#from the story Oz told the characters

[pedanticat]

Volume 9 intro is really hammering in the fact that Neo and Ruby are meant to parallel the mysterious girl seen throughout the intro. Given the current arcs/problems Neo and Ruby are going through along with their similarities, there are several things I'm getting from this:

The girl seems to have the playfulness that both Ruby and Neo themselves have.

Similarly to Ruby and Neo, the girl may be running away from her problems instead of properly addressing them. Hence she covers up her pain with a smile.

She may be serving as a cautionary tale for the person Ruby and Neo themselves may become if they don't end up confronting the emotional distress that's consuming them.

[siolixz]

~Veils Of Crimson~

Chapter 5: part 2

<chapter 1> <chapter 2> <chapter 3><chapter 5: part 1>

The truth is here and so is the ending of the story. I'm glad to be over with it and maybe start another project like a one-shot or something. It was so much fun to write it and if you read all of it- you have my deepest thanks and gratitude. This story takes a darker turn and you can decide to just ignore that it exists if that's not your cup of tea.

This is a work of fiction and all the characters are 18+.

I took my inspo from Driving Miss Falcone by (https://www.tumblr.com/genevievedarcygranger here on tumblr), check out the story if you can.

Enjoy, give feeback if u want ily xoxo.

Warnings: mature language, violence towards the reader, angst, smut (a bit of non-consenual too- so just be aware of that)

Your driver was still your husband's employee, so his loyalty remained with his boss- if you wanted to leave, you had to do it when Oswald wasn’t at home. But today, luck was on your side. 

Oz left promptly at noon, buried in business you hoped would keep him occupied for hours and you slipped out, a quiet rebellion that had your heart pounding in your chest.

The one thing that irked Oz the most was when he didn’t know where you were or how long you would be staying, he only allowed you to visit certain places at certain times and you usually had a bodyguard with you or two but this time you had none, just you and your driver.

If everything goes according to plan, you would be back before he knew it.

As you sat down in front of the glass window separating you and your sister, you anxiously turned the letter in your hands. What were you even going to say to her?

Sofia looked so different, her eyes were empty and her voice was almost a whisper.

“Why are you here?” she asked, her tone devoid of emotion.

“Sofia, I—” Your voice wavered as the nerves coiled tighter around your throat. “I received a letter.” You held up the envelope, fingers trembling. “It’s from a woman named Selina Kyle. She says she’s our half-sister. She could help us. Help me get you out of here.”

A moment passed in suffocating silence as she stared at you- studying your face.

“I got one too,” she said finally.

Relief surged through you, a wave so strong you nearly sighed out loud. But Sofia’s expression remained stone-cold. The relief curdled into confusion.

“I’m so glad, Sofia. I—”

“How do you sleep next to him?” she interrupted, her voice sharpening like a knife. “Knowing what he did? To me. To Alberto.”

Your breath caught. “Excuse me?”

Sofia’s eyes narrowed, the hollowness flickering into something darker. She leaned closer, the harsh overhead lights casting shadows across her face.

“Don’t tell me you don’t know?” she squinted her eyes at you. You took a deep breath- your heart was beating out of your chest- what the hell was she talking about?

“He killed him. He killed Alberto and stuffed his body in the back of a car.. like a piece of trash; he lied and manipulated us. Just so he can play king.” 

“No,” you whispered, but it came out weaker than you intended, sounding more like a plea than a denial. You shook your head- no. No. No, this can’t be. 

“You’re lying-”

“Why would I lie? I don’t have anything to lose now.” 

“What?” you were too shocked to say anything more- ask more questions

“He got what he wanted in the end. He’s got the girl and the power.” her voice was sharp- judging you “You ate right out of his hand. He spun his web of lies and you listened.” She gave a deep breath. 

You placed your elbows on the table, hands on your mouth- God, you wanted to throw up right now.

“You know—” she started, her tone taking on an almost mocking edge. “I visited his friend, Eve. She was his alibi—she told me all about him.”

You closed your eyes, trying to get yourself away from this place mentally 

“He would make her dress up like you. Y’know that?” Sofia’s voice broke, the brief flash of amusement mingling with pain. “Make her walk and talk like you—then he’d fuck her.”

“Wha-” 

“From your dresses to your purses- she had almost exact replicas. Sick fuck.”  She shook her head in denial. 

Your phone dinged in your purse but you were too caught up in what she was saying to pay attention to it. 

It must’ve been hours- Hours, since you arrived though it felt like seconds. This was the longest conversation you’d had with your sister in what felt like a lifetime, and it peeled back every lie you had clung to. 

The guards, bribed into silence, loomed in your periphery, but they were irrelevant now.

Sofia recounted everything—how Oz orchestrated the club, the arrest, every meticulously planned step. He’d severed your contact with her, veiled you in a life built on manipulation, and ensured you were too blinded by his charm to see the truth.

You felt the anxiety wash away and be replaced with something stronger, anger.

Anger at him and what a monster he was. Anger like you’d never known gripped your chest, tightening until you could barely breathe. Anger at yourself for believing him.

How could you?

As you said your goodbyes, you made sure to swear on your life you were going to get her out of there. 

You left in a hurry and as you checked your phone in the car you finally bursted out crying. He called you- multiple times but you were in no mood to talk. You knew you were going to get berated back home but that was pushed to the back of your head. You had to think- you replayed all your past memories with him in your head.

Oz called your driver too- who told him he was with you. You tuned out most of the conversation after declining to speak to him in the car. 

The ride home was a blur- you didn’t wait for the driver to open the door for you so you jumped out of the car and got in the elevator as soon as you could. 

As you climbed up the levels and it finally dinged you heard a voice that made your body feel filled with- fear?

“Fuck have you been?” he yelled.

The anger almost toppled you over as you saw him.

No, this isn’t wise you thought. If you were to tell him what you know now, it would probably end badly for you. He probably drank something as he came home and he was capable of anything. 

“I- I-” you started, averting his gaze. You weren’t that good at lying, especially not in moments like this “I visited my brother and dad.” you whispered and tried to walk by him.

He grabbed your arm and forcefully pulled your face up towards his. 

“Don’t fucking lie to me” his breath- laced with whiskey and tobacco was hot in your face “Where were you?”

The anger started bubbling up inside of you. You knew the house staff could hear you two and the Gazette would go mad with gossip if they heard of this confrontation.

“Lower your voice” you whispered back in his face

“Don’t tell me how to speak in my own fucking house!” His voice was a shout now, ricocheting off the walls. If he wanted a scene, you would give him one.

You studied his face, from the big scar on it to his furrowed eyebrows and almost black eyes in this light. 

“I went to Arkham- to speak to Sofia.” your words were precise. A glimmer of something went through your husband's eyes- was it uncertainty? 

His eyes narrowed as his voice got deeper and quieter.

“You listened to her lies- she ain’t right in the head.” He was lying.

“She told me I have the devil in my house and I believe her. You lied to me Oswald- you manipulated me and you have me right where you want me.” You looked up at him- staring in his eyes. You were afraid, yes- but you were also very angry.

His eyes darkened, the mask slipping. You saw the raw, dangerous man beneath- your husband was not the kind of man to be crossed. But you pushed on, refusing to cower.

“Watch your words-”

“Or what are you going to do Oswald?!” you screamed at him- your eyes stung with the memory of your brother and sister and of you.

How gullible you were.

No more.

You heard the sound of footsteps as one of your maids scurried off.

“Are you going to kill me?” you whispered.

His eyes grew wider, nostrils flaring and but you continued.

“Like you killed my brother?” you whispered to him. “Like you killed Vi-Victor too probably?”

The impact of the slap almost sent you toppling over if he didn’t have a close grip on you and you gasped as his heavy hand made impact with your cheek.

You blinked- trying to stop your world from spinning.

You looked at him again and he looked like a complete fucking monster. That’s who he was. A monster.

“Fuck you.” you told him. God your cheek was stinging, you felt tears in your eyes but you didn’t let them fall. 

“Everything I do, everything I did, was for you—for us!” He tightened his grip on your arm, gesturing wildly around the room. “All of this!”

“You don’t have power over me anymore- I’m not that little girl you used to lie to-”

Wrenching free from his grasp, you stumbled into the living room, heart pounding as you sought refuge in one of the spare rooms. The sting of his slap lingered on your cheek, you let your tears stream down your face hot with fury and shame.

You had to leave him.

Screw all these expensive clothes and this fucking life- you don’t want it. Not anymore. Not if it was alongside a man that did that.

He was worse than Maroni or Carmine- he didn’t feel anything as he lied to you. Did he feel love for you? Was it real? Or was it all a game he played? To have you all to himself because of his sick obsession.

You got him in all those high circles, your friends remained the same. All now women who married into power- you got them to talk to their husbands.

To meet you two at your gorgeous penthouse ‘to do business’- you helped him. Bastard. You hated him. You will get Sofia out and you will leave him. You have to.

In the back of your mind you knew it was impossible, but you had to try.

Late that night, dressed in your pajamas, while standing near the bed. The door creaked open, and your heart raced, dread pooling in your stomach.

You didn’t need to look to know it was him. 

The way he shut the door and took a deep breath told you everything- his presence filled the room.

He was dressed in the same black suit he had downstairs but his jacket was gone and his top buttons undone. Oz’s cologne filled any room he was in and you wanted to throw up just smelling it.

He stared at you, eyes unreadable, as though you were the one who had wronged him.

He said your name but you ignored him, the pain of everything almost hitting you again and you tried not to cry.

Your head was hurting from all the crying. 

He called out your name again and you ignored him, the tears were coming back and you hated it- hated to make him see you cry. 

He came closer to you, grabbed you from behind- wrapping his arms around you and shushing you.

You tried to break free from his grip, but he only pressed you harder against him. Wrapping his arms against you to the point of it being uncomfortable- his fingers dug into your skin.

“Let- let me go.” you cried

“I love you.” he whispered in your hair “I love you.” as you struggled against him again.

You cried against his chest- you wanted to hit him, slap him across his dumb face just like he did you- you wanted him to feel lost and sad as you felt.

“You can’t leave me” he whispered “i won’t let you” 

Your sobs were louder now, how could you have been so naive. You actually thought you could leave him- that you could get Sofia out of Arkham; you were a fool. 

He grabbed hold of your face with his big hand, squeezing your cheeks together and bringing them closer to his face in a painful hold. 

He kissed you, pressing his lips together and it felt like an eternity before he let you breathe.

God you wanted to bury your head in the ground with shame.

He kissed you again; harder this time and you felt him groan in your mouth. Fighting against him was useless; he was three times your size and much- much stronger.

You felt him press himself against your ass- was he? Was he hard? 

“I hate you.” you said as he let your lips go. He smiled and you saw his gold teeth. You hated him.

Sick man was getting turned on by you saying you hated him.

“There’s nothing you can do about it.” he leaned down to be at your level- stare you in the eyes as he told you that.

You narrowed your eyes at him in disgust. He was like a giddy schoolboy- knowing you were hopeless. 

“You’re sick-”

As he turned you around to face him he grabbed both of your ass cheeks in his hands.

You pressed your palms against his chest- trying to push him off.

 He chuckled as he pressed your bodies together and tried to kiss you again but you looked to the side.

You didn’t want this- you pressed again- harder this time against his broad chest until you had some distance between you two.

“No Oswald- No.” you pleaded.

You weren’t in the mood for him right now- especially right now.

He grabbed the hem of your pants and pulled them down in one swift motion. 

“Oswald!” you repeated, louder this time. You looked at his pants and his boner- this fucking bastard. 

He pushed you down the bed and you tried to sit up, really you did. 

He got on the bed and removed your pants fully. You started to go back on the bed and he only leaned down on you- palming your pussy with his hand. 

The fucking cheek on him- to try to fuck you after he slapped you and you said no. Fuck him. 

You brought your hand up- before you could think about it. Before you could think about what you were doing or the consequences of your action. 

