I'm spreading my fic-writing tentacles far and wide in a bout of shameless self-publicity

You can now also find my Tin Man fics, plus occasional bonus bits of nonsense like this, on my Livejournal. I've also signed up for an account on FanFiction.Net

Now, back to working on the fic...

tl;dr...

While this is contradicted in places by canon, this is the timeline I keep in mind when working on ficlets. I write in a single universe, meaning that any ficlets I write should be compatible with one another - I'd like to say it was a stylistic decision, but really I'd just get confused if I tried to jump from one AU to another

I'm using Otherside dates, as there are hints that the same calendar is used in the OZ (the dates Ambrose used for the Sunseeder, posters in the Mystic Man's dressing room) and assuming that the events of Tin Man occurred in 2007. There's probably room for some adjustment - I'm not very good at judging people's ages... I suppose I could have gone to IMDB and looked at actor birthdates, but I doubt the real age of the actor has much to do with anything.

I wrote this a while ago, so there may be inconsistencies, and like I say, it's not totally canon-friendly. But I can live with that...


1967 Birth of Wyatt Cain (making him about 40 at the time of the miniseries). At this time, the Queen is about 8 and Ahamo around 10 years old.

1972 Birth of Ambrose.

1977 Ahamo arrives in OZ (aged 20, the Queen is 18).

1978 Birth of Azkadelia.

1981 Ambrose starts at the Central City School of Science.

1987 Birth of DG.

1989 Birth of Jeb, Ambrose starts to attend the palace as assistant to Raynz.

1991 Year of the spinning dolls - Spring at the Palace on the Northern Island, Summers are spent at Finaqua.


1992 A busy year - Az and DG discover the cave, and the witch gets in. Az kills DG - the Queen sacrifices power to revive her and crops subsequently fail. Tutor goes missing - Az has captured him, testing her powers. When DG is revived, she is taken to Milltown, where she is hidden.


1993 Ahamo takes DG to the other side and then disappears - the official story is that he has betrayed the Queen, stolen some valuables and returned to the other side. At the age of 21, Ambrose becomes the Queen's confidante after he finds her upset after a bitter argument with Az and a tense court meeting discussing the ongoing crop situation. He takes away some notes, hoping to come up with ideas to help with the problem.


1994 Az begins her campaign in earnest, spreading rumours that the Queen's failing health is partly responsible for the poor harvests, and that Az should take charge - her magic is growing in strength and she would return the OZ to prosperity and abundance. She starts to gather supporters, for there are some shaken by the Queen's sudden change of health, and some of the court begin to back her, albeit covertly.

A new queen aged only 16 wouldn't be all that improbable - Queen Victoria ascended the throne aged 18, and she didn't have an ancient, evil witch lurking around in the back of her head. As far as I know... For that matter, Edward V was only 12! Of course, these youthful ascendancies weren't the result of the old monarchs being muscled out, but it doesn't seem impossible that a population could accept the rule of a youthful queen if she had convincing rhetoric to back her up.


1995 After a year building up support with some key members of court, Azkadelia puts out the word officially that she would be better to take charge, that her poor mother isn't strong enough, and only new magic is going to bring the revitalisation of the OZ. The Mystic Man speaks out publicly in support of the queen, and an attempt is made on his life - protection detail arranged by the Queen, including Wyatt Cain. Azkadelia approaches the military to see if she can tempt some to her cause - they can't act against her as she is the Queen's daughter. The queen is aware of the situation. Az's talk with the military has attracted some support, with people like Zero helping her cause by spreading rumour - after which all Az has to do is sit back and wait for defectors to approach her. Ambrose has idea for Sun-seeder - begins drawing designs and carries out research into possible focusing elements. Possibly the subject of the Emerald comes up in conversation with the Queen?


1996 At Ambrose's suggestion, the Queen relocates to Finaqua, where they hope that her remaining powers will be bolstered by the magical waters. The Queen leaves an image of herself at the palace, along with a few guards, to keep up the appearance of staying on the Northern Island. The image resembles her in every way, and can interact with people on a very basic level - she considered one of Ambrose's holographic creations, but it would only repeat a fairly short sequence of actions and might arouse suspicion more quickly. Ultimately, she is weak, and the distance between the palace and Finaqua means that it begins to disintegrate, before disappearing entirely. Az sends spies into the city to spread dissent and fuel the rumours that the Queen is living in luxury in her palace, no longer concerned with the fate of her subjects - her sudden disappearance and the subterfuge may aid this. Although the military push is not yet underway, and it's not full scale war, the Second Brigade is tied up in a series of protracted skirmishes in the West with Azkadelia's growing force of Longcoats, possibly the tide of good will towards the queen is also hindered by rumours that the army are commandeering food supplies for their own use. While these are repudiated by the Queen's faltering network of ambassadors, it allows Az to increase her influence in the West. After extensive research, Moritanium is identified as the best possible element for the Sunseeder and the Queen sends out some of her remaining scientists to track down a substantial resource.


