#madame wanda

[inposterumcumgaudio]

Your thoughts on Madame Wanda or the Thomasina House? If you haven't already ofc.

I've talked a bit about Thomasina House in the Class Structure post and there's a bonus theory I have about it in my post about Gemma Olsen. I might do a post about Thomasina House in particular in the future because there's more to say, but for now, I'll take you up on Madame Wanda and expand that a bit to the Reform Club as a whole.

Gonna disappoint right off, but I don't think anyone is actually having sex at the Reform Club. Sorry. All right, maybe some people do sometimes, like fucking at Studio 54. But that's not actually what the point of the place is.

It is described in the art book as a "punishment club". People go here to be punished for a misdeed they refuse to remember, but becuase they don't remember what they feel guilty for, there's no apparent reason they can't have some fun with it. That the developers have taken this concept and appended fetish play to it confuses the subject, but even then it still makes perfect sense. Fetishes aren't really about sex either so much as foundational (often childhood) memories later re-contextualized in adulthood. Dohoho.

And Madame Wanda is a matron overseeing the discipline of her naughty children.

I would really liked it if she were the Wanda Durbyfield from the "Diary of a Wayward Girl" that you find at the Hippo Club.

In fact, I very much think this was the intention: the Wanda in this diary ends her last entry by saying that, "Some day I'm going to punish them. I'm going to punish them all." And Madame Wanda has a cut diary too, indicating that she would also have been in the habit of documenting her life.

The only problem with this is that Wanda Durbyfield's diary points to her being younger than Margaret Oliphant, which would make her too young to be a Crier. But its a very good story otherwise. A girl unable to raise her child herself and terrorized by the town for it, grows up to find her calling in punishing her fellow Wellies while forgetting just as much as they have why. I think they just couldn't let go of the idea of a Crier running the fetish club because that is also a good concept. Would that they were compatible!

If the cut diary is any indication though, Wanda would have also grown into the role. As Wanda Durbyfield, her punishments would have been a revenge for the rage she was made to endure from the townspeople who were more powerful as a group than her. As Madame Wanda, her punishments are corrections with the understanding that people - children - misbehave without fully comprehending the underlying cause, especially when they have the boldness of a mob obscuring their better sense. This is why you punish them one on one (and presumably a premium rate).

I have a chapter in which I've juxtoposed the Reform Club with the Church of Simon Says and if Wanda Durbyfield was supposed to be Madame Wanda, then the game would have done this as well.

"I don't care if we ARE required to go to church! Those women are lunatics, the way they ganged up on me! You'd think they'd be GLAD I'm giving up the baby. They put their children on the train -- wouldn't they want another child? But no, I'm apparently the worst sinner in the world for sending mine away. Am I supposed to raise it here? Much better for it to live on a farm."

That the Home for Wayward Girls was a religious institution and enforced church-going despite the growing danger it posed would not only place Wanda at odds with the Church of Simon Says on a business level in the future, but a philosophical one as well.

The thing I think is most interesting about the Reform Club is that they are apparently engaging in some sort of resistance efforts, but we never actually get to know anything about it other than that it's happening. And what's more, you only learn this from a line that Sally will soliloquize to herself when walking around in the Garden District.

"I almost miss going to the Reform Club. I bet some of them could help. And they never ask awkward questions. But I'd have to be Naughty Nurse again, and I'm just not that."

I genuinely think, though. that this line is only here to give context to Gemma's bug out bag and not to actually lead into any further supposition about the Reform Club's activities. It's a sort of slight of hand, really, because the thing you're supposed to be focusing on from this statement is Sally's Naughty Nurse act that she just can't bring herself to reprise. Whatever the Reform Club is doing is similar to Mr. Kite in that you are presented it to pique your interest, but you're never permitted to get any closer to it.

And, if we're accepting that Wanda Durbyfield was meant to have grown into Madame Wanda, she even had the sense as a wayward girl know that some people deserved their chance to leave Wellington Wells.