His face barely moved when you slapped him and you shocked yourself in your boldness. 

He grabbed your throat and pushed you down the bed. Your anger came back- harder this time. 

“I hate you.” He only smiled at you. 

Your body didn’t move on the bed as he pulled your legs up on either side of you. “Stay” you weren’t sure if you felt this much embarrassment in your whole life. 

“You were always such a fucking brat” he pulled his suspenders off of him 

“I fucking hate you.” you muttered as you put your legs on his chest- pushing yourself out from beneath him.

He grabbed them and forcefully spread them to the point of pain “You’re hurting me!” you yelled out- truth is, the pain wasn’t that great and it certainly wasn’t the only time he got you in this position- you wanted to embarrass him, yell as loud as you could “Get off of me!”

 Either way no one was coming to save you.

“Shhh.” he readjusted himself between your legs as he unzipped his pants

“Always giving me orders- like I was your dog.” he shook his head as he relieved the memories. Were you always giving him orders? Well that was his fucking job!

“You were my fucking dog.” you spat at him and saw his brows furrow again- rage flashed across his eyes and you thought he was going to hit you again- let him try you said.

Your hand was itching too.

“So fucking ungrateful” he ripped open your blouse sending the buttons flying everywhere

“You would come home and drag me around with you everywhere-”

“Yeah? I dragged you around?” you asked as he pulled his cock out and palmed himself- you almost laughed before you said

“Don’t fucking kid yourself Oz- I know about your whore and I know you made her dress up as me. You fucking creep” you giggled, maybe in desperation to feel something else; anything but fear- maybe because you thought it was actually funny, you couldn’t say.

Your heart was beating out of your chest and your stomach was in knots at your predicament right now.

This really- really wasn’t the moment to laugh at him, but you just couldn’t help yourself ! 

Always so nice, always so devoted because he wanted you to be his girl- he asked about you, countless times- when he saw you his eyes went all over your body. Did he get hard then too? Did he get hard in the car as he drove you around- trying to sneak glances under your skirt? Oz was like a dog, devoted to you. Obsessed. 

He smiled back at you- the mask came off and now there were no more lies between you two.

He didn’t even try to hide the fact that he DID make her dress up as you.

In this moment of absolute terror- where you should be afraid of him, you both laughed. He grabbed on of your legs with his free hand- making sure you weren’t about to escape again.

Oz was laughing like a kid that was just found with his hands in the cookie jar and you more at the absurdity of the situation. What has your life come to?

“He saw the way you looked at me- like a prize to be won.” you sneered at him

“-Really?” his eyes widened- like he just found this out. Shocking. 

 “Bet you fucked your hand to the thought of me beneath you whenever my dad or brother yelled at you.” He pressed himself on top of you- his hand almost touching your body as he rubbed himself. 

“You’re sick- fucking disgusting. Forcing yourself on top of me- did you fantasize about this too? I hate you-

“Oh baby- the way I’m about to fuck yo-” 

“Fuck off” He chuckled as he saw you struggle. You tried to pry yourself off from under him- to no avail. But you tried; his much larger body was holding you down and the more you struggled the more he pressed himself into you.

Now it was actually becoming painful. 

He placed a pillow under your ass and grabbed both of your arms and pressed them against your chest as he positioned himself- having finally had enough and as he entered you- you almost let out a yelp of pain. 

The size of him was uncomfortable and this position only made you take him deeper- you felt your eyes get teary.

“You gonna cry, sweetheart ? Lemme see them.” He sounded like he was talking to a toddler- No. He will not see them- think about something else besides the feeling of having him shove himself inside you like you were a prostitute. 

“You’re always goi-going to be just a driver-” you muttered loud enough for him to hear 

He grabbed one of your legs from besides him- throwing it on his shoulder as he fucked you. Now you really were in pain. You removed your hand out of his grasp and slapped him again. 

“Ooo- take it easy sweetheart.” he grabbed it again and you knew he wanted to hit you too- his eyes changed

“You’re so beautiful.” He smirked before it was replaced with another expression of pleasure as he fucked you. This man- this beast, he looked like a bear on top of you. You hated him and you hated how wet you were getting- you knew he felt it too.

“I wanted you for so long” he grabbed your thigh as he held your leg on top of his body. “Fuck the real you…you’re so wet and tight doll” 

“EAT SHIT Oswald.” 

He lowered himself on you and it felt like he split you in two; combined with the weight of a 250 pound man too busy with burying himself balls deep time and time again to not press himself too hard down on top was also your poor leg up on his shoulder. 

His breath was on your face as he stared into your eyes. “You’re hurting me- you’re too heavy” you exhaled- trying to catch your breath -your voice was breaking and now you were sure you were about to cry again.

He kissed your forehead and pressed his cheek against yours.  From this position- he could easily brush against your g-spot time and time again.

You felt a familiar sensation built in your lower stomach- threatening to wash over you. No. Not like this. 

He placed his hand under your head, holding you in place- his pace became rhythmic and you began to actually moan- like really hard this time.

"You gonna cum baby? You’re gonna cum on your driver’s cock?”he chuckled mocking you- he always won in the end. You could barely talk- your chest was in pain, but it felt so good.

“S-stop…please.” You didn’t want him to stop. Your leg was almost shaking from its place near his head.

Oz kissed your neck- near your ear, softly nibbling on it. Your moans right near his ear only encouraged him to keep going, keeping the same pace and wanting you to come undone.

He looked at you again as you squeezed your free leg near his body- he knew you too well, knew you were close.

Always ever observant. 

You closed your eyes as you came- not wanting to give him the satisfaction of watching you like this. You felt yourself grip his cock time and time again until you felt spent. You stomach was aching.

You stopped feeling the pain- there was only tiredness and the same headache as before. He removed himself from on top of you and you could finally breathe.

God you were sweaty. 

He unbuttoned his shirt all the way before he manhandled you on your hands and knees.

You were too tired to fight- partly because of your orgasm and partly because you knew, you knew you had no chance against him. 

He placed another pillow beneath you- raise you up to his level so it won’t be too uncomfortable for him.

He was breathing so heavy- god this place all smells like him; a mix of cologne and tobacco. 

He brought your shirt up towards your neck- to see your back and ass better as it arched on his bed. You almost closed your eyes- maybe you could- 

The sting of the smack across your ass made you yell

“Ow!-” he smacked you again harder this time- on the other cheek. You wanted to look back at him, curse him again- but you won’t give him the satisfaction. You bundled up the comforter beneath your face- hiding your cries of pain in it. 

“I should’ve done this a long time ago-” He grabbed hold of your ass as he spread you apart- you heard him spit before he entered you again- you moaned in the comforter. 

The familiar feeling of having his penis inside you was very welcomed by your body- unfortunately. 

He gripped your waist as he fucked you, probably checking how you took him in the meantime too.

The sound that your bodies made as they colided was incredibly shameful, you felt your cheeks burn.

A few minutes ago you were cursing him out and slapping him now you were fucked like a bitch. How shameful.

“You fucking brat-” he sneered from on top of you and slapped you across your ass again “I should’ve bended you over back then too.” 

He heard your muffled “Fuck you” in the comforter set and pulled your hair back 

“Fuck did you say?” he switched the hands he was holding your hair with- conveniently smacking you again over the other ass cheek

“Look at me.” he let go of your hair and you pressed your face down again- cheek on the bed and closed your eyes. 

“Look at me I said!” 

You moved your head and looked forward again. 

“You little shit- I'm gonna take the belt and give you a real beating if you don’t- “ 

Alright, you looked at him.

Only the thought of getting your ass smacked with one of those heavy leather belts accompanied with gold buckles sent a very unpleasant shiver down your spine- you knew he wasn’t kidding either.

“There you go-” he gave you a smile- those gold teeth glinting at you

“You look so sweet- with those gorgeous eyes of yours.” His grip on your hips was becoming very forceful and his strokes erratic

“Tell me.” His mouth opened in pleasure- pleasure in anticipation of what you were going to say

“Say it.”

This was so embarrassing- you hated having to look him in the eyes and tell him this. This monster enjoyed you so much- enjoyed your pain and embarrassment. 

“SAY IT.” He bellowed out “Tell me.” You knew what he was referring to.

“I love you.” you were so exhausted- your legs and back were hurting from the position he had you in and your stomach was hurting even more from the way he pressed himself inside.

He started to fuck you even harder- the death grip on your waist almost made you cry out in pain.

He groaned as he came and pushed your smaller frame down even harder on the bed. 

Oz groaned as he removed himself from you and you could finally stretch out your poor legs- the relief you got was immeasurable.

You almost forgot what you were talking about before. 

He sat on the bed- breathing heavily. You sat up and got in his face again.

“I hate you-”

“It’s gonna pass-”

“Fuck you” you went to the bathroom.

Your legs felt like jello and you could barely walk but you didn’t let him see that.

He thinks he can take everything from you and win- you’ll show him. You will. 

He couldn’t know about Selina or Sofia. You had to wait- like he did. Wait until it was the right moment and then press on. 

He went to the bathroom too- to start the shower. 

“Got a fuckin’ headache because of you.” He looked at his cheek in the mirror and started to undress himself. “You better stay put from now on.” 

You stared at him. Your brother didn’t die for nothing, your sister wasn’t in the looney bin for nothing- you had to do something. 

You'll show him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Author's note: From the moment I saw what sort of shit he did in the finale I knew it was going to end this way.

Thank you so much for reading. Have a great day.

[bettyshoweduptotheparty]

The Witches of Oz

I’m still not over how good this episode was and I won’t be able to pick my favourite part but there’s one thing I want to give a quick mention to before whatever pride flag surprise song dress and devastating mashup takes my focus for the weekend.

Agatha and Lilia were dressed as Glinda and Elphaba, the witches from the wizard of Oz. And I can’t help but notice the glaring parallels between their characters in this episode. Lilia being the main protagonist this episode and key to solving the task does so by matching each member of the coven to a tarot card, then proceeds to give them advice before they part ways just like Glinda did for Dorothy and her friends. She gives Billy his spell book back like the scarecrow got a brain. She brings out Jen’s ability to care for others over herself and calls her the path forward, like the tin man got a heart. She matched Alice to the noble fighter, the lion who turned brave in pursuit of friendship. And she tells Agatha what to do “when she calls you a coward” like Glinda told Dorothy to click her heels together to get home. All of which I’m sure will make sense in hindsight, just like Lilia’s other predictions did.

And Agatha is Elphaba. She even says

It’s easy to see how the original wicked witch of the West could be based on Agatha as the classic meanie. But on a deeper level, the story of Wicked tells us the backstory that Elphaba was actually not wicked at all, just misunderstood. One of her songs in the musical even tells us that she only gave in to being the villain because ‘No good deed goes unpunished’. She tried to help, tried to be good, but people just wanted her to be evil. Sounds a lot like Agatha.

(And not to read too much into it, but Elphaba ends up faking her own death to run off with her lover 😉)

[chaikachi]

The Little Prince, The Rose, & The Aviator

AKA We just got confirmation that Oscar's main allusion is in fact The Little Prince so I wanted to gather all evidence that supports it in show thus far.

cross-posted from twitter

A brief summary for those who aren't familiar:

The Little Prince is a story about a young boy that travels to many worlds & meets many people. It is told out of chronological order from the perspective of an airplane pilot that the prince meets close to the end of his journey.

It explores themes around childhood and growing up, love, loss, friendship, loneliness, and hope, among other things. All ideas very prevalent in RWBY.

Part 1: The Little Prince

The first theme I want to touch on is that struggle of trying not to lose yourself as you grow up.

"Grown-ups never understand anything by themselves, and it is exhausting for children to have to provide explanations over and over again."

Oscar is the youngest of the group, and yet he is one of the characters most often shown trying to reason with the adults in the room.

Yes, we've mainly seen it with Hazel, Ironwood, and Oz... but while the rest of RWBYJNR are also 'just kids', he spends so much energy trying to reason with them and mediate conflicts there as well. All while still being the youngest of the bunch.

