#but like. it was not uncommon for girls her age to be entering the workforce in the 1920s

[winepresswrath]

Amc IWTV is at its best when it isn't worried about staying true to the books and nowhere is this more apparent than Claudia. You cannot undermine the central premise of the character, in terms of both her motives and the basic physical constraints that shape her life and then proceed as though you didn't do that. The actress is charming and charismatic! The relationship dynamics they've established between her, Louis, and Lestat are fun. They really did not need to write a character who is ostensibly fourteen as though she was a precocious ten year old (or an adult who doesn't spend much time with children's idea of a precocious ten year old), or make an actress who is very obviously an adult woman monologue about being trapped in the body of a child. She's believable as a young teenager when styled that way! Give her (a limited selection of) Armand problems. I don't understand why the writers are happy to go their own way when it comes to things from the book they could easily preserve but don't want to acknowledge the very obvious fact that they cast an adult actress in the role. You changed the thing! It's fine! Just write for the character you have, she's very fun and should be allowed all the murder her heart desires!

[blogforanimeclass]

Wandering Son

Wandering Son is a coming-of-age story similar to Wolf Children with a modern perspective. Our protagonist, Nitori, is growing up and has to endure all of the challenges that come along with growing up. However, in addition, Nitori is a trans girl. From the get-go, Nitori is uncomfortable with masculinity and the masculine performance she must put on. She remarks her male uniform as being uncomfortable, she wants to audition for her school’s drama program (drama is female-dominated space, especially in middle school) and feels comfortable wearing feminine clothing in public.

Another aspect of why Nitori has trouble understanding why they cannot be feminine-presenting is Yoshino. Presented as a sharp contrast to Nitori, Yoshino a young woman in Nitori’s class who will sometimes wear boy’s uniforms to school if she “feels like it.” This a common concept found in both eastern and western society that young men, including myself, have to come to terms with. Frankly, young women have more avenues for expression than men. Women can have long or short hair, have piercings or not and women can wear dresses or suits as the show illustrated. Men, by contrast, are expected to have short hair, go without piercings and wear suits. Fortunately, some of this is changing in the modern day. However, it is still somewhat present, and I am sure in some circles girls aren’t allowed to have short hair, go without piercings or wear suits.

When discussing the presentation (particularly physical) of men and women, it is important to recognize that early feminists used signs of masculinity as signs of power. For instance, when women in the US were first entering the workforce, it was not uncommon for them to wear pantsuits with shoulder pads to emulate a wider, more masculine frame. As men, particularly in western societies, haven’t had to break as many glass ceilings, they have never had to employ symbols of femininity quite like feminists. However, now that women are holding more positions of power, men feel more comfortable racing horizontally across the power structure as opposed to downwards to find fashion inspiration.

All of this is to say Nitori, a trans girl, has trouble even trying to be feminine presenting in public. This is illustrated when the faculty has trouble even identifying Nitori when she comes to school presenting feminine.

All in all, I recommend Wandering Son for anyone who is trans, is cis or even feels that much like Nitori they do not fit in.

[janeromas]

Women and Alcoholism

While alcoholism has perhaps traditionally been considered a more prevalent problem among men, alcoholism is an equal opportunity disease. But women and alcoholism are, in many ways, much different than their male counterparts. Researchers across the spectrum of alcohol prevention, treatment, education, and outreach continue to study alcohol’s effects on women, whether different treatment protocols should be utilized, the effects of genetics and family history, and physiological, psychological, and social differences.

When the Shift Occurred

A large research study of women born after World War II conducted by the University of Washington led researchers to conclude that cultural changes paved the way for the increase in the number of women with alcohol dependence. These changes included:

It was more socially acceptable for women to drink

Women entered the workforce in greater numbers

More women attended college

Gender stereotypes were less restricting on women

Purchasing power of women increased

Definition of Alcoholism

According to the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), alcoholism, or alcohol dependence, “is a disease that includes the following four symptoms:

Craving – a strong need or urge to drink

Loss of control – not being able to stop drinking once drinking has begun

Physical dependence – withdrawal symptoms, such as nausea, sweating, shakiness, and anxiety after drinking stopping drinking

Tolerance – the need to drink greater amounts of alcohol to get drunk

How Big is the Problem?

