#some of this is wizard of oz based while some is wicked based

[yourmajestybee]

I saw Wicked the movie (I had already seen the musical!) and now I got wizard of oz on the brain so here’s my pitch for a rise of the brave tangled dragons au

Are y’all seeing the vision??

[mask131]

So... Wicked is coming back in style. And as such I need to make a little informative post.

Because since as early as my arrival onto the Internet, in the distant years of the late 2000s, a lot of people have been treating Wicked as some sort of "official" part of the Oz series. As part of the Oz canon or as THE "original" work everything else derives from (literaly, some people, probably kids, but did believe the MGM movie was made BASED on Wicked...) And as an Oz fan, that bothers me.

[Damn, ever since I watched Coco Peru's videos her voice echoes in my brain each time I say this line.]

So here's a few FACTS for you facts lovers.

The Wicked movie that is coming out right now (I was sold this as a series, turns out it is a movie duology?) is a cinematic adaptation of the stage musical Wicked created by Schwartz and Holzman, the Broadway classic and success of the 2000s (it was created in 2003).

Now, the Wicked musical everybody knows is itself an adaptation - and this fact is not as notorios, somehow? The Wicked musical is the adaptation of a novel released in 1995 by Gregory Maguire, called Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. A very loose and condensed adaptation to say the least - as the Wicked musical is basically a lighter and simplified take on a much darker, brooding and mature tale. Basically fans of the novel have accused the musical of being some sort of honeyed, sugary-sweet, highschool-romance-fanfic-AU, while those who enjoyed the musical and went to see the novel are often shocked at discovering their favorite musical is based on what is basically a "dark and edgy - let's shock them all" take on the Oz lore. (Some do like both however, apparently? But I rarely met them.)

A side-fact which will be relevant later, is that this novel was but the first of a full series of novel Oz wrote about a dark-and-adult fantasy reimagining of the land of Oz - there's Son of a Witch, A Lion Among Men, Out of Oz, and more.

However the real fact I want to point out is that Maguire's novel, from which the musical itself derives, is a "grimmification" (to take back TV Tropes terminology) of the 1939 MGM movie The Wizard of Oz. The movie everybody knows when it comes to Oz, but that everybody forgets is itself the adaptation of a book - the same way people forget the Wicked musical is adapted from a novel. The MGM movie is adapted from L. Frank Baum's famous 1900 classic for children The Wonderful Wizard of Oz - and a quite loose adaptation that reimagines a lot of elements and details.

Now, a lot of people present Maguire's novel as being based/inspired/a revisionist take on Baum's novel... And that's false. Maguire's Wicked novel is clearly dominated by and mainly influenced by the MGM movie, with only a few book elements and details sprinkled on top. Mind you, the sequels Maguire wrote do take more elements, characters and plot points from the various Oz books of Baum... But they stay mostly Maguire's personal fantasy world. Yes, Oz "books" in plural - because that's a fact people tend to not know either... L. Frank Baum didn't just write one book about the Land of Oz. He wrote FOURTEEN of them, an entire series, because it was his most popular sales, and his audience like his editor pressured him to produce more (in fact he got sick of Oz and tried to write other books, but since they failed he was forced to continue Oz novels to survive). Everybody forgot about the Oz series due to the massive success of the starter novel - but it has a lot of very famous sequels, such as The Marvelous Land of Oz or Ozma of Oz (the later was loosely adapted by Disney as the famous 80s nostalgic-cursed movie Return to Oz).

So... To return to my original point. The current Wicked movies are not directly linked in any way to Baum's novel. The Wicked musical was already as "canon" and as "linked" to the MGM movie as 2013's Oz The Great and Powerful by Disney was. As for Maguire's novel, due to its dark, mature, brooding and more complex worldbuilding nature, I can only compare it to the recent attempt at making a "Game of Thrones Oz" through the television series Emerald City.

The Wicked movies coming out are separated from Baum's novel at the fourth degree. Because they are the movie adaptation of a musical adaptation of a novel reinventing a movie adaptation of the original children book.

And I could go even FURTHER if you dare me to and claim the Wicked movies are at the 5TH DEGREE! Because a little-known-fact is that the MGM movie was not a direct adaptation of Baum's novel... But rather took a lot of cues and influence from the massively famous stage-extravaganza of 1902 The Wizard of Oz... A musical adaptation of Baum's novel, created and written by Baum himself, and that was actually more popular than the novel in the pre-World War II America. It was from this enormous Broadway success (my my, how the snake bites its tail - the 1902 Wizard of Oz was the musical Wicked of its time) that, for example, the movie took the idea of the Good Witch of the North killing the sleeping-poppies with snow.

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

[Wicked: For Good speculation/predictions]

[obviously spoilers + wild conjecture + musings]

Okay so I have many thoughts about what we might get in the second film, and decided to put them all in one place; so here we are.

1.) I've heard a lot of people mentioning that the movie might choose not to jump straight into Thank Goodness, and instead opt for some sort of buffer opening to establish the time-skip and whatnot. I think it would be amazing to actually see Elphaba flying around Oz saving Animals and being harbored as a fugitive and stuff; maybe we could even get reintroduced to Brrr briefly! He's obviously able to speak, so maybe that implies Fiyero took him to an Animal resistance group or something for safety? The map of Oz shown in Something Bad does imply that there might be such groups around, plus of course Doctor Dillamond mentioning protests. Maybe we'll get to see some of that on-screen; I think that would be fascinating. Maybe as kind of a soft adaptation of Elphaba's domestic terrorist phase in the book. This is possibly all supported as well by the shots we've seen of the Yellow Brick Road under construction; presumably this will be early in the film, since obviously it must predate Dorothy's arrival, so I suspect these might be the opening scenes before we get to see how Oz is reacting to Elphaba's activities at the start of Thank Goodness.

2.) I suspect we'll find out that Madame Morrible is not only the one who brought Dorothy to Oz, but also the Wizard — and maybe even more interestingly, caused the Great Drought (which I think is quite heavily implied to be the Dust Bowl, based on the time period and a scrawling on one of the chalkboards in the background; which I think is meant to be Dillamond's research). (My current headcanon is that Morrible accidentally caused the formation of the Impassable Desert (since it is also mentioned on the same chalkboard), which caused a ripple effect out into Kansas and started the Dust Bowl.) If we do get more background on Morrible and her earlier magic experimentation (and maybe even the Grimmerie), I suspect we'll learn that her heart's desire was always to be the prophesied magical savior of Oz, and the Grimmerie based on those vibes (since it seems to read the hearts of the ones using it and flip to pages that will give them what they want, like how it heard "birds" and went straight to relevant pages) brought the Wizard (and by extension, Elphaba) and Dorothy into Oz. In a way it feels like the Grimmerie is sort of the dark magical inverse of what the Wizard does: they hear the desires of people's hearts, and "grant" it in a deceptive way. The Wizard "grants" wishes through bullshitery and spectacle (and the people who come to him for help always end up having to get what they wanted themselves), while the Grimmerie "grants" wishes using real magic (and so can actually give things that the wisher didn't already possess) but always in a fucked up way that they'll end up regretting. I've already made a post about the theme of "the heart's desire" and how it's explored in the original Wizard of Oz and in Wicked — and maybe at some point I'll do a longer analysis of that (for instance, the fact the Wizard was in possession of the book and got his heart's desire to be a father in the most catastrophic way imaginable) — but it's really interesting if we consider that Morrible's desire seems to be to essentially be the Witch of Oz, and the answer given by the Grimmerie might basically have been the giant magical backfire that brought all three of the most plot-important characters into Oz in the first place. It's possible this won't actually be explained and will remain in headcanon territory, but with the way they've been focusing more on Madame Morrible I think we'll probably get at least a little something exploring her background and connections with the Wizard (and it would be really interesting if we got more stuff relating to the Grimmerie in the process).

3.) In the frames we've seen of Dorothy, the slippers are still silver! Not ruby! We know from interviews that the production team read the original Wonderful Wizard of Oz and took heavy inspiration from it, so I assume keeping the shoes silver was an executive decision on their part. But it has some really interesting implications about what sort of changes might've been made to Part 2. We already knew that we're getting major alterations to Nessa's narrative — groundwork for that was already laid in the ways they changed her in the first movie, particularly surrounding her relationship to Elphaba and her agency regarding movement, which I think is great — but regarding this I've heard some people asking if this means we might not get Nessarose standing. Marissa Bode who plays her is capable of limited standing and walking, so I doubt that part will have been cut entirely; but I'm really curious about the ways in which Nessa's story might have been rewritten. The point of her independence has been emphasized a lot thus far, so I think we might get some tweaking (or outright cutting) of the "hideous chair with wheels" bit; and with how we got the lines about Nessa wanting to make a new start and Elphaba getting in the way of that, I think it's likely we'll get less of a focus on "why haven't you used your powers to help me walk Elphaba?" and more on "wow, you ruined my life again Elphaba". I am curious about whether Nessa will still be able to read the Grimmerie (which always felt a little like a plot hole/contrivance in the original show, so it would need a proper explanation at the very least), or if perhaps — since I believe it's being set up that the Grimmerie can "read" people around it and give them a fucked up version of what they think they want — Nessarose's dark desire at that moment is to not have a heart (kinda like that line from the 1939 movie: "As for you, my galvanized friend: you want a heart. You don't know how lucky you are not to have one. Hearts will never be practical until they can be made unbreakable") and gets Elphaba to read it: but neither knows what it will actually do until Boq's heart starts shrinking away into nothingness. (Also I'm fairly positive that the still we got of Elphaba below is from the Colwen Grounds scene with Nessa and Boq: I've heard some people presuming it's from No Good Deed, but the background, her expression (which seems to me to be obviously her trying to get Nessa/Boq to calm tf down), and the fact she seems to be in the same costume as in the Yellow Brick Road scene, tells me it's almost certainly from Wicked Witch of the East.)

4.) We're told to expect two new songs from Stephen Schwartz! I'm extremely curious what these might be (and naturally, Gelphie simp as I am, would like at least one one of them to have some more good ol' gay goodness from our girls), but we don't have a whole lot to go on for clues yet other than (as far as I can tell, unconfirmed?) reports that one is an Elphaba solo and the other is a Glinda solo. This is very exciting of course, but until we have more insight it's still too early to make deep predictions. Although as for hopes, I'd obviously like for a new Glinda number to involve her grappling with her feelings more — a much-needed addition — and for Elphaba to perhaps get some of that as well (it would help the lead-up to Wonderful make a bit more narrative sense, if nothing else). And if it turns out they aren't Glinda or Elphaba songs, then I think Fiyero or Boq deserve to get a little bit more to sing. All Schwartz has said thus far is that the new music was made to meet the needs of the story: so (since the two songs DON'T seem to just be reworkings of existing ones, and are actually all-new, film-only material) that further supports the fact we'll be getting fairly major changes to the plot.

5.) The Glinda-Fiyero wedding seems to either happen or very nearly happen??? Extremely interesting expansion on the original material, I can't wait to see what they do with it. I've heard some people saying it might just be a fantasy sequence or something — and I suppose it could be — but I don't think so; the style of filmmaking and writing is deliberately "grounded" to make Oz feel real, and the first film didn't have any imaginary scenes. I think the wedding scene will happen at the same time as (or directly before) Wonderful, and will probably be interrupted: maybe by the release of the flying monkeys, the Wizard rallying the guards after Elphaba, or — scandal! — even by Elphaba herself! (No, I don't think we'll be getting the "I object!" sequence out of Shrek, even though it would be hilariously apropos, lol.) We've seen an image of what looks like Elphaba back in the Emerald City (maybe right before Wonderful, perhaps sneaking into the Wizard's palace to free the Animals; or perhaps just after Wonderful, after finding Doctor Dillamond and deciding to remain the Wizard's enemy?), and judging by when these events would have to line up based on the story of the musical, I think these are almost certainly within the same section. It seems like the wedding sequence might be a decent spot for some of the new music: or maybe a beefed-up version of Glinda's I'm Not That Girl, if she got left at the altar or something.

6.) We've seen this image of Glinda running up a staircase (with the Grimmerie in hand, and in her Bubble Dress): this seems very likely to be immediately after For Good and the Melting — I suspect Glinda is heading up the stairs to see the aftermath, recover Elphie's hat, and receive the green bottle from Chistery. OR, it could also be related to the Wizard — the wood reminds me of the tower in the Emerald City palace where all of Oscar Diggs' old stuff from Omaha was stored at the end of the first film, so I'm wondering if this is Glinda going up to confront him after realizing that he's Elphaba's father, maybe.

EDIT: I realized after reviewing a better quality image with higher contrast and saturation that the latter possibility I suggested is more likely than the former — behind the wooden beams are the emerald blocks we see in the Wizard's palace, so this frame seems almost certainly to be from the scene where Glinda confronts the Wizard in his tower after returning from Kiamo Ko. And what a brilliant way to do that scene, if indeed that's what this is: the Wizard isn't just sitting despondent in his throne room, he went up to wallow in his old mediocrity — and Glinda doesn't just fly up to him, she ascends the same path she once went up with Elphie, processing her grief the whole way up. The painnnnnnn. It makes her ordering him to fly away in the same balloon that he arrived in — and that Glinda and Elphaba NEARLY escaped in before everything — all the more bitter and ironic. Can't wait to see Jeff Goldblum sell the Wizard's descent into the mother of all midlife crises, fiddling with his old sideshow props in the attic as he comes to know the true despair wrought by his hand.

7.) Will the ending be changed?? It seems all but confirmed that the cloaked figure riding away out of Kiamo Ko at the start of Part 1 was Elphaba: this costume concept for the second film looks identical to what we saw the rider wearing. Add to that (as I've talked about in a prior post) the fact the Scarecrow is shown alongside Dorothy on the Yellow Brick Road, implies that at the very least the events of the last few minutes of the musical have been revised. My earlier post listed four different possible alterations (from Elphaba leaving Oz alone, to her still meeting with Fiyero somewhere else after everything, to her somehow letting Glinda and/or Fiyero know she's alive before leaving, or (hope against hope) that she takes Glinda with her), but it's still far too early to tell what they might've gone with. I just hope that at least wrote it better than it was originally. The image of Elphaba riding out of Oz on horseback across the desert would certainly be striking, no matter which option they chose.

[slut-and-falcon]

Wicked Fiyeraba Headcannons:

-Fiyero def sits on Elphaba’s lap

- they call each other Yero and Fae; after the Wicked Witch persona dies, they only go by Yero and Fae so less people will be able to tie them to the dead witch and the missing prince.

- one of Fiyero’s favorite activities is to have Elphaba read to him. He finds it very relaxing, and informative. (Fiyero has dyslexia and that why he doesn’t like reading himself- but dyslexia isn’t a diagnosis in Oz, it hasn’t been recogized)

- they take care of young orphaned Animals, and Fiyero got Elphaba an egg apron so she could put all the kittens/small Animals in the pockets while she was caretaking

- Fiyero likes to draw…he draws a lot of Elphaba (and the Animals, but mostly Elphaba)

- Fiyero likes to purchase Vinkun silk scarves for Elphaba. She uses some for practical embellments in her clothing- like as a belt, shawl or hair covering. Others she keeps as house clothes- like as a night shawl. There’s one though- black with red roses- that is only used during intimacy with Fiyero.

