The Love Triangle In Wicked Isn’t Fiyero Choosing Elphaba Or Glinda. It’s ELPHABA Choosing Fiyero

Sanders Sides in my style (including FANMADE Orange Side and Character!Thomas), where I mashed up Thomas's appearance in golden-age SS, modern-day SS and my personal artistic liberties!

Rambling commentary on design choices under the cut...

Love it when people take design inspo from his dyed hair era and make it color-coded to the other sides through the power of artistic magic

Gave stubble and ear piercings so he looks closer to his current appearance

Decided to give Character!Thomas that one jacket he really seems to like rather than the popular Steven Universe shirt bc it reflects his current style more

LOVE it when people give Roman scars- also gave Remus one across his eye to make him similar to Roman

Speaking of Remus... I removed the silver streak bc it's kinda a hassle to draw and doesn't really unify him with the others (also clutters his design) + just gave him heavier facial hair rather than a full-mustache

Janus's snake-side is usually a washed-out green when Thomas has his make-up so I made it more vibrant! I usually hate drawing Janus bc bowler hat + snake scales is a STRUGGLE but I like how he turned out

ORANGE SIDE ORANGE SIDE

His hair is spiked and swooped back to make him 'disheveled', 100% believe Thomas will wear orange contacts so he has those, and gave him short-sleeved leather jacket to relate him to Logan's short-sleeves

Superhero AU where Janus was born with the snake eye, a chilling evil laugh, and a talent for scheming and everyone was side-eyeing him his entire life waiting for his debut into villainy, only he decided it was too much work and went to design school and he's basically Edna Mode, but for villains.

(actually, let's make it funnier, Roman was straight up born with superpowers, but he decided to follow his heart and pursue fashion, now he and Janus are rivals in the arena of supers costume design, which plays out as a textbook hero/nemesis dynamic, just minus the actual fighting)

(Like, it's basically Megamind but if they both went to art school...)

I made the sides into doors from Encanto

This took a literal week but it was fun doing them!

Thank you @ros_poz2 for helping me with some of the designs :)

Also, Happy New Year!!! :D

not wanting to be outdone by the benders in the gang, sokka invents the flamethrower, the supersoaker, the leaf blower, and the concept of throwing rocks at people

I’ve been seeing some people talk (saw a comment somewhere by @feldspursfiyero ) about Fiyero’s behavior and choices, in particular how his depression and love for animals tie into one another and what his potential backstory is. I have a few things in mind that I’ll jot down here since I haven’t seen too many posts out there about Fiyero’s life before Wicked.

To start, it is obvious that Fiyero is a prince and the heir to the throne. From what we know in real life, being the Crown Prince was never an easy role. Though, I do find it interesting that Fiyero’s choice to act out is more along the lines of the behavior of a modern spare (Margaret, Harry etc) whose life feels directionless in the shadow of their older sibling’s glory. Historically and realistically, the heirs have been relatively good at containing their feelings and attitudes towards their position, but for Fiyero I think there are more layers to why he, the eldest child and the heir, has the personality traits that he has.

More under the cut because I don’t wanna clog the feed. This became longer than I thought 🙃

I do believe there was a time where Fiyero was able to be himself and allow himself to be loved and seen. Being a Prince, his life was dictated by strict protocol and rules by default, but there was once a time where he could breathe and let loose. That’s why he still has the innate ability to know and feel himself deep down, but events in his life have taught him to hide them.

From the Shiz Gazette online (and the books), we know his parents are Baxiana of Upper Fanarra and Marilott, Chieftan of the Arjikis. In my headcanon, his mother is the queen regent, the royal one and his father is the Ozian equivalent of a nobleman. He has a younger sister four years his junior named Arrietta with whom he is very close (she’s my OC).

Having not been raised in the rigid royal structure, Marilott taught his children that there was more to life than rules and appearances. Even if he couldn’t shelter them from their position, he made sure that they got to experience a taste of more “normal” things. Even if Baxiana saw them as her successors, Marilott saw them as his children. Most, if not all, of Fiyero’s happiest memories involved his father.

