#wymechfics

Pre-Dorothy Snatching: Stupid construct the little brat made

Post-Dorothy Snatching: An ancient construct that this brat happened to find who wants her dead for some reason

Pre-Patchwork: Freaky construct that should not physically exist. Get it away from her impressionable child. It may try to kill them both

Post-Scrow Visit: A cursed human like Boq, but who mourns his creator. Who knows how old he is. Still unnerving and unpredictable. How had his spell lasted so long?

Dorothy & Co. on the YBR:

Dorothy (12 yrs old): lied for the scarecrow because tin man intimidates her, compassionate to the tin man but wary of his mood swings, mystified by the lion because he can talk, holds tiny grudge against Glinda because she could have mentioned the shoes sooner, did not like Morrible or Mr. Diggs at all, mostly confused by the witch.

Fiyero: on his last straw (pun intended, humor is his chosen coping mechanism), terrified of being recognized, more terrified they are scarring Dot (he got attached quick) for life, desperate to reach Elphaba, helping Boq cope because it calms his own worries, desperately wants to pet Brrr and ask him all about growing up (dad energy)

Boq: extreme body dysmorphia, taking all his patience not to lash out at the poor child, both wants to be recognized for validation of his pain and doesn't because he hates what he's become, vents to Scarecrow often after Dorothy and Brrr are asleep, likes having a Living Being to talk to/get advice, horrified and enraged that Elphaba would kill Fiyero/take him from Glinda, can finally see Glinda without rose tinted glasses and is sickened that he listened to her blindly for so long, (I believe the phrase is "a very mad but sad boy")

Brrr: very terrified of the witch, and the tin man, Fiyero seems nice enough but still wary, and Dorothy may have yelled but she's a Human Cub he forgives her, very protective of Dorothy, wary of the Wizard and Morrible but less so than he is of the witch (personal experience tinting bias)

Post-Melting/where we diverge:

Elphaba: stressed, pregnant, faked her death and on her way out of Oz, believes Fiyero is very dead and blames herself.

Glinda: mourning but is "being encouraging," took over Oz after confronting the Wizard with the elixir bottle, striking fast to discredit Morrible before her trial (this is a "guards take her away" universe), failing to read the Grimmery, balancing the infinite plates of Ozian politics

Fiyero: believed Elphaba faked her death until he didn't (patience, it's coming soon), had a bit of a crash out (coming less soon), he's fine in like a yearish so no biggie

Boq: uncomfortable with what he's done but slowly leaning more into the sad-not-mad part of accepting who he is, may have allowed himself to become governor, unsure at first if Scarecrow was disenchanted (read despawned) when Dorothy left, not crushing on the nice Quadling girl who is now his secretary because he's heartless so that would be impossible, oh no Scarecrow is not okay but he'll help his friend out

Brrr: slightly braver, sad Dorothy left, worried about Fiyero since he disappeared after Dorothy left, volunteering with Animal Rights and speech programs, working with Glinda to change Oz

Nessa: RUH (rest under house)

Chistery: happy the wizard is gone, mourns Elphaba, knows to stay away from Fiyero for both their safety, elected leader of the Monkey Guard, still hoping to speak

