#in case you were wondering the first book is tin man/dorothy

[dorothygalewrites]

Daria Judith Gale

"Someday I'll wish upon a star And wake up where the clouds are far behind me Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimney tops That's where you'll find me" Daria is a consummate dreamer, a wanderluster, avid reader, creator, dog lover, and at twenty, a recent college flunky. Still trying to be sunshine for everyone else. Probably hasn't really processed everything that happened. Doing her best.

[marvelousmop]

The Mystery of John Burr the Chestnut Man

The Land of Oz is a series with many an obscure characters - most people could probably tell you about Dorothy, the Tin-Man, the Lion, and the Scarecrow, but how many know of Ozma? Or Tik-Tok? What of Professor H.M. Wogglebug T.E.? And that's just scratching the surface, considering there are so many books (around 40 considered "Canonical"), and then beyond that there are characters who pop up in works connected to Oz... and then there's the case of John Burr the Chestnut Man. Who the Hell is he?

Well, first, some context:

In the year 1900, L. Frank Baum published The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, complete with illustrations from W.W. Denslow. Due to their collaborative efforts on the book, it was agreed that both men should have the rights to the characters and various elements within the first book. This arrangement may sound a bit unusual, but really it should be fine as long as Denslow and Baum don't have some sort of falling out.

Guess what happened in 1902 while they were working on the Wizard of Oz Stage Musical?

So, Denslow and Baum went their separate ways, with Baum going on to write "The Marvelous Land of Oz", while Denslow continued illustrating for books such as "The Pearl and the Pumpkin". He also worked on a small book called "Denslow's Scarecrow and the Tin-Man", featuring a short story about the duo getting into some hijinx after deciding they were tired of working endlessly on the Wizard of Oz stage show - I'm sure he wasn't working through anything there.

Around the time Marvelous Land got published, he also worked on a newspaper series called "Queer Visitors from the Marvelous Land of Oz" which served both to promote the sequel and increase the reach of the Oz brand. It's also one of the few remaining artefacts of a time when Baum really wanted Professor Wogglebug to be the mascot of the Oz series, but that's a discussion for another time.

Denslow sees this and thinks "Well, I'll show him! I'll make my own newspaper series!" and so we got Denslow’s Scarecrow and the Tin-Man (yes he used the same name as he did for the book - he also split that book into two halves and published them in the newspaper series, so that’s confusing). Unlike Baum's strip, this series mainly stuck to the events of the 1902 stage musical, so Dorothy never left Oz and is also referred to as Dorothy Gale (a name Baum wouldn't use in prose until Ozma of Oz) or Dotty (her show-exclusive nickname). The first story also makes reference to a Good Witch covering the poppy field with snow, which didn't happen in the book but did happen in the musical. Other than this though, they keep references deliberately vague - no mention is made of King Pastoria II, Cynthia Synch, or Dorothy’s pet cow, Imogene (who replaces Toto in the stage musical - similarly, this series makes no reference to Toto). It’s interesting to see an Oz-related work be influenced by a very popular adaptation other than the MGM movie.

Okay, but who is John Burr the Chestnut Man?

John Burr is introduced in the second story in the Scarecrow and Tin-Man series, and immediately he raises questions. Apparently, he's the Fairy Godfather of the Scarecrow (which possibly links him to the Scarecrow's 1902 musical origin wherein he comes to life because Dorothy wished for a friend, but this isn't made explicit) and possibly the Tin-Man. It's not clear. The Scarecrow and the Tin-Man are joined at the hip for most of this series though, so it hardly matters. In his first appearance, he transports the Scarecrow, Tin-Man, and the Cowardly Lion down to Earth, making him one of the most powerful characters in the series at this point.

Later in the series, he hands the Scarecrow and the Tin-Man "Magic Passes" because nobody will tell these poor guys how money works, so they just keep stealing things (relatedly, the Scarecrow and the Tin-Man book I mentioned earlier where they're performing in the musical mentions that the two just aren't paid for their work... again, I'm sure Denslow wasn't working through anything there)... and that's it. That's all we know of him. He enters the narrative, fulfils this oddly powerful role for someone who isn't even hinted at in anything prior and is then forgotten about entirely.

Also, he sells chestnuts, that's why he's the chestnut man.

[Honestly, the funniest thing about this whole situation to me is that Denslow's Scarecrow and the Tin-Man series is just significantly better than Queer Visitors from the Marvelous Land of Oz - better art and the writing is just very charming - both are probably equally racist though, so be warned if you want to seek these out].

[stop-breaking-my-heart-telltale]

soooo a trailer for The Wolf Among Us 2 dropped-

-and I am giddy.

While I’m mostly a twdg blog, I like to dip my toes in the Telltale pool and talk about other games and I mean, c’mon I can’t NOT talk about this trailer okay. How long have we waited for a sequel twau? Only for them to announce it, but then for Telltale to bite the dust? Now new Telltale is gonna give it to us and the trailer looks super good?? 

Also I still need to get the bad taste of the Clementine Book One trailer outta my mouth sooo.... here we are, I’m gonna go through this and give some thoughts. 

If you haven’t watched the trailer yet, you can here. 

Unknown: “You’re listed here as a private investigator. What does that sort of work entail?”

Bigby: “Depends on the night.”

Bigby: “Most nights it’s watching, waiting for a slip up. I don’t know, someone gets greedy. Someone gets brave.  ”

Okay! First of all, Adam Harrington is reprising his role as Bigby which thank god. He brought a lot of charm to Bigby in the first season and I can’t imagine anyone else giving a voice to this world’s big bad wolf. 

Also the aesthetic... A big draw about the first game was the neon but noir aesthetic. It felt very graphic novel, very detective true crime, y’know? Which yeah, that’s what the game was and Telltale nailed it. 

Unknown: “And that’s what you were doing the night of the incident?” Bigby: “Yeah. Took me weeks to track them down.”

AHHHHHHHHH LOOK AT HIM LOOK AT THAT DAMN SMIRK

Okay but the jacket. 

Bigby and Louis share the same taste in jackets I can’t-

Bigby: “They hadn’t cast so much as a shadow.... ‘til that night.”

God, the colors and the shadows... the way Bigby breaks the chain and his silhouette... we’re only 45 seconds in and this trailer has my heart. 

