#instead glinda is the one doing everything

[mastersofunlocking]

AND IF I SAID GELPHIE WHAT THEN HUH

[ryleektv]

Can you write something for Lorenzo Berkshire and have it be where he love it when you wear pink? Like it’s his favorite color on you! Like one day when y’all are in his or your room and y’all are making out and then he sees you wearing a pink bra and then he checks to see if it’s a set and it is! So then it just leads to smut! If you don’t want to write this I’d understand.

AHHHHH omg the fact that i got this the SAME day i dressed up in all pink to go watch wicked is INSANE (wicked is absolutely amazing btw) like full glinda coded eyeshadow and pink eyeliner and everything. also i am sick (AGAIN, ive quite literally been sick constantly for the past 3 months bc my immune system might as well not exist)

anyways i hope this is good enough pooks

Favorite Color

(on his favorite girl)

bf!lorenzo berkshire x f!reader

WARNINGS: smut, unprotected p in v, fingering, ummm biting?, whipped Lorenzo, not proofread, lowkey not Toxic!Lorenzo??? SUMMARY: Lorenzo's favorite color was famously red. But on you? Pink all the way.

WC: 1.4k

"Hey, princess- okay then." Lorenzo stopped in the doorway, his hands up as he dodged the shoe you threw in his direction. "Why're you so pissed off, hm?"

You groaned out incoherent swears at him before flopping over onto your back, leaving you bed sheets warm where you had been. "What do you want?"

"To spend time with my beautiful sweet girlfriend and find out who pissed in her tea?" He questioned as he took a careful step forward. "What can I do, honey?"

"I don't know." You mumbled with a heavy sigh. "Don't hate me, but I don't think I wanna do date night out tonight."

Lorenzo took another few steps before sitting down at the edge of the bed, his thumb delicately brushing your cheek.

"I'd never hate you. You sure you don't want to go out? I know you love getting all dressed up to show off."

You watched him carefully as his fingers traced over your t-shirt. You'd gotten half way ready, your hair and makeup done perfectly, before you realized that not only was your dress in need to be washed, but it was pouring out, and your picnic date was a complete waste.

Lorenzo, of course, was quick to call and ask if you wanted to just go get dinner at a restaurant instead, to which you agreed. But, none of your other clothes seemed good enough, and to make matters even worse, you found out last minute that you flunked on an important Potion's exam.

"I don't even have anything to wear," You complained quietly, resting your head on his thigh and tugging the blankets back up so you'd stay warm.

He looked over at the piles of clothes thrown everywhere, but like a smart man, didn't say anything.

"Can we just stay in tonight?"

"Of course,"

"That is not realistic, I mean, who the hell stabs someone like that? And- and blood doesn't just spurt our like that unless you hit an artery." Lorenzo tutted, still tracing circles on your shoulder with the tip of his index finger. "That's just not how it works."

You looked up at him with furrowed brows, your head rested on his chest as you watched the horror movie on the screen with your boyfriend. "Why the hell do you suddenly know so much about the logics of stabbing? Should I be concerned, Enzo?"

"No, I'm just saying. There's science behind this stuff, and if the were really that interested in spending what I assume to be millions on making this movie, you'd think they would at least put a little research into it."

"You're psychotic."

"It turns you on, though." He looked down at you as he wiggled his eyebrows jokingly.

You rolled your eyes with a smile and turned back to the television and watched as the killer proceeded to drag the protagonists dead body towards the woods.

"Deny it, maybe?"

You burst out laughing and looked up at Enzo who was watching you with a mixture of concern and amusement. "Oh, baby, I'm not denying shit."

Lorenzo's brown eyes stared down at you with a sparkle you could recognize from a mile away, his lips brushing up into a smirk.

"Enzo," You whispered, fully intending to spur him on.

His lips immediately crashed to yours, his hands tugging you closer as yours went to his hair.

You let out a soft sigh, eliciting a quiet groan from Lorenzo as he seemed to try to pull you impossibly closer to him. You could feel him already touching all over you, exploring every inch of your body as if it was his first time near a woman.

Still continuing your quickly escalating make-out session, he maneuvered the two of you so he was propped up over your body, his teeth nipping at you bottom lip before his tongue met yours in a familiar dance.

His hands came back to your hair, stroking over it as you pulled at him, both of you already breathing heavily into each other's mouths, gasping in each other's air as it got hotter.

And because Lorenzo would rather die than do it himself, you gently pushed him up so the two of you could breathe properly for a moment, his wild eyes staring down into yours as he gasped for breath, his lips swollen and wet as he grinned.

"Go lock the door," You murmured, four words that drove him mad, quickly scrambling off of you and practically running to the door as he fumbled with the buttons of his shirt.

If only he'd put as much effort into his school work as he did locking the door when you'd ask.

You sat up slightly, pulling the oversized t-shirt over your head to reveal the pink lace bra you'd planned to wear for your restaurant date.

Lorenzo shuddered out a breath as his eyes dropped to the bra, lips parted slightly as his eyes softened. "Fucking hell,"

His gaze hovered over your breasts before looking up at you with a questioning whisper, "Is it?"

"Why don't you come see for yourself?" You grabbed his belt loop with your middle finger, pulling him over to you before rejoining your lips with his as he climbed back over you, smiling into the kiss as you lifted your hips to help as he slowly pulled down your shorts.

You watched as his eyes darkened at the sight of your matching pink panties, Enzo's fingers rubbing slow circles on your clit over the fabric as you let out a soft sigh of relief.

"I don't think I tell you enough how beautiful you are." He mumbled against your lips as he slowly pushed the fabric of your panties to the side and easily pushed two fingers into you.

You let out a gasping moan, pulling on his hair as he curled his fingers hard inside of you, picking up the pace as flashes of heat grew all over your body in pulses.

"Enzo- shit- fuck me, please just-" You cut off with a whimper. "Just fuck me already." You practically pleaded as your eyes welled up with tears at the pleasure of his fingers curling perfectly inside you, his thumb starting up rough circles on your clit.

Lorenzo must have been like a dog in heat tonight, because he was clearly too desperate to make you beg, instead just undoing his belt and pulling off his pants and boxers faster than you'd ever seen him before.

His tip pressed against your entrance as he rested his forehead against yours, letting out a groan as he slipped in, your back arching at the perfect fit.

"Oh, fuck, Enzo," You breathed, arms wrapping over your shoulders as he started slowly thrusting in and out of you.

He buried his face into the crook of your neck, gently biting at your flesh as he sped up. "You feel so good, princess."

Your head tipped back as you felt his fingers speeding up as they circled your clit again, making the knot in your stomach form far faster than usual.

You pressed your hips back against his, meeting it time with his thrusts and pushing him deeper inside of you as you listened to his moans pressed into your skin, your own mouth agape as you whined at the sharp tug of your skin between his teeth.

"Oh, Gods, Enzo- Enzo, I'm so fucking close." You moaned into his hair, nails digging into his tensed back as you closed your eyes, legs shaking slightly.

"C'mon, I've got you." He pulled away from your neck, kissing the corner of your mouth. "I am too."

With one more thrust you tipped over the edge, vision going blank as you gave way to the waves of please, heat coursing through your body as if your blood was replaced with lava, chest heaving as tears slipped past your waterline, rolling down your cheeks before Lorenzo gently kissed them away.

You wrapped your legs tighter around Lorenzo as he was about to pull out, interrupting his panicked glance, "I'll get a vial." You breathed, with less than a second difference before he was finishing inside of you, the both of you moaning at the feeling.

Lorenzo flopped down on top of you, wrapping his arms around your waist as his face buried in your chest. "I love you,"

You brushed back his hair with the tips of your fingers, pressing a kiss to his forehead. "I love you, too, Enzo."

i kinda hate this too but thats okay bc i wrote it was 3am and thats excuse enough

requests are open as always and i promise i am in fact still working on a slytherin boys christmas im just severely behind

[the-clock-of-the-time-dragon]

Musings on how magic works in the Wicked musical/film(s):

So I've actually never really heard anyone explore in-depth how the powers work in Wicked, because I guess they're both simple AND mysterious enough that most people regard them as self-explanatory. But I think there's actually a lot of interesting things we might learn about the characters and world through observing how and when magic happens in Oz.

So with the Grimmerie, it seems to work by reading people's hearts and granting them an approximation of what they ask for. I've pointed out before how it's kind of a mirror version of what the Wizard does: people come asking for their "heart's desire", and both the Wizard and the Grimmerie want to grant that desire and make people happy. But whereas the Wizard must do this with charlatanry (and in the end, people always end up having to either go and get what they came for themselves, elsewhere, or they already had it all along), the Grimmerie can actually twist reality to give people some version of what they wanted (and didn't already have): but it always comes with some fucked up cost that makes them regret it. It plays into the overarching theme of "what is happiness? Is it getting your heart's desire? What will you give up to get it? Is it worth it?", etc. I think it could even be inferred that every character who ever comes into contact with the book — directly or indirectly — is in a way "cursed" to never obtain true happiness, only a mockery of what they'd imagined happiness to be. This extends to the Wizard, Glinda, Morrible, Elphaba, Nessa, and even Chistery. And the grander the desire, the graver the cost for getting it — Chistery is able to get away with physical pain for his dream of flying, but the human characters all have their dreams come true only in ways they are never able to actually enjoy. I think the reason Elphaba is the only one able to not only read the book but get away with using it repeatedly, is due to her own innate power.

Elphaba's power is very different from that of the Grimmerie. She seems to have the ability to just flat-out REJECT ACCEPTED REALITY. She defies the law of gravity; even TIME (essentially "remembering" things that have yet to happen). Every time we see her use her powers, she does so to STOP what is transpiring, or simply to say NO to what is before her. Making things fall up instead of down, recalling the future instead of the past, reading books that are illegible. It's in keeping with her overall character, being off, or backwards, or at odds with everything around her: crowds part as if repelled when she comes near; her first day of school she's already being told she's going to excel far beyond what any of the other students could ever hope to achieve. The idea of "I clash with everything" isn't just a joke about color coordination, it's quite literally how she interacts with the world, including on a metaphysical level. She distorts and repulses.

The reason she has such a different relationship to the Grimmerie than everyone else who's tried to use it, is precisely because she clashes with everything. More importantly: she rejects both the world as it is, AND the world as she wants it. She denies her own desires for the sake of what she considers more important. She knows that she can have all she ever wanted: but she can't. She won't. She chooses to go AGAINST heart's desire, REJECT happiness — to deny HERSELF. Something that, perhaps, only a child of both Oz and Kansas — of fantasy and reality — is able to do. She's so at odds with the fantasy world she's been born into, so committed to Truth — a world of objective non-fiction — that she actively says no to her own dreams, and can literally disrupt and challenge the basic laws and logics of the story that she's in. She can use the Grimmerie because she uses the same language: negation. You can't reverse the Grimmerie's spells because they ARE reversals — distortions of a twisted nature. But Elphaba can't want what she truly wants in her heart; she rejects it; it's already reversed. To the "what are you willing to give up to get what you want?" question, Elphaba is the only one in Oz who can honestly just reply "NO", and give up her heart's desire of her own accord.

Now, how Morrible's powers work seem to be a lot different from the others. Her abilities aren't derived directly from the Grimmerie (though we know she has at least studied it), and appear to be innate like Elphaba's, but they manifest very differently. But why weather?? I think it pertains to her innate nature. She's a manipulator whose temperament changes like the wind (warm with some and cold with others), capable of clouding the truth or making things clear as she pleases, and acts as if the world revolves around her like a cyclone. She has total control over her powers because her power is control. There might have been a time when her powers were more benign — she says her talent is "encouraging talent", so perhaps we could infer that her true powers are motivating/suggesting things, giving directions, and that whenever she developed into the truly wicked person she is now, that power darkened into coercion/manipulation. So she can direct a cloud to disperse, encourage a wind to blow, or persuade a crowd to become a raging tempest.

