#gillikins

[footballmakesmen]

[clamorybus]

i don't wanna gripe too hard on it because i'm only a few chapters into it, but so far im not really enjoying dominic's disappearance. but that just be because im a woz fan so it's just so underwhelming

[blancamz]

Possibly the most clever citizen of Oz is the Woggle-Bug, also known as Mr Highly Magnified Woggle-Bug, Thoroughly Educated. He has humble beginnings as an ordinary Woggle-Bug who lived in the fireplace of a schoolhouse, passively absorbing knowledge whilst nestled in his little hidey-hole. One day Professor Nowitall discovered the Woggle-Bug and decided to do an impromptu lesson for his pupils on this particular species. He used a magnifier to project an image of the bug on a screen, and during an opportune moment the highly magnified Woggle-Bug stepped off the screen and to sweet freedom.

(Wait. Does that mean that this Woggle-Bug is the projection, or is it the original Woggle-Bug made large? Is there still a small, unmagnified Woggle-Bug hiding somewhere in a classroom? Um...)

Since then, the Woggle-Bug has achieved greater status. After helping the gillikin boy Tip on his journeys, and returning Ozma to the throne, he received a good position as head of the Wogglebug College of Arts and Athletics. He's something of a chemist too, having invented School Pills and Square Meal Pills, allowing all his students to receive a full education and nourishment in seconds, so they can focus all their energy on what really matters when you go into higher education: sports.

(He's also a prosecutor in Ozma's criminal court. See the case of Oscar Diggs v. Eureka the Pink Kitten.)

Anyway, I think we can agree that the Woggle-Bug is much, much more clever than the Scarecrow. What's the point in having Brains (even if you get them from a Wizard), if you're not also Thoroughly Educated?

P.S. Also his puns are very funny and if you don't get them then I guess that's a skill issue on you buddy.

[orkbutch]

ok ok, i know this isnt a wicked blog but its time for me to say my thoughts on the Wicked movie trailer.

I'm not stoked. I'm not much of a musical version lover already, but two things really rubbed me wrong, and I believe they apply to the musical as much as the book in their importance within the Themes.

Elphaba being played by Erivo and being black is cool. Erivo is a great singer, and her hair looks sick, and Elphie's hair is important. However, that casting choice being combined with a white Fiyero (who is Not White in the book, and very much experiences colonialist racism) and with no prosthetic effort to make Elphaba Not Beautiful (which is a Significant Element of Her Experience And Character), spoils any truly transgressive or progressive bite to that casting decision.

The only of the core mains thats not white is the character that is green. Interesting. The character who is extremely belittled for her appearance because she has a deformity, and because she's unattractive by conventional standards (esp because of her hawkish nose and strong chin), is a beautiful woman. Interesting!

Something about this just rubs me wrong. I think the musical has always made me skeptical in this area because its core adaption decisions were always bent toward stripping Wicked of much of its commentary on racism. In the book Fiyero is Vinkan, clearly coded Native American, and Winkie is a slur. They made the slur the name for the Vinkans in the musical. If I recall correctly, Quadlings aren't even mentioned in the musical. But Fiyero in the musical... I don't even know Why they keep him being a foriegn prince because he isnt written like hes foriegn from Gillikin at all. His ethnicity seems totally flattened, a slur that indicates no cultural or experiencial distinction from Gillikin.

I think that may have happened because Animals were already considered an allegory for racism, and they wanted to make that allegory cleaner and easier to condense into a musical plot. Thats my theory. However, that is a misreading. The Animals are not a perfectly singular allegory, and I think you could argue several inspirations, but the most apt interpretation for sure is that the Animals are an allegory for people with disabilities and neurodivergence, as Elphaba's experience is.

The Animals are not merely culturally different or isolated. They are not falsely believed to be different from the Gillikins or the Munchkinlanders or Vinkans. They ARE different, not because they aren't people but because their basic needs are different, and are not adapted to by society. They have hooves, and different skeletons, and different senses, and different mouths that can't necessarily make the kind of speech humans use.

This is important because Elphaba uniquely relates to the Animals, and its because Elphaba has a deformity and is super autistic. This is the other thing that always rubbed me wrong about the musical: it always implied that the only thing that made Elphaba "ugly" to people was her green skin. Thats... weak shit!!! In the book, Elphaba is Not beautiful. She is hatchet faced. She is tall and androgynous and looks weird. And this is IMPORTANT, because it makes Elphaba a genuinely transgressive character!! Her experience is layered! She is green but also breaks gender rules, is awkward, is self hating, is rude, ect. ect. It strengthens her empathy she feels toward Animals, because she feels so othered from society that she feels non-human, alienated.

The book also handles Elphaba's attractiveness much better; it does a great job of depicting someone who is not beautiful but is nevertheless Hot, which Elphaba is. When Glinda looks at her for the first time and thinks that shes beautiful, she is not looking past Elphaba's skin and she does no make over. She puts Elphaba in an orange hat as a joke, and sees how it matches her skin and suits her, and it makes Glinda realise that the green of Elphaba's skin can be beautiful to her. And that changes how Glinda sees Elphaba; Elphaba does not change.

okay im just complaining about the musical now. But idk, I wish that they'd used this opportunity to do better by Fiyero, make the themes a bit better... and just... put some light prosthetics on Erivo. Just make her look a little uglier! A little more hatchety. Its not like it'd be out of place, Ariana Grande as Glinda looks spooky as fuck. Why does she look like that. I like it bc I like Glinda looking intense and spooky but it IS weird

[bestworstcase]

slowly points at tai. and glynda.

when glinda lays siege to the emerald city, she demands that mombi be delivered into her custody lest she take the city by force. mombi’s first trick is to cast a spell on herself and jellia jamb to switch their appearances, and jellia in the guise of mombi is handed over to glinda. the trick is soon discovered and glinda performs a counterspell, revealing jellia’s true appearance (and mombi’s as well, within the emerald city).

mombi’s second trick is to transform herself into a red rose, hiding in the palace gardens. jinjur invites glinda and her allies into the emerald city to search for mombi, under the condition that if they do not find her by nightfall, they must leave in peace. mombi is, in the end, discovered by accident: the tin woodsman plucks the rose on a whim and carries her out with him.

mombi is a bad sorceress from the northern country of gillikins, whose color is. purple. rwby’s ozian narrative doesn’t track the color-coding exactly (atlas, winkie country, is white) but it’s close enough for glynda being Conspicuously Purple to stand out—good witch of the north, and her name is both a nod to the conflation of these two characters in pop culture and a misdirection away from glinda. witch of the north. mombi.

the key players in vale right now are:

salem (glinda)

cinder (???)

summer (jinjur)

taiyang (jellia)

glynda (witch of the north)

with the twist of course being that this jinjur is working for glinda (and she might be doubling the role of woodsman for this final leg of the story, given that ironwood is dead and summer has an axe and the obvious connection to a certain red rose). and glinda isn’t looking for a witch, she’s looking for a crown. but the particulars are the same; we have a witch advancing on the fortress in pursuit of her goal and another witch standing in her way.

now. obviously

glynda isn’t an illusionist. and it remains to be seen whether this misdirection plays out narratively versus just being a more meta red herring. but. it does seem to me that the narrative choice to emphasize that we don’t know what “things” tai is “looking after” in vale while at the same time providing enough details about what glynda has been doing in vale to look like a completed picture, is priming the audience to jump to a certain conclusion (tai must be guarding the crown) that masks what’s really going on (glynda is the crown’s guardian and tai is up to summer rose related things).

i.e., the jellia <=> mombi swap.

with summer/jinjur being on salem’s side, if this red herring unfolds narratively, the obvious way to do it is for summer to believe that tai knows where the vault is hidden (and that raises the very juicy possibility that she might be, er, stringing him along in hope of cajoling the location out of him, which would be very ozmacore of her). meanwhile glynda is the one who removed it from beacon and buried it under that “ruined temple” after summer disappeared, and glynda wisely disappears herself after salem razes vale.