Another way this shows itself is in Oscar's resistance to merging with Oz. The merge is a very clear metaphor for how the people you meet and the things you experience can often change you. And how, when you're a kid, it all feels like its completely out of your control.

Speaking of the hoverbike scene, I want to shift to a different part of The Little Prince. The infamous moment with the fox and what it is to be 'tamed'. To be tamed is to create ties with others. To become important to them and for them to be important to you.

When Oscar is having a talk with Oz in v8 about how he finally felt like himself, the person he wanted to be, and felt like he was finally "part of the team"... There is a fox plushie lying on the ground as he passes by.

But we see that Oscar was right to feel this way later on.

Because just as he was "only a little boy like a hundred thousand other little boys" when he first met everyone... he had since been tamed, and tamed his friends in turn. And they fought tooth and nail to bring him back when he was captured by Salem.

Part 2: The Aviator & the Rose

In RWBY, most characters have a main allusion that is central to their arc and then secondary allusions for what roles they fill in relation to other characters. (Ex. Yang's main allusion is Goldilocks, but when thrown into the plot, she also becomes the Beauty to Blake's Beast, just as Blake was once the Beauty to Adam's Beast).

If we apply that metric to other characters here, we know that Ozpin's main allusion is The Wizard of Oz and Ruby is Little Red Riding Hood... so when placed within Oscar's story structure of The Little Prince, they become The Aviator and The (Ruby) Rose, respectively.

The aviator is a man that struggles to hold onto his childlike wonder. He tries, but he lives in a world of grown-ups so it becomes difficult with time. The little prince - much like Oscar with Ozpin - helps him remember some of the things that he's forgotten.

When the little prince meets him, the aviator is grumbly after crash landing his plane in the desert & is trying to fix it before he runs out of water.

Funny then, that when Oscar is crash landing a plane it is Oz that instructs him on how to do it.

When the aviator explains his circumstances, the prince laughs and exclaims that he "fell from the sky too". Which is an interesting tie in to the canon RWBY fairytale mentioned in Before the Fall, The Boy Who Fell From The Sky...

...as well as another fairytale we've seen mentioned in the show proper: The Girl Who Fell Through The World. A tale that was first talked about by Oscar, later expanded upon by Ozpin, and finally lived by Ruby Rose herself. (Yes her team also experienced it but it's very strongly emphasized Ruby and Alyx were paralleling each other in ways the others were not).

One thing about the little prince and the aviator is that by the end of their journey when it's time to say farewell, it's quite clear they've tamed each other as well. So much time spent by the pilot wishing to fix his plane and get out of the desert, but when it's finally time to say farewell, he does not want to go. This is not something we've gotten in show yet, but I'm willing to guess is going to be the basis for when the war is won and Oz is finally set free. Leaving the two of them to finally have to say goodbye.

And I realized I couldn't bear the thought of never hearing that laugh again. For me it was like a spring of resh water in the desert. "Little fellow, I want to hear you laugh again..."

Moving onto the Rose.

In the story, the little prince is enamored by her as soon as he sees her for the first time. As he gets to know her, she is described as many things. Some that fit Ruby well (miraculous, naïve) and some that she subverts (vain, self-centered).

Ruby might not be caught up on physical appearance, but she is convinced that she's the only one in all the world that can do what she has to do. It's a childish way of looking at things, and to believe you can't accept help from others is - in its own way - selfish.

In the book, the rose asks the little prince to tend to her. She's very needy with her demands and while the prince loves her dearly, it is a strained relationship. In RWBY, Oscar sees Ruby wilting very early on and decides to tend to her without waiting for her to ask. Of which we have... SO MANY EXAMPLES AND I DON'T HAVE A HIGH ENOUGH IMAGE LIMIT TO POST THEM ALL SO YOU GET 2.

Not pictured here, but still worthy of note: Oscar mediating when Ruby is being undermined in v8, Oscar talking the responsibility of telling Ironwood the truth in V7, the "food always makes me feel better" / "I made you a casserole because you were sad" scenes. The List Goes On.

Part 3: Other Easter Eggs & Evidence

There are also other fun little pieces that drive home just how much these characters allude to the book as well as the inspiration it's had on the show in general.

The first thing the little prince asks the aviator for is a drawing of a sheep that he can take home with him so that it can eat up the sprouts of baobab trees before they overgrow his entire planet and destroy it (and his rose) in the process...

The tree in the Ever After has maple leaves, but the shape of its trunk is very clearly not a maple. When compared to these illustrations, it seems to have pulled inspiration from baobabs... and what does the tree in the Ever After do?

Its roots consume the rose.

One of the lessons that's brought up repeatedly in the book is that:

"One sees clearly only with the heart. Anything essential is invisible to the eyes.”

This is brought up in a few different ways:

The little prince left his rose back home, so when he looks to the night sky, separated from her, he says:

"The stars are beautiful because of a flower you don’t see . . ."

When Ruby is in the Ever After, with no one to tend to her, she is in a town filled with paper stars.

It is brought up again in reference to the desert, which we have a wonderful tie-in now thanks to the animatic shared at RTX recently:

“What makes the desert beautiful,” the little prince said, “is that it hides a well somewhere . . .”

And again by the aviator in reference to the little prince himself.

What makes the little prince special is his loyalty to a flower. Ruby Rose, who inspired Oscar to keep fighting, who reminded him he was brave, and who's mission he has worn on his literal shoulders.

Two other lines in that passage I've highlighted I also want to mention.

"As the little prince was falling asleep, I picked him up in my arms, and started walking again. I was moved. It was as if I was carrying a fragile treasure."

This line about the little prince being a treasure (treasure is an rg song truthers rise up 🙌)

And the emphasis on lamps being symbolic of the Little Prince himself which... we've seen for Oscar A LOT.

"What moves me so deeply about this sleeping little prince is his loyalty to a flower - the image of a rose shining within him like the flame within a lamp, even when he's asleep... (...) Lamps must be protected: A gust of wind can blow them out..."

Also Ruby has been referred to as a "spark" by Oz before and when Oscar is worrying over Ruby at Brunswick farms, Maria tells him to "keep that fire fed" which is exactly what lamp lighters do. Just very deliberate use of that imagery here.

It ALSO ties into earlier in the novel where, among the little prince's many travels meeting plenty of confusing adults he doesn't understand, he encounters a lamplighter. And of all those that confused him, he found he could at least relate to this one and see value in his work.

There is also a matter of how the prince's first appearance is at sunrise:

That he is cited to live on a planet "scarcely bigger than himself" and "being in need of a friend". How we see Oscar very alone on his farm back in Mistral, just like the prince, only tending to his daily chores by himself, we never even see his aunt.

And while there are a few other bits and pieces i'm surely forgetting, the last big one I want to talk about is how both the beginning and end of the book start with a venomous snake.

The aviator shows us a drawing of a boa constrictor eating a wild beast...

...versus Oscar's first appearance coming immediately after he wakes from a nightmare of Tyrian, a venomous scorpion faunus, being sent to capture his rose.

And the story ends with the little prince in a desert getting bit by a venomous snake that sends him back to his rose and away from the aviator... thank goodness RWBY loves to subvert its fairytale origins, amiright?

"(The little prince) fell gently the way a tree falls, there wasn't even a sound..."

tl;dr Oscar is for sure The Little Prince, Ruby has always been his rose, RG canon, Tryian vs. Oscar in the desert real and #GREENLIGHTVOLUME10 SO WE CAN SEE IT HAPPEN ALREADY >:OOOO

Thank you for reading 💕

[ichiwashername-o]

Sorry to bug you, but I had a question: as someone who's full extent of knowledge re: Oz and Wicked is "I have seen the 1939 Wizard of Oz movie, and I've been told both that the books are super crazy and Dorothy's actually gay as hell, and also been told Wicked is the secret sad gay backstory of Glinda and Elphaba." I'm surprised to learn a) that Scarecrow was a real guy, b) he and Tin Man knew each other pre-Oz movie's story, and c) he apparently dated Elphaba, so my question is: is he a "her boyfriend until it turns out she was gay and the romance was doomed" boyfriend, or was I lied to about the nature of the story of Wicked being a sad lesbian backstory?

Oh boy, a lot to unpack here so let's see if we can break this down XD

Without getting into spoilers, it's important to know the book Wicked is a very, very different thing from the musical Wicked. I admittedly had never read any of the original Wizard of Oz books beyond the first one so I don't know anything about the whole "Dorothy is gay" thing but apparently that's true? I'll leave it to others who've actually read the series to verify on that.

My comics are solely focused on the musical adaptation of Wicked and such major plot points and characters are very different from the book, and if you'd like a break down, I'll post it under the spoiler below. Although I would recommend either waiting in eager anticipation for the movie to come out this November or find a Wicked bootleg slime tutorial on Youtube if you'd like to see the theater adaptation yourself. I highly recommend doing so.

Ok, so to break it down: Yes, both the Scarecrow and the Tin Man were actual people before they become the iconic figures we know and love (at least as far as the musical is concerned) And yes, Wicked is gay as hell, and though the musical isn't nearly as gay as the book, the relationship between Glinda and Elphaba that can absolutely be read as gay.

The Scarecrow, whose name is Fiyero, was a prince who initially dated Glinda but then things happen and he falls for Elphaba instead. He breaks off his engagement to Glinda to run off with Elphaba. The two have a steamy sexy duet together but tragically the relationship is bitterly short; the Wizard's guards take Fiyero prisoner and try to torture him for information on where Elphaba is hiding. In a desperate gambit to save his life, Elphaba casts a spell on him, which turns him into a scarecrow.

Also Fiyero and the Tin Man (who in the musical is Boq) went to university together so they sort of know each other. In fact, all four of them went to school together, which is where the majority of Act 1 of the musical takes place.

The book is very, very different: Tin Man (Nick Chopper) keeps his original backstory of getting his limbs chopped off by an enchanted axe and Fiyero dies (I can't remember exactly how but probably somewhere along the lines of "Wizard's guards capture him and beat him to death"). Obviously the musical changed these things to tie all the characters together and give it a bit of a happier ending.

I do not blame you if you are now more confused than before.

[fairytale-poll]

BEST MODERN FAIRYTALE ADAPTATION! ROUND 1B, MATCH 1 OUT OF 4!

Alice (2009) is based off Alice in Wonderland; The Path (2009) is based off Little Red Riding Hood.

Propaganda Under the Cut:

Alice (2009):

It had an all star cast (kathy bates and tim curry are in it!) And it had a fun aesthetic for the lands of oz, with the hearts castle being a casino. There are several plot twists about character alliances. Andrew leepott's Hatter is a complete sweetheart and we love him. Also the main pairing have good chemistry. The whole thing is uploaded to youtube (in like 240p but w/e) and its only about the length of a movie total so its definitely worth a watch. Its an all time fave for me.

An imaginatively wild, steam punk ride where an evil empire built on the exploitation of emotion-filled instant gratification is challenged by our motley crue of rebels lead by Alice, who helps bring down the whole house of cards with her bravery, friendship, loyalty and love.

The Path (2009):

An artistic and abstract story about six sisters at various stages of life who travel through the woods to their grandmother's house. They are told that they must stick to the path to be safe from the wolf, but if the player truly does stay on the path, of course, no growth or story occurs. Each girl has their own wolf, representing a truth she must face or a danger she must endure in order to grow up and learn her lesson. And Grandmother's house is strange and abstract as well. I adore these sorts of indie games so much.

[let-us-cultivate-our-garden]

With that other ask saying Luz has no future in the human realm right now, especially since she’s a nonwhite LGBT girl who Republicans would want dead for existing, I thought of something else:

If TOH’s finale aired now, would people react more negatively to Luz living in the human realm and going to human school at the end? She was definitely shown to be more at home in the BI, and again, everyone in power would want her dead or deported or *something*. Recently someone made a joke to me about how you couldn’t do The Wizard of Oz nowadays since Dorothy would have absolutely no reason to go back to Kansas. Luz was better off in the Boiling Isles than in a world that hates her for existing.

