#Tawney talks

[tawneybel]

Same energy.

[heaven-zent]

i love flint so much i really do but i CANNOT defend them for this.

some of its fine but i draw the line at typing out “but, well… aha,” YOU ARE BETTER THAN THAT! for your EMPLOYER to read??? “Geez, umm, what to say…” please.

[hollygrayelle]

january 1st... ill be working on setting up a shop during december for ttcc stuff

[glitziinova]

Featherbedder general headcanons

I had these for like 10 years and never posted them (guess who had to look up owl facts for these headcanons)

✮✮✮

🦉 > Can rotate their head like an owl (wow who would have thought), even tho the other cogs have seen her do it before it still lowkey freaks them out when he does it. Imagine you talking to Tawney and they turn their head upside down

🦉 > Their feathers soooo soft and fluffy

🦉 > May or may not peck the smaller toons (the mice toons are the main victims of this)

🦉 > While eating they might accidentally eat something that can't digest so they'll cough up an owl pellet. It's as gross as it sounds

🦉 > Can and often make owl sounds

🦉 > Probably snores REALLY fucking loud

🦉 > Their bed is a nest with pillows and many blankets. Tawney is very proud of it.

🦉 > Tawney's propeller is actually silent. Sometimes at night, a cog might get a robot owl jumpscare while trying to go home after work.

🦉 > God tier cuddle buddy like omg she's so soft and fluffy and warm

[corporatefallout]

My ideas so far on who the managers are in the AU!! (Notes left on some btw)

Prester Virgil

Long time Minutemen soldier. Paranoid, aggressive, self centered, and stubborn. He's generally both a helpful hand and also terrifying at times.

Brian

An Institute scientist in the Robotics division. Egotistical and heavily book smart which has him acting on statistical means than emotional. But not street smart in the slightest. One step into the wasteland and he's probably dead in a week.

Misty Monsoon

A loner that lives on the island of Far Harbor. Besides the wild life, Mary is her only friend around here. Since most had either died or succumbed to the fog. She's somewhat in hiding too...

Mary Anna

Exploring the island, Mary studies the biology that was made from the environment and radiation. With the help of Misty as well. She's not one to head into violence and would rather act more emotionally or thoughtfully.

Cosmo Kuiper

One of the dangerous gangs and richest you never want to mess with. Having people running for their lives or for their caps. Most of their money comes from Chem sales, mercenary assistance, and of course... loans.

Holly Graylle

A knight of the Brotherhood of Steel! (Cause she's a...) Stationed in the Capital Wasteland. Within the groups sent out for missions, she is the one to be leading and directing. No one is doing anything without her word and say.

Chip Revvington and Spruce Campbell

(I'm having troubles with them, slightly. Help)

A duo mercenary team who works on their own terms. If the caps pay well and if they're up to the task, they'll do it. Morality ranges really, since sometimes old habits die hard. Close as brothers and will defend each other.

Tawney C. Esta

(Saw the perk "Sandman" and got the idea...)

The sandman of the wasteland. Assassinations in the night and it's only done if the money is right. The kills done aren't aligned by good or bad only, it's just business. Asleep in the day and awake in the night.

Belle Dama

(I'll be honest, the term "long distance relationships" got me thinking sniper rifles and she is a phone... so-)

A professional in the Regulators! Working by the uses of a trusty sniper rifle. Despite how... uhhh, dangerous she may sound, she's quite the opposite. Looking after the younger ones and caring towards others. Staying firm on her morals of course.

Benjamin Biggs

A medic in the wasteland and looking for hire. Certainly good at his work and well experienced than most doctors you'll meet out here! Although he enjoys the latest talk going around when stopping in town of course.

Buck Ruffler

The luckiest gambler you'll meet and has probably been kicked out of a lot of casinos by now. He's lucky to be alive. Honestly. Also high on jet-

Graham Ness Payser

The hotshot of the Strip in New Vegas! Bragging, unbearable, and his own number one fan. Picking up quite the fame and yearns for more excitement in his life. His aim is bad but he's a fast shooter!

Flint Bonpyre

A nervous explosives and incinerary expert who is also not afraid talk his mind. (Sometimes.)

Dave Brubot

The star of the stage! Able to charm his way into your heart. With his charisma, he could easily make his way anywhere and have the ability to persuade. (I'm kinda having trouble with him, help)

Cathal

Okay I'll be honest, 100% inspired by the pictures of people's game having him show up everywhere. That's him now. No matter which bar or place you stop at, Cathal is there and knows what you did. No matter what. Like the Gman except not interfering with events. Just a joke character.

And that's it!! They will be edited and changed in the future, of course. So nothing here is permanent! Some characters I'm having trouble regarding what I want for them or on who/what they are. I accept ideas regarding them, yes yes.

Also- some of them definitely won't fw each other at all. On the lines if faction, beliefs, and morality. Or pre-established beef, lol.

[apriltoonsbiggestfans]

(spoilers for coo again) just so ya'll know i can and will go the fuck off about the ottomans dialogue this year and actually i will fuck it we ball