Of an estimated 15.1 million alcohol dependent or alcohol abusers in the U.S., approximately 4.6 million (about one-third) are women. Alcohol: A Women’s Health Issue, from the National Institute on Alcohol and Alcoholism (NIAAA), estimates that 5.3 million American women drink in a way that “threatens their health, safety, and general well-being.” Black women are more likely to abstain from alcohol than white women, but although there are an equal proportion of black and white women who are heavy drinkers, black women have fewer alcohol-related personal and social problems, yet a greater proportion of black women experience alcohol-related health problems. While Hispanic women are infrequent drinkers or abstainers, as they enter work/social arenas, this may change. Moderate or heavy drinking is increasing among younger, American-born Hispanic women.

Women Drink Differently than Men

Generally, women who drink consume less alcohol and have fewer alcohol dependency symptoms than men, but among the heaviest drinkers, women equal or surpass men in the number of drinking-related problems. Studies have shown that the time period between the onset of alcohol-related problems and entry into treatment for alcohol dependency or alcoholism is shorter for women than for men. 

Women also experience greater physiological impairment than men earlier in their careers, even though they consume less alcohol than men. Consequences associated with heavy drinking may also be accelerated in women. Other research shows that women’s drinking tends to resemble that of their husbands, siblings, and close friends. Younger women, aged 18 to 34, have increased risks of alcohol-related problems than older women. Middle-aged women, aged 35 to 39, however, have higher incidences of alcohol dependence. Researchers have also found that role deprivation (losing the role of a wife, mother, or loss of employment) may increase women’s risk for abusing alcohol. Depression, according to the NIAAA, is closely linked with alcoholism or heavy drinking in women. Drinking alone or at home puts women at greater risk of developing later drinking problems.

How Alcohol Affects Women’s Bodies

Differences in body weight and fluid content between men and women account for some of the differences in how alcohol affects the body. Alcohol and alcohol abuse have serious physical consequences for women as well. Some specific health risks for women include the following:

Women are more likely than men to develop alcoholic hepatitis (inflammation of the liver) and to die from cirrhosis than men. Estrogen and alcohol combined may increase the risk of liver damage.

Menstrual difficulties have been shown to be associated with heavy drinking and may affect fertility as well as contribute to early menopause.

Research suggests that women may be more vulnerable to alcohol-induced brain damage than men. This damage includes brain shrinkage in women, memory loss, and learning difficulties.

Heavy drinking increases the risk of breast cancer. A study by the Journal of the American Medical Association reported that women who drink 2 to 5 alcoholic drinks daily are 41 percent more likely to develop breast cancer. In addition, alcohol is linked to cancers of the neck, head, and digestive tract (although not limited to women), and is more pronounced among those who also smoke.

Even though women consume less alcohol than men over a lifetime, they are more susceptible to alcohol-related heart disease. Heavy drinking (chronic) is a leading cause of cardiovascular disease.

Pregnant women who drink are at greater risk of delivering babies born with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), characterized by abnormal facial features and severe learning disabilities.

Alcoholism is also linked to dementia, and women may be particularly at risk.

In the late stages of alcoholism, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), women develop hypertension, malnutrition, and anemia much faster than men.

Aging appears to reduce the body’s ability to adapt to alcohol. Alcohol problems among older people are often mistaken for age-related conditions, with the effect of alcohol problems being missed or left untreated, especially among older women.

Alcohol increases a woman’s risk of becoming a victim of domestic violence and sexual assault and of developing other serious diseases such as osteoporosis and pancreatitis.

Why Women Drink

Some of the reasons why women drink are the same as for men: stress, overwork, anxiety, and depression, striving to fit in, relax, or overcome inhibitions. But, according to the book “Women Under the Influence”, the result of 10 years of research by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University (funded by Bristol-Myers Squibb and published in 2006 by The Johns Hopkins University Press):

Women in substance abuse treatment are five times more likely than men (69 percent vs. 12 percent) to have been sexually abused as children. And girls are more likely than men to suffer from eating disorders. Both sexual abuse and eating disorders are seen as contributing factors for substance abuse.

Women, more than men, said they started drinking heavily following a crisis, such as a divorce, unemployment, miscarriage or a child leaving home.

Older women are more likely than men to self-medicate with alcohol and/or prescription drugs to deal with the loss of a spouse, financial difficulties, or loneliness.