Please reply.

[Rubs temples]. Guys, guys. Luz is fictional. Her world is not our own. Gravesfield is not depicted as being an unwelcoming place. Her "not fitting in" was just her having trouble in school and two bitchy ladies in the park that she didn't even overhear. She is "more at home" in the BI because it's the place where she can actually do magic, not because Gravesfield was such a horrible place to live in. Camilla and Vee live there full time and no one is worried about them.

Heck, when we do see Gravesfield, it's really not a bad place to live! Masha is able to be out about their gender identity at work, Vee finds friends, Jacob loses his job and gets arrested for assault, two random students praise Luz after her classroom freakout! How is this place so terrible?

Y'all need to stop projecting your own fears and anxieties onto the show, especially when the text demonstrates the opposite of what you're afraid of.

As for that joke your friend made about The Wizard of Oz, you know when that movie came out?

1939.

The final year of the Great Depression. Does the movie go into the world's worst economic crisis? No, because it's about a young girl learning to stand up for herself and not run away from her problems. Kansas is boring and dreary in comparison to the bright and whimsical Oz, but it's still her home, it's where her family is. You could absolutely make it today because it's styled like a classic fairy tale instead of dealing with the gritty reality of 1930s America.

Toh is also a fairy tale. It has straight forward morals, simple characterization, clear distinctions between good and evil, and a happy ending. Any gestures at complexity or subversions are superficial at best. It does not deal with politics or current events. Luz is never in any danger in Gravesfield, she just wants to live out her fantasies and quite frankly, the show is not very good at showing that her life is terrible. We don't even see her get bullied, it's simply told to us.

On a final note, since some people get upset when the hero has to leave the cool fantasy world, the Hero usually has to return home from the Fantasy World because it's a metaphor for growing up/growth/accepting change, etc. Anne is separated from Amphibia seemingly forever. Dipper and Mabel were only supposed to be in Gravity Falls for the summer. Dorothy leaves Oz. Change is inevitable and you can't live in the Fantasy World forever. There are exceptions of course, but that all depends on how the Fantasy World functions in the story. In toh's case, the function of the BI is muddled because there's no clear contrast between it and Gravesfield. The show wants you to think that this place is better for her but it never put in the work to demonstrate why. Luz doesn't really grow much as a character either, her priorities just shift. So in the end, the BI is basically a power fantasy for Luz. She would only find Gravesfield intolerable to live in because she can't do magic, not because of some fault with the town.

Here are the previous asks for anyone curious.

[mask131]

So you want to know about Oz! (1)

Then congratulations! Welcome to this quick crash course to know everything about the world of Oz! The movies, the adaptations, the musicals, the books! Yes, books, with an S, because "The Wizard of Oz" everybody knows and love was just the first book of an entire BOOK SERIES that became the enormous franchise we know today! You thought there was just ONE Wizard of Oz movie? Think again! You thought "Wicked" was the only work that gave a backstory to the Witches? Get ready for some discoveries!

And so we begin our journey to the wonderful land of Oz...

The story of Oz begins with one novel. No, not one movie - but the novel that caused the movie... L. Frank Baum's "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz"

Published in 1900, this children novel is still to this day one of the most famous works of American youth literature, as well as the master-piece of Baum, THE book everybody knows he wrote. Baum intended, with this book, to create a purely American fairy tale: he wanted to rival the European tales of Charles Perrault, the brothers Grimm or Hans Christian Andersen - and he succeeded! The novel was a best-seller as soon as it was released, and is still considered as "America's greatest fairy-tale".

Most people know of "The Wizard of Oz" through its famous adaptation, the 1939 musical movie. While these two works do share a same set of main characters and a similar plot, the novel contains many, many details that were not adapted into the movie ; and, in return, the movie brought a lot of elements that were absent from the novel. Both, however, are still the story of a little girl by the name of Dorothy (she wasn't yet named "Gale") and her dog Toto, who are swept up into a tornado and taken to the magical Land of Oz. There she meets three comical companions (the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, the Cowardly Lion), and together they go seek the Wizard of Oz in hope he can grant their wishes, only to have to escape from the clutches of the Wicked Witch of the West...

If you want to read the original novel, it will be very easy! Not only is it still regularly printed today, with various anniversary editions ; but it is in public domain since the 1950s! So you can go read it for free right now, without any problems!

Most people tend to stop at just this book... Not wondering if there was any sequel, treating it as if this was just a one-shot. Except, we told you, this book was a best-seller! An ENORMOUS success! Never before had a children's book brought so much money in the United-States! As such, Baum was not going to just stop there...

While he did intent "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" to be a self-contained novel existing as its own thing, in 1904 he published a sequel "The Marvelous Land of Oz":

This novel does not follow Dorothy however, but rather a very different character... A little boy who lives in the Land of Oz post-Dorothy: Tip (short for Tippetarius), an orphan boy who escapes the clutches of his wicked witch of a caretaker alongside a pumpkin-headed scarecrow he just brought to life. And the two undergo a journey to the Emerald City ruled by the Scarecrow-king, only to get swept into a revolution...

This novel was conceived in a similar way to the first one, as a "self-contained" story. While it does take place after the events of "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz", reuses several of the same characters (The Scarecrow and the Tin Man are part of the main party, Glinda plays a key part in the final act) and briefly recaps the events of the first novel, it can still be read on its own. This novel especially get a lot of attention today (after decades and decades of falling into pur oblivion) due to its fantasy-dissection of the topics of genders - differences between men and women, boys and girls, unfairness and injustice among sexes (the revolution in question is a "girl revolution" seeking to destroy what is perceived as a misogynistic patriarchy)... All culminating with what is still to this day one of the most famous accidental depictions of a trans character in fantasy!

But I'll return to this all in a later post, possibly...

This novel was ALSO a best-seller and a huge success. And as such... you know what that means. Yes, Baum wrote a THIRD book taking place in Oz! Well, almost... The novel actually mostly takes place in lands neighbors to those of Oz, the land of Ev and the realm of the Nome King... But all the Oz characters return - including Dorothy, who is again swept away into fairy-lands, this time not with her dog Toto, but with a pet chicken Billina.

This story is the novel "Ozma of Oz", published in 1907:

And with these three books, you have the original Oz trilogy!

"But wait, there were other Oz books, weren't there?" you ask. Oh yes, there were more books, indeed! However, I want to stop at this point because these three books do form a specific trilogy for various reasons. The trilogy of the "good" Oz books before everything went... let's say downhill (but more about that next post). But more importantly, the trilogy of Oz books most people know about!

Indeed, even if you have never read "The Marvelous Land of Oz" or "Ozma of Oz", you probably came across various elements of these books, that are regularly scattered throughout Oz adaptations and novels. For example the famous Disney movie "Return to Oz" is mostly an adaptation of "Ozma of Oz", but with numerous elements of "The Marvelous Land of Oz" added to the plot

More recently, the trilogy also formed the basis of the new plot offered by the short-lived TV series "Emerald City"!

Langwidere the princess with a hundred heads, Mombi the witch, Ozma the princess of Oz, the Nome king, Tik-Tok the automaton, Jack Pumpkinhead, general Jinjur, the land of Ev, the Powder of Life and many other names and concepts you might be familiar with come from these two direct sequels to "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz". Sequels which unfortunately never knew the lasting popularity of their predecessor, despite being just as famous, if not more, in their time...

Next post: Baum's downfall...

[jeepersjpeg]

u have like .. really good taste in media , so do u have any movie recommendations ?

my top favorites right now (in order)

1. I Saw The TV Glow (heartwrenching "coming-of-age"/psychological horror/wait.. he's "coming-of-age" so quickly--? Time wasn't right. It was moving too fast. I was 19, then I was 20, then I was 21. Like chapters skipped over on a DVD. I told myself, this isn't normal. This isn't normal. This isn't how life is supposed to feel. I thought about r-- really good movie if you haven't seen it already)

2. Possessor (trippy, violent sci-fi psychological horror. i wrote a song about this one. ive seen it around 5 times now and not a day goes by where i don't think of it.)

3. The Poughkeepsie Tapes (50% satirical mockumentary commentating on how america glorifies its serial killers, 50% found-footage horror, you'll need to look up warnings for this one [or just ask me, ive seen it 4 times, i can give you in-depth CW's without spoilers].)

4. Horse Girl (a girl's spiraling descent into conspiracy. trippy, mystery thriller)

other favorites in no specific order

• Antiviral (another Brandon Cronenberg film, sci-fi thriller, taking parasocial relationships to a whole new level)

• The PowerPuff Girls Movie (underrated and one of my favorite PPG-related things ever next to the now-banned rock opera episode, See Me Feel Me Gnomey)

• Longlegs (paranormal mystery horror film, an FBI agent gets more than she bargained for when delving into a new case. ASK ME ABOUT OZ PERKINS AND NICHOLAS CAGE'S PERSONAL CONNECTION TO THIS FILM AND HOW IT SAVED THE FILM ITSELF FOR ME AND MADE IT GO FROM "A WEE BIT DISAPPOINTING BUT STILL GOOD" TO "TOP FAVORITE" BECAUSE OF HOW IT IMPACTED THE WAY I VIEW IT... IF YOU DARE..)

• Catsoup (silent japanese cartoon, short film, you can find it on youtube! two cats go on a magical, somewhat dark, adventure. visually stunning)

• The Brave Little Toaster (the only disney film that will ever grace my favorites list. incredible. the anthropomorphization of objects is stellar, the characters i could go on and on about-- and the songs are fucking great. shoutout to mass car suicide [Worthless]. also this movie inspired one of my OC stories [Curtain Call].)

• I'm Thinking Of Ending Things (adaptation of my favorite book, very different from the book but i think it brings some excellent things to the table and tells it in a very cool way. psychological thriller, mystery. Jesse Plemons is in it, they grabbed him off the set of Breaking Bad and forgot to tell him he wasn't still playing Todd. [< compliment])

• Baby Driver (anyone who hates this movie doesn't know how to have fun. action-comedy, incredible soundtrack that is SYNCED TO THE HAPPENINGS IN THE FILM, main character is an autistic CODA who i love very much, i have a deep personal connection with this movie because of the person i watched it with and the impact it had on us.)

• I Don't Feel At Home In This World Anymore (action-comedy, crime, awkward girl and her awkward neighbor [who just met her but would kill and die for her] get in over their heads trying to retrieve a stolen laptop.)

• Poltergeist (1982, my ma's favorite horror film and one of mine too. paranormal, visually stunning, the practical effects are so fucking cool. also im decently sure it was inspired by Little Girl Lost, an episode of The Twilight Zone, because it's like a more fleshed-out version of that concept.)

• Home Movie (2008, it's on youtube, i can't remember if it's like overall good but it's the only instance thus far in which i think the "evil child" trope is done well so it makes my favorites list)

• Whiplash (ARE YOU RUSHING OR ARE YOU DRAGGING?!)

• Nightcrawler (crime thriller, guy's spiraling descent into abandoning all morals for the sake of his obsessive new project, and the gripping horrific ways that this choice affects those around him)

• Dread (2009, violent horror, guy's spiraling descent into abandoning all morals for the sake of his obsessive new project, and the gripping horrific ways that this choice affects those around him)

• Raggedy Ann And Andy : A Musical Adventure (on youtube, an animated childhood favorite that still holds up. shoutout to the blue camel)

aaaand some others im prooobably forgettinggg..? tried to include a bit of as many genres i could think of, since most of my favorites are horror :)

[jbaileyfansite]

Ariana Grande interviews Jonathan Bailey for VMan Magazine (2024)

Jonathan Bailey’s acting career began at the age of eight when the prestigious Royal Shakespeare Company cast him in a role coveted by all little boys who like musicals: Gavroche in Les Miserables. Since then, he’s starred in contemporary plays, refined his iambic pentameter flow via several Shakespearian productions, and, in 2019, won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his work in the gender-swapped revival of Company. In other words, Bailey is a theater nerd. 