As for Glinda: the musical/film(s) kinda implies she doesn't have any powers?? At least not the innate kind that Elphaba and Morrible have. We haven't seen her use any spells (except a simple one that got cut way back in the pre-Broadway tryout run of the musical), her bubble is shown to be mechanical rather than magical, and she's obviously interested in learning sorcery but fails the only time we really see her try to use it, and she doesn't believe she can read the Grimmerie. So whatever magic Glinda possesses has to be developed, and given she has never really been encouraged to do so (whether in school or when she's Glinda the Good), she probably hasn't had much of a chance to become a real witch by the time the story wraps up (although it would be a fun inclusion if the second film shows her using a spell at some point). Also: since magic seems to be related to character's personal qualities or narrative themes, it's actually quite meaningful that Glinda (at the very least) struggles to use it — she's constantly questioning who she is, what she wants, etc., and so whether she possesses a natural power of her own or needs to develop it through training, we might infer that her magic is similarly "unsure" of what it's supposed to do.

Feel free to respond with any thoughts — I just find this aspect of the story really interesting and hopefully this all came together to at least mostly make sense, lol

[selffagellation]

Fiyeraba instead of gelphie not as comphet, but as a relationship between two POC who understand each other's struggles. Fiyero as a man of color who is repeatedly discriminated against, dehumanized, and constantly called an in-universe racial slur at every turn (he's a Vinkun prince, not Winkie. Hard to project labels onto fictional worlds, but that's at least gotta be a microagression). Glinda and Elphaba do have feelings for each other, but Glinda starts out seeing her as The Green Girl, a pet project she can doll up and show off to prove how good of a person she is. Yeah she grows and gets over it, but is that the life Elphaba wants? Is that how she wants to be seen? Or does she choose the other boy who's made fun of for his skin. The person who sees her as a girl who happens to be green. The guy who IMMEDIATELY understands her fight for equality for the Animals. The one who's resigned himself to being a stereotype, but with her help and encouragement, gives up EVERYTHING to help her as she helps the Animals. Yes Glinda did love Elphaba. But Elphaba didn't have to accept that love if it wasn't good enough. If it wasn't worth Glinda giving up her position of power to stand with her. I know the internet loves dunking on a bi woman who chooses a man, but this isn't just "the writers were too scared of lesbianism so they threw a random man in there to break it up." I just. Have feelings about Fiyeraba. It's far more nuanced than most people give it credit for, and I think that's a damn shame

[bunnysnuff]

Silent heart.

Pairing: Galinda Upland x reader.

Trigger warnings: Unrequited love.

Request.

The grand dining hall of Shiz University was filled with the usual hustle and bustle, the laughter and chatter of students, the clinking of silverware, and the steady hum of conversation. But for you, all that noise seemed to fade into the background. Your gaze was fixed on one person: Glinda Upland, the radiant sorceress who had stolen your heart without even trying.

She sat at the head of the table, surrounded by friends and admirers, effortlessly charming everyone around her with her sweet smile and kind words. You, as always, sat a little further off to the side, watching from afar. You’d never been able to bring yourself to tell her how you felt, not even after all this time. There was something about Glinda that made everything seem so impossible—her beauty, her kindness, her effortless confidence. You were certain she would never look at you the same way you looked at her.

But the universe had a strange way of working, and today, it seemed like it was pushing you into the very situation you feared the most.

“Y/N,” came Glinda’s voice, light and melodic, pulling you from your reverie. “Could you help me with something?”

You blinked, heart leaping into your throat. You hadn’t expected her to address you, let alone ask for your help. “Of course, Glinda,” you stammered, already regretting how flustered you sounded.

“I’m organizing a little event with some of the girls, and I need a second opinion on the seating arrangement,” she explained, flashing you a bright smile. “It’s not a big deal, but I know you have a knack for this sort of thing.”

You nodded, trying to stay composed despite the rush of emotions flooding your chest. “Sure, I’d be happy to help.”

Glinda led you to a nearby corner where the seating chart lay spread out on the table. As she gestured to the arrangement, your hand brushed hers, and a jolt of electricity shot through you. You quickly pulled your hand back, hoping she hadn’t noticed the way your pulse had quickened. She didn’t seem to, but you couldn’t shake the feeling that you were in way over your head.

“You have such a good eye for this,” she said, her voice full of admiration. “Honestly, I don’t know what I’d do without you. You’ve always been so reliable.”

Her praise made your heart swell. You wanted to tell her that you’d do anything for her, that you’d be there no matter what, but the words caught in your throat. Instead, you nodded, trying to hide the flush creeping up your neck.

“You’re too kind,” you murmured, carefully adjusting the names on the chart to Glinda’s specifications.

The two of you spent the next few minutes rearranging names, chatting casually about classes, the weather, and the latest gossip from campus. You tried to keep it together, but every time she smiled at you, every time her hand came near yours, you felt like you might implode from the weight of your unspoken feelings.

Suddenly, the door to the dining hall burst open, and a loud, brash voice called out, cutting through the air like a dagger.

“There you are, Glinda! I’ve been looking everywhere for you!”

Your heart sank as you turned to see Elphaba striding toward the table, a determined look on her face. Glinda’s eyes lit up as she saw her best friend, a look of warmth and affection that made your stomach twist painfully.

“Ah, Elphaba!” Glinda greeted, her voice full of genuine excitement. “I was just going over the seating chart with Y/N. Have you decided who you want to sit next to?”

Elphaba flashed a mischievous grin. “I’ve already got my eye on someone,” she teased, winking at Glinda. “But I don’t want to cause any drama, so I’ll just wait for the seating arrangement to surprise me.”

Glinda laughed, and for a moment, everything felt like it was frozen in time. You watched as Elphaba’s playful energy filled the room, and a pang of jealousy you hadn’t even realized was there shot through you.

It wasn’t that you disliked Elphaba—not at all. She was blunt, a little rough around the edges, but undeniably loyal to Glinda. It was just that, in this moment, you couldn’t help but feel like you were nothing more than a background player in Glinda’s story, while Elphaba was at the center of it all.

As if sensing your discomfort, Glinda turned to you, her expression softening. “Y/N, I’m so glad you’re here. You always know how to make everything easier.”

Her words, kind and sincere, were like a balm to your wounded heart, but they also made the ache deeper. How could you ever tell her how you really felt when she had no idea what she meant to you?

And that’s when it happened. It was so subtle that you almost didn’t catch it, but there was a flicker of something in Glinda’s eyes as she glanced from you to Elphaba and back again. A moment of uncertainty, perhaps, or maybe something more. It was gone before you could properly register it, but the thought lingered in your mind.

Was there something between them? Or was it just the easy closeness of long-time friends?

Before you could ask, Glinda turned back to you, a smile playing at the corners of her lips. “Hey, I was thinking…” She hesitated for just a moment, her eyes glimmering with something you couldn’t quite place. “I think Elphaba and I should set you up with someone.”

Your heart dropped. The words you had been so afraid of hearing had finally been spoken.

“Oh, no—” you started, but Glinda cut you off with a bright laugh.

“It’s not a big deal, I promise! You’re so lovely, Y/N, and you deserve someone as amazing as you. Elphaba and I know a few people, and—”

“No, Glinda, please—” Your voice came out much more desperate than you intended, and you quickly cleared your throat, trying to regain some composure. “I… I don’t need anyone set up for me. Really.”

Glinda blinked in surprise, clearly taken aback by your sudden outburst. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

You felt the heat rise to your cheeks. Of all the ways for this to go wrong…

“No, it’s just… I don’t want to be set up with anyone,” you muttered, your voice barely above a whisper. “I don’t think I’m… ready for that.”

Glinda’s eyes softened as she studied you. “I didn’t mean to push you, Y/N. I just want you to be happy. But if there’s something else you’re worried about, you know you can talk to me, right?”

Your heart skipped a beat. Talk to her? You wanted to tell her everything—how you loved her more than words could say, how every moment with her made your world feel brighter, how you would do anything to make her smile. But the words wouldn’t come. They never did.

Instead, you gave her a shaky smile. “Thanks, Glinda. I’ll be fine.”

She smiled back, but there was a look in her eyes that made your heart ache all over again.

Maybe, one day, you would find the courage to tell her. But for now, all you could do was watch her from afar, pretending that being near her was enough.

And perhaps, just maybe, it was.

[atalana]

so i saw the wicked movie!

honestly considerably better than i would have expected from the trailers, it was clearly made with love and i do recommend seeing it if you're a fan of the stage show

but if there's one thing i'm a bit sad about, it's glinda's wardrobe colours

like. the costuming in this movie is amazing! and i have no criticisms about the design of glinda's outfits, they're really good!

but they're all pink

and i care a lot about the thought that went into the costuming of wicked (particularly how important blue is as a colour here), so for those unfamiliar with her original outfits, lets go on a tour of them!

in chronological order for glinda, we start with the school uniform

notably not pink, but white. blue and white are shiz's colours, so she's not actually breaking any uniform rules (this will be important later), but she does want to stand out. this also contrasts elphaba's entirely blue uniform (all the other students wear stripes), and the fact that every other elphie outfit is black, because they are and always will be diametrically opposed

she keeps this one through a lot of the first act, until around popular, which is when we get her actually pink dress! and this is glinda actually being honest for the first time, so it makes sense this is the most accurate to her personality dress she gets (and i did love the extremely dramatic dressing gown she got in the movie here)

glinda in the emerald city gets a yellow dress and sunglasses! and honestly while there's not a lot of symbolism in this one it is strange seeing defying gravity not involve the yellow dress (and also i think it would have made that yellow brick road bit have more weight but you know)

now here's where i say that thing about the white will be important later. defying gravity is the act break and the timeskip. and now it's important to note - every single outfit glinda wears in act 2 is blue

and i think for her the blue represents the status quo. she was never an outright rebel in act 1, as we see with her uniform, but she did want to make her personality and choices known, she wanted to forge ahead with something. it's defying gravity where she definitively makes that choice to conform, to pick up that colour she originally had left behind, and to work for power within the system instead of defying the system (elphaba, notably, wears all blue while at school but from one short day onwards always wears black, because that's a status quo she no longer cares to hold up)

act 2 opening with thank goodness, she's a little older, she's got more power, she's a community leader, and her outfit reflects that, in the most business look glinda could possibly have and still look like glinda (i do love this one just from a design standpoint)

her wedding dress isn't just blue but also has a lot of green in it, which is fun on multiple levels (because green is the colour of the wizard, and what madame morrible wears after the reveal they're working together on this, but also was elphaba's from the start)

and her last outfit is also her first outfit, but i told these in order of glinda's life not the song order, because this is the pinnacle of who she's become. this is her dress right at the start before the flashback, and then for for good and finale

it's enormous, it's princessy, it mirrors the dress from the original wizard of oz movie, and it's blue. it's the combination of who she always has been and who she's decided to become. everything she always wanted to be, at the cost of everyone she cared about

and im so curious to see how the movie costuming goes for part 2

[uranusruby]

────────── · · · · ✦

││ GLINDA UPLAND

││ roommate and

││ soulmate

││

││ masterlist 1 ; how to request?

││ character.ai ; masterlist 2

││ 2056 words

││ SFW

││ fem!reader

│✧ ✧

Since she was a little girl, Glinda always acted like she didn't care much about her soulmate. She always said that she would just let destiny do its job, and she was sure that she would have a perfect soulmate, one that was really made for her. But in reality, she was really excited to finally meet her soulmate, thinking it would be a wonderful man.

Before a first day at Shiz, she was sure it would be there that she would meet her soulmate. She has been staring at her soulmate tattoo (which she was grateful it was just a cute, minimalistic heart and not a big tattoo like a snake on her arm) all night long. She would meet her soulmate there, she knew it.

