#Dorothy Must Die Series by Danielle Paige

[theforbiddentower]

The witch crooked a finger at Ozma. "Come to dear old Mombi," she cooed sweetly. When Ozma kept her distance, Mombi rolled her eyes. "Bring the little darling over here," she snapped.

I gingerly took the reluctant princess's hand, eyeing Mombi warily. Ozma didnt look pleased, but she didnt resist.

"You're not going to hurt her, are you?" I asked.

"No, no, no. We need her," Mombi said, looking Ozma up and down wolfishly. "As stupid as she looks, there's power in there. Somewhere. She's a fairy, you know. She's connected to Oz's lifeblood in a way that none of the rest of us ever could be. If anyone can find the Rainbow Citadel, its her. Its magic, she's magic, its the way these things work. She just has to want to find it."

"Yeah, goodluck with that," I said. "I dont think Ozma wants anything. Except maybe to play patty-cake."

Mombi ignored me and placed her hands on Ozma's cheeks. Ozma looked like she was going to run away, but the witch held her firm. "Don't be afraid," she said. "I'm just an old woman. Wouldn't hurt a fly, would I?"

Mombi stared deep into Ozma's eyes and bit her lip in a look of mild concentration. A small, purple dot of light began to form in the centre of the witches forehead. Mombi plucked it off like she was removing a piece of dirt and placed it in her palm, closing her fist around it.

"Just hold still and close your eyes, darling." As if in a trance, Ozma obeyed.

I watched the whole scene with a slightly sick feeling in my stomach. "Ozma's shielded from most magic," Mombi explained nonchalantly. "But when you're dumb as a brick like she is, certain spells can get through well enough."

She opened her hand, revealing that the pinprick of energy had taken the form of a glowing indigo spider the size of a nickel. She plucked its wriggling body up and placed it on Ozma's temple, where it sat for a second and then crawled down, across her cheekbone and onto her earlobe, finally skittering into her ear canal and dissapearing.

"Yuck," I shuddered.

"Oh, dont be a ninny," Mombi scoffed. "It's just a little spell of intention. She won't even feel it. Barely does anything except give her a little push in the right direction. Think of it like this: if I whispered I want doughnuts in your ear while you were asleep, you'd wake up craving doughnuts, isnt that so? This isn't much different, except that I'm too old a woman to stay up all night muttering in Ozma's ear, especially with those enormous flower earmuffs she loves to wear."

- The Wicked Will Rise, Danielle Paige

[slashingdisneypasta]

Dorothy Must Die!Tin Woodman x Fem!Lion'sWarrior!Reader || Drabble

Plot: The Lion 'lends' you to the Tin Woodman for a day after his own second-in-command is forced to go to the Scarecrow for repairs. And you're perceptive, and you're blunt. And you try to tell the Woodman a couple things that he... just doesn't want to hear.

You also may be developing a fondness for him.

Warnings: N/A.

Tagging: @marinerainbow. You havent specifically said to tag you in Tin Woodman stuff but... I assumed... 😅😅😅 I hope that was okay!! XD ^^

The Tin Woodman didn't require a lot of help throughout the day, so you aren't completely sure why your King needed you to accompany him when his actual number 2 was hurt earlier in the day. He makes all orders himself; all he needs from you is to hold his oil can in case of accidents with water (Or crying, the Lion told you. He's an awful cryer. But you haven't seen any sign of the Tin Woodman crying. You couldn't even imagine that. He's so... emotionless).

Though, you do wonder if the man is lonely, and thats why he requires a companion all day... you see the way he looks at Queen Dorothy. You both went into the throne room earlier while Dorothy was 'speaking to' (Sentencing) a poor munchkin woman, and you saw it clear as day; the longing in his metal eyes when she talked. And even more then that, you felt the air shift back to monotonous as soon as he left the room with her in it, again. You hadn't even realised it had lightened in the first place when she was near, but you couldn't miss it now. He was brighter with her, happier. But... it was in a sad sort of way. Because, clearly, she did not know.

