If I Rebooted Tin Man

Chapter 1: Basic Notes

Each episode would have a cold open of DG's life in Kansas, with a loose and light plotline between them. The cold open for the last episode of 'season one' would be set just before the start of the pilot, to bring things full circle.

Each episode would end with a short, funny and/or fluffy 'after-credits' scene. That way I can have my softer ideas without interfering too much with the tone of the series.

The chapters are sorted into four categories:

• GI — General Ideas, edits or additions that would affect multiple episodes or a character in general and be woven in throughout the story.

• F/B — Flashbacks/Backstories, things that affect the characters or world before canon.

• MC — Mid Canon, specific episode ideas and such that would take place during the miniseries' original journey.

• LS — Later Seasons, things that take place after canon. This is where some of the lightest ideas live, because everyone deserves happiness and fun times after 15 annuals of hardship, but isn't entirely angst-free. This is still Tin Man, after all.

I hope you enjoy 😊

Chapter 2: GI: The Origin Of 'Good Morning, Sweetheart'

Glitch, being Glitch, is on a ramble about how he's a very nice sort of person.

Oh really?, says Cain, who is very tired of all the talking and is only half listening.

Yes!, Glitch insists, of course. He lists reasons why he's nice. Then he makes the mistake of saying that he'd even go so far as to call himself a sweetheart.

Cain snorts.

Well, I am nice!, Glitch continues to argue.

Whatever you say, Sweetheart, Cain says and walks off.

This annoys Glitch. Of course it annoys Glitch. He doesn't have much dignity but he did once and he knows that and of course this offends him.

So of course Cain keeps calling him it. Not all the time, he still has things like Zipperhead and headcase to snap at him, and sometimes convict when he's feeling particularly irritable. And Glitch, of course, if only because it's one of the few things he consistently responds to and it keeps him somewhat grounded. And then Ambrose eventually makes it into the mix, and well...

But everyone calls Glitch those things, or at least many people have called him all those things. But only Cain calls him Sweetheart.

Then he wakes up and he sees a face above him and he's frightened because he's not entirely sure who it is and he thinks he might've just been fighting someone before he was knocked out and–

"Good morning, Sweetheart."

—and then he knows it's Cain, because of course it's Cain.

Because only Cain calls him Sweetheart.

Chapter 3: GI: A Crow Named Crow

Before the Munchkins got him and he met DG, Glitch had a misadventure in a field (don't ask, he'd rather not talk about it). Since then, a crow has been following him. It goes from nuisance to constant presence to beloved companion throughout the course of the series.

Meanwhile, Cain is very tired of this random crow that keeps stealing his rations and why is the damn Zipperhead feeding it?!

(Its name would be Crow. Glitch tried to name it other things, but he kept forgetting them, so he just called it Crow. Ambrose tries to rename it. It refuses to be renamed. It is the Crow)

Glitch starts off snapping at it whenever he sees it, trying to shoo it away whenever it comes close. At some point, he becomes resigned to the fact that his shoulder is where it wants to perch and there's nothing he can do about it. Then he's actively talking to it and worrying about it when he can't see it and feeding it regularly, and Cain very much wishes he'd stop feeding it.

Glitch keeps feeding it.

Sometimes it is surprisingly helpful. Other times, it is the exact opposite of helpful (like 'making loud cawing noises when they're trying to sneak past Longcoats' kind of not helpful). Either way, Crow casually perched next to Glitch whenever they stop for a rest soon becomes a regular sight.

Eventually, the royal court has to get used to the royal Advisor being back amongst them, with a zipper on his head and a crow on his shoulder...

(...a crow that really likes stealing things, mostly shiny things and buttons — but that's okay because so does Ambrose, and they like trading between their respective hoards)

Chapter 4: MC: Hair Day

Ambrose used to brush young DG's hair for her. When he sees less-young DG struggling to pull a brush through her hair after several days without an opportunity to, Glitch begins to do it for her without thinking.

Glitch isn't sure why he knows how to do this, considering the tangled and dreaded mess that is his hair. DG isn't sure why she's so comfortable with him doing this, considering he's an objectively strange guy that she's only known for a relatively short amount of time. Neither of them really care.

