to the aesthetic, and what says witch more than a black cat?) 

Lily Potter: What color eyes do you have?

Blue/Grey. Sometimes they look really blue, sometimes they look grey, but mostly is somewhere in between. 

Thank you so much for the ask! 💞

Harry Potter Character Asks

[takaraphoenix]

I’m finally reading Out of Oz, or rather I am continuing it. For referrence, that’s the fourth book in the Wicked Years, of which the first book inspired a quite unrelated musical somehow. (No knock on the musical, I love it, but bloody hell does it have little to do with the actual book...)

I hadn’t touched it in... surely five years. For reasons.

You all know me to not be someone who necessarily needs, or even wants, her ships to be canon. But on the rare occasion that I do sail a canon ship, I so hate when something happens to it. Like, say, it gets broken up so one of the characters can get married to his rapist. That just... doesn’t really do it for me...

For context - because guys, I really need to vent about this so I can keep going (it’s literally the last book and I want to finish it) - Elphaba Thropp, our green-skinned protagonist of the first book/the musical, has, among many things the musical changed, a son named Liir.

Liir Thropp is the protagonist of the second novel in the series, The Son of the Witch. Wherein he falls for a dragon-rider named Trism and the two, both men in the army, have a heated romance.

While Liir is hurt, he stays with a bunch of nuns where he meets a girl named Candle. And while Liir is literally in a coma, she decides to have sex with him, figuring “eh, he’s hard, he wants it too”, which is not how that works. She ends up pregnant with his child. It’s wildly plausible that she was driven by some mystic magical force to allow for the conception of our latest protagonist, but that’s kind of beside the point because he still was in a coma.

The end of the book is relatively open, as Liir goes to a cottage to meet Candle, but only finds the bundled up, newborn and very green-skinned baby. Candle fled the scene, abandoning the newborn baby.

That’s been in 2005. And between that and Out of Oz in 2011, I spent quite some time thinking on the potential continuation of it all.

Thinking about Trism, who makes it to the cottage and who gets to raise the baby with Liir, primarily. Because honestly, you already made the bio mom abandon the baby, so why not let Liir and the boyfriend he chose to be with raise the kid together? Just leave Candle out of the picture.

And, quite frankly, two dads is by far not the most unconventional family dynamic in this series. There is... not a single set of mother-father-child, not really.

Elphaba herself was, in the first book, raised by a polyamorous throuple, with two fathers.

Liir himself was, also in the first book, primarily raised by his mother and his stepmother - the wife of his bio dad, who does actually in fact die, good gods why did the bloody musical have to imply he turned into the Scarecrow that was some Solid Bullshit Right There.

And the third book, A Lion Among Men, is literally about a Lion married to an asexual human woman. (Who is Liir’s half-sister; yeah no seriously the Wicked Years have an insane family-tree. I’d also like to add, to make it less weird, that Capital Letter Animals are talking, sentient animals who dress in clothes, have jobs, are articulate and such. And she mainly got married to him to be safe from men, after having been sexually abused for years. They’re... honestly a very interesting relationship to read, because it’s based on respect, gentleness and kindness?)

So... two human men, raising a child together? It would not have been that far off to hope for it.

Which means that, when book four hit and it hit me in the face with husband and wife Liir and Candle, I revolted so hard, I put the book down for five years and hadn’t touched it since. Because... even single-dad!Liir would have been indefinitely better than him marrying her, of all people.

But I picked the book up again. Because the gods know I love this series and am deeply attached to the Thropp family and now, after everything, I do want to know how it all ends.

But... they’re not even portrayed as a good relationship and it’s just killing me. As bad as it sounds, but had they... managed to move on from it and be stronger together for the sake of their kid and the literal future of the world, it would be more endurable, but she keeps manipulating and gaslighting him??

They just had a fight, in the scene I’m at. Because she neglected to tell him about a prophecy from a sorceress regarding their daughter. Their daughter who, mind you at this point in time, is already twelve years old.

She didn’t tell him. He gets upset and angry about it. She deflects by redirecting the whole conversation and accusing him that it’s actually about Trism.