In the forest everyone's quite honest with each other. Animals don't pretend to feel a way about each other that they don't- and, having been raised in the forest by tigers, you were just the same. You don't understand why the Tin Woodman wouldn't just... tell her he's in love with her. Lay it all out on the table. Its clearly eating at him, and even if she tells him she's not interested then at least he can begin to move on... find a more suitable mate...

For, at least in your opinion, the Tin Woodman was quite an... agreeable gentleman. Tall, strong, sensible. A little bit too uptight for your tastes, but... you're sure plenty a lovely lady would be happy to be his mate; be that a munchkin, human, beast, metal creature or any other walk of life he may be interested in.

Over lunch, you tell him as such.

~

"What???" The Woodman seemed startled, hearing you say such things so boldly; a confused look on your face at his fluster. "You- what??"

He didn't have to eat, but he acknowledged that you did - as an organic creature,- , so he had stood by the table you were eating your porridge at quite patiently, and calmly... though now his shoulders were hiked up and his eyes were open wide. "I think you're a very handsome tin-man, and quite a gentleman. You should just tell Dorothy how you feel."

"... this is inappropriate. You shouldn't be so forward with me, you know." He tries to act un-bothered by your words, but you just wait a few moments- and he cracks, turning to you fully. "-and how do you know of my feelings or her majesty Dorothy?? Did Lion tell you???"

"No, my King told my nothing. I saw it myself." You admit bluntly, scooping a mouthful of porridge into your gob.

"What do you mean you saw it???" His voice goes slightly higher in horror and mortification, and a little grin spreads across your face despite how you probably shouldn't laugh at him right now. Or at all.

So he's not so completely serious, then. Thats... endearing.

"You're not very good at hiding it."

"Whats- what's with the smiling?? Why are you sm- " Suddenly he remembers himself, and straightens his posture once again. "Never mind. You cant understand the depths of my feelings for the Queen, or hers for me. You're just a merry Ozian." At that, you cringe. He believes she has feelings for him?? Oof, thats... rough... So rough, in fact, that you let that belittling statement of his slide. There was absolutely no love in that girl's eyes. "Or, furthermore, how difficult it would be for us to manage a relationship in this political climate. After all, I am her general."

"Right... " You nod, forcing an agreement and turning your focus fully to your bowl of sloppy porridge. He's more deluded than you thought, so maybe you should just let him go. Breaking a crazy person out of their delusions can be dangerous!

But he hears the disbelieving tone in your voice, and swivels his head around to you again. He cant help himself. "What was that?"

"Absolute nothing, sir, I'm just going to finish my lunch and we can go about your business once again."

"Mmm... " He grumbles to himself, but gives a nod. "Maybe you should."

You manage a few large mouthfuls, almost finishing, before the poor Tin Man cant handle it and actually moves to sit down opposite you; setting you with a stern look and folding his formidable hands carefully on the table before him. Considering his height, you still had to crane your neck to look at him, but you appreciate the gesture he's made, all the same. "I order you to speak. Why did you sound so sarcastic?"

"I didn't- "

"I thought your people didn't lie."

... hmph. "Fine. You're right, and I hated it." After giving it a moments thought, you decide to be frank with him. "I just... don't think the Queen, as deeply as she may care for you which I'm sure she does, thinks... That, of you. You are her old friend, and thats all. And I don't think you should be disappointed, either, sir, because as far as love goes- thats plenty."

The Tin Woodman continues to look sternly at you, so deeply and stonily that you might think that he were made of rock and not tin at all, in fact... and he's so quiet as he thinks that you swear you hear his heart tick-tock-ticking inside his chest... until, finally, the man takes in a deep whistling breath through his pins-and-needles mouth, that you aren't quite sure he actually needs (Being made of tin, and all), and lifts his laser focused eyes off of you. Its a small relief, and you take your own breath as you relax.

"... And how do you suppose to prove these assumptions?"

That gives you pause. Makes you hesitate. Prove??? You're not in a court right now, you're just talking. "I- well-... I guess I cant." Giving a shrug, you put down your spoon; Officially finished with your lunch; Put off it by the Tin Man's way of thinking, which is rather too Official, for your tastes. Too human and pompous, especially for a man made entirely out of tin. Then you add, with certainty and conviction: "I saw it in her eyes."