THEN… sooner or later salem wrings the truth out of tai that he doesn’t fucking know anything and by then glynda has reconvened with ruby rose et al in vacuo: you get glinda’s pursuit of mombi to the desert at the end of oz and the woodsman jinjur finding the red rose roles neatly into one plot point, and straight up not being able to find the vault gives team salem an incentive to try… or well, keep trying new things, because salem is already at a point where she found out the lamp wasn’t out of questions and immediately tried to pry the "password" out of oz/oscar.

like it does… all track quite well except for the rather thorny question of how cinder figures in all this. if summer isn’t doubling up on jinjur + the woodsman, then the intuitive character to step into that role is cinder—and that might be setting up either a cinder vs glynda rematch in vale (if the red rose is a plot beat) or a reckoning between cinder and ruby in vacuo (if the red rose is ruby learning, from glynda, where the vault is hidden). which is also interesting. but cinder’s also an odd fit for the woodsman across the board, whereas summer clicks neatly into the role.

it’s possible that cinder just Doesn’t Have a part in the ozian narrative, period—she’s tied very, very strongly to the maiden-in-tower narrative because that’s what the cinderella narrative is repeating, and for salem the ozian narrative is the tower. so it makes a certain narrative sense for cinder to not be in the tower, because she’s instrumental in getting salem out of it; she holds the key to the door.

(i do really seriously wonder if the choice spirit won’t be an old woman—like mombi, like the maiden’s mother-captor, and also because it would be hysterical for the contrast to jinn and ambrosius. choice as persinette’s fairy + part of mombi in particular is sort of compelling, given her inevitable connection to cinder and the probable importance of choice in liberating ozma from oscar)

but it’s also odd and leaves cinder with a lack of things to do in vale, which is another reason i think she might bounce and then return.

[liketwoswansinbalance]

Rhian, drop your morning/night routine!

Rhian: In the morning, I don't "wake up" like most do. Instead, I simply get out of bed since I'm usually up all night attempting to fall asleep. Repose rarely overtakes me, and my mind's always reeling. I may have to commission a sleeping draught from a witch one day.

At this stage of the morning, Rafal is usually still out cold, and it doesn't matter how loud I am, so I listen to the morning Kingdom Council spellcast reports from a mirror I've ensorcelled at full volume and review the Putsi market trends as I start on my routine.

The Gillikin Gazette's updates about its ongoing cathedral construction are my favorites though—its flying buttresses rival Camelot's dated, heavier Romanesque designs. I only manage to catch those reports on Saturdays though since I have to be out of the tower and on my way at an early hour most days. Oh, and I tend to cast a spell, so my bed makes itself while I busy myself with more important tasks.

Firstly, I need my ermine slippers and silk dressing gown. I shower and usually start with a facial, rosewater, or whichever magical cure-all I'm currently using to remove my under-eye shadows with.

Though, Rafal's been a bother about the cucumbers I go through. He thinks I'll drain the Woods' supply and that he won't have any left for his sandwiches. Mind you, that isn't true in the least.

I use charcoal imported from Akgul to remove impurities of the skin, and that's been rather effective as of late. I also ice my pores, page through Maxine's progress reports, and keep tabs on the lackadaisical performers. Tracking's very important at a School like ours, you know.

On some occasions, I do my own makeup, but really, it seems to me that only the Evergirls care if they notice at all. These days, I've been fond of whipped beetroot tinctures and orchid cologne. Then, I arrange my hair, dress suitably for the day's activities in whichever clothes I pressed the night before, and polish my boots. I polish Rafal's too. He doesn't notice or care—thinks we're immune to disease and scrutiny—but he's missing the point. It's about image, of course. And I worry that he'll bring bird mites from his Stymphs indoors, and that would not only be unseemly for a School Master, but a disaster of inordinate proportions, even if our health isn't at risk. Think of the parent complaints we'd receive, if we had an infestation. The picket-lines would never end!

When I head out, Rafal's almost always still asleep, so I bring us back breakfast, and wake him then.

Well, I say "wake him," but rousing him isn't as simple as I've likely led you to believe. By now, it's turned into an awfully elaborate burlesque. I switch mirror channels to the Jaunt Jolie Music Hall's Cricket and Brass orchestra production of the day. If that fails, I bang a ladle on our breakfast's silver cloche over him. And if all else fails, I shout "FIRE," "INVASION," or even "PIRATES" if I'm desperate and running late, and that does the trick. I still haven't figured out if he's been deluding me though, or if it's his dreams that leave him with those horrid little grins.

Yet, this particular song-and-dance of sorts has been more of a recent development. His clarion-belled alarm clock from Geppetto's broke last month, and he hasn't had the time to replace it. The flight's a day's trip, and this new class of Nevers cannot be left alone for more than a day because he's sure there'll be either an outbreak of some pox or of some general pandemonium since he doesn't think I'm capable of maintaining order. I'm more than capable in truth.

We eat then, he in his pajama shorts and shirt and black stockings with the runs I chastise him about throwing out everyday, and me in my typical smart attire.

At the end, I wash up, sit, and wait for him to set the dishes to scrubbing themselves, comb his hair, and dress. After that, we split off to our respective sides for the day, and I see him again at dusk.

"Bye." or "Morning, brother." is as talkative as he gets at this time of day before he vanishes into the Tunnel of Trees or crosses the Halfway Bridge into the smog, unless he has a storybook victory to congratulate himself over or another point to bolster his side of an argument with—arguments I naively believed we'd already put to bed the night before.

After a full day of overseeing classes, Rafal legs it over the window sill when he returns and showers immediately when he gets back. Then, he grades papers and exams. On days when he's exhausted by puppeteering mock battle raids or Storian knows what he subjects those poor children to, he passes out in bed fully-clothed without showering, and showers in the morning.

All the while, I perform my nightly skin- and hair care routines, snuff out the candles, and get in bed with an eye mask, in my attempt to get a good night's sleep, often sooner than he goes to bed because he reads news updates and whatever musty tome he's tearing through late into the night.

Sometimes, I wake in the middle of a night terror and realize he's still up marking or reading or scheming, so I confiscate the candles at that point and force him to sleep. Rarely does he listen, and I've stopped bothering most of the time as he reads by the light of his fingerglow instead, contrary to all sound advice. He doesn't view sleep as necessary seeing as the Storian sustains us, but he has no sleep troubles, so I suppose that's an easy conclusion to form if you're him. The latest remedy I've resorted to is tucking lavender into my pillowcase, but I've had not a drop of luck.

[artsspangledpumpkin]

Because I love worldbuilding so much, I decided to create an Ozian Calendar and thought I'd share it.

The Ozian day is 26 hours long, there are seven days in a week, twelve weeks in a season, and four seasons in a year, leading to 336 days in a year. Each year is symmetrical, each day falling on the same day of the week without fail. The days of the week are named after seven of Lurline’s fairies who helped her construct Oz in the beginning when everything still needed moving along. The Calendar is based on the Lunar cycle.

The names of Lurline's fairies who helped her form Oz: Mona, Tuesin, Wednessa, Thur, Fridda, Saturno, and Sun.

The format for the Ozian Calendar is read DAY SEASON YEAR. Before the Wizard of Oz took over, the calendar followed the Ozma Dynasty so it would read 54 SPRING 3104 Y.O.L.O (or Year of Our Lady Ozma). After Oscar takes over the format is 54 SPRING 1 D.O. (or Dynasty of Oz)

Note: This list of holidays and their dates are not canon or comprehensive. You don’t have to use any of these or you can come up with your own. I’d love to hear about them.

HOLIDAYS under the cut

New Years Day/Winter Solstice: 1 WINTER

Vinkun Festival of Lights: 84 AUTUMN - 7 WINTER

The Festival of Lights lasts eight days and celebrates both the end of the Ozian Calendar year. Over the course of the festival, candles are slowly lit adding one each night to represent the days getting longer and hopes of a good spring. Some areas go to temples to make wishes and ask for good fortune for the New Year while other areas release paper lanterns with their wishes written inside.

Lurlinemas: 6-7 WINTER (Ozian version of Christmas)

Day of Queens: 15 WINTER

In some sections of Oz, this is the day children are given presents instead of on Lurlinemas. Schools use this day to host pageants and talent shows.