i mostly wanna talk about when he DOES talk about his family bc as cute as him being in aknitting club with tawney judy courtney barry and belle is thats like the cute stuff i wanna bite into the LORE because its like idk about y'all but its like the more thomas talks about robert and crystaline and how the dynamics are changing and all its like a part of me cant help but wonder how much of an unreliable narrator he really is. like he talks about how the only times him and robert properly interact/talk is only for business stuff and otherwise they dont talk at all and he blames it all on Crystaline but its like ok. i feel like theres a chance that Crystaline gen not having Robert + Bobby's best interests at heart exists AND at the same time it feels like everything about Thomas' family is changing and he blames Crystaline for all of it. because like. you can TELL he loves his brother, there's literally no denying that, he literally outright says he left his parents to join robert in making the company and he was ok that he was the 2nd best. and in like the "who is?" podcast its said that he left the inheritance position for Saggs Corp bc he knew he couldnt lead that company for shit hes not a leader like his brother. but its like he also outright says that robert is his only connection to the suit world and that without him he'd only have his plants (even though hes able to make friends thru the knitting club and i guess there IS jennifer but she also works under robert so perhaps she doesnt count. smae with the knitting club too maybe since theyre all under COGS inc which again was founded by robert) and its like HOLY FUCKING SHIT HE PUTS SO MUCH OF HIS OWN VALUE INTO THAT GUY. LIKE OR SOMETHING ALONG THOSE LINES. LIKE HE DEADASS THINKS WITHOUT HIM HE'D BE ALL ALONE. AND adding onto that there's also the line about how thomas talks about hwo he loves his plants but he lets robert take and tear up the toons land because its good for the company, which his brother cares about, so he cares about it too. and he says something about how it'd be best for mary to keep her opinions down or something like that for the future or something like that and its like idk about you but that FEELS like projection on his part it really REALLY does because in that one treasure trove zip file in the phone call between him and robert he DID bring up worries about the toons fighting back and robert was like "nah its gonna be fine they'll stay in their lane" and thomas was like "ok i believe you because you are my brother" ITS LIKE. HE WILL FOLLOW ROBERT TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH. AND AT THE SAME TIME HE FEELS LIKE HES BECOME 5TH BEST TO ROBERT. AND ITS LIKE. Its clearly not ALL crystaline, i mean robert is the one running the company and hes just getting more and more pissed off at the toons and according to a twitter comic its gotten to the point where the company is on the verge of going bankrupt because they spend so much on anti-toon security its like. sure we don't see all of it but its like i get the impression that robert himself is digging a deeper hole for himself (metaphorically) and hes changing for the worst, at least in thomas' eyes. but like he can't accept that. so he's blaming all of it on crystaline. and he thinks that if she was just gone, that everything would be ok again, and he'd have his brother and even nephew back (i mean the fact that last year he said bobby jr was being more distant towards him and he was like "eh its ok its all a part of growing up" and now this year he LITERALLY MADE A SWEATER FOR BOBBY and bobby rejected it because it wasn't a "good financial decision" its like bobby jr is a kid so idk he probs learned it from somewhere who knows but its like either way AUGH) but unless something really big changes it might not. and i think he probs knows that, in a way, but he cant accept that. after all, again, he literally thinks that without robert all he has are his plants. he feels like he depends on his family, his brother, to that extent.

i cant think of any more words because ive literally tried to post this like 5 times and tumblr wont let me but like holy fucking shit thomas. he isnot ok i think note i apologize if i got some of the dialogue wrong im going off of memory here.

[highrollersrolls]

Opinions on ALL of the cog managers and i guess the higher ups

(this is gonna be long folks so just sit tight with it) *was given the list of literally everyone by the creator of this account* lets starteth off with skelecogs i suppose.. ...factory foreman, eh they cool since they with the VP and everythineth Mint supervisors are a bit...strict... Head attorney, their silly i like themeth :D Club president...i'd honestly care less about em..sorryeth hmm.. William Boar is uh...ok i suppose...he's hard on the outside and soft in the insideth

Alton is also silly me like em a loteth :D he's a sweetheart if you aint a toon..

Winston is also silly, i try to take care of em since he needs that love and comforteth and he's a bit like me neutral with toonseth

Tawney is just very sleep so i dont know much about em..

Spruce however is how i know about chip!..he's a cool guy as well always teaching me about the wild lifeth

Flint is..hot NOT IN THAT WAY but liketh he's literally fire..i also cant be around em much since my feathers are flammable...but he's alright i guess..again i dont know much about someth managers so bare with me

Belle, is a sweetheart if i had parents i would visit her a lot shes so niceth makes my tail wag honestly ^^

Ben...the british, im honestly fine with em he makes some good tea in my opinioneth

Holly, i dont really know about so i dont really have anything to say about her..

Mary, is very sweet yet protective i can tell she careseth about the cogs and her boardbot employees

(we aint gonna talk about buck because its gonna be VERY confusing to yall about my HR headcanon lol, unless ya really wanna know then ya know what to do)

(same goes to dave)

Brian...oh dont even start...i fucketh hate him..yea he knows a lot about stuff but...he's strict and egotistic and i honestly want flint to light him on fireth...wait thats a good idea..thats going into my show idea book!

Misty, honestly i love her..platonically she's so sensitive but she's such a sweetheart i feel bad for what happened with her..and now she probably has some built up trauma...with her and bessie..

Prester, honestly i like em, just because of how he takes his job seriously, THAT AND HE KICKS ASSETH!! LIKE COME ON MAN HE'S COOL!!

Cathal..i dont really know about much besides that he's the VP's soneth

Cosmo..again i dont really know about em and his satellite investors..i just know he's short like the chairman..very..very....puntable...

Ch-chip..eheh..um..i-i like em...only a little YEA JUST A LITTLE!! hehe..dear god im having difficulties explaining why...you know what lets just skip my opinions on chip...

Graham, i also dont really know much about i just know that flint is with graham and graham is also egotisticeth...so lets just assume i also hateth him..

now the..i suppose "scary" teameth... *clears throat*

Mundle..scary honestly, not much a fan of gators..dont know much about em nor do i want too..

Courtney..im sorry but who the fucketh names a cog courtney...its like naming a newborn toon Karen...or Caroline..like what the fucketh?? i know sometimes i dont fucketh with the law but..why? just why?...anyways i dont have opinions on her much

Barry, just reminds me if he was the principle in the school house, but other than that no opinionseth on em

Kilo, honesty i know he's a grown goat but he acts like a brat and or a bully and i dont really like em, in other words...he can go fucketh himself...

now before we get into the 'higher ups' as yall sayeth im gonna put my opinions on the other 2 contractors..

Count Erclaim..eh i dont really get a long with vampires..same with his brother..Count Erfit, as much as they are buff and swole, i dont really give two flying fuckseth about them two honestly i just see them more as competition and enemys..them 2 can also die in a ditcheth for all i care..

i know the rest of these contractors are no more..unfortunately..i still wanna talk about em..whether they went somewhere or they got scrapped by cogs inc and turned intoeth something else...

Redd H. Wing i really do miss, he was a great friend of mine..until they disappeared...god i miss them..i wish he was here again..

Sads i dont really know what they were referencing from but.. all he ever did was make constant puns and it was annoying..i can only handle a few jokes and puns but not it being constant..

the Witness Stand-in was also a cool guy its unfortunate that he's scrapped though and made into probably someone else..he was a cool skelecog to hang out with at the bar..its sadeth that he's gone now...