Women and Treatment for Alcoholism

Statistics from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Prevention (NIAAA) show that women represent 25.4 percent of alcohol clients in U.S. treatment centers (versus 75 percent of men). Women often pursue non-traditional alcoholism treatment, instead preferring to see their personal physician or utilize psychiatric services. 

Among the barriers to women seeking treatment for alcoholism, the most frequently cited is the lack of child care. Limited financial resources, not having access to employer-paid alcoholism treatment, stigma, and fear are other barriers. Interestingly, treatment outcomes are better for women at facilities with a smaller proportion of female clients, while they are better for men at facilities with a greater proportion of female clients.

Women Overcome Addiction Differently

The Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP) says that approximately 2.7 million American women abuse alcohol or are dependent on alcohol. This is one-quarter of all alcohol abusers. Following an 18-month study conducted in 2008 by a Canadian non-profit agency, researchers found that:

While children are important, if women don’t recover for themselves, they usually relapse.

There is no real “turning point” prior to seeking treatment. Women reported their recovery was a slow process.

What they needed was to discover their real selves. It was not a matter of changing their identity from “addict” to “ex-addict.” For these study women, using drugs and/or alcohol was an activity, not their assumed identity.

Half of the women went to Alcoholics Anonymous, while half overcame their addiction on their own.

All the women in the study replaced their addiction with another life passion. This may have been physical exercise, volunteering, work, school, or mentoring other women in recovery.

Most of the study women began using drugs and alcohol in their early 20s.

Most reported a family member who was also an addict.

These incidences contributed to low self-esteem.

Researchers also found a strong link between domestic violence and substance abuse.

Media Coverage of Women and Alcoholism

While tragic, it has not been uncommon for media to routinely report alcohol-related vehicular crashes, homicides, suicides, and accidental deaths. For many years, however, this seemed relegated more toward males than females, since more men traditionally drank than women. But, as stated earlier, women have caught up to the men when it comes to use and abuse of alcohol – with predictable consequences.

Consider the headlines recently of the New York woman who was, according to toxicology reports, drunk and stoned on marijuana in late July 2009 when the minivan she was driving the wrong way on the Taconic State Parkway slammed head-on into another vehicle, triggering a three-car crash. Eight people were killed in the incident, including the woman, her daughter, three of her nieces, and three men.

Her husband, who was not in the vehicle, said he had never seen his wife drunk, although he reportedly told police she occasionally smoked marijuana. A recent report issued by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) points to a disturbing trend: the number of women arrested for drunk driving is on the rise. The agency calls the problem a national public health and safety issue, confirming the Federal Bureau of Investigation figures that women arrested for driving under the influence (DUI) increased by nearly 30 percent from 1998 to 2007.

During the same 10-year period, the number of men arrested for DUI decreased 7.5 percent. According to a press release issued by the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA), state data backs up this trend in certain states. In California, nearly 19 percent of all 2007 arrests for DUI were of women, compared with 14 percent in 1998. New Mexico, Missouri, New Jersey, and Vermont reported similar statistics. States stepped up campaigns targeting media messages to women, including New Mexico’s recently-conducted campaign, “Women Drive Drunk, Too.”

Women and Alcoholism – A Growing Problem

Clearly, the issue and frequency of women and alcoholism are becoming more prevalent in the U.S., and much more research needs to be done to address the complex and varied causes, mitigating factors, potential new treatment methods and protocols, education and public awareness. The NIAAA supports about 90 percent of all research in this country on alcohol use and its effects. 

According to the NIAAA, finding out why some women drink too much is the first step in preventing problems with alcohol in women. Other areas of scientific study include the role of genetics and family environment, the type of job the woman has, whether she combines work and family, life changes such as divorce, marriage, the birth of children or children leaving home, ethnic background, infertility, and sexual and relationship problems. 

Researchers hope to learn how to identify women that may be at risk for problems with alcohol and to find new and more effective ways of treating women with alcoholism. Call us today at Recovery church Nashville.

[forkanna]

[AO3 LINK] [EF LINK]

                                              PART THREE

NOTE: This is where we advance several months. It's also the final story arc for this fic, so I hope you're ready for the final wild ride! (Also my apologies for taking so long to get this up)

                                              CHAPTER NINETEEN

Truer words had never been spoken in the history of Oz. And Elphaba didn't even need a drop of Pond water.