-immediately the Tin Woodman starts to shake, and you're worried about him, until you realise that he's chuckling. This man is c h u c k l i n g- at you. Baffled, you watch him with frustration, barely noticing the munchkin servants around you flash you both boggled and horrified glances; having never seen the Tin Man laugh. "Oh... " He sighs, using the blunt edge of one of his terrible fingers to scrape a loose tear away from the corner of his eye before it can get into any joints. "Good, because I was quite afraid for a moment, there."

Your jaw drops. "Excuse m- "

"Miss." The Woodman cuts you off, and you immediately - obediently, - shut your mouth. All humour had disappeared from the metal man's visage as quickly as it had appeared, and once again he was as serious as could be. "I suggest you finish your meal, and build up your strength. We have a long day to go, yet, and- "

"I know what I'm talking about, Mr. Dorothy does not love you." You insist, eyes wide and earnest to which he just nods, humming. "She doesn't."

"Mhm." His stubbornness is just as tough as his skin!!

"Mr Woodman- "

"I suppose you're finished." He cuts you off again, picking up your bowl and setting it on the platter that a nearby munchkin is waiting with after getting up from the table. "Off we go." As swiftly as the bulky tin can is able, he turns on his heels and marches off down a hallway; and you have no choice but to follow after him despite your irritation. About halfway down the hall though, he suddenly stops and swivels around again (His upper body turning and leaving his legs facing the way he was going, before bending down at the waist in order to meet your eye), making you stop very suddenly as well as to not run right into him and hurt yourself. "Out of curiosity, if Dorothy and I weren't meant to be, which we are, who in your All Knowing opinion, would I possibly give all this love over to? I asked for a heart from the wizard all those seasons ago for a reason-- it wouldn't do, to let it all go to waste, now would it?"

... at this, you're speechless. Well, anyone, right?? Anyone who wanted it in return. Your lips part, but no words come out at first. What an odd question.

"... suddenly speechless? Nothing to say now all of a sudden, little Ozian?" He asks, and if you didn't know any better- teased. With his head lowered and rearing down so close to yours so the smell of oil fills your head and make you a little bit dizzy, and the playful and challenging tone in his voice, he's Almost... almost... "Colour me shocked." He's... almost...

"Well I'm sure I don't know, specifically." You say, straightening up. "Anyone, I suppose."

His eyebrows shoot up. "Anyone?"

"Yes." ... almost... something... to you...

... slowly a nearly-unseemly smirk spreads across the well-shined underbite of sharp and pointy nightmares he calls a mouth and a flutter erupts in the pit of your belly. You're shocked, and can only stand there with your eyes wide on him and your lips parted. "... well I'll keep that in mind." Then in an instant, the smirk is gone and he turns his back on you again; replacing his Almost-ness with that regular sensible general-sona he wears for Dorothy. But the fluttering inside you doesn't go away with it, eyes on him. "Anyway, lets go. Much work to do for Dorothy!"

He marches off, and you follow him, wondering what on earth this feeling is and how to get rid of it and when you can go back to your King.

[books-to-add-to-your-tbr]

Title: Dorothy Must Die

Author: Danielle Paige

Series or standalone: series

Publication year: 2014

Genres: fiction, fantasy, retelling, adventure

Blurb: She didn't ask for any of this. She didn't ask to be some kind of hero. But when your whole life gets swept up by a tornado and takes you with it, you have no choice but to go along, you know? Sure, she's read the books. She's seen the movies. She knows the song about the rainbow and the happy little bluebirds. But she never expected Oz to look like this. To be a place where good witches can't be trusted, wicked witches may just be the good guys, and winged monkeys can be executed for acts of rebellion. There's still a yellow brick road...but even that's crumbling. What happened? Dorothy. They say she found a way to come back to Oz. They say she seized power and the power went to her head. And now, no one is safe. Her name is Amy Gumm...and she's the other girl from Kansas. She's been recruited by the Revolutionary Order of the Wicked. She's been trained to fight. And she has a mission.