St. Amora’s Day: 43 WINTER

Amora was a matchmaker who would bring couples together and help them fall in love by using enchanted arrows. She fell in love with a mortal man, but her arrows didn’t work on him so she had to woo him the old fashioned way. She presented him with sweet smelling flowers to make his days bright and fragrant and sugared dates and honeyed nuts to give him sweetness, and though she was busy she set aside time to be with him. They fell in love, but the day they were meant to be wed, he was killed. Every anniversary, she brought flowers and sweets to his grave. She never loved again, her heart bleeding so much, her bird companions offered to share her pain. Tradition lives on in showing your sweetheart that you care about them by giving flowers and sweets and decorations of hearts and punays.

Discount Candy Day: 44 WINTER

St. Rependi’s Day: 71 WINTER

Brother to St. Amora, represents requited (or unrequited) love. This day is used to give return presents (or dish out rejections) given by admirers on St. Amora’s day

Spring Equinox: 1 SPRING

St. Platonia’s Day: 15 SPRING

A day for children to show appreciation to their parents.

Earth Day: 43 SPRING

Deemed the day to celebrate the creation of Oz. Usually spent by showing appreciation to nature which now moves by itself rather than needing help by Lurline’s fairies to move along.

Cotillion (Munchkinland): 61-63 SPRING

Traditionally for matchmaking, now used as one big debutante ball for all who have come of age in the past year. Wealthier families have balls for one child, though it’s more common to wait for Cotillion so everyone enters the season together.

Vinkun Festival of Trees: 40-43 SPRING

Gillikin Spring Festival: 40-47 SPRING

Munchkin Spring Festival: 40-46 SPRING

Vinkun Poppy Festival: 67 SPRING

Summer Solstice: 1 SUMMER

Vinkun Summer Solstice Festival: 1 - 8 SUMMER

Festival begun to hope for a good harvest in the autumn. Celebrated with bonfires, dancing, and good food. Midway point of festival a sacrifice is offered up in the bonfire. Since Great Drought the “sacrifice” is a bundle of grass and a wooden animal. Second to last day is spent fasting and at temples, final day has a huge feast. More devout households and the temples will begin the festival with eight candles and extinguish one each day to represent the days becoming shorter and to remind that the days of plenty are temporary just as the lean days are.

Music Festival (Quadling Country): 78 SUMMER

Autumn Equinox: 1 AUTUMN

Wizard Arrival Day: 2 AUTUMN

Vinkun Harvest Festival: 36-42 AUTUMN

Celebrates end of the harvest and is traditionally a way for tribes to get together to exchange goods. People clean their homes and prepare for winter during this time

St. Sowren’s Day: 43 AUTUMN

On this day, the realms of Oz would shift where the angels and fairies could not cross into Oz, but the creatures of the demon realm could, leaving them unchecked. St. Sowren was left behind before they could return to their realm and they discovered that by donning frightening masks and offering up sweets to anyone scary enough, the demons grew confused and would leave the disguised alone, suspicious of their gifts.

Gillikin custom dictates this is a day to visit family graves and shrines which they clean and leave offerings on inviting their deceased loved ones home for the evening for a party. A day of remembrance. In the last century, costumes are also worn by children to collect treats (part of their haul is shared with their family) or by adults for parties.

Ozma De-throned Day: 68 AUTUMN

New Year’s Eve: 84 AUTUMN

[onwardnozward]

Beginning of Act II/pre-Dorothy designs

I imagine Elphaba as this outlaw, on the run from the Gale Force, soaring across the western skies searching to right the wrongs committed against Animals, while also plunging herself into the arcane study of the Grimmerie, which might be corrupting her even more ? (The little effect forming from the book is meant to be the levitation spell, while in her hand she’s conjured a fireball)

Glinda on the other hand is living it up in the Emerald City, the most popular witch in Oz, holding charity galas in the city and traveling across the lands (mostly Gillikin and Munchkinland, due to Glinda’s own prejudices) on “good will” tours ordered by the Wonderful Wizard himself. Perhaps she’s the one granting random wishes for the people, or simply feeding the poor, blessing crops, casting wards against “dangerous Animal adversaries” which obviously aren’t in place just to trap her old friend.

All of this is pretty much head-canon with influence from books, broadway and the films.

Up next; Fiyero, Boq, and…. Dorothy ?!?!?!!

[moonyasnow]

TWST OC Showcase: Lisle Ram

Voice Claim: John Rubinstein (in his performance of Subaki from Fire Emblem: Fates)

Human Ambidexterous Sunshine Lands 179cm / 5'8 - #70d64b / 112, 214, 75 August 30th - Virgo - 18-19 y.o. 3d year - Junior - Class B, no. 21 Equestrian Club Best Subject: Summoning Hobbies: watching operas Pet peeves: Poorly performed mechanical repair Favorite food: Pizza Margherita Least favorite food: Ice cream Talent: Public Relations Floyd-given name: Blobfish Rook-given name: Monsieur Berger Cater-given name: Liss Signature Spell: Golden Touch With just a touch, he can turn anything to gold. Though not all the way through; if asked to turn an apple to gold, only about a centimeter will actually be gold. He can also create gold dust out of just air.

[ ~Based on Glinda the Good Witch from Wicked~ ]

Link to all my OC Showcases here!

A few quotes:

He does a mix of a chuckle and a scoff. "Yes…when monkeys fly, perhaps."

When Eliza rejects him for not being 180cm [internal narration] *Why you arrogant—* — "Well…everyone has standards. Some, many."

"Very well; I know when to step down." [internal narration] *As a display of my kindness, of course.* — "Everyone knows I would have won, had that boy not garnered the pity-vote. So in the end, the loss of one measly award does me little when I know it is rightfully mine— at least in spirit."

In a small mountain village by name Gillikin in the Sunshine Lands lived a husband, Elliot and wife, Carla, the owners of a small auto-repair shop. All they wished for was a child. Yet as they were both already middle aged, and in all their years of trying had not been granted one, they had begun to believe it was impossible. Everyone in the little town mourned with them. But then one day, a miracle seemingly happened. The wife was pregnant! The small town, quite set in their traditions, thanked their god for their friends' luck, and the miracle bestowed on them. Though both his parents' hair was brown, when the child was born, his hair was golden as the sunlight. The day of his birth, the town celebrated for the auto-mechanics, proclaiming the boy, who was given the name Lisle, must be a gift from the Seven, to have been born at such a late stage of their lives, when it was thought impossible for them to become pregnant at all due to their age. He was a beautiful little boy, everyone thought. And as he grew, it seemed beauty was not the only gift granted to him, for he soon outperformed his few peers in school, both in athletics, academics, as well as socially. He was polite, friendly, and kind. And even greater yet, when they discovered that he was a mage— the first to be born in the town in several generations. And when he was only seven years old, watching his parents at work in their mechanic shop, he used his Signature Spell for the first time when he turned a broken hubcap, the middle of a wheel, to gold, also fixing it in the process. The people of the town often came to him for help in solving problems, whether it be his classmates asking for help with an equation, or to turn something to gold; either to make it less prone to breaking, or simply for its beauty. He truly was the Golden Boy of Gillikin. Yet, although his parents from an early age both taught him to be humble, when all your life is spent surrounded by people who are, in practice, more worshippers than peers and equals, is it really so strange when you begin to believe you are what they treat you as? That the 'modesty' becomes mere pretense? A façade for the sake of others?

