So this plot bunny was born due to @mrskrazy amazing Ghost Rider drawing of Arthur. Don’t know if I will ever write this, but feel free to add or write about this au, also big thanks to @deputyoneill for helping me flesh out this idea. Also bear with me, I’ve been trying to make heads or tails of Ghost Rider lore and it is so damn confusing, if I get something wrong please correct me, but no hate.
So this au starts six months before blackwater, job. It all started late one night when John and Arthur are riding back from a successful job, the pair come to a crossroads and at the crossroads is the Stranger. The stranger makes a comment about how wonderful a job Arthur has been doing, doing all these deeds that would send his soul straight to hell. Arthur and John are confused as fuck, and try to attack the Stranger but, it doesn’t work. The Stranger simply says that’s it time for Arthur to come with him. Arthur falls to the ground in pain, and John in a moment of fear and panic falls to his knees next to Arthur and states that he loves him, the Stranger glares daggers at John and says something about how he can’t take Arthur soul to hell, but he could do something else. Again Arthur and John look confused at the man, and the man says that if he can’t take Arthur soul, then Arthur will collect the souls for him. The Stranger held up a ball of fire and tossed it Arthur. The man started to scream out of pain, and then he started to transform. The Stranger says that when it’s dark or if he’s in the presence of evil the rider will come and he will collect the souls of the damned. With that the Stranger is gone, and Arthur is now a flaming skeleton.
It takes months for John and Arthur to get use to this new form and powers. At the start John and Arthur would rush out of camp, before night came. (One time they forgot and to there shock Arthur didn’t transform.) And then blackwater happened, and Arthur has to will himself from turning when they save Sadie. And then Micah, gets arrested in strawberry. Arthur goes but he doesn’t want to. And then it happens, after Micah is freeded, he turns. Much to shock, horror and fear of everyone. And then it hits Arthur, he looks at Micah who is looking at him with the fear of God in his eyes, and due to the riders powers he can see every sin that Micah had committed. And then it hits Arthur it was Micah who betrayed them at blackwater and had plans to turn Dutch in. Arthur in a fit of rage used the Penance Stare to kill Micah. And then he turns back, the lawmen could stare in horror, and Arthur flees. He lies to Dutch, telling him that Micha was hung. Dutch was not happy, but with Micha gone the gang seemed more at ease.
life is fraught-less
~~
shop prints here
I replayed blessed are the peacemakers the other night and had a radical idea,,
What if Micah coordimated the parley with the o'driscolls, specifically to get Arthur out of the way? He's definitely not above it, and he's definitely clever enough to pull it off.
See like, Dutch aside, I think Micah is jealous of Arthur. Arthur is considered one of the most, if not /the/ most capable members of the gang. They respect his opinion on things and usually follow his lead without much fuss. They invite him to take a load off, sit by the fire and have a drink. The girls invite him to chat. He has an easy camaraderie with the rest of the gang.
Contrast this with Micah, who seems constantly at odds with everyone. Crazy homicidal tendencies aside, he does seem to want a connection with at least some of the gang. He'll sit by the fire and tell a story. He'll try to talk to the women, who brush him off with disdain or scorn. His sense of humor is fucked 9 ways to Sunday, so most of his "jokes" involve blatant sexism/racism, or he's just otherwise cruel (though I think his cruelty is half him lashing out, half him being cruel for the sake of it)
Half of the gangs rejection has to do with him just being a shitty person, but I think Arthur's attitude also plays a big part. Arthur makes no effort to hide his feelings about the man. He doesn't like him, he'd wish he'd get gone, he only tolerates him bc Dutch, ect. And because Arthur doesn't like him, the rest of the gang, subconsciously or not, follows his lead. I say this because you also have a man like Williamson, who is racist and filthy and a drunk, and yet because Arthur doesn't outright hate him, the rest of the gang tolerates him well enough.
And then there's Dutch. If there's anyone's opinion, anyone's esteem Micah truly wants to be held high in, it's Dutch's. And yet again Arthur stands in the way of this, at least in the early chapters. When Dutch wants something done, he sends Arthur. When Dutch wants to take a load off and fool around, he fucks off with Arthur and Hosea. On the rare occasions that Arthur offers his opinions on things, Dutch takes it into consideration, even if he ultimately does whatever he wants anyways. And oh I just know that Micah was stewing over the fact that the gang moved camp to Clemens Point, the place that Arthur and Charles found, instead of Dewberry Creek, the place he suggested.
All in all, Micah is envious of Arthur's place in the gang. He wants that for himself. Ultimately he manipulates his way to Dutch's right hand, but before he got to that point, he may have figured the best way to the top was to simply remove the competition.
So he runs into a few stray Odriscolls and instead of killing them, urges them to pass a message along to Colm. He plants the idea of kidnapping Arthur to lure the gang out, except he was never planning on turning them in, at least not yet. He has them suggest the meeting via Pearson to avoid arousing suspicion, though he throws his weight behind Pearson to make sure everything falls into place.