But things didn't actually go like she thought, like she dreamed. Not only she didn't have the private room she was promised to have, her roommate seemed insufferable. And worst of all, her roommate was her soulmate. How would she possibly live with the fact that the person she was meant to be with was the girl who stole her room at Shiz? Well, only a part of the room. But still!

Sitting on her side of the room, she was looking at you from the corner of her eyes. She was acting like she didn't care about your presence, like the school books were keeping her busy. But you could see she was staring at you, and as soon as you would look at her back, she would act like she was studying.

It became a routine at this point for the past weeks. Yet, you two barely talked. The only time you were talking together was always to be bitter, giving each other sharp words. The concept that the two of you were soulmates was hard to grasp, or at least you were both not too happy to admit it.

Yet, sometimes, Glinda was thinking about it. Most of the time, it was at night when she was going to sleep. Because of that, she couldn't even sleep properly. Not only did you steal her private room, you were also stealing her needed hours of sleep. She might blame you if her skin wasn't so pretty anymore from lack of sleep.

It was making her feel dumb, as well. Why would she even use her relaxing time to think about what kind of relationship she could have with you? Out of all the people, thinking about you? No, it was really stupid. Maybe you were pretty, that's true. She could accept that some people would like to date you. She definitely would enjoy seeing people refusing to date you. Obviously because it would be funny to see you staying single, not because it would mean you're free and that she could be with you.

It made her let out a frustrated whine, which also made you look at her in surprise. She then looked at you as if the noise she just made was absolutely normal.

"Are you okay?" you eventually asked her.

"Of course, I'm just… really focused," she answered with a little shrug, looking back at her school book.

"Well… it sounded more like you don't understand something," you started, putting down your own book. "Do you perhaps need some help?"

Glinda looked at you again, not expecting something nice from you. Well, she didn't need to know that you were also not expecting this from yourself. And maybe that you also sometimes thinking a out the exact same things. You were on the same boat, but you didn't seem to want to admit it.

"Humph. I mean… if you want to…" she said, her eyebrows moving up just for a short second. "So I can see that you're not better," she quickly added.

You exchanged a gaze without saying a word. And at this moment, it felt like the silence meant everything. No words needed, no more movements needed. It was just a gaze. Somehow, neither Glinda nor you really wanted to accept that it was the feeling soulmates had when they accepted each other. It was way easier to just continue on the path of hating each other. Well, at this point it was more 'barely tolerable' instead of hating. But once again, it was way more easier to make it looks like hate.

So once she agreed in her own special way, you got up from your bed and walked to hers. She cleared her throat while you were sitting down with her. For a moment, there was a weird tension between the two of you, not quite knowing how to behave.

"So… History…" you whispered, looking down at her school book.

"Yes," she just answered, looking at you from the corner of her eyes in a disinterested way.

You looked at her again after taking the book, making her hum. Her eyelids fluttered, her chin going slightly up as she pointed at her book that you were holding.

"The work is here," she directed, her index finger swinging in the air when pointing at the book.

"Right…" you mumbled, your eyes back on the school book.

She shifted on the bed while you were reading to explain to her afterwards. From your peripheral vision, you could see her getting in a side saddle position, one hand on her legs and the other on her bed to hold her weight. It was almost unsettling to have her staring at you that way, as she seemed to expect a lot from you.

"There's a long way to go…" you added, your voice barely louder than a whisper.

"I've heard you," she calmly pointed out, looking over your shoulder to read the book.

At some point, she was close enough for you to be able to hear her breathing. A sigh escaped your lips, though it wasn't really meant to be an annoyed sigh. You just knew it would be troublesome to study with Glinda. Studying with your not so accepted yet soulmate was definitely make or break.

˖ ݁𖥔 ݁˖ ✩ ˖ ݁𖥔 ݁ ˖ ݁𖥔 ݁˖ ✩ ˖ ݁𖥔 ݁ ˖ ݁𖥔 ݁˖ ✩ ˖ ݁𖥔 ݁ ˖ ݁𖥔 ݁˖ ✩ ˖ ݁𖥔 ݁ ˖ ݁𖥔 ݁˖

In the end, maybe the studying session you two had was definitely a 'make'. It went so well that people were surprised to see Glinda laughing with you so easily. Maybe the laughs were a bit too easy. Some students of Shiz suspected Glinda to laugh even when you were just asking her how she was today. Not that you were innocent about it, because you definitely had the laugh very easy when it came to Glinda.

While the days, and even weeks, were passing by, Glinda was enjoying your presence more and more just like you were enjoying hers. Oh, you loved watching her giving you parades of new outfits. And her hair… so silky, it was always relaxing to brush her long blonde hair. Sometimes, she was even letting you style her hair. But really sometimes. As much as she liked you, she preferred styling her hair herself.

When you both arrived at Shiz, it was annoying for her to admit you were her soulmate. Maybe she was also a bit ashamed of her soulmate tattoo and was hiding it. But now, she doesn't seem to care about it anymore. She wasn't showing it to the world and screaming everywhere in Shiz that you were her soulmate, but she surely didn't mind if one of her outfits was partly revealing the heart tattoo on her cleavage.

Nobody seemed to understand you had with Glinda which was kind of making sense, because you didn't know either. Hatred wasn't the right word anymore, that's for sure. But then, what was the right word? Bestie? Pal? Sister? Lover? Maybe it was just easier to stick to 'soulmate'. But does a soulmate have to be your lover? That was the question reigning in your mind every time you were supposed to sleep. It looked like Glinda truly would never have peaceful nights of sleep, and neither will you.

Glinda let out a sigh as she threw herself onto her bed after the exciting night you spent at the ball. Her head turned at you, while you were also laying down on your bed. A smile formed on her lips when she noticed you were already looking at her. She didn't need to know you were actually admiring her, more than just checking how she was doing. The silence you created by just watching each other was relaxing. You were in your own world at this moment, in a little bubble you shared.

"Thank you for-" you said at the same time, making you both stop talking and instead smile and chuckle.

"I'll go first," you said without losing your smile. "Thank you for being patient and learning to know me," you added with a soft voice, making Glinda raise her eyebrows.

"Well… I wanted to thank you for giving me more space for my closets in the room, but… yours is nice as well," she commented, nodding her head.

You scoffed at her words, more in a teasing way than to actually despise her. She then jumped up from her bed, coming to yours in just a few swift steps. She sat on the edge of your bed, while you propped yourself up on your elbows. You could see on her face that she had an idea in her mind.

"I want to sleep with you," she blurted out, making you choke in your saliva.

"I'm sorry, what?" you asked her, looking a bit dumbfounded by her request.

"You heard me right," she confirmed, getting up.

Your eyes were opened a bit wider than usual while you were watching her taking off her heels, then taking off her dress in a not very graceful way. Your lips were parted, as you didn't know what to do, or even what to say. Was she really asking to get to such a step?

When you realised she was in her underwear, you looked everywhere on her body. What were you even supposed to do? I mean… it wasn't that embarrassing to admit your inexperienced stage, right? But what if she was laughing?

"Glinda…" you breathed out as she was already straddling your lap, while you were trying to find the right words to explain your lack of knowledge on that subject.

She just shushed you, her index finger on your lips. When she was sure you were quiet, she put her hand on both sides of your face. A smile formed on her face when she felt your hesitant hands on her soft thighs. She bent down to your face, her lips brushing yours. Your breath was mixing with Glinda's during the moment of silent agreement. And after a few seconds, Glinda softly kissed your lips in a slow kiss. It was nothing like making out, not as intense, it honestly was more like pecking. But it was really good for the both of you.

Experiencing kisses with your soulmate truly was the best thing ever. It was like butterflies flying by thousands in your stomach, while your chest was burning in happiness and maybe something more. But suddenly, Glinda pulled away. She kept her smile, before laying down next to you.

"Time to sleep!" she exclaimed, grabbing you like a koala.

"So that's… what you meant by sleeping with me…" you whispered, some part of you relieved that you didn't have to explain you weren't experienced in this. "I just have to get changed," you continued, gently making her moving away.

While you were undressing just like her, Glinda kept looking at you. She was admiring you in a way she's never done before. But it also was the first time she was seeing you that undressed, maybe it explains why she's never done this before. But she still enjoyed the moment of how gorgeous you looked.

When you came back to your bed, laying down under the bed sheets, she immediately slipped under the bed sheets as well to go back to the koala settings. She just wanted to cuddle with you, really.

"Good night, Glinda…" you told her softly, turning off the lamp on your bedside table.

"Good night, (Y/N)…" she told you back, her eyes already closed.

This night of sleeping together probably was the best night she had at Shiz. Or at least for now.

˖ ݁𖥔 ݁˖ ✩ ˖ ݁𖥔 ݁ ˖ ݁𖥔 ݁˖ ✩ ˖ ݁𖥔 ݁ ˖ ݁𖥔 ݁˖ ✩ ˖ ݁𖥔 ݁ ˖ ݁𖥔 ݁˖ ✩ ˖ ݁𖥔 ݁ ˖ ݁𖥔 ݁˖

Thanks for reading! Don't hesitate to tell me if I've made any mistakes such as spelling and grammar ᡣ𐭩

If you wish the story was different, you can click here to go to the c.ai version and make your own story ᡣ𐭩

[physalian]

Wicked (part 1) was a solid adaptation

Saw Wicked last night. Only seen the musical once and for a movie longer than both halves of the original combined, the extra added minutes aren’t wasted. I can't exactly praise a movie for storytelling when its legwork was done near beat-for-beat already in the musical, and in the original book, but if you haven't or won't see anything except this film: Yes, it has a very good story.

But I want to talk about what I think is the best example of a “maybe they weren’t so terrible after all” villain redemption retcon, of which Elphaba is kind of the poster child of this whole trend. Why she works, and why something like Cruella did not. Not specific to this version at all.

Quick synopsis: Wicked is an alternate telling of the events before The Wizard of Oz, the backstory of the Good Witch Glinda and the Wicked Witch of The West. It is not the story of how good triumphed over evil, how Elphaba devolved or perhaps was always mean and nasty and underdog Glinda saved the day.

Instead, it’s a deeply political (and whoo boy is it relevant today) smear campaign against the disenfranchised and the minority population of Oz—the talking animals. Elphaba is the underdog, an up-and-coming bright-eyed sorceress taken under the wing of her magic school’s legendary professor, with hopes to one day meet the Great Wizard of Oz. There she meets mean-girl Galinda and for about half a classic mean-girl storyline, the two are enemies. Galinda makes amends, the two become friends, and they go together to Oz to meet the Wizard…

Who is an even worse man behind the curtain than in the ‘39 movie, a charlatan and a fraud, who, when Elphaba refuses to let him abuse her magic to scapegoat the talking animal community, launches said smear campaign, turning Elphaba into a pariah. Galinda (now Glinda) stays behind as the events of Wizard of Oz play out, using her socio-political savviness to help Elphaba where she can. Oh, and the melting? Well, the Wizard isn’t the only master of illusions.

—

The ingredients are all there for a ridiculously base “girl boss” plot about this OP Mary Sue who just will not get taken seriously by the ugh “men” around her (and this is absolutely a feminist storyline screaming high notes from the rooftops) until she shows them all they’re idiots and fools and she’s amazing. The bullying classmates, Glinda’s narcissism, Elphaba’s unprecedented raw power with magic.

Except it has the one thing so many recent “girl boss” movies don’t: You like Elphaba and she’s not perfect, and, you like Glinda (eventually). She’s not arrogant and flawless. She’s introverted and can come off as rude and unfriendly but she just lacks foundational relationships to help her socialize, and in the face of the shallow dipshits at her school, she has every reason to be rude and unfriendly.

Glinda, too, is naïve, but not cruel, save for one moment where she immediately owns up to it once she realizes how badly she screwed up, risking the thing she cares about most—her reputation and popularity and likability—to help a girl who selflessly gave her the other thing she cares about most: The chance to also become a sorceress.