His first brush with others who were more of his caliber was when he, just out of Primary School, began attending a very fancy school quite a bit away from his hometown: Shezan Academy; the finest magic academy for students his age in the Sunshine Lands. To attend at all required stellar results on an entrance test, as well as a hefty admission sum, to be allowed to attend. He passed the entrance test himself— though with somewhat lower marks than he was expecting...though he probably was just having an 'off' day— but as for the admission fee... When he asked his parents about it, he learned that the younger half-brother his father would sometimes speak of, the one who left town when he was young and he didn't speak much to anymore, was the owner of one of the biggest Jewelry brands in the world; 'Ram's'. After this, the brothers got in contact with one another again; if nothing else, at least so that their children might know the rest of their family. And so it was that in his 11th year, Lisle first met his cousin, his senior by two years, Briallen Ram. They looked so similar that they could have been siblings. But what set them apart was their personalities, backgrounds and lifestyles. When his classmates heard his surname, 'Ram', they associated the name with his uncle, and believed he was related to him. They were right, in a sense, but not in the way they thought. Because he quickly learned to dodge the question of how exactly they were related— and the fact that his own parents have a tiny auto-repair shop in some tiny town. He began to feel ashamed of his parents, and of his origins. His father was just a mechanic, meanwhile his uncle was a literal trillionaire! He had full belief that he was great, now beginning to grow a belief that he was meant for far better than the 'backwater' he was born in. And if he was going to keep up his good image in front of his peers, he needed to hide where he came from and who his parents actually were.

Coupled with the newfound shame of the 'poor' rural background he hailed from, and the hidden sense of entitlement fostered in him by his upbringing, seeing his cousin who was so similar to him, yet who he percieved to be 'worse' than him, leading the life he thought he deserved... It planted the first seeds of envy in him. And Briallen did not help matters. She could tell he had some kind of negative feelings toward her and found it funny. So the few times they did interact, she basically terrorized him. Prodding at his insecurities, showing off her fancy fur coats and genuine pearl necklaces, saying she was off to hang out with some famous people. Lisle then, at some point, began to try to...while not exactly OVERcompensate for his rural background, at least compensate. He began to act as this nice, 'princely' person; someone who could definitely not have come from some mountain town. Someone sophisticated, elegant, intelligent, and very helpful. And after doing good deeds for his classmates lead to them doing him good deeds in return, or even just speaking well of him to their teachers and leading to him receiving higher honors as a student, he began to realize how important connections were. And after all, he could only attend this school at all because of his father's connection to his uncle. No matter his talent, no matter how great he was, things wouldn't come to him if he wasn't popular. And with time, the more people sung his praises, the more they called him kind, thoughtful, and wonderful, the more he believed he was. He was every great thing they called him. The only thing at odds with his image was, again, his background...however, one day, he would no longer be poor, living in a rural town hidden up in the mountains. And as they say: 'fake it til you make it'.

But. He does love his parents. It's not them he's ashamed of— it's their shared 'poor' background, since it could pose a problem for his future prospects. One of the reasons he wants to become great and successful is to be able to provide for his parents; buy them a big, beautiful house somewhere scenic and make sure they never have to work another day in their lives. He sees keeping quiet about them as the necessary evil for the sake of fulfilling that dream. Although, despite it not being them, but their background, he's ashamed of...in practice, there isn't much difference. He still asks his parents not to come visit him at his school, or speak to his 'friends'.

And...something else happened as he was growing up. Something that made him feel...strange, at first. He was finding that all his peers were starting to develop crushes, and romantic and physical attraction. But whenever someone talked about a person they had a crush on, no matter what their gender, appearance or personality were...Lisle just could not see it. Never. Not one single time. But instead of pondering about if he might be the one who's different, he just wrote it off as no one being attractive enough to him. And it only further cemented his view that none of his peers were as great as him, if those were their standards.

Due to his parents being quite old when they had him (they're now in their early 60s) he has an appreciation for old music, and has a record player in his dorm room.

For a rough example of how the people of Gillikin treated Lisle growing up, think Gaston from the 1991 Beauty and the Beast.

At NRC:

When he had just turned 16, he got a letter. One he had been anticipating; a letter informing him he was to attend one of the greatest Mage schools in the world, located on Sage Island. Seeing the address it had been sent from was all he needed to know. He had been planning for, what he thought was his inevitable, tenure at Royal Sword Academy for many years. For there was no other school that could possibly fit him better.

So when he actually opened the envelope and saw written in big, bold, black letters: 'Night Raven College'... He was...shocked. To put it lightly.

Him, going to a school like that? With a reputation for unruly, uncooperative hooligans, who had lost every single Spelldrive game against Royal Sword for nearly 100 years in a row, all due to their inability to cooperate with one another? He'd watched himself, in all his research of Royal Sword, how the NRC team had multiple times broken out in a brawl amongst themselves only minutes, sometimes even seconds, into the start of the match.

It had to be some big joke.

There was no way he was fit for such an awful place!

So he was in a BAD mood when the Black Carriage came for him. Though being sorted into Octavinelle, the Dorm associated with a 'spirit of benevolence', did improve his mood somewhat.

And so he started to see him being sent to NRC as a 'challenge' somehow. Basically, he had to not become upset by this and prove he can still be 'good and kind' even in the midst of people he considers to be worse than him on the very basis of them being sent to NRC. He wasn't like them. He wasn't supposed to be there: he was 'supposed' to be at RSA. So he didn't need to even consider the possibility of him being anything like them.

Eventually, not too far into his Freshman year, he had managed to become the Housewarden of Octavinelle. The previous Housewarden— that is, the one before the one holding the title when Lisle was first enrolled— had gone onto his 4th year without picking a successor, making the former Vice Housewarden the new Housewarden by default. but he really did NOT feel fit for the role. And, having already gained a reputation for himself as being very befitting of the Dorm's spirit, Lisle was picked to be the new Housewarden.

He was secretly at least somewhat disgusted with nearly everyone he met at that school. At any joint events, he would socialize almost exclusively with RSA students. At least, as much as he could get away with it and not make anyone from his own school believe he preferred them. If anyone asked why he was schmoozing with them so much, he'd say he was just doing it to 'keeps tabs on the competition'. It disgusted him to have to, in his mind, sink so low as to 'lie' about doing something worse than he actually was, all to stay in the good graces of people he did not care for and thought were below him.

With the exception of one person. His seatmate in that year's Freshman Class B, one Cater Diamond. Now, Lisle hadn't had anyone he could consider a 'true friend' before. His 'friends' were always merely acquaintances closer to his level he associated with for his own gain, or those below him who he kept around out of charity. But somehow, something with Cater just 'clicked'. They got on like a house on fire, becoming quite close. And upon witnessing Lisle when he wasn't acting, seeing him be a petty, whiny, selfish drama-queen, he didn't think less of him. Or maybe he did. But he still wanted to be Lisle's friend.

That was...strange, to Lisle. He'd always hidden those parts of him, to the point of convincing even himself he didn't have them in the first place, all because he was sure they were things no one would ever truly like in another person. They were 'bad' traits. He'd been expecting Cater might turn into one of those 'convenient friends', with a mutually beneficial arrangement, who stuck to him because of what he could gain. So he was touched when Cater said that 'despite being way worse of a person than I realized, we're still cool. It's kinda refreshing to see, even.' Lisle even started tearing up a little, though quickly tried (and failed) to not draw more attention to it by proclaiming he 'needed to go fix his eyeshadow.'

And once on a school break, when it was clear— to Lisle, at least— that Cater wasn't too thrilled about going home for the week, he offered to let Cater go to Gillikin with him. And so Cater became the first, and at that point only, friend of his to ever know the truth about his parents.

And on the very opposite side of the spectrum... The person...or rather, the floating tablet 'sitting' on his other side... He showed up in person one time. Only once. And Lisle took one look at him, heard his name was 'Idia Shroud', making him the son of one of the richest families in the world, and was overcome with a feeling of pure...bafflement! Beffudlement! Disgust!

Here he was; someone who had everything Lisle wanted; wealth, a well-known family name, a guaranteed good future-- and he was presenting himself like...like some corpse! Like a gloom cloud personified!

Lisle is not entirely unconvinced the look of pure distaste toward Idia he couldn't keep off his face contributed to Idia never again showing up for class in-person.

They were at one point paired up for a class assignment. Everyone else in class, whom Lisle had quickly won over, shared words of sympathy with him for being 'forced to work with someone like that'. And at once, he put on the facade of the kind classmate, thanking them for their concern, 'though I'm sure it won't be all as bad as that.'