Because - because, back in that cottage, where she had given birth to the baby, before Liir had gotten there, Trism had been there. He had come. Just as Liir had asked him to. He had come for Liir. And Candle just... never told Liir, not even after the two of them met back up and got together, for years she lied to Liir that Trism had never shown up.

And she is still refusing to talk to him about it! She still refuses to tell him what Trism said, what Trism had wanted.

She... She keeps lying to him, twisting things, manipulating him and... just... for fuck’s sake, why do you make me sit through this farce, Gregory?

Especially since all this drama and tension is unnecessarily bloating this book; Out of Oz is a total of 592 pages long. Every single page dedicated to their relationship drama and to Liir wasting time reminiscing on this relationship so we’re all caught up (since we spent the years between book 2 and 4 with the Lion and his wife). Truly, if you’d just said “Trism had come to the cottage and the two have been together ever since, they raised the kid and No Drama”, we could have moved on in peace to all the plot happening around it. Relationship drama is literally the last thing I want to read about, especially not one with these particular... circumstances.

(He has claimed to love her. But it’s been twelve years, the two spent most of those years completely isolated together and she’s been manipulating him every step of the way so far, so I’m not really buying it, to be quite frank. Their interactions with each other can be described as cold and tolerable of each other, at max. Even Liir’s thoughts of Trism in this book are filled with more emotion and warmth than any actual interaction between him and his wife...)

Which. You know. Makes the series sound bad. The series isn’t bad. I love the series. It’s just this one (1) plotline that is driving me insane. And it’s not like skipping the Liir/Candle chapters is much of an option; the book is about two main plots and one of them is Liir/Candle’s daughter, who is with them and about whom they have the knowledge to share with the reader.

The Wicked Years is such a fascinating read on a political level, the plot is... way deeper than the candy-striped musical makes you assume and the characters are amazing. Also there’s gay dragon-riders in the second book. There’s a poly throuple and a gay side pairing in the first book. There’s an ace character in the third and fourth book. There’s magic.

[nnessarose]

my take on gelphie.

     Firstly, I’m going to start by clarifying (whether you choose to read this or not) that I do NOT hate this ship in any way, shape, or form. I think it’s cute! Additionally, I am not purposely intending to harm or hate on anyone by writing this or make fun of any tropes that have sprung up in the fandom regarding that pair. If something that I address may apply to you, please keep in mind that I am not a robot and have not kept track of everything that you, personally, have done and that, therefore, it is not about just you! These are just my thoughts and my interpretation about the whole thing. This post is going to be entirely musical-based both because I have no problem with the book’s development of them, most of the book-based fanfiction is reasonable, and because I don’t want to only pick on the good/bad parts of each of them. Also, most of my thoughts DO come from the musical and others’ interpretations of it. So, if you choose to read this - I hope you enjoy it! If not, have a great day!

     The first thing I would like to address (if that’s the proper word) is how much I dislike the idea that as soon as they saw each other that they fell in love. I think that this is inaccurate and, honestly, a bit of a gigantic stretch. When Elphaba arrives at Shiz, she is delighted to meet new people but is quickly heartbroken by their prejudiced stares and rude comments to her. This is, undeniably, also done by Galinda. The idea that she bullies Elphaba because she is interested in her romantically is honestly just terrible ; it’s the same thing as telling a little girl that the boy who picks on her just likes her. Throughout the introductory scene at Shiz, Galinda makes jabs at Elphaba while Elphaba stands far away from her (behind Nessarose) and makes fun of the way she speaks with her sister. When Galinda accidentally volunteers to room with Elphaba, it truly is accidental ( though - thankfully - the fandom seems to accept that). This, however, brings us to the next interpretation that I dislike.

