#planned to give her a Wizard of Oz name

[show-us-kaidenshenandoah]

Wicked Gelphie fans, i need you guys so badly to know how well Elphaba/Glinda are "good timeline"d "history doesnt repeat, it rhymes"-ified by Dorothy/Princess Ozma in Baum's original Oz book series. like. Dorothy/Ozma get everything; theyre the sweet, intimate friends-to-"??? are they a couple?"-ified political power-sapphic-duo that Gelphie would have wanted to be. like??

if you merge canons, fam... Wicked-Glinda must be struggling, seeing Dorothy/Ozma be everything she and Elphaba could have been.... omfg... the angst potential, the envy of watching a couple of sapphic childhood sweethearts get everything they were denied, fulfill Glinda and Elphie's dreams, and seemingly so easily too...

(also!! they even CAN look like a kid-Glinda and kid-Elphaba! there's canon to justify that kind of appearance paralleling!!)

faq below if you want more context

edit, psa: i did read these books from like.. the ages of 10 to like 14 or so, maybe as young as 8? idk, i dont remember. anyway. its been a decade since i picked them back up. and i didnt think this would gain as much traction as it has been after 100+ notes in less than 24 hours. uh. so. take my chronic memory loss-addled summarization with a grain of salt?? like? i just wrote this post so i didnt have to re-vent (agAIN) to my friends about how much i fucking love Dorothy/Ozma, period, much less in parallel to Gelphie. so. enjoy, carry on, and whatnot lmao

1️⃣: there's Oz books? plural???

yes, Baum wrote 14 books about Oz, actually. also, he wrote them under the appointment of "the royal historian of Oz" instead of "author", so there's other "official" Oz books by other "royal historians of Oz"

Baum wrote so much bc (he needed money, yes, but also:) kids would send him questions in fan-mail, and he would proceed to answer them via new novels. so he never planned to make more Oz books, he just (wasnt good with money and also) was routinely inspired by the kids who wrote to him and would write the stuff they wanted to learn about Oz and whatnot

2️⃣: does Dorothy go back to Oz? wasn't it all a dream for her??

yeah, Dorothy returns to Oz a lot in the books, she eventually even moves to live there permanently. bc, in the book series, it's a real place

only in the 1939 film was Oz ever a dream

3️⃣: how does Dorothy look like Glinda OR Elphaba?? what are you talking about?

okay so, "The Wizard of Oz" has an illustrator, W. W. Denslow. in the book, Dorothy is confirmed to be wearing a blue-white gingham dress (she changes outfits tho, she doesnt always wear the same dress all 14 books like she's some cartoon character); but im pretty sure her hair was all Denslow(? i could be remembering wrong. p sure im not tho??). this is what the 1939 movie based her appearance off of. so i can see why youd go "she doesnt look like Glinda or Elphaba"

BUT Denslow and Baum started feuding. so for the rest of the Oz books that Baum wrote, he had a different illustrator by the name of John R. Neil

and Neil decided to give Dorothy for every one of the books he illustrated (so, 13 of Baum's books to Denslow's 1 book of Baum's) a cute lil blonde bob, making her look like what i assume blonde-Glinda looked like as a child. i think she'd approve lol

so!! Dorothy very much looks like a trendy little Glinda, with her cute blonde bob, her fashionable drop-waist dress, and bows for most of the Baum series, actually!

(also, Neil had a preference for dressing Dorothy in this red and polka-dot number, but, again, she does wear other outfits)

(lmao also look at Tin-Man and Scarecrow with blonde-Dorothy, they look like her two gay dads encouraging her to just go be herself at school?? i love them)

(also, if you see "Eloise At The Plaza"-energy in this Dorothy design, im right there with you lol)

4️⃣: who is Ozma??

she's the Princess of Oz. she eventually appears in the second book of the series. she rules Oz after the Wizard

she's actually a really interesting transwoman allegory too. (spoilers for a book from the early 1900s?) she was born a little girl named Ozma, but has a spell put on her as a baby to be genderbent and was socially raised as a little boy under a different name, and she later realizes who she truly is: a girl. she finds the transformation scary, as she returns to her girl-form she always truly was, but she feels better and more herself now that she is Ozma again. i dont think L. Frank Baum intentionally wrote her to be a trans allegory, but you can very obviously see why our trans elders fucking LOVED Ozma back in the early 1900s

also, she has a similar "sir, you fucked up" relationship with the Wizard as Elphaba*. and, also like Elphaba, Ozma politically tries to make things in Oz better (just.. unlike Elphaba, Ozma has the power and support to do just that p much asap)

* (edit for contextual clarification on how the Wizard fucked up: the Wizard fucked up with Ozma because he is ultimately and p directly the reason why she was genderbent/hidden. he deposed of her family and sent her away. Baum decided later on to backtrack a little bit on this(?) because he wanted to bring back the Wizard and, in order for Baum to do that, has to try to not make him SO terribly horrible??? so like. Ozma does end up forgiving him and tolerates him amd he's nicer, later on, within the books. but i doubt any modern adaptation of the books would follow that, personally. even as a kid, i went "bullshit" and headcanoned that Ozma fucking hated the guy and, at best, MAYBE tolerated him for Dorothy, but overall did not like him for justifiable reasons! i think the direction society seems to have taken the Wizard is interesting, and i wouldnt be surprised if there was at least one future adaptation that made him The Bad Guy in a very Rumplestiltskin in the Once Upon A Time TV show kind of way. but like. in the books, they do END UP getting along. i just forever disagree with Baum on that lol i think the Wizard fucked up, and in book 2 of the series (the one where Ozma is, y'know, introduced), it is obvious the Wizard FUCKED UP. but yeah. also, Ozma does get her dad back. her mom was kind of never in the picture to begin with, specifically in a Ponyo's Mom kind of way, like, she made Oz and then left it for her husband and kid to rule, so. yeah. im getting off track. my point is the Wizard did a full-on coup on her family and then banished her and genderbent her so no one would recognize that she had claim to the throne he was sitting on!! he fucked up! so, like, i personally hc that Elphaba founded the "i hate the Wizard" club to which everyone slowly joined, like Fieyro and etc, and Ozma is their youngest member. the Wizard did both Elphie and Ozma so dirty, omfg)

it also should be mentioned, Ozma in NBC's "Emerald City" was casted as Black (her actress being Jordan Loughran). so, though Ozma does not have green skin (but also? neither did the Wicked Witch of the West in the books, she wasn't green there. that was a 1939 film decision to make her green. so! Ozma could be green!! why not!), but she does have Black features to theoretically remind Glinda of Cynthia Eviro's Elphaba when you consider that casting. or, if you prefer a Jewish!Elphaba casting, a'la Idina Menzel's Elphaba, i think Ozma's book design works well to interpretively parallel those features too. or both, if you like the sound of a Black-Jewish Elphaba and Ozma paralleling lol

(edit, because i thought i mentioned this but? no?? i didnt?? i must have misclicked or something to have deleted the paragraph. im so sorry, here you go:) also, when Ozma was a boy, she was basically enslaved to her jailor of a caretaker. which one could interpret as "oh, a Cinderella story!", sure. but, with a Black Ozma, it does read as an intergenerational grief-formed power-fantasy that is both empowering and poignant for Ozma to have ran away from her enslavement and gone on to become a princess afterwards. to any Black folks who may be going "is this going to trigger me?" about Ozma having been a child-slave, i remind you that Baum wrote this intentionally for children, so, no, the books do not sit in the trauma and horror of enslavement, but whether or not it would trigger you yourself is up to your discretion. i will say, Baum did NOT write the American Girls' Addy of his time (context: a children's book about a child-slave that does go into the horrors, some, though in a kid-friendly way) or Louis Sachar's Holes (i asssume i dont have explain Holes since its movie was such a hit), i remember it as even more kid-friendly than either of those also-children's books, so i would assume most people would be fine? but you are responsible for your own mental well-being, i urge you to confirm if it is fine for yourself however you need to do that. but, yes, you can use this backstory as further evidence for your Ozma being Black, of course! you can have Ozma be Black regardless, but if you want this as further evidence, go ahead! and also, it does parallel Ozma to Elphaba in the sense that Elphaba's family mistreats Elphaba! (i will, regardless of if you prefer a Jewish and/or Black Elphaba, add that doing so is also a nice "fuck you" to Baum in how, being a white man of the late 1800s and early 1900s, did end up throwing in racist and/or antisemitic caricatures here and there within his 14 books, unfortunately. i, an Indigenous American, remember as a child still immensely enjoying Oz despite Baum being racist towards Native Americans. if youre curious on the egregious level of it all and if the story could still be enjoyable, id say it's in the realm of Peter Pan, Willy Wonka, and Matilda of "wow. that is shitty. im going to pretend this thing i love is good instead via cognitive dissonance")

regardless, in John R Neil's illustrations, Ozma does have black hair, so that too coincides with modern understandings of Elphaba

(there is also her appearance in Disney's "Return to Oz", performed by Emma Ridley, where she is blonde. but, though i love that spooky movie, that's neither here nor there. as far as im aware, only in that movie has Ozma not had black hair)

anyway, she rules Oz; and by book 3, becomes really close friends with Dorothy. they're not a canon couple, not anymore than Gelphie is, but they are such close and affectionate friends that they are so easy to ship as childhood sweethearts (so, no, there is no moment of 🎶loathing🎶, but i find that sweetness makes them an angstier parallel for Glinda to watch over, personally lol)

like here's some illustrations from the books of them just being two "gal pals". no wonder our queer elders shipped them lmao and this isn't even all of their illustrations together, this is just the first spurts that google shot out at me lmao

also??? this is them with book-Glinda. not only do they look absolutely darling, also, yes, Dorothy becomes a princess, because Ozma said so. they co-rule Oz together. they are just too sweet, fam, i love these two little childhood sweethearts, i choose to see Dorothy's princess-ship as the same as two kids promising to marry one another when they grow up. this is so cute

and can you imagine Wicked-Glinda? looking down at these two, seeing what could have between herself and Elphaba had things turned out different??? im making myself sad