Over the next week, the lost Princess Ozma was hastily given just enough training in how to act like a "lady" so that she could participate in her own coronation ceremony. Etiquette, table manners, proper terms of address for nobility. Hair was fussed over, dresses were cut and hemmed, shoes were fashioned. She seemed to take to most lessons and changes very naturally once the initial shock had worn off.

And she positively clung to Glinda. The three witches had assumed their services would no longer be needed now that the rightful heir had turned up from the least likely place imaginable. Instead, Ozma desperately pleaded with them to stay on and help her figure out how to rule an entire kingdom.

"Oh, I thought you wanted to challenge us to a duel?" Elphaba had needled her as she was fitted for a high collar.

"Yeah, yeah," she replied in a grumble, spitting into the corner. Instantly, Glinda swatted her with her wand. "Ow!"

"And how will it look if the new queen of not one, but four countries, is seen spitting during her coronation?"

Pouting as she looked down at her stocking feet, Ozma tried to hide a blush. It was always present when she was in especially feminine garb. Though she had accepted such far more readily than someone who had spent their entire life as a boy ought to, that didn't mean her discomfort vanished. "No idea. I just keep forgetting these things. There's so much! A farm boy never had to balance books on his head, so why do you witches think I'm bad when I drop them?"

"We're conveniently 'you witches' whenever you have to do something you don't like," Elphaba cackled. "Instead of Auntie Glinda and Auntie Elphie…"

Tutting at her fellow Councilwoman, Glinda told the princess, "We're not saying you're a bad girl for forgetting! Just trying to motivate your memory. Now, stand up straight…"

Little by little, the young Ozma began to grasp things, and her learning gained momentum. Within her first month as queen, she was acting as if she had been bred for it all her life — in public, at least. In private, her behavior could only be described as "tomboyish". Not quite as masculine as an average boy raised in the country, but neither as ladylike as Glinda and Jellia would have liked.

Elphaba didn't seem to mind at all. In fact, the two of them would often laugh about how silly some of the customs expected of women in so-called "polite society" were. Though of the three witches, Ozma felt most secure around Glinda, trusting her completely, she definitely felt freest to be herself with the green-tinged Thropp. Their shared disregard of pomp and social niceties ensured that.

Two more months along and she even made a few changes. They were minor, but only endeared herself to the populace more. The Lurlinic Pike Guild was given right to refurbish their bunkers and procure shiny new pikes to replace the rusted ones. Mombi was hunted down and forbidden to practice magic any further, her spellbooks seized and her potions impounded. The library, which had been closed, was reopened and staffed with Animals, as part of hers and Elphaba's initiative to help return them to the respectable workforce. A statue of the Wizard was removed from the square and replaced with the statue of Ozma the Billious, then replaced again with a statue of the current Ozma by popular demand. It seemed the Emerald City had a new darling in its young Ruler.

When asked what she wanted done with the Wizard's statue, Elphaba asked it to be put in a corner of the Palace gardens. Despite his motives and methods, he was her father, and hadn't been so terrible that he deserved to have his name stricken from the record and his statue demolished.

Truth be told, it was Nessarose who did the largest share of actual governing in the government. It wound up being quite the ideal situation: Ozma could learn at her own pace and be pretty, Glinda was fantastic at smoothing over rough patches in diplomatic relations and getting people to drop their guard, Elphaba had freedom to work on her passion projects, and Nessa got back to precisely what she had been doing in Munchkinland on a larger scale. Now that she'd been fed a dose of humility, and didn't have an unattainable man lurking around to distract her, she was fantastic at the job. Eventually, they were able to replicate the spell they used on her shoes on a pair of anklets, so that she might wear different shoes from day to day. She did remark that the level of control was not quite as high, but it only took a small period of adjustment.

But she still wore the original silvery shoes from time to time. They remained her most prized possession.

Boq was rusted completely by the time they fetched him from Kiamo Ko. Without any sharper idea of what to do with him, they decided it was best he met the same fate as Morrible: tossed into the Forbidden Fountain. Once he had climbed free, as with Morrible, he had no memory of anything at all. Despite Nessa's temptation to tell him he was her long lost husband, they agreed that the truth was the best policy. While the mindless Morrible was employed at Shiz, and only as a teacher's aide, now Boq knew that he had transgressed, and his punishment was to have to start over as the guard of the Prince of the Vinkus.