     “What Is this Feeling” is not a love song. I genuinely cannot tell if some people in this fandom are joking about this or not. It does, of course, have humor in it of mocking a love song ( “my pulse is rushing”, “my head is reeling”, etc.) but that is clearly done only for satirical purposes! After that, the song is just them picking on each other and hating for the sole reason of hating. One could argue that it is simply them denying their feelings for the other, but that simply is not true! Galinda is clearly spreading these rumors around to her friends and they are making it to the entirety of the student body who teams up against Elphaba simply to bully her. The only person on Elphaba’s side at this moment is Doctor Dillamond and Nessa, while the entire school sees Galinda as some sort of hero. I cannot fathom how people can twist this harmful bullying into love and honestly, it’s disgusting. The two girls obviously are not in love at this point, nor are they even fond of each other. Elphaba makes it clear that the only friend she has there is Nessa, if anyone. 

     To restate, the bullying doesn’t end when the song does. Throughout Doctor Dillamond’s class, Galinda proves herself to be mean again. She tears Elphaba down more and more, almost as if the girl has no emotions (or at least no HUMAN emotions). Galinda bullies Elphaba so much that it makes her not want to do anything, not want to hang out with any of her peers. Keep in mind that at this point in the show, Elphaba and Galinda have not had a proper conversation with one another, which is important. How can they possibly know each other enough to be infatuated? One may argue that their conversations are off-stage and, as valid as this may be, just doesn’t add up. If this was the case, they would not still bicker and hate each other in the later scenes.

     This brings us to “Dancing Through Life”, another song that, despite how people try to twist it, is not where the two of them magically fall in love with one another. Elphaba has been bullied and beat down so much throughout the year that she refuses to attend the ball that Fiyero is hosting, calling it a “cultish social gathering”. One could debate that she only doesn’t want to go because of how Fiyero treated her earlier, but I think this is a stretch. She blames it on people going to “worship” him, but I think her real issue is that Galinda will be there, ready to make the entire school make fun of her. Otherwise, Elphaba would be jumping to go, if not just to accompany Nessarose to keep her safe, especially after she finds that she has a date. But it is so valid that Elphaba doesn’t want to go. She’s seen Boq stand right alongside Galinda when she throws insults her way and won’t go and ruin it for her sister. 

     Once Nessa tells her to do something nice for Galinda instead of hating her, Elphaba decides that this may just work. She can see the world for a moment through Nessa’s more innocent eyes and, even if just for a few moments, thinks that this plan may work and goes to talk to Madame Morrible about including her in the sorcery seminar, which she does. Elphaba rushes to tell Galinda what she has done for her, only to be greeted with a dirty trick. She thinks that the blonde has come around in offering her this hat and that it is now safe for her to attend the party. Elphaba does not, however, go to the party for Galinda. She knows that, even if they are on better terms, that they are friends. When she arrives, however, she just sees that she has fulfilled what she didn’t want to ; Nessa is embarrassed at her sister’s outfit and upset that she had the nerve to surprise her there.

     Elphaba still decides to have the best time she can, taking the floor over to dance on if not only to say “fuck you” to her classmates. They laugh, they point, they make fun - but this time Elphaba doesn’t back down. She doesn’t let it get to her. For the first time, Galinda sees that despite her unnatural green color, she is human and experiences real human emotions. Galinda feels bad for what she has done as all of her actions come rushing back ; getting the school against the poor girl, calling her names - giving her that atrocious hat! Additionally, Madame Morrible had just told her that she was moved to her seminar (what Elphaba had been trying to tell her before). So, she goes to dance with her, perhaps as an apology. But this, still is NOT them falling in love with each other! You cannot, and should not, skip from hatred to infatuation that quickly. It isn’t healthy, and they are not an exception!

     This is the beginning of their friendship. Yes, friendship. Before “Popular”, Galinda is eager to make up with her roommate and offers her simple companionship. She decides they should tell each other a secret. When Elphaba shares her deeply personal secret, Galinda again sees how she is experiencing the same human emotions that everyone does. This scene is their first proper conversation, and it is the beginning of their blooming friendship (and eventually relationship). Galinda doesn’t respect Elphaba when she doesn’t want to talk about the bottle and, to get her way in having Elphaba share a good secret, takes the bottle from her despite how clearly she was uncomfortable and protective of it. Galinda gives Elphaba a makeover and even calls her beautiful, but I still don’t believe this is truly them falling in love. One must pause to realize that the same day they had hated each other! There are a lot of things that still must be resolved and figured out before they can trust each other, not to mention that they are both young. Elphaba leaves during “Popular” because her emotions are too much for her to handle, this is true. However, I don’t see the emotions as being romantic yet. She is just overwhelmed by the sudden change in Galinda, wondering if she is being tricked again as she was just that same day. Elphaba begins to wonder if she or Nessa were right about the girl and her intentions.