But most importantly: Elphaba is a victim, not the architect of so much of this story. Mary Sues do everything right without any effort, they don’t struggle, they don’t overcome any fears or prejudice or limitations. Elphaba isn’t the one loudly and proudly demanding an audience with the Wizard. She isn’t going around praising herself and her abilities. She has a lot of power, but never learned how to use it, and she doesn’t luck into her story, she’s explicitly, strategically manipulated into her role.

She'd be more of a Mary Sue if the Wizard's offer was genuine and he was actually a good person, then she really would have lucked her way into fortune by virtue of being inexplicably adept at magic. But she's not, and he's not.

The story manages to build her up without dragging everyone else down. Nor does she "turn evil" because the Wizard doesn't respect her for being green, or a woman, he doesn't give a shit, he just wants what she can do for him. She "turns evil" because they have deeply different philosophies and he's standing in her way and she has no other choice but to flee and become a fugitive. She chooses this, the Wizard doesn't kick her out.

But even before that, Elphaba does become popular, her shallow classmates do start to like her (disproving any notion about how the world will hate her no matter what she does, so fuck ‘em), Glinda does actually have a heart and she is smart, just in a very different school of thought from Elphaba. The influence of the Wizard is just so strong that of course they’re going to believe his lies.

It’s not a story about how “this villain was actually the victim of a Tragic Backstory and you should feel bad for them because it’s even sadder than the hero’s” it’s “this villain was actually the victim of a smear campaign, and the heroes are still heroes, but here’s the other side of who they were fighting”.

But it also works because of the story that it is. Ignoring the actual Oz books (and there are many of them): Precedent already exists in the ‘39 movie—the Wizard is already revealed to be a charlatan. Wicked doesn’t rip up the old script, tell you you’re wrong, and then plop in a whole new story that fucks the continuity. Nor does it ask you to change your mind about a villain who doesn’t really deserve redemption in the first place, like, say, one who skins puppies to wear their fur. Instead, it digs into the fissures that were already there and pulls up the rocks to reveal what’s underneath.

And, Elphaba knows she’s going to be seen as a villain, but she’s not happily engaging in “villainy”. She’s doing what she thinks is right, something the audience should agree with, and is choosing to become a pariah to get her way. She never becomes a “villain”, just the antagonist to the hero’s journey, and I don’t remember the ’39 movie perfectly, but “this little rat from another world dropped a house on my sister and is on her way to kill me, too” would make one justifiably upset.

But overall, it’s just a story with layers and nuance that’s sorely missing in its contemporaries, and, like I said, deeply political without strawmanning either side (wellllllllll...). And, it respects the source material.

I also don’t remember the first Maleficent that well, but I think that also did a good job? Back when the live-action remakes weren’t all hot garbage.

So. Yeah. You want to write a powerful female character very explicitly being a feminist icon (and the consequences that come with it)? Elphaba is the perfect example.

[princesssarisa]

Some “Little Women” thoughts – In defense of Meg’s marriage

@littlewomenpodcast, @thatscarletflycatcher, @joandfriedrich

Whether Little Women is a feminist book or an anti-feminist book will probably be debated forever.

Most of the debate seems to center around the character of Jo: whether she’s depressingly “tamed” in the end or matures in a healthy way, whether her marriage is anti-feminist or not, and whether or not it’s “anti-feminist” that in the end she’s a schoolmistress instead of a famous author. (Though of course she’ll eventually be a famous author in Jo’s Boys.) But similar debate surrounds the other March sisters too, for various reasons.

Not even Meg, the sister whom readers most often seem to overlook, is spared from these debates. Many feminist critics, such as (but not limited to) Samantha Ellis in her book How to Be a Heroine, have criticized the chapters depicting Meg and John Brooke’s married life in Part II. They label those chapters “depressing,” and they feel as if Meg and John are constantly at odds with each other and miserable. They argue that each of their marital conflicts ends with Meg learning to be a more submissive wife who placates and effaces herself for her husband. And they despise John, labeling him “selfish” and “disrespectful.”

Sometimes I wonder if I read the same book that they did.

It seems obvious to me that Meg and John’s marriage is a happy and healthy one: Alcott is just honest about the fact that even the happiest marriage includes conflict and requires work. Some of these critics seem to think fictional marriages only exist in two forms, “perfect” and “toxic,” with no in-betweens. Nor does John deserve half the negative commentary he gets, nor does Meg’s personal growth within her marriage consist of learning to be a submissive or self-effacing wife. On the contrary, much of her growth consists of her learning that she doesn’t need to be a “perfect” housewife and mother who gives and demands too much of herself, and their marriage becomes more of an equal partnership by the end, not less of one.

Let’s look in depth all three of Meg and John’s marital conflicts.

First there’s the jelly incident.

Here we see the first of a recurring theme: Meg is determined to be the perfect housewife and is "over-anxious to please.” She wants to do everything right and do it all by herself, because she’s afraid that otherwise, she'll be a failure. In terms of her personality type, I agree with @funkymbtifiction that Meg is an ESFJ. In the book, if not in all adaptations, Meg and Amy are both ESFJs: Amy is more of the sparkling “Glinda in Wicked” variety, while Meg, apart from her streak of vanity, is more of the down-to-earth, motherly, “Mrs. Potts in Beauty and the Beast” variety. But Meg in particular shows what @alittlebitofpersonality calls the ESFJ Type Angst. Her eagerness to manage her marriage and motherhood in the most pleasant, correct way (her strong Fe and Si) and her fear of possible failure (her weak Ne and Ti) give her, in A Little Bit of Personality’s words, a “frantic desire to do everything and get it done right now,” so she drives herself too hard.

She shouldn’t have promised John that he could bring home a dinner guest at any time; that’s unrealistic. Nor should she have tried to make jelly for the first time in her life using only the memory of watching Hannah make it; she should have invited Hannah over to help her. Nor should she have become so absorbed in making and re-making the jelly that she didn’t cook dinner; nor should she have let herself be so distraught about the failed jelly, or lost her temper with John and then run to her room, leaving him to improvise a bread-and-cheese dinner and entertain Mr. Scott alone.

John is also at fault and acknowledges it. He shouldn’t have forgotten that Meg was making jelly that day and brought home a guest without warning. He shouldn’t have laughed at Meg’s anguish over the failed jelly, nor should he have joked that he and Mr. Scott “won’t ask for jelly” with dinner. But let’s be fair to John. His laughter is probably just as much out of relief as out of amusement, because when he first comes home and finds Meg sobbing, he worries that something terrible has happened. Then, when he realizes no food has been cooked, he’s understandably annoyed because he’s come home from work tired and hungry, with a guest too, and Meg hasn’t done what she promised she would. But he doesn’t lose his temper; he stays calm and amiable and accepts a cold-cut meal; he just gives his annoyance a tiny vent with his joking barb about the jelly. Then Meg overreacts in response.

In the hours afterwards, he and Meg are still polite to each other, just a bit distant, each sorry but waiting for the other to apologize first. Then, when Meg finally breaks the ice, they both apologize (not just Meg – in fact only John verbally apologizes, Meg just does it with a kiss), everything is fine again, and from then on they both laugh about the incident.

Maybe by modern standards, it is problematic that Marmee has urged Meg to be careful not to make John angry and to always apologize first when they’re both at fault. But it’s not because John has “a volcanic temper,” as Samantha Ellis inexplicably claimed– he so clearly doesn’t! Nor is Marmee’s message “Men are less forgiving than women so we need to placate them.” She’s not talking about “men,” but about John the individual, and she’s not urging Meg to placate him either. All she means is that John’s anger doesn’t flare up and die quickly like the March women’s, but simmers much longer because he represses it.

Then there’s the silk incident.

Say what you will about vanity-shaming and other gendered implications (which of course are valid), but Meg didn’t need an expensive silk dress, and she shouldn’t have ordered it without telling John. It’s not that a wife should ask her husband’s permission to spend money; it’s that no one, regardless of gender, should do anything behind their spouse’s back that they’re ashamed to admit. And again, John doesn’t get angry. He accepts the expense without complaining. He’s just hurt; he works so hard to provide for Meg, and the fact that what he provides isn’t good enough for her, that she says “I’m tired of being poor,” makes him feel inadequate. Yet he tries not to show his hurt and is willing to let Meg have the dress. He cancels his own order for a new overcoat so they can afford it; he’s willing to sacrifice something he needs for something Meg wants but doesn’t need. When Meg sells the silk and buys the overcoat for John instead, she’s only repaying his selflessness in kind.

Finally, we reach the chapter “On the Shelf.”

I’ve read several feminist articles that criticize this chapter and especially John’s behavior in it. But I don’t agree with any of them. John isn’t being selfish the way Meg briefly thinks he is; he’s not jealous of her attention to the twins. By all appearances, Meg genuinely neglects him and overwhelms herself too, because she devotes every waking moment to her two toddlers and thinks no one can properly take care of them but herself. Again she’s trying to be superhuman because she’s afraid of failure. She doesn’t let John be a parent to his own children, or take any time to relax either, and she spoils the twins and makes things harder for herself by giving in to their tantrums. I understand why some feminists are rankled when John starts spending his evenings elsewhere, Meg feels ignored, and Marmee tells her it’s her own fault for forgetting ‘her duty to her husband.” But even if that wording isn’t ideal by modern standards, it's arguably true. To blame John for “not bothering” to help take care of the twins and “forcing” Meg to do it all alone, as some of these critics do, is just the opposite of what the chapter means to convey.

And again, John doesn’t get angry or complain. Nor, unlike what some of these critics seem to think, does he cheat on Meg, either physically or emotionally. He just goes to visit the Scotts rather than feel lonely and useless at home (where Samantha Ellis got the idea that he goes to “what sounds like a dodgy establishment” is beyond me; it’s a friend’s house), and just because Meg worries that his eye is roving to pretty Mrs. Scott doesn’t mean it is.

Arguably, this chapter has a very feminist message about egalitarian marriage and co-parenting. Instead of doing all the work alone and sacrificing her own wellbeing, Meg learns to share her parenting duties with John, and to let Hannah babysit often so they can have much-needed time to themselves too. She also starts to converse with John about politics, so he doesn’t constantly feel the need to seek out a male friend to discuss them, and he returns the favor by conversing with her about domestic subjects too. Traditional gender divides are relaxed. By the end of the chapter, their marriage is more balanced and equal than ever.

I’ve also read complaints about John’s co-parenting. The fact that Meg is portrayed as too soft-hearted, spoiling rowdy Demi and needing John to discipline him. The fact that John and therefore Alcott advocates the potentially traumatic “cry it out” method of sleep training. The fact that John insists on handling Demi’s tantrum in his own way despite Meg’s objections and Meg reluctantly gives in, with references to John’s “masterful tone” and Meg’s “docility.” The possible sexist implication that John knows how to parent better than Meg does.

But I don’t think Alcott meant to imply that John is a better parent than Meg or meant us to see him as lording over her. Even though he won’t let her give in to Demi’s demands, what finally stops Demi’s tantrum is a kiss from Meg after he’s been allowed to cry for a few minutes. They solve the problem together by combining John’s discipline with Meg’s tenderness. Then John shows tenderness of his own by lying down on the bed and holding Demi as he falls asleep, so it’s not a straightforward “cry it out” that he (or Alcott) advocates for sleep training, but something closer to the Ferber Method.

Of course there is an old-fashioned, traditional aura to Meg and John’s marriage and to their roles in the house: Meg as homemaker and John as breadwinner, Meg as nurturer and John as disciplinarian to the twins, and her fondness for sitting in his lap. But of the four March sisters, Meg was always the most traditional young woman of her era. Her marriage dynamic might not be what Jo or even Amy would want, but it’s just right for Meg. And Alcott shows us that with the right effort, even a basically traditional marriage can be egalitarian and mutually healthy.