(also "Book of Glinda" is so wild. both in terms of "...Baum, how do you not see this as queer?" like with one example being like "Baum, you put that Glinda has 100s of single women at her beck and call in her palace, this is so easy to see as sapphic, sir"... and then, over here, we have John R Neil repeatedly reading "gave a platonic, innocent kiss" and going "okay, so, uh, making out? i dont do platonic kissing" lmao anYWAAAAYYYY, THAT'S NOT RELEVANT HERE)

🌟5️⃣ bonus:

so, you might have a few follow-up questions. like, what is "Elphaba" like in the books? what does she look like?

well, she's really only in the first book. she's one-note, evil, dies. she's not green-skinned, and she isn't given any sort of name. she is only called "the Wicked Witch of the West", that's it, she is not Elphaba

however, i will mention the Wicked Witch of the West, in the books, is a fashion disaster and i want to see her look used as evidence that "yes, goth-Elphaba and dark-academia-Elphaba are 10/10, but also?? kitschy grandma-core knitwear-Elphaba × her fashionably Barbie pink girlfriend". i'd love to see art of that. i'm just saying

also?? this isn't related to her at all but guess what

Scarecrow/Tin-Man was like THE ship for our queer elders. they are so emotionally intimate, they live together, it's great, look at these pictures of them being absolute bros (can you see why they were shipped so hard)

i bring this up, bc you could argue Fieyro/Boq if you merge canons to make your own narrative and whatnot. guess Fieryo and Boq kinda had their own mirrored 🎶loathing🎶 period under that framing lmao

or, if you hate Boq, youll probably love the Tin-Man's angsty "ship of Theseus"-like backstory as the once-Nick Chopper(: his human name, pre-tin-ification) that is in the books

so! enjoy that knowledge!! theyre super cute in the books, i love them. again, not a canon ship, but still beloved by our elder queers, just like Ozma and Dorothy

i hope it makes even more sense now why our queer elders used the phrase "Are you a friend of Dorothy?" as code to see if someone else was queer, not even taking into account the 1939 movie or Judy Garland's relationship with the queer community

anyway, albeit this is all the basics generalized, that should be everything

but yeah!! Ozma and Dorothy reminding Glinda of what could have been, of what she lost, being the sweeter "next generation" version of Gelphie?? tugs so hard at my heartstrings

but yeah, do whatever you want with Gelphie, Fieryo, and Part 2. im just saying. the angst potential of being envious and living vicariously through someone and seeing other people get the happy ending you were denied?? is right there lol

(edit: this awesome video by Kaz Rowe JUST came out if you want to hear more about the Oz book series, its queerness, its author, its GLARING PROBLEMS including but not limited to instances of racism, and so on and so forth. Kaz Rowe is a fantastic video-essayist, so i hope you watch the video and enjoy their hard-polished craftsmanship)

[dedeinthewild]

evan buckley x reader, roommates to lovers

“Feast your eyes on the newest star of the 118!”

summary : Halloween at the 118 firehouse gets hilariously spooky when Buck's quirky surprise steals the show...

The locker room at the firehouse had always been a safe haven for the crew, a place where they had grown up together and become a family.

How many times had they found themselves sitting on the benches after a tough call, the smell of smoke still clinging to their noses, their eyes burning as they tried to close them for just a moment? It was also where they often joked around, and where _____, the team’s star paramedic, would bring trays of cookies that Buck inevitably “borrowed.”

“Halloween,” she announced, stepping into the locker room, followed by the firefighter who had left the surprise they’d picked out for decorations by the entrance.

“Don’t say anything,” Eddie warned, knowing that a phrase like “let’s hope for a quiet shift” would jinx them and inevitably turn into their worst day.

“I wasn’t going to,” she replied, shrugging as she dropped her bag on the bench next to her roommate’s.

“Cap isn’t exactly fun when it comes to decorations,” Chimney said, sounding a bit disappointed as he sipped his coffee, the shiny name tag on his chest catching the light.

She looked over at Buck, already knowing that in ten minutes, the decorations they had chosen would turn Bobby’s plans on their head. Buck grinned, shrugging off his uniform shirt and stretching his shoulders, looking far less tired than he should have after a night shift.

“We’ll be The Wizard of Oz characters,” Hen chimed in with a smile, talking about her family, where Mara would be Dorothy and Denny the Tin Man.

The woman smiled, loving how proud and happy Hen sounded as she talked about her kids and Karen.

“Jee is Pluto,” Chim added, making Eddie bow his head slightly. Ever since his son had gone to stay with his grandparents in El Paso, he had felt alone, as if he were losing precious moments with him.

“You don’t have kids yet, so I won’t ask,” Hen teased Buck and the woman as they were changing out of their smoky uniforms into the clothes they had grabbed from home.

“You could always ask about our costumes,” the firefighter quipped, leaning against the locker behind him with a smirk.

“Guys, what’s with the coffin?”

Captain Nash had walked in through the glass door, pointing at the coffin the two had left by the entrance alongside a cart. Buck sprinted out, positioning himself behind the coffin to open it dramatically, excited to show the others what he’d found.

“Okay, everyone!” Buck announced, grabbing everyone’s attention as he wheeled the cart into view.

“Feast your eyes on the newest star of the 118!”

Buck opened the wooden sarcophagus to reveal a fascinating mummy, its head tilted to one side, draped in cobwebs.

“Good Lord, Buck, what is that?” Bobby asked, hands on his hips as he stared at the decoration.

“That’s what I’m talking about,” Chim said approvingly, while Buck explained that he had picked it up from an old Hollywood prop warehouse near his apartment.

“Do the pow-pow thing,” the paramedic whispered in his ear, referring to the presentation they had rehearsed in the car on the way back to the station.

“I figured we could give him a cowboy hat and a vest, maybe even a six-shooter,” Buck added, his grin stretching ear to ear. “Pow-pow!” He mimicked firing pistols with his hands.

“It looks...” Hen rested her chin on the woman’s shoulder, tilting her head as if analyzing the mummy.

“Awfully real?” the woman whispered, arms crossed and feet slightly apart, dressed in the base layer of her black costume.

“Like he’s been dead for 200 years,” the experienced paramedic chimed in with a laugh, just as Eddie arrived carrying the last of the skeletons for the decorations.

It was the perfect opportunity to outshine the 126 and establish themselves as the best-decorated station, delighting the kids who would do anything for candy. Most importantly, it was a day to set aside their uniforms and enjoy some fun before their shifts began.

“They’re supposed to be for the kids.”

“God, Buck!” the woman exclaimed, clutching her chest in surprise when she turned around to find him standing right behind her.

“I’m a cowboy. I shouldn’t be scary,” Buck teased, stealing a piece of chocolate from her hand.

“Nice mustache,” she joked, running her fingers over the fake mustache, feeling the synthetic material against her fingertips.

He would let her touch him forever if she wanted.

The way she pressed her lips together, assessing the realism of the mustache, and those eyes—soft and sweet despite the bit of makeup she wore to look spooky—captivated him.

“And what are you supposed to be?”

“I literally told you two hours ago, dummy,” the paramedic teased, holding up the mask in her hand.

“A cowboy and a plague doctor. That’s... kinda nice,” Buck remarked, popping the chocolate into his mouth, unaware she hadn’t yet realized he’d stolen the whole thing. As he walked away, her laughter trailed after him.

“Welcome to the spookiest night of your short, little lives!” Bobby’s voice boomed as he welcomed the kids. “I am your guide, Cap Dracula.”

The team suppressed small chuckles at their captain’s enthusiasm as he grinned at the kids, fake fangs on display. Most of the children were entranced, though a few looked bored, which made her smile as she donned her mask and took her designated position.

The walls shimmered with colored lights cutting through fake fog, and amplified footsteps added to the eerie atmosphere. The air made the hanging skeletons sway, completing an impeccable setup that was sure to secure their win.

“Have a terrifyingly good time!”

As ultraviolet lights revealed Hen dressed as a mad scientist, the kids gasped, their white costumes glowing blue. The woman, already chuckling sinisterly, addressed them in her most haunting voice as they approached her station.

“Step closer, little ones... I see sickness in your eyes. Let me check...”

She examined their hesitant gazes, following them into the maze. “Beware, there are whispers of the dead... they’re calling for you!” she murmured into the ears of the older children, who appreciated the scare without being overwhelmed, while the younger ones eagerly pressed forward into the next section.

At the maze’s end, the team’s newest “member” awaited, holding a giant bowl of candy. Beside it, Buck stood tall, hands resting on his cowboy belt, his hat casting a shadow over his bright blue eyes. He tried a Texan drawl as he encouraged the kids, understandably hesitant about the mummy, to take some candy before heading out to trick-or-treat around the neighborhood.

“He’s creepy,” one little girl whispered, clutching her fairy wings.

“He’s not creepy,” Buck insisted, only to receive a pointed look from the paramedic. “Okay, maybe a little... but he’s harmless,” he conceded, kneeling to her level and offering to move the mummy’s hands so the kids could take candy without fear. His soft smile shone even through the large brown mustache tickling his lip.

But when he grabbed one of the mummy’s arms to move it, it came off in his hand, revealing something disturbingly lifelike.

“Are those worms?” a boy in a giant baseball helmet asked.

The paramedic stepped forward, removing her mask and crouching beside Buck to get a closer look. Her face hovered just past his shoulder.

“I think those are tendons,” she murmured, as if even she doubted her words.

“Oh my god, he’s real.”

The first time, it was as if someone else had said it. The second time was to process the realization. The third and fourth were for convincing themselves that what they held was, in fact, a real arm, complete with ligaments and tissue. The fifth time was purely instinct as Buck stood, tossed the arm to her, and screamed while running away.

“What the hell are you doing?!” the paramedic yelled, clutching the arm as if she too wasn’t entirely sure what it was.

By the time the police hauled the mummy away and the team glared at Buck, who had undeniably spiced up their Halloween, she was leaning against the ambulance, arms crossed, holding Buck’s fake mustache.

“Billy Boils, huh?”

“He was a showstopper, at least,” Buck said with a sheepish grin.