Clerk i didnt really know much about so no opinion on em

ah yes..both of the directors of public relations and land acquisition, i mean technically their still here their just managers and not contractors anymoreth so i still get to hang out with em even if their just managers

now for what all of you have been waiting for..my opinioneth on the 'higher ups'!!

Allan is a cool guy, i know he takes pride in his work but other than that he's a chilleth guy i like em he's just like..he makes the sellbots have it easy ya know and i like that..i'd rather see cogs enjoy their work than seeing them stressed and suffer during their work ya know?

Chris is uh..a greedy son of a bitcheth the truth had to be said sorry, but ya are a greedy son of a bitch, Chris..however he is the one that manages the money sooo, he's a greedy son of a bitcheth but he's useful..so i'll deal with it i suppose..

..Diane..me and Diane do not mix well..now i try not to fucketh with the law but...she's strict as hell..i dont really vibe with her..now if i were to go to court i would win, if i were to go to jail i would escapeth...im not saying jack on how thougheth...

Craig can go suck a dicketh in my opinion he's a straight on bitch, i dont give a shit if HES FUCKING "USEFUL" OR NOT HE CAN GO DIE FOR ALL I CARE GOD I FUCKING HATE HIM!!..sorry anger got to me..

now the best for last..

Robert Cyger..i also hate him a fucketh ton but he is very puntable and that is the only thingeth i like about em is that he is short and very easy to kick, like a football if you willeth

that was a lot..now excuse me im gonna go drink something so my throat can heal..from all me talkin..

[imagionary]

So I remember in the Holly, Misty, Chip, and Mary golf post that you said you guys made a similar story with High Roller, where can I read it?

Oh! High Roller had set up the afterwork mini golf event; he was golfing with Benjamin and Buck if I remember correctly? And Tawney, who was very adamant on beating the Club President at mini golf, so she'd have to abide by some of his demands from the union xD

Benjamin was absolutely wasted, and was playing horribly, but having a great time, while Buck is just really bad at golf and hit his ball into the ceiling numerous times, and the last time he crawled into the ceiling to play where the ball lays, he hit the ball into the Club President's hair and she made him forfeit the game. He ended up getting wasted at the bar that's in the mini golf course area, along with Kilo, who wanted to drunkenly fight him, so, towards the end of the night, Chip had brought Kilo home so he wouldn't beat up Buck, and I think either Mary or High Roller had brought Buck home?

Evils and I don't write our stories down, we verbally tell them in the dark, kinda like a live improv radio show that we have to make up the visuals separately in our minds. Like, verbal RPing? The AU/story builds itself more and more every night, so there's always things we don't know about the characters and world and etc until it happens in story.

I can draw some of High Roller's time at the mini golf outing at some point, if you'd like to see that, however! Sorry for any confusion ;&; ((I don't believe I've drawn High Roller mini golfing? I do know he and Dave have gone mini golfing more recently, but it was cause Dave wanted to talk to him about some not so great work things in an environment that could lighten the mood))

[abbatoirablaze]

Down The Rabbit Hole, Chapter 20

Word Count: 1.1k

Warnings:  mentions of alcohol abuse, angst, hospital scenario.

“I can’t believe he did that.”

“Why would he do that?”

The girl’s questions rattled around in your brain.  You wanted desperately to make sense of it all, but it felt like a piece of the puzzle was missing. 

Things had been so good for the two of you.  Especially after Pierce left you your share of his estate.  You and Jeff didn’t’ worry about money in the slightest, and had even started to look at a house that the two of you could settle into. 

He’d been doing well in his job, and you had been doing well in yours.

Things felt like they were good!

“Tawney…”

“Why did he do it?”

“His birthday!” you sighed as you bit your lip; the realization hitting you like a freight train as the thought popped into your mind.  The girls looked at you, and he shifted in his chair.

“Jeff.  It’s Annie.  Do you know where you are!”

“Jeff!”

“Don’t touch me!” he growled drunkenly, pushing her hands away from him, “Go’way.”

He fell out of the chair and his body collapsed to the floor.  The bottle shattered as it fell off the back of the table.  You felt the tears rising up in your eyes, and a twinge in the back of your jaw, “oh god…Jeff…”

“Jeff, it’s Britta!”

“Why would you wear a thong on your arm?” he asked, his eyes flickering open long enough to pull on the bell sleeve of her shirt.

“What is he talking about?” Britta asked.

“He’s got alcohol poisoning!” Annie remarked as she tried to open his eyes, “Tawney did you call an ambulance?”

You nodded, kneeling at your fiance’s feet.  Tapping his thigh, you tried to get him to wake up, “Jeff.  Jeff, you need to stay awake, baby!”

“Jeff, Tawney’s right!” Annie said quickly, using her own attempt to keep him awake by practically trying to pry his eyes open, “JEFF!”

There was a loud knock at the door, and you turned, rushing towards it.  The paramedics burst through when you opened it. 

“Where is he?”

“Through here!” Annie called, pulling their attention, “he drank too much.  I think it’s alcohol poisoning.”

You felt the tears rushing down your cheeks as they rushed around him, starting him on an IV and putting him onto a stretcher.

“I’m coming with you!” you said quickly, rushing up towards his head.

“Who are you?”

“His fiancé!”

They nodded, pulling you along, before you could do much else. 

“You scared me, you know…” Jeff frowned as you took his hand in your own.  Bringing it up to your lips you kissed his knuckles, “I was afraid that you were going to die, Jeff.  When we found you like that…I just-it felt like my world shattered.”

He sighed, his eyes unable to meet yours, “I-I don’t even know why I drank that much.  I just-started thinking about how I’m forty now…and-“

“Do you regret what we’ve made together?” you asked suddenly, “do-do you wish that we weren’t together or something?  I-“  

His eyes went wide, and he shook his head, “what?  No.  Tawney, I love that you’re going to be wife.  I love the life that we have together.  I just-sometimes I feel like I can’t possibly be living up to your expectations.  I mean, you’re twenty-five.  Did you really expect to be marrying a man in his forties at your age? What happens down the road when we have kids, or-“

“Y-you want to have kids with me?” you asked, cutting him off.