His death hit Fiyero very hard and is the main catalyst to his evolution into the man we see in Wicked. With him died the carefree boy Fiyero once was. Being fourteen, it came right around the time where he was expected to formally begin to prepare for royal duties and his mother was very strict with him. She had no patience with his slower progression in his studies (which I headcanon to be a combo of dyslexia and adhd) and implemented a stricter study regime, which inadvertently made it worse. He began to develop feelings of inadequacy and low self esteem about his abilities to be a ruler and began to yearn for his mother’s approval. Even if there were times where she was satisfied, she didn’t outwardly show it. Why would she, when royals weren’t expected to show emotion? Every social interaction was a transaction, one where nobody cared about anything but a satisfying end result.

Feeling trapped by his mother, his destiny, and his internal turmoil, Fiyero began to act out. Having partaken in an increasing amount of public events, he became aware that his people were enamored by him. Everytime he ventured beyond the castle walls, he would find crowds of people his age following his every step, listening to his every word. If he could garner attention simply by existing, maybe he could gain their respect by giving something to admire. After all, who could resist being royalty AND being cool?

The Winkie Prince was seen at almost every night club in Winkie Country and Oz, dancing the night away in the middle of the dance floor, winning the heart of every lucky Ozian to be graced by his presence. Every time he was expelled from university, angry students would petition the board to revoke their decision. When they didn’t, his classmates would gather and bide him tearful farewells. The expulsions didn’t both him one bit because wherever he went and wherever he would end up next, he would have an admiring crowd that he could entertain with abandon. That is, until he meets a special girl at Shiz…

Now here is where the real Fiyero fits in as well as the Animals. Yes, things may have been bleak for him, but there were only two places he felt the most safe: Arrietta and the Animal staff at the castle.

Despite his facade being so convincing that even Fiyero himself forgot it wasn’t real, there were times where his old emotions would bubble to the surface. When he was younger, he would burst into tears and as he grew, he would sulk in his hiding spots throughout the castle. Of course, his sister would find him and the two would often sit together, some times in silence and other times, listening to eachother’s woes. She was the only human after their father’s death who loved him for who he was and she was the only person he could be himself with. She had similar worries, but instead of acting out, she turned inward and grew to be an intelligent but shy young woman. She never told him this to make Fiyero more worried than he already was, but she secretly wanted her “old” brother back. The carefree boy who would tease her until she cried, joked until she laughed, and tell stories until she fell asleep.

His other source of comfort, the Animals, are the reason many years later, Fiyero stands up to the injustice against them. The Winkies were known for their deeper connection with nature and Animals, which is why they are so prominent in culture, politics, and trade in their country. The royal family was no different and many of the staff at the castle were Animals, including Fiyero’s governess, tutors, and personal guard. He was most fond of his governess, a kind panda named Palina who stayed with the royal children until Fiyero left for his first university. Even in retirement, she would write letters to her former charges, who never failed to write back. While he was away, she was his safe space, her warm and fuzzy hugs replaced with warm and encouraging words of ink. His tutors, despite instructions from Baxiana to be more strict with his curriculum, had empathy for the prince’s learning struggles and would try various methods to help him learn. They also understood the importance and value of encouragement and would give him small praises and rewards for completing tasks on time or correctly. Fiyero never understood why humans couldn’t be as good teachers as animals and attributed the former’s lack of empathy for their spartan methods.

Finally, Fiyero met Feldspur completely by accident! He had been hiding in one of his hiding spots in the royal stables (which were more like suites for the Horses) when one of the mares found him in the corner of her suite. She knew him and he knew her, so it hadn’t been awkward but she thought she would cheer the teen up by introducing her colt Feldspur to him. At first, the two didn’t see eye to eye, as Feldspur didn’t know why a prince would be unhappy and Fiyero didn’t know why the young horse asked so many questions, but the two eventually warmed to eachother when Fiyero realized that Feldspur actually listened to him. Even if he wasn’t human and wasn’t Fiyero’s age (in animal years haha), he listened intently and the questions that bothered him were asked with curiosity and care, not mocking or ignorance. Fiyero had eventually forgotten why he had been in the stables in the first place, having made a new friend that was on the same level as him. The two quite literally grew up together (and ate grass together in the process) and share a deep friendship that goes beyond a prince and his noble steed.