She gave him a playful punch on the shoulder before carefully reapplying the mustache under his nose, pressing the adhesive to his fair skin. Once again, her fingers brushed his cheeks, and he silently wished she’d run her hands through his hair and leave them there for as long as possible.

“Wait, have you washed your hands?” he asked suddenly.

“For what?”

“You literally held Billy’s arm,” Buck replied, horrified, stepping back.

“You’re such an idiot,” she laughed, chasing him with her “tainted” hand raised dramatically, just to see his mock-scared reaction.

The following evening, she was in the locker room with Hen, who seemed visibly shaken by what had happened to her son. Hen had come to talk to the captain but found her colleague sneaking snacks away from the giant firefighter with blue eyes.

“You know they say your hair curls when you’re in love,” Hen teased, leaning against the doorframe, noticing the oversized fire department shirt the woman wore—one she recognized as one of Buck’s old ones.

“Whose hair is curly?” the woman asked curiously.

Hen pulled out a photo from Halloween, taken just before the swarm of kids arrived and the chaos of Buck’s mummy erupted. It showed the woman sitting between Buck and Chim, smiling towards Buck as she held her mask. Her hair, resting on her silk cape, fell in soft curls at the ends, as if someone had gently twisted them.

“Maybe it’s the shampoo. I’ve been using Buck’s for a while now.”

“Is he trying to save on that?”

“I got tired of him using mine,” she laughed.

Hen was serious. She had practically watched those two grow together, despite the paramedic only joining two years ago. From the moment she arrived, she brought a unique energy to the station, seamlessly blending in as if she had always been part of it. Slowly, she had also changed Buck. He’d always been hesitant about relationships after so many failed ones and doubts about how he expressed love. But when it came to her, none of that mattered.

She was the one he’d asked to share his huge loft. She’d chosen the couch they often ended up napping on together, and she was the one who made breakfast for both of them every morning. They knew each other better than anyone else did, and despite spending almost every moment together, they never got bored of one another.

“I like your hair lately,” Buck said, seated in his armchair, watching the morning news with a cozy sweatshirt and a temporary leave for his sprained shoulder.

“Is that sarcastic?” she asked, tidying up the kitchen, organizing what had piled up during the past few hectic weeks.

“Why do you always think I’m being sarcastic with compliments?”

“Because you always sound like it,” she teased, approaching him with the little gift he had left for her on the kitchen counter.

But as she walked around to stand in front of him, the sight that greeted her left her stunned.

“Holy cow,” she whispered, wide-eyed, holding one of his dirty socks between her thumb and index finger.

“What?” he asked, reaching for the sock in her small hand, which seemed frozen in place.

“Are those boils?”

The first time was to convince herself. The second was to comprehend the hilarious coincidence between the mummy’s name and the rash erupting on his face. The third, fourth, and fifth were spent teasing him as her fingers brushed over his skin—despite her reluctance and a fair amount of healthy disgust at the blisters.

“You’re disgusted,” Buck said, smiling, ignoring the boils on his face.

“I’m totally not,” she lied, setting the sock down and abandoning the idea of scolding him for leaving it where she baked the cookies he always stole.

“I can see it in your eyes,” he said, wrinkling his nose.

“Is my hair really that different?” she asked, changing the subject.

“You’re dodging the topic.”

She smiled, locking her gaze with his bright eyes.

“Say it—I’m disgusting.”

“Disgustingly irresistible, yeah.”

Buck, my beloved. This doesn't make sense, not even closely, and I'm not sure that I like it but I dreamt about this kind of fic last night and I had to write it down (it feels so dumb god). There are too few Buck fics! give me some recs pls

[alrawabi-imagines]

Witches

Tw:Stabbing/SH

You couldn’t have let your girlfriend Elphaba go to The Emerald City to meet the wizard of Oz all by herself. And your worry proved to be true as the wizard only wished to use her power,Eplhaba revealing that he couldn't even read the spell book let alone have any magical abilities himself. Elphaba was concerned by getting out of there and dragged you through the corridors with her into a tower. Barring the door which wouldn't last but would buy you time. Running up the stairs to the top,using a spell to create a flying broom. She extended her hand to you “Let’s go” But before you could take her hand you were pulled backwards by the guards.  Struggling against the guards as you reached out for Elphaba but you couldn’t fight them off. 

“No, leave her alone, she hasn’t done anything wrong. I’m the one you want, I’m the one you want, it’s me!” You struggled as you were held back by the guards. 

"Elphaba!" you cried out her name. Her eyes were full of despair as she looked back and forth between you and the men holding you. Tears streamed down her face, she desperately looked for a way to get you out.

"Go!" You shouted, she shook her head, looking at you like you said the most ridiculous thing in the world. She couldn’t just leave you, you were her girlfriend, and she would never forgive herself if something bad happened to you because of her.She was torn, she wanted to stay and fight so you could be safe, but she knew the only way you would be safe for sure was if she fled. 

"I'll be fine,go!" Tears streamed down her face,she was worried what could happen to you once she left. She didn’t trust The Wizard, she knew he was a vile old man that did not care who he hurt to get what he wanted. But this was her only chance to escape him and she had to take it

"I'll be fine" you promised,she wanted to believe you too but she couldn’t help but still worry. She hated leaving you behind, and she knew that she would never forgive herself if anything bad happened to you. "Go" you said but this time it was a whisper. She turned to leave, not daring to look back because if she did, she knew she’d never be able to leave

The wizard immediately tossed you into a dungeon,locked up with no chance of escaping.You are tossed unceremoniously into a dark, damp cell and shut in with heavy iron bars. You are now left alone in the cold, dark room with nothing to do but wait for whatever the Wizard had planned for you

Several days later you were brought before the Wizard,Elphaba had resurfaced and started to wreak havoc across the land. The wizard fully aware you were her only weakness and intended to use you against her. You were forced to your knees before the fraud of a wizard.

“Ah, look what we have here. The green girl’s love interest. Such a pretty thing to use against her, don’t you think?” He said with a smirk

"I'll never help you,I'll never hurt her"

“Oh, I think you will. Elphaba values you very much, and she’ll do anything for you. So yes, you will give me what I want, whether you like it or not” He snapped his fingers and one of the guards grabbed you by your hair, forcing you to look up at The Wizard. He held your chin in his hand, his eyes narrowed as he leered down at you “You don’t have a choice in the matter. You see, Elphaba has become quite the nuisance as of late, and I need her stopped, by any means necessary. So, if you cooperate with me, you might have a chance at surviving this” You were sent up to her castle with one mission from the wizard,kill her or you die. 

You made your way into the castle, the sound of your footsteps echoing through the empty halls.It was silent and cold. You looked around, the sight of the place abandoned, made you feel even worse about what you had to do.

"Elphaba" you called out,"it's me" You call out into the silence, your voice echoing off the stone walls. There is no response at first, but then slowly, from somewhere ahead. You could hear a faint sound, the shuffling of footsteps against the floor. The footsteps get louder as Elphaba steps out of the shadows, a look of confusion mixed with surprise on her face. She stops suddenly as soon as she sees you, her eyes going wide with shock. You ran up and wrapped your arms around her,she froze for a moment but then quickly returned the embrace. She holds onto you tightly, like she’s afraid you might vanish any second 

"I'm so relieved you're okay. I was worried sick they’d hurt you. I was so scared I’d never see you again…” She put her palm against your cheek for a moment before she buried her face in your neck as she cried. You comforted her,one hand on her back tracing circles as the other clutching the knife you were given. It was a beautiful moment, but it was over all too soon as you shifted and she felt the cold, sharp edge of the knife against her skin. She knew what was coming. She knew what you had to do, and yet she couldn’t help the tears that flooded out of her eyes.

"I'm sorry,he's forcing me to do this" tears streamed down your face.

“No, darling, no. I-I understand, it’s not your fault, just… I trust you”

"I-I Elphaba it's either you or me" your hand was shaking.

“I know. I know, darling. I love you, you know that right? You have to do this” She held your hand,steadying you. The knife you were given was enchanted and it would only set you free when it came in contact with blood.

“Just… promise me one thing…” Elphaba could feel your hand shaking as she took it in hers, steadying it slightly. She looked into your eyes, tears flowing down her cheeks. Elphaba knew what was about to happen, and even though it was going to kill her, she wasn’t scared. She trusted you, and that’s all that mattered right now. You looked up at her,meeting her eyes.

“Please don’t blame yourself. This isn’t your fault, okay? None of this is your fault, remember that” In one move you twisted the knife and plugged it into yourself. She was frozen in place for a moment as she realized what she did.

“No-no, oh no, NO!” Elphaba was frozen for a split second, completely stunned by what just happened. You looked up at her.

"I I couldn't do it" 

“You- you chose death over hurting me. You-“ She could hardly believe it. You had chosen to die rather than hurt her, even if it meant your own life. She looked at you with tears streaming down her face, completely overwhelmed. She never thought someone would care about her so much, that she was worth such a sacrifice. It was too much to wrap her head around. Elphaba grabbed her spell book immediately, frantically flipping through pages, trying to find a spell that would heal you. Her hands were shaking as she desperately searched for a solution, knowing that every second counted. Finally finding one,without a second thought, she started saying the incantation, letting the magical energy flow through her as she desperately hoped it was enough,and the spell worked,she pulled out the knife and your skin closed itself around the wound. She held onto you tightly, her body trembling with emotion. For a minute she couldn’t even speak, all she could do was hold you and let out the occasional sob of relief. She had never been so afraid in her life, and the thought of losing you was almost too unbearable to think about.“You’d really sacrifice your life just to save me?” She looked at you with tear-filled eyes, taking in every detail of your face, as though trying to memorize every line and freckle. She reached out and gently brushed a strand of hair out of your eyes.

"I love you,of course I would"

“I-I don’t even know what to say to that! I don’t deserve you, you’re too good to me, darling”

"Don't expect me to do that again,it hurt like a bitch" you joked,trying desperately to make her laugh.Elphaba let out a snort of laughter, and then suddenly she was laughing for real, a mixture of relief, amusement and amazement, and she couldn’t seem to stop.