[welp-heregoessomething]

i noticed the Emerald City in your banner-- have you read the Dorothy Must Die series by Danielle Paige?

Wizard of oz has been my number one since forever and I ADORE this series. I met Danielle Page at a comic con 😍 I could go on about Wizard of Oz, adaptions….Wicked….why I approve of changing the shoes from silver to red 😬

I wanted to be in the movie adaption of Dorothy Must Die but alas… they never made the movie and I’m not a Hollywood actor. 😂😂😂

[thenomekingdom]

What are good books that riff on Oz besides the stupid Wicked series. I just started After Oz

Good question!

Part of it depends on what exactly you disliked about The Wicked Years, from Maguire’s writing style, the “realistic grit” or how the setting became Oz only in name (frankly I didn’t enjoy the Wicked franchise either) but here are some books I remember enjoying at least some aspects of. Though full disclosure I haven’t read some of these in years and I’m sure there’s some that I’ve forgotten about.

Anthologies

Oz Reimagined: New Tales from the Emerald City and Beyond edited by John Joseph Adams

Shadows of the Emerald City edited by J.W. Schnarr

Books that avoid a dark tone

Visitors From Oz by Martin Gardener

Paradox in Oz by Edward Einhorn

Crossovers

The Oz/Wonderland Chronicles by Ben Avery (comic)

Darker retellings that aren’t as bleak

Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige

Oz Squad by Steven Ahlquist (comic that has a tie in novel)

Non-Fiction

The Baum Bugle

The Characters of Oz: Essays on Their Adaptation and Transformation by Dina Schiff Massachi

Relevant Links

https://www.oztimeline.net/DeadlyDesert.htm

https://www.oztimeline.net/DarksideofOz.htm

https://www.oztimeline.net/Parallelhistories.htm

Of course with a fandom this small, there’s a significant chance that we’re all just passing around the same five books ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[messrmoonyy]

I’m so glad I’m not the only one who started on wattpad 😭 I totally get the need for a hobby that’ll actually stick, writing (unfortunately) isn’t that for me lmao I write in bursts adhd who

Do you read a lot, too? If yes, what do you read the most + do you have any recommendations? I’m rereading the hunger games and I’m so here for it!!

All the baddest bitches start out on wattpad 🤪

I used to read much more when I was younger but I do still read a fair bit now. Funnily enough I’m re reading the hunger games too! I’m re reading Ballard of songbirds and snakes ready for the movie!

I’m kinda all over the place in terms of what I read, but I mainly stick with fantasy or dystopia. Here are some titles I’d recommend that I’ve re read a million times:

• Cinderella is dead by Kalynn Bayron - sapphic main character, fantasy, dark twist on fairytales, badass female main characters

• the Uglies trilogy by Scott Westerfeld - fantasy/dystopia , gives off hunger games Capitol vibes, another badass female lead

• The curious incident of the dog in the night time by Mark Haddon - totally different from all these others but it’s BEAUTIFUL, told from the perspective of an autistic boy trying to solve the mystery of who killed his neighbours dog. Sounds weird. But trust. It’s an amazing read.

• Beautiful Creatures ( and the entire series ) ( the castor chronicles ) by Garcia & Stohl - Harry Potter but make it gothic and dark, a strong witch learning her powers in a deeply religious southern town, strong magical women need I say more.

• Dorothy must Die ( and the entire series that follows ) by Danielle Paige - another dark and twisted take on a fairytale, SO. GOOD , badass female lead are you sensing a pattern here, dark and twisted fantasy

[caribeandthebooks]

April 2024 Reading Wrap Up

I read 4 books and got 6 kindle challenge achievements this month!

Now let's look at the breakdown :)

Reading Challenge Progress: I committed to reading 30 books in 2024 so currently I'm ahead by 3 books!