This made his upcoming role as Fiyero Tigelaar in the movie adaptation of the Broadway hit, Wicked, all the more unbelievable to him. Over Zoom, with co-star Ariana Grande, Bailey admits that he’s only recently had the space to fangirl over the reality that he’s playing the lead in a musical that rocked his world when he first saw it at the age of 15. Tuning in from Thailand, he and Grande chat about his upcoming project, another adaptation, Jurassic Park, and the memories of Oz that he (reportedly) carries in his pocket.

Ariana Grande: Hi, good morning. What time is it for you?

Jonathan Bailey: It’s 8am. Feeling pretty fresh.

AG: You look beautifully fresh. Just for context, for people reading, Johnny, you’re currently in Thailand. What are you up to over there?

JB: I’m on a really long holiday in the jungle, pretending to run away from fake dinosaurs… Um, no, I’m filming Jurassic Park.  And there are massive links between it and Wicked because it’s got so many of the same crew.

AG: Yes!

JB: The bereavement of leaving Wicked behind has been sort of solved by the fact that so many of them are still here. So, I’m keeping the Wicked dream alive, but with dinosaurs. 

AG: That’s so beautiful. You’re so lucky to have a little piece of Oz with you still every day.

JB: I carry Oz in my pocket. 

AG: Yes. How is it going? 

JB: I am loving it. We’re doing a whole new version of the Jurassic Park franchise.

AG: What can you say about your character, about this new franchise?

JB: I can say that it’s written by David Koepp, who wrote the original. It feels like it’s in ultimate hands to bring it back to what the original achieved. (Jurassic Park) was the first film I went to see with my whole family, and I was way too young, I was terrified. There is a similarity between doing this and Wicked, I also saw the original run of Wicked in London. 

AG: I would love to touch on Fellow Travelers, which was such an emotional and expansive project. What was the process of taking on a character like Tim, whose story is told over several decades? 

JB: Fellow Travelers will always be something that I’m incredibly proud of. For me it [was] the most fulfilling creative, emotional, and spiritual thing I’ve done. Tim and Hawke (leads in Fellow Travelers) are allegories. So many men that lost their lives. It’s never lost on me, all the other actors that couldn’t come out or were vilified for being caught having sex in toilets. All the horrific ways in which a pure thing like man-on-man love has been misconstrued.

AG: It was absolutely palpable. 

JB: I had this amazing weekend in Bangkok and I met this group of Malaysian dudes who were just so brilliant. They were doctors and they were really bright, intelligent, kind, sweet men who were having such a brilliant time. We ended up having dinner and, after a few drinks, they were telling me that they come over from Malaysia to Bangkok because they can’t be out to their families.

AG: My God.

JB: It’s so painful.

AG: I was gonna say, this leads us beautifully into The Shameless Fund, your foundation that you launched actually this week, congratulations. How does it feel that it’s finally out there in the world?

JB: It’s been a labor of love for about two years. When the second series of Bridgerton came out, I was suddenly aware of an increased platform, especially the fact Bridgerton is viewed in multiple territories where being gay is different. So, I just sort of fused the two together—

AG: It’s a beautiful way of making sense of it all. 

JB: Thank you for being an icon and an ambassador for the Shameless Fund.

AG: I’m so proud of you and I love you and your heart so much. Okay, moving on. I was wondering what things have helped you recharge your human battery?

JB: I’ve adapted my life slightly. I don’t live in a city anymore, I do a lot of swimming and gymnastics, which is something that I’ve done [since] I was younger. I [also] think it’s friends, which I know is such a sort ofeye roll [answer]. I’ve got amazing friends, they’ve always been there and I’ve been friends with them for so long.

AG: And me, for 2 years. 

JB: I’ve spiritually known you for 20 years.

AG: Yeah, 100. Let’s move on to Wicked. How did you prepare for the role of Fiyero? 

JB: I mean, it’s a complete dream come true. The preparation started when I listened to the soundtrack when I was like 15. And I remember viscerally; it sent ripples through culture. Also, I remember hearing the orchestration. I hadn’t really heard the synth-meets-full-orchestra-meets-syncopation.

Something about it just completely grabbed me. My best friend from school, me and him went to go and see it together—we were soulmates through school. And it was so funny that, like, two lads just went with it. I think the themes of Wicked have probably expanded, and that’s what I’m really excited about with the film.

AG: Yeah, it feels like it needs to be now more than ever before, perhaps.

JB: I went to go meet Jon (Chu, director). We chatted for about two and a half hours and it was really emotional. The one thing that we talked about with Fiyero: everything is so easy to him. How do you tell the story of someone who seemingly doesn’t care? What’s he frustrated by? We discussed it and found quite a human thing, I think. And, obviously, with our film, it represents extreme privilege and it’s about his bubble needing to pop. 

AG: I think our characters share that in a big way, Elphaba comes along and pops both of our bubbles. Perhaps for the first time we both are able to look at things differently. And it’s not that we’re not loving, heartful people. It’s just that we’ve never had to look outside of what affects us until we meet her.

JB: Exactly. And anyway, it was Jon. Basically, the answer to every question about Wicked is Jon Chu. Don’t you think?

AG: Yeah, I do. I think we were very spoiled to have done this with him. It felt like a teeny, little secret student thing—its intimacy. It felt so small and private until all of a sudden, we were outside, and the Daily Mail was hand gliding over our set—oh, he should play the pterodactyl in your film. 

JB: I think he’s actually hovering over right now.

AG: Can you explain what this was, please? 

JB: It was a man on a massive kite, floating around with his legs hanging down.

AG: I couldn’t believe my eyes. Well, firstly because I don’t have the best eyes. But secondly, because there’s no way. There’s no way! I was like, ah, guy on a hand glider.

JB: With a GoPro. With a GoPro on his toes.

AG: With a GoPro on his toes. Was your experience filming Wicked at all what you expected it to be?

JB: There were certain elements of it that I was incredibly impressed by and I think that is because of the love and care of Mark Platt and Jon Chu. Obviously we’ve grown up loving theater and musical theater, I always felt attached to that wonderment. I think my expectation might have been that somehow in the making of something, you lose that. But we were on those incredible sets. 

AG: Oh my gosh. Best in the world.

JB: I think I was in Wicked fan survival mode for the last 18 months. I’m starting to really get excited about it.

AG: It takes a certain amount of time to grieve something like that. I mean you’re already in Thailand and a whole different person, but it’s interesting how it takes a while and then it hits you.

Source

[jadelotusflower]

Rewatch: Return to Oz (1985)

I've been on a bit of an Oz kick recently, revisiting the original Baum books and of course anticipating Wicked coming out later this year (which I'm managing expectations for to avoid disappointment).

Return to Oz was a staple (and nightmare fuel) for many a millennial childhood, at the tail end of the "dark fantasy" era popularised by The Neverending Story and The Dark Crystal, the antithesis of the Technicolour, musical world of MGM's The Wizard of Oz - a dystopian future that reflects the fracturing of Dorothy's mind and her inability to reconcile the trauma of her previous Kansas-Oz journey.

Return lives in a sort of mirror world to the 1939 film, taking elements such as the ruby slippers (for which Disney had to pay MGM a hefty fee), but returning to the original illustrations for the character designs, and drawing inspiration from Baum's novels but not explicitly adapting them. It also returns Dorothy to a child rather than Garland's quasi-teenager, which is important as I feel Baum (an advocate of women's suffrage) had a keen interest in the empowerment of girls as the heroes of their own stories.

To evoke that other turn of the century fantasy classic, Dorothy is to early modern American folklore as Alice is to English, and if The Wizard of Oz is Wonderland, Return to Oz is Through the Looking Glass. In fact Return relies heavily on the mirror motif, not only literally, in the mirror that entraps Ozma, but Ozma herself as a mirror to Dorothy. Return also takes the Kansas/Oz dichotomy from the film in reflecting people Dorothy knows in Kansas to characters of Oz (a concept not found in the books), but while in Wizard it’s Dorothy’s trio of friends that are personified in the Scarecrow, Tinman, and Cowardly Lion, in Return it is her trio of antagonists from Kansas who appear in Oz - the Dr Worley/The Nome King, Nurse Wilson/Mombi, and the Orderly/Wheeler.

Her Oz friends in Return are instead pulled from inanimate objects - Ozma gives her a pumpkin that personifies in Jack Pumpkinhead, Tik-Tok resembles the "Electrical Therapy" machine with the face, and the gump...well, I guess they forgot about that one.

But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Fairuza Balk was just 11 but has a compelling screen presence - her Dorothy is troubled and serious, befitting the overall darker tone of the film. While she would go on to embody "witchy" energy in later roles, here there's a world-weariness yet innate strength to her Dorothy.

Aunt Em helpfully tells us it's been six months since the tornado and Dorothy can't sleep. Her body may be back in Kansas, but her mind remains in Oz.

The film doesn't really pick a lane between the "it was all a dream" of the 1939 film and the "Oz is an actual place" of the books, leaving it for the viewer to decide. We are told the old house was "lost" but that can suit either interpretation, same with the OZ key being either delivered by shooting star or the key to the old house (as Em posits). Dorothy's inability to sleep is either unresolved trauma from the tornado, or longing to return to her friends in Oz and/or sensing that there is trouble in Oz.

I'm much more sympathetic to Em as an adult - she has a husband unable or unwilling to finish building the new house, Dorothy won't stop rabbiting on about nonsense rather than helping with chores, and she has to borrow money from her sister to pay for medical treatment to try and cure Dorothy's insomnia.

Justice for Aunt Em! Played with grace by three-time Oscar nominee Piper Laurie (for The Hustler, Carrie, and Children of a Lesser God respectively).

Poor Toto doesn't get to come on this adventure, but hey, he's still around, guess Mrs Gulch didn't make good on her threat to have him destroyed (or she died in the tornado, which is probably likely given the Witch's fate).

Just a guy patronizing a child that the machine intended to surge electricity through her brain is perfectly safe because it has a face.

But there is a face in the machine - Ozma, stuck in the glass.

Nicol Williamson is our villain, with a fantastic voice. Mostly known for theatre and Shakespeare, you may remember him as Merlin from that other dark fantasy classic Excalibur, or as Little John from Robin and Marian.

Jean Marsh is our witch, complete with black gown and pointed sleeves - to continue our fantasy bingo she was Queen Bavmorda in Willow (which I've actually never seen) and Rose in the original Upstairs Downstairs (which I've never seen either). She'll always be creepy Mombi to me.

We see Ozma in the glass again before she appears in Dorothy's room, ethereal barefoot child gifting her a carved pumpkin because "it's Halloween soon". Okay, whatever you have to do to get there.

On that note, the screenplay was written by Gill Dennis (who would go on to co-write Walk the Line) and Walter Murch, who also directed. Murch was film school friends with George Lucas, and they wrote THX-1138 together - Lucas has a "special thanks" credit on this film. Murch worked steadily in sound design and editing (nominated for 10 Oscars with 4 wins), but after Return was a box office failure he never directed another film, which is a real shame.

Dorothy "combs" the pumpkins hair, which I find very charming.

The growing tension of Dorothy's isolation, being strapped to the gurney, the squeaking wheels, the far-off screaming: this is a horror film for children.

My sister and I used to re-create Ozma and Dorothy's escape on our grandmother's porch all the time.

Because we’re in a mirror, the streaming river of Kansas becomes the deadly desert of Oz - water, of course, also being a mirror and common pathway/doorway between worlds.

Billina the hen also appears, because Dorothy needs an animal companion, who can now talk because she is in Oz. The question is whether Toto could also talk, as all animals can in Oz, and simply chose not to (iirc in the books he didn't because he could "make himself understood" without words or something). The chicken puppetry is really quite good, I'll always prefer puppets/animatronics over cgi.

The voice of Billina is provided by Denise Bryer, who was the "junk lady" in Labyrinth (have we got that bingo yet?).