“Oh, I-I wouldn’t ask you to do that again even if my life depended on it! And don’t think I don’t know you’re trying to make me laugh”

"You're cute when you laugh"

“Oh, stop it. I am not cute. I’m supposed to be the scary witch”

"Oh,sorry you now have a reputation to uphold" you joked again,struggling to sit up.She reached out and helped you sit up, a mixture of concern and amusement in her eyes. 

“Yes, that’s right. I can’t allow myself to get a reputation as a gentle, kind witch. I have a fearsome image to maintain!”

"I guess I'll have to uphold that too,as your.." you pulled your shirt down to show off your necklace which was a chain with a black ring around it. You hoped she'd realize what you meant.

"You... You really want to marry me...?"

“I practically killed myself for you,I think if anything that proves my love for you"

"I suppose it does, yes. I… I still can’t believe everything you’ve done for me. You never cease to astound me" Elphaba’s heart melted a bit at your words. She reached out and touched the necklace gently, a soft smile on her face

"So is that a yes?"

“Of course it’s a yes, you fool. I would never say no"

[makiruz]

Something my brain does sometimes when I'm trying to write is start sending the stories in multiple directions, and very often they're all good.

So, I got my long ass Wicked fic based on Elphaba getting pregnant from As Long as You're Mine; in that story Glinda knows Elphaba is pregnant and they're both under the impression Fiyero is dead because he couldn't get her a message, but then I thought, But what if Fiyero did manage to send Elphaba the note?

So Glinda and Elphaba are in Kiamo Ko plotting Elphaba's fake death when Chistery hands Elphaba a Note. Elphaba looks at the note and freezes, "What it is Elphie?" "Fiyero is alive" she says "he sent a note" and hands the note to Glinda

"What does he mean he had to pay a 'great price'?"

"I guess you can't defy death without giving something back"

"..... Elphie, do you, do you realize this changes things, right? You're not alone anymore"

Because the plan was for Elphaba to fake her death, have her baby in secret and let Glinda take care of it since she couldn't; but Fiyero is alive and on his way, what do you do now? Well, they still have 9 months to figure it out, and the answer will probably be "take the baby into exile"

Anyway, the witches are still planning Elphaba's death, but now waiting for Fiyero to show up to get him into the plan; and then the Scarecrow shows up. It's like, he's suddenly there, how did he got here? Unnoticed, and he's uncertain, his painted eyes going from one witch to the other and looking at Glinda as if he didn't expect her to be there.

Um..... actually I don't know what Fiyero says that clues in girls on who he is; but Elphaba demands the Scarecrow tell her how he got there, and he doesn't tell her who he is because Glinda is in the room, but he does say something that sounds incredibly familiar to both women, and Elphaba gets hit first "I had to pay a great price" Glinda gasp softly getting it too and goes to the Scarecrow who backs up from her a little,

"You seem afraid of me" Glinda says "Is it because you're feeling guilty over pointing a gun at me?" (that came out harsher than she'd intended but Glinda's been having a bad week)

Fiyero deflates at that and is like "I'm so sorry, about everything"

"You should be; but I forgive you... for the sake of the baby"

"What, what? What Baby?????"

"I'm pregnant" Elphaba says

And now we have a scene of the trio getting up to date with each other, and letting Fiyero catch up with the freaking out over the unplanned pregnancy. So, what was that plan you mentioned in your note? Fake Elphaba's death and flee Oz, What do you know, we were planning the same thing.

So now we're back to the plot of the musical, but with Glinda in it too. We do the death faking, Dorothy and Lion get slightly traumatized, Boq realizes killing his college friend isn't making him feel better, Fiyero takes the Crew back to the Wizard to announces the death of the Wicked Witch, and Elphaba goes to Glinda's lake house. And because Fuck the Wizard, we do that scene of Glinda staging a coup, arresting Morrible and exiling the Wizard; she also finds out the Wizard is Elphaba's biological father, but that's a discussion for another day; for now Dorothy leaves, everyone ends their arcs, and Fiyero and Glinda sneak out to the Lake House.

There's not much after this (there's a reason I followed the other thread); Elphaba spends the next 9 months getting reacquainted with Fiyero's new form, and then she has a baby, he's a normal human color, and he looks like Fiyero, they name him "Liir" and follow the escape paths to Ev, where they will live happily ever after until the Nome King stuff happens.

But I do want to take a moment to talk about the birth, because it's only these three, and Feldspar; and Glinda and Fiyero are the absolute less qualified people to deliver a baby, and that was BEFORE Fiyero turned into straw, the only one who has any idea what to do is Feldspar, but he's got no hands so he's not much help. Somehow they deliver a healthy human baby, but it's mess, with a lot of screaming, from everyone except the woman giving birth. Also Fiyero is afraid of holding the baby because his coordination is practically non-existent and he's afraid of dropping him, but this is solved by sitting him on a rocking chair into a solid position before placing little Liir into his arms, this child is the most beautiful creature Fiyero Tigelaar has ever seen

[nevis-the-skeleton]

TinMan of Oz (My design, Oz AU)

Here comes TinMan ^^! Also known as Nick Chopper! Scarecrow's husband best friend!

(Press Show More to learn more about my version of TinMan of Oz)

CHARACTER:

First Name: Nick

Name: Chopper

Alias: Tin Man, Tin Woodsman

Gender: He/Him

Place of birth: Munchkins Land (East)

Race: Munchkin (Cursed)

Age: 21 years

Height: 1 m 80

Weight: 80 kg

Eyes: Greys

Hairs: None

Skin: Tin

*

RELATIONSHIPS:

Best friend: Scarecrow

Friends: Dorothy Gale, Cowardly Lion, Ozma, Jack Pumpkin Head, Sawhorse, Patchy (Patchwork Girl), Glinda the Good

Love interest: Scarecrow

Enemies: Elphaba Thropp, Nessarose Thropp, Nome King, Mombi, Jinjur

*

PERSONALITY:

Qualities: Empathy, Altruism, Loyalty, Strenght, Organization

Default: Impatient, Stubborn, Franc

MBTI: ESFJ

*

Short story:

Nick was the son of a lumberjack, and took over after his father's death. He lived a sweet and pleasant life in Munchkinland, until their ruler was overthrown by the one later known as the Witch of the East. Things then became much more difficult for everyone.

Nick didn't try to know more. He was just doing his job, as expected of him. He helped others as much as he could, being known in his village for being a very selfless boy with a good heart.

It was when he was 21 that he met Nimmie Amee, a talented singer. the two fell very much in love with each other. Then, a rumor finally circulated, saying that the Witch was looking for a suitor. All the young men of Munchkins Land were obliged to report to her castle so that she could make up her mind. Nick refused to go. His heart was already give to Nimmee, and he hated the Witch.

But the latter did not hear it that way, and forced Nick and Nimmie to come see her, under penalty of their village being burned. The couple eventually appeared before her, and the Witch announced that Nick would be her husband, whether he liked it or not. Nick suspected that the Witch was only doing this because he had challenged her authority (even if the truth is quite different).

The woodcutter refused, stating that he was already going to marry Nimmie, and therefore could not marry the Witch. He added the fact that he could not marry someone he did not love. She then ordered him to stay with him for a year, and after that time he would marry her. Nick promised Nimmie that he would find her as soon as he had the chance.

Nick will eventually gain the Witch's trust, which will allow him to escape the castle. He often wrote to Nimmie discreetly, so they could work together on their escape plan. Their goal was to go to the Emerald City, which they had heard about so often. They hoped that the new ruler (and Wizard) who lived there could help them and protect them from the Witch of the East.

Unfortunately, their plan did not work as planned, and it did not take long for the Witch to catch up with the couple. Mad with rage, the leader cursed them both. Nimmie lost her voice, her vocal cords torn out, now unable to make any sound. And, Nick was transformed into a tin man, losing his physical heart which was ripped out of him by the Witch.

The couple was left abandoned. Nimmie, convinced that Nick was dead, disappeared into the forest, unable to express her grief. Tin Man will regain consciousness much later, and the only traces of Nimmie will be his blood lost after having his voice stolen.

He will try to resume his life as a lumberjack, but will be pushed aside by the villagers of his village, the latter fearing reprisals from the Witch if he stays with them. The Tin Man will become a hermit in the forest, insensitive to everything around him.

When a terrible storm came, Nick went out in the rain, with the sad hope that it might kill him, but it didn't. The Tin Man was then condemned to be a prisoner in his own body. At least, until a little girl and a little dog, accompanied by a living scarecrow, came by his house.

*

Facts about Tin Man:

He's only real weakness is water

He was the one who taught to Scarecrow what a compliment was

He doesn't know if Nimmie is still alive or not

He must sleep once a week, to fully regain his energy

He becomes the leader of the Winkies after the death of Elphaba

When he learned that Nessarose was dead, he was angry that he couldn't get revenge

Like the others, he felt betrayed by Scarecrow when they discovered he worked for the Witch of the West

It won't take him long to forgive Scarecrow

He can wield any form of weapon, not just the ax

He is quite harsh in the way he does things, especially if it takes too long

Tin Man is the one who trusts the least Witches and Wizards, in his eyes they are people with too much power, and who take advantage of it to harm the weakest

He came with Dorothy and Scarecrow first in order to protect them

Despite his lack of heart, he is the most empathetic and sensitive of the group

When he has an idea in mind, it's difficult to get him to change his mind

He always makes it a point of honor to help others if he can do so

[homestuckreplay]

🔓 NEW AREA UNLOCKED!!! 🔓

(page 1026-1031)

This very important Luminous Planet Reveal comes courtesy of Jade’s third music page. Finally she’s able to play the advanced eclectic bass, and I gotta say that building a five-armed robot just to play better bass solos is real dedication.

Jade’s [S] bass pages (p.822, p.1026) are perfectly scripted around the music, with moments like the zoom in to Jade’s hand on the keyboard synced up with changes in the melody. I have learned a little more about how the music works – there’s a semi-official ‘MSPA Soundtrack Team’ who make music that might be good for the comic, and Hussie grabs tracks from the pool (sometimes even in-progress tracks, for example ‘Upward Movement’ on p.665) any time they want to work on a [S] update. I guess this makes sense as so little is planned in advance and the turnaround time is so short even on Flash pages – once one is happening, there’s no time for music to be written specially if Hussie wants to keep the current pace.