Top Genre read as at April 2024: Fantasy

My first read for April and 10th read for the year was The Wicked Will Rise by Danielle Paige. Rating: 3/5

This book was Book 2 of the Dorothy Must Die quadrilogy. It was a very easy read even though it felt like a fever dream to be quite honest. I liked it well it enough and it did a good job of keeping my attention but I dunno if I have it in me to read 2 more books from this series...we'll let the future decide.

The Wicked Will Rise earned me the Head Start achievement in the 2024 Kindle Spring Challenge. I'm off to a good start :D

Book #11 was Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson Rating: 5/5

This is my first Brandon Sanderson book. It was adorable, as a YA there was no unnecessary pining, the plot twist twisted. I had a great time! Now I'm slightly less scared to read The Way of Kings but that's for when I've finished my reading goal for the year

Tress of the Emerald Sea was one the picks in the 2024 Kindle Spring Challenge. On completion I was given the Series Pioneer achievement as well as the Bookish achievement.

Book #12 was The Sword of Kaigen by M.L.Wang. Rating:4/5

M.L. Wang used every bit of those 600+ pages! I really liked this book but I would mostly likely recommend this to someone who's a bit of a weeb. I don't often read wartime stories, in fact I will quickly skip over any book set in the vicinity of a World War. This story was well done as far as my expectations around war stories go, there was no tedious training arc and we see that life goes on in spite of a tragic thing happening to the MC.

The Sword of Kaigen helped me unlock the 2024 Kindle Spring Challenge The Bards of Kindle achievement on National Talk like Shakespeare Day!

As the Sword of Kaigen was my second Kindle read in the 2024 Kindle Spring Challenge I was also awarded the Bookworm achievement.

Book #13 was Heir of Uncertain Magic by Charlie N. Holmberg . Rating: 3/5

I appreciated this palette cleanser following the previous read. This book was a cute and cozy as book one and pretty much wraps up the trailing bits of the first book. This was more romance than mystery but sometimes middle books are like that.

Heir of Uncertain Magic was my third Kindle read in the 2024 Kindle Spring Challenge I was also awarded the Bibliophile achievement

....

And that's it!

See you next month but in the meantime, what have you been reading?

[staybookish]

Wish of the Wicked by Danielle Paige

I’m excited to be part of the book tour for Wish of the Wicked by Danielle Paige, who is also the New York Times bestselling author of Stealing Snow and its prequel novellas Before the Snow and Queen Rising. She also wrote the Dorothy Must Die series, Mera: Tidebreaker, and The Ravens, co-written with Kass Morgan. Before turning to young adult literature, she worked in the television industry,…

[your-favorite-theater-kid]

Soooo it’s been awhine

Hi guys! I know it been a while but my life has been really fucking crazy! I’ve been working really hard on stories for wattpad and I wanted to update you on the stranger things x child reader story which I can say will NOT be continuing. I recently reread it and wanted to cry over how bad it is! I do plan on writing Harringrove and Steddie stuff but I am currently working on Memory a Saiouma story that is on my wattpad and I had yet to put it on my AO3 account. I’m so happy to be back and I will be trying to update you guys more!

now enjoy my art 😊

I know they’re not that good but I’m really proud of how far I have come! Also write in the comments what books you guys are reading I just finished “Dorothy Must Die” by Danielle Paige, which was So Good! I just started the last book in the lunar chronicles “Winter” by Marissa Meyer and it’s soooo good and might be my favorite in the series! If you guys want I’ll do book reviews!

I’ll see you all tomorrow!

[reddie-as-ill-ever-be]

Some underrated YA novels that are actually good and you should read right now

-Asylum by Madeline Roux

A boy named Dan goes to college at a school called Brookline, which used to be an insane asylum. He makes two friends, Abby and Jordan and together they try to figure out all the creepy secrets about the place, relating it an old warden who has the same name as our main character, Daniel Crawford

It’s a trilogy (Titles: Asylum, Sanctum and Catacomb), has three novellas (The Scarlets, The Bone Artists and The Warden) and a prequel (Escape From Asylum)

It’s really well written, creepy (horror but not terrifying) and we get five main queer characters: Jordan, Cal, Ricky, Kay and Fallon and one minor one: Martin