The one feminist complaint I might sympathize with is that all three of these episodes do revolve around Meg learning to be a better wife. In each instance, Meg is portrayed as being more at fault than John, and she’s the one who learns the chief lesson. But I don’t consider this a sexist choice either. The March sisters are the protagonists of Little Women. Their coming-of-age journeys and personal growth are the focal point. John is a supporting character, so it’s arguably only natural that the “married life” chapters focus more on Meg’s personal growth than on his.

These are the reasons why I personally enjoy the chapters revolving around Meg and John’s marriage, and why I don’t consider them problematic or “depressing.” They’re just a realistic portrayal of the struggles, mistakes, and conflicts that occasionally rise within a happy marriage, which are resolved in a healthy way when both partners put in the necessary work. I understand where the critics who dislike those chapters are coming from, but I can’t bring myself to agree.

[talas-first-lady]

So: Glinda and Oz things.

First of all, the first 3 trials were very brain, heart, courage. And this one was about Lilia going home in a way.

We also had the super obvious, very yellow road imagery that’s been there since Agatha’s trial ended.

But thinking about OG Glinda (because while I love the versions from various adaptations, the costuming was pretty clear about what the reference was): she’s the worst. Because all she does from the moment Dorothy lands in Oz is conceal vital info, put her in the line of danger, and provide only the most minimal help possible. Because she’s got no real power. She’s just a manipulator.

This fits really well with how Lilia sees herself: ineffective at anything real but good at putting on a show. It’s her whole business model (also Jen’s btw). She also knows from experience that just telling people what’s coming makes everything worse. So she withholds some really important info from the Dorothy of this story: Billy. She could potentially have saved William if she’d told him what she actually saw (because he very much seems like a believer), but instead she let him go off to his death with no warning. And she kind of put the bright red, sparkly shoes on him by giving him the sigil, which unintentionally drew the attention of a whole lot of witches.

But I think Agatha and Jen are also Glindas in this sense. They perform power without having any. They’ve caused a lot of harm by withholding information or actively misleading others. Agatha especially, but that’s also what Jen had been doing before the show started.

But they’re all more than original movie Glinda. They’re capable of becoming the other versions of her from other stories. Lilia already did.

[thegaissilent]

for @wickedlywonderful

For a prison, this is weirdly comfortable. The room containing a very soft bed where Glinda has had her head against a pillow, crying for at least an hour. Her head is reeling with how much it hurts and her entire body shakes. Her nose feels runny and she probably looks disgusting right now.

What just happened?! She's still trying to make sense of it all. That was supposed to be their perfect day where she and Elphaba would be able to spend their entire day having fun and just being girls. Walking hand in hand and keeping each other company. And then they would meet the Wizard and he would let Elphie know how powerful and needed she was! That was how things were supposed to go!

But instead, they found out that he had been behind all of the oppression that Animals had been suffering. And that, of course, was something Elphaba could never accept. It was not her nature.

Should Glinda have climbed on that broom with her? She can't help but to keep wondering. But it was a decision to be made too quick, too sudden. And she is not impulsive like Elphaba. Everything she's done most of her life has always been calculated, strategized. It's how she learned to live in society, especially coming from a society where she isn't in the highest position in the social class back in Gillikin. Still, with how much she's been strategizing, playing perfect ever since she was about four years old, there isn't much room for improv.

And she wonders, if this is where she's supposed to be. Alone in some forgotten room in the Emerald Palace, while Elphaba is Lurline knows where flying off.

Wanted as an Enemy of the State.

Elphie, who held her hand the entire day as they had their walk.

Elphie, who followed through her promise and didn't choose to leave her behind.

Elphie, who--

She places a hand on her own lips and breathes deeply, the memory of the short kiss they exchanged before she jumped still leaving a phantom sensation behind. Her words still echoing inside her mind.

Hold out, my sweet. Hold out, if you can.

And she couldn't do even that, apparently. All she's done so far is cry. And as much as she tries to come up with something else, anything, nothing comes to her mind. Glinda played shallow, dumb, stupid her entire life. But only because that would make her life much easier. People expected her to be cute, pretty, to give them smiles and nice words. But she knows that she is smart. Smart enough to get into Shiz.

Still, for the first time in her entire life, she feels truly stupid.

She sits up and picks up the pillow, hugging it close, trying to find some sort of comfort in that object that doesn't even have the decency to be a plushie or anything with a face. She misses the horse plushie she had growing up, the one she left behind in Gillikin when she went to Shiz. (And that she would still miss).

She misses anything that would resemble affection. Home.

Would she ever have one again?

[theromanticscrooge]

Drawing Parallels Between Glinda and Elphaba With Elodie and Enid

As of writing this, I haven't checked out the Wicked book series or the theatrical movie yet. This is making reference to just the stage musical.

The core of Wicked is the meaningful but tragic friendship between Glinda and Elphaba. Glinda is an overachiever; the prettiest, the most popular, and the girl who usually gets everything she wants. She feels lost when she's not just handed the position for Wizard's apprentice. The same headmaster dresses her down in public: her abilities are weak and she'd never live up to the qualities needed for the role. While Glinda benefits from pretty privilege and natural charisma, she's seen as just her looks and nothing more. She works to maintain her image and social standing, but she doesn't know if someone legitimately likes her for her or only likes her at surface level. The headmaster's harsh comments slice to the core of Glinda's character: She wants to be acknowledged and understood on a deeper level. She wants to know that she's capable and hardworking; that she can live up to more than just her shallow image. That she's worthy of all the love and adoration she receives.

In stark contrast, Elphaba has been looked down on and belittled by everyone in her life because of her green skin. She's underestimated, feels invisible, inferior; she has to work harder than others for any ounce of recognition and still feels undeserving despite earning something or having a genuine connection with someone else, romantic or otherwise. As a whole, Wicked explores the consequences behind the fever pitch of a fascistic regime in Oz. Elphaba herself can be read as an allegory for queer people, ex-Mormons, people of color experiencing racism, or anyone that feels "othered" by an existing system with a very specific vision for the what the ideal person is and model behavior.

Rising tensions lead to anthropomorphic or 'speaking' animals like Dr. Dilimund being stripped of their rights and autonomy in full view of a grossly apathetic public. Dilimund and his colleagues are forcibly removed from teaching positions, careers, and having any presence in society because they are literally seen as less than human, let alone sapient beings. The metaphors aren't subtle. Its blatant, it's powerful, and it works. In a nutshell, Dilimund is a scapegoat and the hanging guillotine of the question 'Who's next?' His fate acts as a counterbalance to Elphaba's budding friendship with Glinda. For a moment, Elphaba still believes there's a place for her in the existing system because of her newfound talent/affinity for magic that grants her prestige and social power she's never held before.

These feelings are further validated when Glinda, the peak of social desirability, also shows genuine interest in befriending her. Her belief in society at large is completely demolished after she discovers the truth about The Wizard. Ultimately, The Wizard is viewed as a benevolent, generous, and larger than life figure that makes dreams come true. He's the guiding light for a more 'utopian' society and because of how powerful he is as an icon, his role and influence in politics is easily separated from draconian policies and political unrest. Elphaba is convinced that all she has to do is ask and he'll fix the problems facing citizens like Dilimund.

Instead, the Wizard really is just smoke and mirrors. He only wants her as a means to sustain his role as a powerful leader and maintain the current status quo. Where Elphaba leaves society completely and becomes a covert, one-woman resistance movement, Glinda stays and becomes the polished PR figure and go-between for the Wizard's machinations. She's grossly conflicted and manages to hide that she knows something about Elphaba after Elphaba escapes. It also takes her longer to pinpoint what about society is broken. She hasn't been burned in the same openly bigoted way Elphaba has. Glinda has benefited heavily from the existing social system. As someone that not just believed in but benefited from it, she takes longer to disentangle herself from her broken worldview and an increasingly corrupted system. Despite obvious proof to the contrary, she believes that the system can be fixed from within. If she makes compromises, she can keep the status quo as well as create a comfortable space for Elphaba if only she'd return; she can have her cake and eat it too.

Fiyero serves as an interesting complement to Glinda's and Elphaba's respective character stories. When he starts dating Glinda, he's a reflection of how shallow and ignorant Glinda starts out. The two are content 'dancing through life' with little thought or consideration for the existing history of Oz or self-improvement. Fiyero's cavalier attituderesults in him getting kicked out of schools. He can skate by on looks and reputation alone; he's more likely to get second chances just because of who he is. Besides the headmaster's opinion of her, Glinda has mostly skated by on her looks and reputation. Fiyero is more a boost to her status and general morale because of how pretty they look together.

When Fiyero plays off of Elphaba, it both shows the surprisingly sweet, considerate side of his character as well as emphasizes how earnest, compassionate, and selfless Elphaba is. Fiyero's breakup with Glinda is messy and brusque, but his developing romance with Elphaba reflects Elphaba finally coming into her own and showing stronger confidence and conviction. She takes something for herself after years of ignoring her wants, needs, and self in the endless quest to avoid making others uncomfortable. Fiyero himself grows beyond his surface level image. He falls in love with Elphaba as he works on better understanding her situation and a desire to help push against a corrupt system.

In a nutshell, Glinda is a figure of someone struggling to understand her privilege, how that same privilege made her more of an idea than an individual person, and the further problems with the system that gave her said privilege. Elphaba is a tragic figure that desperately wanted to fit into a system, kept getting rejected, and was so betrayed by said system that she started defying it both out of self-preservation and sheer necessity.

Glinda and Elphaba became friends despite coming from very different worlds. Elphaba was the first person to see through Glinda's glamour and show honest support towards and encouragement for her goals as an individual rather than just as an image. She finds the strength to kick out the Wizard as well as start rebuilding Oz because of Elphaba's influence. Despite their circumstances, Glinda was the first person that loved Elphaba unconditionally. Because of Glinda, Elphaba finds the strength to love herself and become who she wants to be despite pressure from society at large to be something else. The tragedy is that despite Glinda rooting out the more corrupt leaders in the Emerald City, the propaganda against Elphaba was effective enough that Oz will never be safe again. While Wicked takes place in a fantastical setting, the story has very real depictions of the consequences and aftermath of a culture that's deeply steeped in a mix of colonialism and fascism.

There's some echo of Glinda and Elphaba between Enid and Elodie from O.K. K.O. Both aspire to enroll at POINT Prep to become strong heroes. Though where Glinda comes from a privileged background and easily gets everything she wants, both Enid and Elodie come from Lakewood. It's illustrated more through visual cues and dialogue but Lakewood is equated to low-income communities and small towns. There's limited opportunities here. There's some fear of getting stuck and stagnating. POINT Prep is a window to hopefully bigger and better opportunities elsewhere. Enid is on a similar wavelength to her colleague Sparko: POINT Prep is a means to an end. She doesn't have a specific vision or hope for her future. What she does know is she doesn't want her background to define who she is and what she's capable of. This is similar to Elphaba not giving immediate consideration to the potential of becoming the Wizard's apprentice. She enthusiastically embraces the opportunity in the hopes that she'll finally be accepted by others and have some chance at normalcy.

In stark contrast, Elodie has a very specific goal and vision for her future. She grew up watching the heroic feats of Chip Damage and aspires to become a beacon of hope and role model like he was for her. Dr. Grayman sets the stage for what the hero landscape looked like after Laserblast's death and the public losing faith in POINT. As far as regular civilians knew, POINT was a chaotic and disorganized mess. They couldn't be trusted with the health and safety of POINT members, let alone the public en masse. Chip Damage was an attempt at a rebrand. He became a living icon; the image of what the ideal hero looked like. He inspired hope. He encouraged the upcoming generation to follow in his footsteps and become heroes themselves.