     From here, this is a divide over how the rest of the plot advances regarding a preference between Elphaba and Fiyero or Elphaba and Galinda. I think if Elphaba and Galinda fall in love, it happens in the time of the show between the scene with the Lion cub and “One Short Day”, but no sooner than that.

     The last topic I would like to address is why I do not think Gelphie should only be endgame with the proper development of events post-musical. Before you hate me, let me start by saying this does not mean I don’t think they should be together. I do! I just genuinely do not believe that they would be the right person for each other if one only takes into account the events of the musical. Firstly, they have a lot of bad connotations with each other, what with the past bullying and, eventually the stress they caused each other. For Glinda, it’s the emotional stress she went through pretending to dislike Elphaba, the years fighting against her, the pain with what happened with FIyero (even if he was just a companion to her and not a true lover), etc. For Elphaba, it’s that Glinda never tried to help her, left her during “Defying Gravity”, was the reason her sister is dead, never denied the rumors like Fiyero did, etc. They are both stubborn, and I doubt either would bring up these issues to each other, much less actually resolve them. Glinda, throughout the entire musical, does not change until the very end despite knowing what she is doing is wrong. Elphaba doesn’t deserve that. Glinda took advantage of Elphaba’s vulnerability in a friendship for years, catering their relationship to her liking almost the entire time. If the two of them do not address these very prominent issues, their relationship will just slowly deteriorate over their ignored past

     The point that is trying to be made is that while Gelphie does work, and it is adorable, I just don’t see how they can stay together without their relationship becoming unhealthy if they don’t have a proper and well-developed redemption arc. All the points that I brought up CAN be debated, even between me and myself as I was writing this! I think that whether they work at this point depends on how the rest of their days are fleshed out, whether Elphaba stays in Oz or not, and whether or not they chose to ignore the events of Act II. As wonderful as the thought of these two girls falling in love instantly may be, it is unrealistic that that is the case and, if it was, their relationship would never be healthy. Additionally, one must keep in mind that this is a musical! There isn’t enough time to include everything and as much as people claim that they would watch a four hour show - the general public would not. Changing around their character dynamics just doesn’t work. Wanting fluff is valid, but at what cost? People end up erasing some of the bad characteristics of Galinda (who was undeniably a horrible bully) and are erasing some of the strong characteristics of Elphaba (who still went to school and stayed loyal to Nessarose throughout all of the pain she went though herself). It isn’t fair to look past these just to validate your ship. Gelphie CAN work! In Act I, however, it is unlikely and Act II would need the right development to result in a happy relationship for the two of them. Once again, I will restate that I do NOT hate Gelphie. I simply wanted to share my thoughts on some aspects of how the fandom views their relationship.. I hope no one is mad at this post and please, please, please do not hate me for it! I love Gelphie, I really do!

[shamrock96]

So I’ve been thinking about Polyamory lately...

I started watching this show called Siren where this couple meets a mermaid and all three of them slowly start falling in love with each other and this is my first exposure to polyamorous representation and I think it’s a great triad relationship the writers have going here to explain the more complex emotions involved in a polyamorous relationship.

If anyone gets bored gong through this or knows you’re in for a long post as least know that this is the main idea of this post before scrolling past it: The best kind of love is a healthy tender relationship to people you can trust and who love you unconditionally. 

Now I’m not poly myself, I don’t know what I am to be honest, so I don’t know what’s all involved. I’ve done research and I know that there are many different types of polyamory for it to just be whittled down to one example but what really strikes me and fascinates me about the polyamorous relationship depicted in Siren is the deep love and commitment each of the partners have with each other. 