All so that Arthur when fails to meet them at the fork in the road after the parley, he can convince Dutch that it's fine, he probably saw some pretty buck or damsel in distress and went after it, you know how he is, he'll turn up.
All the while betting on the fact that Colm will eventually get tired of waiting for the rescue and just kill Arthur and be done with it. And with him out of the way, Micah can finally secure some authority within the gang.
My Wicked Pony part 2 (Oz, Nessa & Morrible)
Probably disappointing, because none of y'all favourites are here (give Nessa some love!!). Next time y'all get Glinda the Good and Wicked Witch of the West ✨
Previous part ~> My Wicked Pony ── .✦
Designs are a mix of movie and stageplay designs with some additions (storm theme for Morrible)
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 🤗
MORE FIYERBOQ DOODLES!! AND MY LIFE IS YOURS!!!! 🙏🙏🙏🙏🧎♀️➡️🧎♀️➡️🧎♀️➡️💗💗 PLEASEEEEEEEEEEE
There you go! Doodle dump! Some of this might one day be finished
I headcanon that Fiyero would call Boq 'babygirl' in front of the teachers (I am right) ✨
Post book 2/3 designs for the husbands ~
Self explanatory જ⁀➴ ♡
Wip, inspired by 'La Belle Dame Sans Merci' by Frank Bernard Dicksee ✮⋆˙
Bonus section ◡̈
This post is already gay enough, so I'm adding Dillaspur friendship and my ocs as a bonus
Imagine dancing through life where the part where Boq asks Glinda to “save a dance for me” but he was referring to her letting him have at least one dance with Fiyero, and Glinda thought it was about her. That would be funny 👀
^ me when i'm not at all suspicious and definitely don't have any intimate knowledge of the subject
I love to headcanon that compared to people like his sister or Percy that Jason’s anger is very calm.
Very controlled.
That Jason rarely ever raises his voice nor does he really yell. But even without that you can feel how pissed off he is.
And that terrifies people because for one Jason is a pretty chill guy all things considered. It takes a lot to get him angry.
So if you’re already there you’ve majorly fucked up and there’s no helping you.
And two, when the Big 3 get mad they resemble their parents. Thalia is her father’s storm. Percy is his father’s raging sea.
And Jason’s no different for while he looks like his mother. It’s when he’s angry that he resembles his father.
And I like to think Jupiter’s rage is distinctive from Zeus’s.
That Jupiters rage is that of a king standing over his court. Looking at the peasant before him and calmly asking them for a reason to not execute them.
Jason’s rage is the clouds covering the sun. It’s the wind picking up and the crackle of electricity across the sky. It’s all the signs of a brewing storm that grant a sense of unease.
It’s a warning that you’ve gone too far.
Because even when he’s angry there’s a level of restraint to Jason’s temperament. A sense of decorum, because even now he holds himself to his principles and rules.
And for Jason who’s outwardly so bright that he could resemble sunshine. Jason who seemingly lacks the jagged edges of Percy’s smirk and Thalia’s glare.
When Jason gets angry you notice the way it shifts his entire demeanour. The moment he goes from Jason to Praetor Grace.
No one’s ever seen the brunt of Jason’s rage and frankly no one ever wants too.
Concept: My favourite flavour of Dark Jason Grace is when you play into that theme of him being The Lost Hero.
This idea that prior Jason was a great hero. He was known for his feats and his kindness. And the respect he had for any deity and demigod regardless of status or rank.
He bought glory to his camp, to his patron and his father and it should have made him beloved by them all.
But his father felt threatened by him. Because he overthrew his father who overthrew his father. And he was terrified that Jason would one day try to overthrow him.
Even though Jason had no intention of ever doing that it didn’t matter for those feelings only continued to grow.
I imagine the day everything changes is the one where Jason breaks the rules and stands up to his father. Similar to Jason’s canon “unwise” speech when Zeus was unfairly punishing Apollo.
But Zeus takes it even worse here and scolds his son and his insolence before all of Olympus. Some kind of speech about how these demigods need to know there place.
And how he shall be an example for them.
There’s a vote and while there are those who stand by Jason. Hestia’s saddened gaze, Hera’s angry tears, Hades silent head shake.
The rest, including many of his own half-siblings follow their father without giving Jason a second thought.
Something in Jason snaps. That everything he served, everything he ever did never made a difference. He had been trying to foster better connections, to aid his brethren.
And it had all been for nothing.
All he ever was to them was a tool that they deemed uncontrollable.
They don’t kill Jason because he’s much too powerful, much to useful to lose. He’s granted partial immortality like the hunters while Hephaestus creates chains that hand from his ankles and wrists.
To bind him to their service for however long as they require him.
Like a dog on a leash.
Jason’s imprisoned in Tartarus instead of any other prison. So that he’ll be forced to continue fighting and sharpen his skills. While he’s kept like a trophy for the day that his power will be required once again.