("Glitch do Raw next?" Raw asks, gesturing to his own mane, and that is how they end up spending the rest of the day playing around with styling hair — they even manage to make Glitch's messy dreads a bit neater!)

(Cain barely has any hair and doesn't have the first clue how you style it. That's okay, though, he's happy to just watch the rest of them playing around and having fun)

(His heart starts to hurt, but he's had years to mourn. Today, he's just going to enjoy the moment and let himself imagine how Adora would've laughed at the sight of their fun)

(He's never going to stop missing his family. But maybe he can love this ridiculous group of wannabe resistance fighters he's found himself with too)

Chapter 5: LS: DG Sketches Her (Old) Life

DG wants to share pieces of her old life with her new friends, talking about things like her motorcycle and her waitress job (horrifying Ambrose that one of his dear princesses was working as a server), and she gets the idea to draw it so that they can see. Just like she once drew her dreams of the OZ so that she could see.

And DG thinks that maybe she should miss it. She misses the wind in her hair as she rode her motorcycle, she thinks, and maybe watching certain tv shows and reading certain books. But she doesn't really miss her old life.

She already wanted to leave, after all. And the OZ feels more like home than that old farmhouse ever did. So she'll remember it fondly, draw it out for her friends, and go on with no regrets.

Because at the end of the day, she knows that she's exactly where she's meant to be.

Chapter 6: LS: The Second Greatest War Of The OZ

It starts with Ambrose and Cain being petty and snipey towards each other as normal. It escalates to the entire castle being involved in a prank war. How did point A get to point B? Who cares, just grab a water balloon and look past corners before making a turn — let's go, soldier!

(At one point the Queen walks in and they all freeze like children caught by their mother. She surveys the scene with wide eyes: cream everywhere, people soaked, members of her court and guard standing midmotion in throwing things that should not be thrown. Her expression is flat. They all expect the worst)

(She quietly picks up a water balloon, studying it. Then, with a grin that is far too wide, she throws it right in the face of the head of the guard himself)

(There is no going back after that. The war continues with renewed fervor)

(It is only Azkadellia's interference that stops it from spilling out into the streets, as she's determined to spare the poor people of OZ from any more warfare if she can manage it)

(There may or may not be some Mobats still loyal to her. They may or may not be learning what false peanut brittle cans are. But either way, no-one is safe)

Chapter 7: GI: Kisses

Glitch forgets that kissing is a thing. When DG kisses him on the cheek, he is Very Confused.

It takes a moment to work out just what's confusing him, but after she realizes what's up, DG laughs and tries to explain.

Glitch doesn't understand the explanation very well. But he understands that it's a friend thing, and therefore he likes it. Experimentally, he kisses DG on the cheek in turn.

DG laughs. Glitch grins. This kissing thing is great!

He turns and sees Raw approaching, so he kisses the Viewer on the cheek before running off to find Cain. Raw touches his cheek, turning to stare in the direction Glitch went, confused. DG is no help in explaining what just happened. Raw shrugs it off as affectionate Glitch weirdness and goes about his day.

Glitch has found a new favorite target for the cheek kisses: Cain, because he needs to lighten up and also his reactions are really funny.

Cain is not amused. Who the Hell taught the headcase to do this– DG GET BACK HERE! MAKE HIM STOP!

Cain resigns himself to the existence of the cheek kisses eventually. At some point, he begins to retaliate with forehead kisses. This doesn't work well as retaliation because it just confuses Raw, amuses DG, and delights Glitch.

He does not stop the forehead kisses. They're as much a fact of his life as the cheek kisses are, now. There is nothing he can do about it.

(...he doesn't really want to do anything about it)

Chapter 8: MC: Azkadee

Glitch doesn't know why he keeps referring to Azkadellia as Azkadee. He writes it off as an insulting nickname to spite the bitchy witchy.

Except... it doesn't feel insulting. He catches himself smiling, even, a few times when he says it. It feels special, somehow.

Then he has a dream and in the dream he knows the current dictator as a child and he calls her Azkadee and Azkadeedee and so many other cute nicknames.

And now he's panicking a bit, because he isn't entirely certain but he's pretty sure that was a memory, and did he help raise the person currently conquering their world?!