Unknown: “You’ve been hesitant to share with us... I assume it has something to do with confidentiality associated with the job.”

OKAY YES... in case you can’t tell yet, we’ve got the goddamn Tin Man and Scarecrow, and maybe Dorothy [though I’m unsure, it could easily be another woman from another fable] but the Tin Man was the cloaked figure running through the rain and fucking Scarcrow is hitting a bong..... I CAN’T

And just when you don’t think it could get better.... it’s revealed that Bigby is in a therapy circle as he recounts this night. 

Bigby: “......Something like that.”

I’m assuming this is perhaps an anger management therapy group? going off what the lady leading the group says later. I love this idea.

Honestly, after all the bullshit Bigby went through in the first game, I like seeing him somewhere where he can open up a little bit.... it’s just a shame that it’s not a fable group so he’s gotta hide the fun details. 

I just wonder if this particular case is what got him sent here, y’know? Like did Snow send him here because things went wrong and she’s tired of his approach to things now that she’s the boss lady? Or was he sent here prior to this case? 

Unknown: “Your boss, Miss White, said things didn’t go as planned. She mentioned that there was some violence.”

This fight though.... God, let this be one of the first fights we get to experience. Let this whole thing be the opening to the game. I’m already asking so many questions: what the hell did Tin Man and Scarecrow do? What shady business is Scarecrow into that made Bigby only arrest him? Why aren’t they glamoured? IS that Dorothy on the couch? Or someone else?? If we’re dealing with characters from Oz, does that mean Buffkin is coming back?? 

Don’t get me wrong, the opening of the first game was compelling with getting the call from Toad to take care of Woody and meet Faith..... but c’mon, look at this fight!

Also, can I just say that Scarecrow’s teeth freak me the hell out??

Oh and uhhh..... where is the Cowardly Lion? 

Unknown: “In the moments when you find yourself losing control...”

Unknown: “...how does the anger manifest itself?”

I don’t know for sure who she is, maybe she IS Dorothy given the braids she wearing and obviously she’s hanging with Tin Man and Scarecrow, but the lady chilling on the couch with the grin? I already love her. She doesn’t give a single fuck that Scarecrow is running around on fire or that Tin Man just threw Bigby through the wall. If anything, she’s amused by they whole thing and loving the sight of the big bad wolf.

Tell me more about her. What’s her involvement? I need to know. 

y’all

Y’ALL

I’m trying to tone down my excitement but like.... I adore this trailer and I have all of my fingers and toes crossed that the actual game is good. It’s set to come out next year, it’s still gonna be in episodes, Bigby is in therapy, Wizard of Oz characters are in it, Snow is coming back and hopefully I like her more this time around than I did in the first game.....

The music here is great, too. Just... everything is good. I can’t tell if I’m overwhelmed with how good this is because the Clementine trailer broke something inside of me but who cares! I’m excited to play this when it comes out! 

What do you guys think? Lemme know your thoughts/predictions for this! 

[nerdygaymormon]

Mel Dahl - Friend of Dorothy

Homosexual activity has been has been a reason to be discharged from the US military since the Revolutionary War. As the USA prepared to enter World War II, the military, in addition to its regular efforts to find gay, lesbian and bisexual service members and boot them from service, added processes to try to identify “homosexual” recruits and prevent them from joining,    

During his campaign for the presidency, Bill Clinton pledged to lift the ban on gay troops, but faced opposition from senior military personnel and powerful Congressional leaders. 

The compromise they reached and implemented in 1994 was the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, which meant the military wouldn’t actively search for gay, lesbian or bisexual personnel nor ask about a person’s sexual orientation, but if the military discovered someone is LGB, they could be discharged. Thus as long as the LGB individual didn’t share about their personal life at work or with military colleagues while off base, they should be able to serve. A truly imperfect and problematic policy, but a step forward.

This “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy remained in effect for 17 years, until being repealed by Pres. Obama. Openly gay, lesbian and bisexual people have been allowed to serve in the US armed forces since the repeal.

—————————

When Mel Dahl enrolled in the Navy in 1980, a military doctor asked the standard question of whether he’s gay, and Mel admitted he was. He completed basic training and applied for clearance to be a cryptographer. As part of that process, he again was asked if he is gay and his truthfulness got him a dishonorable discharge. 

He fought his discharge in court, even walking coast-to-coast in 1981 to publicize his case. It took 13 years of court battles, but in 1994 a judge finally ruled his dismissal unconstitutional and the Navy agreed to pay him 4 year’s worth of back wages. During the media interest early in the legal battle, Mel told a reporter that a great many gay men served at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center where he was stationed.

A witch hunt for gay sailors at the Great Lakes base ensued. The Naval Intelligence Service launched a full-scale investigation to identify a presumably massive homosexual network. They followed Mel Dahl and would secretly go through his possessions trying to find clues.

Naval intelligence discovered and infiltrated a gay Christian group that tried to worship weekly on base and everyone who was participating was discharged.

The Navy sent investigators to gay bars in the Chicago area to discover gay sailors. Investigators were paid to pose as gay men, to drink and dance and introduce themselves to other patrons, trying to identify who might be in the military.

During these trips to the gay bars, they noticed that many gay men identified themselves as “a friend of Dorothy.” The Intelligence Service figured that “Dorothy” must be a woman who organized a city-wide ring of gay servicemen. If they could find her, they figured they could “convince” her to talk, perhaps outing many gay navy personnel, who with a little pressure could be persuaded to identify many other gay men in the Navy so they all could be booted out.

The key was to find Dorothy. The NIS sent investigators to the gay bars to ask questions about this mystery woman. At one point, someone managed to convince them that a real-life woman officer named Dorothy was who they were after. She was very religious and anti-gay and this was a way of getting back at her for her bigotry. Spies followed her for months, never finding any associations with gay people, and concluded they had the wrong Dorothy.

They never found Dorothy

—————————

An interesting aside, while this investigation, and many others, focused on gay men, in the late 1980s there was a perception that the military was unfairly not working so hard to discover lesbians in the ranks. 

Vice Admiral Joseph S. Donnell sent out a memo urging his subordinates to ferret out lesbians in the Navy. His memo included this helpful tip for identifying lesbians:

“Experience has shown that the stereotypical female homosexual in the Navy is hard-working, career-oriented, willing to put in long hours on the job and among the command’s top professionals.”