Lisle ended up joining the Equestrian Club. After all, knowing how to ride would definitely enhance and play very well into his 'princely' image. And to his joy, the horse he was assigned to ride was a pure white mare named Lady. He was sure it must have been meant to be. As far as he saw it they were both diamonds among coal, two pure, beautiful beings stuck in this place infested with ne'er-do-wells.

Eventually, Lisle started to realize that Idia truly had great potential; a good bone structure, was fairly tall, and the naturally blue lips and flaming hair coupled with his pale skin could actually work really well if he just put some effort into it. He will not admit to having realized this after Idia was kidnapped and almost forcibly married to Eliza.

But he started getting an idea... If he were to, say, give Idia a makeover, to make him look actually presentable, then 'the gloom-cloud' as he now referred to him as in his head, might feel grateful, possibly even indebted, to him. Not only would that stroke Lisle's ego and make him feel better about his envy toward Idia's wealth and position, viewing himself as a 'king-maker' of sorts, being owed a favor by someone that powerful would be sure to do wonders for getting him a foot in the door in the right rooms in the future.

So suddenly he started being nicer to Idia, saying he wanted to help him become more popular. And Idia, of course, wanted no part of it, even as Lisle kept insisting that people would like him more if he simply put in some more effort into looking presentable, and not insulting people so openly.

"After all, people love a good story of rehabilitation."

Despite how good Lisle usually was at maintaining his kind facade, Idia just had a way of absolutely infuriating him. And so once in a moment of heightened emotion, after having had a long day already, Lisle dropped his mask and was completely honest to what he truly thought; about him, about everyone at NRC, about him being at NRC at all.

And somehow, learning this guy who'd been trying to 'help' him was actually kind of a terrible person but felt the need to always hide it, who felt envious of him and was trying to feel better about himself by proving he was somehow 'better' in a way... Well, he didn't like him any more than he previously did. But he sort of understood him now? That all of this was just his way of trying to make himself feel better.

But then after that, Lisle just kept coming back. But he was actually honest this time??? He even thanked Idia. Sincerely! Saying he felt so much better since he was able to drop the mask and just vent at Idia. So now, in return, he was going to try even harder to 'help' him. Dragging him off on walks sometimes to get a minimum amount of exercise, teaching him how to cook simple, healthy meals, and opening his blinds to show him non-arteficial light.

Idia's 'Um, WHAT?! I literally never asked for that! In fact, that's the opposite of what I wanted!' did not phase him in the slightest. Instead, Lisle got closer and held Idia's jaw delicately in his hands, looked him right in the eye with a genuine expression and telling him: 'I see promise in you. Truly.' Idia just kinda stopped. He didn't know what to say or how to respond to that.

And with time, all the things Lisle did to try to help Idia became no longer as Lisle treating him like a 'project', and no longer as much out of gratitude, but instead...just out of care. The way you'd want someone you care about to stay healthy, so you scold them for only eating snacks or going out in the rain without a coat or umbrella. He basically became Idia's hype-man, too.

The day Lisle gave him a small platonic goodbye-kiss on the forehead was the day the code file containing idia's perception of his and Lisle's relationship glitched out and has been unable to be opened again ever since. He has no idea what's going on.

Upon the start of his second year, with the arrival of four new students in particular— Azul Ashengrotto, Jade and Floyd Leech, and a girl whom Lisle had no idea how Crowley allowed to be enrolled, Junia— his status as Housewarden of Octavinelle came to an end. The Headmaster Crowley himself told Lisle that there was nothing he could do about it, despite the sudden re-delegation of the title very much not being the way it usually went. Lisle immediately suspected bribery.

Although... There did exist a clause which was not very well-known, saying that if at least a 3/5 majority of a dorm disagreed with the new choice of Housewarden, the new could not be appointed. And Lisle was still very, very popular with those in his year, and the now third-years.

But Azul proposed a deal to him. In which Lisle would still be allowed to continue giving out help to the rest of the Dorm, as well as students from other dorms, without it being seen as 'infringing' on Azul's business. In exchange, he could be the Vice Housewarden.

Lisle knew that any beloved figure only becomes more beloved when faced with a 'villain'. And so he denied the offer to be Vice Housewarden, so as not to be seen as 'complicit' to the 'new regime' yet still exchanged his title of Housewarden for the promise of being allowed to freely offer his own services. He thought it was better to be seen as a gracious leader felled by newly arrived 'malicious forces' than an ineffectual leader who could not manage to hold off the foul business practices of one of his own 'subjects'. It would garner him more sympathy from said 'subjects' in fact, for him to now be on the same level as them.

Though as he, being one of the oldest, and definitely the most popular, was deemed the leader of the Equestrian Club, it could have been worse.

More sprites:

So :)

On a scale of 1-10 how much have I destroyed the expectations you had of him

(I made this meme to keep myself from spoiling a mutual and I've been wanting to post it SO BAD but it'd SPOIL THE SURPRISE!)

MUAHAHAHAH YOU FOOLS (affectionate), YOU FELL FOR HIS FAÇADE

Tag list: @another-random-paradise @thehollowwriter @faefum @cactus13-rolloflammesimp @beneathsakurashade

@nyx-of-night @theolivetree123 @babyghoul138

[footballmakesmen]

[poppies-from-oz]

The Road to Oz Interlude

I’m obsessed with this one image so I wrote a one shot to go with it.

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

It wasn’t fair. It just wasn’t fair.

Laughter and chatter and general merry-making filled the dining hall of the emerald palace. Hundreds upon hundreds of guests had gathered here this evening to celebrate Princess Ozma’s thirteenth birthday! Nobility from across the many fairy countries of this land were in attendance, as were all of Ozma’s closest friends. It was quite a queer gathering, with pretty fairy queens sitting next to pumpkin-headed gentlemen and talking cookies, but a happy one nonetheless! Everyone in attendance was having fun…well, almost everyone. Though most of the attendees were conversing with each other, one of them was completely silent. And that was the Scarecrow of Oz.

The Scarecrow was widely regarded as the wisest man in all of Oz and was one of Ozma’s favorite companions. The stuffed man had been given a seat befitting his high status, just a few chairs down from where Princess Ozma sat at the head. Queen Zixi of Ixi was on his left, the Wizard of Oz was on his right, and the royals of Noland were right across from him. The Gillikin’s Sovereign sat next to the Wizard as well and Princess Dorothy sat beside Queen Zixi. The Scarecrow was surrounded on all sides by interesting and wondrous people but he hardly spoke a word to them. They tried to engage with him many times, with The Wizard occasionally elbowing the straw man in his side to get his attention. The Scarecrow would then sheepishly apologize and hastily throw some words into the conversation…but inevitably his attention would wander off once more.

Across from him, near the end of the table sat Niccolo Chopper. The Tin Woodman of Oz, Emperor of the Winkies, and the Scarecrow’s closest companion. Though “companion” is selling it a bit short, as the two were more like a married couple than anything else. They shared a love like no other and were rarely apart…most of the time, anyways. Tonight Nick sat quite a ways away from his beloved, sandwiched between the Shaggy Man of Oz and the rainbow fairy Polychrome. He was taking it in stride though, enjoying a lively conversation with his fellow guests. The Scarecrow was too far away to hear what they were talking about but he could tell by Nick’s smile that he was enjoying himself.

‘He always has the most beautiful smile.’ The Scarecrow thought to himself with a sigh.

“You and the Tin Woodman will only speak to each other and ignore the other guests if you’re too close together.” Ozma had said while they were planning the seating arrangements. “We have many important figures coming from across the land and they will want a chance to speak with you, the wisest man in Oz. We must make a good impression on them.”

She had been right, of course, the Scarecrow knew that. Though he didn’t like being away from Nick for too long, the Scarecrow agreed to the arrangement and promised to put his best foot forward at the banquet. He and Nick weren’t attached at the hip after all, they could be apart for a single dinner! But that was before he rode out to Munchkin Country to get restuffed, a journey that took many lonely days and nights without his dear Niccolo. And before he agreed to help Dorothy in greeting the party guests, which kept him from catching up with Nick. And before he saw how Nick had himself polished so brilliantly that the lights above gave his plating a distinct emerald tint.