As for the fate of Fiyero, he sadly could not be changed into a flesh-and-blood Vinkan again. So he decided to make do. Upon returning to his homeland, bringing along a freshly-oiled Boq and a few more royal guards on loan from Ozma to ensure he would be welcomed, despite his new form, he took his rightful place as Prince.

Conversely, Jack Pumpkinhead - whose name turned out to be highly accurate - was given the job of Palace gardener so that he could be close to his old friend. Ozma took many luncheons in the gardens for that reason.

The Lion always watched over her. Given her similar age and ineptitude, he seemed to be using her as a surrogate Dorothy, which made Glinda laugh. What a sweet old beast he was! Though on very rare occasion, she did witness him being ferocious when someone would try to sneak onto the grounds to get a look at either the witches or the queen. It was usually innocent enough, someone hoping to get an interview for the papers or to simply meet such a stunning ginger in the flesh, and Lion could usually roar and swipe at them with his claws once or twice to drive them away. Only once was it someone who claimed to believe Ozma was an impostor, and needed to be subdued until the guards could haul him away. Lion got an extra large portion of meat for his supper that evening, and ate it with great relish.

Polychrome went home to her father. There was a tearful goodbye, even if her tears instantly evaporated, but it was for the best; Oz was not her home any more than it was for Dorothy. She promised to visit again someday, though for an ageless sky fairy — who turned out to be many hundreds of years old! — that "return visit" could be when they were all elderly.

That was something Elphaba had turned her attentions to, once the Animals had been mostly restored to their previous standing in Ozian society, the minor revolts against the Council petered out, and there was no change in the Wizard's condition. First, she tried to examine how a girl that ought to be her own age could be a few years younger. The only answer she could grasp at was that the spell to disguise Ozma's gender had probably also returned her to a state of infancy, dialing back those first few years. However, the magical tests that she and Nessa had devised together seemed to hint that the young queen was also of the fairy folk, as Polychrome was. She couldn't be entirely certain of anything more. It drove Elphaba batty trying to figure out how this could be so, given that she had a father, she had a mother, as so many do. One parent had to have been a fairy in disguise, and yet neither were; the history books clearly showed Ozma's parentage to be noble, but mortal. It was quite the mystery.

Many a night, Glinda had to urge her roommate to abandon the books and come to bed. Although the term 'roommate' began to feel less and less accurate as time went on. Every night, they became more comfortable with this new level of intimacy. Glinda wanted to kiss her during the daytime, as well, but they could only find so many stolen moments.

One thing befuddled her: why did they continue to hide it? It wasn't as if relationships between two women were illegal, even if uncommon. Besides, they were now in positions of great power, and Ozma only seemed faintly flustered when she caught them sitting a little closer than was strictly professional. At some point when she walked in on them kissing at last, it became necessary for them to sit her down and explain their relationship, and the queen's reaction was pure joy, and an inquiry as to when they might marry. That was more heartening than she cared to admit, and the two of them embracing her made Ozma giggle and hug back, even while fussing about them being "too mushy".

This was one of many matters on Glinda's mind as they entered the fourth month of Ozma Tippetarius's reign. Running a kingdom, even with the responsibilities divided amongst four women, was no easy task, but they shouldn't ignore personal matters, despite Elphaba seeming to be alright doing just that.

                                              ~ o ~

"Married?!"

Rolling her blue eyes, Glinda continued digging through her corner of the attic space. Many of the former Ozma line had taken to stashing useless things there, and the Wizard and Morrible dubbed everything "useless" since it was from a bygone era. It seemed only right that they help clear it out and see if anything might be salvageable. She couldn't help remember doing a nearly-identical chore with Fiyero once upon a time. That felt like years ago now.

"Not tomorrow, Elphie. Just… y'know, a woman likes to think she's worth keeping around."

"I don't see what difference it makes," Elphaba groused, tugging an old sword free. When she unsheathed it, the blade was rusted through and snapped off, so she sighed in disgust and relinquished it to the discard pile. "I have you with me, and you know I'm not leaving. Do we need to make a ridiculous to-do?"

"Yes! Because I want to celebrate!" Tutting, she paused to put her hands on her hips. "Right now, we are actually standing pretty close to the spot where we began our journey together, if you didn't notice."

"I noticed," Elphaba told her. In a voice so rich with affection it nearly derailed her roommate.

"R-right. So you should understand! We spent so long flapping around the countryside like jackdaws that I don't want to hide it anymore!"