- Elphaba and Fiyero have really complex feelings about Glinda…she was Elphaba’s close and only friend for a while, but Fiyero helped Elphaba realize that Glinda treated her like crap (this is apart from not making the sacrifices to leave with Elphaba). Elphaba also had some romantic feelings towards Glinda, and does not know what to do with those feelings. Fiyero loved Glinda, but wasn’t in love with her. He is highly aware of her faults, but still misses her and feels bad for what happened. Both realize that Glinda was manipulated by the Wizard and Madam Morrible, but both also realize that only Glinda is responsible for Glinda’s actions. And can they forgive her for being an anti-Animal/Anti-Witch propaganda machine? For helping in orchestrating Nessa’s death, and creating a trap for Elphaba? They don’t know. Together, Elphaba and Fiyero write letters to Glinda that are then burned before being sent, allowing them to work through all of these feelings and trauma they have in relation to Glinda.

- Fiyero’s favorite thing todo to annoy Elphaba is to use her butt as a pillow. Elphaba hates it (but will tolerate it) and Fiyero loves it.

-Elphaba is very passionate about a lot of stuff, and has a habit of information dumping, even when it’s considered rude. Fiyero likes it, but has felt the need to coach Elphaba for when the time is appropriate to do so, after she accidentally offended Fiyero’s mother.

- Fiyero and Elphaba do the whole “3 taps means I Love You” thing

-Fiyero likes to comb/take care of Elphaba’s hair

- Fiyero is an addict, he got addicted to a ❄️-like ozian drug while in his rebellion/coping-with-being-royalty phase. He hasn’t always been completely honest with Elphaba about it, but he got clean when he joined the Gale Force. He still had carvings, especially with his chronic pain and stress, and he tries to be as honest as possible with Elphaba about his cravings. They both use 🍃 to deal with chronic pain and stress though, but in moderate amounts.

- After being tortured by the Gale Force- Fiyero develops Narceolpsey. It’s a learning curve for both him and Elphaba.

-Elphaba offered Fiyero an open relationship (not because she wanted one but because she thought he would be unhappy with just her, and the novelty would wear off). Fiyero refused (while he had been poly in the past, he refused because he knew Elphaba’s reasonings were based in her feeling inadequate and self conscious).

Hmm I’ll think of more

[thetwilightroadtonightfall]

went a lil crazy with my silly lil braineph Wicked AU designs 🤭💚 an instance of my greatest interests colliding into one big explosion

design notes + indivs ⬇️

so maaaybe it’s obvious that I love Wicked and that 100% includes its costume department. I wanted these designs to closely resemble Elphaba and Glinda’s iconic act 2 outfits while also retaining parts of Brain and Ephemer’s outfits

Funny enough, Brain’s colour scheme (in the title screen art) lines up pretty similarly with Elphaba’s dress already, a mix of dark purples and hints of lighter tones and grays. Keeping Elphaba’s asymmetry was a must for me too.

That being said, I didn’t want Brain to just wear the same exact thing, so I gave him some special treatment by leaning into a goth cyberpunk look, which I think really suits him while still fitting the story/setting. The circuit board pattern was lightly inspired by these super cool circuit board bodysuits

Eph’s essentially wearing a fusion between his clothes and Glinda’s ballgown (the scarf stays!). Similarly to Brain, the swirls/circles that were already in his design meshed pretty well with Glinda’s aesthetic. He’s the swirly marshmallow he was always meant to be 😆

I wanted to keep the bubble aesthetic so musical gown it is, though there are some pink highlights to kinda honor the movie gown/original The Wizard of Oz gown (plus it slays)

His crown is based on sections of the khml logo. I’m assuming it’s either for Scala as a whole, or his family, and it looks regal enough anyway so it felt right for him to wear

He’s in wedge heels, imagine him a bit shorter! He and Brain kinda have that Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel height difference going on lmaooo

[cat-mermaid]

You know whats gonna be crazy about Wicked being two movies is that the second part is going to bomb

Its going to be like the It movies, everyone loves the first part where their kids but hates the second adult half

The book the play is based on is a depressing mess, I've read it twice and already made like 3 rant posts about it. If this first movie stops after the "Defying Gravity" bit then all the second half is gonna be is:

Elphaba failing to be a terrorist, getting that one guy she bones(Fiyero) killed, ending up in a nunnery and being semi-comatose when she gives birth to his child, going away to the middle of nowhere for the rest of her life and neglecting said child, obsessing over animals, developing a-

OH WAIT, HAHA, NO

the Broadway show was fucking smart and completely hucked that whole second act out the window and rewrote it wholesale. Because Fiyero fucking does not come back as the scarecrow, thats a random ass delusion that Elphaba comes up with towards the end of the book when shes fucking losing her grip on reality. Boq is just some guy, he doesn't become the Tin Man, its implied that some dude Nessarose fucks over with her magic becomes the Tin Man

Like you gotta understand how much the original second half is just Elphie sitting in that castle and just aging and being a deeply unlikable person, she gives up on her whole justice crusade pretty fucking fast. She doesn't overthrow the Wizard, he just fucking leaves. Madame Morrible literally dies of old age, warm in her bed and Elphie is so crazed that she cracks a dead women's head open with a marble bust and declares that shes killed her

the whole second half of the book is just everyone Elphaba went to school with trying to live their adult lives, being freaked out by her random crazy bullshit and trying to talk her down off the edge of a cliff while she yells crazy conspiracy BS while pointing at them

everyone who was ever important to her dies, usually as a direct result of her actions, and then Dorothy rolls up and goes oh god i'm so sorry I killed your sister i came all the way here just to tell you og can u ever forgive me? and Elph is so far gone that she mentally can't handle this and fucking sets her own ass on fire/Dorothy accidentally kills her by dumping water on her

SHE FUCKING DIES

the wizard fucks off and leaves OZ to rip itself apart due to the power vacuum his absence leaves

god this book is depressing, and i haven't even brought up all the weird ass sex stuff

This book being made into a Broadway musical is like Jhonen Vasquez getting to make a kids show for Nickelodeon:

It happened, but a lot of miracles had to be happening in the background cos jeesus look at the source material

[weirdworldofwinnie]

All Tied Down

Part 2 of All Tied Up

The Wizard/Oscar Diggs x female reader (NSFW 18+ only)

Summary: It's been several months of living (and sleeping) with the Wizard of Oz and due to the impending arrival of a mysterious powerful girl from Shiz University, you are now planned to be sent away by his orders... But after overhearing him talk with Madame Morrible, it throws into question staying with the one man who magicked his way into your heart and who you've come to call home.

Warnings: age gap (much older man/younger woman), unprotected sex, minor breeding kink, power imbalance dynamic with humiliation, daddy kink, spanking, lots of hickeys (love bites/bruises), slight jealousy, mentions of past kidnapping and imprisonment (with likely bit of Stockholm Syndrome), drinking, angst and hurt/comfort, some action & drama, the Wizard being the villain he is (but also dastardly loving)

Word Count: ~11,802

A/N: So, I may have gotten a little carried away (haha) with this and it took a while, but by request I've added a part 2 to my previous fic, All Tied Up, which can be found at the link above in the title or again here. I highly recommend reading that first before you read this! Also please heed the warnings, this one's a bit more intense than the first part. No use of Y/N in dialogue. Based mostly on the climatic events of Wicked: Part One (not entirely canon accurate) and Jeff Goldblum's portrayal as the Wizard.

Loud clapping of dry palms smacking against each other in quick succession and his jovial, singsong voice bounces off the walls of his grand bedroom, abruptly startling you awake.

"Rise and shinnnnne, for tooo-day is a new daaaay and a new beee-ginning..." the Wizard sings, his vocals pitching and drawn out, impossible to ignore.

You'd been having a strange, borderline nightmarish dream of home back in Kansas where the farm animals had staged a revolt, oddly gaining the ability to speak. The chickens gathered at your feet with complaints about not getting high quality feed, shrieking, and tiny pitchforks in their sharp talons jabbed furiously. Horrified, you tried backing up, but your back hit the side of the barn and you were trapped between plywood and the crazy birds...

Stirring, you try to forget the disturbing dream, and rub at your eyes, squinting in the bright diffused light at him approaching the bed, arms outstretched dramatically.

He's already fully dressed in his embellished suit, and you wonder what time it is, but more so why exactly he's acting awfully cheerful for just another day.

"How's the little lady? My sweet sleeping beauty?"

You blush, covering your face with a big green plush pillow as he bends over, clearly aiming for a kiss.

"Ugh, no, please, I probably have morning breath," you grumble embarrassingly, and he chuckles.

Hands pry the pillow off your face and despite your protest, he leans in but goes for a peck on the forehead instead. It feels like a father would do to his child. This thought makes your stomach squirm in a feeling best described as comfortably uncomfortable.

"Welcome to another gloriosky day in Oz my dear!" he exclaims, too loudly.

"What's happening today?" You can't hide the apprehension in your voice, and it doesn't help when his warm brown eyes widen and his smile dips a bit before he plasters on a forced calm expression instead.

"Today? Uh, today is what's happening as it does every day! But it's a new fresh day, isn't that miraculous!"

Rolling your eyes at his corniness, you sit up and he starts to pull the sheets down. You squeak, yanking them back as you're wearing nothing but your birthday suit.

"Sweet Oz! What the hell do you think you're doing?! Close the curtains!"

He laughs, a wonderfully diabolical sound emulating deep from his chest.

"'Sweet Oz', indeed. I see you've picked up a popular phrase around here. Funny how this land rubs off on us all, hmm."

"I should get dressed," you mumble, ignoring him, but he places a large hand down on your lap.

"You act like I haven't seen you utterly indecent before, like you weren't just buck-naked last night, fucking me."

You swallow and now that he's brought attention to it, you do feel especially sore and awfully achy in-between your legs. Your limbs feel made of wobbly jelly and your back is too stiff. The lovemaking had been very passionate but also lustfully frantically aggressive even for him, like the kind of love soldiers give before they're sent away to war, not knowing if they'll ever see their lover again.

Anxiety prickles in your gut and it grumbles back in annoyance.

"Hungry?" he asks, lifting eyebrows.

"It is high past noon, after all." He lifts his hand and backs off, watching you carefully as you slip out of the sheets, wincing.

"Can you please close the curtains?"

"No one can see," he counters, but after a moment he crosses the room and quickly shoves them together, blocking the streaming daylight.

You sigh in relief, loosening up and stretching, hearing a few joints pop and crack. A yawn comes next before you tiredly pick your pale green flouncy nightgown off the floor, pulling it over your head to cover up.

"I'm going off to use the washroom," you announce to him, and he hums, nodding distractingly as he's fiddling with one of his green bottles on the side table.

Still uncertain and wary about whatever could be going on, at least in his head, you shuffle off to the bathing chambers and he doesn't follow, giving privacy. Usually, there's a maid around to assist, but not today. It's quiet and peaceful as you undress in front of the expansive mirror, reflecting your entire appearance. You're almost ashamed of how much of a hot mess you are: unkept messy hair, blotchy cheeks, puffy eyes, and numerous dark hickeys dotting both sides of your neck.

Your head pounds as if hungover and you try to remember how much of the elixir you drank last night. Why was it the shade of green anyway? What was it, precisely? He would never tell you.

Back home in Kansas, a neighbor's kid had once told you a person's skin could turn orange from eating too many carrots and as an impressionable young child, it had haunted you, to the chagrin of your mother who nearly had to force feed you the root vegetable for years.

Paranoid now, you scrutinize your skin color, thinking there might be a faint green hue. It's stupid. Drinks don't turn folks a color. You take a deep breath, stepping away from the mocking mirror. Maybe a bubble bath will help wash away the insecurities and sinful reminders of the night before.

But even the soap and bubbles are dyed verdant, and it's as if you're bathing in the very essence of him and this city. You throw your head back on the rim of the tub and moan softly to the high ceiling as hot water soothes your sore muscles, seeping into your pores. You spend a while bathing and relaxing, grateful for the serenity.

********

When you're finally dried off and dressed, you creep out into the hall, planning on heading to the dining hall to get some late lunch, but a babble of voices ahead make you halt. You dive and duck behind a pillar to hide when you immediately recognize the owners to them.

"When can I, uh, expect you to join us tomorrow?" The Wizard, tone low and serious.

"As soon as possible if there are no delays." Madame Morrible, voice icy and impatient.

"Well, huh, not too soon because I'd like a chance to bond with the girl first, get her to know me a little bit and-"

"What about that whore of yours? Has she been removed?" Morrible interrupts shrilly.

"Ah, uh, no. I was planning to dispose of her today."

"She should have been gone weeks ago; we're about out of time, Oscar. You need to deal with her immediately."

"I know, I know, but golly. What if it's safer to keep her here? She knows too much already, we can't risk her blabbing to the Munchkins about who I am, what we've done, all-"

"She'll just get in the way if she stays and you don't need distractions. You've had your fun with her and now it's time for her to go. I'm sure you can function properly without her, yes?"

"Well of course, yes, but she has no idea... She's not equipped for this land, she doesn't know the anything of Oz outside these walls, this city..."

"I'm sure she'll find a way to survive and if she's learned anything from you at all, she'll thrive."

"What are you implying?" he asks nervously.

"She's a bit plain for a harlot, but she can use her bodily sensual services, can she not?" Morrible quips and Oscar gasps.

"My lady will not be prostituted! No, no, I won't have that! She's not even that kind of girl, this isn't like the traveling circus. She's still pretty inexperienced, she'd be ripped apart out there if she tried! Ack, the very thought of any men laying their grubby hands on her makes me sick."

"You've grown too attached to this foreign farm girl and frankly I don't see what you see in her."

"We have a real connection! She recognized, she remembered me from when I was a carnie and came all this way looking for me. She was in such a state of distress, what was I supposed to do? I couldn't - didn't know how - to send her back! Besides, this is the most fun I've had in twenty years..." His voice is warmly pleading, begging, but Morrible cuts through it like a knife into melting butter.

"We've had this discussion before, and it remains the same conclusion: She is nothing special and a waste of resources. You need to do what's best for you, for us... for the sake of all of Oz."

"Are you, uh, jealous of my affections for her, perchance?"

Morrible scoffed vociferously.

"Don't be ridiculous and flatter yourself. This has nothing to do with that. I did this for you, like with everything else."

"And boy do I appreciate it. But, well, because if I get rid of her... you might be free?" He pauses and you hate to imagine what he might be doing. Giving her a sly grin? Stroking her arm? Kissing the back of her hand? Whatever it is, a faint laugh is produced from the sorceress. You've never heard that from her before.

"You know... Like the old times?" he purrs seductively, and you clench your fists in your lap, the bones of your knuckles straining against skin.

The laughter gradually dies off and you would bet she's shaking her head disapprovingly as the next words are spoken, starting off as sweetly humored and ending in sheer scolding.