Chip's example led to Elodie looking at POINT Prep as the penultimate segue from amateur to the next greatest hero the world had ever seen. POINT Prep was a means for Enid. POINT Prep was a destination for Elodie. Becoming the Wizard's apprentice was the next logical step for Glinda in her journey as a beloved, appreciated, and glamorous social figure. Becoming her unique take on Chip Damage was Elodie's entire life goal.

Elodie and Enid's friendship starts with Elodie showing genuine appreciation for and interest in Enid's abilities. She's good at pretending she's more skilled and worldly than otherwise, but it's a mask. They have an earnest and sweet relationship; they gel in an organic way. This also illustrates the caring and considerate part of Elodie's personality. The pomp and dazzle of her image is a tool for reassuring people. Its not just presentation; its a staple in earning someone's trust more easily. Enid is probably the only person that's seen the 'real' and vulnerable side of Elodie before the later events of the POINT Prep arc and Dark Plaza.

Glinda and Elphaba start becoming close because Elphaba leverages her position as the most promising candidate for Wizard's apprentice to enroll Glinda in the training she wanted. There's a competition for a full-ride scholarship at POINT Prep. Enid and Elodie enter with the assumption there's a mutual understanding of and support for 'may the more skilled hero win.' Enid fully intends to keep their friendship regardless of the end result. She deeply values anyone that sees and loves her genuine self. While her parents are generally loving and supportive, they have criticized her desire to be a ninja so harshly that she hides her preferred outfit and weapons at home. She had an ambiguous amount of time where she was a witch full-time at school and home; holding onto dreams and stories until she switched to public school. The ability to explore her true self even just part time was enough that Enid felt hopeful enough to take a chance on both Elodie and Rad. Unfortunately, both Rad and Elodie hurt and betrayed her trust in a way that she closes back up for years after.

Enid wants to be recognized and accepted as her full self by her parents and friends alike. This is roughly comparable to Elphaba's struggle as the black sheep in the family and unwarranted reputation as a social pariah. All she wants is to be seen and recognized as a full human being despite her green skin. She generally poses as a wall flower and makes herself small to avoid any more commotion than she gets by just existing. Elphaba starts opening up and becoming her true self when someone finally recognizes and accepts her as a person despite her outer appearance.

In Enid's case, she starts learning to trust and be vulnerable around others again when Rad, her parents, and Elodie show real attempts to apologize and make amends. She also learns how much she started relying on snark and sarcasm as an extra defense mechanism. She anticipates others taking pot shots at her interests or who lies under her cool facade. If she strikes first, then they don't have the opportunity to hurt her. When she and Rad are on better speaking terms, he feels like he can call her out on this and ask her to course-correct.

Granted, Enid closed up as a result of getting hurt by two different people taking drastic measures to uphold and furnish very specific masks for themselves. Rad leans into toxic masculinity and tries to neg her on their first date. He's convinced that he looks cooler and far more desirable if he's an obnoxious jerk with big muscles. The hyper-masculine image keeps his friends. He's too insecure to openly acknowledge his more 'feminine' interests, let alone that he's a very emotional and sensitive person. Where Enid faced pressure at home to match her family's cultural background and traditions, Rad feels embarrassed by his parents and falls prey to general social pressure around gender roles in a patriarchal system. Rad starts connecting with and more easily talking to Enid when he opens up. He finally meets Enid's vulnerability years later and that's what makes their friendship work.

Elodie was placed in a situation where she felt like she had a very black and white choice between Enid and her ambition. Capitalism exists in this fantasy world. The POINT Prep competition stems from a system that heavily relies on creating scarcity and fostering tense competition between persons. There's only one spot at POINT Prep. Elodie is thoroughly convinced that she has to fight for that spot and, as a result, push others out of her way. Her personal role model Chip Damage is also depicted as the height of individualism and how powerful one person should be. POINT started as a team effort that relied on mutual trust and collaboration.

When POINT pivoted towards showcasing Chip Damage as their posterboy, shameless advertising and merchandising included, POINT became back-up or supporting players to one star player. The new model relies on Chip and Chip alone. He is POINT. This paints Elodie's world view: She has to be ready to shoulder the lion's share of challenges and obstacles that come with professional heroics. She can't be vulnerable or lower her guard. Rather than seeing her friendship with Enid as a strength, it becomes an obstacle. If Enid makes her feel vulnerable, it means Elodie has a direct, exploitable weakness. This mindset is the cornerstone of why Elodie sees Enid as a rival and treats her with passive aggressive hostility.

Elodie's struggle is further echoed by Foxtail. In Wicked, the Wizard starts as a well-meaning guide and starts reshaping Oz to his preferred vision and standards as he becomes more powerful and influential. He's a direct comparison to historical events like British colonizers coming to the United States and forcing the existing populace to conform to their culture, standards, and way of life. That said, O.K. K.O. explores a very different fascistic figure with Foxtail. After Laserblast dies and POINT starts scrambling, Foxtail installs herself as an immediate leader with designs on building an effective, uniform fighting team. Her recruits need to fit her specific idea of what a powerful, effective hero looks like.

Chip Damage is the template. Recruits have to be self-sufficient in a capitalist pull-yourself-up-by-the-bootstraps respect. They're expendable and replaceable in the vision of meeting a greater good. The Wizard shapes society with a mix of propaganda, soft power, and bringing in a violent authoritarian hand against anyone that challenges his societal designs. Foxtail steps in and directly confronts whatever she considers a direct threat or obstacle. Chip Damage is propaganda, but he's propaganda directed at an ideal for people to meet vs a specific figure people rely on. Chip entices new recruits to conform and enforce. The Wizard enforces complacency and dependency.

When Enid becomes disillusioned with POINT Prep, she has a support network back in Lakewood to return to. There's emphasis on how much stronger Enid is because of Rad, K.O., and in this systemMr. Gar. She can openly express her thoughts and concerns with K.O. and Rad. She's on even footing and standing with her mentor and teammates at the Bodega. Mr. Gar benefits from his students as much as they benefit from his experience and feedback. The key difference between Mr. Gar's more independent training and POINT Prep is his tailored, individualized approach with K.O., Rad, and Enid. Everyone receives equal attention and encouraged to learn at a rate or pace that fits them. POINT Prep has specific standards for students to meet. This is blatantly abused by Foxtail threatening failing grades when students don't meet her expectations or follow her orders. There's also Chip's exclusive classes for 'advanced' students. Only those few that meet Foxtail's vision for the ideal hero receive a special power-up that gives them a brief burst of extra power. This is triggered by the need to win or competition period.

Elodie is the highest achiever and the most popular student at POINT Prep. She's part of this exclusive group of students. While she does help Enid disarm and stop Chip Damage, it's equal parts in hopes to salvage their friendship and to rescue the integrity of POINT Prep as an institution. Similarly to Glinda staying next to the Wizard even after discovering the truth of the man behind the curtain, Elodie believes in the standing history and infrastructure behind POINT. She won her spot, but she's worked hard to further cultivate and maintain her position. She honestly believes that she can fix existing issues by sticking around and working within the existing system. Unplugging Chip Damage and pumping the brakes on secret society meetings was only the tip of the iceberg. Foxtail is still in charge. And while Chip acted as emcee at events or taught a few classes, Foxtail is the connective tissue between students like Elodie and their significant overall progress within POINT. Everyone, including Chip, were cogs carefully installed and set in motion according to Foxtail's machinations; only allowed to stay or get discarded by her final word. Elodie continues to follow Foxtail's orders, albeit begrudgingly, because in that moment, Foxtail is POINT.

POINT managed to capture the imagination of someone like Elodie. Chip Damage helped redeem public trust. He was key in painting a very idealistic vision of the POINT pipeline: get recruited, go to POINT Prep, become a successful hero. POINT is only as successful as someone believes they are. Foxtail lost faith in the previous way POINT operated. Though, she still believes that POINT can be a strong and powerful institution that just needs redirection. She seizes control and forces recruits to conform, comply, and enforce her will because she doesn't trust in anyone's abilities or intuition as an individual. Conversely, Elodie believes and trusts in POINT as an institution to the degree she overlooks her reservations and concerns. She sank so much of herself and her convictions into this system that it's difficult to question the possibility it isn't working. POINT holds her imagination hostage; her future, the potential of other heroes, and what the world looks like rely on POINT as a lens to look at and evaluate these things through.

Originally, Elodie follows through with Foxtail's extreme measures because she's more convinced by Foxtail and POINT than Enid and the Plaza at large. While she did join Enid to stop Chip, she also chose to remain at and stand by POINT after the fact. When Elphaba originally asks Glinda to run away with her, Glinda refuses because she sees, and even describes, Elphaba's behavior as 'delusions of grandeur.' Glinda understands how much more self-realized Elphaba becomes outside of Oz's restrictive system; but she doesn't understand the full picture of exactly how incompatible she is with what creates Oz's status quo, especially with the more 'radical' ideas she has. The disconnect is that either one would be sacrificing a large part of their personal values and sense of self to follow the other's lead. Glinda would have to completely reinvent herself; Elphaba would be compromising on things that are absolutely non-negotiable now.

Thankfully for Enid and Elodie, they aren't tragically incompatible. When Elodie sees the resistance force in "Dark Plaza," its a real, tangible example of what she was looking for and hoping to build at POINT. Enid and other Plaza residents show a group of very different individuals coming together and collaborating as an effective, multi-pronged team. There isn't one specific person in charge or strict uniforms. Its teamwork that echoes what POINT looked like before Chip Damage. Seeing a real-world effect that challenges Foxtail's POINT is enough to give Elodie that extra nudge to defy Foxtail. She was scared of a world without POINT; its a significant part of her moral compass and world perspective. Authoritarian POINT on par with villains and confidence in what support she could find with the Plaza is enough to push against Foxtail regardless.

Honestly, "Dark Plaza" is more of an introduction to what kinds of themes and social issues Wicked tackles. Foxtail is portrayed as a redeemable, sympathetic figure. POINT's corruption is effectively defused because Foxtail surrenders, presumably starts unpacking the grief and trauma that kick started her authoritarian campaign, and passed the reigns to Elodie as a kinder, more understanding, and effective leader. The hanging question after Elodie takes charge is how to address the existential hole that Chip Damage leaves behind.

Chip himself reveals that he was just smoke and mirrors; he chooses to tell the world that they can and will persist without such heavy reliance on a Superman. Overall, O.K. K.O. places emphasis on the importance of a strong support system, that its ok to ask for help, found family, and messages about the power of community. Killing Chip Damage is one of the bigger gut-punch scenes for this message. He's never a fully actualized character; he remains an image and an idea. Elodie and K.O. encourage the disgruntled crowd to love themselves. In effect, a strong community consists of people that love their neighbors as well as themselves. Your strengths are just as important to the bigger picture as someone else's shoulder to lean on.

Elodie plans to restructure and rework POINT, but Enid does not see a place for herself there. She's still figuring out what she wants to do next and the Plaza is a better fitting interim space for her values, approach to training, and otherwise. Head of POINT Prep is the best end result for Elodie period. So much of her character rests on her wanting to be a role model and encourage other upcoming heroes. Her current role is more direct and hands-on than just echoing Chip Damage could be. She had some hand in rehabilitating Foxtail, she already defies existing prejudices about Lakewood heroes as a former Lakewood resident herself, and has more say/input on how POINT Prep programs work. Given how much friendlier she is with Enid, Elodie could direct hero hopefuls towards the Bodega if POINT Prep isn't a good fit for their respective abilities and interests.

Glinda and Elphaba end on a very bittersweet note that they had a strong impact in each other's lives and love each other unconditionally but can never see the other again in large part due to forces outside of their control. Enid and Elodie repaired their friendship, but they have a very new, different dynamic. They aren't as close as before; they can't be quite as intimate as they once were but they have figured out how to agree to disagree on certain topics, respect each other's opinions, and actually value the other's insights or intuition on given topics. In a nutshell, it's interesting to look at these sets of characters, how they live in/navigate the societal systems they live in, and how that affects their respective relationships.