Phew, that was a lot IM SO SORRY HAHAHA. At that I’m gonna log out and explore this more in fics and drabbles in the future. If you made it this far, THANK YOU and I promise future posts will be shorter 🤗

I think that Fiyero uses “Winkie” in the movie because he wants to adapt better in the environment, he is clearly not who he lets everyone see, the only one that knows him is Fae

Exactly, he knows it’s the term that they use, and if he started saying he was a Vinkun prince they’d be like ??

He’s a chameleon he knows how to adapt and change to fit in the environment he’s in. He doesn’t want to stick out in a way like Elphaba does. He blends in but also has eyes on him because he’s handsome and smooth.

Abigail: Arthur, John is missing you need to go save him.

Dutch: Arthur, Micah is in prison and about to be hanged you need to go save him.

Trelawny: Arthur, Sean is being transported to be executed, we need to go save him.

Ms Grimshaw: Arthur, Tilly has been kidnapped we need to go save her.

Dutch: Hmm it would appear that Arthur has gone missing after a sketchy parley with my sworn enemy that we all agreed was an obvious trap.

Dutch:……

Camp:…….

Dutch: Eh, whatever. Im sure he’s fine.

Mostly familiar stuff, but I'm doing my best to keep it interesting ! Dorothy was surprisingly hard to draw at first, but really fun and cute once I figured her out :3

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Guys I desperately need you to hear me out, I can’t stop thinking about this.

So, My Little Pony. Canterlot Wedding. You know this episode, you probably know it even if you don’t watch the show, it’s the one with the banger. Yeah that one. Do it but make it Sanders Sides.

Roman is Shining Armor. Janus is Chrysalis. Remus is Twilight. Patton is Cadence. That is all.

I’m thinking about Wicked tonight, specifically why Elphaba ends up with Fiyero instead of Glinda in the musical despite Elphaba and Glinda having the more well-rounded relationship.

You could chalk it up to the writers wanting a heteronormative ending (and I’m certain that’s part of it) or the fact that Elphaba and Fiyero had a love affair in the book. But I think there’s a bit more nuance to it.

The whole point of Glinda’s character is that she upholds the status quo of Oz. No matter how much she loves Elphaba or sympathizes with the plight of the Animals, she will always align herself with the current system and those in power. And as long as that remains the case, a relationship between her and Elphaba is futile because Elphaba will not give up her cause.

Elphaba and Glinda represent to different ends of a spectrum. Elphaba resists the oppressive forces in Oz, while Glinda upholds them. But Fiyero is somewhere in the middle. He starts out privileged and carefree like Glinda, but quickly turns to Elphaba’s side. He does become Captain of the Guard, but only to find Elphaba and help her evade arrest.

And therein lies the difference between Glinda and Fiyero as love interests to Elphaba. Glinda would never sacrifice her title as “the Good Witch” and all her power granted from the Wizard, even if it meant helping Elphaba. Fiyero, on the other hand, does give up his privilege, his title, and even his human form for Elphaba. Glinda clings to what the status quo gives her, while Fiyero ultimately rejects it.

Yes, the writing around Elphaba and Fiyero’s romance is a bit rushed and doesn’t have the same gradual development that Elphaba and Glinda have. And yes, I have no doubt heteronormativity played a role in giving Elphaba a male love interest in the end. But I see a lot of people write off Fiyero and his relationship with Elphaba and I just don’t agree.

Why does Elphaba end up with Fiyero instead of Glinda? Because Fiyero makes the sacrifices that Glinda wasn’t willing to.