Martyn: --of Really Boring, Slow, Decision Making On What We Were Going To Do. I Literally Had Grian,

🌟 Gelphie Big Bang 2025 FAQ 🌟

Welcome to the Gelphie Big Bang 2025! This event is all about bringing together writers and artists to create collaborative, high-quality fanworks centered on the relationship between Elphaba and G(a)linda (Gelphie/Gelphaba) from Wicked—whether you’re inspired by the musical, the movie, the book, or your head canons come from a mix of all three. Welcome and thanks for joining!

❓ Gelphie Big Bang FAQs:❓

🧹 What’s a Big Bang?

A Big Bang is a fandom event/challenge where writers craft a long-form fanfic (minimum 10k words), and artists are matched to them to create visual art of all different kinds, inspired by their story. At the end of the challenge, both the story and the art are revealed together—(with a BANG! <- pun intended)

This is a classic Big Bang.

📚 Writers: What You Need to Know

Minimum word count: 10,000 words.

Your fic must focus on Gelphie as the primary ship. Other characters and relationships are welcome, but Elphaba/G(a)linda must be the emotional heart of the story.

Genres, Crossovers, and AUs are absolutely welcome—bring on the gothic dramas, soulmate AUs, non-magical AUs, There's nothing wrong in Oz, Elphaba had caring parents, Gangster 1920s AUs, and more.

No previously published work. You must write a brand new fic specifically for this event. Though, if you have a fic that you have not updated in at least 6 months that you'd like to use this as a means of inspiration to get you to finish it, those will be considered on a case by case basis.

First drafts must be actual drafts, not just outlines. They must be at least 6,000 words and include the full arc (beginning, middle, and end). You can polish after matching, but give your artist something real to work with!

Final fics go live during the reveal period only. No sharing snippets or edits early unless scheduled as part of the Big Bang and requested by this blog/Mod. In short, no early posting. You’ll get instructions closer to the deadline for how to post to AO3.

🎨 Artists: What You Need to Know

You’ll be matched with a story that inspires you—based on a blind summary selection process (you won’t know the author’s name when choosing). This will need to be a first come first serve basis, as all fics need to be paired.

Art requirements:

Images must be at least 400x600px.

Videos must be at least 1 minute long.

Fanmixes must include cover + back art (400x400px min) and at least 6 songs with accessible links.

Any type of visual or audio fanart is welcome: digital art, traditional art, manips, vids, music, fanmixes, etc.

Your work must be original and unpublished before the reveal date. No reposting old works.

Some flexibility with edits is okay after matching, but talk with your writer before making big changes.

Art will go live during the reveal period. Please wait to crosspost off AO3 until reveals are complete so both fic and art can shine (in a galindified approved) way!

🛠️ How to Post on AO3

There will be an AO3 collection to publish both fic and art. If you don’t have an AO3 account, I can help you get one!

Once you submit, your work will be unrevealed (hidden from the public) until the official reveal date.

You’ll be able to edit your submission until reveals begin.

You can crosspost your work anywhere (Tumblr, Instagram, FFN, etc.) after reveals are done.

💔 What if I Need to Drop Out?

Life happens! If you need to drop out, please do so before you are matched with a partner. That way, no one is left hanging mid-process. I’ll communicate drop-out deadlines clearly via email and this Tumblr. If you drop out respectfully and in time, you’re absolutely welcome to join us for future Gelphie events! In the event that you need to drop out after you've been paired with someone, that is where a Pinch-Hitter will come in.

🚨 Important Rules

No plagiarism. That includes fic, art, AND AI-generated content that replicates others’ work. If your submission is found to use AI it will be removed.

If you suspect plagiarism, please do not report it unless you have clear evidence, such as a side-by-side comparison.

👥 Roles You Can Sign Up For

📝 Writers

You’ll write a 10k+ Gelphie fic, submit a draft for artist matching, and collaborate with your artist until final posting.

🎨 Artists

You’ll review fic summaries, claim one that inspires you, and create a beautiful piece of fanart to match.

✏️ Beta Readers

Betas help writers edit and polish their drafts! You can sometimes serve as a source of help or inspiration when the creative juices stop flowing. You’ll check for grammar, plot holes, character voice, pacing, and overall coherence. You can sign up as a beta reader even if you’re not a writer or artist!

📣 Cheerleaders

Cheerleaders are the supportive backbone of the Bang! You’ll encourage writers and artists, help brainstorm through blocks, and be a friendly hype machine for the writers/artists.

🦸 Pinch-Hitters

The heroes who step in if a writer or artist drops out after the match. You’ll be contacted only if needed and asked if you’re available. Flexible, low-pressure, but extremely appreciated!

🔁 Can I Sign Up for More Than One Role?