Wouldn’t want their kind!

Military records indicate that in the 1990′s, being a woman who was also a member of a naval sports team, like softball or basketball, was enough to get the person onto the “potential lesbian” list, with Naval Intelligence scouting the games and taking pictures of the players to add to their investigation files.

————————————————————

The phrase “Friend of Dorothy” first popped up in the 1940’s, and for many decades was a way for gay people to indicate someone is gay. The “Dorothy” in question is the main character from the Wizard of Oz.

At a time when it was illegal to be gay and society was strongly homophobic, it was handy to have a phrase that allowed gay men to identify themselves to each other without actually saying they’re gay. When meeting another person, the gay man could say, “I’m a friend of Dorothy,” and if the other man were gay, he likely understands exactly what is being said. But if he isn’t gay, he’d probably think the individual thought they had a mutual friend named Dorothy.

Some believe that the phrase is derived from book The Road To Oz (1909), a sequel to the original Wonderful Wizard of Oz. In that book, Polychrome (Oz) says, “You have some queer friends, Dorothy.” She replies, “The queerness doesn’t matter, so long as they’re friends.”

The movie The Wizard of Oz delighted audiences and was so popular that from 1959 until the 1990′s, it was broadcast annually as a television special on American television. 

Dorothy’s journey from Kansas to Oz mirrored gay men’s desires to escape the black-and-white limitations of their small-town life for the big, colorful cities.

The Tin Man, The Scarecrow and Cowardly Lion are misfits who don’t conform to the roles society has given them, and yet Dorothy immediately accepts them. The Tin Man is constantly getting emotional and crying and needing to be lubed up. The Scarecrow can’t frighten a crow nor anything else. The Cowardly Lion identifies himself as a “sissy,” says “there’s no denyin’, I’m a dandy lion,” and behaves in a stereotypically effeminate way. 

Gay men are often accused of being less masculine than straight men and could see themselves in these characters. Dorothy meeting & accepting them is often interpreted as her meeting & accepting gay men without question. It didn’t matter to Dorothy if others were different, it was their character that mattered.

The phrase “Friend of Dorothy” isn’t nearly as widely known nowadays in the LGBT community thanks to the changes in the law and societal attitudes. 

—————————

I learned the British equivalent of “Friend of Dorothy” is “Friend of Mrs. King” (aka, Queen, as in a "gay man"). “Do you know if Nigel is a friend of Mrs. King?”

[witchesoz]

What we know of Oz: Book 1, generalities

Let’s begin with the first Oz book L. Frank Baum ever wrote: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, published in 1900. There will be a lot to say for this one, so I’ll split it into several parts. # The world of Oz is supposed to be one of a “modern American fairytale”. Baum’s ambition was to offer American children “local” fairytales and a literary world unique to the New World, rivaling with the old fairy tales of Europe. This is why the world of Oz reuses so many tropes and ideas from typical fairy tales (witches and wizards, magical objects and beings, talking animals…) yet updates them, reinvents them and twists them to make the tale differ from the traditions of the Old World – for example, take the idea of a “good witch”. This was something never done before, or at least without as much media coverage. Up until now, witches had always been depicted in children literature as wicked and evil beings, and Baum’s decision to present a good and benevolent witch was revolutionary (that is why Dorothy is so shocked upon hearing that there are good witches in Oz). # Oz is a land of colors and a land of life. In this book, there is a clear visual opposition between the Kansas, the “civilized world”, and the one of Oz. Oz is like a lost Eden Garden, filled with greenery and animals, vibrant with colors and life and sounds, while Kansas is a world utterly grey and gray, all the colors washed off or bleached, a place of harshness, dust and old age. Just compare this description of Kansas: “When Dorothy stood in the doorway and looked around, she could see nothing but the great gray prairie on every side. Not a tree nor a house broke the broad sweep of flat country that reached to the edge of the sky in all directions. The sun had baked the plowed land into a gray mass, with little cracks running through it. Even the grass was not green, for the sun had burned the tops of the long blades until they were the same gray color to be seen everywhere. Once the house had been painted, but the sun blistered the paint and the rains washed it away, and now the house was as dull and gray as everything else.” With the one of the place Dorothy’s house lands in: “Midst of a country of marvelous beauty. Lovely patches of greensward all about, with stately trees bearing rich and luscious fruits. Banks of gorgeous flowers on every hand, and birds with rare and brilliant plumage. A small brook, running and sparkling.” # But where the hell is Oz? The location of Oz has been a big debate for years now. And in fact the first book seems to imply that Oz is located somewhere in the United-States! 

You see, the tornado that carries away Dorothy (and not a cyclone. Baum made a mistake by calling it a cyclone when it is a tornado) isn’t some magical portal to another dimension here – it is merely a real tornado, that physically made Dorothy’s house change place. And given that a tornado can’t go far, it is highly possible that Oz is on the North American continent, maybe even inside the United-States! It seems reinforced by the fact that the Wizard of Oz actually came from Nebraska and was too carried away by winds to Oz… Outside of that we know that Oz is cut from the rest of the world by a great desert that surrounds it – there are no mentions of magically deadly sands or things like that, though. In the first book, the desert is merely considered too big and too wide to be crossed. We also know that this isolation allowed Oz to not be “civilized” – the Witch of the North explains that they could keep their magic and their wizards and witches due to Oz being an “uncivilized” country, while civilized countries saw all their magic practitioners disappear. The exact meaning of “civilized” is quite unknown, and still up to debate – it probably means the advance of science and technology in this precise case. A very interesting fact to note is that the Witch of the North mentions that the land of Oz was “cut off” from the rest of the world a long time ago – which implies strongly that Oz was, a long time ago, connected to the rest of the world, and that the desert wasn’t always there. At least we know that it was cut off a long time before Kansas was even made – a theory one could make would be that the land of Oz was always there in the center of the North American continent and that it was isolated when the colonization happened, which could have been the bringing of “civilization” but this is just a wacky theory I’m making. # The Munchkins aren’t the only small people in Oz. At least, in this book. As you will see, many peoples are described as small – the Munchkins, the Witch of the North, the Guardian of the Gates, the Quadlings… Or rather, they are described the same size as Dorothy, who is a “very well grown child for her age” (even though her age isn’t specified… in the first books she seems to be around eleven or twelve years old, but in later books she is rather between fourteen and sixteen). This is a very important point to understand this first book – when Oz was conceived in Baum’s mind, it was created as a world the size of a child. Everyone is the size of Dorothy, everything happens at her level, and thus the threat is less scary and she can be treated as an adult. This idea was reinforced by the original illustrations that represented ALL of the characters as roughly the size of Dorothy, from the Wicked Witch to Glinda. However, in the later books, Baum obviously had to abandon this idea since Dorothy wasn’t the only protagonist anymore, Dorothy ended up growing up, and he also needed a bit more diversity in his cast (he couldn’t just have small people everywhere all the time).