"No one will ever marry her now. Nor me, I suppose. Not unless I can move away."

"Am I supposed to raise it here? Much better for it to live on a farm."

Beyond that, I have a further, wilder theory about the Reform Club and its place in the world.

In Lionel Castershire's quests, he often makes mention of an unnamed client who collects Uncle Jack records, but its in Ollie's act when Castershire asks him to retrieve the Salty Dog from the Lawrence house that we learn more about this client beyond that.

"I have a client who likes to… collect things. Very powerful man. He has quite a few employees, but he'd rather they not know about his… private interests."

(As an aside, I think it's very funny that this dialogue implies the client is a taxidermy dog fucker - particularly in view of what I'm about to tell you further - but upon receipt of the quest, you learn he was probably just after the Hope Diamond that should be in the Salty Dog.)

When you return with the Salty Dog, you get one last parting piece of information from Castershire:

"My client is a man you want in your corner. And not in the other."

I like very much to think that this client is the Mr. Cleland that Madame Wanda is expecting when you come upon her as Arthur.

Mr. Cleland is a reference to John Cleland, who wrote Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure, more popularly known as Fanny Hill. In it, a wealthy woman recounts in two letters to a friend known only as "Madame" the sexual adventures of her earlier life. It is considered the first English prose pornography and is otherwise notable for its use of euphemism. It contains no vulgarities directly, instead describing its graphic sexual events in very... couched language. So couched you could lose your clover clamps or the key to your safe in it. Also, Cleland wrote this novel from debtor's prison.

So Mr. Cleland and his friends are coming to visit for some Golden Knocking, are they?

I think this is meant to be euphemism, which is doubly hidden because it is framed in a place that is also trading in innuendo. Which is to say, they are implying this is a fetish-y sex thing, but I think it is actually a business transaction and this is is why you want Mr. Cleland in your corner and not the other.

I believe he brings his "friends", people who owe him money, to the Reform Club to get the screws put to them and that Madame Wanda, resident expert in the art, assists him with this. This may even be why the Reform Club is permitted to operate as it does, it enjoys the protection of a "powerful man". Probably makes makes them lean over the chair and watches while Madame Wanda gives them a proper caning. Maybe the tranquilizer darts on the table are so they can walk home after.

Further story elements in the game that dovetail nicely with this idea are the quest "Moon Juice Leach" and Captain Lawrence's unpaid debts and subsequent "accidental" death in "Old Soldiers".

In "Moon Juice Leach", Eddie Coke is remembered as having not having the "common sense that God gave an ordinary bowl of porridge" nor much reason to need "contraband" motilene, but a desperation to try to steal it all the same. This idea that motilene can even be contraband is a whole other ???, but the constables suppose that Lionel Castershire (who we later learn in Ollie's act is perhaps a tad less upstanding than he appears) may be involved in Eddie's fatal caper. If Lionel acts as a buffer between Cleland and his acquisitions, this would make sense. If Eddie got a taste of that Golden Knocker, it would also explain the reckless attempt at theft.

Meanwhile Captain Edward Lawrence is past due on his bills and on notice for shut off from the Department of Water and Power. More motilene-related troubles. Possibly purchasing discounting "contraband" motilene and being unable to pay that bill either?

Rather than (or unable to) meet his obligations, he's chosen to shut himself up in his house and refuse calls.

To great effect:

If this is the work of Mr. Cleland (or more likely his "few employees"), it presents another interesting connection: that he may also have something to do with who has access to the apples from the last apple tree in the Garden District.

Or maybe Mr. Cleland's just wondering why Captain Lawrence is buying a luxury like apples when he owes him money.

That Ollie is asked to retrieve the Salty Dog from his brother Colonel Lawrence's house, after both brothers have died, seems like a case of shifting the debt around. (This is also why I wondered if the Salty Dog wasn't supposed to be Bonny Prince Charlie at a point.)