Another reflection - the packed lunch that was taken from Dorothy at the sanitarium in Kansas is returned to her in the form of a lunch pail tree in Oz, which leans towards the reading that Oz is a projection of Dorothy's mind as a way to cope and resolve/repair the traumas of her Kansas life.

Dorothy comes across her old house that is seemingly not in Munchkinland, the broken remains of the yellow brick road nearby. How much time has passed in Oz? Since everyone was turned to stone it could be hundreds of years and we're in a Narnia situation - at least long enough for a forest to grow where there once was a munchkin town square.

Glinda is conspicuous by her absence - probably because the plot couldn't happen if she was around.

Also absent are any stone munchkins which has very dark implications - the Emerald City still has ruins and stone inhabitants, but Munchkinland has been completely obliterated.

lol, Dorothy runs to the Emerald City in literally minutes, a journey that previously took half a film.

Sleep well, kids!

If we go with the interpretation that Oz is a manifestation of Dorothy's mind (maladaptive daydreaming?), it is interesting how she projects people and objects from her real life into her fantasy life - obviously her threats in the sanitarium become the villains, but the Electric Shock machine becomes Tik-Tok, her erstwhile protector. In this, she transforms a threat into an ally, and yet much is made that he isn't, and cannot be, "alive."

Many of the elements of this film - Billina, the Wheelers, Tik-Tok, the Nome King, and the princess with a hundred heads - came from Ozma of Oz, while Ozma herself, Jack Pumpkinhead, and the witch Mombi (combined in this film with Princess Langwidere) originate in the earlier The Marvellous Land of Oz, with a different backstory.

Oh to be a wicked witch, playing a mandolin, in a gilded, mirrored palace.

I enjoy this costume! Reflective of the high structured sleeves of nurse but sharp to emphasise the danger Mombi poses, and with the same mechanical accents/coloiur scheme as the Wheelers

Those cabinets full of heads are still so creepy. The way they watch Dorothy - are they alive and aware the whole time? Horrifying.

Jack Pumpkinhead was voiced by a young Brian Henson (who also acted as puppeteer).

I always used to fast-forward the scene where Dorothy steals the key and gets chased by headless Mombi as a kid, it was just too tense.

I mean maybe this isn't scary to kids today, but it sure freaked the fuck out of me. Especially with all of those heads screaming in their cabinets.

But how exactly was zombie Mombi snoring without a head?

Interesting that the cabinet with Mombi's original head is the only one without transparent glass, but instead has a mirror. Her original head is also kept in cabinet 31, which was Dorothy's room in the sanitarium. As a kid I was always dead set that Oz was real and Dorothy really went there, but now I'm leaning more towards Oz as a manifestation, or at least a world directly influenced and constantly adapting based on Dorothy's experiences. Was she unable to sleep in Kansas because she knew Oz was in trouble, or was Oz in trouble because of her mental discord?

"If his brain's run down, how can he talk?" "It happens to people all the time Jack!" is a nice callback to "Some people without brains do an awful lot of talking don't they?"

In which we strain the metaphor.

But all these mirrors also serve a story purpose as well as a metaphorical one - the mirror world is where Mombi has trapped Ozma, so she can look on every surface and see her victory. The mirror is also a connection with the real world, and how Ozma can reach Dorothy and draw her back to Oz. Mirrors are reflections, but they are also doorways, as we see in this very scene as Ozma directs Dorothy to the right passage to get back up to the tower.

We also get another Dorothy/Ozma parallel, in which she becomes a surrogate mother to Jack in place of Ozma, his creator.

There's almost some social commentary in the Nome King's grievances: "All the previous stones in the world are made here in my underground dominions...so imagine how I feel when someone from the world above digs down and steals my treasures? All those emeralds in the Emerald City really belong to me. I was just taking back what was mine to begin with." But of course he didn't just take back the emeralds, he turned the populace to stone or into inanimate objects so that does undercut his point a bit.

Her descent visually recalls (deliberate or not) Alice's fall down the rabbit hole in Wonderland. The VFX are pretty rough though.

Dorothy points out that he has so much, implying perhaps he could share, and the Nome King retorts "that's not the point." It is the point in later books, where under Ozma's leadership the Emerald City is essentially a utopian communal living society.

She also points out that the Scarecrow didn't take the emeralds rather they were there when he was made king, but the film is uninterested in exploring the culpability around generational wealth and repatriation of cultural property.

But it's interesting how much the Oz story revolves around powerful objects and theft and/or appropriation of them. Glinda steals the Witch of the East's ruby slippers and gives them to Dorothy, who then steals the Witch of the West's broom to give to the Wizard, Mombi steals Ozma, someone stole the emeralds from the Nome King, who steals them back, Mombi steals heads, Dorothy steals the Powder of Life, etc etc

At this point the Nome King is merely a face in the stone, but when he comforts Dorothy he starts to takes a more humanoid rock form, with a hand to reach out to her.

Is his sympathy genuine or feigned? I'm going with the latter, since he manipulates her into playing the "guessing game" to try and get the Scarecrow back.

Worst production of Starlight Express ever.

When I was a kid I always wanted to try the limestone pie and hot silver drink, but now it looks super gross.

The Gump chose…poorly.

The Nome King making points again - Dorothy and co didn't ask what would happen if they got it wrong, even Tik-Tok only brings it up after the Gump has already gone in. But they press on in order of most expendable, Jack (with Billina hiding in his head) and then Tik-Tok.

As each get turned into ornaments, we see the Nome King become more and more humanised in his rock form - a nice subtle indication that his motives aren't purely spite and he gains power from turning living (or living-adjacent) things into inanimate objects, the opposite (mirror) of Dorothy's power in turning inanimate objects into living things in the journey from Kansas to Oz. If Dorothy had chosen wrong too, he says he would have become completely human - would he have been able to access the path to the human world? Was his goal to eliminate Oz, the fantasy world, in favour of the human world, much like Worley was obsessed with harnessing electricity and the "modern" world?

It's revealed that Chekhov's ruby slippers that Dorothy earlier told Dr Worley had fallen off on her way back to Kansas the first time were found by the Nome King, and their power enabled him to conquer the Emerald City.

It's unclear whether the rubies were first mined from the Nome King's caverns, but Dorothy really can't complain given the shoes were magicked off the feet of a dead woman and onto her own.

I'm actually surprised that they kept the ruby slippers in given the license fee they had to pay, since nothing really turns on their inclusion, other than the Nome King's offer to send her home with them, allowing Dorothy the choice between her own safety and the lives of her friends, of course the parallel to Worley offering the ECT to wipe her mind of Oz. I do like the callback, but it didn't need to be the ruby slippers rather than some other power the Nome King had.

Hee, the Nome King's little stone feet kicking out of his stone robe with the ruby slippers is so camp.

It is interesting through to think about the chain of events - Dorothy, eager to get back home, lets go of the ruby slippers, they fall into the Nome King's hands, he uses them to conquer Oz and install Mombi, who has imprisoned Ozma in the mirror (at some point long in the past). The fracturing of Oz influences Dorothy's mental state which drives her to Worley, where Ozma is able to contact her through the mirror world and bring her back to Oz, depose the Nome King/Mombi, and restore Ozma to her throne. It's quite neat writing.

There's an interesting green/red dichotomy - red seems to represent the witch's power, the ruby slippers that originally belonged to the Witch of the East, Mombi's ruby key, fire/red smoke being used by the Witch of the West, and even pink was the colour associated with Glinda in the 1939 film, while green represents Oz in the ornaments they turn into, the Emerald City, the Gump is green, etc. Both rubies and emeralds are present in the Nome King's costuming, perhaps indicating that the raw items did come from his dominions.

When Dorothy chooses correctly, the Nome King reverts to his claymation rock form, and the room turns red. I don't think it's explicitly green=good and red=bad (the Witch of the West had green screen after all), but both are associated with power.

I always used to fast forward this sequence as well. The Nomes coming out of the walls? *shudder*

The Nome King, felled by a classic egg poisoning.

Dorothy liberates the ruby slippers from another dead body, lol.

At the celebration in Oz, the costuming does lean heavily into either red or green - so maybe that was just standard complementary colour palette and I'm reading too much into things.

We get a nice long pan over the mirrored ceiling of the parade, just to really hit the point home.

Oh hey, the Wheelers are here too! All is forgiven I guess? Except Mombi, she gets to be paraded about in her cage by the woman whose heads she stole. Hey, at least she's able to smirk about her villainy.

Dorothy turns down queenship of Oz but wishes she "could be in both places at the same time" - the ruby slippers grant her wish and Ozma is released from the mirror.

Ozma's backstory: "Her father was king of Oz before the Wizard came. Ozma grew up as Mombi's slave, but when the Nome King promised Mombi thirty beautiful heads if she kept Ozma a secret, she enchanted her into the mirror." The first part is the much the same in the book, although there we get some interesting gender-bending stuff where Mombi transforms her into a boy name Tip and she doesn't discover her true nature until much later.

Dorothy gives Ozma the ruby slippers, combining the power of green and red (I'm just going with it now), therefore healing the kingdom of Oz from the discord first created when the Wizard arrived (in the book he was the one who gave baby Ozma to Mombi), and drawing Ozma's real world counterpart Dorothy to fix it by deposing the Wicked Witches and then the Nome King. But with Ozma returned, there is no need for Dorothy to remain in Oz, the two sides of herself are split and no longer warring inside her.

Billina however remains, to be Ozma's animal counterpart to Dorothy's Toto.

As a kid I coveted this gown, and I still kind of dig the headdress. Well, the OZ circlet anyway.

I also acted out the pulling Ozma from the mirror scene many times.

Although kind of a bitch move on Ozma's part to send Dorothy back before she could give her proper goodbyes. It's like, off you pop, thanks for freeing me but this is my kingdom now.

Dorothy wakes up beside the river (with a close up of a reflective pool of water/Dorothy's eye), and again, this could either be her actually returned by Ozma, or her simply waking from her delirium.

But the real world counterparts have met the same fate as their Oz reflections - Worley died in the fire and Wilson is carried off in a police cart.

Henry, after the shock of almost losing Dorothy, is motivated to finish building the house, and Dorothy is able to look back fondly at Oz through her reflection, but has learned to keep it a secret and not let it consume her life.

Her trauma is resolved, Oz is at peace; Dorothy and Ozma can live contentedly in parallel, with a connection between both worlds.

This is also a nice callback to the books, where Ozma would check in on Dorothy once a day through her magic mirror to see if she needed her assistance.

Maybe it's just my nostalgia goggles, but this film really holds up for me! Yes the effects are a little dated and it's on the darker side for kid's fare, but overall the story and acting is strong, there's meaty subtext around the importance - but necessary limits - of fantasy as escapism, it unequivocally centers girls/women as the heart of the story with their own agency and harnessing their own power. It's well worth the rewatch.

What do you think? Am I blinded by nostalgia? Reading way too much into a kids movie? Am I just rambling into the void here?

[healingwordswriter]

Why “Defying Gravity” from Wicked is a perfect song for Sun Wukong

Hello Lego Monkey fandom, this is really my first post ever as I often don’t post stuff but I really wanted to share this BECAUSE I love both musical theater, Wicked to be exact and Lego Monkey Kid of course. So this is an analysis on why I believe this song is perfect for Sun Wukong’s character.

Beware Spoilers for both Wicked the musical and the movie

Some context is necessary to explain why I find this correlation for those not familiar with Wicked. In the musical, “Defying Gravity” is the end of act one, and is one of the most important parts of the musical, not only for the story, but for the character of Elphaba as well. Elphaba the wicked witch of the west, had been discriminated her whole life for being different, for having a green skin which made her be isolated, so she often tried her best to win people’s approval her personal dream being meeting the wizard of Oz, hoping to get recognition and love by working with him. But after he falsely accuses her for a crime she did not commit, Elphaba realizes she can’t win love that way, that she doesn’t want to spend the rest of her life being walked over, so she openly defies the wizard, saying “he is the one who should be afraid of me” showing her true powers as a witch, saying proudly no wizard will ever bring her down. Of course, Oz from there on starts seeing her as a villain and a monster, but she is true to herself now and unafraid to defy the authority of the Wizard.