The slow zoom in this flash is SO cool. We pause for a moment on the full view of Jade’s dream room, and it seems like that’s the ending, but then there’s another zoom out to her tower, another to the golden moon, another to the full luminous planet (and its name!!!!) and ANOTHER zoom out to Prospit orbiting Skaia, with beats between each pan outwards. Jade is already so small on page 1029 and she’s only just outside the tower. So the zoom gives a real sense that these kids are part of something infinitely bigger than them.

The luminous planet is named Prospit, which likely comes from ‘prosper’, meaning to succeed or flourish. Most Homestuck words are mashups of two existing words, which is how they all sound so real, but this place doesn’t look like much of a pit. The ‘-pit’ suffix could come from a few different places, including ‘incipit’ (links to the Incipisphere, means the opening of a text or piece of music), ‘pulpit’ (elevated platform for preaching a religious service), or ‘cockpit’ (the place from which an aeroplane or racing car is piloted). It probably isn’t ‘cesspit’, ‘armpit’ or ‘decrepit’, unless we’re about to learn that life on Prospit is actually terrible. Or unless it’s related to Prospit’s destiny to lose – once it prospered, but it will be left decrepit.

On Prospit, the WARDROBIFIER has different settings! I know that Star-Heart-Horseshoe is a Problem Sleuth reference, so could just be an easter egg, but I wonder if there are other minor yet relevant distinctions between Jade’s waking and dreaming rooms.

On page 1029 it’s very clear that Jade’s tower (clean and in focus) has been drawn by an artist, while the rest of the moon looks like various overlapping jpegs of intricate medieval castles. This has a couple effects. It makes Jade seem very important – her tower is also one of the two biggest on the moon – and it makes the whole planet look procedurally generated. Sburb is a game all about building, so of course its local planets would be covered in buildings and structures. Build grist becomes light gray when used to create a simple platform (p.262) so there could be ‘luminous grist’ and ‘ominous grist’ which create golden and purple structures, respectively, and which Prospit and its counterpart are programmed to use via some script that uses the grist to auto-iterate on castle designs, making similar yet slightly different structures over and over.

For Prospit and its counterpart, it seems like colors outside the white-gold and black-purple pairs can only arise from prototyping. The ’golden city’ (p.1028) makes me think of the Emerald City from the Wizard of Oz, the movie of which was released 40 years to the day before Hussie was born. In that story, the city is not actually made of emeralds, it only looks that way through glasses. I don’t think Jade’s glasses are doing this, but I wonder if the gleaming gold is illusory in some way. The limited palette also reflects the video game nature of Sburb, where older games were very limited by how many colors they could include.

Tabbing back and forth very fast between pages 1029 and 1030, Jade’s two houses are identical besides the color, and probably also generated by Skaia just like the frog statue and bunkers. I wonder if Jade’s house being created by Skaia could give her an advantage playing Sburb. I also wonder if this is how Jade, who doesn’t have any Sburb beta discs, will end up in the game – she is the hacker Rose predicted (p.510), not the trolls. If she is already crossing the boundary into the Medium in her dreams, then a disc, or even the whole apple tutorial level, don’t feel necessary. She’s already there, she just needs her house to become controllable via someone’s computer – and possibly link her two houses, so that when one is built up, the other auto-builds, too.

Of course now that we’ve seen Prospit, I had to go back and reconsider the previous lore. WV describes the cosmology from the perspective of Skaia, as being orbited by Prospit and its moon (p.702). The battlefield at the center of Skaia (p.423) is the only physical structure we’ve seen there, and at the time it’s only inhabited by two kings. After prototyping, armies from both planets begin to arrive. WV and PM may be among them – WV due to how he perceives his location, and PM due to their beautiful sword and skill using it.

The original chessboard has five black squares, and four white ones. While this doesn’t give black a game advantage – it is an ‘eternal stalemate’ as Nannasprite says (p.423) – it does give a visual advantage that points towards the forces of darkness’ destined loss. Sburb is a game about building, the battlefield auto-increases when John enters the Medium, and John is currently practicing the skill of dealing with swarms of enemies while still alchemizing and building. I think that John and Rose will eventually have to build the battleground – the forces of light can’t win in a direct assault on a flat board, but via alchemy and building structures, John can create tools and advantages that will lead them to victory.

On page 1031 we can see a couple of Prospit’s residents, one visibly wearing a jester hat, the other what looks more like a wizard’s hat. But they are so tiny. Jade can potentially interact with them, which would explain the Peregrine Mendicant’s question ‘Don’t I know you?’ (p.900) and why Jade ‘seems familiar’ to them (p.898). The lightning that destroys PM’s bunker (also p.900) is I think Bec’s powers, not Jade’s – it’s the same lightning he crackles with on page 980, and now that we know how protective he is of her – taking Jade to bed and sitting on top of her bedroom while she sleeps – I think he might react that way if she was upset due to strange voices in her head.

> Jade: Wake suddenly mid-flight.

[deviiancetv]

Cinema Starview Presents: It Was Agatha All Along

I’m such a lover of the occult, witches, mystical beings and all, so Agatha All Along was a real treat to watch. As someone that loved The Craft, Practical Magic, Halloween Town, Wizard of Oz, Twitches, Hocus Pocus (sorta), AHS Coven, and many other witchy fictional stories in modern day media, this series falls right in line as a potential new comfort show to watch during spooky szn.

I’m not gonna lie, I still hate the name of this show, they could’ve came up or chosen a better name, but that’s not what’s important. Let’s just talk about how well this show was as a return to great storytelling from Marvel, cause they sure as hell have been flopping HARDCORE lately.

For starters can we just give it up to Kathryn Hahn!! 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 Kathryn is an amazing actress, her comedic timing is something of perfection. Her role as Agatha Harkness is both cunning, calculated, snarky, and yet deeply flawed and caring to her core. Her connection to Billy at the start of it all at first made me think Joe’s character was gonna be a mix of Nicholas and Billy, but Joe Locke being Billy makes a lot more sense. I loved how her story was both tragic and also had lots of depth to it.

I never did watch Heartstopper (don’t plan to) but he definitely fits the role. I think casting Kit Conner as his other half, Hulkling, would be THEE best casting decision and I hope they do that!! As for who Tommy will be, we’ll have to wait and see but I think Tommy will be introduced in that Vision series or maybe even Wonder Man?? And now that Ghost!Agatha and Billy are a team, I’m intrigued to see what adventures they get themselves in when finding Tommy

Might I add that Billy’s room is full of so much pop culture references!!! Like I’m jealous and I definitely need his room as my moodboard template.

I think I say this for everyone, that Aubrey Plaza kills it everytime in her roles. Her monotone and slightly edgy vibe is what makes her great for shows like this. Her role as Rio/Death was very poetic — the phrase “Death comes for us all” is so cryptic and yet so true. It’s the same thing with change being the only constant in life, and life is full of so many deaths and changes, but also there’s so much growth and birth happening all the time. I’m sure we’ll see Rio again, maybe if they FINALLY introduce Mephisto she could act as a henchmen or bounty hunter of sorts for him.

As for the other witches, Alice’s story was sad, but it didn’t feel fully developed as the other witches. Patti LuPone’s role as Lilia is soooo poignant and wispy (as they say). I love Patti’s roles so much, she’s become a favorite of mine over the years and her portrayal of a divination witch was phenomenal. Sasheer Zamata taking on this role was very interesting, I remember her time on SNL and to see her in a dramatic and whimsical setting like this was a nice change.

I’m just so glad her character Jen was able to be unbound by the spell Agatha placed onto her (as well as the cultural significance that represents). In a way, Jen was a final girl given everybody else died, Billy and Rio don’t officially count since they had grander importance than Jen does in terms of the MCU, but good for Jen. I hope we see her again someday.

This show was a nice return to form for Marvel. I’m not the biggest fan of how they treated Wanda in Multiverse of Madness, but I love the creepy supernatural factor that comes with this area of the MCU. I hope they keep it up, but by the looks of it, I’m sure there gonna be more mediocre content until we get to the end of this Multiverse Saga, however this was a nice break in between.

Jac Schaeffer has done it again ✨ they need to give her a raise and make her in charge of the supernatural sector of the MCU.

SCORE: 8/10 ⭐️

[vespertinusidiot]

Otome Games that everyone says are bad that I still want and why

Ozmafia!!!:

What can I say? I'm a sucker for a Wizard of Oz-themed game. The premise is super cool Wizard of Oz meets mafia meets Brothers Grimm fairy tales, with Satoi as the artist. What could go wrong?

Well, apparently everything. The general consensus is that the game sucks. The MC has no personality, and thanks to the NTR routes, she cheats on the love interests way too easily. Most of the heroes don’t fully love the MC or it’s unclear if they do. The plot is thin, and the brothel route is traumatizing.

So why would I still want to play it? Remember all that cool stuff I mentioned earlier? Yeah, that still holds true. Ozmafia was one of the first real otome games I ever heard about, and you can't imagine how frustrated I was to find out it couldn’t be played on Mac. I also never got around to importing it on PS Vita, but thanks to the virtual Nintendo eShop, I finally plan to pick it up. I'm not a big fan of completing every single route, so I’ll just do the ones and endings I like. (Doing this with trash games minimizes the pain.)

Chouchou Jiken: Lovesodic:

Okay, so this one apparently has a manga? I tried to find it but only got a few chapters, and honestly, I'm still kind of confused about the plot. Pretty privilege is real, because the art and atmosphere are just so enticing.

I’ve heard the only good route is Haruka’s, and they totally gave the poster boy the most boring, unromantic route of all (except for Lori but his is just creepy). I want to play it because the zombie concept sounds interesting and it’s supposed to be plot-heavy. I think I’ve mentioned before that plot holes between routes don’t bother me too much unless they’re super extreme and make no sense. So I’ll give it a shot, especially since I already own the game (time to put my Vita to use :)).

I plan to translate this game anyway (check out my translation schedule!). And since most of the guys are trash anyway, I want to see for myself just how bad it is, lol. Unfortunately, it has locked routes, so I’ll most likely have to play through all the characters but that’s what skip mode is for.