Chapter 9: MC: Fireworks

Stopping to resupply at one of the few stable towns left in the OZ, the quartet are just in time to see a fireworks show.

DG is loving this with every fiber of her being. The times she's seen fireworks before have nothing on the way the OZ does them.

Raw is terrified at first because he's not entirely sure what's happening and he's, well, a cowardly lion. But he calms down soon enough, mostly due to the others' joy and awe.

Glitch doesn't process noise or light as well as he used to be able to and is getting a headache. But he's used to headaches and something deep within him keeps chanting EXPLOSIONS! COLORFUL EXPLOSIONS! IN THE SKY! — which he's adding to the growing pile of evidence that maybe he was a bit of a mad inventor, whoever he was — so he's fine.

Cain doesn't feel the same pure, childish glee at the sight as the others do. But he still enjoys it in his own quiet way.

Chapter 10: LS: Temporary Amnesia

Ambrose, post-series, temporarily loses all his memory going back to just before Azkadellia was possessed by the Witch. He has a few questions for the people around him:

1) Who are the Tin Man that calls him 'Sweetheart' and the Viewer that calls him 'Glitch', and how does he know them?

2) Why are the princesses so grown up all of a sudden? And what in the world is DG wearing??? (Otherside clothes)

3) What is a 'Mobat' and why is there one on Az's shoulder? (Headcanon: at least one Mobat was good and is Az's pet now)

4) Why is the Queen's hair white?

5) And, most importantly, WHY THE FUCK IS THERE A ZIPPER ON HIS HEAD!?

Chapter 11: GI: DG's Passive Abilities

(1) Hearing

DG heard the witch in the cave before her sister did, and later she hears the hologram of the Cains' screaming before Glitch does — what if DG has really, really good hearing and has prized this talent of hers all her life?

(2) Trust

In the movie, DG basically immediately trusts Glitch, Cain, and Raw. But she's suspicious of Tutor despite him having just supposedly saved her. What if she has a passive ability to subtly sense who is trustworthy or not, but doesn't realize it?

(Her distrust of her dad can be explained by him kidnapping her, and she still trusts him pretty fast)

Chapter 12: LS: Dancing

Glitch is sad because it's going to be longer than he thought it would be until the other half of his brain can be put back in. Feeling bad for him, Cain reluctantly brings up the Zipperhead's claim to be able to dance well.

An excited Glitch immediately gets distracted showing his friends how to dance — fluffy, goofy times ensue as the whole gang spends the day dancing carefreely.

Glitch proves he's not quite as oblivious as he appears near the very end, quietly telling Cain 'thanks' with a small, genuine smile. And then he walks off without making a big thing of it, which Cain appreciates.

(He makes a very big deal of it at a later moment, of course, because messing with Cain is his absolute favorite activity in the world and the actual emotional beat has already passed so why wouldn't he? But still, it's the thought that counts)

(Cain tries to remember that while considering whether upending a cup of orange juice on Glitch's head would be too childish)

(He does it anyways — they're long past 'childish' in this friendship)

Chapter 13: LS: The Diary

Glitch, waiting for when his brain can finally be put back in, passes the time by reading through a diary he found in his room.

On the inside cover, it announces: The Diary of A. Fiyero.

Now why does that sound so familiar..?

AKA: Glitch finds his own diary and accidentally gets to know himself from the outside before his brain is made whole again.

Chapter 14: LS: Ambrose After Rebraining

(1) Friendly And Formal

Ambrose was canonly the kind of man that would kneel by the Queen's chair to give her a message that he really could've delivered while standing. He was the kind of man that called her 'your highness' even while she was calling him 'old friend'.

He was also the kind of man that grinned right at her while telling her that he was clever enough to destroy the blueprints to the machine Azkadellia wanted, and made the Queen's birthday part of the password to that very machine.

So maybe when DG is getting used to being a princess and 'uncomfortable' isn't the right word for what she's feeling but also isn't exactly the wrong one, Ambrose's particular mix of strictly formal and unashamedly familiar helps.

Because now he kneels to her and calls her all sorts of royal titles and seems to think that looking at her when they speak is optional. But he also nudges her and winks when he catches her looking at a boy her age, and grins wide when she goes red from it. Because, as she's learning, that's who he is — formal and friendly, stuffy and absurd, her mother's advisor and her dear dear friend.