‘He’s even wearing his crown.’ The Scarecrow thought. ‘He never wears his crown.’

The Tin Woodman practically sparkled in the brilliant lights of the Emerald Hall. Even Polychrome, with all her shimmering beauty, could not match the Tin Woodman’s radiance that evening! The Scarecrow simply couldn’t keep his eyes off him. Nick Chopper didn’t seem to notice this, however, as he was conversing with a nearby fairy prince. The prince, who had ebony dark curls and eyes that sparkled like sapphires, seemed to be telling Nick a story of some kind. He whispered something over to the Tin Woodman, who threw his head back and laughed gaily. A spike of jealousy twisted around inside of the Scarecrow.

‘What are they whispering about? Are they flirting? Nick is spoken for!’ The Scarecrow gripped at his sleeves as he mulled. ‘Who does that boy think he is, acting so coy? Does he think he’s something special just because he made Nick laugh? I make him laugh all the time! I should be the one next to him. I should be the one making him laugh. I should-’

A hand on his shoulder jolted the Scarecrow out of his thoughts. Everyone was standing now and toasting to Princess Ozma, who stood at the head of the table. The Scarecrow hastily rose to his feet and joined in the toast, raising his glass of lacasa above his head in Ozma’s honor. Santa Claus, the honored guest sitting at the far end of the table, launched into a speech congratulating the princess on turning a year older. As he spoke, the Scarecrow’s gaze once again wandered off to the Tin Woodman, only to find that Nick was looking at him too. If the Scarecrow had a heart it would’ve skipped a beat when their eyes met; he so loved Nick’s eyes. The Tin Woodman stifled a laugh, he couldn’t tell what the Scarecrow was thinking but he knew that lovestruck look on his face! Grinning deviously, he gave a sly wink to the Scarecrow, and that was about all the straw man could take. His knees went weak as did his elbows, and he ended up spilling his drink all over the Queen of Ixi! The dainty monarch gave a shriek as the cold liquid splashed all over her coiffed hair and trickled onto her nicest party dress. All eyes were on them now, the Scarecrow hastily apologizing while he and the Wizard grabbed some nearby napkins to try and wipe her down. The Tin Woodman stifled a laugh once more, not at Queen Zixi of course, at the Scarecrow. His sweetheart was just adorable! Thankfully the Queen was soon dried off and the toast to Ozma resumed once more. Santa Claus finished off his speech by requesting everyone to drink to the health of their beloved hostess, which they did readily!

The Scarecrow again looked over to the Tin Woodman, who had raised his glass to his lips but refrained from drinking, as he physically couldn’t. The Tin Woodman felt the Scarecrow’s gaze and looked over to see him wearing a rather grumpy expression. Rather than showing remorse, the Tin Woodman opted to blow a kiss, which once again disarmed the straw man. His frustrated glare melted into a twitterpated smile; he just couldn’t stay mad at Nick! The party guests retook their seats and conversation once again filled the great hall. The Scarecrow was far more talkative this time, as he was anxious to make up for his earlier blunder. Even so, the glimmering Tin Woodman would catch his eye several more times throughout the night, and would continue to do so until everyone had retreated to their rooms for the evening. The Scarecrow and Tin Woodman always had the same room in Ozma’s palace whenever they visited, one which they happily shared. Once the two of them had retired to their chambers, the Scarecrow had a chance to show his…appreciation of his beloved’s improved appearance.

But let’s give them a little privacy.

[witchesoz]