"So stop hiding it. You're the one who always acts flustered if I hold your hand at public dinners."

Giggling, Ozma brought over a jewellery box and placed it in the "take downstairs" collection. She was back to wearing trousers, but at least she was wearing a tasteful green blouse with sleeves that billowed around her arms, which gave a regal, elegant effect despite the somewhat genderless ensemble. Her excuse had been that puffy dresses weren't suited to jobs like cleaning and sorting, and despite Jellia trying to insist that Ozma need only supervise the job, she insisted on working herself.

"You two sound already married. Might as well make it official."

"See?!" Glinda burst out, gesturing to Ozma and making her dip her auburn head in slight alarm. "The queen agrees with me, and you can't go against a royal decree!"

"I didn't 'decree' anything!"

Elphaba laughed harshly as she tried to shift a large dresser aside. "That was a pretty feeble attempt, Glinny. Still… oh, I suppose it can't hurt anything."

"It can't. Unless you plan on leaving me," Glinda added petulantly.

"Not ever." She paused to pace over and loop an arm around Glinda's waist, pulling her body in close. Making a show of tittering and fanning her face, she leaned up to kiss her love's strong jawline, and Elphaba hummed her appreciation.

The wistful sigh from Ozma brought them around, and they all cleared their throats and got back to work. Glinda started sorting through a chest of old clothes that definitely wouldn't fit the current queen and asked, "What time of year would you like? Autumn is so lovely…"

"Thought you would go for more of a Springtime wedding. But… well, Autumn suits me just fine. The trees turn a lot of striking colours, if you wanted to have a more traditional ceremony."

Traditional Ozian weddings were held in the forest. All parties wore a thin, gauzy dress dappled like the leaves, and were always patterned after however the trees looked during that ceremony. If it were in Autumn, they should be red and gold and brown instead of green. Of course, more modern weddings typically took place in chapels, but as witches, belonging to a religion even older than Lurlinism, they would be expected to go back to a more natural setting.

"Well… we could do something about halfway," Nessa contributed as she dropped a chamber pot on top of the other trash. Her muscles were quite a lot stronger, and even though she would always need magic to walk, she could now run and jump as any other Ozian did, so long as she wore the shoes or anklets. The healthy colour it had given her made both Elphaba and Glinda smile, as they could well remember how sickly the younger sister could look due to inactivity.

"Halfway how?"

"Have the ceremony in the gardens. The bride and groom- or, sorry, the brides would wear modern wedding gowns, but the wedding party and attendees will be in the Robes Of Leaves. Perform the Dance Of Seasons, the tying of the legs, but still have a minister make the proclamation. Some combination like that. What do you think?"

Glinda had stopped working and was pressing her hands together in front of her wide smile. Then she burst out, "OOH! That sounds so wonderful!"

"Sounds like a chore," Elphaba snorted, but the way she was smiling gave away that she wasn't opposed.

"And then, once the ceremony is over…" She fluttered her eyelashes suggestively. Ozma was already stifling a giggle, but Elphaba merely paused to lean against a wardrobe door.

"What? Then we have cake and spiced meats, and put up with your mother's dreary speeches for an hour?"

Throwing up her hands, she turned back to pull at a curtain along the wall. "Hopeless. You are well and truly hopele- AAAH!"

The curtain came free from its rungs, and not having expected the sudden release of opposing force, Glinda fell back onto her behind. Instantly, Elphaba was there, gently raising her up from the floor by her shoulders. A moment later, Ozma and Nessa were bending over them, worry in their eyes.

"Oh, I'm fine, I'm fine," she reassured them with a wave of her hand. Her grunt as she made it back to her feet didn't seem to corroborate that claim, but she still smiled. "Just my backside. Plenty of padding there!"

"I like that padding," Elphie muttered into her ear, and her cheeks turned pink enough that Nessa rolled her eyes and turned to leave… but then she froze. Green eyes distracted by that, she looked up and asked, "What?"

"That painting… it was of a large body of water the last time I looked, but desert just now. And look, it's turned into a waterfall!"

Even as the other pairs of eyes turned to the painting that had been hanging behind the large curtain, it changed again — to a lovely forest full of tall, pointed trees. The way the images almost seemed to melt into each other was highly fascinating. The longer they waited, it turned into several more scenes. Once it showed some small village in the Quadling Country, they turned away to look at each other.