In the past I’ve joked about polyamory in the sense “haha let’s just forget this bogus love triangle and have everyone just get together” and after hearing other people’s stories and learning about their relationships I know there’s a lot more to it than just saying “screw it, let everyone just have sex!”

So I’ve put together a list of other possible areas where other writers could have gone this way. Because representation is important and love triangles have become an extremely cliché and toxic trope in television and movies to the point I don’t think writers really know what a healthy relationship between partners looks like anymore. 

I got a lot of these from Triad of the Day but I just wanted to explain more in depth why I think these characters would be so good together

1. Veronica Lodge and Cheryl Blossom and Betty Cooper

So I’ve got to admit, I don’t actually watch Riverdale and this is probably a bad example to start with because my reasoning for these three being a triad is: just look at them. They’re obviously in love. And they can all still have their men on the side if that’s what they want but from what I’ve seen of gifs and on other people’s blogs, there is a strong feminine power here that transcends just being friends/frenemies/whatever. 

2. Harley Quinn and Catwoman and Poison Ivy a.k.a The Gotham City Sirens

Harley and Poison Ivy are already renown for their amazing sapphic relationship but I feel like Catwoman is a good addition to their love because of how often she gets snubbed by Batman (a man she clearly has feelings for a who has feelings for her) for embracing her darker side. Harley, more than anyone, understands being sidelined and downright abused by someone you care about and I think Poison Ivy would praise Selina for embracing the side of her that come more naturally. Harley and Poison Ivy already have a great and more or less healthy (as healthy as trauma inflicted villains can be) and Selina could really use some of that love in her life. 

This is also probably my inspiration for the whole Veronica/Cheryl/Betty triad I have above. 

3.  Kathy and Don and Cosmo

Again, so I haven’t really seen this movie in its entirety yet (just bits and pieces) but I’ve seen enough to know they were all just meant to be together. Especially in the “Good Morning” number where they talk about “danced the whole night through”. Like what is better than one person finding two other people they can laugh and have fun together until dawn? This just seems super figured out to me.

4. Miles O'brien and Keiko O'brien and Kira Nerys

This is one where I think things get a little complicated for so many reasons. For starters it’s a great example how a polytriad relationship works when children are involved. For those who aren’t familiar with Star Trek: Deep Space 9, the story between these three are that Miles and Keiko have been married ever since they were on Star Trek: The Next Generation. They even have a daughter who is about four when the couple are expecting their next baby. Due to a transporter malfunction Kira is accidentally impregnated with Keiko’s baby. This was the writers’ way of explaining Kira’s actress, Nana Visitor’s, own pregnancy (coincidently with other co-star, Alexander Siddig, but that’s a whole other story). 

Anyways, once Kira is unexpectedly carrying the O’Brien’s child she moves in with them so that they can still experience the pregnancy and become closer to their new surrogate. As a result Kira also becomes closer to the O’Brien’s and their daughter Molly. The birth of Kirayoshi is a really touching episode and it’s obvious that Kira has become extremely attached to the baby. After the birth the O’Briens make Kira Kirayoshi’s godmother (and also kind of name him after her) and she becomes a part of the family, like an aunt.

The only reason this gets complicated is because of Kira’s work relationship with Miles. While Kira and Keiko become super close and it could easily have turned into something romantic there’s not a lot of that bonding going on with Miles. And I know there are relationships where person A (Kieko) has a strong relationship with persons B (Miles) and C (Kira) but persons B and C aren’t as close, but my main objective in putting these characters together is to form a perfect triad where everyone loves and is loved equally. The writers could have also easily done this by having Kira and Miles bond more emotionally rather than professionally but they didn’t so we don’t get to see what that would have looked like except in fanfiction. 