Dropping a bookcase on Captain Lawrence is a steep escalation, for sure, but if he wouldn't come to the Reform Club, then he didn't leave himself much room to negotiate a payment plan.

Who knows. He might have even liked it.

[vintagegoddess12]

The Madam and Her Good Witch

Relationship: Agatha Harkness x Reader

Synopsis:

Madam Harkness used to only look at Wanda Maximoff, her red-haired green-skinned student full of potential but she set off to the western sky. Now, Madam sees the untapped potential in you. You can be anything the Headmistress and Oz's Press Secretary says you can be.

She now looks at you, holds you, and pulls you closer so you won't go flying elsewhere.

a.k.a Wicked AU where Agatha is Madam Morrible and you are Glinda and the two make an unlikely and quite powerful a pair.

also available on ao3

Chapter 1

Let it not be said that Agatha Harkness doesn’t take accountability. 

Wanda’s outburst on the morality of her actions can be partly blamed on her - partly - when she lets it slip that the guard monkeys can now be used as spies. 

Of course, the Wizard, the ever useless figurehead, only made the young woman’s inner turmoil worse. What was he thinking bargaining with her? Spies or guards are just semantics. The now flying monkeys are meant to keep the citizens of Oz safe. In line. The young witch saw right through the performative antics of the Wizard and ran away, taking the Grimmerie with her. 

Amongst the chaos, Agatha noticed you unmoved, no doubt overwhelmed with everything. Such a shame that a pretty face holds almost no thoughts. 

You were looking around, watching the Wizard run to his office, the Emerald Guards arm themselves with pitchforks, and then your gaze landed on her. 

The Headmistress of Shiz University is no stranger to your lingering looks. You have not shied away from your blatant admiration of the older witch, writing several essays, following her around the university, hoping she’d give you the time of day to be taught as her student. She’s been teaching long enough to know that people like you will do just about anything to be accepted. It does, however, make you two peas in a pod with your runaway friend. 

Agatha strode towards you, your eyes never leaving hers, your body anticipating every action from her. 

“Listen to me girl,” she hooked her finger under your chin to keep you from lowering your gaze, “you will bring your redhead friend to me and the book she took from the Wizard.”

You nod, focused on the instructions despite the madness around you. Agatha stepped back and was about to leave and handle their army when you called out. 

“Is it true what she said?” Your voice was small. “He has no true power?”

The older witch raised her eyebrows, sending you to cower in her gaze, before stepping in front of you once more. 

“Do you believe her more, sweet girl, over your Wizard who had been making all of Oz safe?” Her arms reached out to yours, determined to sway you on their side. “Over me, who had been nothing but nurturing despite her problem?”

Her words were chosen carefully to remind you of how you had addressed the green skin of your roommate on the first day in university. She had been watching her then. 

Your eyes still trained on the floor and Agatha’s getting impatient. She has things to handle and you’re becoming a liability, just like Wanda. 

“Answer me, girl.” Her voice was commanding, startling you from where you’re standing. 

You slowly looked up, tears glistened across your face. Her hands leave your arms and wipe them away. You lean into her touch. She can see you were choking back your tears to comply with her. 

“No, Madam,” you whispered, voice now hoarse. 

“Speak up.”

“No, Madam,” you repeated louder. She let out an appreciative hum for your compliance. The older woman let you go but not before tucking a strand of hair behind your ear. You smiled, weakly. 

“Now, be a good girl and bring her back to me.” 

—

You ran after your friend, following Agatha’s instruction. She can’t help but smile at the idea of your eagerness to please her requests. 

She shook her head and took a deep breath. It is now time to do what she does best - Public Relations.

She's Oz's Press Secretary after all. 

Truthfully, she doesn’t believe you can bring Wanda back into the fold. She had trained that girl for some time and she knows, she’s all about righteousness. You however will serve a nice enough distraction until the guards can get her or until she sets Oz, her stage, the way she intends it. 

And what a pretty pink distraction you are. 