"You haven't changed a bit all these years; still as devilishly charming as ever. I would say I admire your stamina, but I don't when it is misplaced and a hindrance to our plans. You're not much better than some of those sexed up failing students at Shiz. Focus, Oscar."

"I am, but a man can have his cake and eat it too, can't he?"

"We shall see how well that works out for you."

There's an abrupt loud clop-clop of heels driving into the flooring as Morrible presumably turns and begins to walk away.

"Just make sure the whore is gone by the end of the day, no exceptions. Tomorrow has to be perfect, Elphaba Thropp is expecting only the best," she calls back to him in warning.

Her footsteps fade one piercing thud at a time, and you slowly stand up, peering around the pillar. The Wizard has his hands jammed in his pockets and muttering to himself.

"More like you, Madame, are expecting the best as you always do. Yet I cannot ever please you in the ways I would like... What in the blazes am I supposed to do?"

You flatten back against the cool marble column, trying to remain calm, but hot wet tears are brimming in your eyes. You blink then away, not willing to go to pieces now. He deserves a piece of your mind first.

Steeling your strength, as this is "Oz the Great and Powerful" after all, more importantly, the man you've been loving for months now, the man who'd rescued you and was now treating you as trash to be thrown out...

You can't take it anymore.

Striding out from your hiding spot, you holler angrily from several feet down the hall.

"YOU NO-GOOD, TWO-FACED BASTARD!"

To say the Wizard is shocked would be an understatement. His face is a priceless expression of utter baffled horror, and he staggers backwards, nearly stumbling over his own feet as you barrel towards him, not even controlling how raised your voice is. Part of you wishes Morrible is still in earshot.

"I MAY BE A JUST A DIRTY COUNTRY GIRL, BUT I AIN'T GONNA STAND BY AND LET YOU AND YOUR OLD FLAME CALL ME A WORTHLESS WHORE BEHIND MY BACK! SAY IT TO MY FUCKIN' FACE, YOU ABSOLUTE COWARD!"

You reach Oscar and pummel your fists into his vested chest before he can stop you, but after a few seconds you hiss and pull away, shaking your fist as your knuckles sting in pain. One of his vest's stupid shiny metal trinkets on its chain hit squarely on the bone and you swear a string of cuss words that would've made your mother blanch.

"Are you hurt?" he asks, concern creasing his face, but you aren't touched by it in the slightest.

"Of course I'm hurt, jerk!"

"Oh, yes I know, but your hand? I didn't mean-" He reaches out, not offended (or just ignoring) that not only you've disrespected him, but cursed profusely in the presence of The Wizard of Oz himself. Anyone else would be getting their ass whooped right about now, if they were lucky and not thrown in prison or killed.

"Keep your filthy hands off me!" You recoil, jerking away as if he's a poisonous snake, and his face falls like a curtain.

"I'm sorry, but I told you all about this, remember? I was arranging for you to be sent away for your safety!"

"You forgot to phrase it as me being just a disposable whore. And I shouldn't even be called such a thing as a whore because you don't pay me to fuck you anyhow! Why don't you just say slut?!"

He cringes, appearing truly apologetic, but who knows? You can't trust him, no one can - except for his precious Madame Morrible that he lets pull his heartstrings, among others.

"Darlin', let's discuss this later, I've gotta-"

"NO! Don't brush me off!"

He glances over your head where human guards are approaching quickly, their footsteps just now registering to your ears. Perhaps punishment was coming after all. You yelp as they grab you roughly from behind, Oscar's face twisting in floundering regret as he watches you get manhandled.

"How can you - do th-this...?!" Your voice falters as you succumb to the guards' strong grips and he has the audacity to avert his eyes as they drag you away.

********

You're taken to your own bedroom and shoved with force inside, and then the heavy door slams with a resounding thud, locking you in alone.

You glance to the glass window, half a mind to break out and try to shimmy down the side of the palace wall, which probably wouldn't end very well. If he wants you to leave so badly, maybe you should even though you have nothing to go off with.

But then your attention draws to two decent sized suitcases at the foot of the carefully made bed and you pop them open, revealing one trunk full of clothes. There's rolled stacks of bills tucked in-between the socks, enough money to last quite a while, assuming that Oz was financially similar to America's economy.

You swallow hard, almost taking back your statement about him never paying you a dime. He did pay you, in personal affection and letting you live here with his luxuries, and now he's willing to give you a generous chunk of savings to get by.

He'd obviously planned to send you away promptly today, but you just found out before you were supposed to. You should have seen it coming and expected it, but a different kind of fury - a type that's the opposite of the prior one that just urged you to run away with spite - rolling through your body contradicts this.

You don't want to leave, not on these terms. You won't take this rejection slapped with misplaced kindness.

Damn Oscar Diggs. Or maybe you no longer have the privilege of using that name, so he's just the impersonal Wizard? No matter. The saddest part is if he thinks he's doing right or wrong here, it hurts regardless.

With a sigh of despair, you sink down on the edge of the plush bed, letting those dammed up tears break containment and flood out. You cry a river, grateful for the couple of handkerchiefs that had been tucked on top of your clothes in one of the trunks. It has his stupid "OZ" moniker on it, but it feels justifying staining it with copious amounts of snot and salt water.

By the time the door opens again, you're in the worst dejected, defeated, and sour mood you've ever been in.

The Wizard quietly shuts the door behind him, and he stands awkwardly for a minute, assessing you with a deep frown and sadness in those once charming hazel eyes. You felt like such an utter fool to love him... Morrible was right, you were waste here who would be better off wandering Oz without him. But the thought of strangers, particularly unknown men, out there makes your stomach curdle in unease. But you'd journeyed through parts of Oz before to reach the Emerald City and no one had made you feel unsafe and in danger, so maybe you could again... There was always Munchkinland; perhaps there was a way back home from there.

The Wizard clears his throat, but you don't look up. You can't bring yourself to face him.

"Uhhh, this was-wasn't how I wanted things to end up, you know."

"I never asked for this," you bite out quietly.

"Do you think I did?" he snaps with the same biting coldness and crunch of a mid-winter's morning.

"I should have never come here. It was a mistake."

He huffs loudly in anger, reminding you of a disgruntled steer.

"You're damn lucky I decided to keep you in the first place. To house, feed, and even love a stranger from fucking Kansas! And yet here you sit, ungrateful when all I'm trying to do is help you!" His voice grows in intensity, and you realize you've never seen him this mad at you before. It's like facing his giant mechanical head all over again, surrounded by flaring fire, heat licking the air.

"Y-You think throwing me out helps? I-I want nothing more than to be with you!" You hate the way your voice wavers, sabotaging your desired strength.

"YOU CAN'T! WE CAN'T STAY TOGETHER!" he bellows back, every word a punch to the gut.

"Then why don't you just kill me since I'm nothing to you anymore? Or I never really was?" you choke out, not completely meaning the killing part, but he's alarmed.

At once, the Wizard lurches forward, dropping to his knees in front you and taking both your hands in his large encompassing ones.

"No, no, no! How could you even conceive of such a horrid thought?" he gasps but part of you honestly can't tell if this is an assumed act and he's just toying with you, trying to seem innocent.

"I may be something of a scoundrel, but I would never want you dead for no reason when all you've ever done is please me."

"Then... but why do you want to get rid of m-me?" It's pathetic how broken and exhausted this sentence is said. You don't want to sound so wretched, to make it all worse.

"I truly don't, we've had a lot of fun these past several months, and you've healed my loneliness. I've come to care quite a lot for you. But..." he trails off as you slide off the edge of the bed into his lap, wrapping your arms around his neck and burying your face into the crook of his neck.

"Oh, darling," he grunts, embracing back.

You inhale his spiced musky scent deeply, wishing you could never leave this position. It's perfect this way, the pain warped into cathartic.

"I love you, Oscar," you confess, and he squeezes back in affirmation.

"I love you to the moon and back, sweetheart. And that's an awfully long way."

"Don't make me leave then, it's too long a trip."

He chuckles, rumbling in his chest like distant thunder.

"Don't you miss your family back home?" he asks softly, all humor evaporated.

Your fingers dig into his back like talons, and you sniffle once, eyes leaking a little.

"If they're still left there. That tornado was massive and was wiping out everythin'."

"Yeah, uh, you've been crying and moaning in your sleep about it lately," he mentions uncomfortably, and you unlatch your arms, pulling back to look at him.

"Really? I did have an awful dream this morning before you woke me, not about the twister, but farm animals speaking and coming after me. Chickens with pitchforks, can you believe it?"

"Huh, that's, uhh, that's unusual." He laughs, but it sounds very forced and nervous.

"Hmm, maybe we should lay off on the elixir for you, I know it can be prone to giving one strange feverish dreams and visions, I would kno-" He halts his sentence as your stomach gurgles very audibly. He glances down, then around the room in astonishment.

"Gosh, did no one bring you any food?"

"No," you reply, shaking your head.

He snaps his fingers, the loud pop echoing in the room.

"Drat! I asked them too, that's unacceptable."

"It's okay."

"No, it's certainly not. No wonder you're so cranky." He lifts you off his lap and gets up. You start to follow, but he pushes you down.

"Stay here, I'll bring a plate up."

He strides out, returning a few minutes later with water and a gold plate filled to the brim with several fancy stuffed sandwiches. It makes you salivate as he hands it to you with a fretful expression.

"Here, I'm so sorry about that, it is not my intention at all to starve you."

You eagerly take the plate in your lap, not caring to be prim and proper about consumption when you shovel in a sandwich and gulp water from a sliver chalice. He stands and watches in amused satisfaction as you demolish the food in no time and then set the empty plate aside, sighing happily.

"Thank you," you tell him with reverenced earnest.

The Wizard nods in acknowledgement and then there's a lull of stuffy silence. You pick at loose thread on a corner of the bedsheets, swallowing.

"If I, uh, if I let you stay, you must promise to st-stay hidden," he suddenly declares, slightly awkward in delivery.

"Of course," you reply at once, hope soaring into your chest, making your heart swell.

"You mustn't let Madame Morrible or Elphaba see you," he continues, stern.

"I won't." You hesitant and then go ahead with the question because it's been bugging you.

"Who is this Elphaba exactly? She's powerful like Morrible?"

The Wizard crosses his arms tight to his chest, working his jaw a bit.

"Well... apparently she has a load of potential - sorcery, yes - that could be mighty useful for me in keeping with ruling Oz and gaining power over our enemies. But she needs to be trained to serve and to enhance but also control her power, there's something Morrible hopes she can do and-"

There's a sharp rapping on the door that interrupts him, and you jump, glancing as the door bursts open, a red-faced mustached guard dragging in a monkey who is holding a satchel in its paws.

"Urgent mail call, your Ozness," the guard announces, and Oscar stands up, swiping the envelope from the monkey.

"It's from Munchkinland." He frowns, ripping the wax seal off and tugging out the contents, a single half page letter.

There's a tense minute as he reads and when his eyes leave the page, he looks to the mustached man and monkey first, then to you.

"It's news of Governor Thropp's death. He just died of a heart attack," the Wizard says, slightly aghast. He then addresses the guard.

"Am I the first to know of this?"

"Yes, sir."

"What does it mean?" you ask.

"It means the bastard's dead, what else?!" the Wizard exclaims, and you raise an eyebrow at mostly an absence of remorse.

He shoes the guard and monkey out before turning to you, speaking rapidly.

"I've been trying to annex that breadbasket country for years... The Yellow Brick Road construction hit a snag, but with leadership in flux now, it'll be easier to take full advantage." He rubs his mustache, a scheming glint in his eyes you don't particularly enjoy.

More power. Just what he needs.

You sigh, falling back on the bed with an exaggerated flump!

"Oh, what's the matter now?" Oscar asks, obviously irritable.

"Things are changing, aren't they? You wanted to send me there, but now the governor's dead and there could be political upheaval! They won't want anything to do with me, especially if I came from you and you're trying to take over their land."

"True, that's a point there. Well, you're getting your wish after all, darling." He walks to the bed and looms over your body before swiftly placing his hands down on either side of your head, trapping you between the sheets and his handsome face.

"You get to stay, my little lady... And we'll just find a way to keep our secret from Morrible, understand?"

Something about his tone makes you gulp; this isn't the goofy playful man anymore. This is Oz the Great and Terrible demanding obedience or else.

"Yes, sir."

"That's my girl." His tongue flicks out for a second, wetting his lips, before his spreads a smile.

There's a frothing hunger splashing at his toothy grin and your breath hitches as his index fingers caresses the left side of your neck, touching the barely fading hickey marks. Another good reason to hide away, you can't imagine Morrible or some outsider like that magical college girl seeing this.

"Gee, I wonder who left all these?" he breathes and the heated coil in your lower regions unwinds slightly.

"A man, I think," you reply in a whisper, and he winks, cradling your cheek.

"Will you forgive an old fool's folly? For almost throwing away the happiest part of his life?"

"What about Morrible?"

He withdraws, uneasy, but quickly recovers.

"Ah! Uh, an unavoidable co-conspirator and companion. We may have had a tryst years ago, but she's not too interested in physical pleasures anymore." He waves a hand as if letting bygones be bygones, but you're still bothered.

"You must love me and only me or I will leave after all. Remember, I don't belong here."

"You do now. Besides, you could never bring yourself to abandon the life I've provided," he retorts smugly, clearly thinking you're bluffing.

"If it comes to it, you give me no choice. I may not have magic, but I have my free will even if you lock me up. I don't have to love you, I could just pretend."

"Now you're the one threatening me? We'll make a politician out of you yet with that attitude." He smirks, unable to resist as he goes down, hands all over your clothes

"We can't do this now..." you gasp, distracted by the spurt of lust.

"I may do whatever I please, including enjoying my lady. And don't you want me to make it up to you? After all, that snafu of sending you out has nearly resolved itself and as long as you stay hidden tomorrow, we're in the clear. If you will?"

"If you love me then yes, all I want is nothing more than to be with you."

"That's what I thought." He gets a pondering expression, eyebrows pinching together.

"But perhaps you are right. We'll wait to celebrate... But I don't know when. I'll be accommodating the girl tomorrow and there will be plans to roll out, hands to shake, blueprints to complete, orders to designate..." He sighs dramatically and for a minute, his old age truly shows.

"You're too drunk with power, it's not healthy."

"I didn't used to be, but these things grow on a man. You know..." He waggles his finger in the air, drawing a circle, before landing it on your chest, right where your heartbeat is.

"You know why we connect so well? You're the first person I've known in twenty odd years that wasn't born a citizen of Oz; you come from the heartland of humble corn fed hicks just as I did and understand how confusing but fantastical this whole world is." He pauses and a wistful sadness seeps in the creases of his face.

"You know I always wanted a family of my own, but traveling wouldn't allow."

You nod, he's alluded to this many times. Always longed to be a father...

"Part of me wishes we'd crossed paths earlier in life or you hadn't been born so soon because we could have fallen in love the old fashioned way and had ourselves a nice farmhouse and fucked until the cows came home, and I would've given us a big family to raise... We could have had a whole, uh, brood of Diggs children running around causing chaos."