[aspoonofsugar]

Hi! Have you seen Wicked? Are you familiar with the play? If so, what do you think of Glinda's arc?

Hi!

Yes, I have watched the movie and know the plot of the play plus I love the soundtrack! Unluckily I could never watch the play, which is why I am very excited about the movie - Wicked is one of my favorite musicals ever and it is very very dear to me <3

Glinda is my favorite character and I absolutely love her arc!

So, I will discuss her arc by mixing the movie with what I know of the play. So, it might not be super accurate plus there will be spoilers for the second part of the story.

Glinda is the narrator of the story and is the one asking the main thematic question:

Glinda: Are people born wicked? Or do they have wickedness thrust upon them?

Why are people good and wicked? What does it even mean to be good or wicked?

This question is answered by Glinda and Elphaba's parallel journeys.

In particular, Elphaba is linked to "wickedness", as she is known as the "Wicked Witch of the West". Glinda is instead linked to "goodness", as she becomes "Glinda the Good".

To highlight this, Glinda herself appears in the story as the people of Oz are happily singing "good news". Not only that, but her first lyrics are a celebration of how goodness will always defeat evil:

Fellow Ozians Let us be glad Let us be grateful Let us rejoicify that goodness could subdue The wicked workings of you-know-who Isn't it nice to know That good will conquer evil? The truth we all believe'll by and by Outlive a lie For you and (I)

Her words here have a double meaning and introduce the secondary theme of the play:

Superficially Glinda is talking about Elphaba's death. The Wicked Witch of the West was a liar and evil, so she is eventually defeated and everything good and true comes out on top.

In truth, Glinda is talking about the Wizard and Madame Morrible who are defeated. However, their lies are still believed by Ozians and they might take some time to be forgotten. Still, Glinda will try to re-affirm what is truly good in Oz.

So, the secondary theme of Wicked is the difference between truth and lies, reality and appearance. Glinda is strongly linked to this idea, as her song Popular shows:

When I see depressing creatures With unprepossessing features I remind them on their own behalf to think of Celebrated heads of state Or especially great communicators Did they have brains or knowledge? Don't make me laugh They were (popular), right It's all about popular It's not about aptitude, it's the way you're viewed So it's very shrewd to be Very, very popular like me

You might be the best person in the world, but if others do not see you that way, you won't be able to influence people for the better.

So, how are the main theme (wicked/good) and the secondary one (truth/lies) explored in the story?

THE GOOD, THE WICKED AND THE POPULAR

Elphaba and Glinda are the two main characters of Wicked and they have complementary arcs. In particular:

Elphaba is steadfast when it comes to the main theme (wicked/good), whereas Glinda has a change arc

Glinda is steadfast when it comes to the secondary theme (popular), whereas Elphaba has a change arc

In short, Elphaba teaches Glinda the truth about goodness and wickedness, whereas Glinda teaches Elphaba the importance of "appearances" to reach your goal.

As a result, Elphaba ends her arc by making use of what people believe about her (her soul is so dirty that water will melt her) to reach her happy ending with Fyero. She finds a way to use her "unpopularity" to reach her personal goal.

Glinda instead ends her arc by finally growing into her mask of "good", a mask she has been cultivating since the very beginning.

BECOMING THE MASK

Glinda's arc can be summarized by the words "becoming the mask".

She starts out as a shallow girl, obsessed with popularity and who wants to be "good", but has no idea what being good means. She confuses "politeness" and "niceness" with "goodness".

However, as the story goes on, she slowly learns what being good truly means thanks to Elphaba:

Glinda: "Pink goes good with green!"

This line refers to Elphaba and Glinda's complementarity, but also to Glinda's arc specifically. Glinda (pink) becomes good thanks to Elphaba (green).

Not only that, but Glinda's story is full of "good deeds" that are really rooted in self-interest, but still end up becoming key to Glinda's eventual transformation in "Glinda The Good".

Her own friendship with Elphaba starts this way. Glinda is annoyed by Bock and convinces him to invite Nessa out instead. This small act has big repercussions. It tragically kickstarts Nessa and Bock's fucked up romance. It more positively kickstarts Elphaba and Glinda's friendship. Elphaba truly thinks Glinda's actions towards both herself (the hat) and Nessa come from genuine kindness. So, she insists that Glinda is given a chance to pursue magic. This in turns moves Glinda, who comes to the realization she has been a jerk to Elphaba and for the first time she truly uses her popularity to do something good. She convinces the other students Elphaba isn't a monster and helps her to integrate more. In short, Elphaba is the first to act "good", but she does so after misunderstanding Glinda's selfishness and callousness for actual "gooidness". You can say that for a second Elphaba too feel for Glinda's "popularity", which ironically leads to a positive outcome for everyone.

Well, this same dynamic can be found in Glinda's "political storyarc". She becomes "Glinda the Good" as a tool for the Wizard and Madame Morrible to use in their propaganda. They give Glinda's popularity a boost, so that they can stay in power. Not only that, but they are sure Glinda will never hold true influence, as she isn't good at magic. Still, as Glinda herself told Elphaba, there is power in becoming a symbol. Glinda ends up being in the perfect position to beat the Wizard and Morrible at their own game. She is so popular in Oz by the end that she has a real chance to truly change things for the better. A chance Elphaba is never given, despite being the true "good witch" of Oz and holding an incredible talent with magic.

Of course, Glinda struggles a lot and can't decide between what she wants (popularity and shallow love by all) and what she needs (goodness and true love by Elphaba and Fiyero). She even spirals at one point, when she gets upset Fiyero chooses Elphaba over her. She is so angry, she proposes to use Nessa to bait Elphaba, which results in Madame Morrible killing Nessa by bringing Dorothy to Oz. This moment is Glinda's wake up call and she is eventually able to choose "goodness" and her love for Elphaba over everything else. Still, it is too late and there is no way for Elphaba to go back living peacefully in Oz together with her friend. This is why Elphaba chooses a peaceful life with Fiyero and trusts Glinda to realize her most ambitious dreams of social change:

I'm limited Just look at me I'm limited, and just look at you You can do all I couldn't do, Glinda So now it's up to you For both of us Now it's up to you

So, Glinda isn't good, but appears good, which in turns gives her enough power to actually do good. This process is perfectly shown by her name:

Glinda > she takes this name after changing her original one; she goes from Galinda to Glinda as a way to honor Doctor Dillamond and the animals. It is an act of solidarity towards the Animals. Except this isn't really the case. She changes her name to impress Fiyero, as she feels he and Elphaba are bonding over their mutual empathy towards the Animals. And yet, Glinda sticks to her new name and she will hopefully make sure what happened to the animals won't happen ever again in Oz.

The Good > she gets this title after she chooses to stay loyal to a dictatorship and sells herself to it. It is a result of her not doing the most ethical choice, which would be to help Elphaba out. In short, the title is a fraud, both morally and practically, as Glinda can't do any magic and depends on Madame Morrible and the Wizard, which puts her completely under their control. Still, she eventually is able to turn the tides and truly grows "good", thanks to Elphaba's example and teachings.

WICKED: A STORY ABOUT BEING GOOD

Wicked starts as a story, which supposedly tries to explain how the Wicked Witch of the West came to be. This is the main focus of No One Mourns The Wicked, after all. Ozians ask Glinda why Elphaba became Wicked and how it is possible she was once friends with Glinda. This kickstarts the entirety of Glinda's flashback. Still, does the musical really answer this question?

It turns out that even at her lowest Elphaba never truly becomes the Wicked Witch of the West everyone describes her as. In the end, she is defeated, in the sense she gives up on trying to change society for the better and simply chooses her own personal happiness over that of the people, who dismissed her and treated her poorly. Still, it was not all for nothing:

Who can say if I've been changed for the better? I do believe I have been changed for the better And because I knew you Because I knew you, because I knew you I have been changed For good

After all, Elphaba did manage to impact one individual life: Glinda's. She failed to convey the truth and what it means to be good to all of Oz. Still, she succeeded with Glinda, who is now in a position of power and can hopefully change things.

In a sense, she taught Glinda:

To be brave (the lion)

That reality is deep and complex (the scarecrow)

To follow her heart (the tin man)

This is beautifully conveyed in the song "For Good", where the two girls reflect on how they have impacted each other's lives. They don't know if they have been changed for the better, but they believe so. Moreover, they both agree they have been changed for good. Here there is a double meaning:

For good means forever, which is the literal meaning

The word "good" is meaningful within the musical and it implies the two girls have helped each other understand what is truly good

This is true especially for Glinda, as the Finale shows.

Glinda: Who can say if I've been changed for the better? But Because I knew you Crowd: No one mourns the Wicked Glinda: Because I knew you Elphaba and Glinda: I have been changed Crowd: No one mourns the Wicked Wicked Wicked

The Finale is a reprise of No One Mourns the Wicked, but Glinda sings For Good. The final lines are especially telling because, as Glinda is about to end her part with "I have been changed for good", the crowd comes in covering her voice with "No one mourns the wicked". In particular, the word "wicked" ends up covering the word "good". The meaning is pretty clear, Glinda knows Elphaba is good, but the rest of Oz will never see her as such. However, this does not change Glinda knows the truth and will keep it in her heart, as a a light to guide her towards true "goodness".

In short, Wicked starts with a question about why people grow wicked and it ends with an answer about what it means to be truly good.

[loremaster]

GOOD NEWS!

wicked movie… good

ok first of all i gotta say… i shipped gelphie before i really understood People Can Be Gay And I Can Be One Of Those People. i saw the musical on stage and was like. huh…. these two girls should have ended up with each other instead of fiyero. they give me soft feelings. baby’s first yuris…..

i went in with low expectations of course because as we all know movie adaptations of musicals can be very hit or miss, and film adaptations of anything lately have been mostly garbage it seems. but thank GOD they delivered on this one (or at least the first half).

- Honestly out of everything my favorite part has GOT to be the set design. the village, the school, the city, the miniature city, the tower, the FUCKING ROTATING LIBRARY?!?!?!?! coolest shit ever. knocked it out of the fucking PARK.

- costume design was also phenomenal. love all the funny little outfits. the gowns, the shoes, THE shoes, the variation in the school uniforms, the glasses, the sheer amount of Pink Things in glinda’s wardrobe (and the choices of which scenes to wear which shades of pink? spot on)… i’d unironically wear that Froat. gorgeous needle felting. and of course all the funny outlandish costumes in the One Short Day scene were amazing, especially those bouncy men, and those twisty ribbony skirts…

- also speaking of student uniforms i LOVED seeing visibly queer people at shiz. that half-skirt-pants thing was iconic. loved every instance of gender nonconformity, no matter how small. i’d love to rewatch the movie just for that. of COURSE this colorful magical musical world is filled with people like us and thank GOD the director + cast + crew had the brains/heart/courage to display that on screen.

- special shoutout to jonathan bailey whom once again has baffled me with his ability to convincingly fall in love with women on screen… but this time he gets to be a little bi with it! he managed to seduce practically every single student in that school, even boq, hot damn

- loved boq’s little quirk of standing on things to make himself taller. and - can’t remember if this was in the stage version - the line about the hankerchiefs “i cry a lot.” all those little foreshadowing moments made me chuckle. “Get Stuffed.” can’t WAIT to see fiyero get stuffed in part 2 ;0

- side note, i heard they might be adding a new musical number to part 2?!?!? and if it were up to me… i’d love to see some fun scarecrow/tin man/cowardly lion three-part harmonies. they probably won’t do that though since it’d be hard to do so without making dorothy an Actual Character and i like that she’s a faceless plot device in this version of the wizard of oz story. time will tell

- i thought the whole thing was very well cast. even though there were some cases i wish they had gone with better vocalists… (michelle yeoh and jeff goldblum) their acting chops did definitely make up for it so i’m satisfied

- one little detail i really really loved is there’s this illustrated poster of the wizard you see in the background in several shots throughout the movie - and it looks like a bland generic white man… but once they reveal which actor is actually playing the wizard you realize in hindsight… hey it DOES kinda look like jeff goldblum. not super recognizably, but the facial proportions are there. they got his wide set eyes. whichever illustrator did that, you toed the line between accurate and vague soooooooo well. hats off to you

- the one thing that kinda irked me acting wise was ariana grande’s lack of facial animatedness…. i’ll begrudgingly accept it as a Character Choice since she rocked the vocals and the body language (and i know she worked her ass off for her dream role) but oh man. would have loved to see her wrinkle up her face a bit more. sigh.