As she announced the fabricated wicked workings of Wanda, her mind rushed a thousand miles per hour. She kept track of the pieces she can put in place, pawns she can play, and the strategies she can implement. Amidst all of it, a pink-obsessed, high-pitched, magic-loving woman can be found in all of it. 

If you get hurt by your friend’s little tantrum, she will be scorned by the public. The outsider willingly accepted by Shiz’s most popular girl had betrayed her friend. If you took off with her, the green-skinned witch will be labeled a menace for corrupting the ever good [y/n] - your voice rang in her head, saying your new name - [y/n] Upland of the Upper Uplands. If you stay, you will be left to pick up the pieces her actions had left. You will be here with the Wizard, with her, corrupted by whatever ideas Agatha decides she wants you to believe in. 

Somehow the idea of corrupting you tastes so sweet in her mouth. 

You will be the face of the Wicked Witch’s opposition. And what a beautiful face indeed. 

—-

Agatha raced up the stairs. She has heard the loud whoosh of the wind and your screams as you try to flee from the guards. She has heard Wanda screaming at the green uniform wearing men. 

“Let her go. I’m the one you want. She did nothing wrong.”

A smirk formed on her lips. She does not relish the idea of a war but is pleased to know that she has the upper hand when it happens. All of Oz will fall in line once she has given them a common enemy.  

Once she reached the top of the tower, she observed the scenario ahead of her. The Wicked Witch and the Grimmerie are nowhere to be seen. You were still fighting against the guards, tears threatening to fall down your face again. Shattered glass everywhere. 

She realized how to play this now. 

You noticed her walk closer to the balcony, signaled the guards to let you go. She gave you a once-over; sees the pain of losing a friend, the fear for her safety, the hundred what-ifs the two of you could’ve had if Wanda had said yes to the Wizard. You look like you lost someone you love. 

Did you love her?

She put a pin to that thought and focused on the task at hand. You looked so delicate, close to breaking apart, and this predicament was no different. She believed her next steps now would affect how pliable you will be for her. 

The centuries-old professor allowed herself to get close to you, arms opened wide for you to fall into. 

And fall into it you did. 

She hugged you tightly, her hands resting on your back. It took a second before she felt your arms around her and she did not fail to notice your body melting against hers. You let out sobs and sighs, clinging to the warmth your professor provides.

The moment was short lived when Wanda Maximoff returned, riding a broom, fitting the image of a wicked witch Agatha just painted mere minutes ago. You untangle yourself from the embrace and face your friend. 

“Nobody in all of Oz, no wizard,” the green-skinned woman atop a broomstick points to another balcony where the Wizard looks out, “that there is or was is ever going to bring me down.”

“I hope you’re happy,” your voice loud enough to cut through the howling of the winds. 

The older woman hears the hope and pain from your statement, with a slight of anger underneath. Anger. That one she can work with. 

The rogue witch with her newly unleashed power, blasted every light bulb, snuffing out the light in all of Emerald City. Agatha could not help but snicker to herself. Pieces falling into places. Your friend has truly made her job easier. Her hand reached for your waist, found its home there, and held you close, protecting you from the shards of glass flying around. 

With a twist of her coat, the Wicked Witch of the West sets off the western sky, leaving a mess of the Wizard’s Palace and you. 

Agatha held you tighter, as she ushered you down the stairs. You look back at the balcony - the green-lit stormy sky - where you saw your friend last. She noticed and pressed her fingers lightly against your waist, bringing your attention back to her. 

In the next days or so, Agatha will realize she intends to keep that attention solely on her.  

[stitched-mouth]

Just finished episode 6, holy shit, it’s the best writing Marvel has come out with in a long time. And Lilia is one of the best characters written in the last 5 years.

A shame she’s unlikely to return, I would of loved to see more of her

[scarletlizzard]

Knowing Dakota Johnson and Lizzie had a conversation about their marvel roles is KILLING ME !!!!