You swallow, not too sure about the "big family" part, but the way he phrases his pipedream makes it seem oddly rather idyllic and for a moment you can see a murky vision of yourself on a porch swing with him, babe in lap as a few older children chase and shriek after a smattering of chickens in the yard. Oscar with one arm on the tiny child, another arm around you, the scuff of his thin mustache bristles brushing your cheek as he kisses lovingly, working his way to your lips... That was the way country life would've been if everything was normal, right?

"That sounds just a bit simpler than being a ruler," you answer him softly. He rigs up a half smile and a glint of mischief flashes in his chocolate eyes.

"But I'm not a simple man, am I? I wasn't born to be a farmer; I was destined for more than that... The sense of being a salesman, the allure of the stage show magic was much too strong. Imagine my surprise when I discovered it was real here, not just sleight of hand tricks and palmistry and crystal balls and all that bullshit."

He digs in the pocket of his pants for a moment and then holds up a single gold coin, one of his many.

"See this? Now you don't." With a flick of his wrist and an open palm three seconds later, the coin's gone.

"Kids used to love that trick at the fairs, especially the tykes. That and the ol' 'got your nose', though anybody could do that." He pretends to grab your own nose, and you scrunch your face, eliciting a giggle.

"Now... Where did that coin end up?" He gives an even more mischievous look and then his hand is down between your legs and you gasp as he feels intrusively into your panties.

"Ah-ha!" He procures the coin from what feels like partly between your moist folds, making you flush.

He flips it in the air once, it lands down on his palm with a light smack, gleaming gold. He chuckles once at your expression, which must be infuriatingly amusing.

"It never gets tiring, seeing people's reactions. God, that sure makes me happy."

"That was a very dirty trick, though!" you point out scandalously, but not able to hide the grin spreading.

"Yes, uh, that one's reserved for special ladies." He winks again and then pulls you up and onto his lap, straddling you to his front. You can feel his half hard cock under his trousers and smile, shaking your head.

There has to be something more in that green elixir. Most men his age can't have this level of a sex drive, right? You just had a strenuous round last night and he's aiming for more satisfaction less than twenty-four hours later. You feel his hands trailing down your lower back until he has a tight grip on your ass, and he leans in, threatening to plant another neck hickey. His teeth graze along the fragile skin of your neck, winding upward to your earlobe and he growls playfully in your ear.

"You sound like a tiger," you tell him with an amused snort, struggling to not to let him rip your clothes off right here and now. Being on a bed doesn't help these urges.

He cocks his head, flicks his tongue out once across his lips, and then gets a very devious expression.

"A tiger you say... Or how about a lion? I am feeling as if I could devour you whole." He snarls and lets out a smooth rumbling purr just like a real house cat before rubbing your ass and carefully nibbling your earlobe.

He withdraws suddenly, arm snaking out from behind you and he holds up a single digit.

"Hold on, lions can't purr. Have you ever seen one in the flesh? I think we should get a pet cub; it'll give you something to care for."

"But they're dangerous!"

"Not when they're whipped into submission," he points out flatly and you frown.

"That's a harsh term, isn't it? But, my dear, they're absolute beasts who cannot ever truly be trained, you must get them young to make an impact," he justifies.

"Can't we just get a normal kitty cat instead?"

He rubs the dark patch of facial hair under his lower lip, lips twitching.

"I shall consider it if it would make you happy. Please, please forgive me for my terrible actions and words earlier," he pleads, cradling your cheek.

"I'll consider it, your Ozness," you shoot back teasingly, but in all honesty, you are caving in. He does seem truly sorry and there's so much relief in not having to leave the palace.

Oscar pats your head and then grunts, adjusting you off his lap with sheer abruptness.

"There's preparations to be made for tomorrow, I must ensure every bit of my machinery and displays are in perfect order, so I must unfortunately go. But I'll join you for dinner, and you deserve to eat as much as you want in apology for earlier." He jumps sprightly to his feet and energetically springs to exit, hesitating only for a fraction in the doorframe.

"I'll see you tonight, little lady."

********

Late that evening, after you've unpacked your belongings since you're sticking around, The Wizard invites you to spend the night in his bed and you cuddle under the covers, watching him pace back and forth in the middle of the room, muttering under his breath, too fast for you to correctly make out what he's speaking. His movements are jerky and reminiscent of a marionette, twitching and guided by an invisible force. Maybe there is one, involuntary. Could Morrible be capable of that kind of dark magic? Like the elixir, you'll likely never know if there's a secret to it or not. Just smoke and mirrors, never a clear reason to why anything happens.

Your mouth stretches into a wide yawn, and you spread out, relishing in the silky sheets. His bed is more comfortable than yours with more pillows that let you feel as if you're among puffy clouds.

Oscar doesn't offer any drinks tonight even for himself; he's too preoccupied.

You're in a cozy half-asleep state when he finally joins you in the bed, having removed his outer fabrics to be just in a white undershirt and boxers. There's nervous anticipation radiating off him, keeping him awake, but serious tiredness in the bags under his eyes.

"Are you worried about tomorrow?" you ask drowsily, though it's an unnecessary question.

"Yes... Can you tell? Mostly because I'm trying to figure out a way to pull my pitch off just right. To sell to the Thropp girl she belongs here with me and Morrible says she's gullible but strong-willed and determinedly emotional, a volatile combination if not anything gets out of control. I want to ease into things with her, see just how much power she could hold. And on top of it, I have to keep you completely out of sight, so I ask you remain in your room for the entire day, got it?" he rambles out in a rush the pace of a babbling brook.

"Sure."

He spreads his legs and moves you so you're lying in-between them. He pets your hair, sighing softly.

"Good."

Silence lapses and there's not even a hint of sex tonight, just cuddling for once and him humming an unknown lullaby as the night moves slow as molasses eventually towards tomorrow. You pass out shortly to the sound his steady breathing and the weight of his arms encircling your body.

********

The next day, The Wizard isn't there to wake you. No one is. It's empty in his bedroom, but someone been in to open the drapes halfway and crack the window; you can hear birds chirping and twittering noisily outside. There's also a fresh vase of flowers - a dozen red roses that smell decadent - on the table that weren't there last night.

You leave to the bathing chambers and complete your morning routine before returning to your room, feeling encroaching boredom. He wouldn't mind if you go to the library, would he? There were no books left to read in your room.

You wander out down the long corridors, surprised at the lack of guards, human or monkey. The one you do see hardly bats an eye; after all, you're just The Wizard's pet who's not going anywhere.

A moving flash of green catches your peripheral, a tall figure who could only be one man, rushing off towards the throne room. You have never seen the behind the scenes of his operation and curiosity peaks, despite this would be denying his orders. You want to see what this Elphaba Thropp is all about and are just as intrigued as him to witness any strong magic capabilities.

You silently slip through the ropey curtains.

He's up at the control panel, hunched over the panels and levers. When there's faint footsteps from outside, he perks up, hand cranking a wheel.

"Okay, okay, here we go..." he mutters to himself as the gears churn, and he lifts the speaker to his mouth.

Outside, the giant mechanical head groans to life and introduces itself before imploring.

"Who are you... and why do you seek me?" it hisses out menacingly.

You hear muffled voices, one particularly high pitched and female, the other female as well, but more muted.

"Elphie, say something."

"What am I supposed-"

"Anything! Say something."

"Say something..." the Wizard echoes into the mouthpiece and you stifle a laugh into your fist.

You see confusion in his expression as he's working to process who the two voices could belong to.

"My name is Elphaba Thropp and-"

He startles a little, hand slipping on the lever and the machine grinds to a halt just as it did when you met it. You watch as he gathers himself and then slips out from behind the curtain and you strain to hear as he greets the visitors.

"Elphaba Thropp? I didn't know it was you. You know, when I'm back there I can't make out people's faces... Uh, it's so great to meet-"

There's a pregnant pause and you wonder what he's doing before he speaks again.

"So great to meet you. Uh, hang on."

You stand up and creep over past the control panel and to the curtains, pressing your ear against it to hear better.

There's a quick exchange and then one of the girls - clearly not Miss Thropp - introduces herself as "Glinda" but he butchers it, misspeaking as "Belinda".

Before long, you hear him say "wait 'till you see this" and there's the quickening clop of his tap shoes, and before you can move out of the way, he's barging in the control room.

"Now, just hold on and I'll show-oah - OHH, good sakes!" He gasps, clutching his chest when he sees you, stopping dead in his tracks and nearly crashing into a part of the ropey curtain.

"Is everything alright, your Ozness?" the perky sounding Glinda calls out in confusion some distance away.

The Wizard catches his breath and then quickly calls back as nonchalant as he can manage.

"Oh, yes, everything's fine! Someone-thing just went a tad haywire, so just give me a minute and I'll be with you very shortly! Two shakes of a cat's tail, I promise!"

He roughly grabs your shoulders and steers you aside, plunking you down at the base of the stairwell.

"What in the name of Oz are you doing in here?!" he breathes in a frantic whisper.

"I was curious, I'm sorry, I-"

"Curiosity doesn't begin to cut it! I asked you to stay in your room! I thought I could trust you to be a good girl about all this."

"I'm not your child," you retort back, whisper-shouting.

"Then don't act like one." He glances over his shoulder anxiously and then bops your nose lightly with his finger.

"I will deal with you young lady later, but for now, stay put in here and don't make a single sound," he orders angrily.

"I won't," you whisper back, and he gives a you-damn-well-better dangerous glare.

He dashes back out from behind the curtains, cheerily addressing the girls as if nothing happened.

"Sorry about that. Follow me this way, ladies!"

You hear them walk off and sink down to the floor, cheeks flushed with guilty heat.

The Wizard proceeds to show the girls around his miniature set, and you feel a pang when listening to him about his sentiment of longing to be a father. It's just all part of his pitch, isn't it?

********

There's a chill to the air when Madame Morrible shows up just as his performance ends, her footfalls resoundingly loud and foreboding.

Everything escalates and spirals out of control rather fast from there when the Grimmerie book is brought out and Elphaba attempts a spell, which backfires on the lead monkey guard, Chistery.

Terrified, you grip the curtains and stare at Chistery howling and writhing on the floor with his new set of conjured unnatural wings. You want to rush out to the Wizard and hold onto him tight, but you can't, it's too dangerous and you aren't supposed to expose yourself.

But when it comes to light the Wizard is using Animals to his advantage and Elphaba loudly rejects his plan and makes a run for it, leaving a scared and stressed Glinda behind, who is taken care of immediately by Morrible ordering her to go get her friend, you can't help it.

"Oz, what's going on?! Are we in danger? What's going to happen to Elphaba?!" you yell, bursting out from your hiding spot into the large room, earning a stunned and furious gaze from Morrible and bewildered overwhelming disapproval from him.

"Sweetheart, please-" he starts, but Morrible intercedes, her tone livid as she rounds on him.

"How is SHE still here? You promised to rid of this useless whore yesterday! I regret ever conjuring the tornado that whipped up this random Kansian and dumped her here in the first place."

"What?!" you gasp, head reeling from this sudden realization.

"Oscar, you were so depressed and lonely, and I was bored to death of your bellyaching. We agreed it was just a fun arrangement at the time, but you've grown so attached to her, it disappoints me. Now look at the mess we're in and she's just another unnecessary piece on our plate to deal with. Aren't you proud of yourself?" Morrible asks dryly.

He opens and closes his mouth like a fish out of water and Morrible scoffs in disgust, turning back to you. She takes a half step forward, hand raised and poised in strike, as if she's two seconds away from slapping your face. You recoil, eyes darting to Oscar as he lunges forward and attaches his hand into your wrist, tugging you away.

"Excuse us, Madame."

He takes you once again behind the curtains, disappearing from the scene. The disturbed ropes swing loosely behind as he drags you up the staircase, huffing and muttering indistinctly. When you reach the platform where the control panel is, he whirls about, livid.

"Do you need to get your ears checked? Because you just can't seem to listen to a darn fucking word I say!" he exclaims furiously, gregariously shaking your arm.

"What is going on? And why didn't you tell me that me coming here was Morrible's fault? That I was just supposed to be a floozy? Was this a set up all along? How long have you been pullin' my leg!?" you demand, retching your hand from his grasp before he yanks your arm out its socket.

"A disaster, that's what's going on! Morrible just couldn't keep her damn mouth shut. But never mind that. This situation apart from you isn't how I wanted things to go, but one must adapt to the circumstances. Elphaba knows too much and has made herself an enemy of the state that I must dispose of."

You don't miss the intentional emphasis on that term that infuriated you to tears yesterday, and you know what he's implying.

Elphaba Thropp is going to join her governor father in death.

Distracted, you bite your lip, not sure what to make of this. Yes, the girl was dangerous with a spell book, but she had a cause that wasn't evil. She just wanted to help the Animals and expose the Wizard of Oz as a fraud. And what's Glinda's role in all this? She seems bonded to the green girl as some kind emotional support person, deeper than just a friendly peer.

"Okay, but what about Morrible? She's ready to put my own head on a pike!" you exclaim in panic, and he snorts.

"Forget it. She doesn't think highly enough of you to warrant a such a spectacle as a public execution, so don't worry."

Uncertain whether to be offended or not by that, you plow ahead with your questioning.

"What are you doing? Can I help? Maybe this is all a misunderstanding, maybe we can reason with Elphaba, there has to be another way, right?"

He ignores you, lifting up the mouthpiece connecting to his mechanical head and barking orders to his guards standing outside in the throne room.

"Guards! There's a fugitive loose in the palace... Find her... and bring her to me."

When the Wizard whips around to you, his face is calmly focused, and it unnerves you how ready he is for complete warfare against a single girl.

"Want to be useful and do the right thing for once today? Go after the blonde girl and bring her to me. We can use her as leverage against Elphaba, which speaking of - if you happen to see her, don't approach, wait for the guards. She's extremely dangerous and will attack if provoked. Here, take these for restraining her friend." He tosses a heavy pair of dark metal handcuffs to you, which would've hit you in the chest if not for lightning reflexes.

"Go!" he urges, ushering you down the stairs and back out to the main floor.

As you race off down the corridor, you can't help but feel flabbergasted and frightened at how this was all playing out. There's no room to digest what Morrible admitted and what this means for your relationship with the Wizard, so your brain shoves the confusion and hurt into a box. You'll deal with that later.

You shriek as a crazed flying monkey bursts through a glass window and clumsily crashes off down the hall, and then as you round a corner, you scream as you smash right into a small waif of a person with radiant locks of blonde hair.

It's Glinda.

"Who are you?!" she gasps, spinning around in a 360, momentarily dazed.

You heave to catch your breath, keeping your hands behind your back, hiding the handcuffs.

"I-I'm... with the Wizard," you tell her cautiously.

"Oh, well I could've figured that!" she exclaims, and you're confused for a moment as she points emphatically at your front.

"You have the monogram of Oz right here on your collar."

"Oh, right, I guess I do." You laugh nervously and she cocks her head, trying to figure out why you're even here talking to her. Interrupting her mission to find her friend.

"Did he send you? I hope you're not a guard; you don't look like one. Are you a servant or something?"

You grimace, thinking bitterly:

No, I'm just his stupid slut here to capture you against your will.