I recommend starting in canonical order (not the order of release), so: Escape From Asylum, Asylum, Sanctum and Catacomb and then the Novellas: The Scarlets, The Bone Artists and The Warden

-The Jewel by Amy Ewing (The Lone City series)

After the royalty starts dying out, they start using surrogates to bear children who can control things called auguries which control the how the baby looks and it’s personality. Our main character, Violet is a surrogate who gets auctioned off to the Duchess of the lake. Soon she realises she doesn’t like being treated like an expendable object and wants to get out of the jewel. She meets a boy named Ash who is a companion (basically a boyfriend for hire) to the Duchess’s niece. They fall in love and have to get out together

Trilogy (Titles: The Jewel, The White Rose and The Black Key) and two novellas that are only available as ebooks (Garnet’s Story and The House of the Stone)

It’s super good but the main romance is a little insta-lovey. Even though it takes place over a couple of moths, the chapters are so close together it doesn’t feel that way, but it’s not that bad. The lore of the surrogates is also super interesting and Raven and Garnet are the best and most interesting characters by far 

-Queen of Hearts by Colleen Oaks

A origin story of the queen of hearts and how she became the way she was portrayed in Alice in Wonderland

Trilogy: Queen of Hearts, Blood of Wonderland, War of the Cards

Super good, I loved the plot twist of why she was written that way, I didn't love Wordley’s twist, I thought it was kinda dumb but whatever. The other plot twists, especially the Cheshire one was really good

-The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee (The Monatgue siblings series)

We follow Monty, Percy and Felicity as they go touring around Europe. The plan is that they travel for a year, Percy goes to law school in Holland, Felicity goes to finishing school and Monty goes back home to run the estate but boy do things go wrong after Monty steals an innocent looking puzzle box, only to find that it’s not so innocent, all while dealing with his sister’s eye rolls and sassy remarks and his massive crush on his best friend Percy

Trilogy (The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue, The Ladies Guide to Petticoats and Piracy and The Nobleman’s Guide to Shipwrecks and Scandal) and one novella (The Gentleman’s Guide to Getting Lucky)

Probably one of my favourite books of all time. Queer (and it has pirates, what could be better?) Historical romance, just so good and so well written

-Girls With Sharp Sticks by Suzanne Young

Trilogy (Girls With Sharp Sticks, Girls With Razor Hearts and Girls With Rebel Souls)

About a bunch of girl who are in a private academy and being trained to be perfect. But soon they realise the indoctrination they’re undergoing and fight back to escape the academy

The theme of sexism is a little heavy handed, the book sort of shoves it into your face that that is the theme but apart from that, very enjoyable. There’s a queer side ship too which I appreciated. The main romance is cute too if a little uninteresting since there’s hardly any drama, it’s just “I like you,” “I like you too,” “Cool let’s date” and I’m okay with that

-Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige

About a girl, Amy that gets to Oz in a tornado and it put to the mission of killing Dorothy Gale who came back after the original plot of the wizard of oz, crowned herself as leader and fucked up the place

Series (Dorothy Must Die, The Wicked Will Rise, Yellow Brick War, The End of Oz) and nine novellas (No Place Like Oz, The Witch Must Burn, Order of the Wicked, Ruler of Beasts, Heart of Tin, The Straw King, The Wizard Returns, Dark Side of the Rainbow and The Queen of Oz)

Super creative premise, I think. The book was fun and I loved all the rebellion planning. Dorothy was a great villain and a great character 

[summoningflames]

Tumblr don’t let me down I know I like niche things

ft my annabeth dagger bc it was the first blade I could find

[theforbiddentower]

But if the Nome King could take out Mombi, the witch with the most Wickedness, that didn't say much for my chances of defeating Ev's most sinister senior citizen on his own turf.

- The End of Oz, Danielle Paige

[slashingdisneypasta]

Dorothy Must Die!Scarecrow x TinMan'sSecond-In-Command!Fem!Reader || Drabble

Plot: You're in love with the Tin Man, but he's in love with Dorothy. And the Scarecrow???... well... he's mean.