[pemberley3k]

Mother doing mother things 🙏❤️

[discount--dracula]

i don't have much for this furby day of pride -- i had a bad headache all day but charlotte and penne were here for emotional support

[deakyghostcosplay]

I'm in a cosplay slump right now so I thought I'd trigger some creativity which I did! My personal favourites are Monica, Roman & Wanda so I'll keep these in mind for future content. <33

Also as Comic Con is in November I wanted to do some spooky cosplay, I'm keeping GF in mind but my sister suggested Casey Becker which peaked my interest.

[heckcareoxytwit]

A preview of Women of Marvel #1

WOMEN OF MARVEL #1

CELEBRATING THE MIGHTY WOMEN OF MARVEL!

Because they worked hard for this and they deserve it! But who you callin’ “doll?!” Marvel’s most powerful heroines take center stage in an anthology that will inspire, empower and motivate fans from all walks of life! Whether i’’s the Boss of Space pummeling back an alien invasion or the Scarlet Witch weaving a magical protection, the women of Marvel have got your back. Featuring a story by industry legend Gail Simone and more to come!

Written by: Celeste Bronfman, Erica Schultz, Gail Simone, Sarah Rees Brennan Art by: Arielle Jovellanos, Giada Belviso, Leila Leiz, Lydia Rasero Cover by: Carmen Carnero Page Count: 28 Pages Release Date: February 28, 2024

[creative-soul-22]

I'm sorry, the "A fish called Wanda" poster was just too inviting and I couldn't stop myself...

[girlwitheconverse]

DAUGHTER OF HYDRA — PIETRO MAXIMOFF

She was trained to kill.

Only the pronunciation of her name made HYDRA's soldier tremble in fear, and when the Daughter of HYDRA walked past them they would bow their head, hoping that she wouldn't cut them off.

But one day she finds herself prisoner of the Avengers, and the Maximoff twins have a special interest in her...Especially the boy, Pietro.

She isn't the Daughter of HYDRA for him, she's just Scylla.

SOON ON WATTPAD

[thefandomentals]

Get ready for @gailsimone 's Invisible Woman space adventure, Erica Schultz's stylish Black Widow, and more in a new preview of the 2024 edition of Women Of Marvel

[vintagegoddess12]

The Madam and Her Good Witch

oh no what have i done? did i write an agatha harkness x reader in wicked au. yes yes i did

i watched wicked yesterday and thought wow madam morrible is holding glinda quite often by her waist in that last song hmmm which of course led me to writing this. this is the first time im writing an au so bear with me

so quick rundown of characters:

glinda is now reader

madam morrible is now agatha harkness

elphaba is now wanda maximoff (imagine a redhaired greenskinned witch oh god)

so if you're interested check it out: AO3 and here

[joyful-downer]

New DLC idea for We Happy Few:

The Reformclub

[coochiequeens]

Today In Women’s History Month we celebrate the birthdays of Louise-Florence-Pétronille Tardieu d’Esclavelles and Wanda Hazel Gág

Louise-Florence-Pétronille Tardieu d’Esclavelles, dame de la Live d’Épinay, byname Madame D’épinay, (born March 11, 1726, Valenciennes, Fr.—died April 17, 1783, Paris), a distinguished figure in advanced literary circles in 18th-century France. Though she wrote a good deal herself, she is more famous for her friendships with three of the outstanding French writers and thinkers of her day, Denis Diderot, Baron Friedrich de Grimm, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau.

Mme d’Épinay interested herself in literature and the welfare of men of letters after the breakdown of her marriage to Denis-Joseph de La Live d’Épinay, a financier. She set up a congenialsalon in her country house at La Chevrette, near Montmorency, and offered hospitality to the Philosophes, the leading intellectual figures of the period immediately prior to the French Revolution. Her friendship with Grimm was long and untroubled, and Mme d’Épinay collaborated with him on his famous correspondence. Her association with Rousseau, on the other hand, was brief and stormy: in 1756 he accepted her offer of accommodation in the “Hermitage,” a small dwelling near her country house, and wrote his novel La Nouvelle Héloïsethere. But then he quarreled with his hostess, and the two became implacable foes. Mme d’Épinay was the author of several novels and works on education, but her writings are of interest now chiefly for their autobiographical revelations.