- cynthia erivo fucking KILLED ITTTTTTT in all respects. i got nothing negative to say about her at all, mwah mwah mwah. she’s gorgeous and she has such a great voice and was such a good choice for the role.

- hair and makeup crew for elphaba killed it too, awesome wig, awesome nails, awesome shades of green in her skin (and the cute little freckles!!!!)…. beautiful. selfishly i thought she looked better with the glasses but that’s a Me Thing. i think everyone would look better with glasses

- staging and choreography was awesome. every number was great. they even managed to make everyone’s least favorite song A Sentimental Man entertaining! the power of cinema! and shadow puppets!

- loved the addition of the other animal characters to Something Bad. aging mustachioed snow leopard…. call me

- and fiyero’s banter with his horse… great way to show what kind of person he is right off the bat: snarky and playful but also got a kind heart and doesn’t look down on anyone.

- i had heard a negative comment (on xitter of all places, should have known) that they padded out the runtime with a bunch of stupid filler but honestly i didn’t think it was stupid. i guess it was frustrating from the point of view of someone who wanted to sing along to the songs as i know them from the obc soundtrack but, like. it made sense. the pacing felt good.

- of all the New Additions to the film (and besides the aforementioned badass rotating library) my favorite was probably glinda’s two besties. they probably had names idk. LOVED them. great comic relief without taking too much attention to themselves. looking forward to seeing them again in part 2…. and i love having no idea what’s going to happen to them. will they recede into the background? get mini character arcs? split apart or stay together? either way they’ve gotta stick around because they are so entertaining to see on screen.

- i can safely say i’m shipping gelphie again. they are very important to me. love this beautifully tragic doomed yuri.

- the little smiles… the gestures… the development of their relationship… the part when they’re laying in bed together looking at each other… AAUUUUGGGHHHHHH MY LITTLE GAY HEART CAN’T TAKE IT

-Do You Think They Explored Each Others’ Bodies Flushed Emoji

- ok but this time. im smart enough at media now. i recognize that fiyero is a Good Character and not just getting in the way of the girls. he can be part of this relationship too. in a perfect world the three of them could all get married together………… but this is not a perfect world

- god. what a great movie. i’m really eager to watch it again already. the level of detail and love that was put into this production is so, so, so clear. thanks to jon chu for recognizing this story is so important to so many people and transferring that onto the big screen with not only fidelity but creativity and passion. from the producer to the director to the cast and crew - especially the crew and ESPECIALLY the section of the crew specifically dedicated to covid management. everyone involved gave their all and, pun intended, i couldn’t be happier. thank goodness!

- oh wait never mind i forgot my least favorite part of the movie. the kristen chenoweth idina menzel cameo was stupid as hell. like they were funny and all but the meta humor was so out of place it took me out of the moment. if i were a kid watching this and i didn’t recognize those people i’d be confused. …they did have cool outfits though.

- ok. can’t wait for part 2. i will wait as long as i need to for it to be Good

[initiala]

Gonna yap about Wicked under the cut so, spoilers

Yes, I did see it with my mom but she doesn’t appreciate the fandom nitpicking I do, even if it’s a loving nitpick, so I can’t yell about this irl

So I’ve been saying this everywhere but I *love* that Ari was let off her leash and got to be the absolute theater kid menace she’s been since she was a child. Jon Chu deserves an Oscar for this movie in general, but especially for telling her “yeah go ahead and do whatever you want”. She was chewing that scenery like no tomorrow.

Iiiiiii wanna swiiiiiiiiing from the chandelierrrrrrrrrrr

Like honestly. And what makes it better is that yeah, this looks like vapid and shallow Galinda who doesn’t Get It, but she absolutely does. I know Glinda has been generally intelligent, if a bit sweet and naive, in other productions, but this was cunning and calculated. In so many of her close-ups, you see her eyes darting around and sizing up the situation and seeing what she needs to do in order to be at the center of the room. You get the verbal confirmations of this when she says, in disbelief and a bit impressed, that for the first time someone told her no. She’s an expert manipulator to get what she wants, and that’s part of what draws her to Elfie—Elfie doesn’t give a shit and doesn’t let her. It’s infuriating at first but then that’s what ultimately breaks the barrier between them—both of these girls care so deeply what everyone else thinks about them but handle it in such different ways. Elfie puts on her mask of indifference, Galinda does everything she can to make everyone think well of her no matter what.

Meanwhile Fieyro is intrigued by Elfie for the same reason—she’s also the first person to ever turn him down, but instead of loathing he’s like “well well well, how interesting”. She’s the first person to see exactly who he is, who he can’t hide from.

Cynthia does SUCH a good job of being stoic Elphaba, small smiles or micro expressions in her eyes to tell us what she’s really thinking. The only time she really breaks is to Nessa, but even with Nessa she can’t really be herself. I wish we got a little more time between “Popular” and “One Short Day” to actually let Elphaba and Galinda develop more as friends (the only real indication that time has passed is Elphaba’s braids are longer). Are we gonna get the wheat field scene where Galinda puts her head on Elfie’s shoulder in Part 2? Or was that just intended as a “well, other stuff happened” too.

But the CHOICES made with Cynthia!!! She had me with the first note of “The Wizard and I”. The RAINBOW SUNCATCHER CHANGING HER SKIN TONE!!!! The way she joyously ran through the fields and practically screamed her desires out towards the desert—perfection

Jumping around, I’m also so glad they had the girls marching up the staircase during the first part of “Defying Gravity” (we will hold space for the lyrics), because it’s absolutely a “walk and talk” kind of song and I needed that visual more than I care to admit. There’s some songs where you’re like “oh yeah if this wasn’t on a stage (or if they had the rotating stage like in Hamilton) they’d be walking to get to the big Belting Chorus Area”

I’m extremely curious how this interpretation will go during Part 2 in regards to Glinda’s magic. We know in the 1939 movie, yeah she makes the bubble and creates the snow and moves the slippers to Dorothy’s feet. But here we haven’t seen her make magic, and it’s kinda clearly implied the bubble transport is something created by the Wizard. Is she going to be able to develop rudimentary skills or is it going to be entirely smoke and mirror?

Look, I know Jeff Goldblum was a good choice for the Wizard. He is. He has his lil charming song with “Sentimental Man” and that’s all he needs, but he is also so extremely obviously Elphaba’s father in the beginning. They’re not just dropping foreshadowing, they’re waving big flags and holding a parade. You can’t un-Jeff Goldblum Jeff Goldblum, no matter how well you hide his face!! This is not the surprise we get at the end 😂

Jonathan Bailey. That’s it.

I wanna know more about Galinda’s toadies—did they know her from Upper Upland? She doesn’t seem to be a returning student, so how does everyone seem to know her ahead of time? I don’t remember how that went in the books, and they’re movie inventions.

OH SPEAKING OF THE BOOKS DANGIT okay so at the beginning. We pan out from the castle and see someone riding away fast on the bridge??? Dorothy’s group is already ahead on the yellow brick road. So who’s fleeing the castle on the bridge? My only thought so far has been Lir, but I have absolutely no idea exactly how much more they’ll be borrowing from the books to expand. If it follows the musical ending Elfie and Fieryo will run away together anyway.

[theha1rarch]

verse drops/descriptions for these verses & tag drops as well:

cobra kai - originally joined cobra kai when he was still in his asshole king steve era esp bc tommy & carol did as well & of course he always followed where they went. when he decides to change & better himself as a person & dump those assholes he joins miyagi-do & the rest is history this is very vague bc i know there's so much dramas between the dojos & everything & all that but i know very little so here's the basic basics - i hope that's good enough/works cobra kai people pls feel free to correct me -

tvdu - okay so i've actually decided to do a verse for each show since i legit couldn't figure out what exactly to do or how to connect him across all three so (to note so i don't have to repeat it both times, in both tvd & to, has been a vampire for at least 10 years at the point of the verse & was turned at 19) ...

tvd - moves to mystic falls about a year before the events of the show, decides to pull a stefan/cullen family & attends mystic high. it's also here he meets robin, the kids, etc, all that. then the events of the show start happening, he realizes he's not the only vampire/supernatural being in town & ends up mixed up in the many events that happen over the course of tvd in various ways & such

the originals - moves to new orleans as a new place to live/hide out so it doesn't get sus when he stays somewhere & doesn't age over the years. you know the vampire drill. somehow, some way or another ends up mixed with the shenanigans of the originals & their family & people brought into their circle ...

legacies - not long after he's turned by the vampire, gabriel - he hears of a school for young supernaturals & decides to check it out. despite being physically 19, he's able to attend especially when the school seems to be more helping these young people - rather than educating them. having a place to figure all this out & to go through it not alone is really nice & he ends up meeting some of his best & closest friends while attending it

oz - steve is from winkie country, had his asshole king steve era in hs but starts shiz the same time as our mcs & really views this as a way to have a fresh start & to be a whole new, better, person as he left king steve behind the year before he graduated hs but so many people still couldn't let that version of him go. so he starts shiz as a better person, never bullies elphie, in fact is friendly towards/her friend & majorly on her side throughout things. probably stands up for her. when everything goes down & she's made out to be the wicked witch he's extremely sus of it all, doesn't believe a word of anything & is the most sus of glinda ...

grey's anatomy - steve grows up in seattle instead of hawkins/whatever small town. still meets & knows all his people there. he doesn't necessarily experience the HorrorsTM or even the fandomless version of them, but he still experiences traumas bc of course he does - he's steve. & maybe a few of them end him up at seattle grace/grey-sloan & gets to know some of those just-as-traumatized surgeons ...

shameless - steve is a cousin of the gallaghers, on his dad's side - frank his some relative of his. but he grew up not really knowing that side of the family, his father refusing to acknowledge or associate with them ... until steve was 10 & came home one day to find his parents gone. gone completely, moved & out & away & having left steve behind. already living in (the upper/nicer part) of chicago, & knowing that 'good for nothing family' of his father's also lives there ... he decides to do some searching, ends up finding their address & after many taxis & subway rides ... arrives on the gallagher's door step. there's some debate about taking him, of course there is - it's another mouth to feed. but at the end of the day, he's family & if there's one thing gallaghers are known for, it's their loyalty to family. (plus the kid has such big sad eyes it'd be cruel to leave him behind). and it's not long before you'd never know there was a time where there was only six gallagher siblings ... (to be clear/for reference), steve is the middle kid - a year older than debbie)

seeing ghosts au - steve was able to see ghosts from the time he was young, always seeing them in places & knowing they were there ... haunting him. but whenever he tried to bring it up, his parents were quick to dismiss him, telling him it was all in his head. & no one else believed him (so he soon stopped telling anyone). but steve knew, steve knew he wasn't crazy. he knew they were real. especially when the girl who died after being taken from his pool wouldn't quit haunting his backyard. eventually ... eventually, he finds people who believe him & starts communicating with the dead more often

the hunger games - a boy from district 1 who volunteers as tribute when his young friend, dustin henderson, is reaped. only to be thrown into a world of chaos & pain & choice he doesn't know how he's going to make when his best friend, robin buckley, is also reaped. the games are hard, full of pain & when it comes down to making that tough choice ... well it really only comes down to one (stobin pulls an everlark, to be clear)