Absolutely! You can write AND beta, or make art AND cheerlead—just make sure you have time to commit to each role responsibly.

🎭 Anonymity and Reveals

All fics and art will be posted anonymously until the end of the event. There will be 2–3 creation reveals per day during the reveal period so that everyone gets a spotlight moment. You’re welcome to crosspost your work afterward wherever you like!

📅 Key Dates (Coming Soon!)

I’ll post the official schedule with sign-up deadlines, draft due dates, and reveal windows on our Tumblr and in your inboxes. Stay tuned!

❓Still Have Questions?

Feel free to reach out to to us here at anytime! I'm happy to help—whether you're wondering how to write your first draft or how to link a fanmix on AO3.

Oh they're the bad boys?

What are they bad at?

Surviving?

life series etho is such…. an enigma to me…..

TLDR; ethos strategies in the life series are like a clock, eventually he’s bound to repeat himself. he deserves to be put in a test tube and studied under a microscope

in third life, Etho didn’t really have any true allies. Like sure, he was part of the Dogwarts alliance, and maybe he teamed with Impulse for a bit, but the wool fort was his. he built that and just let Impulse hang around. He wasn’t committed to anyone fully the entire time, and when he died, he died burning at the hands of his supposed ally who was too focused on winning to actually hold up his end of the bargain. (i could on and on about impulse and his poor decisions in third life, but this isn’t about him)

i like to think that because of this, he learned to do better in last life. making strong alliances with those he felt like he could trust, and giving all he had into his relationship (whether you interpreted it as /p or /r) with bdubs. he had team BEST, and he never ever betrayed them for anything, even when bdubs did. he survived because he was carful and he had his friends. he was safe in his fort and he did what he had to do to survive. his other alliances were fleeting, even fake in the case of scar, but he never stopped fighting for BEST, at least until he realized he had to let them go to have a chance at winning.

perhaps he learned from impulse in third life. maybe he realized that alliances really only existed until you had a better chance of winning with someone else. he was still green when the rest of BEST was red or eliminated, and he realized fast that the best way to win would be to stick with the rest of the yellows. he betrayed his true ally’s to win, and in the end it didn’t matter. he allowed Bdubs to die because of his false promises, and he couldn’t even secure the victory.

double life is when everything changed. etho was soul bound to Joel, the man that killed him in Last Life. they hadn’t ever really interacted all that much, but they knew each other by reputation alone. despite considering leaving Joel for Impulse and Bdubs, once he learned that Joel had made them a boat, he was committed to their relationship (again, either /p or /r) until the very end. he burned the entire server down for joel, and he followed him everywhere and protected him at all costs. he betrayed his ally’s in last life and it cost him not only the victory, but also his humanity (!!!!), and i wonder if he promised himself he wouldn’t allow the same thing to happen with Joel.

If the ship burns, everything burns. that’s what joel said when the red wars were raging and the server was crumbling down. etho was prepared to burn again, but this time, he would burn with his ally. it was just too bad that that blinding courage was their downfall.

now we’re on limited life, and you see him doing similar things to what he did in third life. he has ally’s similar to third life, meaning he’s not fully committed to any of them. while officially he is part of team TIES, his (cough… here we go) family commitments to the Clockers are making that quite difficult. he’s playing multiple sides again, but like in third life, he’ll eventually have to pick a side and watch as his ally’s fight for the very last second.

Camille Fourcade on Instagram

“And Luz, thank you, for being in my life.”

-

“Luz, I’m so happy I had you as a big sister.”

-

“Looks like we’re gonna be split up again. I feel like I should be used to this feeling by now, but... I still don’t know what to say.”

“Oh. I know what I should have said. I should have thanked them.”

“Eda, King. Thank you, for everything.”

The fact that all three of them had to say goodbye to each other at the end of their respective seasons, resigned to their fate as they thanked them. But it's Luz who breaks the tragic pattern of pain, in this case not being able to say thanks as a goodbye... Only to be able to say it as an affirmation of their bond when they are reunited! Likewise...

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"But we're a family! Us weirdoes have to stick together, remember?"

"You have a family already. Go back to them."

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"We gotta stick together. We gotta stick together!"

"I'm sorry, not this time."

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"Weirdoes?"

"Weirdoes."

At the end of each season, Luz repeated "Us weirdoes have to stick together" only for a grieving Eda and King to refuse it. But the last time Luz says it, they finally get to return and affirm the bond they taught her.

Anything.

What if Double Life was an RPG?

The Owl House said:

Fuck redeeming a terrible human being for the sake of redeeming them/"it's a kids show of course everyone gets redeemed" trope

Fuck redeeming an abusive parent

Fuck "all magic's gone" trope

These characters worked so hard and went through so much of course they're going to get rewarded

Found family and birth family

Gay rights

I'm going to miss this show so much