Reine des Fleurs:

The art.

Okay, on a more serious note this game has 40 bad endings. Why would they do that? Especially since most of the bad ends are just slight variations of each other. Honestly, when I read the reviews, it didn’t seem that bad. The only ones who seemed straight-up stupid were the blond dude and the guy with the monocle. Herbert? Whatever his name is.

The plot confused me a lot, especially the whole goddess aspect. I still can't tell if she wants to help the MC, stop her, or just wait to take over her body. Unless I have to, there is NO WAY I’m completing all the bad ends I value my sanity. But I do still want to play it through.

The system gets a lot of complaints, so I’m hoping I can find a good walkthrough and just skip through the annoying parts.

Diabolik Lovers: More Blood:

Last but not least, the game that makes almost everyone cry. This one is supposed to be awful, and Rejet basically had to spend all of Dark Fate fixing the damage done by this game. The guys crank up the abuse to like, 100,000, and just straight-up torment Yui.

Unfortunately, this also introduces the Adam and Eve plotline and the Mukami brothers. And unlike HDB, Dark Fate picks up directly after More Blood, based on the vampire endings (minus a few). It also establishes a ton of relationships that are important for the rest of the series even if 80% of each route is just pure abuse.

Still, I can’t bring myself to skip it. I might not play every route, but I at least need to do Shu, Ayato, and Azusa. And before y’all come for me I got the Switch Grand Edition 2 for the price of one, okay? ;) If I need to, I’ll just skip most of it, because even in the anime, the Mukamis never entertained me the way the Sakamakis did. I kept thinking, bring me back to the Sakamaki house. I can't even remember who the villains are in More Blood... I think it’s just the other characters?

But I have to at least try. (The skip button will probably be overused by the end.)

[rexshadaoart]

Meet Tip's caretaker. Mombi, the Wicked Witch of the North!

Or she would be if she hadn't been defeated by Locasta, the Good Witch of the North. Now she's just Mombi, a lowly has-been witch who lives in a cottage in Gillikin Country. But she is crafty and cunning. She is the only Wicked Witch to know the truth about the Wizard, and she uses that to blackmail the Wizard into giving her real political leverage, King Pastoria's child Ozma. After receiving Ozma, Mombi transforms her into a boy named Tip and makes him a household slave (in the same way as Cinderella under her wicked Stepmother).

Later, after the Wizard flies away and the Scarecrow is made the new ruler of Oz, Momb integrates herself into the Army of Revolt, acting as a political advisor to General Jinjur and ruling from the shadows. Of course, her plans are thwarted when Tip and his friends intervene to stop the Army of Revolt, and Glinda captures Mombi to make her turn Tip back into Ozma.

Mombi has been one of the earliest Oz characters I drew for my Oz project. She was meant to be the main antagonist for an animated short school project (a condensed down The Marvelous Land of Oz that also features Dorothy), but it didn't go anywhere because it was too complex for its good. She was initially designed to be squat and green with claws and oversized shoes, with a hairstyle borrowed from Return to Oz Mombi.

But then Agatha Harkness appeared on WandaVision and that changed the direction of Mombi's character design. The second redesign gave Mombi more purple clothes and a more youthful (but ugly) face with bright red hair and a more pale green skin. Her claws turned into long fingernails and her dress goes all the way down to cover her feet. And that remained Mombi's design for the longest time.

But when I did the other Witches of Oz in celebration of Wicked, I realized I needed to update the design once again. Since Mombi was meant to be the main witch of my Oz animated short, she took cues from the Wicked Witch of the West, such as her green skin, wart nose, and menacing stature. Those attributes were applied to my actual Wicked Witch of the West design, so I needed to make Mombi stand out more.

Since Mombi was Tip's caretaker who lived on a small cottage farm, I decided to make her look like an overworked grandmother. She was given baggy eyes to indicate stress (and maybe makeup vanity), her hair color was turned gray-red, her nose was changed to resemble more like Carl Fredricksen from Up, and her hands gained an extra digit to be more in line with the other witches, her mouth now sported two teeth instead of one, and I gave her the giant hat she wore in the novels (and also a cape with an M button to represent her name). Cane remained mostly the same and now she looks more like a shepherd than a regal witch. I also tweaked the colors a bit so you can tell where Tip got his clothes from.

[kuinaminku]

i was debating posting this but i’m planning on including this lore in a fic so . fuck it . here’s an explanation of my glinda ethnic minority headcanon featuring some completely made up worldbuilding i did for the hell of it

the in depth explanation is below the cut but if you’re lazy like me

TL;DR: glinda’s mother Larena Upland is “west gillikinese”, a Unionist practicing ethnic group belonging to the major colonial power in Gillikin. her father, Highmuster, is eastern gillikinese, an ethnic minority and married up into nobility and assimilated into Unionist/western gillikin culture and this gives glinda her Complex™️

OKAY. so . the history part of it. bare with me for any inconsistencies with book lore im not good with keeping track of that. Anyways! long before the Wizard came to Oz, Gillikin was mostly Lurlinist, especially concentrated near Mount Runcible due to its religious significance, but a lot of them were also concentrated in the East (think Lake Chorge and Great Gillikin Forest).

The Unionists were mostly concentrated in the Southwest, with the West Gillikinese being a distinct ethnic group. Over the course of time the West Gillikinese began to settle the East, vying for resources and also to spread Unionism, essentially cementing themselves as the colonial power in Gillikin

So fast forward to present Oz … in the West, you have the richer cities like Shiz, and you also have the dairy farm towns like Frottica. In my mind the Pertha Hills cities are inhabited by a lot of mixed and East Gillikinese immigrant families due to many coming over for work or for religious reasons. In the East, you have the mining towns like Traum that are closer to the Glikkus mines and aren’t really centers of commerce and industry like Shiz or the Pertha Hills.

Lake Chorge is a popular vacation spot for a lot of West Gillikinese families, but there’s a distinct divide between the settler vacationers and the people who’d actually been living there for generations. naturally there’s also a class divide

West Gillikese people are what the book tells us “Gillikinese” are like— blonde haired, blue eyed, typically rich

East Gillikinese people have red, curly hair, and shorter statures (my explanation for this is because they border Munchkinland and the Glikkus teehee)

because i’m bad with cardinal directions i decided to name west of Gillikin “New Gillikin” (since it is the center of industry and new developments) and the East “Old Gillikin” (since it. Isn’t . lol. also this ties in later with a line Glinda has in the book)

New Gillikin people are also referred to as

- just “Gillikin”

- Westsiders

Whereas Old Gillikin people are sometimes referred to as

- Eastsiders

- Madelines (from the mountain range)

SOOO… here’s where glinda comes into this. from what we know of glinda and her family from the books:

- she comes from Frottica, which is a bit more rural than the other Gillikin cities. Perhaps a dairy farm?

- She’s from “nobility” but only on her mother’s side (The Uplands). I think it’s implied her father had to marry up?

- She has this insatiable desire to perform and constantly overcompensates

so. in my crazy autism powered mind . Glinda’s father Highmuster, an Eastsider from Lake Chorge, met Larena, her mother, when her family was on vacation when she was very young. They fell in love, but the Uplands were notttt approving of the relationship at all and Larena ran away in her 20s to be with him. as a result her family cut her ass off and didn’t reconnect or allow her access to her family’s status (or their money) until years after and it kind of traumatized her for life and she passed so much of that down onto her daughter 😭😭😭

her dad, on the other hand, converted to Unionism and assimilated for the sake of his wife and his family, but he still yearns for his childhood and his own damn culture and kind of influences Glinda’s Eastsider side

Glinda grows up in rural Frottica— a city with Eastside influence and remnants of Gillikin culture, but her father’s internalized xenophobia and her mother’s For Real xenophobia makes her suppress that side of herself HARDDD. her culture reminds her of her childhood and reminds her of her dad but her mom gives her a really bad Complex about it

- her hair is naturally strawberry blonde and super curly but she dyes it bleach blonde to fit in

- she’s insecure about her height

but in ways glinda also kind of yearns for it? her name is Unionist but she’s insistent on people using the “proper Old Gillikinese pronunciation” for it in the book . in my hc this is a deliberate Eastside spelling of her name her dad fought for her to have

anyways i’m kind of really bad at explaining this nor am i really good at world building but the long and short of it is that glinda is “othered” in some way but has internalized beliefs and hatred towards herself and her heritage and feels the need to perform to maintain her privilege . which puts her at odds with Elphie and i think informs a lot of her… Choices later on in the story

ermmmm yeah that’s about it . if u have any questions or feedback feel free to ask

[beebopboom]

The Meta Underground

A Guide to Navigating what has been my brainrot posting about Good Omens

I apologize in advance for how long a lot of these are

feel free to message and asks are always open!!

non good omens related blog -> @boppinbee

Meta Series

The Bookshop

A Bookshop in Soho Eden - the bookshop is set up like a garden, hidden Tree of Life, rivers of time, and is the whole of Whickber St Eden?

The Book of Life to The Second Coming Pipeline - a couple of theories about the book of life, the rings, the fly, bookshop, and coffee

The Second…….Ball? - Gabriel’s arrival really did trigger the Second Coming - at least a version of it

The Title Sequence

Background Shenanigans - hints in the background of s1’s TS that lead to s2’s and what that might mean for our story.

Timeline Theory - those walkways are timelines

Heaven’s Timeline - a more in-depth look at how the walkways are Heaven’s planned timeline

Three Final Acts -the three magic tricks we see in the title sequence and what they might be in the show

Not the Magic Trick we see - initial findings for Three Final Acts

Mystery symbol - the ongoing search for a mystery symbol

The Metatron

The Angel Behind the Curtain - some wizard of oz parallels - we are just warming up people

Always an Angel, Never a Man - let’s dive into who he is in scripture shall we?

Am I a Good Angel? Am I a Mad Angel? - some similarities between him and the figure head of the devil

A Kind of Magic - numerology, tarot cards, and is he cosplaying?