He stopped talking.  Jeff bit his lip and looked away from you, “I-I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have sai-“

“No,” you said quickly, cutting him back off, “I’m glad that you did.  But Jeff…I want you to be able to say these things to me…because sometimes I think about them too.  I just don’t talk about them because I don’t know if you’re interested in them…kids…life after I turn 30.  Sometimes I worry that you’ll do what Alan joked about and trade me in after I pass 28…I didn’t think you’d be interested in a picket fence with a few kids and a dog…”

“What?” he asked, “of course I am.  Tawney, I wasn’t joking when I said that I love you more than any woman I’ve ever met.  I want that future with you.  I want us to be able to buy a house and have some kids.  I wanna have a dog, and annoying neighbors…I want a future with you, but sometimes, when I think about it, I feel like you’re rushing your life because you’re trying to catch up to my age!”

“Jeff, there’s nothing to worry about with that,” you remarked softly, as you stroked his cheek, “we’re both professors at a community college.  We have enough money in the bank to buy a house, and honestly, not really have to work again if we don’t want to.  And as far as kids and a dog…let’s do it.  I’d love for that to happen…maybe not so much the annoying neighbor part, but I want a future with you too.  But I can’t do that if this is happening.  I can’t do that if you’re so worried about your age versus my age that you forget to be here in the present.  I-I can’t try to focus on a future if you are drinking yourself to a grave.”

“I thought you wouldn’t want to be with me…”

“Now why would you go and think something silly like that, hmmm?”

He shrugged, “you know how I’m insecure…”

“I love you, Jeffrey Winger.”

He leaned up ever so slightly and your lips met his in a soft kiss.  You sighed when he broke away and leaned his forehead against yours.

“Can you-can we just lay here together?” he asked gently. 

You nodded and he scooted over to his spot on the hospital bed.  You were quick to tuck yourself against his chest.  Your eyes closed as you listened to his heart beating.

“You know…I really was scared that I was going to lose you!”

“I’m sorry, Tawney.”

“I don’t want to lose you, Jeff…”

“You won’t…” he promised, “I’m sorry I overdrank and freaked out because of my birthday.”

“Don’t do it again, Winger!” you warned, “you’re not like us young people.  You can’t drink endlessly and still wake up the next morning without a hangover.”

“I won’t…” he sighed, “speaking of which…do you think maybe the nurses could get me some Tylenol.  I’ve got a killer headache!”

“I’ll check on that…later though…I just want to lay with you if that’s okay.”

“That’s perfect, Tawney.”

Chapter 21

Tag List:  @lohnes16, @mckeeee-1

[beansterpie]

10, 14, 15, 19!

thank you for the ask!

10. worst part of fanon

I'm gonna go with... TRAD mommy Casca fanon. Fucking hate that shit lmfao, and GOD if that ends up being the direction the story goes (which I severely doubt), I will be Upset™.

14. that one thing you see in fics all the time

Hmm. Oh I was just talking to my sister about this the other night so it's on my mind: Writing genuinely confident characters as though they're secretly deeply insecure. That shit is always so infuriating to me lol. Examples: Wei Wuxian, Hawkeye (from MASH), Hiruma (from es21), Pohatu (from Bionicle which I'm including because that's who my sister was ranting about when we got on this topic).

I understand the urge behind it-- it's an easy way to provide vulnerability and inner conflict to a charater, but for me it totally misses what I find compelling about them.

15. that one thing you see in fanart all the time

This is specifically about ROTE because it's the first thing that popped into my head, but when people draw the Fool/Beloved as either super pale or all tawney even when it's art taking place at the end of the Tawney Man Triology, where he has canonically gotten darker. It just. Bothers me.

19. you're mad/ashamed/horrified you actually kind of like...

At this point I'm not even that mad or ashamed because he's such a fandom favorite but I do kind of adore Hisoka from HxH 😭 He's just so much fun despite being a complete canonical creep. He's the real problematic fave lol

[choose violence]

[tawneybel]

I thought this The VVitch poster looked familiar. The picture is an engraving by Cesare Vecellio. I saw it in a costume guide on the British Library site while doing an assignment for a Shakespeare class.

Specially, on Romeo and Juliet. The pic has nothing to do with witchcraft. Definitely spooky to a modern audience, though.

Vecellio explains how noble girls are guarded by their fathers, only leaving their homes on rare occasions for church or holy days. When they do so, they must wear a silk veil or fazzuolo.

[lordgolden]

Okay so I hear everyone talking about Farseer and Tawney Man and Rains Wild and Fitz & the Fool, but not so much Liveship Traders? Like, I’ve heard basically NOTHING about it? How does it fit in with the rest, how necessary to the reading order is it, and what’s it even about?

you know there ISN’T much liveship traders posting. sad! need to post about it more. When I was reading I did audiobooks so those are a little less fun to liveblog lol but yeah liveship traders is SO GOOD. It’s so good. I’m pretty sure it’s regarded as one of Hobb’s best works (will not be fact checking that statement). Liveship Traders comes right after the Farseer trilogy and I’d say it’s essential to read. There’s some crossover with Liveship Traders and Farseer and events in Liveship Traders have far reaching impact on the whole story. it starts off so strong… there’s a scene right in the beginning of ship of magic that is so heart wrenching and visceral that I literally was listening to it curled up in a ball sobbing. The series in general is about Bingtown which is in the south and is a trader town. Wealthy traders have sentient ships that only quicken when one of three generations of a family die on their decks. It mainly follows multiple generations of the Vestrit family but has many many amazing characters like AMBER and god I love Althea and Paragon and Ophelia. Idk what else to say like… it’s about pirates it’s about serpents it’s about gender it’s about finding your way in the world it’s about slavery it’s about destiny it’s about family it’s about dragons it’s about love it’s about grief it’s about healing. I could just go on and on so I’ll stop there. Liveship traders is amazing!!!!

[witchesoz]

What we know of Oz: Book 4, Nightmare-Oz

What is very interesting with this precise book is that Baum actually subtly decided to subvert and mock his own creation by proving and showing how Oz could actually be unpleasant for some people, instead of the idealistic all-loving fairy-land he was now depicting it as.