5. Elphaba and Galinda and Fiyero

Like I think a majority of the fans of Wicked agree that these three were all in love one way or the other. Some ship Glinda and Elphaba, Glinda shipped herself with Fiyero, and the mainstream is that Elphaba and Fiyero utlimately belonged together. And while the musical puts a heavy emphasis on the “friendship” between Glinda and Elphaba, anyone who ever watches “For Good” can tell you that their relationship was way deeper than your average best friends or sisters for that matter. Not to mention in “One Short Day” the two fo them make a point of saying “we’re just two friends” “two good friends” “two best friends”. The whole “just friends” has been used to keep LGBT+ couples in the closet since forever. 

We also know Fiyero and Elphaba were given a wonderfully laid out relationship which has a very important role in the musical. Fiyero’s relationship with Glinda can be analyzed as what society wants to see vs. Fiyero and Elphaba’s relationship which is something society doesn’t want to see. Perfect vs. Unconventional. HOWEVER, Fiyero and Glinda did have a connection, so much so that Glinda did mourn losing him (to her “best friend” nonetheless). The reverse could also be argued that Glinda was mourning losing Elphaba to Fiyero. OR it could be argued that the two people she loved most ran off into the sunset (albeit, as fugitives) without her and she was left behind. In a polyamorous relationship nobody would be left behind singing a reprise of “I’m Not That Girl”. I haven’t seen the full musical in a while but I think Elphaba gave Glinda the chance to come with her and Fiyero and Glinda opted to stay behind in the public figure position she was given. I could be wrong about that, like I said I haven’t seen the musical in a while, but if I’m not wrong the that decision to stay behind could have all sorts of different analyses for the relationship between the three. 

Let’s not forget to mention that Glinda and Elphaba were ROOMMATES! Ok, memes aside, these three had a lot of chemistry and history together that bonded them. For me, one of the saddest parts of the ending wasn’t the “For Good” scene where Elphaba “sacrifices” herself because Glinda knew full well what Elphaba had planned with Fiyero, leaving Glinda as the last one standing and being the one left behind to fix the corrupt government in the land of Oz. She was sad because she knew Elphaba had to stay dead in the eyes of the people if she was ever going to live a normal life after all that had happened. The actual ending of the book is way sadder so I’ll take the canon ending of the musical any day but I can’t help but feel like the life Elphaba and Fiyero started after running off into their official sunset probably felt a little incomplete without Glinda. 

6. DJ Fuller and Steve Hale and Matt Harmon

THIS ONE. Never has an audience ever been given the run around about a heteronormative live triangle than they have been with Fuller House. As soon as I saw this on Triad of the Day’s list of polyamorous couples I was just like YES! When DJ chose Steve I was a little skeptical and torn. Both of these men seemed really great and had great chemistry with DJ. I stan the whole decision for DJ to choose herself the first time around and take some time to figure out who she was (especially so soon after the death of her husband). But immediately after that decision the writers went and gave Steve and Matt a great bro relationship. THEY EVEN HAD STEVE AND MATT KISS!!!! Although that was before they became friends. And they were SO into that kiss and we ALL loved it! The fact that it was used for laughs is such a pity. Fuller House could have pulled a Modern Family by creating a positive social commentary on polyamorous families and play off the title of the show (Fuller House) more than they already do by adding both men to the family. Instead one of them got pushed away and to be honest I stopped watching after season 2. I love the wholesome family vibes Fuller House gives out and even the ones given out by Hallmark (which Candace Cameron Bure and Lori Laughlin are major actresses in) but something these wholesome shows and tv networks forget is that you can represent LGBT+ relationships without the emphasis of sex. It’s like if someone were to pitch a gay Christmas romance movie to Hallmark the board would immediately say, “Nice idea, but this is a family friendly program.” My definition of family friendly is a group of adults who are in loving and healthy relationships with each other who all love and take care of the children in their lives. And my definition of wholesome is lack of profanity and vulgar humor and displays honest values (just for the record). 

Fuller House really missed out on taking a step forward into the modern age by not making these three a polyamorous triad. 