"No, um, I-"

Glinda stares at you intensely, her brain trying to work you out. This is what the Wizard would he want, isn't it? Stalling. But time is ticking; she's already flighty and her attention won't last much longer as she needs to get to her friend.

"You know, it's really not important who I am, um-"

"I have to go find Elphie before they hurt her! Please." She spontaneously grabs your shoulders and shakes you frantically back and forth. For such a tiny overly feminine person, she has quite a fiery amount of strength to her.

"You MUST convince him she's not going to hurt anyone. She made a scandalacious mistake but doesn't deserve to be hunted down like some Animal! Please, make him listen! I just need to get her to say sorry and we'll be FINE!" Glinda's voice reaches hysterical levels and as you stare at her wide huge brown doe eyes, you realize you don't have the heart (or lack thereof) to apprehend her by chaining her wrists together and dragging her back to the man.

"I'm so sorry about all this. Go find your friend and get the heck out of here!" you tell her before stepping away and bolting back the way you came.

You tremble as Morrible's cruel voice booms from speakers above, pronouncing Elphaba Thropp as a Wicked Witch and to hunt her down. It's too late to talk sense.

Dread swirls in your stomach when you reach the Wizard empty handed. He is unsurprisingly disappointed and snatches the handcuffs out of your hands, tossing them aside with a clunk to the floor.

"I didn't find her," you lie and his jaw clenches, but he doesn't detect the fib.

"Alright, alright. Stay with me then, it's safer." He catches your wrist and intertwines his fingers through yours, locking hands.

"Hey. I know you're upset about me and well, everything, but I still love you, okay? I love your guts. If you let go of me now, consider it the last thing you'll do," he threatens and you nod once, gripping back harder.

It's good to feel wanted, at least not in the bad way that Elphaba currently is.

********

Morrible storms back in just as all the lights in the palace explode, the electrical power blown out by an invisible energy force.

"They're at the high tower," she reports, and the Wizard drags you out down the winding corridors.

"Look!" you shout, pointing with your free hand to the broken windows and the sky outside where rampaging monkeys have gone, flying in circles.

A cloaked figure is on a broom, somehow flying in the air without wings, as guards stare up helplessly, brandishing swords, guns at their belts.

"Why don't they just shoot her down?" you ask, feeling terrible.

"No... This is what we can work with," he replies, his eyes scanning the sky.

"What's that mean?"

"Let her think she's free for now, she's weaponized herself so the people of Oz will be afraid and look to me for guidance. She's given me the perfect ascent without even realizing it. Selfish, stupid girl."

"But what if she tells people the truth and forms an army?" Your hand is getting sweaty in his grip. None of this is right, but like a trainwreck, you certainly can't stop nor can you look away.

"Not in the city, she won't. Everyone here is very loyal to me. No, she'll find a hiding spot somewhere unincorporated, I suppose, and if she's lucky, only a few will be sympathetic to her self-imposed plight. She's not the type to rally folks together and-" he breaks off as Elphaba does a battle cry in the sky, and a chill crawls down your spine.

The Wizard's hold on your hand slacks and you're momentarily forgotten as he drops his hand and moves forward, staring up in awe and fear as the green girl zooms away into the sunset.

She's made her choice, you think sadly but with reverence as you watch the billowing cloak of black against the setting sun and painted clouds.

Like I've made mine.

You glance at the Wizard, standing dumbstruck in the same position and you walk slowly over to him, taking his palm in yours, his dry hand wicking the moisture away. It takes a moment, but he squeezes in return.

When the commotion has died down and the witch has flown far away from the palace, leaving damage in her wake, you briefly see her friend Glinda with Morrible, embracing the older woman with streaming tears. By the embrace, you can't help but assume she has wanted this affection for a long time and Morrible isn't the right person, but someone Glinda has desperately latched to. She might mean as much as the Wizard means to you, minus the sexual aspect.

Everyone's made a choice today, you muse somberly as the Wizard guides you inside.

********

The palace goes on lockdown, guards trawling every inch of the perimeter all through the night.

"I should've tied you to the bed first thing in the morning and maybe we wouldn't be in so much of a pickle," the Wizard muses tiredly to you in his bedroom.

"Elphaba Thropp's rebellion is hardly my fault, mister!"

He shakes his head, distracted with his own jitteriness, pacing once more back and forth across the room, wearing a groove in the flooring.

"Come here," he barks suddenly and it's not a request.

You rise off the bed and move to meet him when he grabs ahold and spins you around so your back is flush to his chest. His breath is hot and ticklish in your right ear, voice husky and laced with frustrated lust.

"You were an awfully naughty girl today... I should punish you... Teach you something about listening to your elders, to not be in places you're not supposed to... How'd you like it if I stripped you naked and made you parade around the palace, huh? Would that make you feel good? Do you want to be called my slut? Would that make you feel wanted?"

"No," you breathe as his hand cups one of your breasts, groping generously.

"Should give you a spanking if I was so bold..."

You gulp as his other hand winds up your skirt and finds its way to your ass, hovering an inch above your panties.

"Hmm? Would that make you feel bad? Would you take the consequences? What can I do to prove this wasn't all some game I was playing?"

His fingers slip the panties down and there's a audible riiipp as he stretches them too far with a sharp yank, and the ruined fabric falls in a shimmy down your legs to land around your ankles.

"I'll take whatever you give me, your Ozness." Saying that makes bile rise in your throat, especially after today.

Slap.

You wince as his palm connects to the firm tender flesh of your bottom and he holds you still, arm snaked around your middle.

"Ooh, it stings, doesn't it? When you don't get your way? Believe me, I know. I know."

Slap.

"You shouldn't lie to me, my dear."

Cold fear crystallizes your veins, and you freeze, certain he knows you bullshitted about not finding Glinda and bringing her to him.

"I'm sorry, I didn't want to-"

"Offend me? That's wise..."

Your brain reels in confusion, trying to unlock whatever he's on about. Not getting Glinda back would insult him? Would it make him feel inadequate for not being able to obtain the witches? Were you offensive to have around?

Slap.

The spank jolts you out of theorizing and his breath is hot against your neck.

"Not everyone appreciates what I have to offer, it baffles me, but I understand. Elphaba Thropp is one such girl who is not enamored by my gifts and premise, clearly. But you... I expected better." Cold disappointment laces his tone and the spank that follows it sinks home the feeling that, at this moment, you are very lowly in his eyes.

"I made a mistake, I know, it'll-"

"Hush." He grunts and another slap hits your rear, making you chomp down on your bottom lip.

"I won't take apologies or excuses, missy."

Slap!

"Please, I beg of you-"

"Oh, begging now, are we? Begging to stay with me even if it means I hurt you?"

"Yes. I mean, no. Yes, I want-"

His hand leaves the target zone and drifts up your spine briefly before backing down and out, proceeding to make quick work of removing the skirt.

"Sweetheart, you don't know what you want other than my attention, that's pretty damn clear."

Well, you can't deny that.

"And now look at that, you're butt naked and here I am giving you my full attention. Lucky you." He sighs dramatically, as if this whole ordeal is a great chore.

"Gotta give the woman what she wants, I suppose." He pokes your ribs playfully and you wriggle, not sure whether to laugh or cry at this point.

"I should punish you further but considering the circumstances and how much of a day it's been, I shan't." His hand, however, goes down and spanks your ass once more, hard enough to make you squeal and squirm away. There's sure to be a lasting red mark down there by now.

"I'm... n-not your child," you manage to blurt out, breathless without dignity.

"Well, if I have to take on the role of acting daddy, I will if it keeps you in line." He huffs, wrapping an arm possessively around your midriff and catching you to reel you back into him.

You hate how your cunt clenches at those words, especially "daddy". It's wrong, it's perverted, but it also feels so... right for him. The father of Oz, the father of all you desire...

"No, I'm good," you rebuff, but the words betray your true feelings.

"You won't be the one to determine that."

He means it too, if how he handled the situation with Elphaba (now the labeled Wicked Witch) is anything to go by.

"Yes, sir."

"Good girl."

You writhe a bit, feeling seeping wetness on your folds and he must sense it too, for Oscar dips a finger in-between your thighs and briefly taps your damp entrance.

"Wet already? I guess spanking you wasn't the punishment I was intending."

"It still hurts," you whine out and he chortles darkly.

"Of course it does darling, that's life isn't it?"

He presses against you, and you can feel his hard-on against your back, his own budding wetness warm and sticky on skin.

"Will you take me?" he asks in a low voice, surprisingly tender and gentle.

One would presume the question a trick, a folly to make one feel the illusion of a choice; he is Oz the Great and Terrible after all. There is no questioning under his regime, there isn't anyone stopping him from getting what he wants. He must please himself first and foremost at the expense of others. A hunter in the grass, locked on his hapless prey that is aware that if it flees, it means a gamble for its own life.

But the man holding you to his chest with a ready cock that could break into you so easily is perfectly still, patiently awaiting an answer. There is no obvious threat behind his words, no cloak and dagger, or at least you chose to believe so. Oscar is not a good man, but he is not a monster.

"I'd like that," you whisper out, and the next actions that swiftly follow are seamless and nearly effortless.

It feels completely natural to conform to his larger body, to let his cockhead burrow past your folds and move with the steady thrust of hips, body grinding into your own at a passionate but forgiving pace. Even his grunts are rhythmic, only broken with pauses for breath and speech is when his otherwise fluid motions get sloppy. But you're too busy chasing an earth shaking orgasm to take much notice. Oscar's voice is gruff and needy at the side of your head as he carries the weight of holding you and himself upright to keep from collapsing to the floor and fucking right there. Standing up is a different kind of stamina.

"I... I should-should've given you a baby, it would give m-me an excuse to never let you go... Still can, in fact. Want one? A kid? I-I don't know, no-not at my age, I know, but fuck I... I can't pull out every single time," he pants, thrusts getting more frantic by the second and you erupt in euphoria as he hits the sweet spot, cock curved at just the right angle.

"Morrible will murder us both, we can't, what will people think..." you moan out, seeing twinkly stars as your head is thrown back in ecasty.

"I know, I know... But the thought is too tempting. I could be a real daddy for once..."

"I thought you already were mine," you gasp out and at this he groans, unable to conjure an answer as his cum splashes your cunt, cock promptly dragging out and dribbling hot thick streams down your thighs.

You feel like melting in his embrace from behind, legs going to jelly and he props you up, but he's faltering as well, all his energy drained.

"Buh-Bed," he stutters out, struggling to catch his breath.

You lumber forward with him until you reach the bed and fall face down into the cool satin emerald sheets, a second later the bed creaks and sinks with his weight beside you.

You doze off almost immediately, not even minding gooey fluid mess among tangled legs. There's the heady smell of sex and for once no elixir or whiskey accompanies it. It is raw, organic, and primal... and it feels awfully right.

********

When you awake sometime later with no recollection of the time, the room is unchanged; the candles still lit a glow, the sheets crumpled. But the Wizard is gone. For a moment, you stupidly panic, afraid Elphaba the Wicked Witch has somehow flown back and did away with him in revenge. Likely he would be too weak to fight her, or he had to flee.

"Oz... Oscar?" you croak out, clutching your chest as your heart hammers.

There's a rustling to your left and his voice comes, muffled, from the walk-in closet.

"I'm here, darling. Just getting my shoes on."

After a minute, he shuffles out with a bemused expression.

"Hey... Uh, you look like you've seen a ghost. Did I miss something?"

You sigh in relief, lowering your hand and falling back down to roll over, cocooning yourself within the satin sheets that reek of him.

"I thought you'd left or been captured, I dunno."

"I'm not leaving you. Ever," he replies, much more serious than you'd expect.

You peek up at him from the bed as he wanders over to the windows of his bedroom, pushing the drapes open a crack.

He looks out, brow furrowed in uncertainty, and you hear him faintly mumble to himself.

"Eyes on the sky, keep an eye westward..."

Then he shuts the drapes closed and steps back, humming a tune you don't know. He's half undressed in his trousers, fly open, and white undershirt with his green tap shoes.

"Do you want to dance?" he proposes excitedly, seemingly out of the blue. He's never asked to dance before. You swear sometimes his mood swings like a weathervane.

"Uh, I can square dance," you offer with a shrug and cheeky grin. He waves a hand dismissively, going to put a record on the gramophone. The melodic music comes out crackly before steadying to a mostly nice smooth sound.

"Nah, this is different than that. A slow dance, a waltz if you will." He beckons you to get up off the bed and then points excitedly to his shoes.

"C'mon, let's dance. Step right up."

You approach him, not sure why butterflies buck up in your belly. He looms before you and takes your hands in his, lifting you up so your feet in their stockings are on top of his shoes.

"You ever dance like this before?"

"No," you reply with a shake of your head as he guides your hands to his waist.

"Just follow my lead."

You sway with him in tandem for a while and then he lifts you up off his shoes and sets you on the floor, and he guides you around in a gentle fluid movement. When he dips you back briefly before finishing, delight oozes from his pores.

"Thank you for obliging me in a dance."

"Why haven't we done it before?"

"You never asked. Now, back to bed."

You smile, floating over onto the sheets once more with a yawn and he joins after removing his shoes and dropping his trousers to the floor. He picks a rose out from the vase next to the bed, the thorns all stripped from the stem, and twirls it around playfully, lightly tapping you on the nose with it.

"A pretty flower for a pretty girl." But then he violently plucks the petals off and scattering them all over the sheets, decorating the satin with splotches of red. He turns to you, eyes alight manically.

"Hey, I'm glad I didn't send you away after all! Can you imagine you, a foreigner, from the Emerald Palace sent by me landing in Munchkinland just hours after their own governor dies and said governor's daughter flies into a rage - not just figuratively - and is now a threat to all of Oz? They'd think I set this up and you'd be caught in the crosshairs of speculation! Thank goodness you convinced me not to get rid of you, by golly."

You stiffen, scowling.

"Am I really nothing more than just a political ploy and pleasure toy for you, Oz?"

"Nice rhyming, sweetheart. You are a carnal delight, but no, not a political tool. I love you too much for that."

"Do you really?"

"Don't make me have to show you." He groans, rolling over so he's on top of your body, bracing his arms against the headboard. His face is worn and exhausted, remnant of the day.

"Don't kill yourself now."

"If loving you is the last I get to do with my sorry life, I will take it." He grins but gets off and collapses down beside you, giving up. His arm reaches out, stretching to reflexively retrieve a glass medicine bottle of elixir from the bedside table.

"Fuck," he mumbles as his fingers brush it clumsily and it crashes to the floor.

"Do you want me to get that?"

"No, no, I got it," he mutters, crawling out of bed with a few more cuss words. When he pops back up and into bed, he takes a generous swig from the remarkably unbroken bottle.

"Want any?" he asks, but you shake your head in refusal.

You still don't exactly trust the stuff and tonight's enjoyable as it is without needing to be tipsy.

"More for me," he concludes, sipping more.

His Adam's apple bobs with each ingestion, and he sets the bottle aside after a bit, fixing his attention back on you. His eyes are more focused than you'd expect, not dreamy with drunkenness, and you wonder if it's possible he's built a tolerance to it. Or perhaps it just hasn't kicked in yet.