# There is a funny scene where the servants of the royal palace of Oz try to accommodate Jim the cab-horse, only to be very confused as to what a horse needs to live – notably for his meal they try to serve him delicacies such as soup, turbot and quails, only for the horse to keep asking for oats (which greatly confuses the servants, as oatmeals are considered a breakfast dish and they never heard of any animal eating raw oats). However there is still quite a bizarre conundrum as when Jim (called “Real Horse”) and the Sawhorse meet each other, the Sawhorse explains he was modeled after a real horse… which is impossible if Oz has no horses at all.

# The Cowardly Lion and the Hungry Tiger arrive at the Emerald City to celebrate the return of Dorothy, and this time Baum gives us a detailed description of the beasts: the Lion is described as “enormous” with “clear, intelligent eyes, a tawney mane bushy and well kept, and a body like yellow plush” while the Tiger is “great, with purple stripes around his lithe body, powerful limbs, and eyes that showed through the half-closed lids like coals of fire”. People have wondered if the purple stripes of the Tiger did not mean that the beast came from North of Oz, where the color is purple. Interestingly, while the Lion and the Tiger are still said to be friends living together, this time there is a clear distinction between them, as they are called the “monarchs of the forest and jungle” – the Cowardly Lion is the “valiant King of the Forest and faithful vassal of Princess Ozma”, while the Hungry Tiger is described as the “terror of the jungle”. So we know there is a jungle somewhere in Oz…

# Dorothy also encounters the Gump’s head, that is still talking from the wall it hangs on. This leads to a… very strange confusion as the Gump explains that “Gump” was the name of the flying machine Ozma built – and that he pretends to not know and not remember what he was before being a “Gump”. When in Book 2 it was clear that “gump” was the name of the animal before it was shot and mounted on a wall…

# For the return of the Wizard, a “rare favorite” of the Emerald people people, a great celebration is given in the Emerald City. First performs the Imperial Cornet Band of Oz, dressed in emerald velvet uniforms with slashes of pea-green satin and buttons of immense cut emeralds: they play the national song of Oz, which is titled “The Oz Spangled Banner”. We notably get a description of the flag of Oz (rather the Royal Flag) described as such: divided into four quarters, one sky-blue, one pink, a third lavender, a fourth white, with at the center a large emerald-green star, and all over the four quarters are spangles glittering beautifully. The narration explicitly says that the four colors represent the four countries of Oz, while the green star is the Emerald City – but readers might notice that the colors don’t match. There’s no white or pink countries in Oz… The answer is however very clear when you notice that the colors Baum describes are the proper colors of Oz, but washed-out. The purple becomes lavender, the deep blue becomes sky-blue, the red becomes pink and the yellow fades into white. I have no idea why Baum would include a washed-out version of the Oz flag… But anyway.

# The rest of the procession has Ozma and Dorothy on a royal chariot of gold encrusted with emeralds and diamonds, drawn by the Cowardly Lion and the Hungry Tiger, decorated with immense pink and blue bows. Follows the Scarecrow on the Sawhorse (again, just like in Book 3, it seems the duo is quite official), and Tik-Tok. Follows another band, different from the first one, called the Royal Court Band because, as the narration explains, they actually live in the palace (which apparently the Imperial Court Band does not) – and they play something called “What is Oz without Ozma”. They are noted to have white uniforms, with real diamond buttons. Follows the Professor Woggle-Bug with a group of students from his Royal College of Scientific Athletics: they are described as wearing “long hair and stripped sweaters”, while yelling loudly their college yell – which pleases the “populace” because it is “evidence that their lungs are in good condition”. Follows the Tin Woodman at the head of the Royal Army of Oz, twenty-eight officers, from generals to capitains, with no private because they were all so “courageous and skillful” they were promoted one by one. [Bizarrely it seems every time the Tin Woodman appears now it is at the head of the army, as if he was its leader…]. Finally it is closed by the Wizard on the old buggy drawn by Jim and Zeb. After the procession, the people of the City at invited in the royal palace to see the Wizard perform magic tricks in the great Throne Room (notably it is said that nobody touched anything from the little room back to the Throne Room, with all the old stuff of the wizard still there).  

# After the show, there is a series of races, jumping competition and wrestling games in a “great field outside the city gates”. There Zeb agrees to take part in a wrestling match against the current wresting champion of Oz, a Munchkin man, “twice as old” as Zeb but barely arriving to Zeb’s shoulder (this is at this point it is confirmed that the Munchkins are indeed very small) – he also has long pointed whiskers and a peaked hat with little bells around the brim (how can he wrestled with a hat? Mystery). Despite being taller, Zeb is beaten three times but the Munchkin champion, too strong and too clever. But Zeb gets his revenge by proposing a boxing match, beating immediately the wrestler with a sharp box on the ears – which only causes the Munchkin to sit down and cry because he had been hurt. Hopefully it causes no accident as Ozma is said to laugh as much at the Munchkin’s distress as she did upon seeing Zeb beaten.

# Note: the inhabitants of Oz are called here the “Ozites”.

# And then comes the race incident… You see a race is proposed between the Sawhorse and Jim, the “real-horse”, to known which one is better. Jim has grown quite arrogant being treated as a hero, and so agrees, convinced that he is superior because he is the “original” and that despite everyone warning him that the Sawhorse can’t feel tired and that Jim is an old horse. Of course, Jim loses the race – and losing his temper, he kicks the Sawhorse, breaking a leg and ear of the wooden beast. Which in return causes the Tiger and the Lion to jump on Jim, knock him down, and threaten him until he apologizes – with the entire audience of Ozites cheering because they thought Jim’s actions were horrifying. Once the incident is over, Ozma decides to reward the Sawhorse by crowning him the “Prince of Horses”, and that all horses in the Land of Oz should be considered imitation of the Sawhorse, and not the reverse. Jim takes this quite badly too – with his pedestal broken, he understands that an old, non-magical, regular horse cannot beat or shine in any way in the land of Oz, and he recaps it all with “being just an ordinary horse in a fairy country is to be of no account whatever”. He confesses this to Zeb, who was also noted before to be a bit uncomfortable in Oz (he kept being surprised and disturbed upon hearing Dorothy’s friends were things such as living scarecrows of wild talking beasts, and upon arriving in the City he dared not touch or sit on anything because as a simple low, dirty farm boy he did not felt right in such a splendid, luxurious, rich place).