Words of a Wise Angel - an actual look into his actions in the show and some of his funny word meanings

Agnes Nutter

The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter - a list of all her prophecies and images I could find from her book

Messages from Above - is she a witch? is she a prophet? how about both? let’s look into how she is getting her prophecies

Refined by Fire

(unfinished)

Clothing

there will be more here eventually and has to be updated

Clothing within Ranks -Angel Clothes and what the colors mean in show!universe

Aziraphale’s tartan - how lighting seems to effect his bow tie

Theories

Greasy Johnson: A Red Herring? - season three speculation about how the baby swap included Jesus as well, Hello Warlock

Unexpected Help - Saraqael was the one who opened the gateway in the bookshop

Nuns Night Out - what are those nuns doing at the theatre?

A Case of Missing Weaponry - ever wondered where Michael’s spear is? boy do i have a crackpot theory for you.

Meta Groups

Aziraphale

Aziraphale’s Flaming Sword - the human history behind his sword

The Halo was the Cause - why the Halo was the reason the Metatron showed up

An early journey of questioning - it really doesn’t take him long

Aziraphale’s Protection - how he protects Crowley

Aziraphale’s unintentional? placement - Aziraphale standing to the left of Gabriel in Job

A lying Angel - lying to protect his love

Choosing Death- choosing death doesn’t work maybe it’s time for something else

Don’t try to be God - why Aziraphale got nervous in Before the Beginning

Crowley

Crowley’s Fall - he really didn’t mean to Fall

Anthony J Crowley - a self discovery through his name

Defensive Crowley - acknowledging the consequences of the arrangement

Crowley losing the bookshop - and he’s the only one to have

Crowley giving up Alpha Centauri - he gave away their safe space

Stars to Plants - she just wants to watch her creations grow ok

Crowley’s Ringtone - not quite a normal phone sound

It’s always too Late

The Ineffables

The apology routine - maybe there is more to it than the dance

They love humanity - just in different ways

A duet - it’s not a want but a need

Nothing - their versions of nothing

Power dynamic - “second in command” ok wow that hurt

Paranoia and Isolation - how the pandemic may have affected them

Difference of Perspective - how the audience vs characters view A&C

Timeline

The Flood changed it all - it really fucked them up

Future Minisode time slots - the gaps in time for possible future minisodes

Heaven

1827 Second Coming? -crowley and aziraphale unintentionally fucking things up

Metatron future manipulation - something he is going to “let” Aziraphale do in s3

Angel confrontation tactic - they really like trapping Aziraphale into conversations huh?

Wildcard

Dirty Donkey Lift - just questioning why the hell it is there

Cut dream sequence - whose is it?

Something up with fours? - discussing some fours in the show

Angels don’t dance - and they don’t ask for forgiveness

Freemasons lodge - duality of the Resurrectionist

No Garden? No God - they left the garden

Maggie’s Ugrency - picking apart her misspelling

Questioning the Coffee Shop - only two beings do it - Crowley and the Metatron

Slamming of the books - Jim says some interesting things when slamming two books together and what it could mean

If Gabriel can leave Heaven and be with Beelzebub, why can’t Aziraphale do the same with Crowley - more of a ramble than anything else

The Wicked Bible - the second printing error

ASAP - further look at the many asap’s around the coffee shop and how it plays into the final fifteen

Memory Returns - a (currently) three way visual parallel of when memories are returned

Acrostic Clues

fuck I have to reorganize this again

[petra-creat0r]

Deltarune: Fool's Fate Ch. 1 Secret Boss

So I've decided I should probably post refs of my Fool's Fate bosses since I did that for my prediction bosses and since I'm including them in my secret boss reactions, it'd probably be useful that people know who the heck they are.

Though Dorothy and her backstory has been mentioned on my side blog @apupp3tw0-strings as Chicago learned about it in real time, and I've mentioned her a few times here, I'm betting most of you don't really know about her as I haven't actually posted her backstory here. So here you go.

(Dorothy's battle theme by my wonderful friend @kierangecko)

Her name isn't intentionally a Wizard of Oz reference (though looking at her outfit during her height I can see it), but instead as it means "Gift of God", which will make more sense when I get into her backstory and how she met the "strange someone". Basically, her name, her whole identity, was a gift from what could be considered A God. Perhaps more of the eldritch variety to Darkners but still a God.

Her text quirk is speaking in clips stitched together from those she's heard, aka other dialogue from Undertale, Deltarune, or Fool's Fate for the purposes of me playing her in an RP I've been running on my Discord server. She has no voice of her own, and can only mimic the voice's she's heard.

I love Dorothy. She snowballed from me getting the idea of a mannequin or something without identity or purpose that was given one by the "strange someone". I also think she'll hold a place in my heart as the first secret boss I created straight up. Before even thinking of making Bitsy, Elymas, or Veratus. Back when I was in the mind set of "I don't want too make prediction bosses because I'll get it wrong when the chapters come out and it'll be ruined." Now I have had character development and said "Fuck it. I'm making my own take, this was gonna diverge from canon anyways."

I still need to finish my Dorothy plush.

Backstory under the cut

She used to be nothing but a blank doll. An empty face with no name, no identity, no purpose. A blank slate longing to be filled. Her Light World counter part is a DIY doll kit that was meant to be a Gyftmas gift for Broadway, but was left up in the attic and forgotten about.

No one paid any mind to her. Barely anyone knew she existed as she wandered aimlessly around the Dusty Plains. Her only companion being the snake fortune teller who'd set up shop out in the Plains. Jeanie would listen to the doll even without her saying a word, and read her fates many time. Each time the snake assuring the doll that her future held infinite potential.

On day though, the doll came across a man. A strange someone who offered to lend her a hand. He gave her an identity. A face, a voice, a name. Dorothy. And after pulling the last thread to give her a mouth, the man gave Dorothy a purpose. Live the life she wished to lead, but come to him if she needed anymore help. And so she did. The first step in the man's new plan.

With the man's help, Dorothy was finally recognized and rose in popularity. Eventually joining the Upper Choir, the governing force over the Land of Attica. Dorothy couldn't be happier. People knew her. People talked to her. People... listened to her. It was around this time that the man enacted the next phase of his plan. Showing Dorothy the truth of this world. Revealing that they were all nothing more than a bunch of dusted toys and clothes up in an attic. The Lightners they all worshiped weren't coming back for them.

The rest of the Choir didn't like it when Dorothy started spreading this new gospel. They exiled her back to the Dusty Plains. This outraged the ragdoll. They refused to see the truth. They were blind. All of them were blind, blind fools. In her exile, Dorothy was driven to violence, ripping the Plains apart with pins and needles, attempting to puppeteer those who refused to see the truth right in front of them. She had to be stopped.

And to think that her only friend since the beginning was the one to call the Choir Guard.

Dorothy was locked away for quote "Your own and every one else's safety." She yelled and screamed at that stupid Magician as he walked back to the elevator, leaving Dorothy all alone in a padded cell forever.

... That was until a possessed puppet and his companions happened to find their way down.

----------------------------

Her story is meant to mirror/parallel Jevil's in a way, though it also takes a bit from Spamton's. I think I've gotten better at writing secret boss backstory's since making my prediction bosses, but I still like Dorothy and her backstory. She and Jevil are friends post Fool's Fate Chapter 1.

[euphoriabled]

Thoughts on Madame Morrible.

I believe Morrible brought Oscar Diggs' balloon to Oz using her weather pattern manipulation. Whether this was purposeful, or due to her still figuring out the strength her powers would be thread dependent.

I firmly believe she had a plan fully-formulated prior to becoming the Magic Grand Vizier. I think just as the Wizard was a conman who saw giving an Oz a common enemy would rally them together under his rule, Morrible saw being Diggs' right hand was far more powerful than being the face of their nation.

The best puppeteers can stay hidden from view even when they do show their hand. Let the Ozians gaze upon The Wizard; she'll continue to run their little puppet show, adding strings to each new marionette.

I don't believe she outright tells anyone what to do, especially not the Wizard.

I think she advises, she plants a seed, and she manipulates others by coaxing them into feeling she has their best interests at heart. She is self-serving, building a life for herself with little to no regard for what happens to those beneath her heel.

I also think her first name begins with the letter M.

*** I WILL OF COURSE CHANGE DETAILS AS NEEDED WHEN WRITING OPPOSITE THE WIZARD <3

anyways, i've had her on my list for maybe an hour. but here, take this!

[makiruz]

Finished the Slime Tutorial; and it's true Glinda WAS there when Elphaba "melted" so she can be there for that AU I had in mind

Essentially I've been getting What If ideas; like "What If Glinda had come back for Fiyero's body in the cornfield?" (FiyeroCrow freaks Glinda out, and he freaks himself out); or "What if Elphaba, when harassing Dorothy and the gang on the road movie style, had recognize Fiyero?" (Dorothy and Boq are now baffled watching the Wicked Witch of the West crying on The Scarecrow's arms); and stuff.

And I had this other one: So in the movie the Witch sets the Scarecrow on fire, in Wickedverse we agree that was a set up (pretty sure that doesn't happen in the show, but whatever); so what if the plan hadn't work? If Dorothy hadn't seen the bucket of water, or hadn't thought about it, or had frozen or something? Well, Fiyero is on fire, on fire and very flammable, so Elphaba might have been freaking out a little bit and puts out the flames herself and I'm not sure if she goes as far as asking him if he's okay, but either way Lion and Dorothy are like WTF??? But Boq knows WTF and goes like "they're working together!" and lunges at them, Elphaba dodges but Fiyero is more awkward, she shouts "Fiyero!" Boq is like "Fiyero? Of course!" and he's attacking them.