"Come here, my beauty." He encircles you in a full body embrace, the musk of his body engulfing. He must have washed up in the time you were unconscious, for his face smells of soap as he nuzzles his nose affectionately against the crook of your neck.

"Y'know, there may come a time we may have to leave this place for good... The Emerald City, that is. I hope to reign Oz until the end of my days of course, but with everything off kilter in the air because of earlier, and those girls utterly destroying my balloon, I have to plan ahead." He scoffs, mustache hairs tickling your skin as he shakes his head back and forth in obvious disgust.

"I'll get a new one fashioned up." He rolls you over to face him, worry causing deep wrinkles in his forehead.

"And, hey, what Morrible said earlier? I should've told you, I'm sorry. It was selfish, but I mean every word when I say you really are the best that could've landed on my doorstep. I don't regret it a thing and I value you, so if you don't want to be my, uh, plaything and call this all off, I understand."

"No, I don't. Just don't leave me out of the loop from now on."

He nods slowly, thinking.

"Hey... If something bad were to happen, would you come with me? Escape and leave Oz? Go back to the Midwest if we can?"

"Yes," you reply, stroking his grey hairs.

Relief floods his face, and you almost think he's about to cry before he kisses you on the lips briefly.

"I knew I could count on you, my dear. I apologize for every stupid sentence I've uttered this past twenty-four hours. Maybe it's not too late for us."

"Second chances?"

"You bet."

You snuggle contentedly into his chest, the light layer of fair hairs a comforting texture grounding you to him.

"When you asked me earlier about if I missed home... Well, I only miss it if you ain't there."

"You mean it?" he asks, anxious for any insincerity.

Funny, for a man who's built his entire empire on a decent amount of deceit. When it comes to the matters of his heart though, he merits no lies from his lover. Oscar wants to feel wanted, that is certain, and there's no tricks and sleight of hand in that.

"Cross my heart."

He presses his lips to your head, holding you snugly.

"I'm afraid you have mine until I die. I promise to never pull a stunt on making you leave again. From now on, you go where I go, even if that's by wayward balloon... I'll keep you as safe as I can. Understand?"

"I do."

"Thank you." He pauses, giving a sleepy wink.

"Goodnight, my little lady. Sweet dreams this time."

"Goodnight, Oscar," you murmur back, content and perfectly safe for the foreseeable future.

[booloocrew-blog]

EAH Ocs based on Wicked or The Wizard of Oz

Bubblelina Goodwitch- Daughter of Glinda

Roomate: Westina Wicked

Royal or Rebel?: Closeted Rebel

Secret Heart's Desire: I....know I'm supposed to be the good witch, but my true heart's desire lies in staying with Westina Wicked forever after.

My "Magic" Touch: My spell-riffic bubble magic allows for easy transport of my things- and my friends- if they need a lift!

Storybook Romance Status: I'm not sure if I'm in love with Westina Wicked or if we're just friends- that quizzical debate has made persuing a romance off the tea table for a bit.

"Oh, curses!" moment: My status as a "good witch" means I tend to get the most royally unfairest infractions from my teachers whenever I stray from that path! It honestly infurates me!

Favorite Subject: Good Magic Mastery! Where-ever after my destiny leads me, I want to make sure I'm fairy good at magic, if nothing else.

Least favorite subject: Kingdom Management. I try to keep a good face about it, but ruling a kingdom that is destined to spell-a-brate my best friend's death isn't exactly my happily ever after.

Other bios under the cut

as seen here:

Olivia and Oscar Ozmond- Twin Descendants of The Wizard

Roomate: Each other

Royal or Rebel?: Royals-

-duh!

Secret Heart's Desire:

Olivia: To rule the land of Oz once more!

Oscar: And gain a magic touch while we're at it!

My "Magic" Touch:

Olivia: Oscar's the gadgeter genius like my father-

Oscar: -and Olivia can make any lie sound like the truth!

Storybook Romance Status:

Oscar: No need to have a romance-

Olivia: -when we're destined to rule either way!

"Oh, curses!" moment:

Olivia: We're mischevious liars and tricker-sters through and through-

Oscar: -and yet we're lumped in with the GOOD guys. What a fairy fail!

Favorite Subject:

Olivia: Science & Spells!

Oscar: We need to learn ourselves some magic- or at least, how to lie about having it!

Least favorite subject:

Oscar: Kingdom Management.

Olivia: We'd rather be in General Villainy.

Westina Wicked - Daughter of Elphaba

Roomate: Bubblelina Goodwitch

Royal or Rebel?: Closeted Royal

Secret Heart's Desire: I want to be feared and die with a bang, but I don't want Bubblelina to be unhappy by my choice, so I'm pretending to be all for flipping the script for her sake.

My "Magic" Touch: I have some of the best magic hexpertise that Madame Baba Yaga has ever seen in her tale, and when I'm emotionally charged with anger, it works twice as well!

Storybook Romance Status: Bubblelina evokes certain fairy feelings in me, but I have no time for that if I want to be the wickedest of them all.

"Oh, curses!" moment: Being the Wicked Witch means I don't have much friends. Also, when I get mad, it's hard to limit my power- one time, I turned everyone into frogs HEXCEPT the poor prince I was supposed to cast- all because someone called me a toad.

Favorite Subject: Spells, Hexes and General Witchery. Cliche, I know, but when I'm hocus focused, I end up being the most spelltacular student in class!

Least favorite subject: Hexonomics. I'm bad at math. Plain and simple.

Skyler Gale- Daughter of Dorothy

Roommate: Tina Tinman

Royal or Rebel?: Royal

Secret Heart's Desire: I just want to be home. I was teleported here from the "real world" thanks to my mothers magic heirloom shoes, and now I have to learn all this new lingo and about my new "destiny". Truthfully, I'm still a bit thronesick, but I'm still quite enjoying this unex- unHEXepcted home.

My "Magic" Touch: My silver slippers! It's what got me here in the first place, but for some reason, I can't tap my shoes and go home 'until my heart feels like home', whatever that means.

Storybook Romance Status: Truth be told, I do like Tina Tinman and Leon Braveheart, they have helped me feel like home during my first few days here as an hexchange student.

"Oh, curses!" moment: Being from Kansas, sometimes it's hard to understand cultural norms of this place. Like how "ex" is replaced by "hex" in most cases, or how we learn stuff related to our fairy tales- I got quite a few weird looks for saying I'd like to try General Villiany.

Favorite Subject: Grimmnastics. This is the class most like home- and with my shoes, I'm an ace at the hexercises!

Least favorite subject: Hero Training- the most I do is throw a bucket of water on whoever the wicked witch in my tale is, so it's a chore to sit through.

[beetlewine-art]

I was looking at Ever After High Fanart while listening to the sountrack of Wicked the Musical and suddenly i realised that, technically, there should be characters based on the Wizard of Oz in Ever After High, since The Wizard of Oz is a book. And now i can't stop thinking about how the kid of the Wicked Witch of the East (Nessarose for the Wicked Fans) would totally be a rebel.

Because imagine how fucking embarasing it must be to be the future Wicked Witch of the East, you know, the Wicked Witch of the West sister? The witch who dies at the start of the story by being CRUSHED by a house and then has her shoes stolen before her body is even cold? And then your sister more worried about getting your slippers than the fact you were crushed by a house. Who tf would want a destiny like that? It sucks.

I can imagine that kid being like: "What do you mean that my destiny is to die in a incredibly stupid way, just so Dorothy can have some fancy shoes??? F*ck that! I'm rewritting my destiny!" And honestly? I wouldn't blame them, because i would be angry too if i were them.

[deramin2]

If you're loving the moral complexity of Critical Role Campaign 3, and enjoy Bell's Hells making agonized interesting character-driven choices that may not "right," here's a list of films I saw within the last few months to get more of that. (All of these ended up being at least a bit queer because queer people just make better films.)

Queer (2024)

My Own Private Idaho (1991)

Wicked: Part 1 (2024)

How To Blow Up A Pipeline (2022)

Hundreds of Beavers (2022)

I Saw The TV Glow (2024)

National Anthem (2023)

The Green Knight (2021)

The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)

Carol (2015)

Elevator pitches under the cut.

Queer (2024)

Based on a 1985 novella by Beat Generation writer William S. Burroughs, it's a portrait of a middle-aged American gay writer named William Lee (played by Daniel Craig) living in Mexico City in the 1950s who becomes infatuated with a younger man named Eugene Allerton. He struggles with alcohol and heroin addiction, and is obsessed with telepathy. Eventually he invites Allerton with him to Ecuador seeking an experience with the hallucinogen yagé (ayahuasca), which little is known about outside local Indigenous medicine.

It's also about both of their very complex and painful experiences of queerness at a time when it was highly stigmatized and illegal. Including saying they reject the label as more of a political identity. The novella is loosely based on Burroughs own life and experiences. He's often excluded from the "queer canon" precisely because his relationship with homosexuality was too messy politically, despite being so open about it he's one of the Beat writers sued for obscenity that helped overturn those laws and allow every queer story after him to be published. (An astute viewer may note the symbolism of main characters refusing the label of queer in a work that explicitly labels them as queer as told by a "queer but it's complicated" author known for his semi-autobiographical work with unreliable narrators.)

My Own Private Idaho (1991)

A loose adaptation of Shakespeare's Henry IV from the perspective of Ned Poins. It moves the action to early 1990s Portland, Oregon where Ned becomes Mike Waters, a gay survival sex worker with narcolepsy trying to get by in a cruel and ableist world with a little help from his fellow hustler and degenerate friends. They live in an abandoned building with the newly returned king of the nest Bob Pigeon. With a little drug use and mugging to pass the time.

His best friend and crush is Scott Favor, a rebellious mayor's son who aims to disappoint so that his "miraculous" change into a redeemed son upon his father's death will finally earn his family's admiration. They travel together to Idaho and then Italy on a quest for Mike's estranged mother.

Genuinely some of the best bits of gay, sex worker, and disability in the 1990s. A really great look at how marginalization can be intersectional and the people ground under the heels of the powerful in the class war. When the Shakespeare really shines through it hits with the forceful immortality of the human condition as he saw it long ago.

Wicked: Part 1 (2024)

Based on both the book and musical Wicked. It tells the story of how the much-ostracized and green-skinned Elphaba came to be the Wicked Witch of the West in the Wizard of Oz. The film is in deep dialogue with how people are marginalized and made scapegoats in our current world in order to maintain the power of its rulers.

As told by Glinda The Good, her former roommate homoerotic frenemy who she was in a nebulous polyamorous triad or love triangle with (even they don't know which).

Also if Paul Tazewel doesn't win every award possible for his costume designs it will be biggest robbery since the British Museum. Look at this fucking spiral quilted vest that was worn in one scene near the beginning in low light while close-up dancing and seen basically only from the back to avoid identifying the wearer. Look at Elphaba's gorgeous goddamn dress on a green dress form so the could get the colors through the sheer gathered chiffon just right! These are some of the most gorgeous pieces of clothing ever made and required the technical precision of rocket scientists to make. 140 costumers worked on this film in the same building so they could build off each other's creativity. Even if it wasn't the best musical to be made in decades with technicolor enthusiasm and masterful film-making matching The Wizard of Oz (1939), it would be worth it just to see all the costumes. The Met Gala wishes it had costumes as good as the background actors.

How To Blow Up A Pipeline (2022)

A group of young environmental activists deeply harmed by the oil and gas industry (through land theft, climate change, and environmental poisoning) decide to take direct action by blowing up a pipeline in West Texas to drive up prices. Brought together by anger, love, righteousness, and chance, they set out to teach themselves to build a bomb to save the world from powerful capitalist overlords.

It's got the framework of a heist action film going between the main events and flashbacks showing what radicalized them. Incredibly powerful story about what's right and wrong in the face of a dire climate crisis driven by class war, racism, and greed.

Hundreds of Beavers (2022)

A no-dialogue black and white slapstick comedy about a 19th century Canadian applejack (alcohol) salesman who becomes a fur trapper for survival after beavers ruin his business. After many Wile E. Coyote like attempts to hunt rabbits for food, he befriends an expert trapper. Like The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, he slowly learns to string all his bad ideas into Rube Goldberg type contraptions to succeed in his hunts and goes to war with the beavers for the love of a girl. All the animals are wearing literal mascot costumes. Mix of live action, 2-D animation, practical effects, and light CGI. It's the Who Framed Rodger Rabbit (1988) of our time.

One of the funniest movies I've ever seen. If you've ever wondered what would happen if you combined Charlie Chaplin, silly Japanese game shows, Loony Toons, and Mario Kart, look no further! It wears a hundred media influences proudly on its sleeve while also being one of the most original films of all time.

I Saw The TV Glow (2024)

Alienated and isolated teenage Owen is introduced to the cheesy 1990s late-night kids show The Pink Opaque by his classmate Maddy, and he becomes obsessed with it. He especially connects to the female main character in ways he can't express.

When Maddy tells him she's running away to escape her abusive stepfather, Owen refuses the call to go with her. The film checked in on him at two other points into adulthood as he's locked into the gravity well of denying his inner self.

This is a tragic psychedelic horror film about how psychologically deep the closet can go for trans people, even to themselves. (The clear subtext is that Owen is trans woman, but I use he/him pronouns because his inability to face that fact, let alone rethink his pronouns, is the fundamental dread of the film.) A perfect example of why horror can be such a deep cathartic scream for marginalized creators. Nothing's ever come close to describing how soul-crushing it is to commit to pretending you're cis.

National Anthem (2023)

21-year-old Dylan is adrift in life working construction jobs in rural New Mexico. In this way he comes to work at a queer rodeo ranch. He didn't know such a thing existed and has never really had contact with any queer community. There he meets Sky, the most beautiful women he's ever seen in his life, who's a trans barrel racer.

She draws him into the commune polycule and introduces him to parts of his heart, gender, and sexuality that he never knew existed. Their love is tested against the fierce storms of family (natal + found), nature, and identity.

Absolutely breathtaking film about a queer subculture many people are unaware even exists. Wonderful to see films about confident trans women played by trans women. If you're a fan of Anthony Hurd's paintings, you must see this film.

The Green Knight (2021)

A masterful modern psychedelic adaptation of the famous Medieval poem. On Christmas Day the Green Knight visits King Arthur's court and proposes a game: a contestant may use his great axe to land one blow on him. However light or powerful, it will be returned onto that person in one year's time. King Arthur's headstrong nephew, and aspiring knight, Gawain takes up the challenge and cuts off his head. When it's done, the slain Green knight picks up his head and tells Gawain that for his honor must seek the Green Knight out for the return blow in one year.

We follow Sir Gawain's journey the next year to confront his duty, his honor, and his fate as various trials beset him. What awaits Gawain in his heart is heavier than any weapon. All using strong metaphor and red-green colors to get at the emotional and philosophical heart of this timeless tale of man's dominion vs. nature's. A literary symbolism bonanza.