# It is also noted that Ozma likes to spend her time with Dorothy because there isn’t actually much girls of Ozma’s age with which it is “proper” to associate herself. After all, she is a Princess. But still, it highlights that Ozma must be quite lonely…

# If the race incident hadn’t sealed the deal, the kitten’s trial should. Indeed, I talked here a lot about Zeb and Jim, but Dorothy came along with another animal in Oz: Eureka, her white she-kitten. One day, Ozma’s personal pet, a little piglet given to her by the Wizard of Oz (little enough to hold in the palm of one’s hand) disappears, while Eureka is seen leaving in a hurry the room in which the piglet was kept – plus, Eureka had for a very long time openly said that she wanted to eat a piglet, though others had prevented her to do so before. Ozma is angry and suspects the cat of having eaten her piglet, something that distresses Dorothy and that she refuses to believe – but when they finally find the kitten, her behavior doesn’t help things, as she refuses to leave a hidden corner under a bed and has to be threaten to come face to face with the two girls. Asked by Ozma about the situation, Eureka refuses to answer about anything, she refuses to say herself innocent or guilty, and the talk between the cat and the princess soon turns into a verbal fight. On one side Ozma says all the evidences point towards Eureka eating the piglet, and that if she is innocent she just has to say it ; meanwhile Eureka replies that she has nothing to answer to Ozma, because she is “impudent” for accusing her on the ground of mere “guesses”, as she points out the Princess has no actual proof or evidence of such a crime. The kitten and the princess are both quite stubborn, one accusing the other of being unfair and foolish, the other accusing the one of being criminal and arrogant. Ultimately Ozma has enough of it and summons her Captain-General to take Eureka to prison while waiting for her trial, a trial for murder, and if she is found guilty; she will have to die – she can even be executed nine times in the row, as long as it ends the kitten’s life. Damn, Ozma is ruthless…

# You see the thing is that people are so well-behaved in Oz that trials are very rare – in fact it has been “years” since any ruler sat in judgement upon an offender of the law, and now there is no more lawyers or professionals of the law. But nonetheless the news of a trial (the first in ages) and of a trial for murder (the most dreadful crime to commit in Oz) is said to “tremendously excite” the people of the Emerald City, who are thrilled by these new events. Ozma decided herself of the composition of the Court of Justice: the Woggle-Bug will be the Public Accuser “because he is so learned that no one can deceive him”, the Tin Woodman will defend the prisoner because “he has such a kind heart”, and the nine members of the jury will include several animals, because “animals understand each other better than people understand them”: they are the Cowardly Lion, the Hungry Tiger, Jim the Cab-horse, Billina the Yellow Hen, as well as the Sawhorse. Additional jury members will be the Scarecrow, Tik-Tok, Zeb, and the Wizard of Oz.

Now the thing is that the Wizard is actually the only sane person here (beyond the other humans). As he is actually sad about the piglet’s death (he was the one that gave the piglet to Ozma and was its owner before her, and he is certain that Eureka ate the piglet due to the kitten’s recurrent wish to taste it), but he also realizes that if Dorothy sees her kitten being executed, she will also be very sad – and he also knows that animals can’t be held responsible for their savage and carnivorous nature. So, despite his personal grief, he decides to save the kitten. But to save the obviously criminal kitten, he must need to perform one of his tricks, and so he quietly asks the Tin Woodman to help him deceive everyone. The Wizard had nine identical little piglets as his pets, the ninth being the one he gave to Ozma, but he still has eight ones left and so he asks the Tin Woodman to show the piglet to the jury if ever the kitten is accused of being guilty, claiming it is the original missing piglet. The Tin Woodman dislikes deceiving his friends, but given his heart tells him that he should save Eureka’s life, he agrees with the plan.

# The trial happens in the Throne Room. The Woggle-Bug’s accusing speech is actually broken down, not because what he says is untrue, but because he is so pompous and uses so many metaphors and turns of phrase he confuses the simple-minded folks of the jury, and then gets into fights with them over the meaning of words. Yet, his bizarre and convoluted arguments do manage to win the audience’s approve, as they all applaud agreeing to have the kitten killed nine times. Ozma asks once again to Eureka if she pleads guilty or not guilty, only for Eureka to stay on her positions: “Well, that’s for you to find out. If you can prove I’m guilty, I’ll be willing to die nine times”. Plus she adds one nice insult towards the Woggle-Bug. The character of Eureka the kitten, cynic, critical, with a sharp and venomous tongue, is notably in this book a voice of dissension among the usual Oz guests – she is a rebellious figure inside of Oz, that does not share the usual submissive and passive amazement other visitors of Oz has. And precisely by being rude, closed up, arrogant, but not outright evil, never truly excessively mean, she actually highlights the troubles and the breaks in Oz as a society and as an utopia.

After this it is time for the Tin Woodman to defend the kitten, and he invokes mostly the fact that Eureka is the pet of a lovely little girl, and he tries to invoke so-called “virtues” of the kitten (such as intelligent eyes, smiling countenance, soft padded little hands…) only for Eureka to purposefully do the reverse of what he says (she closes her eye, she snarls, she shows her claws…). The Tin Woodman is annoyed at Eureka preventing him from proving she is a sweet and gentle animal… Only for Eureka to have a fit because she is NOT a sweet and a gentle animal, and there are much better ways to defend her, more intelligent and logical ways, which she promptly does: she explains that she would never eat the piglet because she knows it belongs to the ruler of the land and that doing so would put her in big troubles. She refuses to claim she is too innocent to have eaten the piglet, because that would be a lie and she is not innocent ; but she does claim that she is too intelligent to actually put herself into such big troubles. However the Tin Woodman tries to get back the situation by adding his own argument, that you can’t reproach to someone of just enjoying a delicious meal – which does not convince the jury in the least.