(2) Thankful And Embarrassed

The quartet are somewhat worried that Ambrose will be embarrassed or upset about his time as Glitch. What he did, what they let him do, how they responded to him.

And he definitely is, a little. He has a large sense of dignity and he is literally one of the most brilliant men in the realm, the advisor to the queen herself, a man of many skills and an impeccable (if somewhat mad) reputation. 

But also, he was impaired. He was halved. He was glitching. And maybe these people treated him like a problem to be managed, but he was a problem to be managed, and they also treated him like a friend.

So he thanks them for their kindness towards a lost little Zipperhead. Even as he's trying very hard not to scream into the void a little because oh Gods he just remembered ANOTHER ridiculous thing that he did.

(3) Cuddling

Glitch had little sense of boundaries when it came to physical affection. Over the course of their adventure, the quartet learned how to enforce some boundaries, and to let him gleefully cross over others.

When he's Ambrose again, they find themselves mourning the heightened physical affection he'd given them. Because obviously it will stop now that he has his full mind back.

The Queen hears this and she just... laughs.

And laughs.

And laughs.

And none of them understand why until formal, stuffy Ambrose walks into the room, sits next to one of them on the couch with that grace he's apparently known for that Glitch only ever had in spurts... and proceeds to half drape himself over one of them because he's sleepy and they're warm.

Ambrose has better self control and knowledge of social rules than Glitch. So yes, he has a few more boundaries and won't go sitting in someone's lap if there's no chairs (unless he really wants to annoy Cain and knows he'll get away with it because the Tin Man got used to putting up with his nonsense as Glitch). But, as the Queen explains, he's always been a cuddler.

So maybe they have to get used to him not jumping on them at every opportunity. But he still tackle-hugs when he's excited, still wants cuddles when he's tired, still throws a friendly arm around their shoulders without a thought as to who's watching.

He's still the man they knew — just with his full memories, a better intellect, and his self-control back in working condition.

Not that much self-control, though, because Cain's face twists in the funniest way when he hugs him in front of other people, and he's not giving up such a rich source of entertainment easily. XD

(4) Wrath

Glitch was capable of anger, but Ambrose is capable of rage. Cold rage. Directed rage. Cold, directed rage with a terrifying intellect to back it up.

AKA: pissing off Glitch would get you sniped at, and for the most part that remains true once he's Ambrose again. But then someone goes too far and threatens someone he cares for, and everyone gets to see just what separates Ambrose from his Zipperhead self besides the better filter — he has his full intellect and range of emotions back now, and his danger is of a very precise and accurate sort.

(5) Ambrose + Weapons = NOPE

Ambrose agrees to teach Cain his fighting style if Cain will teach him how to shoot a gun. Cain talks him down to a bostaff. Cain immediately has regrets.

AKA: Ambrose is a badass fighter, but give him any weapon and he's immediately useless.

AAKA: Scarecrow go whirr with a stick, wheee! (distant sounds of glass breaking and a familiar headcase muttering oops)

(6) In The Land Of The Brainfogged, The Half-Brained Man Is King

When something-or-other starts affecting everyone's minds, only Ambrose is still able to function — he's had years of practice functioning with half a mind, after all.

Now if only he could stop freaking out and focus long enough to actually do anything useful...

(7) Concussion

Ambrose gets a (not-too-bad but not great) concussion and freaks out over his mind not running at full capacity again.

(I just feel like he'd have a bad reaction to anything that affects his mind negatively after being Glitch)

Of course, there's always the option that Glitch gets a concussion instead and panics as his already-scrambled mind gets even worse...

(8) Ambrose Accidentally Heals The Cains While Couch Crashing

Wyatt Cain has his son back, even if he is a lot older and finding a rhythm with him again is proving more difficult than he'd thought it be. But still, he has his son back and life is good.

Unfortunately, he also has an ex-Zipperhead who seems intent on bunking with him.