It’s like being in the Wolf House again. His powers are limited and he has no weapons but his own chains. And all the while down there Jason fights to survive he plans for his revenge.
They tell Camp Jupiter and Thalia that Jason died on a quest and his body unable to be recovered. She grieves him for years to come.
But because of Zeus’s speech and Artemis following him, Jason thinks Thalia knew and agreed with them.
The years go by and rumours spread of a beast from below driven mad with anger with the face of a man. Imprisoned for going against the gods and that all who try will meet his fate.
No one knows his name and simply call him The Lost Hero, a once great hero reduced to nothing because that’s all Jason has become.
And then the day comes where the prophecy of the seven comes to pass and Jason is bought to Olympus once again. He’s a mess and there’s a cold anger about him even though he’s weirdly nice to the assembled demigods.
The first thing Jason does is cross the room and kneel before not the king but his queen.
Hera who has always been so cold and cruel, weeps at the sight of him. Hugging him in her arms, mindful of the chains that hang behind him to give the illusion they’ve been cut.
Jason lets himself be held and he tells her not to waste any more tears on him. Before facing his father and it looks could kill the man would be dead.
He’ll play along with their quest but he’s got his own agenda. He’s not letting the world fall to Gaia nor is he going to let these demigods get hurt.
But he will be the storm that brings Olympus down with him.
Here it is! Finished character line up with designing process breakdown :)
Cowardly Lion
There's little to no description of the Cowardly Lion in the books, so I always imagined him as rather ironically big with thick, dark mane (the darker the mane, the stronger the lion). He's mainly made of soft, delicate curves, which are incorporated into his whiskers and hair as well. I wanted to incorporate bits of 'you had it all along' in Dorothy's friends designs, so classic tail and mane ribbons were not enough. Such big and proud animal has to have at least a bit of courage to wear lace collar. Lions have darker spot on their heads, which I turned into something fitting for a magical land - star. Since lions can be identified by whisker spots, Cowardly Lion's are little hearts.
Dorothy and Toto
I have carefully noted all descriptions of Dorothy's clothing, which is as follows: sunbonnet, gingham dress with white and pale blue, silver shoes, basket with white cloth and apron. The dress should have pockets. Even though the classic illustrations suggest that her hair was blonde, I decided to go with dark brown. It just fits way better. I added lace to the apron and sunbonnet. All garments were inspired by vintage clothes from early 1900s. Toto is based on Scottish Terrier, since he's been described as small, black and hairy, especially around the nose.
From now on beware spoilers for Wicked part 2
Scarecrow
His eyes will kill you. No, but seriously, they're not dark like other characters, because they're painted. He's made mostly of triangular shapes. Straszek's description is the most detailed: painted blue Munchkin's hat (with little bells), head is a small sack, painted face, blue suit of clothes, old boots with blue tops (I have no idea what tops are, I hope I did well), painted ears and padded hands (that's why his hands are too big + he's the only character with four fingers). Now, I didn't stick to the entire description for various reasons (f.ex. painted ears looked weird and blue hat didn't cooperate with cape), but mainly, because I wanted to add something from myself. And here's where the Wicked part 2 spoilers begin. Fiyero is quite tall, so I have abandoned the idea of Munchkin sized Straszek. He's ragged and dirty, because he was beaten. Torns in suit are remnants of Fiyero's wounds with golden straw spilling out instead of blood. If you look closely straw on his left shoulder should look like epaulet. If it doesn't, then it's my fault. The one shoulder cape was made from what was left of his chieftain outfit and it covers a big rip in the suit (which is his 'brainy' feature). Golden ornament depicts wheat and crows. I wouldn't be myself if I hadn't put unnecessary objects on a big hat, so there you have it: wheat & Elphaba's poppy. And last, but not least: straw sticking out of his face forms light facial hair (everyone say 'thank you, Jonathan Bailey').
Oof. That was long.
Tin Woodman
Standing proudly next to his boyfriend, Tin Man was created from hard, square shapes, quite summetrical as opposed to Scarecrow's absolute chaos. He has his little iconic cap and I can't really say a lot about him. The bowtie is his remarkable feature that I could never take away. It was red for a moment (just like Lion's ribbons were royal blue), but all my friends said that he looked like Freddy Fazbear, so I had to take the red away. I'm sorry, Nick. Let your husband housemate be colorful. Anyway! I might have accidentally incorporated some of Dark Cacao Cookie's armor in here, because that's the only armor I had drawn more than once. He's rusty all over and all that crying turned his eyes brown and left rusty tear marks. His jaw is hinged like it was in the books. If I remember correctly it was never stated that Nick Chopper was a Munchkin, but after Wicked turned Boq into Tin Woodman it would be such a waste to not deisgn a character sturdy, yet small. Spring hair is inspired by movie Boq's curly hair (thank you, Ethan Slater). His you 'had it all along' feature is... Less functional than others. The collar around his neck forms a heart.
Sketch page including some notes:
You still here? Wow. Hey, look!
Wicked part 2 looks great!