"I wonder if this thing would ever show Colwen Grounds?" Nessa breathed, running her hand along the frame — and immediately, there was Colwen Grounds, looking as proud and formidable as it had the last time Glinda had flown away from it at top speed. Nessa jerked her hand back in alarm. "What- I… how?!"

Approaching at a half-step, Ozma licked her lips. She shrugged at the other two, then turned back to the painting and stated, "I'd like to see the statue of the Wizard in the gardens!" Nothing happened. "Huh… did I do it wrong?"

"Nessa, ask it something else," Glinda urged.

"How about… show us Fiyero." Nothing happened. "Well, I wasn't doing anything that different. Does it have to be in the form of a question?"

"Could we see Fiyero?" Elphaba tried. The scene did change, but to that of a river. "Blast. Maybe it was a coincidence."

It was Ozma who figured it out. In hindsight, Glinda felt a little stupid that she hadn't noticed and the youngest of them had, but then again, Ozma had proven herself to be fairly bright, despite having been essentially mentally starved all her young life. As she had explained when they marvelled at her quick progress in a variety of subjects, the witch Mombi did at least allow her to read during her spare time between many chores, and she kept her mind sharp that way, even if she sometimes preferred running around and pulling minor pranks as forms of entertainment.

"Wait…" Her hand moved forward to touch the frame, as Nessa had done. "Show me Lion! What's he doing right now?"

The picture immediately shifted to show their furry guard. He was lounging at the bottom of the stairs to the attic, sleeping peacefully on his paws. A fly buzzed around his ear, and it flicked to drive the insect away. The four women were fascinated but still confused.

"It's magic, isn't it?" Ozma asked them excitedly. She was still fascinated by all things relating to magic, now that she had access to such things from a source that didn't despise her and treat her like a slave.

"Definitely. And powerful magic, if I'm not mistaken." Only hesitating a moment, Elphaba reached for the frame, and Ozma removed her hand. "Show me… Shiz." A map of Shiz appeared. Except that there was some slight stirring in this map. After a moment, she breathed, "Oh… it's a bird's-eye view. This is what it would look like if we were on my broomstick."

Sliding her hand around Elphaba's waist, Glinda whispered, "I can't believe we never thought to go check in on Shiz while we were fugitives. Not that there was much for us there, other than a few books and dresses. Oh, my dresses! Do you think they still have them?"

"It's likely," Nessa told them. "Everything you owned wound up in a storage closet when you ran- well, when it became clear you wouldn't be coming back to reclaim anything. Just depends on if they decided to clear it out or not."

"Awww. Well, that's legitimately disappointing."

"Oh," Elphaba breathed all of a sudden. When Glinda fixed her with a curious glance, she instead looked at the painting and asked pleasantly, "Show me Dorothy. It has been awhile since the eyepatch stopped working."

What they saw next chilled them to the bone.

They were looking into a dark room with wooden floors and brick walls, painted white and covered in what looked like some sort of thin mattresses. Even the floor had these mattresses along it. There was a very plain bed, also with a thicker mattress, and a few books piled next to it though no table upon which for them to rest. And there, seated on the bed with one of the books open in her lap, was…

Maybe it wasn't Dorothy. As opposed to the apple-cheeked girl they had met, full of life and just pleasantly plump enough to tell a person she never lacked for anything, here was a gaunt young waif. Hollow cheeks and dark bags under her eyes spoke of sleeplessness and malnutrition. Though she did look vaguely contented, one could guess that was a rare moment in her day-to-day life. But the facial features and hair colouring, height, and a certain indefinable quality she possessed told them that there could be no mistake. This was Dorothy Gale, whatever had become of her.

"It's so ghastly," Glinda whispered, as if speaking too loud would break the spell. "There isn't… any colour at all! No Gillikan violet, no Munchkinland blue!"

Nessa whispered, "What do you suppose this room is for? That can't be how bedrooms simply look in Kansas, can it?"

"So there's Dorothy," Ozma observed, voice quite hushed and eyes wide as she gazed at the painting. "I thought I remembered her being… taller. And healthier. No, this doesn't seem right; she doesn't seem right."

"I concur fully," Elphaba was muttering as she pulled her hand away. The picture remained on the scene, despite this, though nothing else happened; the girl's slippered feet kicked back and forth weakly as she read on. "It's… what if we made a mistake? She wanted to return to Kansas, but this doesn't look like anywhere I would wish my worst enemy. Well… maybe an enemy, after all, but not a friend."