But now how this applies to Sun Wukong?

Despite having different contexts, Elphaba and Wukong share a very important trait with one another. That being, how both defied a high authority in their respective stories, defying everything everyone else knew. Being unafraid to act and make a change, having the enough confidence and bravery to say that no one would ever bring them down.

Sun Wukong is know in media as a character that is not afraid to challenge those who stand in his way, no matter how big they are, he doesn’t let anyone walk over him and is firm on his beliefs. Of course, in the past is true that he used to be selfish and impulsive before his journey to the west, but in LMK even before his journey, something he had clear like we have mentioned before, is that no one had the right to walk over him, less the emperor or heaven. No one had the right to tell him who he was or dictate his destiny just because he was a demon. So this rebellious side of him wasn’t only to cause chaos, this side of him also show us how since always, he was confident and genuine to who he was and his people in flower fruit mountain and most importantly, was loyal to his own beliefs and fought for said beliefs even if others considered him a monster or harbinger of destruction. Just like Elphaba. He will defy those who think he should be below them just because he is different, he will fight those who want to bring him down and he will be loyal to what he believes is worth fighting for.

Now with these clear we can see the lyrics, and how I interpret them is they were from Wukong’s POV specifically the last part:

So if you care to find me

Look to the western sky

Literally, he was in the western sky as he did a journey to the west, he was in the western sky traveling with his master and friends to get the scriptures. Literally you can hear west and think about him.

As someone told me lately

"Everyone deserves the chance to fly"

The monk always helped Wukong as a mentor and was the guidance he needed when he was out on control on his life, so I personally viewed this line as something his master told him, and he then used it as a philosophy to think everyone deserves to fly, to be free, to dictate their own destiny and life.

And if I'm flying solo

At least I'm flying free

To those who ground me

Take a message back from me

This, this is how Wukong starts to defy heaven, the emperor. He may be alone, but he is free, heaven more than once tried to have him tamed, to have him controlled, to ground him but he refuses this control. Even when they put the golden circle on him, he never stopped fighting for his independence and freedom.

Tell them how I am defying gravity

I'm flying high, defying gravity

And soon, I'll match them in renown

His legend to this day is still known, he started everything as he wanted the respected of heaven and in the end he showed them he wasn’t inferior to them, the name Sun Wukong is a name they will always remember.

And nobody in all of Oz

No wizard that there is or was

Is ever gonna bring me down

Just imagine it, Wukong in the sky, with his staff in hand, confident, strong showing his power, being imposing. Looking at everyone from his position, thinking about the choices he has done, reflecting on his life. And then he says it’s, how no one in all China, no Emperor that there is or was is ever gonna bring him down. He flies free, while the people in heaven scream in horror and anger, calling him names, seeing him as someone evil and cruel but Wukong is happy, finally free from heaven and those regrets that brought him down. He remembered how it feel like to fly and won’t forget it ever again.

And that’s pretty much the analysis, this song tbh could be applied to when Wukong first defied heaven with the brotherhood or if he is in a similar situation like in Black Myth Wukong in where he already did his journey but he is still fighting heaven for his freedom and independence.

Even so, in the end I believe Wukong and Elphaba share this free and brave spirit that defied the odds when no one else could. In the end I just did this analysis for fun and using Lego Monkey Kid Wukong mostly for this analysis, but hey it has never been a crime to mix to hobbies so.

To conclude all I can say it’s that I love these two pookies and to please go watch Wicked and LMK as the two are gems ✨

[agatharkn3ss]

Episodes Roundup

I needed something to occupy my time, while waiting for the next Agatha dose! So here are the writers credited for writing each of the episodes (mind you, it doesn't mean other writers weren't involved). You can recognise a few names as they also wrote some of Wandavision episodes.

While we can't know the plots yet, I've included the rumours/clues so far, it might help preparing yourself mentally as some of these writers are known for absolutely heart wrenching scenes. The episode fonts are likely clues as well.

Draw your own conclusions, but for me the biggest alarm is the fact that Jac Schaeffer co-wrote Agatha's finale with none other than Laura Donney - who wrote penultimate episode of Wandavision - you know, the one where we learn Agatha's background and where she takes Wanda on the emotional "Road", making her re-live the trauma and heartache. So yeah, be prepared for emotional rollercoaster of a finale!

Ep1. Seekest thou the Road - Jac Schaeffer (the show runner and producer, also wrote the first and last episodes of Wandavision)

Ep2. Circle sewn in fate/Unlock thy hidden gate - Laura Donney (wrote ep.8 of Wandavision - explaining both Agatha and Wanda's stories)

Ep3. Through many miles of tricks and trials - Cameron Squires (wrote ep.7 of Wandavision - the one where the stories are told through interviews with the characters and where we had the big Agatha reveal)

Ep.4 If I can't reach you, let my song teach you (fire trial, Alice-centred) - Giovanna Sarquis (not connected with Wandavision, wrote ep.5 of Griselda if that helps)

Ep.5 Title TBC (likely about the 80s pj party horror with ouija board and possessed Agatha, quite possibly Teen-centred so a trial for the Familiar? Judging by the poster maybe we also find out how Rio is involved - my money is on them being Billy and Lady Death) - Laura Monti (seems like she's a relatively new kid on the writers' block. But she was Jac's assistant on Wandavision and is famously credited for Vision's line "What is grief if not love preserving?")

One of the next three episodes (ep6?) is going to be about the Wizard of Oz, centred around Lilia's tarot trial (Air). Another episode (possibly no.7) is rumored to be Agatha's backstory - so the Spirit trial. And one episode (probably 8, judging from the font) will be Earth trial but seems to be focused on Jen - where they will be in this sterile looking room, like an operating theatre?

Ep.6 Title TBC - Jason Rostovsky (not seen any writing credits, but he was an assistant on quite a few horror movies - e.g. "Ouija: Origins of evil", "The Purge: Election year", "Insidious: Chapter 3". So I'm expecting the episode to be dark)

Ep.7 Title TBC - Cameron Squires (same as ep.3)

Ep.8 Title TBC - Peter Cameron (he wrote ep.5 &6 of Wandavision - the ones with boys growing up, fake Pietro and Halloween)

Ep. 9 Title TBC - Jac Schaeffer and Laura Donney (!!!)

[this is a repost since Tumblr suddenly decided they don't like me using images and won't share my posts in search. You will find this same post with episode images directly on my blog]

Edit: Tumblr has now red flagged my original post that had the episodes posters in it, so it's no longer available. No explanation as to why they would find official Disney+ promotional material so offensive.

[coraniaid]

I don’t think it’s particularly controversial to suggest that, if Buffy the Vampire Slayer were being made today – in the age of streaming and binge-watching, when even as many as twelve episodes in a single season seems like a luxury – neither Phases nor Bewitched, Bothered & Bewildered would ever have made it to the screen.  

To use a term I’m not sure Tumblr really approves of, they’re both very clearly filler episodes: moments of relative calm between the major events of Innocence and Passion. They don’t do much if anything to advance the main plot of the season, and they’re primarily focused on characters other than the star of the show.  Phases is about Willow and her relationship with Oz; Bewitched… Is about Xander and his relationship with Cordelia.

Actually, I think these are a type of episode that we haven’t really seen in Buffy before.  In Season 1, there wasn’t really any obvious season-long arc for the monster of the week episodes to distract from.  The Master didn’t have a concrete plan to escape the Hellmouth that we ever saw after the first two episodes, and between The Harvest and Prophecy Girl Buffy didn’t exactly do much to try to stop him.  Yes, the episodes of the season still fall into a fairly natural order and sometimes have long-term consequences – we meet the Anointed One in Never Kill A Boy On The First Date, say goodbye to Principal Flutie in The Pack, learn about Angel being a vampire in Angel, meet Jenny Calendar in I Robot, You Jane and Principal Snyder in The Puppet Show  – but there just isn’t the same divide between “arc episode” and “filler episode” that I think there is for the later seasons.

And that didn’t change immediately in Season 2, even with the introduction of Spike and Drusilla.  These characters, let’s not forget, were not really interested in Buffy except as an obstacle.  Spike was in Sunnydale looking for a cure for Drusilla.  It never seemed particularly strange to spend a few episodes focusing on something else.  It’s only now, in the second half of the season, that there’s a sense of urgency.  It’s only now – with Angelus out there and actively planning to hurt Buffy and her friends – that it starts to seem a little strange that the show isn’t carrying directly on with that part of the story.

Of course, neither of these episodes is entirely divorced from the events of the wider season. It’s not at all an original observation on my part to note that both episodes are, on a metaphorical level, very much about Buffy and Angel’s doomed relationship.  

In Phases, Oz is Angel: the show repeatedly makes a point of reminding us that he is older than Willow; Xander worries about the fact he is “attractive” (compare with his complaint in Teacher’s Pet that nobody had told him that Angel was “a very attractive man”); Oz’s peers can only think of one reason why he might be dating somebody younger than him: “she’s got to be putting out, or what’s the point?”.   

And that’s before we learn that Oz is cursed to transform into something monstrous, something that  “acts on pure instinct: no conscience, predatory and aggressive.”  A monster that, Buffy is told, her refusal to kill makes her uniquely responsible for: “if that thing out there harms anyone, it’s gonna be on your pretty little head.”  You don’t need to look very hard to find the subtext here.

Meanwhile, while Xander and Cordelia’s relationship in Bewitched… isn’t quite so obvious a parallel to Buffy and Angel, the spell Xander is responsible for casting has an impact that’s not totally dissimilar to the curse affecting Angel.  When Giles says “it’s not love, it’s obsession.  Selfish, banal obsession” he could just as easily be talking about the nature of Angelus’s new obsession with Buffy as he is about the actual plot of the episode.  “He would think of it as affection, I suppose.”

But other people have gone into all this in much more depth than I can, and I don’t really have anything new to say about that.

What’s more interesting to me is to realize that it’s not the only thing these two episodes have in common.  Not only are these episodes that I don’t think we saw in Season 1, in a sense they are episodes that we couldn’t have seen in Season 1. 

I’ve talked a bit before about how Season 2 has started fleshing out the world of Sunnydale a little bit more, with more minor recurring characters and callbacks to the events of previous episodes.  These minor characters and history are, in some sense, essential to the plot of both episodes.  Xander brings up his memories of being possessed by a hyena spirit in Phases while Oz stares curiously at the statue that imprisons Amy’s mother; Cordelia’s friend Harmony returns for the first time since Season 1 in Bewitched… and this is the first episode that really solidifies her group of friends. This is a show with a history now, and these episodes take place in that context. It helps a lot that we’ve met so many of the minor characters in these two episodes already.  It’s just a shame the show couldn’t have made Angelus’s victim of the week Theresa somebody we’d seen before.

And as well taking advantage of this existing world-building, both these episodes continue that trend: bringing back a character who’d only appeared in a single episode of the show before and making them recurring.  Phases brings back Larry Blaisdell, who’d previously only appeared in Halloween, while Bewitched… brings back Amy Madison, last seen almost a year ago in Season 1’s Witch.  But neither character is quite the person we thought they were.  In Phases we find out that Larry is gay – the first and, in fact, only man on the show to explicitly come out as gay (no, obviously Scott Hope doesn’t count, come on) – and in Bewitched we find out that Amy has (for reasons the show will never bother to explain) taken up her mother’s interest in witchcraft.

How consequential either of these things really are in the longer term is perhaps a matter for debate.  After Phases, Larry will appear in just three episodes of the show, all in Season 3, before being killed off in the season finale.  Amy will be a little more fortunate – she will also almost be killed in Season 3, and while she survives she will be almost written out of the show for some years, but she will at least be talked about quite a few times before finally being brought back for three episodes in Season 6 and one last episode in Season 7.