  # Oz is not an unified country. When a character uses the term “Land of Oz”, it usually refers to the entirety of the lands inside the great desert. But this Land of Oz is made up of five different regions, each associated with a specific geographical point, a specific color and a specific population. In the East live the Munchkins whose color is blue, in the West live the Winkies whose color is yellow, in the South live the Quadlings whose color is red. In the first book, the North is actually left undescribed – we would only discover later that the North is the land of the Gillikins, whose color is purple. And at the center of Oz there are the lands surrounding the City of Emeralds, whose population doesn’t have a particular name, but is of course associated with the color green. A very interesting fact must be pointed out: this central region has quite an ambiguous position. We know in this book that the Emerald City, which is basically the fifth region itself, was built for the Wizard of Oz, while the other four regions existed long before that. As a result, it may explain why this region is quite different from the others –  it has its own specific color but its inhabitants don’t have any specific name like the Munchkins or the Winkies, and are merely Ozians. Now the question is: did a green region exist before the Wizard came or was the green region created around the City of Emeralds? But I’m afraid we won’t get the answer. On a similar note, the different regions, while all part of the greater whole that is the Land of Oz, are still treated as independent areas, as their own lands and countries. Each has their own ruler, their own population, their own names. And there is no idea here that a region rules over the others – in later books the Land of Oz became a kingdom, dominated by an Ozian King living in the Emerald City, but in this first book the Emerald City isn’t the capital of Oz, and isn’t ruling over all Oz. The Wizard is specifically said to only rule over his City, and each country has its own ruler and keeps to itself. To cut it short, Oz seems to be much more a confederation of states than a federation or a feudal system like it would become later. # And just like there are four main regions in Oz, there are four Witches too – at least, by the time Dorothy arrives. Each Witch corresponds to one of the four regions/cardinal point (in fact the television series Emerald City referred to them fittingly as the Cardinal Witches): one in the North, one in the South, one in the East and one in the West. These Witches are divided into two categories: the Good Witches (represented by the one in the North and the one in the South), and Wicked Witches (represented by those in the East and in the West). Forget already about this idea that “only wicked witches are ugly”, that was put in for the movie – and the movie also mixed up the two good Witches, of the North and South, into one, which created some plot holes. But what exactly is a Witch? Now, this is a good question… the word Witch is always put with a capital in the book, just like the terms of any important character (the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, the Guardian of the Gates) but also just like any word used to refer to the Ozian population (a Munchkin, a Winkie…). We also know that the Witches have a specific color associated to them – white. This was why Dorothy was mistaken for a Witch, because she was wearing white. (And yes, it also means that the Wicked Witches wear white in the book, that was another idea Baum used to “upgrade” the idea of witches). All of these indications clearly show that they are different from normal Ozians, either a simple different social group at the same level as the Munchkins and Quadlings, either an entirely different species. One thing is sure: the Witches are HIGHLY respected in Oz, or at least very high in terms of social position. Of the four Witches we meet, three are rulers of their own countries (East, West and Glinda). While the Witch of the North is not mentionned to rule over the North (she just calls it her "home"), the Munchkins still bow down lowly to her when she leaves. And when the Munchkins believe Dorothy to be a Witch, they are too afraid to even go near her, and it is the Good Witch that has to take the first step.

A personal note I want to make is about the choice of the term “wicked”. It was probably for the alliteration, but wicked has quite a connotation you know? It isn’t like calling someone “evil”. Someone who is evil is bad passively, by nature, by essence. But “wickedness” is an active form of badness, one done in action. A wicked person will dedicate themselves to cause harm and disasters and to make people suffer, it is similar to the world maleficent (“that does evil”) and malevolent (“that wants evil”). Such an analysis allows a lot of theories to arise… is a witch good by nature and chooses to become wicked? Or is a witch neutral but then has to choose between good and wicked? It should also be noted that in Baum’s books, the Witches actually can’t go back to being good once they are classified Wicked. Indeed, while other Ozian villains reformed, sometimes after having their memory wiped out, the Wicked Witches always stayed bad and evil, always. So maybe they are indeed evil at core? Or maybe once a witch choses to be wicked she can’t go back? Again, there is a lot of theories possible, ESPECIALLY since the Witches lack any kind of backstory. 

We don’t know where they come from, we don’t know if they were always witches, we don’t know if they have family, none of that. (Because yes, in the original books, the Witches are all unrelated to each other, there are no “avenge my sister” plot).

Another point I would like to make: in the book, the term “Sorceress” is used apparently as a synonym for the word “Witch”. Indeed, the Witch of the North welcomes Dorothy as “great Sorceress” (see the cap), Boq mentions that Dorothy must be a “great sorceress” (without cap) since she is wearing white and has the silver shoes, and in later books Glinda prefers to be called a “Sorceress”, with cap, than a Witch. It seems in general that Sorceress is a more… “neutral” and more “polite” term for Witch, with less connotations, or used when one ignores if a Witch is bad or good. Some theories going around think that “sorceress” is a term used to designate those that practice magic because they learned of it, studied it and acquired magical powers, while “witch” refers to beings able to do magic due to natural abilities, due to their fundamentally magic nature. It could be right – after all, Gayelette is referred to as a sorceress without being called a “Witch” (at least if my memory serves me right, I’ll have to recheck that). However, there is also the difficult part of The Witch of the North’s backstory. When she talks about the civilization, she mentions that before it the world had “witches, wizards, sorceresses and magicians”, and that by staying uncivilized Oz could keep its “witches and wizard” – no mention of sorceresses or magicians. She speaks of them as if they were separate categories, the witches paired with the wizards and the sorceresses with the magicians. Maybe sorceress is an alternate word for witch, and magician for wizard, but their clear separation seems to insist on a difference… again, the theory of “study VS nature” may be applied here. It is possible that witches and wizards are the male and female beings naturally able to do magic, while sorceress and magician refer to those that learned and studied the art of magic. To be honest this whole classification isn’t clear in the first book, more elements from later books should help us see better in this matter – but right now all one needs to know is that Oz has Witches and Wizards.