Meanwhile Lion is freaking out, no idea what to do, Dorothy is shouting to stop, everyone's yelling, complete pandemonium; and for proper angst Dorothy tries to get in the way and gets hurt, by Boq; she's not severely hurt or anything, but still causes him stop because holy shit, his anger caused him to hurt Dorothy! And this gives Elphaba the opening to magically restrain him and help Dorothy; and like she hesitates because she's still mad at the girl, but Fiyero insists so she does

Okay so now, Dorothy is a smart and reasonable girl; she's open to talk, specially since on retrospect the Witch never hurt any of them, and she helped her just now, and Scarecrow seems to care about the Witch; so okay let's talk

So they talk, Fiyero and Elphaba explains the whole thing to Lion and Dorothy (and a restrained Boq); you know his true identity, that the Wizard is fake, Elphaba's whole deal, the Monkeys vouch for her, Lions knows Animals seems to defend her (also Lion's figured that Scarecrow was the other person who help him when he was a cub). And this is when the Glinda question comes in mind, because I like the idea that she was on the side listening the commotion and then everything gets quiet and she assumes Elphaba is dead, but when she goes into the room she hears Elphie's voice like "so Fiyero and I were planning to flee Oz" and then Fiyero's voice confirming it! Sounds strange, but it's him, and when she goes into the room Glinda sees the honestly bizarre scene of Dorothy, the Lion, sitting on the floor with Elphaba who is carefully stitching the Scarecrow (and the Tin Man tied up to the side) everyone looks at her, Elphaba and the Scarecrow looking guilty, so Glinda gets it, "Fiyero?"

"Uhhhh..."

"I can't believe it! You two were planning to leave me? AGAIN????!!!"

Neither has a good explanation and Fiyero is still feeling guilty about Munchkinland, so you know. Boq looks defeated, but is calm now, and Dorothy and Lion are just confused; so one of the adults says that they have another talk, and Glinda suggests going to a more comfortable room, Fiyero suggest one place and guides the team there, Lion asks "Do you know this place?" Glinda says "He should, it's his castle" "Wait WHAT????"

Anyway we now got the other bizarre scene of Dorothy, Glinda the Good, and the Cowardly Lion calmly having tea with the Wicked Witch of the West, while she stitches the badly damaged Scarecrow. Boq is released because he's agreed to behave

So no idea, what happens after; we get rid of the Wizard and Madame Morrible somehow, maybe Glinda clears Elphaba's name? Or helps her fake her dead, dunno on this one

[nevis-the-skeleton]

Scarecrow of Oz (My design, Oz AU)

I'm starting to be a really big fan of The Wizard of Oz, especially the Scarecrow. I like intelligent characters ^^ and he's the smartest of the group, plus he's a scarecrow, so X3! I'm starting to think about my AU of the Wizard of Oz and I've already started making designs for the quartet (Dorothy, Scarecrow, Tin Man and Cowardly Lion ^^)

(Press Show More to learn more about my version of The Scarecrow of Oz)

CHARACTER:

First Name : Scarecrow

Name : None

Gender : It/She He/Him

Place of birth : Winkies Land (West)

Race : Living object (Wicked Spell)

Age : 17 years

Height : 1 m 75

Weight : 5 kg (he’s really light)

Eyes : Blues

Hairs : Straws

Skin : Beige

*

RELATIONSHIPS:

Creator: Elphaba Thropp (Wicked Witch of the West)

Best friends: Dorothy Gale, TinMan

Friends: Cowardly Lion, Ozma, Jack Pumpkin Head, Sawhorse, Patchy (Patchwork Girl)

Love interest: TinMan

Frenemy: Jinjur

Parental Figure/Mentor: Glinda the Good, Pr. H.M Wooglebug

Enemies: Elphaba Thropp, Nessarose Thropp, Nome King, Mombi

*

PERSONALITY:

Qualities: Hight intelligence, Integrity, Curiosity, Empathy, Ingenious

Default: Clumsy, Shy, Lack of self-confidence

MBTI: INFJ

*

Short story of Scarecrow:

Scarecrow is a living scarecrow created by the Witch of the West, who had simply tested a spell, which will bring Scarecrow to life. Elphaba honestly thinks he is her biggest failure. Scarecrow asks too many questions, doesn't respond to all of her commands, and is very clumsy, which doesn't make him very effective.

The inhabitants of the West have no particular hatred against Scarecrow, considering that he is ultimately in the same misery as them, at the mercy of the Wicked Witch. Especially knowing how mean she is to him.

When Dorothy arrives in Oz, accidentally killing Nessarose (Elphaba's sister), the Witch of the West absolutely wants to recover the silver slippers, so she can bring her sister back to life. She orders Scarecrow to get the shoes, and he's not against it. As long as it’s just stealing them. Elphaba leaves him on the road, near where Dorothy will soon arrive, the objective being that he gains her trust to steal the shoes.

But, he and Dorothy discover to their horror that she cannot take the shoes off. The Witch's plan then changes: Dorothy must die! The Witch can't kill her with a spell, because that would destroy the shoes, so it's up to Scarecrow to do what's necessary.

*

Facts about Scarecrow:

Nothing can kill him or hurt him, except fire

Elphaba tended to punish him by burning him (he still has some burn marks)

He suffers from pyrophobia (fear of fire)

“Stupid” was one of the nicknames Elphaba and Nessarose gave him

Scarecrow is made entirely of magic (technically, if he learned, he could master magic)

He can sleep, if he feels safe enough to do so

Elphaba and Nessarose named him “It”, and the Winkies “She”

In his eyes, he is a boy, and he has been misgendered too often for him to be lenient on this point

He was the most angry with the Wizard of Oz when the group discovered he was a humbug

Glinda took him under her wing after the death of the Witch of the West

His life will always come after that of others

He mourned the death of Elphaba

He suffers from a huge lack of self-confidence (mainly due to psychological abuse from Elphaba)

He learned to read, count and write by himself (thanks to books and video cassettes)

His first outfit was very different, much more torn and worn. It's Glinda who gives him new clothes.

[inhexe]

Taking the year of Dorothy's arrival as "year 0", with "Before Dorothy" and "Post Dorothy" (to avoid confusion with traditional "AD" dating):

250 BD: Hecate, seventh daughter of seven daughters, is born to the ruling witch of the west and named heir.

~220 BD: Hecate's mother dies and Hecate assumes the throne, then begins the process of offing or disappearing her competitors (sisters).

~170 BD: Hecate conducts the parthenogenic ritual, conceives, and bears Letheia.

164 BD: Hecate bears Nosyne.

158-7 BD: Hecate develops cancer, rapidly sickening and dying within a year. Letheia becomes ruling witch, under the control of an appointed royal guardian.

145 BD: Letheia enters her majority and takes full control of the West as its ruler.

145-65 BD: Letheia rules as a prosperous and well-liked leader--at least among her own people. She exploits the weak royal family over the course of several generations in order to funnel money and resources to the West, at the expense of the other quadrants. Under her rule and with her guidance, the traditional mining economy of the West becomes more sophisticated, with actual mining practices becoming safer, and a large artistic culture flourishing such that Western jewelry comes to be the highest standard in style.

65 BD: Letheia installs Nosyne as witch of the East, cementing both their paths and ruining her reputation forever.

22 BD: Oscar Diggs crash-lands in Oz with his hot air balloon. He is found by the Emerald City Guard, who quickly turn him into the figurehead of a populist revolt against the king.

20 BD: Oscar Diggs is installed as Oz's ruler and becomes the Wizard of Oz, officially.

20-0 BD: Oscar rules Oz, favoring Glinda and Locasta over Letheia and Nosyne. He rules a tightly controlled, militarized society centered on the Emerald City, begins squeezing the West for resources, and cuts funding to the universities of the East, resulting in an economic decline in its cities and beginning a population movement out of the universities into the Emerald City. This gives him control over a large part of the high intellectual and artistic output of the country, which he funnels into the propaganda machine that begins to paint the West as a lonely, savage backwater and the East as under Letheia's thumb.

0 BD: Dorothy crash lands in Oz, killing Nosyne. This takes place at a state-funded agrarian festival intended primarily to make the East look rich and successful, despite its dwindling resources and growing political unrest. At the time that Nosyne dies and loses connection to her regalia, all three remaining witches sense it, with Glinda the first on the scene to scoop up Dorothy and the Ruby Slippers. The crucial minutes between her arrival and Letheia's are enough to pit Dorothy against Letheia and vice versa.

0-1 PD: The course of Dorothy traveling to the Emerald City, meeting the Wizard, and receiving her "diplomatic mission" takes roughly a year, given that the majority of the time she is traveling on foot, reliant on the generosity of strangers and the ingenuity of the traveling companions she picks up. Even after she arrives in Emerald City, she is kept as a virtual prisoner for several months--in very gilded conditions--while Oscar, Glinda, and Locasta plan their next moves. She celebrates her 13th birthday with a state-sponsored party.

1-1.5 PD: Under a publicly stated diplomatic mission to the West, as the "chosen ambassador of the regalia," Dorothy departs the Emerald City with her friends. The resources given to them by the Wizard rapidly dwindle, and soon they no longer have even an armed guard to escort them down the Yellow Brick Road. She begins to understand that she is not a diplomat, she is cannon fodder. As she and her comrades approach the Western border, they become aware that they are being hunted by Western soldiers, and begin traveling by night. Soon they are discovered by an underground network of Western rebels who begin passing them from safe house to safe house on the way to the Western castle.

Roughly a year and a half after arriving in Oz, Dorothy and her friends approach Letheia's castle where they are quickly arrested and imprisoned. Given orders for Dorothy's execution, a small group of Letheia's soldiers rebel and drown Letheia in the central fountain of the castle courtyard, "melting" her via the acid-like working of the water on her skin.

Some noted changes and retcons:

I forgot my own lore and made Letheia way too old in her official documentation. Oops. She has been aged down to roughly 170 years old.

Nosyne was originally set to become ruling witch of the East about 50 years BD, but I extended it to 65, as a generation is roughly reckoned at 20-30 years, and I'd like to include multiple age groups who have only known Letheia and Nosyne as tyrants. There are people who have their original reputations in living memory, but not that many.

Every time I write something about Dorothy and her travels, I end up extending exactly how long she is in Oz and how long it takes her to get to Letheia. This is mostly a consequence of her supreme disposability, in my eyes, to Glinda, Oscar, and the other powers that be. Her journey was miserable, long, and physically demanding, leaving her cynical, traumatized, malnourished, and lonely. Initially believing she'd fallen into a fairy tale, she came to realize she'd entered a world as harsh and cruel as the Dust Bowl-era Kansas she'd left.