The show won’t forget that Larry’s gay – in fact it will quite literally be the second-to-last thing anybody ever says about him – but at the same time he’s out in a very limited way.  We never see any of the boys his grandmother is apparently setting him up with; nor do we see Larry show any sign of being attracted to any other man on the show.

Equally the show will never forget that Amy is a witch, but it will discard almost everything else about her.  The show reminded us about her mother in Phases, but has already forgotten about her father.  She uses her magic purely for selfish reasons here, but Season 3 will have her practicing “harmless” magic with Willow for other people’s benefit, while Season 6 will retcon her as a magical junkie.  Amy will go on to be mentioned in or appear in every single season of the show without the writers ever bothering to give her a consistent personality. 

(It’s a little odd too that, despite the show very firmly settling on the idea that being a witch is a metaphor for being a lesbian in its fourth and fifth seasons – and despite the fact that this episode introduces Amy by having her ask Willow if she’s planning to go to the school’s Valentine’s Dance – there’s never any suggestion that Amy might be gay.   In fact, Season 6’s Smashed tells us that she was planning to ask Larry out to the end of year Prom before she turned herself into a rat.  Perhaps he wasn’t quite as out as he told Xander he was?)

The longer term consequences of the main plots of these two episodes are also rather limited. Cordelia chooses to give up on her social standing because her friends are “sheep” (for which read: susceptible to magical mind control, I guess?) in order to date Xander (who might have spent the season insulting and belittling her, but did buy her one (1) nice gift) but this relationship will last for only a dozen further episodes.   And while Oz and Willow will stay together for much longer, the show won’t ever find anything interesting to do with the fact Oz is a werewolf until Season 4, when it uses it as a pretext for writing him out of the show.

So yes, these episodes aren’t just filler – they have something to say about the season arc, even if they don’t advance it directly, and they introduce real changes into the world of the show – but they are still somehow insubstantial.  I don’t think anything happens in either of them that really matters.  If you forget that Oz is a werewolf, or that Cordelia apparently thought Xander’s attempt to mind control her for “revenge” was romantic, you really won’t be missing much.

And in the interests of transparency, I should probably admit – if it wasn’t already obvious – that I simply don’t think either of them is very good.  Yes, on one level, I’m glad that the show’s writers had the space to make these sorts of episodes – episodes that explore characterisation and flesh out the world and don’t directly advance the plot – but the specific episodes that were actually made honestly kind of suck.  

Phases has its moments, but it’s decidedly uneven with at least as many misses as hits,  and overall I think it’s a pretty average episode at best.  The fact that Oz’s werewolf costume is terrible is balanced only by the knowledge it will somehow get worse.  And Bewitched… is, by some distance, the episode I’ve least enjoyed of all my current rewatch.  Even just trying to summarize the plot makes me feel a little sick.  I would genuinely think better of the show if this episode hadn’t ever made it to air. 

(So, yeah: for those following along, I think the worst episodes of the rewatch so far, by some distance, have been Teacher’s Pet, The Pack and now Bewitched, Bothered & Bewildered.  No need to point out the common theme or character-focus of these three episodes.

Going into this rewatch I really didn’t think of myself as somebody who hates Xander Harris.  He certainly isn’t my favorite character, but I think the show does ultimately find some pretty interesting and sympathetic things to do with him.  And I think the popular fandom idea that Xander is uniquely a ‘Whedon self-insert’ while all the other characters on Buffy are somehow not is pretty silly.  But quite a large part of my rewatch experience so far has involved having to remind myself, over and over, that Xander gets better.  Eventually.  Surely.

And … well, it must be true.  Because right now his character has nowhere to go but up.)

[bestworstcase]

the people who have all this empathy for jaune “i’ve been alone for so long!” but turn around and have absolutely none for salem who was alone for. orders of magnitude longer. they confuse me

misogyny is always a contributing factor to this sort of double standard, but also in this case it is absolutely driven by narrative framing and familiarity: we’re introduced to jaune as this sort of pathetically obnoxious loser who transforms into an all-around pretty decent guy once the machismo bullshit has been soundly knocked out of him and he settles down with his true strengths (caring about his friends a lot and quietly doing things that need doing), so his extreme out of pocket behavior in v9 is shocking. it’s not like him at all; it’s a side of him we’ve only seen glimmerings of before in his worst moments.

in contrast, salem is the villain and for the first five volumes of the story the only things we really know about her is that she’s a grimm-person who kills people and hates the huntsmen academies for the presumable reason of being a grimm—AND THEN the horrific tragedies that made her this way are presented to the audience through the very biased lens of ozpin’s perspective, with the result that her humanity in all this is elided because oz has spent the last few thousand years (not) coping by desperately trying to convince himself that salem is and always has been ontologically evil.

which is to say, the lost fable only humanizes her if you, as a viewer, are willing to set aside preconceived notions about her built up over the previous five volumes and question the narratorial voice telling you that she’s always been Horrible. this is not an accident—the whole narrative hinges on the obfuscation of salem’s humanity and the very gradual erosion of these stories told about her by other characters—the story is playing a long game, here. so there’s nothing especially shocking about the lost fable; to a viewer who isn’t interested in knowing why salem does these awful things, it only fills in details confirming that she’s Just a Bad Egg.

that’s also why—imo—6.4 is equally as crucial as 6.3, because the scene with hazel et al returning to evernight and everybody expecting salem to shoot the messenger only for her to pointedly not do that, and then make a point of sending everyone out of the room and struggling to restrain her anger when she actually does lose her temper, is surprising and is in contradiction with what we’ve been told, by qrow and ozpin and raven and jinn, to expect from her. so that’s how it is annotates the lost fable by subverting the expectation that salem is going to kill or maim someone in retribution for the loss at haven. surprise is a powerful narrative tool.

of course, that’s still much more subtle than the stark change in jaune’s character, so it too gets overlooked by… anyone who wasn’t already inclined to read between the lost fable’s lines.

[that-ari-blogger]

The Gospel Of Elphaba

In May 1900, the George M. Hill Company published The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz, a book written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow. That book captured the imagination of its audience enough to get sequels and one of the most dangerous film adaptations to make of all time.

The book was about good and evil, and featured a stereotypical medicine journey about a child trying to return home. It discussed personal growth and childhood fantasy and is generally a good book, even with the elements that haven't aged as well (again, it was published in 1900).

But then, in 1995, Gregory Maguire wrote Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, a fanfiction that takes a very different approach on the story. This book discusses the same themes, but from a different angle. Now things are complicated.

Enter Wicked, the musical, which dissects the themes even further, and uses its opening song, No One Mourns The Wicked to tear apart the idea of good and evil in the original book.

Let me explain.

SPOILERS AHEAD

I wasn't joking in the title of this post. No One Mourns The Wicked (NOMtW) and the musical as a whole do act as a gospel. Which is fascinating.

Now, I am not Christian, but I do have experience with the faith from a scholarly perspective and from growing up in a heavily Christian culture. As such, while I will treat the faith with the respect befitting any living religion, my perspective on it is that of an outsider looking in, so I cannot be considered a definitive source on Christianity.

The word "Gospel" comes from a few different sources, most notably "godspell" according to etymonline.com, which means "good spell" or "good message" or, if you really stretch the thesaurus, "good news."

The gospel of mark literally opens with "the beginning of the gospel of Jesus..." (English Standard Version) or "the beginning of the good news about Jesus..." (New International Version). So, the word is interchangeable.

And would you look at that, the opening words of NOMtW are:

"Good news, she's dead".

The song is deliberately drawing comparison between Elphaba and the Biblical Messiah, specifically with the defining act. Jesus' most famous act was his death, and the same is true for Elphaba. But both characters have more to their story than the surface level ideal, notably their perspective that people should be kind to each other, and that was why they were "killed". Also, neither of the two stay dead for very long.

But there is more to the similarity than just some neat little references, specifically in how they differ. And that might be contradictory, but it really isn't. Opposites are similar in how they relate specifically to each other. A thing can only be the opposite of something else, it can't be the opposite on its own.

NOMtW actively asks the question: "Was it actually good news?" Specifically in relation to Elphaba. Wicked is told from the perspective of Elphaba, and it frames her death as a tragedy. So NOMtW gives the audience the setup for that story.

"No one mourns the wicked!"

"No one cries they won't return!"

"No one lays a lily on their grave!"

Voiceplay has a phenomenal A cappella Medley for the Wicked musical that I highly recommend you check out.

These lines serve to build into the tragedy itself, they make you feel sad for the deceased person. But the anger with which they are said gives a different vibe. Suddenly, these become warnings, don't be wicked or else.

Fun fact: I was in a high school production of this musical, as a chorus member, and I was given the line about the lily. The director told to deliver the line as a threat to the audience, which reframes the meaning a bit, doesn't it? The chorus is telling you not to empathise with the Wicked Witch of the West.

And interestingly, that's who she is in this song. The name "Elphaba" isn't mentioned once. She is the Wicked Witch. That's who the audience thinks she is, and that's who the chorus thinks she is. The citizens of oz become the audience surrogates.

Glinda, the good witch, then begins to argue with the chorus. Her melodic voice contrasts with the spite of the Ozians, and that translates into her lyrics.

The conflict here is to confuse the audience, I think. It is to ask them who they think they should be agreeing with here. And when the chorus echos Glinda's words, they change them. Those last three lines become:

"And goodness knows,

the Wicked's lives are lonely.

Goodness knows,

The Wicked die alone.

It just shows when you're Wicked,

You're left only

On your own."

What is truth in this world? Can even that be trusted? That's what the musical as a whole seeks to answer, as well as what consequences that has on the real world.

"Nothing grows for the Wicked

They reap only

What they've sown"

"Are people born Wicked? Or do they have wickedness thrust upon them? After all, she had a father. She had a mother, as so many do"

I have put some of the above quote in bold, and that is because it is a fantastic question to ask in a story about good and evil. In the original book and subsequent film, the Wicked Witch of the West is evil because she does evil things. She tries to kill Dorothy on multiple occasions, so she is evil, right?

Here, Glinda asks a simple question: "Why did the witch do that?" And this part of the song becomes spoken instead of sung, to really emphasise the point.

But Glinda also tries to humanise Elphaba here, she had a mother and a father. This reminds me of another humanising moment, but not from the bible this time.

"Hath not a Jew eyes? hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions? ... If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? if you poison us, do we not die? And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?"

This is from Act 3 Scene 1 of William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, written in the 1590s. And it features Shylock, the outcast of the plot, appealing to a collection of people that he is in fact, just as human as them. He tries to convince them that the outsider is worth respect just as much as any other, and that his actions have motivations just as much as any other.

In that story, the appeal has no effect, and in Wicked, written 400 years later, I can't say it is any different.

The moment with the mysterious lover is important because it is yet another specific divergence from the biblical story. It turns out to be the Wizard, a man from another world, who comes to see the mother of the protagonist. But the divinity is removed, and that's a key element here. Elphaba isn't a one-to-one Jesus figure, she's had all of the intrinsic morality taken away and replaced with being green.

Elphaba is othered because of a physical alteration caused by elements she has no control over. She is outcast from even her family because of her appearance. I will talk in another post about what being green means in story, but for now, it is most certainly not heavenly, instead being linked with the garden of Eden with the snake and the apple.

That apple is a neat connection to the vial that the wizard offers Elphaba's mother, once again reframing the story. Now the Wizard gets aligned with the snake, making Elphaba the antichrist? This metaphor goes buck wild if you look too far into it.

Final Thoughts

I have a love for Wicked, to the point where it is one of those formative stories for me. The music is fun and as I grew up, I realised that I empathised with more characters than I was entirely comfortable with.

If this is the first of my posts you have read, I do analysis of storytelling. This will be a series on Wicked as a whole, specifically delving into the songs and what they say about the musical's themes. Next week, I will take a look at The Wizard And I, so stick around if that interests you.

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