(AKA: Ambrose needs a place to stay while his room and lab in the castle are being rebuilt or something, and accidentally helps the Cains heal while sleeping on their couch)

(Featuring Cain Sr and Ambrose being best friends whether Cain likes it or not, Jeb bonding with Ambrose whether Cain likes it or not, and Ambrose revealing that he's much more Glitch-like outside of the formality of court than he originally let on — particularly when he knows it will annoy Cain)

(9) Ambrose Works To Undo Damage Done To Zipperheads

Ambrose isn't the only one that was wrongfully made into a Zipperhead during the Witch's reign. He bonds with others that went through the same thing he did as he works to locate their brains and put them back into the right heads.

And/or:

After being a Zipperhead (he'll always have this zipper, always have the occasional glitch, always know that it could be done to him again) for so long, Ambrose decides that it's unjust as a punishment and works to abolish the practice entirely.

(10) Ambrose Still Glitches Sometimes

Ambrose has his brain back, but the zipper's still there and he still glitches sometimes, a little.

Things he has to deal with that he didn't before:

• Newfound clumsiness

• Heightened distractibility

• Still occasionally repeating himself. Still occasionally repeating himself. Still occasionally repeating himself...

• Clumsiness

• Developing a stutter for a week straight

• A weird rivalry with crows

• Cain, Raw, and DG's friendship.

Yeah... Not too bad a deal, if he does say so himself.

(11) Coffee

Ambrose gets a hold of coffee. This becomes everyone else's problem.

The already hyper mad scientist with a still occasionally glitchy brain gets access to caffeine. No-one but him (and maybe the Queen or DG, because someone needs to just be amused while everyone else deals with the menace) has a good day. XD

(Alternatively: he gets coffee before the rebraining?)

(12) Ambrose Seems To Be Nothing Like Glitch (But He's Exactly The Same Guy)

At first, DG, Cain, and Raw fear they've lost their friend when the newly-restored Ambrose seems to be nothing like Glitch. (They don't say this out loud, especially not to him, because they know it's wrong to want him to not have half his brain)

After a while, though, he manages to (unintentionally, as he remains oblivious to their internal struggles about his identity) show them that he's still exactly the same guy — just more put together.

AKA: The formal, arrogant, technobabbling guy that follows the queen around as if he's on a short leash doesn't seem much like the Zipperhead they came to love at all. Then he starts going off on random tangents, getting distracted by literally anything and everything, building inventions that have no sane purpose whatsoever, and pestering everyone about letting him teach them to dance — and they realize he's still exactly the guy they knew.

(13) Names And Nicknames

(Ambrose 'Glitch' Fiyero)

Everyone calls him Ambrose now. And that's fine, because he is Ambrose. He remembers being Ambrose. But... he remembers being Glitch, too.

How a certain ex-headcase ends up learning that he can keep going by Glitch with his saving-Oz friends (Cain, DG, and Raw) and Ambrose with everyone else (including his beloved Queen) without choosing between the two.

(14) Where Did Glitch Learn To Fight Like That?

When he was still missing half his brain, Cain had asked him where he learned to fight after witnessing the Zipperhead take down a troop of Longcoats by himself.

Now that he's (more-or-less) in his right mind again, Ambrose tells him the story of a young genius who got fixated on things quite easily — whether that meant memorizing the OZian periodic table, dancing obsessively until it became muscle memory, or earning as many black belts as was humanly possible (plus a few that were humanly impossible, for good measure).

"Self-taught," he says with a proud grin. Then he frowns and adds, "Well, more-or-less."

Chapter 15: LS: Raw Is A Dad Now, And Cain Has Regrets

Raw and the other Viewers return to their prides. But the last of Kalm's family is gone and the little cub has nowhere left to go.

Luckily, Raw is a big old softy. Besides, he promised Lylo that he'd look after Kalm, and it's not like he doesn't have plenty of friends to ask for parenting advice from.

(Cain is not sure how he got roped into helping a lion sort through an adoption, but it's definitely, without a doubt, Glitch and DG's fault)

(It turns out that it isn't their fault, but with the way they're simultaneously encouraging this without restraint and continuously giving Raw well-meaning but terrible parenting advice that Cain actively has to correct, it might as well be)

Chapter 16: LS: Raw Is A Dad Now, And Cain Has Regrets

Raw and the other Viewers return to their prides. But the last of Kalm's family is gone and the little cub has nowhere left to go.