What we know of Oz: Book 2, Gillikins and Mombi

The second Oz book is “The Marvelous Land of Oz” (of its full title “The Marvelous Land of Oz: Being an Account of the further Adventures of the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman”), published in 1904. # The first thing this book makes us learn about Oz is the famous Northern Country! Remember, in the first book the land of the North was left unnamed. In this book we discover that it is the “Country of the Gillikins”, with for titular color purple. Now, at first we think it is just like in the first book, the color only applying to people’s clothes and houses and such. But here, Baum went a step ahead… Indeed, Tip mentions that in the Gillikin Country “everything” is purple: the grass is purple, the trees are purple, the houses and fences, even the mud is purple! This “everything” mention still seems like an exaggeration though, because the narration still mention the “green” of the corn stalks, and the “golden red” of the pumpkins. This is probably a retcon because Tip also claims that everything is blue in the Munchkin Country, yellow in the Winkie Country, and so on and so on, yet we know from the first book that it isn’t true. The description of Tip and Mombi’s farm also give us some indication about the Gillikin Country – it is located near a forest on one side and a valley on another (“below” the farm). It has several corn fields and pumpkin fields, and the animals raised there are several brown pigs and one four-horned cow, said to be the “pride” of Mombi. From the farm, one can see hills to the east. Interestingly, Mombi’s farm is said to be “dome-shaped”, “round” and the narration clearly states that all of the farms of Oz are shaped this way (in fact, later it will help the characters differentiate the farms from Oz and the ones from the “Outside World”). # One of the two big characters introduced here is Mombi, or “Old Mombi” as the book likes to call her. Keep in mind that Mombi wasn’t identified yet as the former Wicked Witch of the North, this was an idea that came later in the series. In this story, Mombi wishes to be a Witch, but we learn that the Good Witch of the North forbid any other Witch to exist in her “dominions” (quite a specific term to choose), so Mombi, while “aspiring to work magic”, can’t be a Witch due to it being unlawful, and has to be “a Sorceress, or at most a Wizardess”. This description is quite interesting because it gives us a new look at the world of magic in Oz. According to this book, Witch is merely a title and seems to correspond to the high magic practitioners, or the magic practitioners of high level, with under it the title of “Wizardess” and at the bottom the one of “Sorceress”. Which is quite weird given that Glinda, specified to be above Mombi in terms of magic, is still said to be a Sorceress while Mombi is said to be a Witch… If we are pragmatic, we know very well that Baum was merely inconsistent in his confused world-building, but it can still leave us with many theories. Mombi is introduced as the guardian of Tip, full name Tippetarius. Physically, she is described as an old woman that hobbles and need a cane or a stick to walk. Usually wearing an apron and knit stockings (with a cloak for her travels), she is described as having “stern and wrinkled features”, “long bony fingers”, a “crooked form”, “evil features”. To the point that the Tin Man calls her “ugly”, and both Jinjur and the narration refer to her as an “old hag”. We know that she has a bad reputation due to people suspecting her of indulging in magical arts, which alienates her from the Gillikin community. However, she has neighbors that directly know of her “curious magic” and thus are afraid of her, treating her “shyly but respectfully”. Due to the vastness of her farm, she seems to be quite rich. At the beginning of the story, she says to Tip that she goes to buy “groceries” at the village, a travel of at least two days, when in fact, she went to meet a mysterious figure only said to be a “Crooked Wizard” who lives in a lonely cave “in the mountains”. She traded several “important secrets of magic” with him, obtaining in the process three new recipes, four magical powders, and a selection of herbs of “wonderful powers and potency”. However, Mombi reveals that she “wickedly fooled” the Crooked Wizard, and that he was stingy, giving him the smallest portions possible (one of the objects traded being the Powder of Life, of course). Mombi’s other defining trait is to be the one taking care of Tip, the book’s young hero, an adventurous boy. Tip is the charge of Mombi, but she rather treats him as a slave, making him do all the chores: feed the pigs, collecting wood in the forest, working in the cornfield, milking the cow… Yet Tip is by no mean servile. Whenever he can he plays around or laze about instead of working, and he hates deeply Mombi, often playing tricks on her or trying to scare her. In relation, Mombi seems to be quite violent, given that she threatens to beat Tip “black and blue” for his latest trick – Tip himself says that he knows she is “bad and revengeful at heart” and that she doesn’t hesitate to do “evil things”. It is later revealed that she only keeps Tip around to do all the work for her (the narration mention that he is “as strong and rugged as a boy may be”): once Jack Pumpkinhead is “born”, Mombi decides he will be her new slave now, and that Tip can just disappear. Yet she insists on keeping him around… By turning him into a marble statue. Because she plans to grow a beautiful flower garden in Spring, and she thinks he would be a perfect ornament there. We later learn why she wishes to keep him around no matter what, even turned into a statue, but one think that is jarring about this scene is that Mombi tells Tip right in front of his face what she is going to do to him. She doesn’t think one minute that Tip would try to flee or go away or resist his fate (even though she still takes the precaution to keep the magic potion in her room so that Tip wouldn’t destroy it). Did she spill the beans because she was tired and it was the end of a long night? Or was there another reason she thought Tip wouldn’t flee? Mere sociopathy or something else? Theories are open. # The Powder of Life is one of the biggest new magical items. Sold by the Crooked Wizard to Mombi, it is kept in an old pepper box, with a label written by the Wizard himself. The Wizard only have enough for two or three uses. The Powder of Life’s power is that, when put on an object correctly, it can bring it to life. One just needs to sprinkle the powder like pepper on the object, and then to accomplish a small ritual similar to the one needed to activate the Golden Cap: lifting the left hand with the little finger pointed upward, say “Weaugh”. Then, with the right hand lifted with the thumb upward, say “Teaugh”. Finally, with your two hands lifted and all fingers spread out, say “Peaugh”. Then the object will come to life. During the book it animates Jack Pumpkinhead, the Sawhorse, as well as the Gump-Thing. Note however that the object must be ENTIRELY covered in the Powder, else the parts that did not receive it will stay numb and inanimate. # This book confirms that winters exist in Oz, because Mombi and Tip feed their cow pumpkins during “winter time”. We also know that sickness exists in Oz, given that Tip had the “ague” one year prior to the story. # Here’s what we know of Mombi’s “how to turn children into marble statues” recipe: in a small black kettle, measure equal part of milk and vinegar. Add to it several packets of herbs and powders, wait until the potion boils. Then let it cool for a whole night – in the morning it will be ready for consumption. # Jack Pumpkinhead gives us two interesting bits of information. One, about his clothing: the clothes he wears are all possessions of Mombi. Tip found them in a “great chest” where Mombi keeps all of her keepsakes and treasures, including these clothes. One might wonder why they are of such importance to her. Said clothes are: purple trousers, a red shirt and a pink vest dotted with white spots. The other interesting point is that the narration keeps talking about the real-life Halloween tradition of “Jack Lanterns” and how, since Tip had no playmates, he ignored everything about emptying the pumpkin beforehand. This comment can be interpreted in two ways: 1- This was a joke intended for the modern American reader 2- Jack Lanterns are indeed known and a common child’s game in Oz.  Take your pick. # More animals of Oz: we get the confirmation that horses and donkeys are actually common animals in Oz, since Tip speaks about them. # Tip tells to Jack the recent history of Oz, and it is quite interesting to note that it slightly differs from the events of the first book – showing that what really happened and what people, or at least Tip, heard of are slightly different. Tip explains that the Emerald City is the “biggest town” of the country, located at the center of the Land of Oz. He heard many stories of it – of how it was built by a mighty and powerful Wizard name Oz, of how the Scarecrow was “invited” by the citizens of the City to rule over them, just like the Tin Woodman was (and not, you know, appointed by the Wizard as in the previous book). Tip mentions that Dorothy is from Kansas, a place in “the big Outside World”, which seems to be a new notion in Oz. Tip doesn’t mention at all the Lion in his stories, in fact the Lion is completely absent of this book (for reasons I’ll explain later). And he also adds that the Wizard “wasn’t so much of a Wizard” and that he fled in a balloon because Dorothy and her friends were angry at him for being deceived and threatened to expose him. Something which enters in direct contradiction with the events of the first book… but again, Tip is a little farmboy living far away in the North of Oz, and since stories spread from mouth to hear, it may have been heavily distorted. But we know that the Scarecrow is a very popular ruler at the Emerald City (and again we have a big ambiguity, the Scarecrow being at the same time said to be the ruler of the Emerald City, and the City alone, and yet the ruler of the City also ruling over Oz entirely). # Something people tend to forget: there is another yellow brick road! Indeed, when Tip goes to the Emerald City, he follows a Yellow Brick Road that leads to it, and even has sign posts indicating things such as “Nine Miles to the Emerald City”. Interestingly, just like how the Brick Road in the East got cut off by a wide river, this Northern Road is also cut by a broad and swift rider (two miles after the “nine miles” sign). This river however has a man with his ferry-boat that can let people pass, but only if they pay him with good money (he is noted to have a face looking “cross and disagreeable”). This river seems to be the limit between the Gillikin Country and the Central region – indeed before the river, the “purple tint of the grass and the trees” faded away to a “dull lavender” than “greenish tint”, but past the river, the grass and trees become “bright emerald-green”.

- - -

Because yes, ladies and gentlemen and animated woodpeople, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz got a sequel if you ignored it! The kids kept sending Baum many letters asking to know more about Oz, to read more about Oz, and they had a special interest in the characters of the Scarecrow and the Tin Man, that were apparently very popular. So Baum finally gave in to the popular demand, was published in 1904, four years after the first book, "The Marvelous Land of Oz". The full title however is "The Marvelous Land of Oz: Being an Account of the Further Adventures of the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman". But it was sometimes shortened to "The Land of Oz", just like how "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" was shortened to "The Wizard of Oz". This book was a very big success at the time, before falling into oblivion for the decades following the MGM movie, and then springing up again, first n the 80s/90s thanks to "Return to Oz", the movie, and then in the 2010s thanks to modern Oz takes such as Emerald City, and also the feminist, LGBT and transgender movements, because... well, you'll see. One thing to note is that this book was written in a different style than the first. The first was really a sort of little fairy tale, with simple descriptions, a simple plot, simple characters, and self-contained chapters that could easily be cut-off. This second book however is clearly intended for an older audience, even though still young, being more complex in terms of characters and plot, having a lot of jokes and being much more funny/parody in style than the first, having chapters often ending in cliffhangers or cutting in the middle of the action, and in general being thicker and filled with much more action than The Wizard of Oz.  

[yellowbrickramble]

Houses with faces are pretty popular in all of Oz, but Gillikin and Emerald City are the most consistent about it.

If you like my comics, please support me on Patreon! (link in bio)

[blancamz]

After Ozma rose to the throne, pretty much everyone except her closest allies were banned from using magic, but that doesn't mean there weren't still some rogue wizards out there. Dr Pipt, a.k.a. The Crooked Magician lives with his wife Margolotte on the mountains at the Munchkin-Gillikin border. His philosophy regarding magic is that sure it's outlawed, but only if you're using it for other people, it's not a big deal if you're just doing little things for yourself.

Dr Pipt's specialty seems to be alchemy, and his house is replete with distillations, powders and residues. His most precious creation is the Powder of Life, which takes him six years of continuous stirring in four pots (he straps tools to his feet to help) to make a small handful of powder. Among the beings animated by the Powder were Jack Pumpkinhead, Bungle the Glass Cat, Scraps the Patchwork Girl, the Sawhorse, a blue bear-skin rug, Vic the unappreciated phonograph, and the mournful Gump.

Despite looking a little weird and his liberal interpretation of anti-magic laws, Dr Pipt is generally a good guy. More of an absent-minded professor type than an evil wizard. Ozma eventually takes away his ability to do magic and straightens out his limbs --which I consider one of her greatest crimes, next to the lobotomization of the Glass Cat. But continuity in Oz is lax (somehow the cat gets her brains back), so maybe Dr Pipt got re-crooked and re-magicked.

(Side note: my partner and I watched Inu-Oh last night, and I must say my Crooked Magician isn't nearly Crooked enough).

[wickedlyqueer]

Our Last Shimmer of Magic (12/12)

Glinda is a graduate of the All Girls’ Academy for Magic and Sorcery, Fae is a homebrewing witch. Their magic could not be more different, and their pull to one another not more enticing. start from beginning

Glinda and Fae make it back to Gillikin Forest, and Glinda finally reveals what would lift the Arduenna Curse...

Chapter 12: The Last Shimmer

[throwaninkpot]

i.