[cephalo-bot]

A Really Long Post About why the Tin Woodman is Great.

So I don’t clog up your dash, I wrote this intro about what I have to say and you can read more under the cut if you would like. The title should be pretty self-explanatory, I want to talk about the Tin Woodman from the Oz books and share my opinions on why he’s a great character.

The Tin Woodman first appeared in the book, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, which was written by L. Frank Baum and published in 1900. He’s an automaton woodcutter who used to be a regular human named Nick Chopper, the first book doesn’t mention his real name but the other thirteen books in the series refer to him as both Nick Chopper and the Tin Woodman. Although I love the movie version of the first book and Jack Haley was perfect in his role, there was a lot that the movie left out that I want to go over.

The first thing I want to talk about is his backstory, in a magical land where scarecrows talk and shoes are magic, you don’t question much, but there’s a very specific reason for the Tin Woodman’s existence. He used to be a regular human who was the son of a woodman and lived in Munchkin Country, which at the time was ruled by the wicked witch of the east. His father died when he was young and he took care of his mother until she eventually died. He wanted to get married so he wouldn’t be lonely and soon fell in love with a munchkin girl named Nimmie Amee. Neither of them had very much money and couldn’t afford a wedding or a house, so Nick worked harder than ever to earn the money they needed and to build a house. Nimmie was a slave for the wicked witch of the east who didn’t want Nimmie to get married so she could keep working for her forever. So the witch cursed Nick’s axe so whenever he was working, the axe would slip and cut off one of his limbs. Whenever this happened, he would go to the tinsmith, named Ku-Klip, who made him mechanical prosthetics to replace his lost limbs. Eventually, Nick’s arms, legs, and head were replaced with tin prosthetics until the axe cut his torso in half and completed his transformation into the Tin Woodman. At first, he liked his new body that shone brightly in the sunlight, never grew hungry or tired, and was much stronger than his old body. But he soon forgot all about Nimmie and could no longer feel human emotions, one day he got caught in a rainstorm where he rusted solid and stayed that way for a year. During that year, he had time to reflect and remembered everything about Nimmie and that he still loved her. Since he no longer had a heart, he felt that he couldn’t love her and having a heart would be the only thing that would make him happy. And you know how the rest of the story goes. 

It’s such a charming and heartbreaking (heh) story about a man who gets too caught up in his work and looses both himself and the woman he loves. the Tin Woodman has been my favorite character for a long time but his backstory and other things from the books gave me a new appreciation for his character. A small production company called Whitestone Pictures actually made a beautiful short film about the Tin Woodman’s backstory that I highly recommend watching. There’s also an off-broadway show called The Woodsman directed by James Ortiz, which is an adaptation of the same story that I haven’t had a chance to see yet, but the soundtrack is amazing. I can understand why they left this part out of the movie, it would have been way too much exposition, and it’s a little dark which wouldn’t have fit the cheerful tone of the movie.

Another scene from the book that stuck out to me was when he accidentally steps on a beetle and is so distraught over taking an innocent life that he starts to cry, which causes his jaw to rust shut. He makes some frantic hand gestures and the Scarecrow helps him out, once he can speak again, he ironically states: “This will serve me a lesson to look where I step. For should I kill another bug or beetle I should surely cry again, and crying rusts my jaws so that I cannot speak. You people with hearts have something to guide you and need never do wrong, but I have no heart, and so I must be very careful. When Oz gives me a heart, of course, I needn’t mind so much.”

This scene and many others show that not only does the Tin Woodman have a heart (which was the whole point of the first book is that the wizard didn’t change anyone because he didn’t have to) but it also shows how he was affected by his past. We aren’t given much information about who Nick Chopper was before he became the Tin Woodman but he has a clearly defined personality in the rest of the story. An origin story like his could cause a character to become jaded and bitter, but with the Tin Woodman, it’s quite the opposite. He is now more determined than ever to better himself and fix his relationship with Nimmie. He also makes sure to be kind to every living creature and is loyal to his new friends (like the scene where he faces forty wolves to save them but I’ll get to that part later.) In a later book, he tries to find Nimmie again so they can finally get married. It turns out that she married a frankenstein man named Chopfyt, who the tinsmith made out of the human remains of Nick Chopper and a soldier named Captain Fyter who had the same fate as Nick. She is happy with her life and states that she wants to be left alone and not be disturbed by visitors. The Tin Woodman is disappointed but takes the rejection like a decent human being and goes back to Winkie Country where he is emperor (I forgot to mention that at the end of the first book he become emperor of Winkie Country after the Wicked Witch of the West is killed.) I’m pointing this out because I have seen so many stories where a character can’t take rejection and forces their loved one to be with them. It can make for a good story when done well but it’s gross and I’m tired of it.

Of course, there is a stigma around male characters who are gentle and emotional. They are often the comedy relief and presented as weak, usually as a foil character for the strong emotionless hero of the story.  Also, keep in mind that the Oz books were written in the early 20th century. Long before this trope was popular. The Tin Woodman completely destroys all stereotypes about men who are emotional and gentle. He allows himself to cry and be vulnerable but it is never treated as a joke or shown in a way to make him appear weak. He is also never portrayed as an overdramatic emotional basket case, he’s portrayed as a human. This isn’t his only personality trait either. He’s a strong fighter and tends to face large hoards of things by himself. Like the forty wolves in the first book and the flock of jackdaws in the second book. The Tin Woodman may be a peacemaker but he is a very capable fighter when he needs to be. He’s also a little vain and takes an entire day to polish himself. He like flowers, he can sing, he thinks puns are annoying (which I think is funny how he is not having it with the Woggle Bug’s puns but politely endures the Scarecrow’s constant dad jokes.) I could go on but the point is that he’s a well written and developed character who will forever be timeless. 