The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)

Zero Moustafa is a lobby boy in a famed European hotel in 1932. He's an illegal refugee fleeing a violent government. The hotel's flamboyant concierge, Monsieur Gustave H.. is known far and wide for impeccable service and among the hotel staff for his affairs with wealthy old clients. Gustave ends up taking Zero under his wing making him his protégé.

One of of Gustave's affairs spanned nearly two decades with the dowager Madame Céline Villeneuve Desgoffe-und-Taxis. When she mysteriously dies, it sends Zero and Gustave on a caper for a stolen painting, a family fortune, and Zero's affections for a clever girl, as fascism closes in around them.

Carol (2015)

This is the "Harold, they're lesbians" film. In the Christmas season of 1952, a young clerk and aspiring photographer named Therese Belivet is noticed by a gorgeous older women named Carol Aird who is looking for a gift for her beloved little girl. Carol is trying to divorce her abusive husband (who's only grown more possessive and controlling after discovering her homosexuality). Meanwhile Therese's boyfriend Richard is trying to convince her to come away with him to France and get married.

Carol slowly draws Therese into her first lesbian love affair, and helps her develop and thrive. But as the stakes of the divorce are raised and their relationship gets increasingly complicated, they must choose between the risks of their truth or the gilded cage of straightness.

[themattress]

I'm concerned about Fiyero in Wicked: Part 2.

Some context: I have precisely three problems with Wicked the musical. The first is Elphaba surviving which is a cop-out, the second is Boq as the Tin Woodsman and Fiyero as the Scarecrow which is contrived and makes the setting feel too small, and the third and final is the character of Fiyero in general. Now, before you say it: no, it's not because he interferes with the Elphaba/Glinda ship. I refuse to dislike characters based on that, and he did the same thing in the Wicked book and I had no problems with him there. My issue with the musical version of Fiyero is simply that he is the only badly written character in the show.

Fiyero is introduced as a lazy, selfish, stupid, hedonistic trouble-maker. There is no hint that there's anything more to him than that. But then out of nowhere, he interacts with Elphaba for the first time in the whole scene with the lion cub, shows uncharacteristic kindness and concern, and as a result he and Elphaba develop instantaneous romantic feelings for one another....feelings they don't lose even when their next interaction is way later when Elphaba is about to leave for Emerald City, and their third interaction isn't until years later where upon re-meeting, Fiyero immediately betrays Oz to join Elphaba since he's been mooning over her for all this time despite being Glinda's boyfriend turned fiancé. Again: after only two direct interactions with her. His development is not at all believable, so I can't be invested in him.

So, imagine my surprise when I watched Wicked: Part 1 and...

They actually fixed him! Jonathan Bailey's version of the character in the movie has several differences to him that mends the problems I mentioned above. First off, he's introduced with an all-new interaction with Elphaba where instead of his carriage almost running her over while he's sleeping in it, he personally almost runs her over while riding his talking horse...a horse that he very clearly has a close, friendly relationship with. Then once he establishes himself at school, Bailey's performance makes it abundantly clear that he is acting the part of "lazy, selfish, stupid, hedonistic trouble-maker" rather than truly living it. He is afraid of the burdens of life that he learned through his royal upbringing and this is how he copes. It really becomes apparent with how he acts when getting together with Glinda - unlike the musical, there is no seemingly genuine attraction toward her; he knows that she's after him for his wealth and status and so his mindset is "She has zero expectations of me as a person whatsoever, ergo she's perfect girlfriend material for me! Here's to continuing to dance through life!" Finally, the whole lion cub incident is preceded by how visibly horrified he is by what happens to Doctor Dillamond, which links back to the dynamic he has with his horse: Fiyero clearly hasn't ever had an inkling of talking animals suffering prejudice since he's always considered the ones in his life to be equals, just as Elphaba has since she was raised by a talking bear. It is now this specific commonality that sparks romantic feelings in them, and him falling deeper in love with her over the years despite not interacting with her makes perfect sense since he'll have placed her on a pedestal of representing the future he also wants for the talking animals in Oz. Her fighting the Wizard for their sake is specifically what endears her to him, rather than "he falls in love with her because she's the main character and the plot says so even if that plot is wildly different from the book where it made sense".

So, what's the reason behind my concern for him in Wicked: Part 2? The other two issues I have with the musical, of course! I am still concerned that the movie will stick to the musical in turning him into the Scarecrow rather than killing him off, and that it also won't kill off Elphaba and send the two of them out of Oz together so that it can disingenuously paint it as Elphaba getting a happy ending. And no matter what, I insist that it's not. Elphaba has been cemented in the public consciousness of Oz as a villainous monster, even to the talking animals she was primarily fighting for. Her sister is still dead before she could ever reconcile with her, there's no chance of her and her biological father ever having a bond, and she can never see Glinda again. She has no idea what places lie beyond Oz or if she will even be welcomed there. And Fiyero is a goddamn scarecrow! He's made of straw, is constantly falling apart, and if the slightest spark touches him he'll probably die! I'm sorry, I just can't see their relationship lasting when he's in that condition, especially when we leave him off feeling pretty down about it even if he's grateful to even be alive at all. That is why, to be perfectly honest, I would rather the movie change it so that Fiyero and Elphaba die like they did in the original book....or, if I had to choose just one, that Fiyero die so that Elphaba leaves alone. Wicked is a family-friendly tragedy with a highly bittersweet ending, and it should own that.

[mask131]

What Oz could have been: the 1939 movie

Last time I talked about what Disney's "Oz: The Great and Powerful" would have originally looked like, based on the first version of the script. But today I want to talk about THE big Oz movie, THE classic: the 1939 MGM movie.

Everybody knows this picture, it became iconic and cult, and is such a big part of culture today... Yet, you might be surprised to learn that the movie could have ended up looking VERY different from the one we know today.

Indeed, the "Wizard of Oz" script kept being written and re-written and re-re-written by a dozen of different authors and co-authors, to the point that when it came time to credit who was behind the script problems arose to find an exact name to put on there... If you want to know the detail: a first draft was by William H. Cannon, Mervyn LeRoy's assistant, before the contracts were set and when everything was just beginning. Once the project started, the first full scenario was written by Irving Brecher, but he was then overtaken by another project and replaced by Herman J. Mankiewicz, who worked for one month over the script until a co-author arrived in the form of Ogden Nash. Then a third author joined the team: Noel Langley (he was the one who had the idea of changing the Silver Slippers in Ruby Slippers, and he brought the idea that the three Oz companions would have counterparts as farm helpers in Kansas). HOWEVER Mankiewicz ended up quitting the team. He was replaced by Herbert Fields, who only stayed for three days and didn't change anything, before being also replaced by Samuel Hoffenstein, who also only stayed for a few days without modifying much (or anything). FINALLY Noel Langley gave back the final product of the writers' team... Which of course was edited, rewriten and modified by a second team, formed of Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf. They were then brutally moved to another movie, and the script returned into the hands of Noel Langley to be again rewriten and adapted. One month before the movie started Noel Langley was given another co-author, Jack Mintz, and the second "final" scenario was delivered... Before being corrected and modified by a new author recently brought by Victor Fleming, John Lee Mahin. And THEN it was done!

Of the fourteen different authors that worked on the script, only three ended up being given credit in the final picture: Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson, and Edgar Allan Woolf.

The result was a project that varied wildly in production. In fact, while the final movie is still vaguely faithful though a bit loose adaptation of the original novel - the very first drafts of the movie had NOTHING to do with the original novel. The "faithfulness" to Baum's Wizard of Oz can be considered almost an accident as each rewrite got closer to Baum's story, only in an effort to get away from the older script... Anyway, here are some highlights and best-offs of the Oz movie we could have had:

The MGM movie has a lot of deleted scenes and songs, that were recorded but not included in the movie. Hopefully a lot of them were released online and can be easily found on Youtube, or elsewhere on the Internet. Most of them were cool reprises that were cut short for time: for example the song "The Wicked Witch is Dead" had a reprise after the death of the Witch of the West, sung first by the Winkies Guards and then morphing into the song being sung by the Emerald City denizens (fragments of this reprise were still used in trailers for the movie). There is also the very famous "Over the Rainbow" reprise that a scared, crying Dorothy was to sing while trapped in the Witch of the West's castle, before the Witch taunted her with an image of Aunt Em in the crystal ball. The reprise is REALLY touching and Judy Garland really put her best in there. There are also alternate takes which reveal a lot about what the movie was intended to be - for example we have alternate records of the "Lollypop Guild" which shows that the high-pitched voice of the final movie was actually an intent to create a "little boys" voice, to match the little girls of the Lullaby League.

The most famous of all these deleted songs is without a doubt the "Jitterbug" song. It was only cut at the last minute, and this brutal removal leaves bizarre remnants in the final movie (for example the Witch says she "sent a bug" to take care of Dorothy and her friends ; and when the Flying Monkey arrive they look sweating and exhausted). This was because originally the Wicked Witch of the West was supposed to send to the heroic party a magical bug (the titular "Jitterbug") that would have forced them to dance until exhaustion, so the Winged Monkeys could easily pick them up. This was however removed out of fear this would date the movie, and they were very much right... Because the entire pun on which the scene relies does not work anymore today: the "Jitterbug" being a specific style of dance very popular in the 1930s and 1940s, but that stopped existing beyond the 1960s. However the "Jitterbug song" earned enough of a fame to get included into the recent "Tom and Jerry" animated movie of "The Wizard of Oz".

Originally, a child-actress was envisioned for Dorothy, and the first choice was Shirley Temple. She declined (but she would later play the role of Tip/Ozma in a Marvelous Land of Oz production). When Judy Garland was cast, there were attempts at giving her a makeup that would make her look more like a child - but everybody pointed out it made her into a ridiculous "baby doll". The first plans were also to have Dorothy be blond, as she was in later Oz books.

Everybody knows the iconic, creepy look of the Wicked Witch of the West, but did you know she was supposed to be... beautiful? One of the main and biggest inspirations for the MGM movie was the huge success of Disney's Snow-White and the Seven Dwarfs. Since they attempt to recreate it, their original plan for the Wicked Witch of the West was to have her be a beautiful villainess evoking the Evil Queen of Disney. The original actres cast for this "glamorous witch" was Gale Sondergaar, and we still have shots of her in costume. However it was later decided to make the witch into an uglier, more grotesque character evoking a traditional fairytale hag. Mervy LeRoy was the one who wanted to have the "glamorous, sexy" witch but many (among which Arthur Freed) defended the idea that the witch had to be like Disney's old crone, not evil queen... So they decided to recast the role - leading to the arrival of the one of a kind Margaret Hamilton.

Speaking of the Wicked Wich: One of the original plans for the character was to have her be the Oz counterpart of... Aunt Em. Indeed, no Miss Gulch of any kind. Early on, Aunt Em was considered to be a meaner and colder caretaker to Dorothy, and the one who wanted to get rid of Toto - which explains why she became the Wicked Witch of Oz. (This idea was by Langley, the one who also had the idea of making Dorothy's companions into the farm-helps of Kansas) The Wicked Witch also had a son, Bulbo, an ugly and dim-witted man she wanted to make King of Oz, and who was... the counterpart of Uncle Henry. Later, when the character of Miss Gulch was created, she was given a son named Walter to match Bulbo, before the character was scrapped altogether.

The Jitterbug scene was actually a left-over of a much earlier version of the movie which would have put a strong emphasis on the "musical aspect". This version wanted Oz to be under the tyranny of a spoiled brat of a princess that would have outlawed all forms of music that were not classical music and opera ; young and hip Dorothy, however, would have brought the swing and the jazz from the 1930s USA and used it to win over the princess in a singing duel, and becoming a hero in Oz. Who would have played the princess? I had conflicting reports: some say Deanna Durbin (one of the early candidates for playing Dorothy, alongside Shirley Temple) was considered for the role ; others said it would have been Betty Jaynes playing a certan "Princess Betty".

The earliest version of the script we have (created by William H. Cannon) was heavily inspired by the 1925's Wizard of Oz movie (because yes, there were Wizard of Oz movies before the MGM one), and wanted to remove all forms of magic and supernatural from the story. The brainless scarecrow would have been a man so dumb the only job he could find was to scare crows in fields ; the Tin Man was supposed to be a heartless criminal that the law had forced to wear a suit of tin as a punishment, punishment which did encourage him to learn kindness...

Oh yes, everybody noted in the final movie how Dorothy favorizes the Scarecrow above the other companions. This is a remnant of the scenario drafts wher the final scene of the movie would have been the teary farewell of Dorothy to Hunk, as he leaves for agricultural college and she promises him to write him every day - implying a romance between the two...

People might note a bizarre editing during the scene of the companions freeing Dorothy - such as the door being axed down not corresponding to the door the group escapes from. This is due to yet another cut sequence: the door the companions axed down was to be a trap by the Wicked Witch, who was to imitate Dorothy's voice and song to lure the companions. Once she had captured the three friends, she would have used them as baits, forcing them to call out for Dorothy and to encourag her to take a magical "rainbow bridge" that appeared out of nowhere... Except said bridge would have been created by the Wicked Witch's magic, and while the rainbow was solid enough to walk onto for a certan distance, at one point it returned to being just light. The Witch hoped to kill Dorothy by doing this - but didn't count on the Ruby Slippers' magic actually preventing Dorothy from falling through the rainbow.

Before it was decided to have Glinda send snow to kill the cursed poppies, the original concept was that the Tin Man's tears would have awakened Dorothy (an idea that, as people pointed out, was reused in "The Wiz").

There was at one point plans for the Cowardly Lion to actually be just a... a regular lion that tagged along as a sort of pet with the team, and had dubbed lines, to be revealed as "Prince Florizel", a Prince Charming-type of character that had been cursed under the shape of a lion, and would in the end have married his lover, princess Sylvia (this version was one of Noel Langley's, and very influenced by traditional fairytales). This version most notably pushed Dorothy into being a secondary character: it was the Prince/Lion who was to kill the Witch, by somehow cutting her broom so it would fall into pieces while in the air. There was also a dragon the prince was supposed to fight. This version, being Langley's, was the one that included the Witch having a son (see above). In the older versions of this story, the Witch's plan to make Bulbo king of Oz was to have him marry princess Sylvia, heir to the Ozian throne (hence why Florizel's feud with the Witch is personal) ; later it was changed to the Witch planning to attack the Emerald City and dethrone the Wizard with an army of men, wolves and winged monkeys.

When the MGM learned that Disney was working on their own adaptation of the Wizard of Oz back then, there were brief talks of the two studios uniting their efforts to make a half-live-action, half-animated movie.

During the scene where the Wicked Witch threatens the companions at the cottage in the forest, the Witch was supposed to threaten the Tin Man by briefly turning him into a "beehive", aka filling him with bees, and after crushing one of the insects the Tin Man would have cried, causing his jaw to rust and be blocked.

Early on, there were plans to keep Oz as an actual magical place that truly existed - but the movie-makers of the time considered fantasy was not "sophisticated" and "serious" enough for the audiences, and so they added the entire idea of Oz being shown as a dream-world so adults could "buy" the movie.

[thegiddyowl]

Hello! I hope you are doing well!