Luckily, Raw is a big old softy. Besides, he promised Lylo that he'd look after Kalm, and it's not like he doesn't have plenty of friends to ask for parenting advice from.

(Cain is not sure how he got roped into helping a lion sort through an adoption, but it's definitely, without a doubt, Glitch and DG's fault)

(It turns out that it isn't their fault, but with the way they're simultaneously encouraging this without restraint and continuously giving Raw well-meaning but terrible parenting advice that Cain has to actively correct, it might as well be)

Chapter 17: GI: Glitch Asks The Others To Read To Him

Glitch can't read without getting headaches. It's a shame, because he thinks he remembers that maybe he used to like reading.

And then, for the first time since he got his zipper, he has others around who can read to him.

(And then he's Ambrose again and he's still getting the headaches while his brain resettles, and he's not entirely sure what the reaction will be but he just has to read so he brings a book to Cain, and all the Tin Man does is grumble and finish up what he was doing and read the book to him — just like he's done every time Glitch brought him a book he managed to find somewhere or other, no questions asked)

(Cain needs help with some of the bigger words, most of Ambrose's books aren't exactly light novels, but otherwise it's exactly the same)

(And then the headaches are gone even if the occasional glitch remains, and Ambrose can read by himself again and boy does he, consuming book after book with a passion to rival his first youthful forays into the world of literature)

(And then he finds himself missing it, suddenly. Having someone else read to him)

("I thought that your headaches were gone?" DG says when he brings her a book, worry painting her features. Sweet child, so kind, just like her mother. He didn't mean to make her worry)

("I, I don't have a headache," he tells her, feeling weird about what he's saying. What he's doing. What he's asking. "I just. I mean. Could you read it to me anyways?")

(And DG says yes, because of course she does. And later, when he asks them, Raw and Cain do too. And sometimes he reads to them instead, which is just as nice in a different way. And then he finds them reading to each other, as well)

(AKA: The story of how an act of kindness towards a book-hungry Zipperhead mutated into the way a group of friends say they love each other)

Chapter 18: GI: Ambrose Is A Flirt

Ambrose was formal and arrogant, but charming and social as well. This particular combination lent itself well to his habit of casual, playful flirtation.

Glitch is a massive flirt. It takes Cain a while to realize how much Glitch flirts with him, and it takes a while longer for him to realize that the Zipperhead doesn't actually mean anything by it (thank Gods, as no-one gets to have his heart but Adora).

It takes him another long while to catch himself meaninglessly flirting back.

AKA: Glitch does things like ask Cain to dance and Cain does things like call him 'Sweetheart', and while the affection is sincere they both know the flirting doesn't really mean anything.

It takes them a very long while, after the kingdom is restored and Glitch is Ambrose again, to realize that other people don't necessarily know that fact.

AAKA: Ambrose and Cain are mistaken for dating because the already-a-giant-flirt Zipperhead found a favorite target for his flirting and the not-a-flirt-but-plays-along-with-Glitch Tin Man only ever flirts with Ambrose. Convincing anyone beyond their closest friends to the contrary proves hilariously futile.

Chapter 19: LS: Not Every Mobat

Not every Mobat was truly loyal to the Witch. Some, like Xora, were. Others, though, were as enslaved as Azkadellia herself. Or maybe at least one was.

AKA: Most of the surviving Mobats have scattered around the OZ, evading capture and generally making menaces of themselves. A few or at least one of them, however, have decided to stick around Azkadellia instead. Will Azkadellia's attempts to show the people of the OZ that she isn't the Witch be hindered by her cooing at a Mobat sitting on her shoulder? Can she bear to send them away to save her reputation? Or can a way for her to have both her pets and her people's trust be found? 

Chapter 20: LS: Shooting The Problem

Ambrose makes a comment about how Cain almost shot the half of his brain that was in the jar. He wants Cain to know that he isn't upset about it, he understands his reasoning and it was a desperate time, but boy is he relieved that it didn't come to that–

And then Cain just casually reveals he was bluffing.

You were? says Ambrose, surprised.

Yeah. Cain shrugs. 'Course I wouldn't shoot you, headcase. Especially not the part of you that hadn't been pestering me for seven straight months, he adds in a mutter.