Patting Elphaba's arm, Glinda craned her neck this way and that, hoping to spot some heretofore unknown benefit to this location of theirs. "Well… it looks fine to me, but you're right that it isn't very interesting. Maybe that's her new home. The other one was equally drab, even if not so… cushioned. So we shouldn't pass judgment."

"Might we wish her here?" asked Nessarose. "That would be simple enough with the belt."

"Yes, but I don't know if its power reaches that far, sister. Or if we would be able to send her back if we did succeed — and now that Morrible's mind has been erased, she won't be able to conjure another tornado to send her home. That's a great risk to take if it's a one-way trip and she doesn't want to return to Oz."

They all lapsed into silence. From what they could see in the painting, Dorothy didn't look quite as joyful as she had when she left Oz, but neither was she hurt or sobbing. Just drawn. Maybe she had simply taken ill and was in recovery; the room could be a hospital ward. There was no way to know for certain without asking her, but that was no more possible than conjuring a new tornado.

"What if…"

They all turned to Nessa as one. "Hmm?" asked Glinda. "If you have a better idea, let's hear it."

"What if one of us were sent there with the belt? Then we could ask Dorothy ourselves how she's doing. After… oh, let's say a full day has passed, we'll use this Magic Picture to look in on you again, and bring you home if you look like you're ready. Then you can tell us whether or not Dorothy is happy with her current… uhm, accommodations."

"Shouldn't we take the magic belt with us?" Glinda asked. "Especially since I have a feeling I've been volunteered for this mission for some reason."

"It's too risky," Elphaba said, and Nessa nodded, already thinking along those lines. "If we lose the belt, we're stuck wherever we are. And Morrible never elaborated how far away Kansas is; we might not be able to cross the desert any other way."

"But what if we try this plan, and the belt can't get us back?"

No one had an answer for that.

They might not have tried any plan at all if not for the little sniffle that came from the picture frame. By the time they looked up, Dorothy was wiping her cheeks and returning to her reading. There was no further crying, no evidence that she had cried. But nobody was capable of feigning that they hadn't heard the sound.

"I'll go," Ozma volunteered bravely, though she was trembling slightly in her determination. "If she really is important to you, then it seems like it's my duty as the queen to try and, um… what's that word? For speaking to another kingdom."

"Establish diplomatic relations?"

"That's the one! Diplomatic!"

"We can risk you even less than we can risk the belt!" Glinda admonished her, and Ozma looked sufficiently chagrined. "You're a good queen for wanting to help, but the citizenry would never forgive us for letting anything happen to you. And we wouldn't forgive ourselves, besides."

Her boot kicked at the wall by the painting. "Makes me feel so… claustrophobic sometimes, like I can't help anyone or go anywhere. But I know it's important for the people to have a leader they trust, too…" When Glinda's hand found her shoulder, she smiled glumly. "I'm fine. Sorry for complaining all the time."

"You're complaining just enough, dear."

"I'll go," Elphaba surprised them by saying. When they only stared at her, she asked, "What?"

"Well, I didn't think you cared enough for Dorothy to risk yourself in that way," Nessa said in a matter-of-fact voice. "Ever since she gave you a bath."

While Ozma giggled, Elphaba straightened and shouted, "That was an assassination attempt! And I have forgiven her, if you didn't care to pay attention! I'm allowed to be upset about something like that and work through it in my own time, aren't I?"

Shrugging, she turned back to the painting. Now it had finally changed to show a breezy meadow; seemed that once no one's attention was on it, the painting decided they had finished looking at Dorothy. "Fine, fine. But I agree that it's important we send someone. I had a special kinship with her; we were the only ones who knew what it's like to have to wear a pair of shoes all the time, without ever taking them off."

"For different reasons," Glinda muttered.

"True. I mean, I took mine off at bedtime and needed help reaching them in the morning sometimes, but she couldn't even do that much. It was nice having someone around who understood that part." Turning back to her sister, she sighed and said, "If you do this, let yourself be wished to the Land of Kansas without being sure you'll return, I'll definitely believe you've forgiven her."

Letting out a long sigh, Elphaba placed her hands on her hips. "Then it's settled. Tomorrow morning, I will steal away to Kansas and find out what I will. I only hope it isn't the last choice I ever make."

                                              To Be Continued…