This was supposed to be a short appreciation post but my hand slipped and I accidentally wrote an essay. The Oz books are great and I wish they got the attention they deserve. Return to Oz is the closest thing we have to a book accurate movie adaptation but hopefully, we’ll get more movies in the future. There is a wonderful book accurate comic series by Eric Shandower and Scottie Young that you can read here. The art is beautiful, the character designs are charming, and they’re a perfect adaptation of the books. Boomerang has also released a new cartoon called Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz. It’s a simple show that was meant for younger kids but it has a lot of characters and lore from the original books. It’s a great introduction to Baum’s world for younger kids and I hope it encourages them to read the books. That’s all I really have to say for now but I’ll probably be making more posts like this in the future.

[sagexbrush]

This is a playlist of songs that goes along with the six of crows book, pretending that six of crows is a TV show and what songs they’d play to what parts.

so I saw this done somewhere with the foxhole court and wanted to give it a go! If you were the creator of that post (I can’t for the life of me find it) just send me a message and I’ll totally give you credit for the inspiration. I just really couldn’t help myself from doing this with Six of Crows. Enjoy!

intro. railroad track by willy moon. yeah ‘cause i’ma go down on a railroad track and i ain’t going back and no i ain’t going back.

 kaz defeats geels. wires by the neighborhood. “you’ll get what’s coming to you one day brekker.”/ “i will,” said kaz, “if there’s any justice in the world. and we all know how likely that is.”( page 32) the wires got the best of him all that he invested in goes straight to hell.

 kaz accepts the deal. wicked ones by dorothy. “you’ve seen what this drug can do. i can assure you it is just the beginning. if jurda parem is unleashed on the world, war is inevitable. our trade lines will be destroyed, and our markets will collapse. kerch will not survive it. our hopes rest with you mr.brekker. if you fail, all the world will suffer for it.” / “oh it’s worse that that, van eck. if i fail, i don’t get paid.”(page 57) ain’t no sleep when the wicked play

 kaz walks through the barrel. lone digger by caravan palace. “the buildings of the barrel were different from anywhere else in ketterdam, bigger, wider, painted in every garish color, clamoring for attention from passerby – “ (page 69) your head has no right to say no, tonight it’s ‘ready set go!’

 matthias fights the wolves. stronger than ever by  raleigh ritchie. “but kaz hadn’t lied: matthias was much changed. the boy who looked back the crowd with fury in his eyes was a stranger.” (page 90) ‘cause i’m a big boy an adult now, well nearly, if i pull the wool back from my eyes i can see clearly.

 nina and matthias reunite. do i wanna know?by  artic monkeys. “her eyes filled with tears. ‘shhhh matthias. we’re here to get you out.” before she could blink he had hold of her shoulders and had pinned her to the ground. / “nina,” he growled. then his hands closed over her throat. (page 99) crawling back to you. ever thought of calling when you’ve had a few? cause i always do.

 jesper and wylan team up. panic station by muse. “close your eyes!”/ “you can’t kiss me from down there, wylan.”/ “just do it!”/ “this better be good!”/ he shut his eyes. “are they closed?/ “damn it wylan yes they’re – “ there was a shirll shrieking howl, and then bright light bloomed behind jesper’s lids. when it faded, he opened his eyes. below, he saw men blundering around, rendered blilnd by the flash bomb wylan had set off. but jesper could see perfectly. not bad for a mercher’s kid. (page 147) ooo 1 2 3 4 fire’s in your eyes, and this chaos it defies imagination.

 inej is stabbed. cold arms by mumford and sons. one night, as he’d passed her in the parlor, she’d done a foolish thing, a reckless thing. “i can help you,” she’d whispered. he’d glanced at her, then proceeded on his way as if she’d said nothing at all. the next morning, she’d been called to tante heleen’s parlor. she’d been sure another beating was coming or worse, but instead kaz brekker had been standing there, leaning on his crow-head cane, waiting to change her life. / “i can help you,” she said now. / “help me with what?” (page 153) but i know what’s on your mind, god knows i put it there.

 kaz kills oomen. beast by nico vega. kaz leaned in so that no one else could hear when he said, “my wraith would counsel mercy. but thanks to you, she’s not here to plead your case.” without another word, he tipped oomen into the sea. (page 159) stand tall for the beast of america, lay down like a naked dead body.

 matthias gives nina the cup. blood bank by bon iver. “but a short while later the druskelle returned with a tin cup and bucket of clean water. he’d set it down inside the cell and slammed the bars shut without another word. (page 171) well i met you at the blood bank, we were looking at the bags, wondering if any of the colors matched any of the names we knew on the tags.

 inej is sold to tante heleen. killer by phoebe bridgers. “she’d turned away to barter with the sailers as inej stood there, clutching her bound hands over her chest, her blouse still open, her skirt still hiked around her waist. jump she’d thought. whatever waits at the bottom of the side is better than where this woman is taking you. (page 190) can the killer in me tame the fire in you?

 kaz tells inej about his brother. long way down by tom odell “what do you want then?”/ the old answers came easily to mind. money. vengeance. jordie’s voice silenced in my head forever. but a new reply roared to life inside him, loud, insistent, and unwelcome. you, inej. you.(page 205) she stands on a ledge says, it looks so high. you know, it’s a long way down.

 nina and matthias begin to trust each other. first day of my life by bright eyes. “there was a long pause and then he said, ‘i thought about it. just for a second.’ nina laughed./ ‘it’s okay,’ she said at last, ‘i would’ve thought about it too.’. he got to his feet and offered her his hand. /‘i’m matthias.’/ ‘nina,” she said, taking it. ‘nice to meet your acquaintance.’ (page 241) this is the first day of my life. swear i was born right in the doorway.

 jordie dies and dirtyhands is born. a rush of blood to the head by coldplay he’d heard there were sharks in these waters, but he knew they wouldn’t touch him. he was a monster now too. (page 276) because i’m gonna buy this place and see it burn, do back the things it did to you in return.