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

~~~20 years later...

Glinda: basically the Wizard's role but less of a fraud and makes public appearances while actively trying to be good, still can't read the Grimmery, still mourning Elphie, starting to burn out from the smiling all day

Fiyero: (you've seen a lot of him but to clarify) Dr. Ro, professor of thinkology at Shiz, in a far better headspace than he was before teaching, does not plan to tell anyone he is Fiyero under any circumstances because that man died to Wickedness in a field somewhere in Munchkinland, better headspace does not mean healthy headspace, he carries that box of matches around for a reason, avoids politics like the plague because Glinda couldn't arrest all of his old squad without a formal charge and PTSD is inconvenient at the best of times.

Boq: Governor of Munchkinland, read a lot of books on psychology to cope, he's grown a lot emotionally, knows he isn't actually heartless just more pessimistic, still has anger issues, writes regularly to Ro and Brrr, fully over Glinda, he and Nimmie are platonically happy so he's as content as he can be, he really hates politics (it's bad for his lack of heart)

Brrr: Representative of the Animal Council at meetings with Glinda and the Ozian territories, Councilor of the Emerald City for the Council of Animals that meets every other year, travels a lot doing aide work with reintegration and education, misses Woodsman and Fiyero, feels worthy of his medal now.

Nessa: still RUH

(Also does Tin Man know that Scarecrow == Fiyero, or does he believe the story that Scarecrow was something Dorothy made)

Fiyero had no idea that Elphaba was pregnant. In my AU, they were separated by the tornado vision the morning after ALAYM, see each other briefly during the whole "let the green girl go", and Elphaba's not doing well mentally (mourning and pissed) when she threatens mattresses, poppies, fire, bees and more, so she doesn't recognize Fiyercrow. Elphaba herself didn't realize she was pregnant until she sensed Liir's magic within her (about 6 months along), basically at the moment Glinda and Chistery are both trying to get her attention before For Good. She doesn't get Fiyero's note from Chistery because the realization that she's pregnant distracts her. From there on, her focus is solely on making a plan to get herself and Fiyero's unborn child out alive without anyone following. Her "for both of us" in my AU is referring to herself and Liir.

Yes, Liir definitely takes after Elphaba a lot more than Fiyero appearance wise. I see his complexion being somewhat similar to Movie!Nessa's, but he's spent a lot more time outside than his late aunt ever did, so he's got a healthy tan going on. He's inherited Elphaba's sharp facial features, green eyes, and black hair, but his smile and physical build is all from his dad's side. He's got Fiyero's (not Fiyercrow's) suave, dancer-like grace, but none of Fiyero's princely confidence, so it's mostly used for weaving around people or climbing. As for Fiyero not recognizing Liir as his or Elphaba's, give the Scarecrow some slack, it's been about 20 years since he's been human, last seen Elphaba, and his brain is not what it used to be.

I am so, so sorry for the delays. My internet has hated me the last few days.

Ro's mentioned other wars and saving Glinda "again". Did something like General Jinjur's Revolt or the Nome invasion happen in this universe? Was there fallout from Morrible's imprisonment and the Wizard's departure that caused uprisings? What sort of things went down in the 20ish year gap?

Is Ozma/Tippetarius around? "The Ozma's construct" was mentioned, which sounds like Jack Pumpkinhead, but if so they don't appear to be involved in ruling Oz at this time.

Since the spell copied the ones cast on Boq and Fiyero and were also used as an emergency life-saving measure, did Scraps and Nimmee also suffer the same negative effects (Ro's mental and neurological issues/and Boq's emotional ones) or did they get their own set of problems, if any?

How much does the Tigelaar family, Mena in particular, know of Liir's parentage? They keep him close so I kinda got the impression they either know or suspect Fiyero is the father, but, if so, are they not saying it because of his (at the time) exile, Liir's bastard son status making succession a potential issue, or Elphaba/Breoit (whether they know who she is or not) making them promise otherwise? If they don't know, what was the catalyst for them being so welcoming of Liir (besides being a cutie)?

Historically, does the general public consider Captain Fiyero Tigelaar a traitor to Oz or an innocent victim of the Wicked Witch's kidnapping and magic?

Did Ro manage to find or keep any real pictures of Elphaba anywhere? Since he has aphantasia, he'd just be able to describe her in his head instead of picture her. I know aphantasia's just a different way of thinking, but he USED to be able to visualize her in his head and having that taken away had to have hurt… In any case I imagine it would have been difficult to find any such photos that weren't anti-Witch propaganda and keep them without attracting attention.