7.Victor Van Dort and Emily and Victoria Everglot

So I’m not sure about this one because I REALLY love how it ended (with Emily getting justice for her murder and then being emotionally liberated to the point she burst into a kaleidoscope of butterflies). Not to mention Emily and Victoria didn’t exactly get much bonding time throughout the movie though I think Emily can heavily relate to Victoria’s overly sheltered life and especially to getting screwed over in the marriage department (although Victoria luckily dodged that bullet). But I feel like that would make Emily (and Victor) all the more protective of Victoria when it comes to those who would abuse her. And maybe Emily could have taught both Victor and Victoria more about standing up for themselves. I know Emily can seem naive and like she doesn’t have much life experience (for obvious reasons) but we’ve seen how strong, powerful, and dedicated she is. I don’t think anybody would be surprised if Emily scorched the earth for Victor and Victoria. Also Victor needs some strong women in his life. I feel like the implications of what these three would have been like in a polyamorous relationship is pretty obvious and has no doubt been written about a thousand times in fanfiction. As much as I love Emily being released from what was tying her down to earth, this would have been a good alternative ending as well. 

8.  Tulio is dating Miguel and Chel

These guys. Need I say more?

I think I might because while we see the obvious attraction between Tulio and Chel and the fanmade art and fanfiction of Tulio and Miguel, that still leaves out the question of what Chel and Miguel’s relationship would be like. Obviously in the movie Miguel wasn’t a big fan of Chel moving in on his and Tulio’s “bromance” and while jealousy doesn’t have much place in an ideal triad relationship (from what I understand anyway), I think they could make good partners in crime. 

9. Flora and Fauna and Merryweather a.k.a the Three Good Fairies

Now these hoes. I’ve heard some dispute somewhere that they may or may not be sisters but I distinctly remember them only being referred to as “the three good fairies”. Older women (fairies) who have known each other for a very long time. But they dead ass raised a daughter together as mortals, in the same cottage for 16 years. We’ve seen said cottage and we’ve seen Aurora’s bedroom but anyone can see that there’s no way there was enough from in that cottage for 3 individual bedrooms or even one room for three twin beds (maybe bunk beds if they had existed in the 14th century). They’re depicted as incompetent characters in Malificent but they aren’t that way in the 1959 Sleeping Beauty. In fact, they’re portrayed as willing to do anything for their daughter. Not to mention the constant bickering of Flora and Merryweather being pacified by Fauna. That is typical married old couple behavior right there. Being 1959 there’s no way anyone was ready for a polyamorous triad of fairies in a children’s animated feature but that’s basically what they gave us. 

10. Nancy Wheeler and Steve Harrington and Jonathan Byers

This is also a hard one. Because similar to Glinda and Fiyero’s relationship Steve and Nancy were together for high school politics. In this scenario Steve is Glinda because he gets left behind to ponder on his life as a shallow popular high school king. But protecting Jonathan and Nancy with that homemade nail bat from that demagorgan is what any good partner would do for his other partners. 

The reason this one is tricky is not only because Steve got left behind but also because the relationship dynamic is pretty unequal. Because while Nancy and Steve are together at the beginning of Season 2, it’s clear they’re still putting on a facade that things can go back to normal for them during their senior year of high school. By the end of Season 2 Nancy is officially with Jonathan and Steve is not only left behind but he’s left behind to take care of the kids. 

Not to mention Steve and Jonathan don’t necessarily have a good relationship with each other. Although I think Steve has been humbled down in Season 3 after realizing his glory days are more or less behind him. But we don’t get a lot of interaction between these three anymore. 

I’m not really sure where I’m going with this one besides the fact that I think there’s some potential somewhere here. Especially with the introduction of Robin. I feel like she could be a great sexual awakening for a lot of the characters in this show. 

BONUS:  Bellamy Blake and Clarke Griffin and just about anyone

It doesn’t have to be Raven. Honestly it could be any character who has a good relationship with both Clark and Bellamy. I think it’s safe to say a majority of the fandom is holding out for Bellark to ride off into their sunset but I think they’d be pretty inclusive to someone else they have a strong relationship with. I haven’t watched the series in a really long time so I don’t know if there is a character left alive who fits that description but the characters have definitely formed a pack mentality of survival and sticking close. I imagine if they (Clark, Bellamy, and their third partner) would have kids they’d have the same protective circle.