 inej climbs up the incinerator shaft. shake it out by florence + the machine. she wanted a storm – thunder, wind, a deluge. she wanted it to crash through ketterdam’s pleasure houses, lifting roofs and tearing doors off their hinges. she wanted it to raise the seas, take hold of every slaving ship, shatter their masts, and smash their hulls against unforgiving shores. i want to call that storm, she thought. (page 311) and i am done with my graceless heart, so tonight i’m going to cut it out and then restart.

 inej and kaz on the roof. run by daughter. “if we don’t survive the night, i will die unafraid kaz. can you say the same?” his eyes were nearly black, the pupils dilated. she could see it took every last bit of his terrible will for him to remain still beneath her touch. and yet, he did not pull away. she knew it was the best he could offer. it was not enough. (page 334) and if i try to get close, he is already gone.

 jesper fights the grisha. human by rag’n’bone man. he wasn’t a good fabrikator, but they didn’t expect him to be a fabrikator at all. he thrust his hands forward, and bits of metal flew from his uniform, a gleaming cloud that hung in the air for the briefest second then shot toward the tidemakers. (page 388) i’m only human after all, don’t put the blame on me.

 matthias opens the door to nina’s cell. i want to love you by lenachka. she ran to him, and he swept her up into his arms. he buried his face in her hair. she felt his lips move against her ear when he said, “i never want to see you like this again. / “do you mean the dress of the cell? / a laugh shook him. “definitally the cell.” (page 389) i want to love you, the corner’s of your heart no one’s been to.

 kaz rescues nina and matthias. immigrant song by led zeppelin “this is going to sting a bit,” said the druskelle holding the whip. his voice was rasping, familiar. his hands were gloved. “but if we live, you’ll thank me later.” his hood slid off, and kaz brekker looked back at them. (page 397) we come from the land of ice and snow from the midnight sun

 kaz is drowning. open your eyes by andrew belle “but all he could think of was inej. she had to live. she had to to have made it out of the ice court. and if she hadn’t, then he had to live to rescue her. the ache in his lungs was unbearable. he needed to tell her… what? that she was lovely and brave and better than anything he deserved. that he was twisted, crooked, wrong, but not so broken that he couldn’t pull himself together into some semblance of a man for her. (page 403) she’ll be a star now, i will follow her lead. she’ll be a scar now, i will still let her bleed all over me.

 jesper wylan and inej acquire a tank. legendary by welshly arms. wylan clutched his middle, still snorting lafter. trailing behind them was a banner, caught in the tank’s treads. despite the smears of mud and gunpowder burns, inej could still make out the words: strymakt fjerdan. fjerdan might. (page 414) cause we’re gonna be legends, gonna get their attention.

 nina takes parem. believer by imagine dragons. nina flexed her fingers, and the druskelle dropped their rifles, hands going to their heads, screaming in pain. “for my country,” she said. “for my people. for every child you put to the pyre. reap what you’ve sown, jarl brum.” (page 426) and it rained down, it rained down like – pain.

 kaz asks inej to stay. million reasons by lady gaga “i will have you without armor, kaz brekker. or i will not have you at all.” speak, she begged silently. give me a reason to stay. for all his selfishness and cruelty, kaz was still the boy who had saved her. she wanted to believe he was worth saving too. the sails creaked. the clouds parted for the moon and then gathered back around her. inej left kaz with the wind howling and dawn still a long while away. (page 434) i’ve got a hundred million reasons to walk away, but i just need one good one to stay.

 nina starts to go through withdrawals. 5am by amber run. “stay,” she panted. tears leaked from her eyes. “stay til the end.” / “and after,” he said. “and always.” and you don’t know how to feel until the moment’s passed. i wish you’d live like you’re made of glass.

 van eck goes back on his deal/kaz goes to pekka rollins for help. seven devils by florence + the machine. “none of you will leave this island, mister brekker. all of you will vanish, and nobody will care.” (page 446) seven devils all around you, seven devils in my house.

[mycasandstarrs]

SPN 9x04: “Slumber Party”

THEN: Charlie Bradbury. She’s a hunter in training and a Woman of Letters. The Men of Letters Bunker, the supernatural motherlode.

1958.

Back when the Bunker was brand spanking new.

James Haggerty and Peter Jenkins.

“Took three years to build this dump?” This place ain’t no dump!

“This dump is the epicenter of -- of the ultimate chess match between good and evil.”

Six Months Later.

“What a dump.” lmao.

“Frank’s kid”, a hunter.

“Now, which one of you geniuses is gonna help me kill the wicked witch?”

Present Day.

They gave Crowley a table.

“You want more demon names. I want a room with a view.” What a child.

They let Kevin leave the Bunker. “I'm hoping this break will, uh, clear his head.”

Aww, a night off with “Game of Thrones��.

“By the way, I still don't understand why he left in the first place.” ME EITHER, SAM.

“But, uh, he felt like he'd bring trouble down on us, so he had to split. But if you got a way to help him, I'm all ears.”

*internal screeching*

“All right. So, Kevin said the table lit up like a Christmas tree when the angels fell, right?”

“So?”

“So it turns out each light was where a cluster of angels fell. So I'm thinking maybe there's some way to hot-wire this, make it track angels. That way, we could help Cas steer clear of danger.”  

That’s wonderful.

A 1951 computer.

Oh dear.

Dorothy cut the witch’s tongue out! That’s damn smart.

“Wait. You captured her all by yourself?”

“Yes. Despite all my lady parts, I managed to capture the wicked witch.”

YES! What an icon.

“This place is the last true beacon of light!” Again with that.

What a cool shot.

Charlie!

Charlie’s been hunting: killed a teen vamp and a ghost.

“All right. It took some doing, but now we can download.” Hell yeah, girl!

“So, you've been hunting.”  

“Alone.”

“I know. Not a good idea, according to the ‘Supernatural’ books.”

Aww, they’re so protective of her.

“Someone uploaded all the unpublished works. I thought it was fanfic at first, but it was clearly Edlund's work.” Oh damn it.

“I don't know. Their screen name was beckywinchester176. Ring a bell?”

“None. Uh, nobody's. Uh, no, there are no bells. Uh...No.”

Sam, you suck at deflecting, lmao.

Game of Thrones!

“You're gonna read the books?”

“Yes, Dean. I like to read books -- you know, the ones without pictures.”

Ok, screw you, Sam.