Does Ro remember all the chanting from "Eleka Nahmen"? He knows the lines Elphaba said about feeling no pain, never dying, etc, but I just wonder if he recalls the rest of the Grimmerie part of the song. I only ask because I like to think if he did he'd probably always be humming (though not speaking out loud) the song that literally unmade him and stitched his soul into fabric and straw for all eternity. It was just a very catchy tune, ya know?

How's Feldspar?

I think I have to do this in two parts because long...

I have 'Ctrl F'ed "again" in my fic so much it does not look like a word anymore (136 times in case you're curious), but I don't think I've found the "again" you were referencing. As to Ro's mentions of war and protecting Glinda, Elphaba's so-called reign of terror was called The War on Wickedness. Ro tells Liir that he's lived through a war because he knows that to Oz, the Scarecrow was one of the heroes who hunted but still managed to slay the Wicked Witch of the West and end the War on Wickedness. Ro however is picturing the battles he experienced in the Gale Force against Elphaba and the Animals, and his experience as a double agent trying to help them. As for this line: "He had to protect Oz, maybe protect Glinda, one more time", the moment Fiyero heard the announcement about a Wicked Witch, he left for the Emerald City. Glinda was there and he knew that Glinda was actively in more danger than Elphaba (because she was still in the clutches of the ones crying terrorist and Elphaba wasn't) so he stayed to try to get her out. Glinda suggested he enlist in front of Morrible and the Wizard. Fiyero thought it was part of her plan to also escape. It wasn't. He stayed to keep her safe and sane in the city. He wanted to protect her, and he had access to ways to help Elphaba and her cause, so he stayed. As to other conflicts, there haven't been large conflicts since Glinda took charge until now. Wizard-loyalists were upset he left, but they couldn't prove he hadn't by his own volition. Similar to Morrible's (and other Gale Force officers) arrest and trial. There was evidence she had hurt innocents (humans and Animals) and purposely manipulated public opinion. Ozians did not appreciate that. Sure, there were and still are people speaking out on Morrible/Oscar's behalf, but (I'm American so using references I've seen) it's like the religious guys on street corners calling out about the second coming/rapture or people who think Sandy Hook (a fairly well-known school shooting that happened when I was a kid) didn't happen, etc. They're seen as fanatics and some get more recognition than others, but most ignore them. There have been smaller conflicts between the Vinkus and Quadling, but most of what has happened was internal political turmoil. Glinda started giving rights to Animals again. Boq restored Munchkin rights. Under Oscar, Oz had a small (if existent) middle class. You had the government, the wealthy, the working class, and the Animals. Under Glinda, a middle class was cultivated. The wealthier Ozians and especially those in government positions, were not happy. There was a lot of arguments of housing, taxes, health care, civil rights, government representation, public transit, education, etc. The Vinkus and Quadling flourished the most, slowly becoming more integrated with greater Oz and the wealth distribution evening, then Munchkinland (middle class also helped with power balances), but Gillikin had contained the largest distribution of wealth and they did not appreciate the working class narrowing the gap. Glinda put in effort to help guide (and pacify) public opinion to prevent actual conflict.

Ah yes, the Ozma history. That will be addressed more in a sequel, IF I write one. For timeline's sake, Morrible was a young teen when the last Ozma disappeared.

Yes, the spell side effects did transfer over! That is all I am saying on that subject for now.

It seems like Ro and Gov Woodsman, are close after spending so much time together, were Fiyero and Boq friends back when they went to school together? What was their relationship like? 

I also was wondering, what was going through Elphaba’s head when she  accused Ro of lying about being a construct?

Fiyero and Boq were pretty close friends and roommates. Because Fiyero transferred to Shiz midway through the semester, he had to move into a dorm with someone else. That someone ended up being Boq, whose roommate dropped out after midterms. They weren't as close as Elphaba and Glinda were, but they were in the same general friend circle and rooming with someone strengthens bonds you don't expect. Boq may have been a bit jealous of Fiyero and Fiyero thought Boq needed to loosen up significantly, but they got along fairly well. They'd argue about a bit about cleanliness, but not much else. Fiyero would typically come back from whichever party he was at when Boq would finish his homework, so they'd chat a bit at night. Fiyero could also sleep through Boq's 8am scramble which had been a problem with the Munchkin's former roommate. Fiyero tried to avoid Glinda as a subject with Boq, but he'd ask questions about what it was like growing up in Rush Margins (with Elphaba and Nessa). Boq would ask some questions about Vinkun culture and agriculture.

Ah yes, Elphaba's POV of Chapter 17. For her actual thought process, you have to think back to the WoO timeline:

Elphaba had just lost her sister. Glinda had given the child Nessa's shoes, Elphaba's family' shoes. And she knew it was because Glinda was being petty about Fiyero actually loving her. Then Fiyero is brutally killed. Elphaba saw flashes of visions of it while casting during No Good Deed. She is tired and hurt and absolutely destroyed by Fiyero's death. But the only thing she can change, the only thing she can fix, is to get her family shoes back. They are enchanted with her magic after all. So she goes to get them back only to discover that the little thief somehow managed to conjure up a Scarecrow. Constructs are created with ancient, complicated magic, which means either the girl was far more powerful than she appeared or it was someone else's construct. If so, whose?

Fast forward to Dorothy locked up and Elphaba knows this child has no magic of her own. B- The Tin Man had motive for wanting her dead, the Lion blamed her, but the Scarecrow hadn't been created by the little thief. It had no motive. Morrible couldn't create constructs or she would have already. Glinda definitely could not. Which meant this construct must have been far older. It must have been blown in or uncovered by the storm. But why then would it want her dead. She couldn't understand anything it had done or its motives. It unnerved her. The last magic user before Morrible had died 50 years prior. There was no way that the construct could have existed that long on its own. It shouldn't exist. It did not make sense. And that made it all the more terrifying. Because how could it exist and why did this impossible thing want her dead.

One of the things that really struck me was how Living Things aren't considered "alive", almost like they were taken to the side and told flat out that the word no longer applies to them and they shouldn't use it. In Melting Plans, when they first set out on the YBR journey, Fiyero wonders if he can still be considered alive, but dismisses it because OF COURSE he is and he had told Boq the same and if Boq is alive so is he. He didn't consider either of them Living Things at that point, they were just humans that had been changed. However, a year-ish later during Fiyero's post-Melting breakdown, Boq pleads to Nimmie for advice because she's the only one of them who is "alive". Boq has definitely internalized at this point that that is simply how it is. Long after that, Fiyero as Ro also explains to Liir that Living Things are thought to lack something essential to life and even Glinda blames herself for 'killing' Boq when she finds out he's the Tin Man. So there is definitely an aspect of Living Things having similar rights issues to the Animals. Is having their status being "Living, but not alive" a part of that discrimination, or has that just been a thing since the beginning and either Fiyero doesn't entirely agree, or was just not thinking of himself and Boq as being part of that group yet?

Also, is there a difference between Living Being and Living Thing? I've seen both used for the inanimate objects made animate, but wasn't 100% sure if they were interchangeable or if "Being" included a larger scope.

Okay, waiting on laundry before running to work, so I may reblog or "EDIT:" this later.

I occasionally switch by accident (writing sleep deprived does that to me), but Living Being vs Living Thing is sort of like Vinkun vs. Winkie. One can call themselves a Living Thing in a somwhat sarcastic or slightly derogatory way, but a Human or Animal really shouldn't. Calling them Things is dehumanizing and directly points out that they are not a Human or an Animal. It's also very easy for someone like Crombey to easily switch to calling them 'things' and claiming that he did call them Things. Living Being is sort of the textbook name for them (and constructs), but Oz just started calling them Living Things and it's easier not to complain. Liir has heard both and Elphaba feared the Scarecrow and refused to talk about the Tin Man altogether, so Liir was never really taught the distinction. He is hearing the difference in tone when each are used now, so he's starting to pick up on it.

Living Beings haven't been around since before the last Ozma disappeared so it's a grey area in the law. There were none when the Wizard upheaved everything so there really isn't something addressing them. Because they are a legal grey area and not technically Human, their rights often get mashed together with Animals', however you can see the Emperor is starting to address that.

As for the Boq vs Ro difference in usage, Ro came to terms with what happened to him physically more than Boq did. He knew he was still himself and has spent a lot of time thinking about what really made him alive. None of his explanations are very textbook based; it's just what he's seen and felt since the transformation. (Most books on magic in Oz were "lost" during the Wizard's rule. The remainder were either Morrible's or in Vinkun archives that Ro was absolutely not stepping foot into.)

Boq struggle(s/d) with depression and anxiety A LOT along with far more dysmorphia than Ro. (Ro knows he was changed because someone loved him and that impacts his self-perception. Boq sees himself as changed because people hated him.) He constantly struggles with whether he is still himself even though he is physically different. He is more apt to seriously refer to himself as a Living Thing than Ro. He's felt more alive thanks to Ro, Brrr, and especially Nimmie, but he still doesn't see his own self-worth a lot of the time.