Her Wikipedia page had more information about her works

Her pseudo-memoires are written in the form of a sort of autobiographic romance, L'Histoire de Madame de Montbrillant, begun when she was thirty but never published in her lifetime. It intersperses fictionalized set pieces exhibiting the sensibilité of the earliest generation of Romantics,[6] with genuine letters and autobiographical material. Bequeathed to Baron Grimm, a mangled version of the manuscript was edited by J. P. A. Parison and J. C. Brunet (Paris, 1818) as Mémoires et correspondance de Madame d'Épinay with all the names changed to identify the supposed originals: Madame d'Épinay figures in it as Madame de Montbrillant, and René is generally recognized as Rousseau, Volx as Grimm, Gamier as Diderot, who is sometimes credited with major interventions in the text. The work has had a checkered career since.[7] The only accurate edition is George Roth, ed. Les Pseudo-mémoires de Madame d'Épinay, 3 vols., 1951.

Other works

Her Conversations d'Émilie, a dialogue recollecting the education of her granddaughter, Émilie de Belsunce, was published in 1774.[8] The Mémoires et Correspondance de Mme d'Épinay, renfermant un grand nombre de lettres inédites de Grimm, de Diderot, et de J.-J. Rousseau, ainsi que des details, &c., was published at Paris (1818) from a manuscript which she had bequeathed to Grimm.

Many of Madame d'Épinay's letters are contained in the Correspondance de l'abbé Galiani (1818), which provided material for Francis Steegmuller's joint biography,[9] and have since appeared in a definitive redaction.[10] Two anonymous works, Lettres à mon fils (Geneva, 1758) and Mes moments heureux (Geneva, 1759), are also by Madame d'Épinay.

In January 1783, three months before her death, she was awarded the Prix Monyon, recently established by the Académie to honour the author of the "book published in the current year that might be of most benefit to society"; it was her Conversations d'Émilie (1774).[11]

Wanda Hazel Gág, (born March 11, 1893, New Ulm, Minnesota, U.S.—died June 27, 1946, New York, New York), American artist and author whose dynamic visual style imbued the often commonplace subjects of both her serious art and her illustrated books for children with an intense vitality.

Gág was the daughter of a Bohemian immigrant artist. While attending high schoolin Minnesota, she helped support her family by contributing drawings to a children’s supplement to the Minneapolis Journal. She attended the St. Paul Art School on a scholarship, and from 1915 to 1917 she studied at the Minneapolis School of Art. In 1917 she traveled to New York City and entered the Art Students League, where she studied with John Sloan and other noted teachers.

A show of Gág’s drawings, lithographs, and woodcuts at the Weyhe Gallery in New York in 1926 brought her first recognition as a serious artist, and subsequent shows there in 1928, 1930, and 1940 increased her reputation. She was represented in the Museum of Modern Art’s 1939 exhibition “Art in Our Time,” which was presented at the time of the New York World’s Fair. At the suggestion of a children’s book editor, she wrote and illustrated Millions of Cats (1928), which became a classic children’s book. Her subsequent books for children include The Funny Thing (1929), A.B.C. Bunny (1933), Gone Is Gone (1935), and Nothing at All(1941). She also translated and illustrated Tales from Grimm (1936), Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1938), Three Gay Tales from Grimm (1943), and More Tales from Grimm (1947). Growing Pains: Diaries and Drawings for the Years 1908–1917 (1940, reprinted 1984) is a memoir based on her journals.

[pemberley3k]

[aqueerwriter]

Reblogging to add these 4 ladies for... Reasons 😌

After seeing the Lena Luthor one I had to make one with the four female characters I would absolutely let step on me, so here you go 😂

Credit to @supercorpandbeyond for giving me the idea after I saw their Lena one