Warnings: Stitches, blood, unrequited love, Possessive behaviour.

This is a version of the The Wizard of Oz's Scarecrow from Danielle Paige's Dorothy Must Die series, in which he becomes a crafty, Frankensteinian mad scientist while the Tin Man is a love sick nightmare and the 'Cowardly' Lion is a blood thirsty monster. I definitely recommend checking it out if you like TWoOz (Including the book and the sequel movie).

Sitting on the Scarecrow's work bench with your wrist in his grasp, trying to ignore the sting that came from stitches (if anyone in Oz new how to sew, it was him), you felt just... the most miserable you've ever felt. Completely hurt. And grim.

"... he's never going to love me back, is he?" You ask rhetorically, for you already know the answer.

The Scarecrow, sitting in a wooden chair focused on your cut forearm (An accident the Tin Man left behind, reacting startled when you attempted to help him up off the ground where Queen Dorothy shoved him. She'd said whoops, but only he believed she didn't actually mean to do it. He was going for her delicate hand, after all), 'tuts'. "No, he he isn't."

You sigh. "I didn't really need an answer."

"Mhm, I know."

Here you look down and settle the glorified canvas bag with a frustrated, annoyed, cross look for his complete lack of empathy, and he just shrugs. Soulless button eyes as black as coal and blank as oblivion looking back at you. "Sorry. Was that rude?"

... he knows perfectly well that he's rude, so you just look away again; showing him a cold shoulder.

All the brains in the world wouldn't get him back what he's lost- his heart. It seemed they all lost something that one of the others coveted when they went to see that wizard. He gained the brain he so desired but he used to be kind, you hear. And now he's not. Contrary-wise, the Tin man got his heart but he seems... to have lost all courage. He's a punching bag for his love. And the Lion?? You hear he's courageous and formidable but is he smart enough to use that for good? You assume the answer to that is a no, considering the state of things here in Oz...

Below you the Scarecrow sighs, and flicks your hand onto your lap; finished. "I hope that's the last slice I stitch up for you this week. Learn to stop reaching for that tin for brains love struck puppy, Y/N. Lose enough blood from those knives he has for fingers these days, and you won't be so easy to fix." As he talks he gets up and shows his back to you, heading to flip through some of his current research (whatever horrible frankensteinian mockery of science his head has been full of recently. You shudder to think what it could be. You noticed syringes lying about... and you'd rather not ask.). Only talking to you absent-mindedly.

... he, of all Oz's people, knows its not that easy. You're in love with the Tin Man, and you'll never stop trying to help him. Ideally you'd make him see that Dorothy just hurts him... but you had to stop, that. It just broke your heart, watching him be so blind. So instead you'll help him up when he falls, you'll carry a can of heavy oil that hurts your hands all day just in case he needs it, you'll repeat his orders to his armies until tour voice goes hoarse-- and as his second in command, you have plenty of oppertunity to do all of this, hence why you're here being attended to by the Scarecrow so often. You don't have a choice in any of it though; you're in love. You suffer through it all, for love.

Even if that love is just a heavy ache in your chest that gets worse whenever you see him with her. You hate her so much; Dorothy. She ruined this land, and she ruined Tin.

And you hate that the Scarecrow always acts like you can just turn all this off. Like you're doing this to yourself on purpose. (Why would you do that??)

Instead of having that fight with him (again) though, you huff and hop off the bench. "Thank you for the stitches- I'm going back to work."

"Mhm, yeah, have fun with that."

With an eye roll, holding your wrist and rolling a thumb over the tight and precise, surgical stitches, you turn to leave the dank rooms that Scarecrow calls his. They're less like bed chambers and more like a basement laboratory, and you rather to spend as little time as possible here.

But before you can get too far, you're surprised to be grabbed by rough feeling gloves and drawn backwards. "Gah!- "

The Scarecrows fingers dig into an older wound, from earlier in the week, but he doesn't seem to care. "Wait a minute."

Didn't he turn away from you?? "No, I'm busy. I have work to do." You snap stubbornly, trying to slip your arm away from him but the Scarecrow is misleadingly strong.