  There once was a boy who never felt right. It itched, maybe. Chaffed and claustrophobic, like when the witch who raised him would threaten to transform him into a bug and keep him in a jar, and even the thought had made his throat feel tight and his limbs weak and confined. That threat and all the other threats of equally awful punishment were never enough to make Tip behave. Once, when Mombi sent him to bring in clothes from the wash line, he kept a few items back from the laundry basket. Just a scarf and a blouse--how would that witch like it, Tip thought, if a little Mombi entered the house one day wearing her clothes, hunched over like her, and barking the same commands she gave him and promising the same nasty magics in an exaggerated mimicry of her voice. It would be sure to earn him some harsh punishment, but the prank would be worth it for the startled look he imagined on her awful face. So, he secreted the items away, and a few days later he ducked behind the house, threw the blouse on and tied the scarf over his head. Then grinning, he leaned over the rain bucket to catch a glimpse of the ridiculous image he made. 

In the water's reflection, his grin slipped away replaced by a curious frown. He looked...pretty, almost. The witch's clothes were nothing fine or lovely, made of the same practical lavender fabric as his own. But unlike Tip's own clothes, there were little blue and white flowers dotting the collar of the shirt. And the scarf framed his face in a way that made him look less like the old witch Mombi, and more like one of Gillikin girls he often saw at a distance working in their fields.  

It was strange. Well, yes, it was strange, but not in the way Tip had thought it might be, not in a bad way at all. It was-- 

"Boy! Where are you?"

Tip started, tearing the scarf from his head and hurrying to shrug the blouse off. The moment, like the prank, were forgotten and the day went on.

The days went on. Tip went, and went, and went, on and on, and found himself in a high room in the Emerald City. And it was himself, wasn't it? Tip wasn't a girl. How could Tip be a girl? How could Tip be?

But, well, if it had to be done...

So it was.

Tip went to sleep and Ozma awoke. When she sat up, a mirror was held up to Ozma's face, and looking at her new features didn't feel the way she expected. All those years of seeing a face shakily reflected in water barrels and puddles, and this was the first time the face looking back felt like--felt like-- Something tugged at Ozma's heart that she didn't understand. Me? Me. Is that me?

"Well?" Glinda asked gently, still holding the mirror for Ozma, smiling encouragingly at the child. 

"It's...strange." Ozma started. Oh, was that her voice? High and fluid as a bird song? Nothing like the cracking thing her voice had become in the last few years as Tip. 

"Strange, perhaps," Glinda allowed. "But not so bad, is it?"

"No," Ozma said. Oh, that was her voice. Oh. "No, it...it doesn't feel bad at all."

Once, there was a boy. But that boy isn't. That boy was a dream, or a threat of a tight jar made a reality that Ozma lived in every day. But the dream is over; Ozma awoke. Ozma continues to wake, now in open rooms all arching ceilings and wide windows looking out on her kingdom stretching wide. The clothes are as light as anything on her, and even when she orders adventuring outfits from the dressmaker, they come in lovely shades with little flowers on the collar and they never itch to wear.

      ii.

There once was a boy who was made a boy, cursed to be a boy, never knew anything but being a boy and there was joy in this.  He was happy in a way he had never noticed because he had never thought to question something so intrinsically true.

No one else had felt the need to question it either, until now.

He had tried to tell them--Glinda, the Scarecrow, Woggle-Bug, all of them. He wasn't a girl, he was Tip. He was no girl.

Glinda, smiling sweet, patted his hand. And for a moment he thought--maybe she would--but-- "But you were born a girl," she told him simply, like he was only confused. "So you must resume your proper form."

Tip looked around desperately. All these smiling faces. All the friends he had spent so many adventures beside. None of them would listen. Well, Jack listened. Jack cried at the prospect of losing his father. And Tip had never been comfortable with his parentage of a pumpkin-headed man, hadn't wanted to be Jack's father, but he wanted to be Jack's mother even less. Jack's protestation didn't matter. If Glinda and the others didn't care about Tip's objections, when he was the one who was heir to the throne of Oz and whose life they would be changing, why would they listen to anyone else?

All the while, they were kind. Reassuring him that he would be just fine. Guiding him with care to a couch. Meaning so well as they let him be put to sleep and took away everything that Tip knew as Tip. 

There was a boy, once. He is a boy no more.

Even the clothes were different. Tip didn't know why that hurt the most. His scuffed but sturdy purple pants covered in all the dirt from every stop of his travels were magically gone, and in their place was a dress of green gauze and flounce. Oh, and why were his legs put together funny? They weren't meant to sit like that on his hips. Oh, his hips. They were wrong. It was all wrong.

He sat up, burying his hands into the frilly fabric mess for something, anything, to hold onto. Glinda brought out a mirrored glass and it showed a face that was almost but not like his.

"Well?" Glinda asked gently. 

"It's..." Tip started to speak, and then burst into tears when the voice that came out was not his own.

"Give it time," Glinda soothed, days later, after Ozma's return had been announced, and ceremonies and parades had been held. "It must have been such a trial, dearie, and it's only natural it would take you time to adjust after the experience."

The experience. No one liked to speak much of it now, and when they did, it was only in the vague terms. The experience. Ozma's time away. The curse. Before.

If the experience had been such a trial, why did this now feel so wrong? That was the way curses worked, Tip thought: A person was happy, then a spell was cast on them and they were wretched, then the spell was broken and they were happy again.

That order had gotten a bit mixed up here.

He gave it time. Days, months, a year passed. Tip didn't adjust. Tip didn't feel right.

He wondered if maybe this, now, was in fact the curse. Maybe Ozma isn't him. Maybe it never was really, and never will be, even as he answered to that name and smiled at the subjects who murmured it adoringly. 

Maybe fate had found its way through accident and misfortune, and the initial transformation into Tip had been the universe setting something to right. Maybe Oz had been meant to have a king again. Well--after all, Glinda had said no respectable sorceress would deal in transformation magic, but she hadn't said anything about sorcerers. And maybe it wasn't a sorceress who sat on the throne of Oz after all. Maybe Oz was meant to be ruled by a sorcerer again. Give it time, Tip swore, and he would put himself to right again.

      iii.

There once was a boy. There now is a girl. And he would, if she could, live in that space between. Where eyes are fluttering, falling asleep and waking, as Ozma is coming and Tip is going. 

The child left by this sits up, and there is Glinda waiting with a mirrored glass showing a new face for them to meet.

"Well?" Glinda asks gently.

Tip-turned-Ozma can only look between the sorceress and himself in wonder, unable to answer. When he--she?--rises, there are her friends looking just as startled as she feels. She speaks finally: "I hope--" Oh, is that what he sounds like now? Well, his voice had changed once already before; this is nothing stranger than that, only quicker an ordeal than when his voice began dropping and cracking. "I hope that none of you will care less for me than you did before. I'm just the same Tip," she says, and for a moment feels like crying. Struggling to put into words what she doesn't even understand yet. 

What she means is: I'm the same me.

What she means is: Can't I be both?

It's elusive--fickle--ephemeral, fragile as her new gossamer gowns under the touch. Sometimes, he can feel it take shape at his fingertips, as solid as the crown Glinda places on her head. There is Tip. There is Ozma. Sometimes, there seems like little difference between the two. And other times, it is all he can do not to cry as the crowds call out "Princess! Princess Ozma!" as he passes through the streets. It's more than the names. It's more than the new clothes she must wear. It's more than the new way his friends treat him now even though they had promised it would still be the same. It's something like the way the skin wraps around their bones so distinctly different and differently distinct. It is each of these, and still more.

If they could have started as Ozma then turned into Tip then back again to Ozma, maybe the boundaries between are more malleable than people seem to think.

Ozma-still-Tip will learn the words to explain, and invent new ones where she finds the need. Slowly, he comes to understand herself. The citizens of Oz will learn, too, and so come to love their ruler whether there is a king under the crown today or a queen. This is Oz, after all. Where straw or clockwork walk and talk, and heads may be swapped, and young girls in houses fall from they sky then fly away home again. A little multitude of identity is not so odd at all.

(x)