“Any plans on moving in anytime soon?” He does have a TV.

“Well, I'm sorry I haven't hung up the, uh, ‘Hang in there, kitty’ poster yet, Dean. Feel free to redecorate.”

“So, what, our home's not good enough for the ‘Hang in there, kitty’ poster?”

“This isn't our home. This is where we work.”

Sam...really? You have a TV in your damn bedroom.

(Has Sam decorated his room since?)

“So, Charlie, what was all that about how hunting isn't magical?”

“I am down. But... I was raised on Tolkien, man. I mean, where is all this? Where are my White Walkers and my volcano and magic ring to throw in the damn thing? Where -- where's my quest?”

Aww.

“Magic, quests...suck. Trust me. They're all --”

“--dead ends. Nothing but dead ends.”

Nice segue.

“You were right. There's nothing worse than adventure.” :( Jenkins’ last words.

RIP Peter Jenkins. Killed by Haggerty.

The transitions are so great!

Eww. A giant wall cocoon.

...Where Dorothy had been inside.

“Holy crap! The first case investigated in this bunker involved Dorothy. She and the witch came into this room, and they never came out. This will never stop blowing my mind!” I know!

“We have to talk before anyone does anything, okay? Dorothy?”

“Talk? Typical Men of Letters, standing around, having a nice, little chat with your noses buried in your books while your little secretary takes notes.”

NOW HOLD ON.

“We're hunters.”

“And who are you calling a secretary?”

Damn right.

Fuck yeah!!

Witches and Crowley. Seem to go hand in hand.

“You're protected by the Witch of the North's kiss. It's from the books.”

“Oh, forget the books! They're not important.”

Wait, I wanna know about that.

“I'm helping.”

“Yeah, I don't doubt it. But for right now, why don't you rest up and help the smartest person in the room?”

AWW!

I love Dorothy, but I’m glad to see Charlie knock her down some pegs.

“I'm gonna get some bullets from the gun range and make us some poppy bullets.”

Dorothy loves her already. I know, Dorothy.

“What did she say to you?”

“Something along the lines of... “

lol

I doubt Crowley could just walk out of there, seeing how there’s a giant Devil’s trap on the floor.

The Witch trashed the kitchen trying to find it.

“Damn it, I just cleaned in here.” Aww, Dean.

Poppy bullets. “That's my girl.”

The same key Dean found while going through the archives...and he kept it in his room.

Dean paired up with Charlie, only to tell her to go hide in the dungeon. You can’t stop her, Dean. “Wicked Witch, a key, a quest? Let's do this.”

“’How long have you called this place home?”

“My brother calls it home. Me, I, uh -- I haven't had that much luck with homes.”

Oh Sam.

Crap.

Charlie took the hit for Dean.

RIP Charlie Bradbury. Killed by the Wicked Witch. Death #1.

You know what? I’m actually more okay with this death, and it’s not just because she gets revived. This was a more dignified death, if that makes any sense.

Dean calls for Zeke.

Zeke brought Cas back as a freebie, but bringing Charlie back means he’ll have to possess Sam for longer than they want.

“The witch running around your bunker is very powerful. I can help with the witch or save your friend.”

“Save her.”

“Merry Christmas.” Aww hon.

“Can we be best friends now?” Awww! I ship Dorothy and Charlie so much.

“When I came into your room, before I got zapped, I thought you said the name Zeke. Who's that?”

“Um... I think you're still a little punchy, man. Just keep moving.”

*internal screaming*

“I had the weirdest dream when I was out. It was Christmas, and my parents were still alive, and --”

“Dream? Charlie, you died. Don't worry about it, though. You're not a real hunter until you've died and come back again.”

Dorothy drops that bombshell. It’s sweet that Charlie’s Heaven was Christmas with her parents.

“I met up with these three freedom fighters, and they thought I was this child of destiny chosen to kill the Wicked Witch. They protected me, and then the witch turned them into --”

“A scarecrow, a tin man, and a lion?”

This is the coolest retelling of the story ever.

“Sometimes real life is darker than fiction.” Yep.

“Why haven't you moved in?”

“I don't have any memories of home. And whenever I've tried to make a home of my own, it really hasn't ended well.”

There’s the root of it.

“Yeah, but a lifetime of abandoned buildings and crappy motel rooms. I mean, this is about as close to home as we're gonna get, and it's ours.” Exactly, Sammy. Relax, enjoy it.

“Come on. We've got to get to the garage.”

“There's a garage in this place?!” 

 I know! The Bunker’s wonderful.

“Find the girls...”

“And kill them both.”

Welp. Possessed.

The garage!

Dorothy’s bike! It is gorgeous.

“He didn't make it.” lmao, poor Tinman.

The ruby heels!

“Did you really walk down a brick road in these?”

“No. I never actually wore them. Seemed kind of tacky wearing a dead woman's shoes. Plus, I'm no good in heels, you know?”

Very good points.

“There you are.”

“Was that your Batman voice?”

Nope, that’s their “possessed by evil” voice.

“I have no intention of escaping to Oz. I'm going to bring my armies here.” Oh, shit.

Yes! Teamwork!

“Let's see what you pencil necks are made of.” Dorothy’s tough!

“Now heel.”

RIP Wicked Witch. Killed by Charlie.

She did it all by herself! What an absolute legend!!

“Ding-dong, bitches.” I love you.

Crowley’s back to being chained.

Dean moved the Impala into the garage.

“You have no idea how odd it is having a series of books written about you.”

“Actually, I-I do know, uh, and it is definitely weird. But you know what? End of the day, it's our story, so we get to write it.”

!!

“So, thanks for the slumber party...and bringing me back from the dead.”

“Uh, I didn’t.”

“Don't B.S. a B.S.er.”

Reminds me of “Don’t con a con man”.

“Thank you for everything. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a rebellion to finish.”

Charlie found her adventure.

“You have no idea what's in Oz. I mean, t-there's flying monkeys, armies of witches. There's all kinds of danger.”

“Promise?”

Let her go, Dean.

I kinda wish Charlie’s story ended here. I sincerely mean it.

“For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)” by AC/DC.

“Take care of yourselves, boys.” See you later, hon.

“Think she'll be back?” Yeah.

“Of course. There's no place like home.” !!!