1997 Factions continue to form and split - the Longcoat forces absorb a few Tin Men, also one of the four brigades that make up the Army of the OZ. The Eastern Guild (Munchkins) are approached by emissaries from both sides and turn both away, saying they want no part of this war - later, they send a communique to the Queen and say they will support her, but the agreement is fragile. There are several main routes no longer safe to travel if you are a known supporter of the queen.


1998 Cain working for Resistance - implies that Az's force is now in the majority - the Queen remains at the summer palace at Finaqua - too dangerous for her to travel. She and the Mystic Man communicate - possibly by magic or device? He says that he will stay in Central City for as long as he is able, reminding the people of their loyalties. The Papay turn feral, and food supplies now rely mainly on the farmlands of the Western Guild, and on home-grown produce in more remote areas. Central City is less directly hit, having a hydroponics system that allows them to produce a wide range of crops using only a fraction of the amount of water that would be required to irrigate farmlands - Nutrient Film Technology - this may also be what is used to operate the tin suits. Word reaches Az that the Queen's advisor is planning a device to help the struggling farmers and she fears that this may ruin her schemes to discredit the Queen. She diverts a significant part of her resources to find out more. In her search, she comes into contact with Raynz who is, by now, the head of the Queen's League of Scientists. He is currently overseeing the large hydroponics laboratory, but has already decided that supporting Az will prove the better choice. He tells her about the basalt mines in the Black Mountains to the East - this is where the basalt is collected to be spun into rockwool for the hydroponics laboratory. They have discovered a promising seam of Moritanium.


1999 The Fourth Brigade defects to Az, under the command of General Lonot. Az takes full control of Central City and the OZ, officially declaring the Queen ousted and starting her reign by freezing the Northern Island in a sea of ice and blasting Finaqua out of all recognition. Ambrose is taken to Raynz, who takes great pleasure in the downfall of a former rival and personally supervises the operation to take out the left half of his brain. Work begins on the Wall around Central City, and as the Tin Men are hunted down and the Queen's influence fades, the city becomes increasingly permissive, the bars seedier, the prostitutes more brazen and the inhabitants try to forget about the world outside. So long as they stay within the city and carry on as normal, there are food and drink, and other pleasures in relative abundance. Central City is becoming increasingly isolated - there are fears by the citizens that they will be overrun with refugees from the blighted lands outside, and security measures are increased. Cain still a Tin Man at this point - they are supposed to follow Az's orders, but Cain is one of several who start to supply info to the Resistance. This is the year in which he finds out about the new surgery - what the 'State does to convicts'.


2000 Cain's double-agentry is discovered and he's imprisoned. Jeb and Adora taken for questioning, separate from Cain, they are told that he is dead, eventually released? A year of Azkadelia flexing her muscles and nailing any overt resistance. Possibly Milltown is erased.


2001 Work begins on the Anti-seeder - Glitch kept in custody until Az is sure he isn't needed, then she releases him after taking him to the Queen, who tells him to go South - she hopes that he might find Ahamo and sanctuary in the Realm of the Unwanted. The black tower hosts Azkadelia's base of operations, combining laboratory, palace, barracks, prison and the slowly developing Machine. Constant exposure to Moritanium affects the Scientists that Az has tempted or forced to her service, bleaching their skin and making their hair fall out, even with the radiation-dampening clothes they wear. Likewise, the miners, who are a mixture of convicts taken from the OZ's single prison, captured Resistance fighters, and anyone Az doesn't like the face on, tend to grow sick and must be regularly replaced - unlike normal radiation sickness, this is survivable and reversible if properly treated, but the workers are seldom afforded that luxury. Quite a number of them are zipperheads, and some of these are unfortunate former court members.


2002 Glitch tries to go South but he gets lost on the way, and eventually forgets where he was going. He is helped at first by some people still loyal to the Queen, but the penalties for resisting Az are severe, and they send him away after a Longcoat raid makes it too risky to keep him around any longer


2007 Miniseries events