I had not been aware Tinrose was a ship in the fandom, I am intrigued. Not sure why considering they're in a relationship within canon. But I'm also usually in more the Oz books side to be fair.

I love Nessa, one of my favorite characters in the movie. I am a, enjoy the villain type of person so her being the Wicked Witch of the East is a plus and makes her even more interesting.

I'd love to hear about it and your ship for them!

~ @Autisticbeanofoz

Aweee thank you so much! I hope you are doing well yourself!

SPOILERS for Act 2 of the Wicked musical that’ll probably have the same or similar beats in Wicked: For Good, and I’m not sure if you’re familiar with it but I’m assuming you are. If you haven’t and don’t want to be spoiled, then you may want to read this after the second movie comes out.

To give some context: I’m pretty new to the Wicked fandom because I’ve only seen the movie. Like I was always aware of Wicked the novel and the musical and knew it was about the Wizard of Oz from the Wicked Witch of the West’s POV but I didn’t seek either out. When the movie came out I was curious about it but waited until I could stream it, and it was the Boq/Nessa relationship that got me to watch it a second time and start digging into Oz! Right now I only want to read the original Oz books though because I’m writing based on the movie and what I’m cherry picking in the Wikipedia.

Now to answer your question:

I too am kind of surprised that the Tinrose fandom is very small (or I’m bad at tags lol). However, because it is a relationship that starts with deceit and ends with abuse, I get why it’s not super popular. Also I’ve come across a lot of folks hating on Nessa (she’s an entitled brat?) and Boq (he’s an incel?) so that narrows the ship fandom further lol.

From what I gleaned in the movie, Boq and Nessa genuinely care about each other. Their dancing at the Ozdust is extremely sweet, especially with how engaged he is dancing with her. Right before the scene where Dr Dillamond gets taken away, she’s wearing a poppy in her hair and he’s got one stuck in the middle of his vest as he’s moving the desk for her. When Elphaba gets the invite and it starts to rain, he pulls up his jacket and hovers over her to shield her from the rain. Obviously Nessa is smitten with him, especially when she introduces him to her father at the train station. In a deleted scene when Boq and Elphaba talk at the train station, he admits he still has hope for Galinda, but doesn’t want to be honest with Nessa that he doesn’t love her like he loves Galinda because he doesn’t want to hurt her.

What is so compelling to me is that Nessa (who needs a lot of love but also her independence respected) and Boq (who has a lot of love to give and respects her independence) could have been a fantastic couple had they been honest. From how Nessa tells Elphaba how Boq asked her out, while it was wrong of Galinda for leading him on a bit to avoid flat out rejecting him, Boq shouldn’t have fudged the truth and say that he was too shy to ask until Galinda emboldened him. He should’ve powered through his hurt feelings at the Ozdust and told Nessa the truth. I feel like their last opportunity to be honest to turn their car crash of a relationship around was at the train station when Nessa caught Boq being all heart eyes for Galinda. She should have confronted him and he could have had another chance to tell the truth, but she doesn’t say anything. Then her dad dies and her sister’s named enemy of the state in the same day and all she’s got left is Boq and she cannot lose him too, but in trying to keep him close, she still loses him.

In short: their tragedy intrigues me and makes me want to fix it lol. They just want to be loved and fit in when they don’t quite fit in, and I think that shows best in their meet cute at orientation when they can’t see what’s happening on stage because of everyone standing in front of them, but they catch each other’s eye, shrug and laugh at their situation.

It’s little things like that makes me want to best for them, even tho I know how it ends 😭

Anywho, that was quite long winded, but I hope it answers your question!

[wordtowords]

The Politics and Such of "Wicked"

political - adj. - relating to the government of a country

For as long as I can remember, children's fare–whether it be televised cartoons like the Peanuts series or live-action films like The Parent Trap–has catered more to the parents rather than to their young offspring. Of course, when I was seven watching network TV's It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown for the first time along with my sister, mom, and dad, I had no idea what Sally meant when she angrily vocalized, "I want restitution!" to a stunned Linus, but it didn't much matter as the character's body language spoke volumes. Still, the word haunted me until I was old enough to look it up in Webster's. The point I am trying to make in a roundabout way is that production companies that produce family movies have adults in mind because after all, the money is coming from their pockets; and they want to be entertained as well as their kids.

This holiday season's blockbuster Wicked is no exception. While visiting family in Utah over the Thanksgiving weekend, my cousin and I made sure to cue up at 11:30 a.m. for the first showing of the film at the local cineplex, thinking there would actually be a cue. There wasn't. In fact, only about six of us adults wound up in the theater. Oddly enough, there wasn't a single person under fifty in the house. Hmm. Perhaps the green of the Wicked Witch of the West or her prior reputation in the original version of Gregory Maguire's classic The Wizard of Oz kept the sensitive LDS families away, or perhaps they read enough about it to feel as though it was more of a PG-13 offering rather than a PG. They were right to veer on the side of caution. Although much of the suggestive content flies as high out of the range of juvenile comprehension as Wicked Witch Elphaba herself does on her broom at the close of the film, Wicked may not be designed for kids due to its political innuendoes. 

My daughter, a highly educated Millennial, was lucky enough to see the original Broadway show about seven times. The upbeat musical numbers and romantic subplot hooked her and multitudes of other fans. Throughout the years, though, due to her obsession, she managed to read the book on which the stage musical and film were based and began to understand the primary theme, which she recently texted to me as "the vilification of marginalized groups to maintain corrupt power structures." I kept thinking that by releasing the film just before the onset of Trump's presidency, Universal Pictures might be issuing a subtle forewarning to our mature society members who voted for him. During his first term, wasn't he the one responsible for locking immigrant children in cages at the Mexican border? Likewise in Wicked, the replacement professor for Doctor Dillamond, a literal old goat who is forced out of his position teaching history at fictitious Shiz University, displays a caged leopard cub, signifying to the class what the Wizard wants to do to the animals that have the ability to express themselves via language. Yikes. Albeit not exact, this is a clear parallel. Like it or not, Hollywood is expressing an opinion here, an opinion that isn't meant for youngsters to contemplate.  

Some of you are probably wondering whether or not I liked the movie. I did, but not for political reasons as I really deplore politics. Although I am in my late sixties, young matinee idols like Bridgerton's Jonathan Bailey who gives an Oscar-worthy performance as the romantic leading man Fiyero in the film, can still melt me sans any splash of water to the face. Despite being gay (and aren't the truly gorgeous guys always gay?) in real life, Jon is welcome to play the leading man in my dreams any time. 

Which brings me to something significant: the reason why we go to the movies. Most of us go to escape the drabness of reality that has grown sepia with familiarity. The emerald green of Wicked's Emerald City and Elphaba's visageshine vibrantly mainly because of talent. And green is the color of spring, of eternal youth, something we all would like to hold on to indefinitely. So grab a grandchild, daughter, son, or neighbor's teen and see Wicked if only to defy gravity for two hours and forty minutes. Mourn or don't mourn the wicked, your choice. (As a postscript: Another slightly less controversial theme that the movie implies is that there is no such concept as evil since the wicked are merely misunderstood. Politically speaking, we'll see about that :). )

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[warningsine]

“Wicked” is a sensational musical that explores the origin stories of the Wicked Witch of the West and the Good Witch of the South from “The Wizard of Oz.” Based on the novel by Gregory Maguire, its protagonists Elphaba and Glinda navigate the highs and lows of their fierce, tumultuous relationship while trying to save Oz from the conniving Wizard. 

Since it debuted on Broadway in 2004, “Wicked” has been hugely popular amongst the queer community. While the musical features no explicitly queer characters, Maguire is openly gay and many media analysts have noted multiple elements of the show that serve as obvious metaphors for queerness. 

Firstly, Elphaba and Glinda’s relationship contains heavy homoerotic undertones. Although both women pursue romantic relationships with the charming prince Fiyero, most of the plot focuses on the connection between Elphaba and Glinda. Some critics view Elphaba and Glinda as bisexual or pansexual, while others argue that both women are coded as lesbians and their interest in Fiyero develops as a reaction to societal expectations and compulsory heterosexuality. 

Regardless of their labels, the tense chemistry between Elphaba and Glinda is apparent from the moment they first meet. Although they initially dislike each other, the words they use to describe their mutual loathing also hint at unacknowledged attraction. In the song “What is This Feeling,” both women ask themselves, “What is this feeling/So sudden and new?/I felt the moment/I laid eyes on you?/My pulse is rushing/My head is reeling/My face is flushing.” These lyrics suggest that Elphaba and Glinda are either failing to understand their desire for each other or are harboring resentment because they are uncomfortable with their new feelings. 

Elphaba’s ostracization from the rest of Oz imitates society’s rejection of queer people. Her father disowns her due to her green skin – an inherent quality she cannot change – while pampering her “normal” sister Nessarose. The other citizens of Oz see her as a dangerous freak. Furthermore, talking animals, such as Elphaba’s history professor Doctor Dillamond, face discrimination because society perceives them as unnatural and believes animals should be “seen but not heard.” When “Wicked” first debuted on Broadway in 2004, many American TV shows were willing to feature queer side characters (most of which were based on exaggerated stereotypes for comic relief), but gay marriage was still illegal and LGBTQ+ rights movements were still considered radical and taboo. The status of talking animals in “Wicked” mirrors the LGBTQ+ community’s precarious position in the early 2000s: tolerated but still considered inferior. 

The characterizations of Elphaba and Glinda also mirror a butch/femme pairing. While not all sapphic couples fit into the butch/femme dynamic, it’s a popular model for sapphic couples in media. Elphaba’s rejection of traditionally feminine things and Glinda’s love for fashion and all things pink exaggerate the butch and femme archetypes to a comical extreme. In the song “Popular,” Glinda attempts to give Elphaba a makeover so she can conform to traditional beauty standards, which Elphaba finds ridiculous and unnecessary. The striking contrast between their personalities and aesthetics makes them the musical’s most dominant power couple. 

Elphaba and Glinda’s queer-coded identities can coexist with their relationships with Fiyero, but there’s also a considerable amount of subtext suggesting that the women are not even attracted to Fiyero at all. Glinda is determined to marry Fiyero before they are well acquainted, and she appears far more interested in the idea of marrying a conventionally attractive prince than Fiyero’s personality. As a beautiful, popular girl, Glinda is expected to find a socially acceptable partner, and Fiyero appeals to her because of his status rather than interpersonal connection or physical attraction. 

Elphaba, on the other hand, initially thinks Fiyero is arrogant and foolish, not attractive. She only begins falling in love with him after he shows her compassion. Since Elphaba has been shunned by society for most of her life, her emotional connection to Fiyero appears more like appreciation of his kindness and respect than sexual attraction. While Elphaba and Glinda being bisexual or pansexual would not make “Wicked” any less of a queer love story, the possibility that they are lesbians struggling to escape the expectations of heteronormative society aligns well with the musical’s content.  

Fiyero also fits perfectly into a common dynamic in queer media: the lesbian and himbo trope. Media like “The Half of It and Stranger Things” feature strong friendships between lesbians and “himbos” – men who are kind, conventionally handsome, and amusingly clueless. In the song “Dancing Through Life,” Fiyero shamelessly admits that his mottois “life’s more painless for the brainless,” but his gentle heart and effortless charm makes him one of the musical’s most endearing characters. He is one of the few characters to demonstrate genuine compassion and understanding towards Elphaba, and he supports her even after she is denounced as the Wicked Witch of the West. Although the duet “As Long As You’re Mine” establishes Elphaba and Fiyero as a romantic pair, the most notable aspect of their relationship is their loyalty to each other.  

At its core, “Wicked” is the story of two witches who change each other’s lives and love each other despite their differences and disagreements. Whether this relationship is framed as romantic or platonic, it is one of the few musicals that focuses on a deeply emotional connection between two women, making it one of the most popular Broadway shows within the sapphic community. 

[princesssarisa]

Do you think Dorothy from the books was a better role model for girls than in the MGM Wizard of Oz film?

Just to answer this, I reread The Wonderful Wizard of Oz over the last two days. I'm not very familiar with the rest of the Oz books, but since the movie is only based on the original book, I suppose it's best to compare just the two of them.

I don't think either the book's Dorothy or the MGM film's Dorothy is a better role model than the other. They're just slightly different.

I understand why a lot of people consider Baum's Dorothy a better role model than movie Dorothy. She has more of a down-to-earth, can-do attitude than movie Dorothy, whom some critics think is reduced to a weepy damsel in distress. I especially understand why some people are annoyed by the movie's rewrites to the scenes at the Wicked Witch's castle, where Dorothy's three male friends come to her rescue and where she splashes the Witch with water by accident. In the book the Scarecrow and Tin Woodman are destroyed by the Winged Monkeys, while the Lion is captured along with Dorothy and locked in a pen; Dorothy stands up to the Witch when she tries to take her silver shoes and throws the water on her in anger (not knowing it will melt her, but it's still a deliberate act); and afterwards, she frees the Lion and then rallies the Winkies to repair the Scarecrow and Tin Woodman. I won't deny that the movie's rewrite adheres more to traditional gender roles and probably reflects Hays Code standards of how a "good girl" should behave.

But I don't mind the fact that movie Dorothy is slightly more vulnerable and emotional than Baum's Dorothy. In the first place, she's older than Baum's Dorothy: even if she's younger than Judy Garland's 16 years, she must be at least 12, while Baum's Dorothy might be as young as 6. Between hormones and higher emotional intelligence, it's natural for teenage or preteen girls to be more emotional than little girls. Secondly, movie Dorothy's added soulfulness and dreaminess are part of her appeal. I'm not sure "Over the Rainbow" would seem in character for Baum's no-nonsense little Dorothy to sing.

There's also the fact that the movie's Wicked Witch of the West is much more powerful and dangerous than Baum's Witch. In the book, she can't physically harm Dorothy because the Good Witch of the North's magic kiss protects her, so she just makes her work as a scullery maid. She's also a bit of a scaredy-cat: she's afraid of the Cowardly Lion, and she can't steal the silver shoes at night while Dorothy is sleeping because she's afraid of the dark! With the movie's far more imposing Witch and the real danger Dorothy faces of being killed, it's hard to blame movie Dorothy for being more terrified. She also has more to deal with in Kansas than Baum's Dorothy does: there's no Miss Gulch trying to have Toto killed in the book.

Last but not least, movie Dorothy is still spunky! She still slaps the nose of a lion in Toto's defense (not yet knowing that he's a coward), she stands up to the Wizard even when she thinks he's a fearsome giant head with immense magical powers, and in the Witch's castle, even though her friends free her from the hourglass room, she's still the one who ultimately saves the day. She deserves credit for her presence of mind when she spots the pail of water and throws it onto the Scarecrow to save him from burning, even if it is by accident that she splashes the Witch too.

I think both Dorothys are good characters and role models: Baum's Dorothy for her resilience, optimism, and down-to-earth intelligence, and movie Dorothy for her relatable character arc of longing to escape from her troubles, only to learn that it's not worth the price of leaving her home and her loved ones behind. Not to mention the qualities they both share: warmth, kindness, courage, loyalty, and affection.