And then he walks off, leaving Ambrose to process the fact that Cain hadn't actually been willing to shoot him — not even to save the OZ.

AKA: What if Cain's pained decision to shoot the jar half of Ambrose when Ambrose was too panicked to remember the shut-off code to the Sunseder was, in fact, a bluff? And his intent was to cause exactly what happened — Ambrose's temporarily restored self gaining the clarity under desperation needed to manage to organize his thoughts well enough to remember?

Chapter 21: GI: Tests

During their adventure, the quartet come up with various little tests to help Ambrose keep his half-mind in as good a shape as possible. Some are more physical, some are more mental, all of them are small and simple and easy to do on the run.

Glitch doesn't always remember the point of them. He doesn't even always remember why he's being tested. But when he does, he's grateful for their help.

Chapter 22: GI: Mealtimes

DG, Cain, Raw, and Glitch have to eat together many times during their trip. As different diets and manner systems clash, they develop something that works.

Aka: Raw simultaneously has a Thing about people touching his food and a Thing about people refusing food he shares with them, Glitch does not understand the concept of 'stop eating from my plate' no matter how many times Cain smacks his hand away, Cain just wants a simple meal made with whatever's easiest to find and why does everyone have to eat different things we are on the run people get over yourselves, and DG doesn't recognize anything on her plate but she loves just about all of it.

(Cain moving his plate out of Glitch's reach and holding it high above the confusedly-whining Glitch's head. "What do we say?" Cain asks, deadpan and mocking and tired.

Glitch blinks at him, uncomprehending, then his eyes light up with realization. "Please," he says dutifully, making grabby motions at the plate but no longer actually trying to grab it.

"There ya go," Cain praises, and hands over the plate. He hadn't intended to, but then Glitch actually said please and he figures that anything that teaches the Zipperhead to ask instead of take should be encouraged — it might make Raw feel better, at least)

(Later, Glitch staring at Cain with wide, pleading eyes. Cain, sighing deeply, handing over what he's eating to a happy Glitch.

"What do we say?" Cain says, somewhat mocking and definitely patronizing, ignoring the memory of saying the same thing to Jeb once upon a time. 

"Thank you," Glitch replies, muffled by the food still in his mouth, grinning as best he can while eating. And somehow, Cain can't find it in himself to be all that annoyed anymore)

Chapter 23: Shorter Ideas

(1) MC: Camping Trip On The Run

They are on the run. They are fugitives. They are being hunted by a crazy sorceress dictator. They need to lay low. Cain keeps trying to explain this.

Meanwhile, Glitch has decided this is now a camping trip and who wants to tell the first scary story– oh, DG just told him what S'mores are, and now THEY NEED S'MORES IMMEDIATELY.

(2) LS: Muglug

Ambrose finally gets to show the quartet muglug. They all have different reactions to his favorite warm soup-drink-thing.

(3) GI: Glitch Has A Hoard

Glitch has a hoard of random things like buttons, rocks, sticks, a surprising amount of platinum strips, a broken comb, a random doll, this cool screwdriver, some acorns...

Because 1) it fits him so well.

And 2) him having crow-like behaviors is funny in completely different ways depending on if he hates, loves, or has complicated and mixed but weirdly strong feelings about crows.

(4) MC: The Average Zipperhead

What if Ambrose's extreme intelligence is the only reason he's mostly functional as Glitch? What if most Zipperheads are much worse off?

The quartet meets one such Zipperhead, and Glitch goes weirdly quiet after seeing what he could've (should've, might still) become.

(5) LS: The Mysterious Case Of The Three Ambroses

Something causes Ambrose to split into three people: the man he was before becoming a Zipperhead, the man he was as Glitch, and the man he was as a half-brain trapped in a jar.

Questions of identity, acknowledgment of Jar!Ambrose's unnoticed trauma, and a freak out from Original!Ambrose ensue. As do shenanigans.

(6) LS: Aunt Emily And Uncle Hank

DG's got her real parents now, but that doesn't mean the love for her old ones is gone. Her robo-parents still loved and raised her, after all. Navigating life with robo godparents/an aunt and an uncle that she used to think were her actual parents isn't exactly easy or remotely normal — but it's not like DG's ever liked easy or remotely normal, either.