#old yellow bricks

[kissyniac]

both is good

[keonscarter]

ㅤㅤyou're such a fugitive, but you don't know what you're running from.

[lalaballa]

I was thinking about the AM song "Old Yellow Bricks", the Wizard of Oz and the queer term "Friend of Dorothy" - and I found this interesting post from reddit, referencing Elton John's "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" X

Wikipedia provides some interesting info on yellow-brick road and transgender characters which date back to the very first novels:

The precise origin of the term [Friends of Dorothy] is unknown. Some believe that it is derived from The Road to Oz (1909), a sequel to the first novel, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900). The book introduces readers to Polychrome who, upon meeting Dorothy's travelling companions, exclaims, "You have some queer friends, Dorothy", and she replies, "The queerness doesn't matter, so long as they're friends." There are numerous references to LGBTQ characters and relationships,including a possible innuendo about bisexuality – when Dorothy asks Scarecrow which way to go on the yellow-brick road he says, "Of course some people go both ways" – although it is unknown whether they were intentionally included. For instance, in a case that may be seen as changing gender identity, or being transgender, Ozma, while still an infant, the baby daughter of the former King Pastoria of Oz, was given to the witch Mombi of the North by the Wizard of Oz. Mombi transformed Ozma into a boy and called him "Tip" (short for Tippetarius) in order to prevent the rightful ruler of Oz from ascending to the throne. Thus, Ozma spent her entire childhood with Mombi in the form of the boy Tip, and had no memory of ever having been a girl. Later, Princess Ozma would be the ruler of the fictional land of Oz. Princess Ozma has been referred to as “one of the first transgender characters in literature." This storyline was revived in Emerald City (2017). X

And then, back in 2007, in a brilliant album talking about circuses and identity struggles, under a persona called Jackie Pantomime, Alex Turner put this particular song (possibly about a need to escape) just before the final track 505, which addresses the return to HOME...

AM @ Brit Awards 2007

I don't know whether Alex had Wizard of Oz in mind when writing Favourite Worst Nightmare (btw the album's title seems to perfectly describe Dorothy's journey!), but the subtle engagement with queer culture since that young age... this is exciting to say the least.

[ravioli2000]

Old yellow bricks, love's a risk

Velhos tijolos amarelos, o amor é um risco

Quite the little escapologist

Uma pequena escapologista e tanto

Looked so miffed when you wished

Parecia tão irritada quando você desejava

For a thousand places better than this

Por milhares de lugares melhores do que esse

You are the fugitive but you don't know what you're running from

Você é a fugitiva, mas você não sabe do que está fugindo

You can't kid us and you couldn't trick anyone

Você não pode nos enganar e você não conseguiu enganar ninguém

Houdini, love, you don't know what you're running away from

Houdini, amor, você não sabe do que está fugindo

Who wants to sleep in the city that never wakes up?

Quem quer dormir na cidade que nunca acorda?

Blinded by nostalgia

Cega pela nostalgia

Who wants to sleep in the city that never wakes up?

Quem quer dormir na cidade que nunca acorda?

~★!

[lixel-5]

yellow brick road is highkey giving the stanley parable adventure line™

[dopplegangerrights]

WIP Wednesday!

Me: I have way too many story continuations to write

Also me: What if Old Yellow Bricks was a series?

For those unfamiliar, Old Yellow Bricks is a dimension travel fic where our Red Hood Jason meets and becomes a parental figure to a 10 year old Tim Drake, but original flavor Tim comes to pick him up and they end up dropping little Timmy off with the bats.

The hypothetical follow-up would be focusing on the alt universe Batfam. Alfred being resigned to a new child in the manor and baffled by the explanation of how he got there. Robin Jason attempting to bond with his new little sibling. Bruce looking into all those other kids Red Hood and Red Robin mentioned (probably wouldn't go deep into that, don't want this concept to get crazy long lol.)

The scene that really hooked me was this though:

–

Jason took a deep breath. Then, he admitted, "I was never mad that he killed the Joker."

Bruce felt a bit stunned by this turn in their conversation. "Jaylad–" he started.

"I was just worried," Jason said in a rush. "I was scared that he was going to end up being worse, somehow, because that's how it works, right? Things don't get better in Gotham." Bruce's son let out a bitter little laugh, and Bruce thought again of his older self, hard and jaded, a challenge in his gaze.

Then Jason continued, saying, "But he probably did it because of me, and I–" Jason's breath hitched "–I still don't feel bad." He looked up at Bruce, eyes wide and plaintive, and asked, "Does that make me a bad person? Am I going to end up like him? I don't want to be the type of person who could kill someone."

Bruce stood up and circled his desk, going to his boy and putting his hands on his shoulders.

Bruce cared about Batman's ideals. He would make certain to impress them upon Jason, later, to make it clear that every single life had unlimited value, that they couldn't be traded or weighed, because the moral depravities that that sort of thinking lead to were far too easy to make acceptable in one's own mind.

But Jason didn't need Batman right now. He needed a father.

"Jason," Bruce said, "when I realized that by killing The Joker, Red Hood had potentially saved your life, my primary emotion was relief."

[dailyamlyrics]

“You are the fugitive but you don’t know what you’re running from.”

[julesoldfashionedmen]

i always thought that in old yellow bricks the lyrics were

"and the days she dreamed of, led to nights reading beer bottles"

and i always thought it was so beautiful and painted such a heartbreaking picture and i've always used it as an example of alex's amazing lyricism but those weren't the lyrics AT ALL oopsie