Ultimately, the jury (headed by the Hungry Tiger) decided that the kitten Eureka had no conscience preventing her from eating innocent creatures (unlike the Hungry Tiger), and so she is guilty and needs to be put to death. Everyone in the room applauds, as Dorothy is just crying all the tears in her body… Yep, you have stepped into the nightmare version of Oz. The Tin Woodman decides to enact the Wizard’s plan of producing the piglet’s identical twin, which also rejoices everyone because they are glad to not have sent an innocent to death (which just shows how fast and switching the opinion of the Ozites is). But Eureka the kitten is a really clever little beast, and she immediately understands the Wizard’s trick – and she refuses to be saved by lies and deceit. So she points out loudly that Ozma’s piglet had an emerald necklace, while this one doesn’t have any, and she asks the Wizard to show the eight little piglets he still keeps on him for his tricks – if he can’t produce them all, she refuses to be set free. Of course, the Wizard’s trick comes to light… And at this point Eureka is just so tired of all the foolishness and stupidity of the trial she decides to tell everyone the truth:

She did not eat the piglet. She did thought and planned to do so, and that’s why she snuck into Ozma’s room – but despite her asking the piglet to stay still and silent the little creature just ran everywhere in panic, and fell into a vase in which Eureka could not enter, so she decided to abandon her planned meal and left the room. As simple as that: even now the piglet must be in the vase in Ozma’s boudoir. The missing piglet is indeed found, and everyone is rejoiced – including Dorothy, who hugs her kitten asking her why didn’t she told earlier about her innocence. Her answer: “It would have spoiled the fun”. “And now, the trial being over, the good citizens of the Emerald City scattered to their homes, well content with the day’s amusement”. I think you will agree with me that all of that feels VERY wrong and that it shows how dangerously the “cartoonish fairytale” logic of Oz can be when it applies to real-life matters and realistic issues.

# While the trial is over, this sour experience confirms everyone’s feeling of wishing to go back home. Jim the horse wants to return to the normal world where he wouldn’t have to be considered a “fake” horse ; Zeb also longs for the farm and the normal world, clearly saying he does not fit in Oz ; Eureka, despite being declared innocent, is still in a state of disgrace due to her intentions of murder and only an accident preventing her from doing so – the other animals avoiding her, and her being confined to Dorothy’s room and forbidden from wandering on the palace grounds… And the last drop is when Dorothy looks into the magic picture and sees her Aunt and Uncle in mourning clothes. Because, for the third time in a row, they think their niece is dead. It is crazy how Dorothy keeps forgetting that every time she goes to Oz, she disappears for a very long time after a disastrous cataclysm… at first snatched away by a tornado, then thrown into the sea by a violent storm, and in this book disappeared under the ground after a great earthquake. Poor Em and Henry literally had to grieve for their niece THREE TIMES. No wonder Henry develops such a poor health…

So Ozma sends them all back home, but not before one last merry evening of good meals, love songs, old stories being told and magic tricks (all invited except Eureka, still locked in Dorothy’s room). And while Dorothy agrees to come back visit Oz, she insists that she can never stay for too long because her aunt and uncle need her too much. Which is actually a very wise decision after all the hell she put those poor people through…

THE END

- - - - - - -

And thus ends the fourth book of Oz, "Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz"... You can actually realize, with this more bitter and critical take on Oz, that Baum was truly getting tired of Oz. And so, while he created himself the myth of the "perfect fairyland for little girls", he also worked to debunk it and show how such a world is not for everyone, and for example a down-to-earth ranch boy would feel very out of place. At least you can't blame Baum for not having an honest opinion of his own work. However, given his attempts here at ending the Oz series by showing the flaws of the system (and also actually begging the audience to stop asking him for more Oz books - he does that in the introduction, and reading it there is no ambiguity that the poor guy was sobbing "PLEASE NO MORE!!!" while writing these lines) failed, he decided to just stop trying to give Oz a bad reputation, and went for a different strategy...

[one-hell-of-a-jornalist]

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[icansailthatshipsolo]

Midtown Science and Technology: HS spideydevil Au

(read full version on Wattpad)

He prickled with embarrassment as whispers hushed the crowd, rushed him in full force; but he kept his face stoic, one hand on the cane the other gripping the shoulder of his bag as he moved towards the front steps. This was it. This is what he had been working for. All he had to do now was keep his head down and grades up. His father would have been proud of the work Matthew had put in to get here, but more than that Matt knew he would tell him this was only the beginning. These were the thoughts pounding in his head in tandem to the taps of his cane, completely distracting him from the incoming skateboarder. Normally he would conveniently get out of the way of people that didn't see him, but Matt was genuinely caught off guard- and as the skater rounded him his front wheels hit the cane and the board came to a dead stop, throwing its rider to the sidewalk with a heavy thud. "Ohmygod." Matt gasped, his hand flying out as if he was going to grab the falling boy but he had long hit the ground. Laughter erupted around him and the blush he was trying to breathe through took him entirely, his face turned the same shade as his glasses as the boy rolled from his hands to a sitting position. "Jeeze dude are you bl-" his words caught in his throat at his big brown eyes took in the beet red blind boy. "I'm so sorry that is my bad man, I really didn't see…."His question answered and his own ego bruised he hoisted himself to his feet and shook out his baggy jacket and brushed off his hands before he put it out to shake only to quickly run it through his hair. "You must be new- I..I mean I haven't seen you around before. Not like in a- well welcome to Midtown! My names' Peter…Parker." Matt offered a timid little smile and shuffled his feet. "Nice to meet you Peter….Parker. I am Matt…Murdock." He gave the same awkward hesitation and a teasing sort of smile as he continued, causing Peter to chuff a laugh. "And today is my first day…what made you guess?" But before Peter could attempt a response a bright blue eyed girl was almost pushing him out of the way. "Ohmygosh Peter, are you serious? Don't assault the new kid! Hi Matthew! I am Gwen Stacy, student liaison. I am so sorry, I was going to meet you at the gates so I could help you get settled! But at least you have met Peter, he is kind of our friendly neighborhood clutz. But he is also really smart so don't be afraid to ask him something. Or me! Or anyone really!" She gave the thin tawney haired boy a good natured shoulder bump, leaving him in a breathy blushed state, before she reached out, taking Matt's hand and placing it on her bicep. He looked as though he was going to try and say something but Gwen kept talking and Matt settled on just a tight lipped smile, mumbling a soft; "Trip you later Peter Parker.", as he was tugged away. Leaving the stunned Peter to gather his board and watch after them. "Sorry Matthew I should get you to the front office so we can get you ready for your first day! I wanted to get a tour of your classes in, if we can. Mr. Brooks told me they will have your day's work printed out in the office in the morning. That way everything is already in braille for you, and you have a tablet right?" Matt nodded slightly towards his bag. "Great! So you feel comfortable taking notes like that?" He nodded again, clearing his throat a little but largely unable to think of much to say. Gwen's heart was like a hummingbird and she vibrated at a frequency Matt found entirely refreshing but slightly overwhelming.