"Don't care. Anyway- " He's tall, though not as tall as the Tin Man and certainly not as tall as he was strung up in the corn fields, but you still have to bend your neck back to see his disconcerting, still face. "Let me give you some advice- after all, I am the smartest being in all of Oz." He's serious, but there's always a twinge of smug pride when he works that into a conversation.

Sighing, you stop fighting him and stand still. Your blood is seeping out from the stitches he sewed into your skin earlier in the week and into his own 'skin', the fabric keeping his stuffings on the inside, but you just Stop. And listen. The sooner he gets done talking, gets finished making whatever point he was set on, the sooner that you can go clean yourself up. "... what?"

"Forget old Tin."

Immediately your jaw drops. "What are you talking about???"

"It's never going to happen with that old watering can. It's illogical for you to harbour feelings for him."

"I know it's not logical, but- "

The Scarecrow is uninterested in your 'but' evidently, because he cuts you off pointedly and goes on. "You need to set your sights on someone more attainable for you." He speaks carefully ans sternly, as if speaking to a very dumb child. "Y/N, you're a very... appealing, young lady. I have the utmost faith that you can find someone willing to have you."

... you do not like the sound of the Scarecrow complimenting you. He sounds sinister; you feel the hair on the back of your neck stand up. "-Um, yes, well-- I'll keep that in mind. Thank you- "

He sighs, and you get the feeling by the irritated tone in his voice that if he could- he'd roll his eyes at you. "You're dimmer then a box of broken bulbs." At that you open your mouth immediately in outrage to curse at him- but he raises a cloth finger and silences you before you've even said anything nasty. "What I'm saying, is- maybe you should be setting your sights on someone who sees you. Sees you, and recognises the wonderful fascinating creature that you are. The Woodman, charming as he may be," Something in Scare's tone suggests that he himself doesn't see it, that he rather thinks that Tin is a ridiculous fool, but he's acknowledging Tin's charms for your sake anyway. "... doesn't notice. Will never, notice."

-and there's the Scarecrow's blunt honesty again that you dont particularly like. Your heart plummets, though you know its only the truth."... that sounds good and simple, Scarecrow, but... " Finally, you slip your arm away from him. "I don't know anyone who thinks that of me." You shrug, then walk off again.

...

...

...

Just as you're reaching for the door, you're grabbed and thrust against the nearest smoke damaged wall. The Scarecrow's canvas, stitched face rears in close to yours- the yellow straw hair that sticks out from under his hat almost scratching your forehead. He sighs deeply, feigning a controlled exterior when you can feel how frustrated and angry he is in how tight he has you pinned to the wall. "... me, Y/N. I'm talking about me.

"... Now listen. You're going to forget about dumb old Woody, and focus on me for a change. Do you comprehend that??"

[themadauthorshatter]

...

I KEEP CHICKENING OUT, BUT I NEED TO KNOW!

So recently I've been watching and reading Dorothy Must Die reviews and just gave noticed that the fandom is very small.

I've read Dorothy Must Die, I've read all of the books and I have my positives and negatives about it, but overall I enjoyed reading it. It got me into reading YA and realizing who I wanted to be and what I wanted to do. Hell, I joined Tumblr BECAUSE ot had DMD stuff I liked, so needless to say I owe a lot to this series and the author who wrote it and can't bring myself to be too negative about either.

That being said, there are readers who are not me, and those are the people I'm mainly talking to, people who wanted to enjoy the series and were left unsatisfied with the conclusion.

Again, I love this series and mean no form of disrespect while typing this or when I ask:

Are you all okay with hearing how I would have taken the series so you would enjoy it as much as I do or just see what direction I would've taken the series in?

Really dumb question, all the same I just want to know. Again, no hate or disrespect towards the series or the author, I genuinely enjoyed the series and a lot's happened since reading it

[bookseraph]

Nox: "Is wit highly valued in your world? You seem to rely on it."

Amy: "Is being a total jerk highly valued in your world?"

[i-breathe-therefore-i-read]

Shelf-Confidence October BPC
 Day 17: Over the Rainbow