[craftboxsys]

district memories of managers master list

because like, two of my friends were actively curious and encouraged me to talk about my memories of the managers, so! i guess we'll start with the more tame of the two sets of memories. also heads up, these are mostly just for people i actively remember being around a lot or have actual memories of. uhh, people like cosmo, belle, tawney, holly, etc. aren't included because i was never around them enough to have an actual input on them as cogs.

anyways! memories under the cut. it starts with clash mems in green then my district in red.

benjamin biggs; very into sharing drama with people, i've listened to him maybe 5-6 times just go off about a set of cogs and then told me about rain & derrick man. outside of that i didn't really talk to him much? i've heard more from other toons if anything like how he's a bitch to fight because half the time he just taunts people then gets really loud with the stupid ringing.

buck ruffler; i more ran into buck a lot because we both had a mutual attachment to gambling. like, we became friends (sorta) over me running into him to play slots or something. quack was really fun to be around, really loud like me. we both matched each others energies really intensely and if anyone else was around they'd get annoyed super fucking fast. uhh buck didn't really give a shit that i broke the filter and thought it was really funny, we'd get into cussing matches in the server when it was dead so i didn't get caught by pete /silly

chip revvington; was NOT a fan of me by any means, i'm a horrible influence on pancake so he'd get really annoyed when he found out i was hanging out with her a lot. not to mention i was her SISTER FIGURE? outrageous! uhh, chip tended to be really quiet and reserved when we were alone though, it was really awkward but there were a few times when i was upset that he actually dropped the "i hate you" act and just kind of awkwardly asked me if i was okay and if he could help at all. i didn't really know what to do but it usually lead to just me being held. even if he hated me he kinda sucked at it /silly

dave brubot; really weird friendship with this guy. i hit him with a golf cart, he emoted, and slid/ran off for a good couple weeks before i'd see him again. uhh, met up again after i'd tripped and got squashed by a flowerpot? i got scooped up, dusted off, and set back down on the ground like nothing happened. can't remember what he said to me but it was probably something something are you okay or something. not quite like that, that's not the brubot fashion but yeah. he left again when i was sure i was alright, gave me his number, and i just kind of held onto it for a couple months? i didn't do anything with it, i just focused on my tasks for the most part before getting to the kudos board for mezzos melodyland and really just kinda went "huh. i forgot i had this." to the number? called it on the phone later that night and nobody picked up. but i think that was because he was performing, i later got a whisper from pancake about it asking if i called hymn. and uh, yeah. i got teased for a while about having his number and all that but we became really close friends. i'd go and visit him out of the blue during the day since his shows were at night. we just did a bunch of useless shit together a lot of the times, it was really fun... kind of domestic. i miss hymn, he's goofy as hell.

misty monsoon; i don't remember a whole ton about misty but i do remember us not liking each other at all for a period of time. uh, we sat down eventually and just started talking on the docks together. talked about exes, life goals, what we want to see out of the world... kind of just deep conversations. i asked her about mary since they were together and she told me about how their relationship is. i got advice from her about some other things and got told to never change who i am for anyone else. people'll love me if they see past all my dumb shit anyways and stick by my side if they really do care.

graham & flint bonpyre; the two of them were married in the clash mems i have, they're very very closeknit with each other. i used to steal stuff from graham's place in spite for like, the LONGEST time. pancake and flint both had to keep convincing me to bring things back myself and apologize in person, but then graham would go and taunt me about it. so, we kind of had this on/off frenemy situation going on. shakes my fist, clash graham you're a bitch!!!!!! as for flint he was generally really nice to me, he and pancake were in a qpr with each other so i saw flint more than graham. we'd chat with each other from time to time but otherwise i really didn't run around or into him too often. i'd stop and say hi if i saw him on the street over time because of pancake.

cathal bravecog; barely remember cathal but he was cool, we'd hangout pretty often just to play video games or just watch tv. i had a tendency to just pass out on his floor or the desk when we were in the middle of watching a movie or something on the longer side of things for time frame things. shrugs, would have to say? pretty cool guy tbh.

and now... onto the general gist of my district managers. i'm not typing out individual things like i did for clash memories because my head's starting to hurt trying to force myself to remember this stuff, but: like i said in the one post before about them all being their own brands of insane? yeah. that's really not far off. so far the only one i've really typed up anything for is graham because i was in and out of lullaby lane a lot since it connected to mezzos melody land.

graham, holly, prester, etc. were all programmed to be more of promotional kinds of bots. like, living... walking talking advertisements for human corporations or the idea of human corporations abroad. graham was more humanoid compared to the rest of the managers because he was meant to be like, a physical model or representation of humans to the toons since humans didn't frequent in toontown enough for everyone to be aware of them.

i don't remember exactly what all corporations they were promoting but it was probably a mix of a bunch of bullshit. i think a majority of my memories were just being involved in maybe one or two of their personal lives (chip and flint through pancake) and anyone else i hardly knew outside of running into them on the off chance i was out and about in their assigned playground districts.

i wanna say out of all of them i've seen mary the most? we're friends (ish) because of the one case i had that weaponized a cog with dip and was blasting toons with it in barnacle boatyard. it was contaminating the water so i had to work with a group of other people in the detective agency to figure out what the fuck to do to get this thing out of here. then mary rolls up and blasts it with a shit ton of water when it's core was exposed. so yeah, good relationship with mary at the very least. that and i wanna say dave and i were on really neutral terms in my district.

i'd swing by from time to time like clash mems but we didn't do much, it was more to just check if anything new happened related to a really long open case. uhh, i think i saw more of the managers after i stopped the detective things but they were all literally so fucking crazy at times it was a little off putting & scary.

not to mention there was a weird bug floating around for a while that transferred override codes to a couple of the other managers. chip didn't mean for that one to happen but it just did, he wasn't programmed with the override to begin with. if i remember right, he had something put in him when he was taken out in a fight maybe once. the details were really limited on that.

anything else relating to them were from things i'd heard on the offhand.

additionally for stuff with buck since i'm pretty sure people know from the past posts i've made on him that i have strong feelings towards my districts buck because, well uh... he's tried to kill me a decent few times.